Who knows the leaves during the Opium War?

Ye Chenming is another court official who deals with foreign affairs. He was one of the five trade ministers who presided over the Qing government's diplomacy with the West in the late Opium War (1852 ~ 1858). During his tenure, he pursued an ostrich-like foreign policy, and was captured by the British in Kolkata, India, after the destruction of Guangzhou City in 1858 and 1. Britain imprisoned Governor Ye in distant India because Ye was regarded as Napoleon of the East. 18 14 After Napoleon was captured for the first time, the British army imprisoned Napoleon on the Mediterranean island of Elba. But in March of 18 15, Napoleon fled the island without much effort. When the great Napoleon returned to France, he was greeted like a cloud. Within a few days, hundreds of thousands of troops were assembled under the command of Emperor Napoleon, the former owner of Europe. 18 15 In the battle of Waterloo in June, the god of victory did not patronize this great general. After Napoleon was defeated and captured again, the British army learned the last lesson and imprisoned Napoleon on a desert island in the distant Atlantic Ocean-St. Helena. This time, Napoleon lost the advantage of being adjacent to Europe, and his supporters were not only difficult to reach, but Napoleon obviously could not swim across the Atlantic and return to Europe to make a comeback. The British finally dispelled this worry. It was this treatment of Marshal prisoners that prevented British troops from imprisoning Ye Chenming in China, even in Singapore near Chinese mainland or in the colonies in Southeast Asia during the Second Opium War. The British army believes that Ye has been operating in Guangdong for more than ten years, with many old divisions and far-reaching influence. If Ye is imprisoned near the mainland, not only Guangdong may send a rescue team, but overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia can also provide help from within. In the letters from 1858 to 65438+ 10, Elgin talked about this concern: "Many people ... talked to me about a problem that cannot be taken lightly ... all said that Ye's staying in Guangzhou would make people unstable and bring difficulties to restoring order and confidence." "Obviously, it is impossible to send him to the Straits Colony because most of the residents in these areas are from China." 14 In fact, the British committed what Said called "Orientalism" here, trying to dissolve the "gentleman's belly" of the government with the "villain's heart" of Europeans. In fact, after learning that Ye was captured, Emperor Xianfeng not only failed to rescue Ye by exchanging prisoners of war, but later dismissed Ye for fear that Ye would be held hostage by the British and French allied forces to the Qing government, and asked the Guangdong authorities to inform the British that Ye was now a right-wing man and a sinner, and his life and death had nothing to do with the interests of the Qing government. "Leaves handle affairs perversely, beyond words, but the Iraqi ship, intent to attract attention, will boss its requirements. The general's boss and others can claim that Ye's career has been dismissed, which is insignificant. Let the barbarians be unable to threaten, knowing that it is useless to stay. " At the same time, 15 ordered the Qing army not to delay the action of recovering lost territory because of the leaves: "As I write this, I will tell all the gentry people to gather tens of thousands of people and beg them to break their promises and attack the city and expel them from the provincial capital. If barbarians dare to resist, our soldiers can bravely suppress them, so don't be afraid to get the boat, because Ye Chenming is there. The governor humiliated the country and the people, and life is better than death. " 16 Ye Chenming became a pile of garbage that no one picked up. The disloyalty and hooliganism of autocratic emperors can be seen by treating people and ministers as dogs. Finally, Ye Chenming boarded a warship bound for Calcutta and ordered his servant to bring dry food from home before boarding. Although he vomited on the road because of seasickness, he still sat still and insisted on not humming. From boarding the ship to arriving in India, Ye has always called himself "Su Wu at Sea" in order not to forget his ambition to serve the country. During his more than a year in India, Ye often obtained information about the Sino-British war from Indian newspapers through translation. Whenever there is a war that is not conducive to the Qing Dynasty, clap your hands and sigh; If there is news that China has won, his face will be beaming. I ate the food brought by my family, and died of hunger strike on 1859 because I didn't eat foreign millet. The British side wrapped Ye's wooden coffin with iron sheets and shipped it back to Guangdong.

