Chapter 24 The Natural Danger of Four Zhenhai

Until October 8, 1841, that is, the eighth day after the fall of Dinghai, the Zhejiang Army News received by Emperor Daoguang was still good news (Sheng'ao, Shuang'ao in Qitou, Zhenhai, and Shipu in Xiangshan repelled the enemy, Dinghai Qing army won the first battle, Yuqian led civil and military officials to fight to the death); although he was disappointed with Yan Botao because of the defeat in Xiamen, he firmly believed that Yuqian would definitely bring him the good news of "Xuanwei Haiyu".For this reason, he once again issued an order on the same day to tell the most resolute "suppression" minister (the previous time was on October 4th), "Whenever there is a sound of victory, he will step up and play it from six hundred miles."

However, two days later, on October 10, Yuqian sent him the battle report of the fall of Dinghai in an "urgent six hundred miles"; eight days later, on October 18, he received another report from Hangzhou General Qi Mingbao. Waiting for the memorial of the fall of Zhenhai and the martyrdom of Yuqian sent by "six hundred miles urgently".Emperor Daoguang couldn't help but write Zhu's comment here: "I hate you so much!" Why is Emperor Daoguang "resentful"?For the British army?Why Yuqian?Or is it the lost Zhenhai? Zhenhai is located in the south of Hangzhou Bay, at the estuary of the Daxia River (now called the Yongjiang River). It is the gateway to Ningbo and has always been an important place for coastal defense.Yiribu served as the imperial envoy and was stationed here.Yuqian took over as the imperial envoy and was also stationed here.This shows its status in people's hearts at that time.

Unlike Xiamen and Dinghai, the two imperial envoys stationed in Jiezhenhai seem to pay little attention to the construction of defense projects here.As far as Yiribu is concerned, its task is to attack Dinghai, and the defense was originally for Emperor Daoguang (see Chapter 3, Section 2 for details).As far as Yu Qian was concerned, he believed that Zhenhai already possessed natural dangers that the British army could hardly overcome. When the Daxia River flows from Ningbo to Zhenhai County, it generally flows from west to east, and when it reaches the mouth of the sea, it turns from south to north.At both ends of the estuary, there is a mountain (from which the "gorge" of the Daxia River comes from), and to the west is Zhaobao Mountain (Ningbo was opened to "Fanbo" during the Kangxi period, and it was renamed from Houtao Mountain to attract foreign treasures. ), on the mountain there is Weiyuan Paocheng (built in the Ming Dynasty to prevent the Japanese), and to the east is Jinji Mountain.The river is about 1000 meters wide.Because the river course at that time had not been dredged like it is today, there were many shoals and silt accumulated on the bank, which was measured in width.

Zhenhai County is close to Haikou.To the northeast is Zhaobao Mountain, to the southeast and south is the Daxia River, and to the north it was originally close to the sea. (See Figure 9 for details) In February 1841, Yuqian traveled from Jiangsu to Zhenhai. Seeing this terrain, his confidence immediately increased.The imperial envoy, who had never seen the British fleet, believed that the huge ships of the British army "did not fear the wind and waves, but feared the dangers of the reefs." When entering, there is nothing to be afraid of "no canopy, sail, gun emplacement, and cooking stove"; if the boat lands, "it is not difficult to wipe out all of them."He also reported this experience, and asked Emperor Daoguang to order the governors of the generals along the coast to "traverse the ocean, measure the depth of the water, the distance of the beach, and the danger of the sand line", "the most important thing is to distinguish." , "There is no need to panic everywhere."Obviously, in his mind, Zhenhai is not the "most important", but only "secondary".He is more concerned about Dinghai.Emperor Daoguang, who was ignorant of "barbarian feelings", obeyed his words, forwarded this to various places, and ordered it to be implemented by reference.

