Chapter 26 Chapter 6: The Resurrection of "Fu" Discussion

Among the governors and governors of various provinces, Liu Yunke can be regarded as a special case.He is not an Imperial Academy, not a Jinshi, not even a Juren, but a Bagong student in the Imperial College, who barely has a proper background.He is not a relative, not a Manchu, and there is no record of his ancestors in the history books, so he is just an ordinary family.In the Daoguang Dynasty, which paid much attention to academic qualifications and family status, Liu Yunke was assigned as a trainee in the Ministry of Criminal Affairs as a seventh-rank official in the capital. Until 1826, the vacancy was officially filled. In August 1840, he replaced the unlucky Wuer Gonger as the governor of Zhejiang.In this short period of 14 years, Ding Fuyou also stayed at home for 3 years.

Liu Yunke took the express train all the way in her official career, not by chance, but by her unique way of working in the office: 1. Do things hard; 2. Be well-behaved.The former fits well with Emperor Daoguang's political purpose, and the latter makes him very popular in official circles. For example, the imperial envoys Yilibu and Yuqian successively stationed in Zhenhai, but they didn't seem to care about the defense of the place.Liu Yunke, as governor of Zhejiang Province, felt responsible, and did not give up her responsibility just because there were imperial envoys who took special precautions, so she went to persuade him several times and worked hard.After the matter was over, he did not make any publicity, but attributed the achievements to Yi and Yu. When he played the performance, he just said lightly that "the additional projects should be reported separately by Yilibu" and "it was ordered by Yuqian, the imperial envoy".His actions naturally please the chiefs, but the faint words in the memorial, and the subtext behind it, seem to be implicitly reminding Emperor Daoguang that he is the one who contributes.

In the Opium War, Liu Yunke was at best a second-rate character.Although he was the highest military and political officer in Zhejiang Province, which had the most wars, there were three imperial envoys (Yilibu, Yuqian, Qiying) and a general (Yijing) above him.He wasn't really in charge.The reason why he can attract attention lies in his main "caress" speech.However, at the beginning of the war, he was an out-and-out chief "suppression" official. At the end of 1840, when Liu Yunke rushed from Sichuan to Zhejiang for a new post, she made up her mind to fight a bloody battle with the "Niyi".Seeing the actions of Yiribu, who was in charge of Zhejiang military affairs at this time, he was instinctively disgusted.When he received Yilibu's letter about the truce in Zhejiang, he didn't believe it at all. He sent another spies to sneak into Dinghai, which was occupied by the British army, to collect information, and concluded that the British army would occupy Dinghai for a long time. The move to "help the barbarians" is bound to fail.So, he reported the information to Emperor Daoguang, and also made a little bit of criticism to Yi and Qi, hiding needles in his mouth.He knew that with his status, it was impossible to persuade Yi and Qi, so he used the power of Emperor Daoguang to restrain Yi and Qi.Emperor Daoguang really made an order.Yilibu was dissatisfied with this, and played twice to retort Liu's "incomplete investigation" and "there are still untrue facts", claiming that he was stationed in Zhenhai, which is more accurate than "knowledge and visits are more real".Liu Yunke did not let go of this, and instead jointly played with Yan Botao, saying that Yilibu "even though he can develop well, but he is supportive of business planning, but he is not very helpful." Matters concerning the attack and suppression", and he was granted the special right to report on it, so as not to be controlled by Yiribu.

When Qishan and Yilibu presided over the "Fuyi" affairs, and shortly after Lin Zexu and Deng Tingzhen stepped down, Liu Yunke's remarks and behavior had their own dazzling scenery.The British side also pays close attention to this. The "China Series" published in February 1841 commented on this: "Under the jurisdiction of the new governor Liu Yunke, the situation in Zhoushan has deteriorated"; declared a truce". After Yuqian took over Zhejiang, the two shared the same interests and cooperated tacitly.Liu Yunke enthusiastically participated in the construction of defense projects in Dinghai and Zhenhai.Yuqian said that Liu "loves the people like a son, and is skilled in commanding soldiers".After Lin Zexu came to Zhejiang with the title of Sipinqing, Liu Yunke got along with him day and night.According to Lin Zexu's diary, during his 35 days in Zhejiang, the two did not meet each other for only 5 days, two of which were because Liu went to Dinghai and could not meet.Lin Zexu was later dispatched to Xinjiang, and Liu also went to his apartment to see him off.