Ye Chenming was all-powerful before his death. In the turbulent environment of 1950' s, many governors and governors failed to cope with the current situation, but it happened that Ye won the favor of Emperor Xianfeng and became the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi in 1989. This, of course, is related to Ye's mastery of being an official and his ruthlessness in suppressing various rebellions and uprisings in Guangdong and Guangxi. At the peak of the Red Army uprising in Guangdong, Ye personally decided to take prisoners. Sometimes he slaughtered nearly a thousand rebel prisoners a day, and "800 arrested rebels were beheaded in the execution ground every day". "If only 300 to 400 people are executed in one day, it is very few" 17. Hong Rong, who has just returned from the United States, witnessed the scene of Guangzhou's body soaring into the sky: "Oh, my God! What a sight this is! There was blood everywhere, and headless bodies piled up on both sides of the street, waiting for burial, but there was no sign of moving away. ..... This land has been completely infiltrated by blood and water, giving off a foul smell, so that about 2,000 yards are shrouded in the polluted air that spreads the plague. " 1855 In June, July and August, 75,000 people were killed. It was the blood of these people who were driven to Liangshan that made Ye's throne stable. On this basis, Ye constantly claimed credit from Emperor Xianfeng, and Emperor Xianfeng also generously promoted Governor Ye to rank. In the first year of Xianfeng, the prince was awarded a title; In the second year of Xianfeng, Ye Lian was promoted to three levels: first, he was named governor, then he acted as governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and finally he was officially promoted to governor of Guangdong and Guangxi; In the fifth year of Xianfeng, the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi jointly awarded a bachelor's degree, and then awarded a bachelor's degree in Tijen Pavilion. Ye is the only local official who has served as a local governor for a long time and has been blocked constantly. "Ye Xiang is very clear about the academician's vision, and he is less than forty years old. He surpassed his position in Xinjiang. He is tired of meritorious service, worshiping and doubting the winners of ancient and modern times. That's all. " 19 Ye Chenming knows the secrets and tricks, and it is the blood of the mob that has made his career prosperous. Without continuous "anti-violence" performance, the foundation of its official position will be suspended. Focusing on the cause of anti-violence means that the cause is developed. Ye Chenming devoted almost all his energy to his domestic affairs. This is Ye's wisest choice. As for the imperial envoys who specialize in foreign affairs, it is even more thankless. Between the governors of Guangdong and Guangxi and the imperial envoys, Ye obviously paid more attention to the post of governor. Even though Guangzhou City has been attacked by British and French allied forces since June 1856+00, Ye still reported to Emperor Xianfeng one after another. In Ye's view, this series of anti-bandits figures is a magic weapon to resolve his career crisis. Without these "figures", Ye is a governor who will be dismissed for investigation. This is not only Ye's fame and fortune, but also in line with the interests of the Qing rulers. "Meditation wrestling with foreigners, you will lose something, not only afraid of setbacks and injuries, but also draw a line with powerful tasks first. It is better to listen to what he has done to cover up my shortcomings. He also privately accused foreigners of attaching importance to trade and loving the prosperity of Guangdong, but not afraid of the fierceness of Cantonese. He wants to live in peace with Cantonese, otherwise he won't try his best to commit suicide. He always intends to do this. " According to past experience, the British and French siege is just a bluff, just like most crisis events in the conflict between China and the West. With the growth of time, the crisis will naturally disappear. During several sieges by the British and French allied forces, Ye firmly believed: "... nothing will happen, we will leave at dusk!" At the same time, he also used the "empty city plan" to try to show calmness in front of the British and French allied forces, so that they didn't know the details, in an attempt to scare off the British and French allied forces: "Talk about respect and arrogance, try to calm down, between being inflexible and not competing." 2 1 However, the British and French allied forces were neither bandits nor Sima Yi, and Ye only ended up in the ruin of the city.

At that time, officials such as Emperor Xianfeng blamed Ye for the failure of the Second Opium War because of the shame brought by the failure, and ridiculed Ye as the "six noes" governor who "had no war and no peace, no defense, no fall and no death" and thought that the failure of the Second Opium War was entirely Ye's subjective mistake. But is this statement really that convincing? Did you really find the reason for the failure of the war?

