Chapter 87 Eight, the troubles of the Qing Dynasty

The "Tianjing Incident" dealt a heavy blow to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, but the Qing army was not much better at this time. In October 1856, almost at the same time as the Tianjing Incident, the Second Opium War broke out.Britain and France each launched a war of aggression against China under the pretext of the "Yarrow Incident" and the "Ma Priest Incident". The Second Opium War lasted for four years, which was equal to the First World War.At the end of 1857, Ye Mingchen, governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, created a miracle in military history. His old man "does not fight, does not make peace, does not defend, does not die, does not surrender, and does not leave." In Guangzhou City, Governor Ye was captured—this is the only feudal official who was captured by foreign enemies in the history of modern China's century-old war.Governor Ye was transported to Calcutta by the British like a "piglet", and died of illness in a foreign country because of acclimatization.In May 1858, the British and French allied forces captured Dagu and Tianjin again. In order to calm down the situation, Emperor Xianfeng sent Guiliang, a scholar, and Huashana, a minister of officials, to negotiate a peace. The Americans, who have always used the name of mediation throughout the world, signed a treaty with Britain, France, Russia, and the United States, which is known as the "Tianjin Treaty" in history.

In June of the following year, the two sides had a dispute over where to change the contract, and they fought again in Dagu, and the Qing army took advantage of it.The devils from Britain and France made a comeback in 1860 and captured Dagu and Tianjin again. The two sides held talks in Tongzhou, Zhili, but the negotiations broke down due to the arrogance and rudeness of the foreign devils (who refused to promise to bow down to the emperor when the contract was renewed).Prince Gelinqin, a monk of the Qing Dynasty, detained thirty-nine people including the negotiator of the other party, Bacharley, and personally scolded them, and then sent them to the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice to let the foreign devils have a taste of the Chinese sky prison.It is said that when Prince Seng scolded, the Qing soldiers nearby beat Pachari on the head vigorously to emphasize it.The other negotiator, Rocky, was even more miserable, being grabbed by his hair and beard and rubbing back and forth in the dust under the prince's horse.During the escort, the gold buttons on their bodies were taken away by the escorting soldiers.

However, although this act was a happy act of enmity, it seriously violated international public law, and the reason why the Qing side detained people was actually: "This barbarian, Ba Xiali, was able to make good use of troops, and all the barbarians obeyed his orders. He has been captured now, and the barbarian The minds of the soldiers are sure to be in turmoil, and if we take advantage of this to suppress them, we will certainly have a chance of winning." The enraged British and French allied forces continued to march towards Beijing, and Prince Seng personally led the army to meet Zhangjiawan and Baliqiao.Although the Chinese soldiers were brave and tenacious, their equipment and tactical skills were far from those of their opponents, and they suffered a disastrous defeat.Earl Drisson recorded in the "Translator's Notes": "Standing at the bridge was a very tall Tatar. He looked like the commander-in-chief's standard bearer. He was holding a big yellow flag with black characters on it, and Point this flag from time to time in all directions. This is the flag of the monk king, and the eyes of all the officials are fixed on it, because it is giving orders to the entire Chinese army... At this moment, the bridge that the elite of the army personally guards has also passed. Heaps of corpses, yet the Tartar, though alone, still stood there, perhaps delivering the last orders of the monk king. Bullets and cannonballs whistled and whizzed around him, and yet he remained Calm and motionless... the shotgun knocked him to the ground, and the flag fell sideways, and with its mast came a convulsive hand clutching it..."This is the movie"Fire The source of the touching scene in "Old Summer Palace".

The British and French allied forces attacked the outskirts of Beijing. Emperor Xianfeng fled to Jehol in a hurry. Although Bacharley and others were released, what made the British and French allied forces angry was that the 26 British in the delegation were half dead or half injured; , seven dead and six injured, and the "Times" reporter Bao Erbei who was interviewing with the group was even dismembered. The British insisted on burning houses to show revenge, but the French believed that robbery was a good idea, and setting fire was harming others and benefiting oneself, so they had little interest.In the end, the British claim prevailed: "First, the imprisoned people, bound hand and foot, without food and drink for three days, received such barbaric treatment here. Second, if the Chinese government's actions Regardless of the cruel behavior of public international law and not giving it a long-term impression, the British people will be dissatisfied. If we make peace with them now and make an agreement to withdraw our troops and retreat, the Chinese government will regard our people as free to hunt and kill at will. At this point The emperor must be alert to his delusions. The emperor’s summer residence has been looted, but the loss suffered can be restored to its original state within a month.... The Yuanmingyuan palace is an important place, and everyone knows it. The reason for the destruction was given to the Chinese government In order to attack, the people who caused the tragedy are not their own people, so this move can be said to severely damage the Chinese government, even in terms of humanity, it cannot be blamed.” Therefore, the coalition forces decided to burn down the Old Summer Palace to leave a place for the Chinese people. "Long Impressions".

This purpose, they achieved.To this day, in the wilderness of the northern kingdom, among the wild flowers and vines, there is still that shame and sadness that cannot be washed away.But how many of us remember the origin of this shame? Bravery cannot conceal ignorance, bravery cannot conceal backwardness, and bravery cannot conceal the decline of this empire. In August 1861, Emperor Xianfeng died of illness in Rehe. Zaichun, the eldest son of Emperor Yiguifei Yehenala, succeeded to the throne.In November, two young men from the Yehenala family and Prince Gong Yi jointly launched the "Xinyou Coup". Three of the "Eight Ministers of Gu Ming" designated by Xianfeng were killed and five were dismissed.The Yehenala family and the Niu Gulu family, the empress of Xianfeng, listened to the government behind the curtain, and changed their reign name to "Tongzhi".Yehenara is the Empress Dowager Cixi, and she will rule China for forty-seven years.Two and a half centuries ago, Jintaishi, the leader of her ancestor Yehe tribe, before committing suicide after defeating the army, said bitterly that Aixinjueluo was our great enemy, and even if there was only one woman left in the Yehe tribe, it would be too late. We must avenge this.In the third year after the death of Empress Dowager Cixi, the Qing Dynasty perished, and most modern figures attribute the responsibility for the demise of the Qing Dynasty to her.This Yehenara Yulaner is probably the woman Jin Taishi mentioned?