Guan Tianpei (1781~1841), the character Zhongyin, the number of the Garden. A native of Shanyang (present-day Huai'an), Jiangsu. He was once the deputy general of the Taihu Lake Battalion Marine Division, a famous Chinese anti-British general during the Opium War, and a national hero who was martyred in a heroic martyrdom.
Guan Tianpei was born into a very low-ranking xingwu family, and in the eighth year of Qing Jiaqing (1803), he was admitted to the Wu Xiucai examination and was awarded the title of general (grassroots officer, also known as the Hundred General). Later, he successively served as general, general of thousands, garrison, guerrilla general and other positions. In the sixth year of Qing Daoguang (1826), the Qing government first opened the Cao grain shipping, Guan Tianpei was transferred to the sea transport, and several times escorted more than a thousand grain ships to Tianjin safely, because of the safety and rapid praise, and later promoted to deputy general of the marine division. The following year (1827), he was promoted to the rank of commander-in-chief of Susong Town in Jiangnan. In the spring of 1832, he was appointed (acting) Viceroy of Jiangnan. In 1834, he was transferred to the Admiral of Guangdong Water Division. Due to the development of Industry and the strength of the military at that time, Britain had many colonies in the world. Among them, India was a British colony. The British used the British East India Company for business, and the East India Company slowly became a tool for the British colonists to invade India. The British, who were strong in their own military power, gradually became arrogant and arbitrary in their trade with our country. Warships often rampage and even break into my inland rivers to provoke.
After Guan Tianpei went to Guangdong, he personally surveyed the local terrain, actively straightened out and arranged defense affairs, built forts, cast heavy artillery, and built reefs in suitable places, trained soldiers, and consolidated coastal defense. He personally supervised the casting of eight thousand kilograms of cannons, 40 cannons of six thousand kilograms, and hundreds of cannons below six thousand kilograms, and Guan Tianpei rationally arranged light and heavy cannons and rationally distributed various forts, so as to actively strengthen the strength of defending the sea frontier. At the same time, the training of marine divisions and battery units was stepped up. Guan Tianpei also compiled the experience of building the Humen Fortress and the relevant materials collected into four volumes of the "Preliminary Collection of Preparing for the Sea", with many detailed maps, training maps, tables, etc., which were affirmed by the Qing government. In the eighteenth year of Daoguang (1838), the Englishman Mattalon arrived in Macau, stood tall, threw a letter to Shimizu Shimen, and threatened to inspect business. Guan Tianpei refused on the grounds that the letter did not conform to the qing court's regulations.
In the nineteenth year of Daoguang (1839), the Qing government appointed Lin Zexu, the governor of Huguang, as the minister of Qincha, and went south to Guangzhou to preside over the anti-smoking campaign. Deng Tingzhen, the governor of Liangguang, Yiliang, the inspector of Guangdong, and Guan Tianpei, the admiral of Guangdong, cooperated to issue the Daoguang Emperor's holy decree, seal the tobacco house, arrest the tobacco dealer, and order the execution of the Chinese tobacco dealer Feng Angang. In addition to actively cooperating with Deng Tingzhen, the governor of Liangguang, in cracking down on opium smugglers, Guan Tianpei also resolutely supported Lin Zexu's anti-smoking campaign and dispatched a marine division to be responsible for the important and arduous task of seizing and destroying opium. Guan Tian peile ordered British merchants to ban the opium trade, and those who violated the order were directly confiscated and destroyed. The British were arrogant and used to where to pay attention to the Qing court regulations. Continue to conduct illegal transactions. Guan Tianpei did not eat the British set and seized more than 20,000 boxes of opium from the British cargo ship. On February 11, Lin Zexu made an ultimatum to the British Admiral Sir Charles Yilu, which is the famous "Four Articles of The Instruction to Foreign Merchants to Quickly Hand Over Opium Smoke", and Yilu finally submitted to Lin Zexu on February 14, "Yilu Obeying the Decree to Submit a Single Payment of Cigarettes 20283 Boxes"; agreed to pay all the opium. On April 22, Lin Zexu sold cigarettes at Humen. "Selling cigarettes in Humen" is an important historical example of opposing imperialism in China's modern history, and it is also an unprecedented feat in human history, which has become a historical symbol of the Chinese people's resistance to foreign aggression.