However, Liu Yunke, the governor of Zhejiang at this time, was a very scheming official.Although there were two imperial envoys above him successively, and Zhenhai's defense need not be intervened by them, he went to Zhenhai twice to encourage Yilibu and Yuqian to build fortifications here. In June 1841, when Yuqian returned to Jiangsu to accept the seal seal of the governor of Liangjiang, Liu and Lin Zexu and others who came to the Zhejiang military camp with the title of Sipinqing made great efforts to fortify here.From then on until the beginning of the war, Zhenhai's defensive projects were not as grand as those in Xiamen and Dinghai, but they were still quite large:

1. Zhaobao Mountain.The Weiyuan City was originally stationed with artillery on the mountain, fearing that the city's terrain would be too high for the artillery to reach the enemy ships, so another sandbag fort was set up at the west and south feet of the mountain.There is also a fort built in Goujintang, which is close to the north wall of the county seat behind the mountain.It was guarded by Yu Buyun, the admiral of Zhejiang Province. Two, Jinji Mountain.A stone fort was built at the north foot of the mountain, an earth fortress with cannons was built in the northeast of the mountain, and a military camp was built on the top of the mountain to support troops.Commanded by Xie Chaoen, the commander-in-chief of Langshan Town, Jiangsu Province.

Three, the Great Gorge River.Nails were cut layer by layer at the mouth of the river, and stones were filled to narrow the river to prevent British ships from breaking into them suddenly; 30 fire attack ships, 16-paddle fast boats and 20 wheel boats (that is, human-powered paddle steamers) were set up in the port. There are 60 large and small fishing boats, which are used for chasing, detecting and responding in battle; at the port of the river in the southeast of the county, a fort is set up on each side of the bank to deal with enemy ships fleeing into the port.It was garrisoned by Li Tingyang, the commander-in-chief of Quzhou Town.

4. Zhenhai County.Thickly gather sandbags on the north wall near the sea to defend against enemy artillery.Yuqian, the imperial envoy, directly sits here and directs the overall situation. In the entire area of ​​Zhenhai County, there are more than 4,000 soldiers of the Qing army, equipped with 157 artillery pieces, 67 of which are bronze cannons. (See Figure 9 for details) Judging from the defensive situation in Zhenhai, it is like Humen, mainly to prevent British ships from directly entering the Daxia River to invade the country, and has not yet learned the lesson of the Battle of Humen.As far as the fortifications of the Qing army are concerned, their simplicity is difficult to withstand the fierce artillery fire of the British army.The most fatal flaw is still the difficulty of defending against enemy landing forces. On September 25, 1841, Yuqian received the decree issued by Emperor Daoguang to strengthen the land defense after the Battle of Xiamen, so he dug underground ditches and planted thorns in Zhaobao Mountain, Jinji Mountain and other places, thinking that this would "end their conflicts" .

Of course, the above analysis is only our understanding today, but in Yuqian's heart, the key to the problem is not the fortification itself, but the morale of the army.He believes that in the Zhenhai Defense Army, only 1,000 Xuzhou town soldiers can fight, and the rest are not enough.For this reason, before the war, he "lead civil and military officials to swear before God": For this ceremony, he also explained to Emperor Daoguang: Yuqian is ready to use his "consolidated" "military heart" to face the fierce artillery fire of the enemy British army. After the British army captured Dinghai on October 1, 1841, they took a short rest and started preparing to attack Zhenhai again. On October 8, the British army left 400 soldiers and 3 transport ships stationed in Dinghai.

In terms of tactics, the operation of the British army has similarities with its performances in Shajiao and Dajiao. On October 9, the British Navy Commander Baga and the Army Commander Guo Fu reconnaissance the defense of Zhenhai, and they also made a division of labor: the east bank of the Daxia River, that is, the Jinji Mountain area, is in charge of the Army, and the Navy cooperates; The area around Zhenhai County is under the responsibility of the Navy, with the cooperation of the Army. The next morning, the British light fleet sailed to Jinji Mountain to bombard the defenders.At the same time, about 1,060 people from the left column of the British landing force landed on the beach at least three kilometers east of the Jinjishan defensive position, crossed the Xiaoxia River, and attacked Xisha Ridge behind Jinjishan.A total of about 460 people from the central column of the British landing force landed in the Lishan area. After clearing the sporadic defenses of the Qing army, they went straight to the Jinjishan position.At the same time, its main fleet set up a battle formation from Zhaobaoshan to the north of Zhenhai County, and bombarded the positions of the Qing army there with superior artillery fire.

