At the beginning of the founding of the Qing Dynasty, because several emperors were talented, the country governed by the Qing Dynasty was rich and the people were strong, and the prosperous era of Kangqian was created. At that time, the Qing Dynasty was ahead of other countries in the world, but by the eighteenth century, the Western countries had begun the Industrial Revolution. Driven by industry, the social and economic development has been accelerated, and the economy has driven the development of the country, thus leading the world.
While the Western countries were engaged in great industry, the Qing government was still immersed in a period of self-feeling, while the Western countries were nothing more than barbarian countries. It was precisely because of this loneliness that the Qing Dynasty government at that time gradually lagged behind and was overtaken by Western countries. Especially during the Daoguang period, when the British were bullied home, he was still dreaming of turning the Queen of England into his own woman.
1. The Daoguang Emperor
Born in 1782, the Daoguang Emperor was a pure-blooded emperor and the only emperor of the Qing Dynasty to succeed him by the eldest son. As a child, he was deeply loved by his father, and in 1799 he was secretly made crown prince, and after being written as a holy will by the emperor himself, he hid it behind a bright plaque, which was also to avoid the princes from hurting each other for the throne.
In 1820, the emperor came to Rehe, and Daoguang followed him, by this time the father was seriously ill. The courtiers said at the emperor's sickbed that it was time to take down the secret decree hidden behind the plaque of light. Therefore, important courtiers such as the Military Aircraft Minister and the Ministry of Internal Affairs took down the Holy Will, and according to the secret will, Daoguang succeeded to the throne and became the eighth emperor of the Qing Dynasty.
Second, Daoguang is the government
The Daoguang Emperor was a very frugal of the many emperors of the Qing Dynasty, and it can be said that his frugality is not at all in line with the identity of the emperor, and it can even be said that he is very stingy. The Daoguang Emperor's personality was very conservative, so he did not have any outstanding political achievements during his reign, because he had to be careful, and he was too entangled in handling the affairs of the country, thus missing out on good opportunities.
Successive emperors have liked beauty, but the Daoguang Emperor was an emperor who was far away from female color, and his life was diligent and earnest, spending a lot of time every day dealing with major state affairs. He revised the salt law, broke the monopoly of salt by officials, lowered the price of salt, and increased salt taxes. He also allowed the people to open mines to increase their income, and indeed he was an emperor who considered the people.
3. The Opium War
The main reason for the outbreak of the Opium War was that the British wanted to occupy The raw materials and markets in China, so they launched a war under the pretext of Lin Zexu's sale of cigarettes in Humen. In 1839, the Qing Dynasty asked Lin Zexu to destroy a large amount of opium at Humen. In order to corrupt our people, let them smoke opium, and turn them all into the sick men of East Asia, so that the country will perish.
Lin Zexu's Humen tobacco sales did resist the opium epidemic in China, but this behavior touched the interests of the British, so they used this as an excuse to launch the Opium War. The Daoguang Emperor at that time also agreed to resist, but ultimately failed. After all, Britain's equipment and weapons are much more advanced, and although our soldiers resisted, they could not defeat the British army in the end.
4. Signing of treaties of humiliation
A large part of the reason for the defeat this time was the light enemy of the imperial court. The Daoguang Emperor thought that the British army was no big deal, but when he saw the British fleet arrive in Tianjin, he did not know the seriousness of the situation. In the end, he immediately went from the main war faction to the peace talk faction, listened to the rumors of the courtiers, and removed Lin Zexu from his post. Let the negotiators face the British in a compromised manner, and do not allow the reparations to be cut off.
How could the British agree to Daoguang's conditions, their original intention was to occupy China and make China a colony. The British attitude was very tough, but Daoguang wavered left and right and missed the opportunity, and finally the British warships drove until the Nanjing Xiaguan, and the Daoguang Emperor realized that he was a light enemy. At this point, China signed the first treaty of humiliation, which reduced China to a semi-colonial country.
Fifth, delusions of marrying the Queen of England
When the British launched a war of aggression against China under the pretext of selling cigarettes at Humen, the Daoguang Emperor was still self-righteous. He believed that the British were wronged at Humen, and he reassured the British that there was something for them. The invaders saw such a naïve emperor as if they had seen that China had become their paradise.
The Daoguang Emperor didn't even know where Britain was, let alone the country and strength of Britain. But he was interested in Queen Victoria of England, and when he heard that the Queen was 20 years old and beautiful, he even had the idea of making Victoria his concubine, so that the two countries could coexist peacefully.
The idea of the Daoguang Emperor makes some sense if it is placed within our country, but in the face of British aggression, such an idea is inevitably ironic. How could a naïve, politically minded emperor manage the affairs of the state, perhaps he was a diligent emperor who loved the people, but he was not a man with the ability to be a king.
When the British warship arrived at our port, he blindly resisted passively, dreaming of solving the problem through peace talks. The excessive light enemy was the cause of the defeat of the Opium War, and his miscalculation and command reduced China to a semi-colonial power. The Daoguang Emperor was the first emperor in China to sign an unequal treaty, and it was he who began China's history of humiliation.