Just when everything came true and Liu Yunke was full of ambition, in October 1841, the British army captured Dinghai, Zhenhai, and Ningbo. The three generals died in battle, and Yuqian committed suicide.When Liu Yunke heard it, it was like a thunderbolt from the blue sky, and she turned pale with horror.Dinghai and Zhenhai defense projects are the strongest fortifications he can imagine and build, and Yuqian and others are the most outstanding officials he has encountered. What?Unwillingness to accept reality does not deny reality.Horror is followed by deep thought.The enthusiasm for the main "suppression" faded due to the defeat at the front.So, he wrote a paragraph in the memorial that has a clear meaning but vague words:

Not long after, he received an order from Fa Qishan to serve in Zhejiang, thinking that Emperor Daoguang's attitude had changed, and hurriedly played on October 30, 1842, requesting that Yilibu be sent to Zhejiang to "serve for atonement". Emperor Daoguang's proposal to use Yilibu was sternly rejected; and the Yangwei general sent by Emperor Daoguang only heard that he was having fun in Suzhou.The British army in Ningbo City has repeatedly released the wind to attack Hangzhou.Liu Yunke has no soldiers, no generals, and no good way to retreat from the enemy. She just feels that everything in front of her is extremely dangerous.Although he worked hard in Hangzhou, he didn't even believe in his defensive measures: set up wooden fences at all lanes in the city, use one of the people to guard the fence, and one of the battalion soldiers to guard the fence. Gongs and bangs... All kinds of actions are not so much about defending the enemy as they are about calming the people.But in Hangzhou, where the hearts of the people are floating, it has also stopped the trend of taking the opportunity to snatch it in a panic, so the people support it and the official voice is flying.He seemed to have thought of death.It is stated in the memorial: If the battle is unfavorable, "I can only donate my whole body to repay the innate virtue of my father, and I cannot use one hand to win the hearts of thousands of people."When the mood was at its worst, Liang Zhangju, the governor of Jiangsu province in the neighboring province, resigned due to illness, which aroused his secret envy.Therefore, he made a statement on January 29, 1842, claiming that he suffered from wind numbness during his tenure in Sichuan. , everything forgetful."He hoped that Emperor Daoguang would also open his vacancy, or at least give him a false treatment, so that he could get a chance to retreat and save when the building was about to collapse.However, the situation has deteriorated to such an extent that Emperor Daoguang had no intention of changing people and could not change, only Zhu Pijia said to comfort him.

General Yi Jing, who was looking forward to the arrival of the mighty general Yi Jing like looking forward to the stars and the moon, finally led the troops to the front line of Cao'e River in late February 1842, and Liu Yunke was in shock for a while.But 20 days later, the commander-in-chief was defeated in eastern Zhejiang and rushed to Hangzhou at night in panic.Liu Yunke fell to the bottom of the valley again, heartbroken, and also pulled down her face, and ordered that only Yi Jing should be allowed to enter the city, but she firmly refused to let all his followers out of the city.The reason he later explained was that he was afraid of the rout of the army and disrupting the city, and the second was that the British army would arrive at the end.

By this time, all efforts have failed, and all hopes have been dashed.The little bit of fighting spirit that Liu Yunke still had in the depths of her mind was swept away.Contrary to his usual well-behaved habits, and disregarding the possibility of disobeying the holy will, he made a famous "Ten Things to Worry" memorial on March 21, 1842.In the fold's clip, request to enable Irib again.The old chief who had been hurt by him was described in his pen at this time as: "The public is loyal to the country, and has no desire for quick success and fame. This is the only person I have seen in my life." Lin Zexu, Liu Yunke's thoughts turned 180 degrees when he played Yilibu.

In the eyes of many people today, it is undoubtedly a retrogression from the main "suppression" to the main "care".But from the example of Liu Yunke, we can clearly see the progress of her thought deepening.In the past, I tried my best to advocate "suppression", but I was blind, but now I am focusing on "appeasing" discussions, but I am focusing on reality. After Qishan and Yilibu were reprimanded, "Fu" Yi has been in bed for a year, and the desire to "suppress" is boiling.In this situation, it is quite risky to advocate "comfort" discussion, and no matter what the holy will is, even the slander on the way of speech is unbearable.Liu Yunke deserves to be regarded as a master in the officialdom. He didn't put forward "appropriation" directly. Instead, he made a fuss about the word "suppression", saying that if the war continues, there are ten "deeply dangerous" factors.Originally, as long as the "suppression" was proved to be unfeasible, the "fu" would be taken for granted.