Yuqian, who was stationed in Zhenhai County, got the news of the war, and immediately boarded the east wall to command the battle.The Qing army originally planned to fight against the British light ships that broke into the Daxia River, and the direction of the artillery was mainly aimed at the Neijiang River.But these cunning enemies refused to go deep. With the long range of their artillery, they bombarded outside the mouth. Only one ship with strong maneuverability, the Empress, went a little deeper and kept firing at the forts of the Qing army on both sides of the strait.Moreover, the power of the artillery of the British army was only realized by Yuqian at this time. The British ships in the north of Zhaobao Mountain were able to make the artillery shells fly over the mountains and land in the area of ​​Dongyue Palace and Lanjiang Port.The reality of the battle was completely opposite to Yuqian's pre-war estimates, and there was a situation where one could hit me, but I couldn't reach the other.The Qing army was simply unable to make a strong and effective resistance. Jinji Mountain was the first to fall. The left and central columns of the British landing force attacked from the rear of the Qing army's fortified zone.The defenders were caught off guard and resisted urgently, but it didn't work. The general Xie Chaoen died in battle, while most of the soldiers were driven out of their positions and squeezed on the banks of the Daxia River, suffering heavy losses. When the land battle around Jinji Mountain was in full swing, the British main fleet basically destroyed all the forts and fortifications of the Qing army around Zhaobaoshan after several hours of bombardment. A total of 770 people from the right column of its landing force landed from the outside of Zhaobaoshan.These "Yi" people, who are considered to have "hard waists and straight legs", climbed up the steep rocks vigorously and charged towards Weiyuan City on the top of Zhaobao Mountain.The Qing army had no intention of fighting at this time, and after a little resistance, they collapsed one after another.After occupying Zhaobaoshan, the right column of the British army continued to attack Zhenhai County. From the later narration of Yuqian’s family Ding Yusheng, Yuqian seemed to be lost at this time, and retreated from the east wall in a daze. When he reached the county school (less than 150 meters away from the east wall), he suddenly woke up and realized I have no way out!So he kowtowed while looking at the tower, and jumped into Panchi.The family soldiers next to him immediately rescued him and rescued him out of the city. After being rescued by Yiyi in Ningbo, he found that he was still breathing, and immediately ran to the provincial capital to Yuyao (more than 70 kilometers away from Zhenhai County). Never die. From the point of view of Confucianism, Yuqian's jump to Panchi is a manifestation of his loyalty and martyrdom, which should undoubtedly be praised.After receiving the news, Emperor Daoguang also said that he was "deadly in danger, and he would not be ashamed of his predecessors (referring to his brother)", and gave him the crown prince Taibao. After the war, a special temple was built in Zhenhai to celebrate the festival.All kinds of mercies from the Holy Majesty should comfort Yuqian's soul.However, from the perspective of military academics, if the commander gives up his leadership and commits suicide in a defeat, his troops will be left in a state of chaos without command; Yuqian himself is irresponsible), in terms of actual effect, it is no different from running away.The defenders in Zhenhai County followed suit.As a result, the British army that had occupied Jinji Mountain saw this strange scene from a distance. The right column of the British army entered the city from the east gate, and the Qing army escaped from the city through the west gate.When the British army conquered the county seat, there was no resistance. At about 2:00 pm, the fighting was all over.As in previous battles, the British suffered few casualties in this battle, although statistics vary: one account states 16 killed and several wounded; another records 3 killed and wounded 16 people.The Qing side has never had an accurate count of its own casualties, and the British side also has different opinions on this record, but the most conservative version also says that the Qing army