Chapter 23 Sanding Sea Tucheng

Pu Dingcha ate Xiamen cleanly, but had to spit it out. The original intention of the British army to attack Xiamen was to use military means to attack the Qing government, but to occupy it for a long time, it had to occupy a considerable part of the total force, which was not much. Moreover, Palmerston’s instruction clearly stated that what he wanted was Zhoushan, Instead of Xiamen. However, Pu Dingcha was unwilling to completely spit out this piece of meat that had already swallowed his throat. Therefore, he chose Gulangyu Island, which is located in the southwest of Xiamen Island, which is relatively small and easy to defend. He left 3 warships and 550 soldiers stationed there. The main force withdrew from Xiamen on September 5, 1841, and went north to Zhejiang.

At this time, the opponent standing in front of him was Yuqian, the imperial envoy in charge of Zhejiang's military affairs and the governor of Liangjiang. After Lin Zexu resigned, Yuqian became the person with the highest hopes of a group of officials and gentlemen who advocated "suppressing the barbarians", and he can be called "Lin Zexu's second". Yuqian, formerly known as Yutai, of the Boluote family, was born in the Mongolian Yellow Banner and was born in a noble family.His great-grandfather, Bandi, was a famous official in the Yong and Qian dynasties, and frequently appeared in general and prime minister. In 1754, General Ren Dingbei went to Junggar, and was promoted from viscount to first-class Chengyong Gong because of his meritorious service. Later, because of the rebellion of Amursana, 500 soldiers were trapped in Ili alone, and they committed suicide after being defeated.His grandfather and father were also officials up to the first and second ranks of the Qing Dynasty.

Different from other well-to-do children of the Eight Banners, Yuqian was educated in the almost completely sinicized sex theory and famous teaching in his family. In 1817, at the age of 24, he became a Jinshi and entered the Hanlin Academy, which brought glory to the Mongolian people. After the disbandment of the museum in 1819, the Ministry of Rites made up for it with the signature of the principal, but it was not until 1823 that the actual shortage was filled. In 1827, he was released to the prefect of Jingzhou, Hubei, and later transferred to the prefect of Wuchang. In 1834, he moved to Jingyi to Shidao, and soon moved to Jiangsu as an inspector.Later, due to Ding You and illness, he took leave of absence for two years. He came back in 1838 and served as the inspector of Jiangsu again. In April of the following year, he moved to the governor of Jiangsu. In January 1840, Chen Luan, the governor of Jiangsu, who was famous for his maturity, died of illness, and he acted as the governor of Jiangsu again.

Unlike other provinces where the governors are in the same city, the governor of Jiangsu is stationed in Suzhou, and there is still a distance from the governor of Liangjiang who is stationed in Jiangning (now Nanjing), and has more freedom and autonomy. In August 1840, the governor of Liangjiang, Iribu, was appointed as the imperial envoy and went to Zhejiang. Yuqian acted as the governor and became the highest military and political officer in Jiangsu. So, he let it go. Therefore, he took over as the imperial envoy and the governor of Liangjiang. It took only two years and one month for Yuqian to jump from being the inspector of the third rank to the governor of the first rank.This newly rising political star was eye-catching and valued in the officialdom at the time.

Judging from Yuqian's resume, we can't find anything that we can pay special attention to today.Although he is still a diligent official, his main experience is at the prefect level, and the procurator and chief envoy have been reduced to subordinate members in the Qing Dynasty, so his outstanding political achievements cannot be seen in historical records.His smooth official career, in addition to the excellent timing (Niu Jian's relocation, Chen Luan's death, and Yilibu's dismissal), is also related to Emperor Daoguang's employment policy. As I mentioned in Chapter 3, Emperor Daoguang was a social pathologist who believed in "conservative therapy" and pursued the curative effect of tonification.He firmly believed that the system left by his ancestors was perfect, and believed that the cause of the society at that time was the negligence of officials.Therefore, he paid special attention to the "virtue" of officials. In terms of employment, especially in times of crisis, he favored relatives of the emperor and children of nobles.He believes that this group of people have received the grace of the country and inherited a lot of "conscience" and "loyalty" in their blood, and they will never allow the country's destiny to decline.In the Opium War, Qishan, Yilibu, Yishan, Yan Botao, and Yuqian who he used successively, as well as Yijing and Qiying who will appear later, all have family backgrounds.Yuqian's frequent promotions seem to be blessed by his great-grandfather Bandi.

