As we all know, due to the official promulgation and strict implementation of the policy of closing the country to the outside world in the Qianlong Dynasty, it was impossible to improve china's economy, culture, and other aspects of exchanges with the outside world, and accelerated the pace of the Decline of the Qing Dynasty. In the late Qing Dynasty, the government was rotten, and the supreme ruler group had no wise masters, and when it was invaded by foreign forces, the supreme ruler of the Qing Dynasty blindly cut off the land and paid compensation in order to preserve his own power, and signed one unequal treaty after another that harmed the interests of the country.
It is often said that "it is difficult for the country to show loyalty", and when the country faces the invasion of the great powers, there are too many cases of martyrdom of the country. Throughout their lives, these courtiers will find it difficult to change the torrent of poverty in the country, the constant encroachment of the great powers, and even more difficult to sway the cold heart of the supreme ruling clique.
▲Restoration of paintings from the Eight-Power Alliance's invasion of China
As descendants of China, they can only use their lives to protect the last dignity of the country, even in the face of advanced and fierce artillery fire from the great powers, they are still the successors of the former servants, preferring to die unyieldingly. It can be said that
▲ Ye Mingchen old photo
At the age of 18, Ye Mingchen was admitted to the Gongsheng Examination, which can be described as a young genius, and such achievements are very rare in history. Whether at home or in the officialdom, the idea of loyalty and patriotism has always been deeply engraved in Ye Mingchen's heart, which also led to his future death.
▲Recent photos of the Xianfeng Emperor Ding Mausoleum
The main reason why Ye Mingchen was able to be promoted so quickly was that he suppressed the rebel army, which was a major stain on his life. In the second year of Xianfeng (1852 AD), Ye Mingchen was promoted to the governor of Liangguang and the minister of trade and commerce. Just three years after Ye Mingchen's promotion,
Unexpectedly, Zhuge Liang's fame plan more than a thousand years ago would be used to resist the tide of foreign forces. Unfortunately, the Anglo-French coalition was not a Cao Wei army led by Sima Yi, and the corrupt Qing Dynasty was completely unsympathetic to them. This was originally a matter of national sovereignty, but the British side was angry about it and demanded a reasonable explanation from Ye Mingchen, who was then the governor of Guangdong.
▲Restoration of British paintings from the Opium War
The outcome of the war was obvious, the Qing army that was preparing backward was defeated, and Ye Mingchen was captured by the British army. Even after being captured, Ye Mingchen maintained Chinese indomitable integrity, so that the British army respected him very much, and there were people who took off their hats to pay tribute to him.
Regarding this history, there has always been a legend that Ye Mingchen was kept in a cage by the British after being captured and visited like a monkey. In fact, this is the British side's smear of the Chinese minister, trying to vilify the image of Ye Mingchen, so as to cause great trouble to the Chinese people. Ye Mingchen spent more than a year in India, but he was imprisoned, and only ate the food he brought with him, and resolutely did not eat food from other countries. In the ninth year of Xianfeng (1859 AD), Ye Mingchen went on a hunger strike and died in India at the age of fifty-two.
Resources:
Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong Chronicle