Chapter 27 Two repeated battles and repeated defeats: from Hangzhou Bay to the Yangtze River

The "fu" that Emperor Daoguang decided at this time has a different meaning from the "fu" he advocated at the beginning of the war.A year and a half ago, he had no intention of accepting the conditions of the British side, and all his behaviors were no different from the ancient way of "softening the barbarians".A year and a half of war has made them understand that it is impossible not to make some concessions. Measured by today's political concept, to stop the war with all or part of the other party's conditions is undoubtedly "surrender".But people at that time didn't seem to think so, and thought it was still "caress".This is not only for the face of the "celestial dynasty", but also because in traditional Chinese political terms, "surrender" means surrender to the enemy.

However, it is a painful thing to be beaten by "Niyi" and to follow the "care" plan.As an official of the "Tianchao", Liu Yunke experienced a lot of ideological struggles from "suppressing" to "helping", and Emperor Daoguang, who was the "Son of Heaven", was even more unwilling. On May 9, 1842, Qiying arrived in Hangzhou. According to Emperor Daoguang's wishful thinking of "suppressing first and then appease", general Yangwei Yijing presided over the "suppression", and after the victory, the imperial envoy Qiying presided over the "verification".However, the arrival of Qiying seems to have greatly stimulated Yijing, so he successively reported to Emperor Daoguang that Dinghai had won the British ship burning, that the British army had given up Ningbo because of its persecution, and that the Qing army was about to attack Zhenhai... This series of "good news" "News" inspired Emperor Daoguang, who secretly suspected that there was no need to use the "caress" plan.Contrary to the Yijing, Qiying fell into the quagmire of defeatism as soon as he arrived in Zhejiang. He was pessimistic and disappointed when he played the performance, which was very disliked by Emperor Daoguang.When the British army made a slight move and Qiying decided to immediately implement the "Jiu" instead of following the order of "suppress first and then appease", Emperor Daoguang's dissatisfaction exceeded the limit of tolerance, and he decreed on May 25:

Emperor Daoguang stopped the missions of Qiying and Yilibu, and all the power in Zhejiang still belonged to Yijing.This reminds people of Yilibu's family member Zhang Xi who has quite a lot of political experience. He did not want to go south with his master, and he foresaw this situation. However, just when Emperor Daoguang changed his plan, the British army launched a new offensive of unprecedented scale. As early as the winter of 1841, the British army decided to launch the Yangtze River Campaign in the spring of the following year.This action plan was originally proposed by the former plenipotentiary Elliot, and was later approved by the British government. For this purpose, the Indian government was ordered to concentrate all possible troops in Singapore in April 1842, and then "cut off the main interior of the Chinese Empire." A stronghold of the land transportation line", that is, Zhenjiang, the intersection of the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal.It can be seen that this method of warfare was more able to hit the pain points of the Qing Dynasty than the decision to occupy the islands and blockade the coast at the beginning of the war.

However, in May 1842, the weather turned warmer, Commander South Wind, the reinforcements from India had not yet arrived, and Pudingcha, the plenipotentiary, was still in Hong Kong.Ba Jia, the naval commander of the British Expeditionary Force stationed in Zhejiang, and Guo Fu, the commander of the army, decided to launch an offensive without losing the opportunity.In order to make up for the shortage of troops, they gave up Ningbo and Zhenhai, and only stationed a minimum number of troops in Zhaobaoshan outside Zhenhai City.This troop withdrawal gave rise to Yijing's lie about the military situation that we mentioned earlier.

Although Yijing referred to the withdrawal of the British army from Ningbo as "exhausted by exhaustion" in the memorial, his heart was not calm because of this, but he watched the next move of the British army more nervously.When the news of Zhapu's war came, he couldn't help but turn pale with horror. Zhapu is a small town under Pinghu County, Zhejiang Province, located at the northern end of the mouth of Hangzhou Bay.Because of the importance of the geographical situation, after the Qing army entered the pass and went south, it sent troops to defend against the Eight Banners and was led by the deputy capital.In terms of administrative system, it is a special case that the second-rank officials in Zhapu City are in Pinghu County, just like the admirals and Tongzhi in Xiamen City are in Tong'an County.

Shortly after the start of the Opium War, on July 24, 1840, there was a small-scale military conflict between China and Britain in Zhapu.Since then, Zhapu has been the focus of coastal defense of the Qing army.After the fall of the three cities of Ding, Zhen, and Ning, it was the area with the largest number of garrisons in Zhejiang. There were eight banners garrisons, reinforcements from the province, reinforcements from Shaanxi and Gansu, Shandong hired soldiers, and local hired soldiers, totaling about 7,000 people. After the British troops withdrew from Ningbo on May 7, 1842, they assembled at Huangniu Jiao on May 13.This force has 7 warships, 4 ships, and more than 2,000 soldiers.It can be said that the vast majority of the British army in Zhejiang has been assembled.Due to the influence of the tide, the British army reached the sea near Zhapu on the 17th.After some reconnaissance, on the 18th, the British army launched an offensive.