However, the reason why Yuqian was so popular was not because of his high position and high position, let alone his noble blood, but because he showed a charming demeanor of uprightness and hatred in this period. After Yilibu arrived in Zhejiang, he hesitated to attack Dinghai by force.Yuqian, the governor of Jiangsu and acting governor of Liangjiang, was inconvenient to take action against his superiors, so he vented his dissatisfaction to Yan Botao who was passing by Jiangsu, and prompted Yan Botao and Liu Yunke to use Lin Zexu's memorial.And his more powerful detours are four special performances: clarifying the necessity of attacking Dinghai by force, explaining the tactics of attacking Dinghai, and showing his certainty of winning the decisive battle.Although none of these memorials directly attacked Yilibu, the loyalty and courage shown in them made Emperor Daoguang's ears warm. On February 10, 1841, Emperor Daoguang appointed him as an imperial envoy to preside over the Zhejiang offensive instead of Yiribu. "And after he arrived in Zhejiang, he impeached Yiribu's family for irregularities with a piece of paper, causing the old chief to go to the lobby of the Ministry of Criminal Justice for trial.

Qishan's "caressing" behavior in Guangdong also filled Yuqian with righteous indignation.Originally, his governor of Jiangsu, the imperial envoy, and the governor of Liangjiang had nothing to do with Guangdong. Even if someone else was dissatisfied, he would not express his opinion unless the Holy Spirit asked him; I don't know how many people cheered at that time.Lin Zexu, who had been convicted and reprimanded, was overjoyed to see it. He transcribed it in his own hand, and circled it densely on the Internet, marking more than half of the total text.In Yuqian's writing, Qi Shan is the number one treacherous minister of the "Heavenly Dynasty", and has committed the three major crimes of "disguised by Zhang Huang", "defamation of prestige", and "violation of power".Humen's defeat was all due to Qi Shan's "disarm".

These generous and inspiring speeches by Yuqian, without leaving the slightest sympathy, not only excited those who advocated the "suppression", but also made some officials who compromised with the "barbarians" afraid.It goes without saying that Yilibu and Qishan have suffered a lot.After Jingni General Yishan reached an armistice agreement with Yilu, he also hurriedly wrote a letter to this stubborn and loyal imperial envoy, expressing all kinds of unavoidable difficulties.He was afraid that Yuqian would release comments that were unfavorable to him, and the tone of the letter was not without the meaning of flattering and begging for forgiveness.

However, Yuqian's above-mentioned remarks are obviously inferior to his later actions.When he took office in Zhejiang, he dealt with everything by extreme means: During the period when the British army occupied Dinghai, four traitors who "passed to the barbarians" were captured. He ordered to beheaded, and hung their heads all over the coastal counties for public display as a warning and awe. In order to retaliate against the atrocities of the British army digging graves in Dinghai, he ordered the graves of the British army to be dug up, and hundreds of corpses were dug out and "killed" before being thrown into the sea.

He hated the history of Dinghai as a treaty port, hated foreign ships coveting Dinghai from time to time, and ordered the remaining "Hongmao Daotou" (dock facilities) and "Yitan Base" to be completely demolished at that time, and all traces should be eliminated. In March 1841, Dinghai civilians captured a British prisoner. Contrary to the previous practice of "wine and meat support" in Iribu, he ordered to be tied out of the camp gate, executed by "Ling Chi", and the head of the owl was shown to the public. And later when the situation was critical, Yuqian's method reached its peak. In September 1841, Zhenhai civilians captured two British captives. He actually turned the poetic language of "a strong man hungry for the meat of the captives" into reality, and ordered a white prisoner to "first connect his thumbs with his arms to his shoulders." The rubber band on the back, peel off one", made it as a horse's bridle for his own mount, and then "showed it to Ling Chi"; also "killed the head and peeled it to show" another black captive.

