Chapter 33 Chapter 8 The Telling of History

History cannot repeat itself.Historians do not stop working on assumptions, inferences, etc. because of this.Many meanings of history lie in it. When I was researching the history of the Opium War, I quickly came to the conclusion that the Qing Dynasty would be defeated in the face of war, and it should conclude a relatively beneficial peace treaty with Britain as soon as possible.This is of course an assumption.However, in this way, I encountered two objections from my heart: 1. According to this judgment, the Qing Dynasty should not have resisted, and the British warships would have surrendered as soon as they sailed into the sea of ​​China?

2. According to this judgment, the blood of the soldiers of the Qing army who fought bravely on the battlefield was shed in vain? As a Chinese, I cannot avoid these objections.So, I thought for a long time... Looking from the east of the China Sea, facing the sun, is another important country in East Asia - Japan.In the eyes of the Chinese, this nation, which is located in the place where the sun rises, shows great interest in the civilization that they regard as the place where the sun sets.For more than a thousand years, they have learned a lot from China, so that they are recognized as a country within the Han cultural circle.

Soon after the outbreak of the Opium War, Japan also encountered the same trouble as the Qing Dynasty. In 1853, Matthew Calbraith Perry, commander of the US East India Fleet, led four warships from Shanghai into Tokyo Bay.The shock it caused in Japan was no less than the arrival of a British warship at Dagu 13 years ago.The Tokugawa shogunate in power faced the letter of credence sent by Perry, as if Emperor Daoguang held Palmerston in his hand and sent a letter to the prime minister of China.They didn't know what to do, took a weak stance, and agreed to give an answer next year.Because these steam-powered American warships, the most advanced in the world at the time, were painted black, it was called the "Black Ship Incident".

The following year, Perry came again.This time brought 7 warships with better equipment.Under the coercion of this force, the Tokugawa shogunate accepted the conditions of the United States, signed a treaty, and was forced to found the country. The gap was thus opened, and the western flood rushed straight in.By 1858, Japan had signed more than a dozen unequal treaties with the United States, Britain, Russia, France, and the Netherlands.Western powers thus obtained unequal rights such as consular jurisdiction, unilateral most-favored-nation treatment, agreed tariffs, and the establishment of concessions (residences).Except for land cession and compensation, Japan "enjoys" the same treatment as China.

All of this originated from the four "black ships".During these five years, Japan did not show the slightest resistance.Signing a treaty on the terms of the other party can be regarded as surrender.If Japan does not resist, it is the weakness of the shogunate. Conversely, even if it resists, it will suffer the same fiasco as China.However, the various stimuli after the founding of the country turned into another catalyst.The wild song written with the Japanese homonym "Shangxixuan" of the steam engine has a vivid summary of this: The warships turned into strong tea here, which caused a high degree of excitement in the nerve center, caused the Japanese nation to struggle without sleep, and caused a major turning point in Japanese history-the Meiji Restoration.

Japan succeeded.Few of today's Japanese historians deny that the failure of the "Ansei Five Kingdoms Treaty" is the mother of Japan's success today. Just as it is impossible for a person not to stumble in his life, a nation will fail many times in history.Failure is not terrible.Although Japan's initial failure brought various disasters to it, the real loser was the Tokugawa shogunate and its "lockdown" policy. For the Japanese nation today, the pain at that time was no more painful than the vaccination of infants. Discomfort is more intense with the vaccinia vaccine.History with time as the main axis gives any nation in the world a chance to make a comeback.Are there still few stories of "ten years of gatherings, ten years of lessons" in Chinese history?The relaxation of vision and the extension of distance will give historians another concept of value.

As I mentioned in Chapter 3, it is undoubtedly right to resist the invasion of the great powers by force; but this resistance is doomed to failure, and it is wise to choose otherwise.The former is moral and the latter political.Responsible politicians can choose strategies that are more beneficial to their nation.This cannot be summed up simply by the moral concept of "patriotism" or "traitorism". The example of Japan has proved that it is also a wise choice to avoid war and reduce losses; even if unequal treaties are concluded, it is not necessarily inevitable to sink blindly.The failed nation still has a chance to be brilliant again, the key lies in the hard work after the war.