From the memoirs of British officers, we can see a combat map.This picture clearly shows that the British army still adopted the old tactics of naval bombardment of the front and the army's flanks in Zhapu. Although since the autumn of 1840, Zhapu has been the focus of the Qing army in Zhejiang Province, and more than 7,000 troops were assembled before the war.However, it lacks defensive systems such as Xiamen, Dinghai, and Zhenhai. The only fortifications worth mentioning are the city walls. According to the report of the British Army Commander Guo Fu, "the city walls are not as high and as good as expected"; The number of important artillery is also very small, only 60 (11 of which are bronze cannons), which is equivalent to one-tenth of Xiamen and less than 40% of Dinghai and Zhenhai.In addition, the guard did not expect that the British army would launch an attack from the southeast highlands, and the command during the defensive operations was very chaotic.

Nevertheless, the price paid by the British army in capturing Zhapu far exceeded that of Xiamen, Dinghai, and Zhenhai. A total of 9 people were killed and 55 were injured, ranking third in all battles in the Opium War.For example, in Tianzun Temple, some Qing troops resisted tenaciously with light weapons only by relying on the walls of the house, and killed Lieutenant Colonel Tomlinson of the British Army and others until the temple was razed to the ground by British artillery.Most of the Qing army fled during the battle; the desperate fighting of the officers and soldiers of the Eight Banners stationed in Zhapu shocked the British army. Their homes and families were here. They could not escape and had nowhere to escape.The tragic act of committing suicide by the whole family shows their unyielding character.

The flames of war ignited from the south bank of the Qiantang River to the north bank.Rumors that the British army will attack Jiaxing and Hangzhou made the military and political officials in Zhejiang tremble with fear.When the British ships appeared at Jianshan in Haining Prefecture, people in Hangzhou were panicked, and the fleeing people blocked the river port.However, on May 28, the 10th day after the British army captured Zhapu, they all evacuated and continued northward. Their next target was Wusong (now Shanghai) in Baoshan County, Jiangsu Province. Wusong is located where the Huangpu River enters the Yangtze River. It is the gateway to Shanghai and the first barrier for the defense of the Yangtze River.Baoshan County is only 2 miles away from the west bank of Wusongkou, facing the Yangtze River.

Since July 1840, when Yilibu heard that the police led troops to fortify, Wusong has always been the focus of Jiangsu's coastal defense.Jiangsu's highest military and political officer personally sits here and directly commands.Chen Huacheng, the admiral of Jiangnan water and land, even insisted on living in a tent next to the fort, waiting for death.If so, nearly two years.Under their leadership, Wu Song's fortifications and weapons and equipment have undergone brand-new changes. Wusong's defense system is completely comparable to that of Xiamen and Dinghai. Its specific deployment is as follows:

1. There are a total of 134 artillery pieces in Tutang area on the west bank, 10 artillery pieces in the Xinyueyan Fort, and more than 1,000 garrison troops, commanded by Jiangnan admiral Chen Huacheng.After the Tutang, there is a tent, and there are second-line troops stationed by land. 2. The earth pond and fort on the east bank are equipped with 20 cannons and more than 1,000 defense soldiers, commanded by the general of Chuansha Battalion. 3. Baoshan County installed 50 large and small artillery and 2,000 defense soldiers. Niu Jian, the governor of Liangjiang, was stationed here in person. 4. About 3 miles northwest of Baoshan County, at Xiaoshabei on the bank of the Yangtze River, 700 defense troops were stationed, led by Wang Zhiyuan, the commander-in-chief of Xuzhou Town, to prevent British troops from attacking from the flank. 5. Division ships, civilian ships, and imitation ships were all deployed on the Huangpu River within the Tutang to prevent the British army from entering the inland river. (The above deployment can be seen in Figure 11) As far as the previous battles of the Opium War were concerned, this kind of defense could not withstand the offensive of the British army, but Niu Jian, the new governor of Liangjiang, who was in command of the battlefield at this time, was unaware of it.He confidently formulated a specific and subtle plan to deal with the enemy behind closed doors.This kind of unrealistic plan was a common problem of bureaucrats who had never experienced battlefields in that era. "Water and land are strictly controlled, and you can use the method of static braking." Niu Jian's self-confidence is not surprising.This person from Wuwei, Gansu, was born in the Imperial Academy of Sciences, worked as a speech officer, let go of foreign posts, and never knew "