lost hundreds of thousands. Human suicide, according to psychoanalysis, is an expression of despair. As the number one war official at the time, Yuqian, his suicide should have been an unmistakable signal that the war was in despair.His family Ding Yusheng also said at the beginning that Yizhu is like this, "the governor can't do it." However, this signal was distorted at the time. Not long after Yuqian's death, his family member Ding Yusheng went to Hangzhou and submitted a letter to Liu Yunke, the governor of Zhejiang, claiming that at the beginning of the Zhenhai war, when Yuqian was supervising the battle on the east wall, Yu Buyun, the admiral of Zhejiang, went to the city twice to meet Yuqian. Yuqian dismissed the words "there are more than 30 members of his family, and his daughter is out of the court that day."He also claimed that the defeat of Zhenhai was due to the fall of Zhaobaoshan, where Yu Buyun was stationed, and Yu Buyun fled to Ningbo, resulting in the fall of Jinjishan and the county seat.After Liu Yunke received this report, she didn't dare to be negligent, and asked Feng Shentai, the deputy general of Jiangsu Jiangning City Defense Association who was accompanying Yuqian.Feng Shentai said: At that time, he saw Yu Buyun going to the city and Yuqian "talking in secret", just as the sound of guns was shaking the ground, he didn't know what to say, but Wen Yuqian shouted loudly: "If you retreat to Ningbo, you will save the people, and you will be able to protect the people yourself. Play. If Zhenhai is occupied, I will be martyred." Liu Yunke received this secret news, and immediately played the play, and attached the report of Yu Sheng and Feng Shentai. According to Yu Sheng and Feng Shentai, the fall of Zhenhai should be attributed to Yu Buyun, not because the British army was invincible, but because the guards dared not fight.Yu Buyun should be responsible for Yu Qian's suicide.The problem thus becomes complicated. When Emperor Daoguang received this memorial, he thought of his loyal ministers, and Zhu criticized "I couldn't feel tears when I read it", and ordered Yangwei General Yijing and Zhejiang Governor Liu Yunke to conduct a secret investigation. Is it true?Who is Yu Buyun? Yu Buyun, a native of Guang'an, Sichuan. In 1798, he suppressed the Sichuan and Chu Bailian sects with his bravery in the army, and moved to Bazong and Qianzong after accumulating meritorious service.After that, he moved to Sichuan, Yunnan, Shaanxi and other places to put down the rebellion. He was promoted from the capital, guerrilla, general, and deputy general to the general army of Chongqing Town, Sichuan, and was awarded the title of "Ruiyong Barutu".The experience is just like its name, "smooth progress".The most proud moment in his life was the battle of Zhang Geer in the early years of Daoguang. He led his troops to attack with Yang Fang and others, and even conquered Kashgar, Khotan and other cities, and captured the enemy chief Yunus.After the war, he was rewarded for his meritorious deeds. He was awarded the guard of Qianqing Gate, moved to Guizhou Admiral, and painted a portrait of Ziguang Pavilion. Emperor Daoguang personally wrote a commendation.Later, he served as the admiral of Hunan, Guangdong, Sichuan, Yunnan and other provinces. He made outstanding military achievements in suppressing rebellions in various places, especially the rebellion of ethnic minorities. Rewards such as purses, feather tubes, and jade ultimatums.It can be said that Yu Buyun's reputation is second only to Yang Fang among the military positions in the provinces. In 1838, Yu Buyun was transferred to Fujian Land Road Admiral. In 1840, the British army occupied Dinghai.The first thing Emperor Daoguang thought of was Yu Buyun, and he was transferred to the Zhejiang suppression office.During the period when the imperial envoy Yi Libu presided over the military affairs in Zhejiang, he had a close relationship with Yu Buyun and discussed countermeasures together.After the armistice in Zhejiang, Yu Buyun took a 10% discount from the college and offered to stay in Zhejiang to continue playing.Emperor Daoguang agreed to his request.Not long after, Zhu Tingbiao, the admiral of Zhejiang, was dismissed and Yu Buyun was changed as admiral of Zhejiang. After Yuqian replaced Yilibu in charge of Zhejiang military affairs, there has been a rift between Yu Buyun and Yu