However, the Qing Dynasty was different from the Tokugawa Shogunate.It is a confident "celestial dynasty", despite the fact that it is riddled with diseases.It did not believe that it was defeated by the mere island "Yi", so it was impossible not to use force to resist at that time.There are many materials to prove that the defeat of the Qing Dynasty in the Opium War had a lot to do with the Tokugawa shogunate's non-resistance decision.The Qing Dynasty has nothing to learn from the past, except to taste it personally.Whether Qishan or Iribu, their peace plan cannot be accepted by the British side, and their war-avoidance strategy cannot be tolerated by the "Chinese Empire".War is inevitable.The soldiers of the Qing army were doomed to bleed on the battlefield.

From this point of view, my assumption that giving up armed resistance and signing a treaty with the British side as soon as possible is just a strategic choice of "after the fact", which was not realistic at the time.Its significance is only to provide value standards other than moral criticism for people who study this period of history. From this, the question turns to the next level, how can the blood of the soldiers of the Qing army not be shed in vain on the battlefield. Winning victory with blood is the full embodiment of its value.It may not be meaningless to exchange blood for failure, which is the so-called "blood lesson".It is the greatest respect and the best commemoration for the martyrs for a failed nation to seriously think over its past and change its plans after the war.This is the value of the blood shed by the soldiers of the Qing army.

But what about the Qing Dynasty?It seems that it has not yet awakened from the dream of "China" and bravely entered the new world, but remains the same as before, as if nothing happened. Let us take a look at the post-war performance of these important characters who should have made deep introspection according to the order of appearance of the characters in this book. In August 1841, Qi Shan was designated as the marquis of beheading the prison, and he was executed after the fall.But in the autumn, Emperor Daoguang Jiaen released him and sent him to the Zhejiang military camp to serve as atonement.Due to Yijing's opposition, he was transferred to Zhangjiakou Military Station as a drudgery. In March 1842, Zhang Xi met him, and he "deeply believed it was right" in his judgment of Zhang Xi's situation.

