Chapter 11 First Opium War

At that time, China had not been dismantled through the diorama, and still maintained the dignity of a first-class power.Therefore, Mr. Lin Zexu took a tough attitude. He believed that Mr. Elliott's request was not only "unsuitable to the national conditions" but also "interfering in internal affairs".Mr. Elliot had no choice but to give in, handing over all 1.4 million kilograms of opium, but he refused to bind, and withdrew to Macau with all the British businessmen.Later, Mr. Lin Zexu expelled them from Macau.Mr. Elliott and all the British businessmen crowded together on a British merchant ship and anchored in the South China Sea, anxiously waiting for the order from the British government.

Obviously, this matter is not over, but from the point of view of the Chinese officialdom's "saw shaft science", since the British have fled without a trace, and there is no shadow of them in sight, the matter is of course over.Mr. Lin Zexu reported to Emperor Mianning that Yingyi had been driven away.Opium has been banned (this is exactly the same as the statement issued by the Thai government: "The Kunsha armed group has been driven out, and opium has been banned." It shines back and forth, exactly the same).Mr. Mianning grew up in a palace full of women and eunuchs. His knowledge of the international situation is more like an idiot than that of Mr. Lin Zexu (this cannot be blamed on him, if it were you and me, he might be twice as idiot), he He jumped up happily, thinking that it was time to give the unruly British a harsher punishment.So he made a wrong decision, ordering the permanent cessation of British commerce and trade.

In the UK, the initial reaction was muted.British public opinion is on the side of the victimized Chinese (except for official newspapers, public opinion in any country often upholds justice). The "Times" questioned: "If Chinese people come to the UK to sell opium, they will be sentenced to death, why can the British go to China to run rampant?" The British Foreign Office informed Mr. Elliot: "Her Majesty's government cannot support immorality. businessmen." He rejected the proposal to send the navy into the Pearl River, and only ordered Mr. Elliott to settle the dispute by peaceful means.The situation in England made Mr. Elliot sit on the candle, and he could not sit down even if he continued to sit on it, but he couldn't pull it out, so he was in a dilemma.Unexpectedly, the edict to cut off trade forever saved him. Queen Victoria and below, including the opposition parties in Congress, were very excited and decided to use troops.

In 1840, the British expeditionary fleet arrived in Macau, with a total of 16 warships and 4,000 combat troops.Mr. Yilu was in high spirits at this time. He believed that there was no room for turning back with Mr. Lin Zexu, and decided to directly talk to the central government of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in China.He left a small number of troops to blockade Guangzhou, and led most of the ships to go north, captured the Zhoushan Islands on the way, established a supply station, and then went straight to Dagu, the outer port of Tianjin.Mr. Mianning, the Emperor of China, was taken aback by this, and appointed Mr. Qishan, the governor of Zhili (Hebei Province), to rush to Tianjin for negotiations.Mr. Yilu crossed the river fiercely. He wanted to demonstrate the might of British artillery, but the British troops stationed on the Zhoushan Islands contracted infectious diseases and died a lot. Elliot was eager to end his stay in the north, so he accepted Qi Shan. Mr.'s conditions: 1. China's Manchu Qing government promised to punish Mr. Lin Zexu for "handling things unfairly".2. Similarly, he promised to send officials to Guangzhou to listen to the grievances of the British businessmen.

When Mr. Yilu led the army to retreat, the emperor Mianning even spoke to Mr. Qishan with a three-inch tongue, saying that he was retreating from a powerful enemy, thinking that he was simply a genius in the world.Therefore, the unlucky Mr. Lin Zexu was dismissed and relegated to the remote Xinjiang to serve as an army, and Mr. Qishan was appointed as the imperial envoy (representative of the emperor) and the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi (Guangdong and Guangxi provinces) to be in charge of negotiating with the British.Mr. Qishan is actually a pustule (Chinese history is full of testimonials, a dynasty regime has reached the end, senior officials are full of pustules, and all talented people are hidden among the people).After he arrived in Guangzhou, what Mr. Elliot presented to him was not a grievance, but an ultimatum.The content of the ultimatum was as terrifying as the top of Mount Tai. In addition to demanding the immediate restoration of free trade, it also demanded the cession of Hong Kong as a trade base.Mr. Qishan, an old bureaucrat, neither dared to agree nor refused, and he dared not report to the emperor, Mr. Mianning.Mr. Elliot knew that only fists are the nemesis. In January 1841, the British army launched an attack and occupied the two fortresses of Humen and Chuanbi.Mr. Qishan was afraid of going to Guangzhou, so he hurriedly signed the document submitted by Britain. This is the "Nose Piercing Treaty" that caused trouble:

1. Hong Kong was ceded to the United Kingdom, but China still retained the right to levy taxes. 2. Compensation for confiscated British merchants' opium price of six million taels. 3. Recognize the equal status of China and the UK. Mr. Mianning, who was sitting on the Golden Luan Palace in Beijing, was trembling with anger at this unexpected change. He ordered Mr. Qishan to be arrested, and another man who was also a pustule but was the most trusted member of his team, Mr. Yishan, was appointed as the president. Commander (General Jingni) and Hunan Corps Commander (Hunan Admiral) Mr. Yang Fang served as deputy commander in chief and led his 10,000 elite troops to advance to Guangzhou.