Buyun.Relying on his military exploits and relying on the old to sell the old, Yu seems to despise this rising star who is more than ten years younger than him and can jump three levels in a row with his pen skills; and Yu is even more arrogant, thinking that "the soldiers are generally ignorant and incompetent." , It all depends on the strictness, perseverance and uprightness of the driver", "If you do a little work, you will be satisfied", "Everything is difficult for others", and this veteran with great military exploits is not taken seriously.After all, the imperial envoy is a respected minister, even if Yu Buyun is capable, he can only obey orders. In May 1841, Yuqian was promoted to the governor of Liangjiang. Before returning to the Soviet Union to accept the seal, he had a discount: Yuqian's remarks made Emperor Daoguang very worried, and ordered Yuqian to return to Zhenhai immediately after deploying Jiangsu defense, and "according to the facts" as to whether the Zhejiang provincial and town officials are suitable for the defense and whether they need to be transferred.After Yu Qian returned to Zhenhai, he repeated: "Although Yu Buyun is not familiar with water affairs, he has gradually learned the basics in the past year. After all, he has been in the army for a long time and has a good reputation. It is also enough to deter the bandits. His measures are natural. It is more effective than Chen Huacheng." It seems that although Yu Qian was dissatisfied with Yu Buyun, he did not pursue him because there was no suitable candidate.Because of this, Yu Buyun was retained. In the gap between Yu Buyun and Yuqian, apart from personal sentiments, there are also differences in political opinions.Yuqian was extremely contemptuous of the British "barbarians", spoke violently, and took various measures without leaving room.Yu Buyun is old in the army and knows the difficulties of military affairs, so he is more attracted to Yilibu in terms of "barbarian" strategy.The two later confronted each other in order to deal with the British prisoners. In September 1841, Zhenhai civilians captured two crew members of the British opium ship Lyra.After the interrogation, Yu Buyun suggested that the British prisoners "be used to feed themselves, to interrogate the enemy at any time, and to use them for other purposes."Yu Qian immediately saw through Yu Buyun's intentions.His reaction was that, in terms of "making a better living", the British prisoners were already injured at this time, and it was doubtful whether they could support them; For other purposes", trying to follow the example of Iribu, taking the British prisoners as hostages, and bargaining with the British army in the future.Yuqian believed that "the accident in Guangdong can be a lesson for the past because each has its own two ends." If these two captives were kept, and the illusion of peace talks of Yu Buyun and others were preserved, "it would be enough to shake the morale of the army." The method is to execute the captives to "eliminate the thoughts of both ends of their heads." Since then, Yu Qian led Yu Buyun and others to swear to the gods to fight to the death, which is not aimless.In his oath, "he refuses to accept the piece of paper against the barbarians in the name of saving the lives of the people", it is likely to be aimed at Yu Buyun. On September 27, 1841, Emperor Daoguang received a memorial from Yuqian regarding the handling of British prisoners.Although Yu Qian only alluded to Yu Buyun's lack of fighting spirit, he still felt that the problem was serious, so he ordered Yu Qian to choose another replacement, "reporting the decree according to the facts".It seems that Emperor Daoguang has decided to change horses, but when this decree arrived in Zhenhai, Dinghai had already fallen, and the decisive battle in Zhenhai was imminent, even if Yuqian wanted to, it was already too late. From this point of view, Yu Sheng and Feng Shentai's report on Yu Buyun's suggestion of Yu Qian's "restraint" at the beginning of the war does not seem to be a calm wave, and it should be in line with Yu Buyun's thinking. However, the trouble with the problem is that both Yu Sheng and Feng Shentai changed their minds later. From the end of 1842 to the beginning of 1843, the Minister of Military Aircraft and the three judicial departments (Ministry of Punishment, Dali Yuan, Metropolitan Procuratorate) were