In June of the nineteenth year of Daoguang (1839), the Lin Wai Hee case occurred in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. The British sailors drunkenly made trouble in the village and killed the villager Lin Weixi, Lin Zexu asked the British commercial director Yi Lu to hand over the murderer, but Yi Lu himself sentenced himself lightly. In the winter of the same year, Lin Zexu, according to the will of the Daoguang Emperor, announced the official closure of the port and the permanent severance of trade with britain. At this moment, the British fried the pot, and the captain of the British "Wola Doubt" announced that from January 15 (1840), the Port of Guangzhou and the mouth of the Pearl River would be blockaded. On 16 January, Queen Victoria addressed Parliament that she was "paying close attention to the interests of the British in China and the dignity of the country". In February, the British government appointed Yi Lu as the commander-in-chief of the British army and Admiral Yi Lu as the british full and deputy plenipotentiary representative, and decided to take "military action" against the Qing Dynasty.
In July, a British warship suddenly attacked the Kowloon Pass and was repulsed by The General of guan Tian Pei's staff, Lord Lai En. Unwilling to accept defeat, in September, two British warships invaded the Nose-piercing Ocean (the sea surface between the present-day Sand District of Guangzhou and Dongguan and Shenzhen), preventing the merchant fleet from entering and leaving, and provoking them. Guan Tianpei personally led the admiralty to supervise the battle, and the British warships had a large tonnage and fierce firepower. The Qing warships were small in tonnage and weak in firepower, and the British certainly did not pay attention to the Chinese. Guan Tianpei stood in front of the mast, drew his sword to supervise the battle, and if he retreated and was afraid of death, he would not be spared. For those who hit an enemy ship, a heavy reward is given immediately. The Qing army approached the British ship, shooting at multiple points, and the British ship saw more points of siege, could not resist the enemy, turned the bow of the ship and fled.
The British ships were long anchored in Tsim Sha Tsui (present-day Yau Tsim Mong District, Kowloon) and became nests. Kwan Tian Pei knew that there was a mountain beam called Guan Chung on the north side of Tsim Sha Tsui. Guan Tianpei set up artillery positions on the mountain beams, which could overlook and attack the British garrison. The British army suffered a loss, so they sent troops to attack the Guanchong position, they forcibly attacked under the cover of artillery ships, repeatedly fighting, and the Qing warships did not dare to reinforce nearby. Guan Tianpei asked the soldiers to hide in the middle of the mountain while the artillery cover was covered, and when the artillery stopped, they crushed the British attacking troops. The Small Boats of the Qing Army took the opportunity to dock and sent reinforcements, supplies and armaments up. Unwilling to accept defeat, the British army used small boats to transport troops around pepper point to spy on the attack, and was repelled by the joint efforts of Chen Liansheng, Lai Enjue, Zhang Bin, Wu Tongbiao, and Delian Five-Way Marine Division of Guan Tianpei's department.
The British army in Tsim Sha Tsui could not withstand multiple fire attacks, and took advantage of the hasty retreat at night, and the Guan Tianpei Fifth Road Marine Division, supported by guanchong artillery fire, surrounded the British ships, after all, the British ships were fierce, and the Qing army did not dare to approach. The next day, at dawn, only a dozen british ships remained and moved elsewhere, while the rest were damaged in the harbor. During the transfer, the British ships were injured several times by Guan Tianpei, and the British flagship was destroyed. When the news reached Beijing, Daoguang issued an edict rewarding guangdong sailors and giving Guan Tianpei the title of "Fafu Ling Abaturu" (meaning a warrior who recovered the frontier).
At this time, in China's coastal areas, except for Guangdong's active defenses at Lin Zexu and Guan Tianpei, the rest of the coastal areas were lax in their defenses and vulnerable. In August, the British warship attacked the city at an astonishing speed and reached the outside of The Dagu Pass in Tianjin. Seeing the British ships approaching, the Qing court was frightened. The Daoguang Emperor, who had originally advocated war, was intimidated by the military might and began to waver. In the spring of the twentieth year of Daoguang (1840), Lin Zexu was deposed, Deng Tingzhen was dismissed from his post, and Qi Shan was transferred to his post, allowing the British to trade. That is, indirectly allowing the British to trade in opium.