Judging by today's standards, the means released by Yuqian seemed cruel and venomous, and they did not match his image as a Confucian official who had been admitted to Jinshi and Hanlin Academy, as if he had changed himself.But at that time, the unequal hostility made people's emotions tend to be violent, and the more ruthless the methods, the more they were applauded. Emperor Daoguang also clearly expressed his appreciation and encouragement. However, careful observation will faintly feel that there seems to be another reason why Yuqian went to extremes like this. He is setting up a "backwater formation" by himself.According to the words in the memorial, it is to "let the public know that slaves can suppress no one else", there is no way to retreat, and to cut off the "thoughts of both ends of the first mouse" of the subordinates!This also involves his fellow official, Yu Buyun, who was changed from Fujian land admiral to Zhejiang admiral. I will analyze it in the next section. Due to Yiribu's preemptive action, Dinghai was peacefully recovered, and Yuqian's full-fledged strategy of attacking and suppressing by force did not have a chance to be implemented, which is quite a pity.Therefore, after he arrived in Zhejiang, he carefully deployed the defense of Dinghai, so that he could thwart the fierce flames of "Niyi" in future defensive operations and show his skills. Under Yuqian's planning, Dinghai, like Xiamen, has also carried out unprecedented large-scale defense projects. Dinghai County is surrounded by mountains on three sides, faces the sea on the south, and is three miles away from the city.Yuqian believes that the reason for the defeat in the previous Dinghai battle was that the Qing army's ships and guns were inferior to the enemy, and the land battle had nothing to rely on.Therefore, he decided to build fortifications in the coastal area south of the county seat.Since Dinghai is not as easy to mine as the stones in southern Fujian, the main body of Dinghai defense project is Tucheng. The earth city is a linear fortification rammed with soil mixed with lime, that is, an earth city wall.The military engineer who drew the style of Xiamen’s stone walls mentioned in the previous section also has an illustration in his memoirs, which shows the regulations of Tucheng in general.According to Yuqian's memorial, the bottom width of Tucheng is 12 to 18 meters, the top width is 5 to 15 meters, the height is about 3 to 4 meters, and the length is about 4.8 kilometers.It starts from Qinglei Mountain in the east and ends at Zhushan Mountain in the west, including the open area south of the county seat.Tucheng set up two city gates, "Changzhi" and "Jiu'an", for people to come and go in peacetime.There is an artillery bunker "Tu Niu" on the Tucheng, with a total of 80 artillery pieces installed. In the middle of Tucheng, there is a hill near the sea, named Dongyue Mountain.Yuqian made full use of this terrain to build Zhenyuan Pao City with a masonry structure about 440 meters in circumference on the mountain.At the southern end of the cannon city, a half-moon-shaped stone fort with a width of 70 meters is built next to it.The fort facing the sea is the position for bombarding the invading enemy ships, and the artillery city is behind it, which is the fortification of the guards.The Zhenyuan Cannon City and Fort on Dongyue Mountain are the backbone of the Qing army's defensive positions, with a total of 15 cannons. The west end of Tucheng is Zhushan, and after Zhushan is Xiaofengling.Yuqian built a besieged city on Xiaofengling and garrisoned soldiers.At the east end of Tucheng is Qinglei Mountain, where Yuqian also built a military station. The city walls of Dinghai County after Tucheng were also repaired.There are 41 cannons on it. (For the geography and defense of Dinghai, please refer to Figure 8) While building fortifications, Yuqian recruited more troops.Yilibu sent a total of 3,000 Qing troops to receive Dinghai, and Yuqian sent another 2,600, bringing the number of guards to 5,600, which was the place with the largest number of defenders in Zhejiang during the Opium War. Due to the great loss of warships of the Dinghai Division in the previous battle, there was no time to replenish and repair the warships, so that the patrol and reconnaissance forces at sea were insufficient. According to Yuqian's plan, 1,000 Shuiyong would be hired, and officials would be assigned to go overseas separately. "Or pretend to be a fisherman, go abroad to patrol, or pack firearms and firearms, and burn them with cameras."Later, Liu Yunke claimed that 580 Shui Yong were actually recruited. In addition, Yuqian also has a huge plan: "Sixteen Items for the Aftermath of Dinghai".Due to the arrival of British troops, this plan was largely not realized. If we compare Dinghai's Tucheng with Xiamen's stone walls, then Yuqian's Dinghai defense project is far inferior to Yan Botao's in terms of firmness and