ordered to interrogate Yu Buyun.Yu Buyun's answer to the scene of going to the city to meet Yuqian is: As a result, the situation changed drastically, from Yu Buyun asking to see Yu Qian, to Yu Qian asking to see Yu Buyun.The Minister of Military Aircraft and others interrogated the witness Yu Sheng, and replied: The Minister of Military Aircraft and others interrogated the witness Feng Shentai, and replied: The court proceedings in the Qing Dynasty were often chaotic as the trial progressed, because of the various transactions after the court.Emperor Daoguang ordered Yu Buyun to be locked up in May 1842, sent to the capital in August, and played by the Minister of Military Affairs and others on February 16 of the following year.During this period, it is naturally impossible to investigate what kind of behind-the-scenes links this "Prince Taibao"'s family members, subordinates, colleagues, and friends had behind the scenes.We don't know the details and real reasons of Yu Sheng, Feng Shentai's betrayal and rebellion, but based on our intuition, we feel that the reasons Yu Buyun narrated seem unreliable: at the beginning of the war, Yuqian called the former enemy general to talk about something. If it is far-fetched, isn't it just looking for trouble? Because of Yu Sheng and Feng Shentai's change of words, the Minister of Military Aircraft and others concluded that the original accusation was "not entirely true"; while the accusation of Yu Sheng and others was considered to be "caused by the pain of the master". Although we have reason to suspect that Yu Sheng and Feng Shentai changed their testimony through behind-the-scenes transactions; however, the defeat of Zhenhai was not caused by Yu Buyun. When I described the battle of Zhenhai earlier, I mentioned that Jinji Mountain fell before Zhaobao Mountain. This is based on the British records and the post-war investigation by Liu Yunke and others, and Yu Buyun has nothing to do with it.He was in charge of defending Zhaobao Mountain at that time, and his command position was Dongyue Palace between Zhaobao Mountain and Zhenhai County (see Figure 9 for details).The reason why the Yu family lived in this corner is that the British army's original idea of ​​warfare was that ships would break into the Daxia River, and here they could take care of the front (Zhaobaoshan) and the rear (Banjiangbu Fort) and take care of it in the middle.According to Yu Buyun, when the British army landed from the side of Zhaobao Mountain to attack Weiyuan City, he once supervised the troops to advance and repel the British army, rescued Zhang Hualong, and then returned to the river to shoot and damage several British ships.Compared with the British records, this statement is all whitewashing.However, when the British army attacked from the side and occupied Weiyuan City and turned to attack Dongyue Palace, Yu Buyun was indeed unable to parry, because this was the soft belly of the Qing army. The fall of Zhaobaoshan caused the British army to approach Zhenhai County, and when Yu Buyun retreated from Dongyue Palace to the county, Yu Qian, who was in a coma, was escorted to Ningbo by Yu Sheng, Feng Shentai and others.In other words, before Yu Buyun withdrew, Yu Qian had already committed suicide by retreating from the east wall; Yu Sheng and Feng Shentai protected him and left for Ningbo before Yu Buyun returned to the city.Yu Buyun should not be responsible for the fall of the county. It seems that Yu Buyun has already known all kinds of remarks that Yu Qian made against Yu Buyun in the secret compromise.Therefore, on the second day after the war, on October 11, this general, who had been under the cover of civil officials for a long time, finally had the opportunity to perform with a single title, and sneered at Yu Qian: On October 12, he played again, with sharp words: In the memorial, Yu Buyun did not mention at all that Yuqian fell into a coma due to suicide (this matter can be seen in the report of Deng Tingcai, the prefect of Ningbo at that time). , ran faster than Yu Buyun, and was proved to be a fact by subsequent investigations. If it is said that Yu Qian regarded "suppression of barbarians" too simply, and suffered so much that he had to commit suicide; then Yu Buyun also regarded "Jiyi" as too simple, and also suffered a lot, and almost lost his life. On October 12, 1841, the third day after Yuqian