"How old is your queen this year?" asked Emperor Daoguang disdainfully.
"I'm just twenty-three years old this year. ”
After Emperor Daoguang finished asking this question, he asked three more questions in succession. These three problems doomed the final tragedy of the Qing Dynasty!
So what ignorant questions did Emperor Daoguang ask at that time?
Arrogant and ignorant grandchildren
The captive was from England and was said to have been captured from Canton.
As soon as he heard that he was a British prisoner, Emperor Daoguang was immediately interested, so he decided to personally try this gringo.
Then, Emperor Daoguang's first very ignorant question came.
"Where are you in England now?"
The emperor of the Qing Dynasty didn't even know where Britain was, in fact, not only he didn't know, but even those ministers didn't know.
To put it simply, Emperor Daoguang didn't understand it, so he asked people to bring a map, and then the captives drew the British territory.
After the captive finished painting, Emperor Daoguang smiled disdainfully.
In Emperor Daoguang's view, Britain was not equivalent to his neighbor Japan! They were all small countries, not as big as a province of their own Qing Dynasty, and they were still island countries.
In addition, Emperor Daoguang also felt that the people of his own country could drown that island country with a single spittle, so why was he afraid?
To say that the two "smart" emperors of the Qing Dynasty can be said to be "there was Qianlong in the front and Daoguang in the back"!
Although Qianlong can be regarded as a generation of Ming Jun, he is quite ignorant like his grandson Daoguang. However, Qianlong is a little stronger than Daoguang, at least he knew where Britain was at that time, it was really not as good as a generation!
During the Qianlong period, there was an Englishman named Macartney, who was ordered by the British king to lead a delegation to congratulate Emperor Qianlong on his birthday.
On the surface, it was a birthday celebration, but in fact, Britain was to open the trade entrance of the Qing Dynasty, even if it was to open a few treaty ports for them.
The gringos came to congratulate him on his birthday, and Qianlong was naturally very happy, after all, this reputation went to foreign countries, but then an incident happened that made Qianlong very dissatisfied.
Because of the cultural differences between the East and the West, the officials said that they had to kneel down after seeing Emperor Qianlong, but Macartney firmly disagreed, because in their opinion, this kind of behavior was too humiliating and lost his gentlemanly demeanor.
Unexpectedly, when Qianlong learned of this, he was directly furious: "If you don't kneel, then I will personally invite you out." ”
For this mission, the King of England had been preparing for several months. It took them about a month to arrive at Macartney, and they certainly didn't want to go back in vain.
So in order not to be blasted out, Macartney had to agree to kneel.
Later, although Macartney and the others successfully met Qianlong, they were affected by the previous incident, and Qianlong's attitude was very arrogant, so when Macartney proposed to trade by sea, Qianlong directly refused angrily.
When meeting Qianlong this time, Macartney also specially presented the gifts they had prepared in advance. Many of the gifts were personally selected by the King of England, such as the most advanced model of a warship in Britain at the time.
This battleship was very advanced in the world at that time, and it was much stronger than the broken wooden ships of the Qing Dynasty, but Qianlong didn't use it to look at it with a straight eye.
The hidden dangers buried by Qianlong
If Qianlong had noticed this advanced warship, with his ingenuity, he would have been aware of the gap between the Qing Dynasty and the British.
Of course, even if he realized it, it was impossible for Qianlong to open the treaty port, and even send people to England to study, because he was a complete feudal man.
How powerful Qianlong was at that time, what "the Celestial Empire is rich in products......". In his opinion, he is the man who stands at the top of the world, so how can he bend down and learn from others with an open mind.
And closing the country is not only a policy, but also an ancestral training for Qianlong, how dare people disobey their ancestors if they are so well-behaved and obedient?
Therefore, the feudal society is really too harmful, and the good qualities of the Chinese nation, such as modesty and courtesy, have all been abandoned by the Qing Dynasty.
After the meeting this time, Qianlong also specially asked people to take Macartney south for a turn, and by the way, let him see the powerful national strength of the Qing Dynasty and the magnificent scenery of mountains and rivers, but he never thought that Qianlong would become a clown.
When Macartney went south, Qianlong specially asked the children of the Eight Banners to give him a good performance, but he didn't expect that this would not enter Macartney's eyes at all.
In Macartney's view, the Qing army was nothing more than a fist embroidered leg, and their weapons were tattered and did not look advanced at all.
In addition, Macartney was not attracted by the beautiful scenery, and he was deeply moved by the starving and cold people in front of him.
In their eyes, such a powerful empire is actually starving everywhere. It is not difficult to see from this that the Qing Empire is only a foreign power.
Macartney recorded what he saw and heard along the way, and wanted the King of England to know about it.