firepower.However, Yuqian's rhetoric is not inferior to Yan Botao's: (Dinghai) "From then on, control the danger, stand like a golden soup, win the shape, and the people's hearts will become stronger... If you dare to sail close to the port, or take the risk to land, you will not It is difficult to intensify the suppression and cleanse, so that the thieves will never return." Could it be that Yuqian's self-confidence has no basis, no reason, and no serious analysis?Not so.To a large extent, his thoughts can represent the main "suppression" officials at that time. Although Yuqian had never seen the British army with his own eyes, he was a strong advocate of the theory that the British army was not good at land warfare.Dinghai's fortification revealed his belief.He concentrated his main force on the county seat and the area 10 square kilometers south of it, without taking into account other areas of Zhoushan Island with an area of ​​523 square kilometers.He believes that the British army is not good at land warfare and will inevitably launch an attack from the coast closest to the county.If you stay close, you will be far away, and there are many mountains and mountains. It is "the place where my pawns are most likely to excel", and it is not difficult to destroy.The east, north, and west directions of Dinghai County are all mountainous areas. Here (Xiaofengling, Qinglei Mountain) he only set up some towers, military rooms, and sieges.Emperor Daoguang ordered all provinces to prepare for land routes. He did not reach Liu Yunke in Hangzhou until September 19, and Yuqian in Zhenhai on September 25, but he would definitely not reach Dinghai, because the sea between Ding and Zhen had been controlled by the British army at this time. . Before the war, the Qing Dynasty called the British army "strong ships and powerful guns", but there was no accurate estimate of how strong the "ships" were and how powerful the "guns were".After the war started, Guan Tianpei, Yang Fang, Yishan, Lin Zexu and others knew about it through actual combat, but they either did not speak out, or spoke in a vague way.In contrast, Qi Shan told some truths, but in the sound of "suppressing barbarians" at that time, who would believe it?Yuqian's personal extreme contempt for the bias of "Niyi" determined that he underestimated the "strength of ships and guns".Relying on an unsound earthen city, he can boldly draw a conclusion: "I can reach that with any cannon, but the other cannon cannot reach me!" From this point of view, Yuqian's self-confidence is not entirely groundless.Since the well-regulated Tucheng can stop the British army's "sharp guns", what advantage does the British army have?Could their "solid boat" be able to wash up on the coast and sail into the county seat?Since the British army is not good at land battles with "hard waists and straight legs", once they landed, wouldn't they become the ghosts of the soldiers of the Qing army who were proficient in "stabbing steps"?Could it be that they can fly over the natural dangers and the county towns that fall from the sky? Yuqian's thinking shows that even though the war has been going on for a long enough time, even though the Qing army has been defeated again and again in Humen and other places, in the minds of a group of masters who "suppress" the officials and gentry, the estimation of the strength of the British army is still low. The vague concept before the war did not clearly identify the advantages and disadvantages of the British army one by one.Because of this, Yuqian did not have any innovations in the defense of Dinghai. It was still the tactic advocated by Lin Zexu before the war to defend the strong strongholds along the coast against the attack of British ships. What is interesting is that Lin Zexu, the advocate of this method of warfare, is currently assisting in military affairs in Zhenhai with the title of Sipinqing. He does not seem to have confidence in Dinghai's defense, and he repeatedly advises Yuqian: "Please move the three towns (designate Haizhen, Chuzhou Town, and Shouchun Town, the three generals) in the interior, and use the door to strengthen the gate." Although Yuqian admired and admired Lin Zexu very much, as a border official with the responsibility of guarding the land, how could he, how dare he obey such a How about giving up the idea of ​​Dinghai? Going a step deeper on this will touch the origin of the main idea of ​​"suppression" at that time. Although the "suppression" is only a policy decision, and although the speeches of those who advocate the "suppression" are mainly to analyze specific issues, this kind of thinking is deeply rooted in the soil of traditional ideology and culture.In my opinion, there are mainly two kinds of ideas prevailing at that time at work: one is the concept of "Heavenly Dynasty" and the other is Neo Confucianism.Of course, there is an inextricable cross-relationship between the two. As far as the concept of "China" is concerned, people at that time did not take Britain seriously. They did not believe that the majestic "China" was defeated by mere "Island barbarians", and they did not believe that what kind of uniforms would be produced in the wild land 70,000 miles away. "Heavenly Dynasty" means.Therefore, they could not listen to the powerful rhetoric of the British army, let alone analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the British army in various battles, and fell into abject blindness.Regarding this point, I have explained it in the previous chapters, so I will not repeat it here. As far as Neo-Confucian thought is concerned, the situation seems to be a little more complicated.After the rise of the Song Dynasty, Confucianism was transformed again and became the main philosophical thought prevailing in the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties."Sinology" flourished in the Qing Dynasty, and Neo-Confucianism was also criticized, but the dominant position of Neo-Confucianism has not been shaken. Although in the works of the masters of Neo Confucianism, we can often comprehend the subtlety of this theory, and are also impressed by their profound thinking and beautiful writing, but in actual political operations, Neo Confucianism has become a terrible dogma.As a result, after the teaching of sexuality and morality has become sublime, facts and true feelings appear to be less important, and are often placed in a subordinate position.Under such circumstances, those who grasp the truth of the facts are far less powerful than those who grasp the true meaning of Confucianism. If they confront each other head-on, they will be vulnerable.In the memorials and discussions of officials who were in charge of "suppression" at that time, we can see this kind of "reasonable" publicity everywhere. By 1841, it had become obvious that the Qing Dynasty would be defeated in the Opium War, but people who followed the "reason" turned a blind eye to it.It's also hard to blame them themselves.Because in the atmosphere at that time, their thoughts would only be like this.It is not easy to break through the barriers of this kind of thinking.Regarding this situation, we can relate to the fact that the Qing Dynasty experienced the failure of the Opium War and the Second Opium War more than 20 years later. The dispute between Yixin, who advocated reform based on facts, and Woren, who opposed reform with "famous teaching" Debate, we can see the deep roots of this thinking. From the perspective of Neo-Confucianism, the most important factor for victory in war is not "artifacts" but "people's hearts", that is, the so-called "righteousness" and "sincerity" can "peace the world". This view has been proved in a long military history. reasonable. In ancient times, and even in the middle ages, due to the underdevelopment of military technology, warfare was mainly manifested in personal combat. Although there were various skills of "eighteen weapons", they were only the extension and sharpening of human hands and feet.In such battle scenes, the bravery of the soldiers and the perseverance of the generals, this kind of character that can be upgraded to "people's hearts", are often the decisive factors for victory.Therefore, in people's minds for a long time, desperate is synonymous with victory.At the same time, due to the underdevelopment of military technology, the two warring parties have been on roughly equal positions for a long time. "When two strong forces meet, the brave wins" has become the creed of ordinary politicians and military strategists. Therefore, in the minds of many people who advocated "suppression" in the Qing Dynasty, the British army's "strong ships and guns" could only show their power at sea, and the key to the successive defeats of the Qing army on the coast and river banks in Humen and other places lay in the commander. and the cowardice of the soldiers.People who were physically and mentally in the Middle Ages naturally did not see the real reason from a series of changes in modern military technology, tactics, army formation, and combat guidance.As far as the protagonist Yu Qian in this section is concerned, although he devotes great efforts to repairing various "artifacts" such as cast guns, his main effort is to cheer up the "people's hearts" of this slack Qing army. Because of this, Yuqian believes that the primary factor for victory in this war is nothing else, but solidarity among the people and hard work of the soldiers.He hated that in the previous battle of Dinghai, the Qing army only suffered 26 casualties and fled in large numbers. He resented that Yiribu did not dare to enter the army, which made the teachers exhausted; ; And once the soldiers really have no hesitation and regard death as home, how can the war be invincible? From this point of view, the thinking of the main "suppressors" in the Opium War did not come from the true assessment of the strength