In 1839, Lin Zexu was ordered to go to Guangzhou to ban smoking, he hated the British opium that mutilated the bodies of the Chinese people and broke the will of the Chinese people, he had long seen the great harm of the opium trade, so when the Daoguang Emperor ordered him to go to Guangzhou to ban smoking, he did not hesitate for half a minute.
But to his surprise, his actions would make the British so angry that they summoned a large army to shell the port of Guangzhou. The military and civilians in Guangzhou stubbornly resisted, and Lin Zexu's meticulous deployment did not let the British army take advantage, so the British army adjusted the direction and went all the way north along the coast, and the gun port pointed directly at the Beijing Division. It didn't take long for the British fleet to capture Dinghai and reach Dagukou in Tianjin, where Beijing was in jeopardy.
The Daoguang Emperor was scared half to death, he had thought that Sending Lin Zexu to Humen gun smoke could establish the prestige of the Great Qing Dynasty and destroy the prestige of the foreigners, but he did not expect that now it was self-defeating, and he almost lost his life. In order to calm the anger of the British, the Daoguang Emperor hurriedly sent his minister Qi Shan to the south to negotiate peace, he specifically pointed out that he was willing to reopen trade routes with the British, and said that he would severely punish the "culprit" who triggered the war, Lin Zexu. Poor Lin Wenzhonggong, single-mindedly serving the country and the people, thus became an innocent scapegoat.
In September 1840, Lin Zexu was stripped of the title of Minister of Sipin for "poor handling of affairs" and "abolishing military affairs", and was sent to Ili together with Deng Tingzhen. Although Lin Zexu was full of grievances in his heart, he never complained halfway, and after receiving the will to demote and distribute, he immediately left for Xinjiang. In him, we can see the loyalty of traditional Chinese scholars, although he knows that the monarch's decision-making is not necessarily correct, but the long-term influence of the idea of "the king is a subject" makes them never think of rebelling.
In July 1841, Lin Zexu set out from Zhenhai and arrived in Hangzhou shortly thereafter. He had planned to get up from Hangzhou, reach Xi'an via Jiangsu and Henan, and then travel all the way west to Yili. Unexpectedly, at this time, there was a flood disaster, the East River estuary broke the embankment, and Lin Zexu, who was obsessed with remembering the people, risked being killed and went to the Six Forts of Xiangfu in the East River to treat the water for the people, day and night, very hard. After the completion of the Xiangfu project, the local official Wang Ding, moved by Lin Zexu's behavior, wrote to the Daoguang Emperor, who had already made meritorious deeds and hoped that he would stay in the southeast region to continue to serve.
However, Lin Zexu refused Wang Ding's kindness, and he still went to Ili according to his original will. This time to Ili, the road is far away, the boat and car are tired, and it has been more than two years since Lin Zexu arrived at the destination. The bumps in the road were known only to him and his two sons.
While passing through Xi'an, Lin Zexu was unfortunate to contract malaria and almost died. Fortunately, after more than two months of treatment, Lin Zexu was able to recover. However, during his illness, he still cared about the country and reflected on the failures of the Qing Dynasty in the Opium War, and he pointed out in his letter to the Daoguang Emperor that "strong troops, strong armies, and strong weapons" were the top priorities for defending the country and driving out foreigners. It was in this reflection that he deeply realized the gap between the Qing Dynasty and foreign countries, and for the first time put forward the thesis of "opening his eyes to see the world", which had a profound impact on future generations.
After Lin Zexu arrived in Yili, he was already more than sixty years old, and his body was already very weak after the bumps and fatigues along the way, so Lin Zexu had been recuperating in his apartment in the early stage. Hearing the news of Deng Tingzhen's "release of the ring", Lin Zexu was also full of hope, thinking that he would be pardoned soon, but he did not expect that the prejudice against Lin Zexu in the heart of the Daoguang Emperor was still there. Deng Tingzhen once interceded for Lin Zexu, and the Daoguang Emperor said euphemistically: "It was just the wrong person who was used back then." As soon as this remark came out, Lin Zexu knew that he was still far from returning to his hometown.
