The Opium War was the beginning of China's modern history and the beginning of our history of humiliation, but after the humiliation, the Aisin Kyora family was still full of self-confidence, still dreaming of their own heavenly kingdom, missing the golden period of development, and now it seems that not only makes people sigh.
Outline of the development of the Opium War
Why is that? Because they don't even know where the Westerners come from!
Where did these barbarians come from? Answer: Far South
It was at the end of the Qing Dynasty that others bullied us again and again, and the elites of the Qing court at that time still knew nothing about the Western world.
Gu Yanwu everyone should know, his famous saying"
The world rises and falls, and the pirate is responsible
I believe that we are all familiar with it, and it has also inspired generations of Chinese people.
But such an intellectual, who regards the world as his own responsibility, wrote a book called "
Tianxia County Guoli Disease Book
There is a story written in it, which is particularly interesting.
It is said that during the Jiajing period, there was a Flang Machine Country (now Portugal) sent envoys to our country to pay tribute, and everyone was surprised to find that this foreigner liked to eat children!
In the country of Flange, only the king can eat the meat of children, and no one else can eat it, so when he comes to our country, the envoy immediately goes to the market to buy a teenage child to eat.
The specific way to eat, too heavy taste, here will no longer introduce to friends, this problem, I feel far more terrifying than Cantonese people eat monkey brain!
Obviously, this story is seriously problematic, because the Portuguese did not come to China at all during the Jiajing period, they came during the Zhengde period, before Jiajing.
Unfortunately, even An elite Gu Yanwu, who regards the world as his mission, believes in this story, not only does not understand our history, but also does not understand foreigners, and has always called them barbarians.
The world rises and falls, and Gu Yanwu is responsible
Where did these barbarians come from?
At that time, no one knew, only that they came from the south with a boat (in the direction of the South China Sea now), so everyone thought that these barbarians were in the far south!
south? Where is the South?
And no one can say clearly, just like the "Classic of Mountains and Seas", chaos!
This is what Chinese knew about the West before the Opium Wars!
So, how does the West know the East?
orient? That's a beauty
After a long period of isolation, we all think that we are heavenly kingdoms, and the rest are small countries, and we should be respected as fathers and kings.
Even Sun Monkey in the novel "Journey to the West" has this kind of thinking:
Monkey King Sun Wukong
I established my own Heavenly Dynasty in the eastern land, which was long called the upper kingdom, and Ru and so on were the lower tubian states. Since the ancient road, the emperor of Shangbang, the father is the king, the emperor of the lower state, the subject is the son!
Think about it, this is what one of our monkeys said to the Wuji Guoshi!
In the eyes of Western countries, China's Wuhua Tianbao, good quality and low price, is a good place to do business!
Contrary to our terrible imagination of the West eating people, the West is in love with us and constantly imagines our "heavy makeup".
They work tirelessly to sail the sea, just to find us and pursue us!
But when they found us, they found that the beauty in the dream was dying of old age!
During the Qianlong period, the British Magalni came to visit with an envoy, which made the Qianlong Emperor happy!
Qianlong and Magalni
Why? Because I caught up with his eightieth birthday!
People came to negotiate the issue of trade between the two countries, and Qianlong was good and wishful thinking, thinking that they were also like Korea and Vietnam, and sent people to celebrate their birthday!
After Magalni expressed his idea of trade, Qianlong also said "generously":
What kind of business, what is missing I will give you on the line, we are very rich, there is no shortage of anything
！
Beauty twilight, still immersed in the dream!
Unfortunately, the pursuit of such a beauty was actually rejected!
Qianlong said that the land is vast and rich, but when it comes to Daoguang, can the Qing Palace still be so proud?
Queen's birthday? One bowl of longevity noodles for one person
The Daoguang Emperor's frugality is famous, and it is reasonable to say that frugality is a virtue that should be praised, but Daoguang's frugality, we must come and say!
According to the rules of the Qing Palace, the emperor ate, in addition to the dishes prepared by the imperial dining room, there were also dishes offered by the empress dowager and concubines, at least there must be dozens of dishes.