Among all kinds of accusations against Ye, Ye's failure to resist foreign invasion is the most critical one. However, between Ye Zaihe and Ye Zaihe has been paying attention to the suppression of bandits. The people's uprising is for the life of the Qing government, and the barbarians only seek trade at most. The choice of leaf pair is not only a subjective choice, but also an objective situation. In the past ten years, almost all Ye's troops in Guangdong have been used to suppress Guangdong bandits and prevent the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom from entering Guangdong southward. Some scholars believe that Hong Xiuquan bypassed Guangdong and entered Hunan directly from Guangxi, which was related to Ye's gathering in Guangdong. In fact, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom crisscrossed many rich provinces in the south, and only Guangdong Province did not enter the main force of the Taiping Army. In addition, Guangdong is known as the capital of Chinese and foreign trade, a well-off hometown envied by neighboring provinces, and an important area where the royal family extorts huge wealth. Years of civil war almost consumed most of Guangdong's wealth, but the Guangdong government under the leadership of Ye kept exporting the already scarce Guangdong treasury silver to various battlefields in the north as a military subsidy. 185 1 July, the Qing court ordered Guangdong to co-ordinate the remittance of 1.2 million silver to Guangxi 25. "Guangdong thief, four years, Guangzhou bandits disturb the provincial capital, sent shunt into suppression, lien chan won. The neighboring provinces of Foshan, Longmen, Conghua, Dongguan, Yangshan, Heyuan, Zengcheng and Fengchuan, Haifeng and Kaijian in Shaozhou, Huilai in Chaozhou, and the merger of Zhaoqing's attached city and Deqing have been restored one after another. The military affairs of neighboring provinces are urgent, and the equipment for food and expenses depends entirely on Guangdong's assistance. It is well-known and well-supplied, which is conducive to the reputation at that time. " 26 "His real achievement in Guangzhou for ten years was to maintain the military control of the Qing Empire there." From this perspective, Ye's contribution to the Qing government is self-evident. It is precisely because of this that when Ye Chenming resisted the invasion of the British and French allied forces, it was difficult to divide his troops from the domestic battlefield, and it was also difficult to have enough financial resources to organize new troops to supplement them.

As for accusing Ye of not organizing the people to defend and resist the invaders, this is basically in line with the facts. Because Ye Chenming basically gave up the strategy of "controlling foreigners with people" during the Second Opium War. The most important strategy of "controlling foreigners by the people" is the government's use of group training and group use. However, "Ye has never been reinstated and has never been rectified on land and water" 28. Ye Chenming did not use Ying Yong on a large scale. First of all, it lacks funds. "Anyone who wants to recruit more soldiers and raise courage should donate it himself, and no expenses are allowed", so that "the heirs are reluctant to donate because they cherish the reward." 29. Secondly, Ye began to fight against the insurgents in the 1950s, knowing the original identity of these insurgents, so he learned the lesson of "controlling the foreign countries with the people" and was afraid of changing from "brave" to "bandits". Even during the Second Opium War, more than 10,000 people who fought bravely on land were abolished by eight tenths. Third, in his view, when the conflict between China and the West is on the verge, mobilizing the people to bluff will accelerate the arrival of the conflict; After the outbreak of the conflict, it is not only futile to use people's terrorist attacks and "eggs against stones", but also cause large-scale retaliation by the aggressors.

Ye Chenming didn't use the policy of "taking man as the enemy" in the Second Opium War. Even if he wanted to make full use of "man", it would be difficult for people to cooperate with a government that kept picking up a butcher knife and cutting its own neck to resist foreign aggression. Ye, the governor of Guangdong, thinks that "ruling the country with severe punishment" and killing fewer people is an example. Therefore, in all States, counties and places, anyone who once advocated chaotic politics is good at catching and killing. So the folk fake communique was settled, killing people without blinking an eye, and before and after the plan, * * * blamed hundreds of people. Some Cantonese people have lost their confidence and courage to resist the invaders, and gradually lost their original spirit of generosity and sacrifice for their country. During the ten years from 1848 to 1858, Guangdong was constantly in war, and many places were full of rubble and bones. Wherever rebels, loyal ministers and Tuan Yong go, they "accept both beauty and evil", "wash the urn clean" and "bandits pass like combs and soldiers pass like horses" 3 1. Foreigners who have visited the rebel-occupied areas have similar narratives: "Many villages have been burned down" and "the desolate ruins are shocking". After the Opium War, the British people have always been considered to be involved with bandits, pirates and other forces that disturb the order. But now that the Red Scarf Army has destroyed the local government, Guangzhou people begin to regard foreigners as a force for social stability. After a long period of chaos in Guangdong, life is precarious and people are distracted. Some Cantonese people still don't have the concept of a country beyond their own lives. When the British and French allied forces attacked Guangzhou, there were still many vendors rocking their boats and selling fruits to the soldiers on the allied warships. 