of the two sides by knowing themselves and the enemy, and did not come from the victory of having found a real means to "control the barbarians", but from the "celestial dynasty" Concepts and Neo-Confucianism, as well as the "people's heart" victory theory derived from it.From the perspective of military academics, this kind of "suppression" is nothing but a wave of warfare.We should not unconditionally praise it without distinction because it is in line with the purpose of today's anti-aggression. In the treatises on the history of the Opium War that I have read, the Second Battle of Dinghai in 1841 is mostly described as an exciting and majestic and tragic story: the three generals of Dinghai (Ge Yunfei, the general of Dinghai Town, and Ge Yunfei of Zhejiang Chuzhou Town) General Zheng Guohong, General Soldier Wang Xipeng of Shouchun Township, Anhui), with 5,000 solitary troops, struggled against the siege of more than 10,000 (or 20,000, or 30,000) British troops. They fought bloody battles for six days and nights, but were outnumbered and exhausted. And sacrifice. Admittedly, I was moved by this story.Under the conditions at that time, it was indeed a remarkable achievement to be able to resist for six days and nights with inferior forces and weapons.However, further research has revealed to me that this is not a true story. The saying that the British army had "more than ten thousand men" first appeared in Yuqian's memorials, based on the report of Dinghai Dianshi who fled to Zhenhai after the war.The material has changed hands.In order to shirk responsibility for the defeat, the defeated officials often have the bad habit of exaggerating the enemy's army.And Yuqian's memorial also said: "When the rebels landed on the shore, wearing black clothes and black hakama, they all died in Fujian and Guangzhou." According to the records of the British side, the British army did not use Chinese to participate in the battle, which shows that this That's not true. As for the claims of "20,000" and "30,000" British troops, the historical data are even more insufficient and insufficient. The actual number of British troops was much smaller. In August 1841, when the British army left Hong Kong and headed north, there were 10 warships, 4 ships, 22 transport ships, and 2,500 soldiers.After the Battle of Xiamen, 3 warships, 3 transport ships, and 550 soldiers were left on Gulangyu Island. Based on this calculation, the British troops who went to Zhejiang had only 7 warships, 4 ships, 19 transport ships, and about 2,000 soldiers. All ships, soldiers, sailors and the army are calculated together, about four to five thousand people.At this time, there were 5,600 Dinghai defenders. Comparing the two, the numbers of troops on both sides are similar, and the Qing army is slightly stronger. Even so, it is commendable to resist with equal force for six days and nights.However, this "six days and nights" is an unreliable number. Since the British army left Xiamen on September 5, 1841 and went northward, due to the wind direction and the different motivations, the whole team could not act in unison. On September 16, the British steamship Fredison harassed Sheng'ao and Shuang'ao near Qitou, Zhenhai. On September 17, the British ship Nemesis broke into Shipu Port in Xiangshan. From September 18th, the British warships successively arrived at the first assembly point, Chuanbishan Island (Buffalo's Nose) in the southwest of Dinghai, and then moved to the Huangniu Reef between Zhenhai and Dinghai. On September 21, the commander of the British Navy, Baga, arrived, and on the 25th, the commander of the British Army, Guo Fu, arrived. The original plan of the British army was to attack Zhenhai and Ningbo first, and then take Dinghai.However, the violent weather "prevented the fleet from sailing from the assembly point to Zhenhai to perform this task", so it was decided on the 25th to immediately reconnaissance the defense situation of Dinghai. The so-called "six days and nights" are counted from the next day, that is, September 26. Comparing Chinese and British documents, there is a huge gap in the records of military operations during this period.A brief description is given below, and readers are invited to participate in the identification: On September 26, the Qing Dynasty reported that two British ships towed two large ships and sailed into the inner harbor from Zhushan Gate (the west waterway of Daotou Port, between Zhushan and Panyu Island). Breaking off one of the bow masts of the British ship, the British ship fled from Jixiangmen (the south waterway of Daotou Port, between Panyu Island and Daqu Island), and then fled from Daqumen (the east waterway of Daotou Port, Qinglei Mountain) and Daqu Island), the Donggangpu defenders in the eastern section of Tucheng opened fire, and the British ships withdrew, daring not to enter again.According to the British records, the British steamship Fredison and the Nemesis sent