Qi Shan was the representative figure of the lord and faction during the "Opium War", and after taking office, he blindly focused on appeasement, first ordering Guan Tianpei to withdraw the defensive facilities and idle the forts. The demobilized and recruited sailors retain only one-third of the original water division. The British took the opportunity to put forward more demanding demands, the negotiations between the two sides were fruitless, and the British Deputy Plenipotentiary, Yi Lu, lost patience and decided to negotiate after the war. On January 7, 1841, the British army suddenly captured the Dajiao and Shajiao forts in Humen, killing and wounding more than 700 Qing defenders, and Chen Liansheng, the deputy general of the Qingshui Division, was killed. The Dajiao and Shajiao forts were occupied, and Humen was in danger. Viceroy Guan Tianpei and commander-in-chief Li Tingyu guarded the two forts of Jingyun and Weiyuan. Guan Tianpei asked Qi Shan for help, and Qi Shan saw that the British army was "strong and strong", and only gave Guan and Li two hundred soldiers to do the matter. Qi Shanhou privately signed the "Treaty of Nose-piercing Grass" with Yi Lu, ceding Hong Kong with a compensation of 6 million yuan.
On the sixth day of February in the 21st year of Daoguang (1841), the British army gathered 10 warships and 3 steamboats, accompanied by landing troops, and violently attacked the Jingyuan Battery where Tianpei was located, and launched a general attack on the Humen Fortress. Guan Tianpei, with only 400 men, hurriedly asked for help from the nearby Qing army, which did not have a single reinforcement under qishan's intervention. Guan Tianpei expected that he was outnumbered, had no reinforcements outside, and lacked soldiers inside. Guan Tianpei distributed his money to the soldiers as a salary, and the two sides fought from noon to late at night, and the battle was extremely fierce. Guan Tianpei, who was more than sixty years old, was wounded in more than ten places and personally returned fire. Who knew that the artillery cooled the gun door was permeable and could not fire shells. Seeing the British approaching, in order not to let the Admiral Great Seal fall into the hands of the enemy, Guan Tianpei ordered his family (servant) Sun Changqing to hand over the Admiral Great Seal to the Viceroy for disposal. Sun Changqing suspended the cliff with a rope, handed over the Great Seal to the steward of the Governor's Palace, and returned to his position himself.
Guan Tianpei was hit in many places by gunshots and wounds all over his body, but still standing in front of the battle, he personally fired cannons and shouted to kill the enemy. A British artillery shell flew in, unfortunately exploded next to Guan Tianpei, Guan Tianpei was desperate, and Tingzhang was killed with him. The more than 400 soldiers guarding the fort were all martyred. When Guan Tianpei died in the line of duty, his eyes were closed and he stood upright. When the British army saw that "Guan Tianpei stood up like a life, and was terrified and servant", they were all stunned. When Sun Changqing returned to the fort, the smoke had not yet dissipated. He forcefully carried out Guan Tianpei, whose body was charred on half, and buried Guan Tianpei in his hometown of Nanyao Jiu Village, Dongxiang, Huai'an City. Fortunately, the Qing court did not forget his merits, and posthumously awarded Guan Tianpei the title of knight lieutenant, with the nickname "Zhongjie". When Guan Tianpei's old mother was still alive, the imperial court ordered the huai'an magistrate to distribute money and grain regularly to feed him.
Lin Zexu lamented: "Six years of solid gold soup, ask who suddenly damaged the Great Wall, desperately bet on the empty teachings; shuangzhong and kan (lǎn), smell the strange and qin wei festival, return to the soul of the hometown as if they were alive." Qing Punishment Department Member Wailang Chen Kangqi sighed: "Woohoo! In the change of Geng and Xin Haihai, among the courtiers, only Lin Wenzhong was the only one, and the second was Yujing Jie'er. Nai Yi was a pro-vassal, and Linrong lost his courage, and thoroughly guarded against the enemy, but feared that he would lose his joy, so that the poor island of the people who were fishy and fishy ran rampant, and chose profit and food." Speaking of the "Opium War," the "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty" said: "When the war broke out in haijiang, it was not only because of weapons, but also because of the enemy's situation, and it was also imperceptible to the uncertainty of the war, and those who feared the war were defeated, and those who were loyal and brave were also defeated. The courtiers of the SpecialTycian (kǔn Qing Dynasty Zhengsi Pin Military Officer Dusi), forgetting to martyr the country, did not return to righteousness, and each sought the peace of his heart. Whoops, Blah Blah"!