left Ningbo, Yu Buyun, who had actually become the coach, saw that there were no soldiers to fight and no danger to defend. Chen Zhigang sent a note to Pu Dingcha, asking for "good discussion". As a military general in a province, he did not follow the order of the emperor, and he communicated with the British side without authorization, which can be described as daring.Although we don't know what Chen Zhigang talked about in the "oral discussion", and we don't know the bottom price in Yu Buyun's mind, the previously vague and confusing battles and differences between the Yu and Yu families have been fully confirmed by this incident. After the note was sent, Yu Buyun eagerly waited for the news from the British side, who knew that the British side did not send the note, but sent troops. On October 13, the British warship left Zhenhai and traveled up the Daxia River, approaching Ningbo.When Yu Buyun learned about it, he fled to Shangyu in a hurry.Although he talked about how he fought the enemy bravely in his memorial on October 20 (delayed for 7 days), so that his mount was hit by enemy bullets and crushed his right leg; but judging from the British records, the British army It was the empty city of Ningbo that was occupied without bloodshed, and the military band of the 18th Regiment played the national anthem with ease on the city wall.Yu Buyun's injuries could only be caused by his panic during the escape. It was not until October 16 that British plenipotentiary Pu Dingcha arrogantly responded to Zhejiang governor Liu Yunke and Yu Buyun, claiming that when he received Yu Buyun's note, the British army had already started his journey, and he himself only had talks with the "plenipotentiary" ministers sent by the imperial court.Also issued together with this note: Pu Dingcha's note to the "Great Qing Dynasty Minister for Foreign Affairs" and Palmerston's note to the "Great Qing Minister for Foreign Affairs" (issued on May 3, 1841) As well as the notes from the Navy Commander of the British Expeditionary Force Baga and the Army Commander Guo Fuzhi Liu Yunke and Yu Buyun.The last note was like a notice of kidnapping by bandits, announcing that if you want to "save Hangzhou and the surrounding cities from the difficulty of breaking it", you must "pay the silver taels within a time limit"! The above-mentioned note from the British side was sent to Hangzhou by a Chinese person, but five days later, the person failed to achieve his purpose and returned.It is also fortunate that this unknown messenger failed to complete the task, otherwise Yu Buyun's act of giving the note without authorization would have been exposed at that time, and he would have been destroyed at that time. After a lapse of more than seven months, on May 31, 1842, the war situation in Zhejiang was defeated and out of control. In order to turn around the crisis and boost morale, Emperor Daoguang ordered Yu Buyun to be arrested and interrogated; Judiciary strict news. On January 16, 1843, the Minister of Military Aircraft and others announced that they had closed the case, denying Yu Sheng and Feng Shentai's accusations, but they still reported that they "plan to kill the prison guard, and implement the law immediately upon request".At this time, Emperor Daoguang moved a little bit of compassion, and ordered to "write the undiscussed university scholars, Jiuqing Kedao, and then discuss in detail with playing." On January 24, the senior members who participated in the deliberations played again, "Please order to implement the law immediately, and to abolish the law and discipline to make the law clear."On the same day, Emperor Daoguang issued an imperial decree, declaring that Yu Buyun "beheaded immediately"! This is the only senior official executed in the Opium War.Yu Qian led Yu Buyun's big oath before the battle, "Ming Zheng's punishment" was really fulfilled. The battle between Yu Buyun and Zhenhai was a public case in the Opium War, which has always been talked about by historians.I have harassed the readers here and again, on the one hand, to explain the truth of the matter (the previous narratives were often biased), and on the other hand, to continue to answer the "traitor" question I mentioned in the introduction. Although the final judgment of the Minister of Military Aircraft and the Sanfa Division completely negated the original accusation, and although the