the naval and army commanders to conduct reconnaissance. The geographical situation of Kuishan Island.When the British ship passed Panyu, it was shelled by the Qing army, but the British ship sailed out of the range of the Qing army's artillery, avoided the Qing army's artillery fire, and was not damaged. On the same day, the Dinghai Qing Army asked Zhenhai for help while adjusting its deployment.Ge Yunfei, the commander-in-chief of Dinghai Town, is still defending Tucheng. Wang Xipeng, the commander-in-chief of Shouchun Town, who was originally stationed in the county, went out to defend Xiaofengling, and Zheng Guohong, the commander-in-chief of Chuzhou Town, entered Zhushan.After Yuqian received the call for help from the defender of Dinghai, he believed that Dinghai had more troops than Zhenhai, and that Zhenhai was already facing the threat of the British army. On September 27, the Qing side reported that at noon, three British steamships and one three-masted ship sailed into the Zhushan Gate. Ge Yunfei's governor's department opened fire, breaking the main mast of the British ship, and the British ship fled immediately.I have not found the corresponding British record.The only ship that was preparing to take action that day was the Nemesis, which was ordered to go to the Zhenhai area to investigate and defend the situation. Due to the bad weather, the order could not be carried out. On September 28, the content of Qing Fang’s memorial was different.According to reports from the detectives sent to Dinghai, Yuqian reported that the British warships "sail in with their masts" and attacked Xiaofengling, and transported troops in small boats to land at Zhushan. That night, the British troops went around to Wukuishan Island and climbed up to look out.After the battle, General Qi Mingbao of Hangzhou reported that the British army landed and attacked Xiaofengling. Wang Xipeng led 800 troops to fight against them repeatedly for 4 days until October 1st.The British records are also different.Bingham said that H. Eyres, the captain of the Mortises, was ordered to lead the Mortises, the Columbine, and the Nemesis to Dinghai on that day, and destroyed the unfinished project on Xiaofeng Ridge. The fort, because it will be the main direction of the British army's attack.After the British ships arrived, they fought with the Qing army. A detachment of about 50 sailors went ashore. After confirming that no artillery had been installed there, and reconnaissance of the defense in the direction of Tucheng, they hurriedly withdrew.Bernard said that the storm continued that day and the fleet could not sail.Baga issued an order to send the above-mentioned 3 ships to Xiaofengling to destroy the unfinished fort, but this order was carried out the next day, the 29th.As for the specific process, the book records more details. On September 29, the Qing side reported that the British army set up tents on Dawukuishan Island, and the Qing army fired artillery in the Tucheng area, destroying 5 tents and killing more than 10 British soldiers.According to British records, some warships and transport ships sailed into the inner harbor on that day, among which the Browne, Mortis, Empress, Fredison and other ships sailed to the Wukuishan Islands. A field artillery position was set up on the island, including one heavy artillery that fired 68-pound shells and two artillery that fired 24-pound shells. By the next day, the position was completed.The British side also stated that the range of the Qing army's artillery was too short to pose any threat to the actions of the British army. On September 30, the Qing side reported that the British army first entered through the auspicious gate and attacked Donggangpu in the eastern section of Tucheng. Landing at the west end of Tucheng, they were bombarded by Qing army guns and countless dead.According to the British records, on that day, warships and transport ships of the British army entered the inner harbor one after another. When the Wesley was towed into the harbor by the ship Sesostris, it fired at Dongyue Mountain Zhenyuan Cannon City.At sunset, the British army fired a lot of guns in the Zhushan area at the west end of Tucheng. The British ships Columbine and Cruiser, which had been moored close to the area to cover the landing of the troops, also fired. The British ship officers were not damaged. The above memorials by Fang Yuqian and Qi Mingbao of the Qing Dynasty are based on the report of the Dinghai garrison (September 26), the report of the dispatched detectives, and the report of the officials who fled from Dinghai. False taboo whitewashing has become a trend, and there will naturally be false elements in it.The British recorder had his own experience, and the material is first-hand, but it cannot be confirmed that there is absolutely no falsehood or evasion in it. Therefore, it is very difficult and unnecessary for people today to study and clarify the situation