By the end of the war, Qishan's charges were overturned by the facts.Mu Zhang'a and others designed the rescue, and instructed Zhili governor Na'er to speak to the time, and Emperor Daoguang agreed. In January 1843, Qishan was ordered to be the fourth-class guard (from the fifth rank) and served as the counselor of Yaerqiang (the seat of the government is now Shache).Before he took office, he was awarded the second rank Dingdai in April, and transferred Rehe Dutong.The censor Chen Qingyong bluntly remonstrated, pointing out that the reason why the British were rampant was because Qishan "showed weakness".Therefore, Emperor Daoguang withdrew his order, dismissed Qishan, and ordered him to "think about his mistakes behind closed doors."Chen Qingyong's analysis of the just-concluded war is still Yuqian's "theory of the human heart."His memorials represent the level of understanding of many Confucian officials and scholars. Not long after, in November 1843, Emperor Daoguang awarded Qi Shan the second-class bodyguard (the fourth grade) and the Minister of Affairs in Tibet. In 1846, he was awarded the second rank Dingdai and moved to the governor of Sichuan. In 1848, he returned the top product Dingdai, and moved to co-organize the bachelor degree. In 1849, he was transferred to the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu.Qi Shan was finally reinstated as an official, and Emperor Daoguang once said his evaluation of him: The phrase "what has never been done" seems to contain an understanding of its performance in the Opium War. Soon after the death of Emperor Daoguang, Qishan was in bad luck again. In 1851, he was dismissed because of the indiscriminate killing of innocent people in Qinghai, and sent to Jilin to serve as atonement.Not long after, due to the prosperity of the Taiping army, he was appointed as the governor of Henan with the third rank, and then the imperial envoy with the title of capital, and took charge of the Jiangbei camp. In 1854, he died in the army. From his comeback in 1843 to his death in 1854, from Qishan's 11 years of experience, we can't see any change of purpose due to this war.Except for a small confrontation due to British spying when he was the Minister in Tibet, his main strength is still on traditional affairs, and he is most concerned about how to invite the grace again.Although we don't know whether he has no introspection in his heart, it is indisputable truth that he has not done anything beneficial for China's reform. From Qishan's performance after the war, we can also conclude that his strategy of avoiding war during the war was just a kind of peace, without long-term plans and overall thinking.However, in the dangerous world of the 19th century, it is not worth appreciating that such peace will only bring China into disaster again and again. In June 1841, Lin Zexu ordered to be sent to Yili to serve as atonement.Due to the burst of the Yellow River, in August, it was changed to Xiangfu, Henan Province, and assisted in the work of the river (at the same time as Qishan Dingqiao).After the blockage was closed, it was still sent to Yili, and arrived in Huiyuan City in December 1842.He lived here for more than two years. According to the memorial of Yili General Buyantai, he was "assigned to the food and salary department" and according to Lin Zexu's letter, he was "idle all day long, doing nothing".Life in Xijun was difficult, and according to Lin's letters and diaries, he seemed to be constantly ill. Before arriving in Yili, that is, from June 1841 to December 1842, Lin Zexu was very concerned about the development of the war situation.Although his strategy of building a "navy army" is unrealistic (see Chapter 6 for details), he has a keen sense of the military differences between the two sides: In this analysis, he put forward the key words of the eight characters: "good equipment, skilled skills, courage, and unity of heart".Although this is not a complete national salvation plan, it also shows a positive and enterprising spirit worthy of recognition. In August 1841, his one-day meeting with Wei Yuan in Zhenjiang left another page worth recording for the history of modern Chinese thought. After arriving in Yili, Lin Zexu became depressed, most concerned about the personnel changes in the capital and the possibility of his comeback.This was originally an occupational disease in the officialdom at that time, and there is nothing wrong with it. The two letters written to Shaanxi Governor Li Xingyuan in April and October 1843 show a clear change of mood.The previous letter stated: Later letter said: This may be because Lin felt that Li was not caring enough and did not express his heart, but a letter to Mrs. Zheng and his eldest son in January 1843 probably meant what he said: Compared with other people's fate, Lin seems to be grateful for his "snow and ice hall".Of course, this can also be interpreted as reassuring words for anxious family members.We cannot say that Lin Zaiyili had no intention of listening to the news from the southeast. On the contrary, he cherished the news very much, but he never commented on it again.Being the victim of a crime, you need to be cautious. Maybe Lin thinks it's inconvenient to say more about his identity and role. At the beginning of 1845, Lin Zexu got an opportunity to investigate the situation of reclamation in various parts of Xinjiang.This turning point came from Yili general Buyantai's recommendation, which also showed that Emperor Daoguang's attitude towards Lin began to change.In October of that year, Emperor Daoguang summoned Lin to Beijing to make up for it with four or five ranks of the capital. In December, he was ordered not to come to Beijing, and acted as the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu with the third rank. In April 1846, he was ordered to replace Deng Tingzhen, who had died of illness, as governor of Shaanxi. In May 1847, he moved to the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou. In September 1849, Lin was allowed to open a vacancy due to illness. In April 1850, he returned to his hometown Fuzhou. From garrison to governor, Lin Zexu turned around politically.What is particularly interesting is that Emperor Daoguang did not call Lin to Beijing for training several times according to the usual practice.It is still unknown whether he felt that he had failed Lin, or he was still unwilling to forgive Lin.However, as soon as Lin Zexu came back, he was given the right to play a memorial. There are still a large number of memorials from this period, and there are exchanges of pen and ink between the monarch and his ministers. In recent decades of research, it is generally believed that Lin Zexu had a progressive idea of ​​reforming China's status quo (mainly in terms of military affairs).According to this line of thinking, he should have some suggestions and actions after his comeback.Unfortunately, however, I could find no evidence of this.His meticulous style of handling affairs is the same as before, but it mainly revolves around traditional affairs such as counterinsurgency. At that time, China's most urgent