Chapter 12 Lin Zexu reborn from the ashes

According to the law of "being behind will be beaten", the process and outcome of the first Opium War were completely predictable. Of course, the premise is that the understanding of "backward" must be correct. "Backwardness" cannot be simply understood as insufficient fist strength. In fact, the most fundamental reason for being beaten is the backwardness of civilization, the backwardness of ideas, and even the inability to see one's own backwardness. Sadly, the Qing Empire was beaten into a pig's head and failed to make its decision-makers understand their backwardness, so they will have to be beaten in the future.

Fortunately, some intellectuals have been beaten soberly, which can at least ensure that the Chinese nation will suffer less beatings before the final rise. One of the intellectuals who were awakened was Lin Zexu who had not seen him for a long time. Lin Zexu was awakened by the cruel results that came one after another on the battlefield, especially when his friend Guan Tianpei, with the power of the Humen Fortress, had a large number of people, and occupied a defensive position, he could not survive the British attack for a day. Only then did he understand what the gap is!This made him realize how shallow his previous knowledge of the Western world was!

But Lin Zexu also understood that he was no longer an imperial envoy, his future was unpredictable, and he didn't know how the emperor would deal with him. How could he have the opportunity to re-understand the Western world in the future? Just when Lin Zexu was sad, Emperor Daoguang announced the final punishment for Lin Zexu: he was relegated to Yili, Xinjiang.The reason is that Lin Zexu not only failed to do a good job of banning smoking, but also made extra troubles, which attracted powerful enemies to the Qing Empire. For most people, the harsh environment of Yili may be the end of life.Lin Zexu obviously realized this too, but so what?Lin Zexu started on the road with heavy steps.

God is still fair, because it will not let you down all the way. Lin Zexu met a man on the way to be relegated to Yili. This man was his good friend. His name was Wei Yuan, and his character was silent.After the two exchanged pleasantries, Lin Zexu said what he wanted to say the most: Mo Shen, I am going to Guanshan Wanli, and the future is difficult. I am afraid that I will never see each other again in this life. From now on, I can only rely on you to understand the important task of educating the people of the West. up! Sure enough, Wei Yuan lived up to his trust. Ten years later, his imperial masterpiece "Pictures of Sea Kingdoms" was published in one hundred volumes. The thought in it "learn from barbarians to learn skills to control barbarians" has inspired generations of Chinese people!

This is of course a later story. After arriving in Yili, facing the desolate Northwest and the harsh political environment, Lin Zexu did not wait for death or flinch. Instead, he showed his backbone and bravery as an intellectual with practical actions. Gou benefits the country's life and death, how can it be avoided because of misfortunes and blessings! Regardless of his age and frailty, Lin Zexu traveled 30,000 miles in the Western Regions in a few years, surveyed most of Xinjiang's geography, human conditions, climate, frontier defense and other conditions, and recorded them with a pen. This is the most precious thing he obtained in Xinjiang. wealth.He later gave this notebook to a young man before his death. The young man who was lucky to inherit the wealth was Zuo Zongtang.

At the end of November 1850, Lin Zexu once again went to Guangxi as an imperial envoy to stabilize the situation, and died of illness on the way. Lin Zexu didn't have a holiday, so he couldn't face a man named Hong Xiuquan in Guangxi. I don't know if it was his luck or misfortune.