during the five days from September 26 to 30 one by one.Because, from the above records, we can already judge that the actions of the British army within these five days were to scout the defense of the Qing army to determine the main attack direction, maneuver the troops to attack the starting waters, establish field artillery positions to support the battle, and so on. The preparatory work is not yet a formal attack.The defenders did not understand the style and combat characteristics of modern warfare, so they could not see through the intentions of the British army, and regarded every move of the British army as a formal attack, unintentionally or intentionally. The result was high tension and wasted lead medicine.Due to the heavy rain in the past few days, the defenders "responded to the enemy" in the rain for 5 consecutive days. Before the real battle started, they were exhausted. The real battle lasted only one day, October 1, 1841. On the morning of this day, the British field artillery on Dawukuishan Island bombarded Zhenyuan Paocheng (the method was exactly the same as that of Xiahengdang Island in the Battle of Humen), while British ships and warships bombarded Tucheng.Under the supervision of Ge Yunfei, the defenders of the Qing army fought back with shore artillery.However, the quantity and quality of the Qing army's artillery were at a disadvantage. The Dongyue Mountain Zhenyuan Artillery City, which had the strongest firepower, was suppressed by the British field artillery on Dawu Kuishan Island. The position had been shaken, and the soldiers began to flee. At the same time as the artillery battle between the two sides, the left column of the British landing force, about 1,500 people, avoided the fortifications of Tucheng and landed on the west coast of Xiaofengling.The 55th Regiment of the British Army, the first batch to land, attacked in the direction of Xiaofengling.The 18th Regiment of the British Army, which landed in the second batch, immediately launched an attack in the direction of Zhushan.The defenders there had been shelled by British ships for a long time, but under the command of Zheng Guohong, they still insisted on resisting, and finally failed, and Zheng Guohong died in battle.After the 18th Regiment occupied Zhushan, it attacked eastward along Tucheng.The Tucheng structure can only defend against the enemy from the front, and there is no protection on the side. Ge Yunfei fought hard and died.After the 18th Regiment occupied the western section of Territory City, it attacked Zhenyuan Pao City in Dongyue Mountain.However, the defenders there could no longer withstand the long-term bombardment of the British ship Brownie and the British field artillery on Dawukuishan Island, and fled one after another. Zhenyuan Paocheng changed hands without a fight. While the left column was operating, the right column of the British landing force assisted Donggangpu.However, because the Nemesis ran aground in the middle, the attack was not on time.After the right column landed on the coast, with the support of the 18th Regiment of the left column, they dispersed the defenders in the eastern section of Tucheng. After the left column captured Xiaofengling, the Madras Artillery who landed later set up light artillery on the commanding height of Xiaofengling and bombarded the county town.The 55th regiment advanced along the mountains and went straight to the west gate of the county seat.The county defenders fled.The 55th regiment climbed the city wall and occupied the county seat.At the same time, the 18th regiment also advanced from Daotou to the county seat, and cooperated with the operation to attack the south gate. From the start of the attack in the morning to the end of the battle at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the British army did not encounter strong and effective resistance, and only paid a small price in the battle, 2 people were killed and 27 people were injured.However, the tactics they adopted were still bombarding the front by warships and plagiarizing the army's flanks, and they achieved great success again. The three generals sacrificed heroically and died in their own battle positions, and did not take a step back because of their greed for life.Under their supervision, there were also some Qing soldiers who maintained high morale in the battle.If compared with the usual timidity of the Qing army, it can be said that Yuqian's efforts to motivate the soldiers before the war have achieved results.But what this battle has revealed is that bravery alone is not enough. The three generals sacrificed heroically and were unable to stand up and speak.We don't know whether Yuqian, who is just across the water, knew the truth of the matter: the British army (rather than the traitors) was in the mountains that he considered a natural barrier and the land battle that he believed that the Qing army was better at. Wang Xipeng, Zheng Guohong, Ge Yunfei.