Although the Qing Dynasty had begun to gradually decline, it was still more than enough to fight against Britain at that time, after all, Britain at that time had not yet completed the first industrial revolution and was still in the stage of rapid development.
Although this mission to the Qing Dynasty did not open up trade between the two sides, it succeeded in making the British realize the essence of the Qing Dynasty and laid a hidden danger for the future.
Since Qianlong, the emperors of the Qing Dynasty are really inferior to one, and Qianlong's grandson Daoguang has become the first emperor to witness the new era.
Daoguang did not inherit Qianlong's advantages, but inherited a lot of disadvantages, such as arrogance and arrogance, and no one in his eyes.
If you want to say that you have crazy capital, it's okay, but Daoguang really doesn't have it at all!
Take the British prisoner in front of him as an example, if Qianlong had been, he would have been executed a long time ago, but Daoguang reluctantly asked him several questions one after another.
After learning where Britain was, Daoguang continued to ask, "Who is the king of your country now?"
"Queen Victoria. After hearing this, Daoguang was disdainful again: "What is there to be afraid of a woman." ”
Influenced by the ideas of feudal society, he naturally does not take the queen in his eyes.
However, Daoguang was still a little cautious, so he then asked, "How old is your queen this year?"
Three questions are present
"I'm exactly twenty-three years old this year. After hearing this, Daoguang was disdainful again: "It's so small!"
After asking this question, Daoguang asked very curiously, "Then when did she come to the throne?"
"Eighteen years old. ”
Although Daoguang was very disdainful of the previous few times, at least it couldn't be seen on the surface.
This time, Daoguang really couldn't hold back: "It's only eighteen years old, hahaha......" Those ministers didn't know what the emperor was laughing at, so they also laughed together.
The Manchu civil and military forces were actually laughing at the age of the Queen of England, which is really rare.
Why did the light laugh out loud this time? Naturally, he looked down on the Queen of England from the bottom of his heart.
In Daoguang's opinion, he is in his thirties this year, and some things are not sure to depend on the minister, how powerful can the Queen of England be a weak woman in her twenties?
Of course, to be on the safe side, Daoguang continued to ask, "How much power does your queen have now?"
"She can do what she does. ”
Daoguang didn't laugh this time, because he felt that this queen still had two hits, so he couldn't help but feel a little more awe in his heart, to put it bluntly, he was a little cowardly.
Because Daoguang is a big man, he can't do the order and ban it when he is in his thirties, so he admires Queen Victoria a little. How can the frog at the bottom of the well understand how vast the world is outside?
So after this question was asked, Daoguang didn't dare to kill this captive. He was afraid that giving this captive to death would make the British angry and send troops.
Since the hard one can't do it, the soft one has to come, so Daoguang asked again: "Is your queen married? If she does, will her husband be good to her?"
After hearing this, the captive smiled and said, "Thank you, the queen of our family is already married, and the relationship between the two has been very good since marriage. ”
After hearing this, Daoguang had no choice but to nod silently, why did he ask this? Because he thought of harmony, he could fight with a strong enemy.
But people are already married, so it is impossible to get married.
From the questions asked by Daoguang, it is not difficult to see that the Qing Dynasty at that time was really no longer good.
Although the Qing Dynasty looks very prosperous on the surface, Daoguang knows very well that his treasury is almost beyond his means. There are more and more invisible problems in the country, and the whole country has gradually died.
If the country is really rich and strong, not only will the captives be killed directly, but even if Daoguang knows how powerful the Queen of England is, he will not be afraid of her at all, because there is capital!
After understanding the strength of the Queen of England, Daoguang directly waved his hand and released all the captured British prisoners.
On the surface, it seems that Daoguang is generous, but in fact, he is afraid of causing extraneous branches and causing the dissatisfaction of the Queen of England.
Daoguang thought that he would succeed in dodging this time, but he didn't expect that he should have come.
Dissatisfied with the destruction of a large amount of opium, the Queen of England personally ordered a fleet expedition to the Qing Dynasty, and the First Opium War broke out.
The war ended in the defeat of the Qing Dynasty, and the two sides signed the Treaty of Nanjing, which was an unequal treaty.
At that time, the British said that they would cede Hong Kong Island to them, and the Qing officials were full of questions on their faces: "Where is Hong Kong Island?" and then the British pointed out the location.
As an official of the Qing Dynasty, he didn't even know the land of his own country, and this seclusion was also very harmful!
After seeing the large area of sesame seeds on Hong Kong Island, the Qing Dynasty officials thought that they didn't want to agree directly.
The emperor is ignorant, and the courtiers don't know anything. They are still complacent about the loss of that little place, which is really speechless.
With such emperors and courtiers, the Qing Dynasty deserves to perish!