And here in Daoguang, the rules have changed, and each meal cannot exceed four dishes!
The thrifty Daoguang Emperor
Not as good as an ordinary citizen now!
This is not to count, the palace can not celebrate the birthday, take the lead, only when the queen has a birthday, you are allowed to make a bowl of longevity noodles!
It's just a bowl of longevity noodles!
Why? Because there is no money in the palace!
Daoguang only gave the palace 200,000 taels of silver a year, and tens of thousands of people spent a year, how could he have the money to squander it?
It is said that Daoguang only changes clothes once a month, and the concubines live even more tightly, and they dare not even use cosmetics!
But such a frugal emperor, because of the import of opium from abroad, led to the outflow of silver, and the country suffered a serious deficit!
Opium addicts
In 1938, the Qing government's annual tax revenue was 40 million taels of silver, and the import of opium cost 15 million taels!
Lin Zexu couldn't read it anymore and wrote to Daoguang directly:
If you leak it, it will mean that after a few decades, there will be few soldiers in the Central Plains who can resist the enemy, and there will be no silver that can be fed!
In a word, you are no longer smoking, and Daqing is going to play eggs!
DaoGuang finally couldn't sit still and hurriedly summoned Lin Zexu.
A fire burned off opium and brought shame
Daoguang called Lin Zexu to him:
The foreigners in Guangdong are the most rampant, and now send you to silence, do you have the confidence to complete a good task?
"Yes! Yes! Yes! ”
Lin Zexu's answer resounded through the clouds, and also heralded the beginning of a thrilling moment!
Lin Zexu, who is resolutely non-smoking
Although it is said that he has to deal directly with foreigners, Lin Zexu at this time also knows nothing about foreigners!
Because foreigners never kneel when they see the Chinese emperor, everyone thinks that foreigners' legs can't bend and can't squat down, that is to say, everyone thinks that as long as you knock the foreigner down, he can't stand up, you can beat him at will!
With this understanding, Lin Zexu arrived in Guangdong with confidence.
The moment he saw the foreigner, he was dumbfounded!
Foreigners are not only tall and agile, but also have strong ships and cannons, as well as advanced technology!
Therefore, Lin Zexu began to use the art of war to fight against foreigners, and he had to know himself and know the other!
He hired a large number of people who knew foreign languages, began to collect news newspapers, and translated them into the "Huashi Yiyan"; at the same time, he also collected geographical information about the West and compiled the "Chronicle of Four Continents".
Feeling that he had a certain understanding of foreigners, Lin Zexu began to act!
Lin Zexu Humen sold cigarettes
Not only did he burn the opium, but he also said forcefully to the British:
If you are willing to do business, do it well, and if you don't do it well, we will not play with you
The reason why Lin Zexu can say this sentence is because he thinks that we can be self-sufficient, while foreigners can't, without our tea leaves and rhubarb, they will have indigestion when they eat too much meat, and they will not be able to go to the toilet and be choked to death!
But the British don't think so, you don't give me business, then I will send cannons to talk to you!
In October 1839, The British sent a fleet to China.
Qi Shan, who was doing things according to the holy will, turned around and was said to be a traitor and dismissed from his post to investigate
At 2:30 p.m. on July 5, 1840, the British attacked Dinghai, and it took only nine minutes for the Qing warships and shore guns parked in the harbor to cease to exist.
Britain's strong guns
Lin Zexu panicked and quickly wrote a letter to Daoguang:
We can't be soft, we must be tough to the end, and they are ready to go from Tianjin to Beijing to find you reason, and we must be prepared for war in Tianjin!
But Daoguang was still dreaming of the Heavenly Kingdom, how could he possibly understand it?
In August, the British fleet arrived in Tianjin, and when Daoguang heard about it, he directly instructed the governor of Zhili, Qi Shan:
If any British come to Tianjin to request trade, tell them to go to Guangdong to handle it, and if they do not obey, they will directly suppress it in situ.