The family once thought of donating silver for Lin Zexu to ask for redemption, but Lin Zexu refused, saying: "Whether I am guilty or not is up to the emperor to decide, when I can return it, it also depends on the emperor's meaning." Now that the Emperor has no intention of pardoning me, why bother him again? Instead of this, it is better to do my part, and when the emperor figures it out, it is not too late for me to go back. ”
Since then, Lin Zexu has concentrated on the construction of Ili. In the case of illness, Lin Zexu himself funded the construction of the Longkou Water Canal, and after four months of labor, the Longkou Water Canal was finally opened, and the reclamation work in the Aziwusu area was remarkable.
In January 1845, Lin Zexu received a holy order to go to the Zhou Calendar to investigate. For an elderly man, working in Xinjiang is already a very difficult thing, and it is even more difficult to travel a long way to southern Xinjiang to survey the wilderness. But Lin Zexu did not retreat, nor did he bargain with the emperor, when Buyantai asked, "Do you want to go to a distant place, or are you willing to stay in a near place?" Lin Zexu was determined: "I am willing to go far." Although this sentence is simple, it is not easy to do.
After that, Lin Zexu began a journey of reclamation in southern Xinjiang. In the course of this survey, Lin Zexu traveled around eighteen cities in Xinjiang, and everywhere he went, he would dredge water sources, open ditches, and teach Hui people how to cultivate. According to statistics, through Lin Zexu's efforts, the area of Tuntian in the southern Xinjiang region reached more than 37,000 hectares. On more than 600,000 mu of wasteland in southern Xinjiang, there has been a scene of fertile fields and cooking smoke, and countless people in the Tianshan Mountains are no longer trapped by famine.
When Lin Zexu was inspecting hami's land, tens of thousands of local soldiers and civilians knelt outside Lin Zexu's account and asked for help him measure the land. It turned out that Lin Zexu had announced that once the land was cleared, these places could cultivate them, which solved their livelihood problems and made them no longer have to worry about food. Lin Zexu is very clever, and this policy can not only stabilize people's hearts, but also effectively eliminate the stereotypes of Han Chinese in the hearts of locals, which is conducive to promoting ethnic unity in Xinjiang.
In Lin Zexu's view, only when all ethnic groups can live in harmony and live and work in peace and contentment can they play a role in consolidating border defense in a real sense. Lin Zexu was loved by the people of Xinjiang for his government and the country, and even Bu Yantai praised Lin Zexu as a rare talent in front of the emperor, hoping that the emperor could forgive him for his past sins and reuse Lin Zexu again. 、
Finally, in October 1845, Lin Zexu was pardoned, transferred back to Beijing, and on the way back to Beijing, he was appointed governor of Shaanxi and Gansu. From the body of Dai Sin to the governor of the two provinces, Lin Zexu's career finally saw the light again.
After three years of life at the edge of the border, Lin Zexu saw a lot of things, no longer entangled in his own encounters, and no longer asked why it would be himself who became a scapegoat. He once wrote a poem that reads, "Profit from the Society, Death and Life for It," which shows that he knows that what he does is all for the sake of the country and the nation, for the benefit of the country and the people, and sacrificing the ego is far from anything.
In 1849, Lin Zexu was ordered to go to Guangxi to suppress Hong Xiuquan's worship of God, but he contracted an illness in Puning. Before dying, he pointed to the heavens and repeated "Star DouNan" three times before passing away. However, what exactly this phrase "Star Dou Nan" means is still difficult to determine.
After Lin Zexu's death, the Qing government posthumously honored him as the Crown Prince Taifu, buried him as a viceroy, and gave him the title of "Wen Zhong", so the world respected him as "Lin Wen Zhonggong". Throughout Lin Gong's life, it is really admirable!
Text/Genki Girl QMQ
Resources:
1. "Lin Zexu of who is on the Frontier", Wu Xiaoling
2. "A Brief Analysis of Lin Zexu's Journey to the Western Regions", Chen Xiaoyan
3. "How Lin Zexu Treats Being Degraded in His Later Years", Dong Zhongshu
4. The Death of Lin Zexu, Chen Liming