Han immigrants to Zhenjiang

Zhenjiang campaign fierce battle west gate

1842 When the British invaded the Yangtze River valley, a fierce battle took place in Zhenjiang. Zhenjiang's geographical position is very important, and it is the gateway to the capital of South China. It has always been to seize Zhenjiang first and then Nanjing. In addition, from the perspective of the northern rulers, from Zhenjiang to the Grand Canal, they reached the hinterland of the south of the Yangtze River and mastered the income of the most elite areas in China. Zhenjiang guards the gateway of the Yangtze River and the canal at the same time. Under the ancient traffic conditions, it can be called "natural barrier" and "hub"

The Qing dynasty entered the customs, set foot on the south of the Yangtze River and slaughtered the Han people in Yangzhou on the other side. After the war, in order to avoid public grievances, the defense center in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River moved to Zhenjiang, which is separated by a river. In the Qing Dynasty, only first-class cities like Nanjing and Hangzhou were overcrowded. The total population of Manchu is only 2 million. Apart from the mainland cities where most people live in Beijing and some stay in Changbai Mountain, it is definitely the most important. Zhenjiang Banner Camp 1600 people. 184 1 year, in order to prepare for the British invasion, the children of the Eight Banners who had not fought for 200 years quickly repaired the crumbling city wall. As a result, the city wall was quite strong and the British army could not attack it again and again. After the war, the British army surveyed the fortifications in Zhenjiang. The wall of Zhenjiang is 30 feet high and 5 inches thick.

On the morning of July 2 1, 1842, the British army attacked Zhenjiang with two warships, brandy and Cornwallis. The strategy of the commander-in-chief of the fleet is to cut off the Grand Canal, paralyze the economic lifeline of the Qing Empire, and force the Qing government to negotiate peace. The British changed from the Yangtze River to the canal by boat and attacked the defenders from the west gate. As the picture shows, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal flows under the western wall of Zhenjiang city wall, and there is a single arch bridge on the river leading to the west gate. It is said that the British army invested 6,664 troops in four brigades. Look at the picture: the naval riflemen covered the other side with rifles, and the army soldiers marched from the river and the bridge to attack the west gate. The British army climbed the wall with a ladder, and the Qing army braved the bullets and fought back with an old gun and a local cannon, which really hit the British army hard. At one time, the British gave up attacking the west gate, walked along the canal and hit the south gate instead. Simon's brave guards forced the British army to retreat to the Yangtze River, and heavy artillery was transferred to blast the north gate. In the case of the loss of the four gates, Simon soldiers fought to the death with the British army in the street, and most of them died.

The defeated Manchu defenders were in a tragic shape. Above the city, the flag soldiers who were hit by several bullets embraced the British army and fell together; In order to avoid the humiliation of his wife and daughter, the man calmly cut his wife's throat and threw the child into the well. When the Eight Banners met British soldiers, they either glared or trembled at a distance. As long as the British take one step beyond it, they will immediately draw their swords and commit suicide. Hailing, the highest general in the city, also set himself on fire with his family in the mansion.

In this battle, 34 British soldiers died, which is the largest number of deaths in the whole China War. Just as the Manchu people don't understand why the Southern Han Dynasty fought to the death in the late Ming Dynasty, the British can't really understand the heroic struggle of the children of the Eight Banners. What the British don't know is that Qimin lives in the richest area in China, but can enjoy the wealth of the Han people and the spirit of ruling the Han people without production. Pampered, pampered. When the British finally destroyed their privileged position, they really realized that their homes were gone and their lives were ruined.

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Battle of Zhenjiang in Wusong

During the Opium War, the Qing army of China fought against the British invasion in Wusongkou (now Shanghai) and Zhenjiang, Jiangsu.

After Britain invaded eastern Zhejiang, it was prepared to expand the scope of aggression to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, block the mouth of the canal, cut off grain transportation, and then seize Jiangning (now Nanjing), forcing the Qing court to yield. In April of the 22nd year of Qing Daoguang (1842), the main force of the British army went north, captured Zhapu, Zhejiang on September 9th of the lunar calendar, and then invaded Wusongkou.

Wusongkou is located at the intersection of Huangpu River and Yangtze River. There are forts on the east and west banks, 180 cannons, and more than 2,400 people are stationed in Chen Huacheng, the prefect of the south of the Yangtze River. On the eighth day of May, the British ship 13 shelled the east and west forts to cover the infantry landing near Wusong Town. Chen Huacheng led the defenders of Xibao to fight back violently, injuring four enemy ships and killing dozens of people. Soon, Niu, the governor of Baoshan Liangjiang, and the company commander guarding the rear of Xibao abandoned the array and fled. The rear of the west battery was attacked by the British landing, and the front was also broken by the British. The defenders were attacked before and after, most of them were killed, Chen Huacheng died heroically, and Xibao fell. British troops occupied Baoshan and East Fort. 1 1 day, the British army invaded Shanghai county and retreated to Wusongkou for reinforcements.

After reinforcements arrived one after another, the British army returned to Jiangxi with1.2000 people on May 28th, and arrived in Zhenjiang on June 12. Zhenjiang is located at the intersection of the Yangtze River and the Canal, facing the great river in the north and surrounded by mountains on three sides. It is the throat of the canal, the barrier of Jiangning, where more than 2000 people are stationed, and the age of the deputy commander. There are 3,700 people outside the city, including the prefect Qi Shen and Liu. On the morning of 14, more than 6,900 British troops formed the 1st 1, 2nd and 3rd brigades and launched an attack. 1. 3. The artillery brigade landed smoothly near Jinshan in the northwest of Zhenjiang. The first brigade cooperated with the Qing army barracks outside the city. After Qi Shen and Liu Shao resisted, they led the troops to Xingfeng (now Danyang North). The third brigade attacked the west gate, and the defenders resisted tenaciously, and didn't blast the city gate until noon. At the same time, the second brigade landed in Beigushan area in the northeast of the city and attacked the city by ladder, which was fiercely resisted by the defenders. Morning 10, attack the north gate. The Qing army in the city resisted successively, and launched fierce street fighting and hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, preferring death to surrender until sacrifice; Hailing supervised the war and finally committed suicide. Zhenjiang fell. Since then, the British arrived at the gates of Jiangning, forcing the Qing government to sign the treaty of nanking.