Let us analyze Liu Yunke's "ten things to worry about". One of them said: The Qing army in Zhejiang suffered two setbacks, and their vigor was completely lost, and it was difficult to recover. From the first chapter of this book, I have continuously explained the corruption of the Qing army.The fact that they were defeated again and again proved this point.The two major defeats of the Qing army in Zhejiang in October 1841 and March 1842 completely wiped out the fighting spirit of the Qing army in Zhejiang.Emperor Daoguang also had the same view on this, and once reprimanded Yijing: "Neither can we charge forward to attack the thieves, nor can we stick to Yingcheng." The soldiers dispatched from foreign expeditions may have lost their souls."

The second said: Continue to adjust the Northwest Jinzu, far away from Zhejiang, so it's not urgent. At this time, Yangwei General Yijing asked Emperor Daoguang to continue sending 7,000 "strong soldiers" from all provinces to "come to Zhejiang quickly."The previous counterattack in eastern Zhejiang took more than 4 months due to waiting for reinforcements from Shaanxi, Gansu and Sichuan.This time, if according to the requirements of Yijing, such troops are deployed from the southwest and northwest, the time will not be less than 4 months.From this point of view, Yijing is not planning to attack, but to delay.Emperor Daoguang was very annoyed by this. Apart from reproaches, he only agreed to send 2,000 soldiers from Shaanxi and Gansu, and 1,000 soldiers from Henan and Guangxi.These reinforcements recruited from afar did not catch up with the battle in Zhejiang and were sent to the Jiangsu battlefield by Yijing. The third said: The British army's firearms were extremely violent and irresistible. This point has been fully explained in the previous chapters.I just want to add that since the war was carried out successively from south to north, and the military commanders of the provinces lacked knowledge of British military equipment (those who had a little knowledge, such as Lin Zexu, Deng Tingzhen, Qishan, and Yilibu were dismissed successively) Therefore, no corresponding countermeasures have been taken in terms of anti-gun measures and facilities.This made Qing army officers and soldiers who had no knowledge of British artillery and had experienced such rapid artillery fire for the first time, lacked psychological preparation, fell into fear on the battlefield, and fled in large numbers.Fear is a common problem in modern warfare, and its impact on morale cannot be underestimated.In the various battles of the Opium War, the number of Qing army officers and soldiers who were actually killed and wounded by British artillery was not many, and most of them quickly disintegrated under enemy artillery fire. The fourth said: The British army is not bad at land warfare. As I mentioned earlier, the most fundamental basis for the main "suppression" officials is that the British army is not good at land warfare.When this view is proved to be wrong, the main "suppression" thought will lose its foundation, and the main "suppression" officials will also waver. The fifth said: Even if the Qing army was lucky to win on land, the British army boarded a boat and fled, and the Qing army could only "look at the ocean and sigh." This is one of the main reasons for Emperor Daoguang's first shift from "suppression" to "fu" (see Chapter 3, Section 2 for details).When Liu Yunke brought up this topic here and now, it would naturally evoke some memories of Emperor Daoguang, because he was the real advocate of this theory. The sixth said: The British army tied the hearts of the people with small benefits, and they lived in peace with each other. What Liu Yunke said was completely opposite to what he said earlier. From the end of 1840 to the middle of 1841, when Liu Yunke resettled the Dinghai refugees and organized the construction of the Dinghai defense project, he saw that "the people's hearts are solidified and the righteousness is commendable", and praised in the memorial that "the villagers of all Ao have raised the righteousness of the enemy and the same hatred, Extremely enthusiastic."However, why would there be such a change after a year? In the Opium War, both the officials and the people were hostile to the "barbarians", but their starting points were different.The official is out of interest.It is not clear what harm the British aggression demands would do to their interests because of hatred for the atrocities of the aggressors.The concept of country and nation did not become a banner for the people to rise up (see Chapter 4, Section 3 for details).Under such circumstances, the mood of the people is like a spring. The heavier the oppression of the British army, the stronger the rebound force, and vice versa. In October 1841, after the British army occupied Dinghai, Zhenhai, and Ningbo, there were some changes in their tactics.They successively issued "Announcements to the People" in various places, asking the local people to "still live and work in peace and contentment", announcing that "thieves" would be punished.In Yuyao, Cixi, and Fenghua, the British army also opened government granaries and distributed them to the people, which was a bit like "robbing the rich and helping the poor".On the other hand, they also announced that if the people "hid the spies of incorruptible officials", once they were caught, the owners of the houses would be punished and their houses would be burned down.To emphasize this point, they also brutally captured Captain Steed's Zhenhai County