tasks were put aside, and he just followed the political direction at that time.As a first-rank official, he already has sufficient power and ability, why didn't he say it, why didn't he do it? Mr. Jiang Tingfu believed that Lin Zexu didn't speak up when he knew it, and he didn't do it when he knew it. He raised moral charges against this.In fact, there is another possibility that Lin Zexu's thought has been exaggerated by today's people. I mentioned in the second chapter that Lin Zexu's various measures to understand the outside world in Guangdong were kept silent, and people today can know all about it, relying on the historical materials of historians.However, he did not directly answer his views on the outside world, so it is difficult to make an accurate assessment of the breadth and depth of his open eyes to see the world.Judging from his misjudgment of the war, it seems that he did not have a thorough understanding. People today say that Lin Zexu had the thought of reforming China, which is mainly derived from the famous proposition "Learning from the barbarians to control the barbarians" in Wei Yuan's "Haiguo Tuzhi" (to be introduced later).But whether this idea came from Lin, there is no direct evidence.As for his purchase of Western ship guns in Guangdong, it seems that it cannot be used as proof.Before Lin, there were foreign cannons purchased by merchants on the Humen Fort. After Lin, when Yishan ruled Guangdong, the scale of merchants donating Western-style warships and imitating Western-style weapons greatly exceeded Lin. From this, we can conclude that Lin Zexu has the rare and limited fact of seeing the world with his eyes open, but it cannot be deduced that he has the idea of ​​reforming China.This can be illustrated by taking the Shenguang Temple incident as an example. Due to the discrepancy between the Chinese and English versions of the Treaty of Nanjing, whether foreigners can enter the cities of the treaty ports varies from place to place. In 1845, British diplomats entered Fuzhou, but the British people were turned away from the city. In 1849, the victory of Guangzhou's anti-invasion struggle greatly inspired the Qing Dynasty. In February 1850, Emperor Xianfeng succeeded to the throne, showing a different tough attitude in foreign affairs than before. In June, two British nationals came to Fuzhou and entrusted the acting British Consul William Raymond Gingell to rent the house of Shenguang Temple in the city, and handed over the lease to the Marquis and County Magistrate for affixing their seal.This is the first time that British people entered Fuzhou city.Lin Zexu, who had just returned to his hometown, heard the news and organized the gentry to write a public letter to question Hou Guan and the county magistrate. He also wrote to Xu Jiyu, the governor of Fujian, requesting to follow the example of Guangzhou and expel the British.Xu Jiyu advocated slowing down and avoiding troubles.Lin wrote again, asking a series of twelve questions, showing that he did not hesitate to trigger a big battle for the two Englishmen to enter the city.For this reason, he also said to Xu Jiyu: "If you need the gentry and the people to help each other and become horns, you must wait for your order and obey it quickly." Temporary case. How to treat foreigners entering the city, the value concept at that time was very different from today.As the only incident related to the West that Lin Zexu intervened after the war, we can't see that he had ideas and means higher than that of Chinese society at that time.As far as the organization method is concerned, it is still the reappearance of Xu Guangjin and Ye Mingchen a year ago, and the reckless gesture of using force shows that he has not learned the lessons of the last war.History has proved that this method cannot "control barbarians", only "barbarians". Before the Shenguang Temple incident, Emperor Xianfeng wanted to summon Lin Zexu to Beijing and entrust him with important duties.After the Shenguang Temple incident, Guangxi's "bandits" made a masterpiece (the Qing government did not know about Hong Xiuquan at that time), Emperor Xianfeng ordered Lin to be the imperial envoy in October 1850, and went to Guangxi to "put down the ugly people". On November 5, he set off from Fuzhou and arrived in Puning, Guangdong on the 22, where he died of illness.There is a folklore that the merchants sent people to poison and murder, but it has not been confirmed.Lin Zexu's dictation during his critical illness, and his son Lin Congyi's written records still show the loyalty of the courtiers to the monarch, and we cannot see the new atmosphere we hoped for. Emperor Daoguang heaved a long sigh of relief when he got the news that the British army had withdrawn from the Yangtze River.The war of more than two years is finally over, and the world is finally peaceful.His first reaction to this was quite natural: he immediately ordered the withdrawal of troops from the coastal provinces to save huge military expenditures. Lin Zexu compiled and recorded the letters from Beijing and China, and one of them described the scene of Beijing after the war: These are naturally related to the likes and dislikes of the monarch.Although the outcome of the war was cruel, Emperor Daoguang did not make a deep self-reflection, and still, as always, offloaded all responsibilities to his subordinates.After Niu Jian was arrested and questioned, he sent Yishan, Yijing, Wenwei and other former enemy generals to the lobby of the Ministry of Punishment, and designated them all as beheaded prison guards.In his heart, he believed that the reason for the defeat was that these slaves failed to act with solid strength, and that the doom of the "Heavenly Dynasty" lay in the lack of loyal and wise ministers. On October 2, 1842, Li Xingyuan wrote in his diary: Although he was so remorseful that he "clenched his fist and hammered his heart", he only admitted one mistake, "the employment is unknown".More than a year later, Deng Tingzhen was released from Yili and returned to Beijing. When Emperor Daoguang summoned him, he still said that "the wrong person was used" (referring to Lin Zexu).Based on this review, the lesson he learned in the war is only to choose good ministers carefully.Qiying is one of the talents he discovered in this period. After the war, Emperor Daoguang ordered all provinces to build coastal fortifications, but because there was no military review, the old models were copied without improvement.In October 1842, Yishan reported that Guangdong had imitated a Western-style warship, and suggested that the old-style division ships should be stopped and that the funds should be used to build Western-style warships.Emperor Daoguang admired it quite a lot, and ordered Yishan to submit the design to the officials of Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu provinces for reference.However, there are many difficulties in materials and technology in building Western-style warships, and there are even more difficulties in funding. Officials from all over the country evaded them with fake words, so he stopped asking.Qi