investigation by Liu Yunke and others determined that Yu Buyun fled Zhenhai after Yuqian, historians for more than 150 years have said that when the Battle of Zhenhai , still mostly attributed to Yu Buyun.Not only because they did not have access to much more material today (many archival material has just been published), but more importantly, they firmly believe that stubborn resistance will prevail. According to this line of thinking, Yang Fang and Yishan did not persevere in resisting, and set themselves up for defeat; Yan Botao was a verbal campaigner who fled before the battle, and could not follow suit; Defeated was originally outnumbered and fought bloody battles for six days and six nights; but in Zhenhai, Yuqian, the number one main combatant, committed suicide in despair after being defeated, and this created a loophole.Yu Buyun can just make up for this loophole. Thus, Yu Buyun, like Qi Shan, became another "treacherous minister" of the Qing Dynasty.The conflict between Yu Qian and Yu Buyun, which was originally caused by personal sentiments and policy differences, has become a conflict between "loyalty" and "treacherous".Moreover, if it were not for the sabotage of the "traitorous ministers", the resistance of the "loyal ministers" (Battle of Zhenhai) would have been very likely to succeed. Therefore, Yu Buyun was so characterized by contemporaries and later generations, not from historical materials, but from the thought of arranging historical materials.It is precisely because of this kind of thinking that after the "treacherous minister" Qi Shan in the Battle of Humen and Yu Buyun in the Battle of Zhenhai, we will also see Niu Jian, the "treacherous minister" in the Battle of Wusong.In contrast, Guan Tianpei, Yuqian, and Chen Huacheng served the country with all their loyalty. The truth of Yu Buyun was thus covered up. What I have to emphasize here is that Yu Buyun is not in an unjust prison.According to the military law of the Qing Dynasty, those who guard the city and lose the city will be executed.This strict military law, in the minds of the military generals at that time, was as familiar as "killing for life".Chen Liansheng, Guan Tianpei, Xiangfu, Ge Yunfei, Wang Xipeng, Zheng Guohong, Xie Chaoen, as well as Changxi, the deputy governor of Zhapu who will appear in the next chapter, Chen Huacheng, the admiral of Jiangnan, and Hailing, the deputy governor of Jingkou (Zhenjiang), all died in battle. He did not escape because of defeat; Jiang Jiyun, the general soldier of Jinmen Town, garrisoned Shibi in the Battle of Xiamen, climbed out of the fortifications and threw himself into the sea after being defeated and died.In addition to their spirit of resistance against the "Niyi", the strict military discipline also made them aware of the duties of generals.Before Yu Buyun, although Zhang Chaofa, the commander-in-chief of Dinghai Town, was defeated and wounded in the first battle of Dinghai and fled to Zhenhai, but according to the regulations at that time, Dinghai Town was a naval town, and the commander-in-chief had no responsibility to defend the city! The reason why the Minister of Military Aircraft and others planned to kill Yu Buyun was not based on the accusations of Yu Sheng, Feng Shentai and others, but the responsibility they should bear in the fall of Zhenhai.It can be seen from this that Yu Buyun deserves this punishment for his crime.By the way, Yu Buyun's "good discussion" note to Pu Dingcha was not disclosed at that time. If Mr. Masaya Sasaki had not found this document from the British archives, no one would know about it today.According to the law at that time, this behavior could be treated as "collaboration with the enemy", and the sentence at that time may not only kill him, but also harm his family. Emperor Daoguang officially approved Yu Buyun's "cutting down" on December 28th, the 22nd year of Daoguang in the Chinese calendar.According to custom, this order will be executed on the next day, which is Chinese New Year's Eve.On this festive day, how did Yu Buyun feel when the executioner was about to kill him?It can be confirmed that if Yu Buyun died in battle, with his title of Prince and Taibao, the honor of being a portrait of Ziguang Pavilion, and his achievements in more than 40 years of fighting, Emperor Daoguang's sympathy for him will definitely be higher than that of Guan Tianpei and Chen Huacheng.