Take a look, everyone has hit the door of the house, and this side still thinks that people have come to beg him, they want to do business with him and let him be gracious!
Qi Shan was the same, he always thought that the British were anti-thieves, completely unaware that this was a war between two countries, he had always wanted to quell the rebellion, promote the ranks and get rich!
Qi Shan, the first diplomat of the Qing Dynasty
But when he arrived at the Dagukou Fort, he took a look: My obedience, so many ships, so many cannons, not only we can't break it, they are also so accurate, so that we have no strength to fight back.
Seeing that the British were so terrible, Qi Shan was timid before he fought, and he hurriedly wrote to Daoguang to persuade Daoguang to compromise:
Give some benefits and don't fight anymore.
Before receiving QiShan's report, Daoguang changed his mind because he received a letter from British Prime Minister Palmerston:
Because the official constitution disturbed the people living in China in his own country, it was the official constitution that desecrated the prestige of the Great Britain, and it was the Great British Lord who dispatched the Water Route Army Division to the Chinese sea to seek revenge on Emperor Zhaoxue!
Maybe the translator didn't dare to translate correctly, or maybe Daoguang only heard a word "please", which he understood as britain's desire for the Qing Empire to appease their wounded hearts!
Therefore, Daoguang gave Qi Shan another command:
Investigate the wrongful convictions of the British and convince them
And then, Lin Zexu was questioned!
"Manchu traitor" Qi Shan
At this time, the British, having achieved a certain goal, stayed on the sea in Tianjin for too long, and seeing that the sky was also cold, they told Qi Shan:
You give us some money, and when we're done, we'll go back!"
Hearing Qi Shan here, he didn't sleep one night in excitement: he couldn't fight and fight, he couldn't catch up and drive away, and now they finally had to leave on their own!
So, Qi Shan told them:
Go back to Guangzhou, and we will certainly send Minister Chincha to deal with it
The British were also stupid, understanding this sentence to mean that the Qing court would compensate for tobacco money, and went back happily.
Here, Qi Shan was still constantly persuading Daoguang to compromise and agree to the British.
And Daoguang also returned to God: How can I compromise with the border people when I am in heaven and heaven? Qi Shan must have received the benefits!
As a result, Qi Shan was also dismissed from his post and investigated!
In the face of aggressive British warships, where should Daoguang go?
Comparison of Qing-British warships
Chinese was woken up, but still did not wake up
Lin Zexu, who was the main warrior, was questioned, and Qi Shan, who was the main warrior, was also dismissed from his post and investigated, and the main battle was fought for a while, and the Daoguang of the main war was signed in desperation.
Regarding the details of the Opium War, everyone is relatively clear, and I will not repeat it too much here.
The significance of this war to China is needless to say, and most historians see it as the starting point of China's modernization.
However, when we look at the war now, the British's strong ships and cannons only woke up the Qing court at that time, and it was difficult for them to really understand what happened.
Even after signing an unequal treaty, the Celestial Dynasty still didn't understand what this meant to it!
Although they felt very humiliated, it was only the first time that the Heavenly Dynasty had actually lost money to the barbarians!
Qi Shan is negotiating with foreigners
However, to say that the awakening is still far from being realized, because no one in the Manchu Dynasty has proposed to go to the West to study, to learn from other people's systems, and to learn other people's technologies.
If he said that Guang was worried, he was also worried that he was being bullied by foreigners, and would the subjects look down on themselves?
But Dao Guang thought too much, and the subjects did not care who bullied whom, because in their view, foreigners were only for the sake of rebellion and emperor, but who became emperor, what does it have to do with themselves?
Whoever becomes the emperor is a poor ghost himself!
Foreigners come to get their own things, and they will also pay money, while the soldiers of the Qing court will only rob and will not give a penny!
In this way, the Qing court is not as good as the foreigners!
The Heavenly Dynasty was awakened by the cannon of the Jianchuan, but it was still confused, and it was still far from true awakening!