1860 In the third battle of Dagukou, the British and French allied forces included 2,500 coolies recruited from Hong Kong and Guangdong in addition to the regular army. It is recorded in history that "the British were defeated in Tianjin, but they recruited thousands of people from Guangdong". These China people actually "helped the enemy attack the motherland". This kind of traitor behavior is hard to imagine if it is not bullied too much or forced by livelihood. During the Opium War and throughout the 1940s, people who led or participated in the resistance against British aggression as patriotic gentry had great changes in their ideas and actions under the impact of the Red Scarf Army. Not only do they no longer regard the British as "ugly people" who should be completely eliminated, but they also send people to Hong Kong and Macao to get steamboats and "sweep the atmosphere in Clear The Demon". Landlords and gentry from various counties in the Pearl River Delta fled to Hong Kong and Macao, which were originally regarded as foreign colonies in China. At that time, people described this scene as "moving to the cape everywhere, and the foreign building translated into a symbol of escape" 35. Throughout the 1950s, due to Guangdong immigrants, the population of Hong Kong soared. According to statistics, there are 390 people in 1853 China, 55,750 people in 1854 China and 72,607 people in 1855 China. 1858 65438+February 3 1 day, the population of China in Hongkong is 7404 1 person. By 1860, the population of Hong Kong has reached 949 17, a net increase of 6 1934 compared with185/kloc-0, with an average annual growth of 12.4637%. The status of Hong Kong immigrants in the 1950s is different from that of Hong Kong immigrants in the 40s. Most of them are wealthy families such as wealthy businessmen and landlords. Mr. Tu Chui, a British naval officer, commented after his visit to China in the summer of 1859: "Hong Kong has won the favor of the people of China. In order to escape the tyranny and plunder of the Qing rulers, they suppressed their national pride and moved to Hong Kong in droves. Those who prefer British jurisdiction to the status quo of their country are mostly decent people, but naturally there are despicable groups. " 39 "Since the establishment of the Hong Kong colony, local people have had contact with foreigners and become familiar with the superior laws and systems of the so-called' foreigners', which makes them more dissatisfied with their own national system." In the mid-1950s, the population of Macao, another foreign-ruled city in Guangdong, also increased dramatically. From May to June in 1857 alone, 60 ships carrying asylum seekers entered the Macao port. With the arrival of these mainland residents, the mainland population of Macao has soared to about 50 thousand. The outward migration trend of Guangdong social stratum, which constitutes the traditional social elite of China, shows the profound crisis of China society under the rule of Qing Dynasty. During the Second Opium War, the Guangdong people's struggle against foreign invasion was far less in scale and intensity than the1anti-British struggle in the 1940s. During the period of 1849, the number of rural "sociology" and urban "street conventions" was almost 1004 1. However, after the occupation of Guangzhou in 1858, after the establishment of the Yong Lian General Administration of Huaxian County with official background, Zhuang Yong was vigorously recruited, but the total number was "less than seven or eight thousand" with 42 people. Even Emperor Xianfeng lamented: "When the British wanted to enter the provincial capital, they were banned because of the public anger of the Cantonese", and "Now that the provincial capital has fallen, the Cantonese have not corrected it" 43. The degree of public opposition can be seen. I'm afraid Guangdong was the first province that felt that the Qing Dynasty lacked dependence and that "officials" were not as good as "foreigners". Those gentlemen in Guangzhou who had the strongest xenophobia in the whole11940s took the initiative to put up notices to inform Guangzhou citizens with 1859: "We can only rely on and trust the allied forces occupying Guangzhou now, so as to expect the bandits to stop harassing us." On the one hand, Guangzhou is increasingly alienated from the Qing government, on the other hand, it is loyal to Britain. From 1858 to 186 1, under the rule of 5,000 British troops, Guangzhou people with millions of people were basically ruled by Britain for three years. This is the only capital city in China that succumbed to foreign invaders for such a long time from the Opium War to War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. In modern Guangdong, not only did Hong Xiuquan of Huaxian County, Kang of Nanhai and Xiangshan take the lead in setting off three fine ethos of peasant uprising, reform and revolution in the late Qing Dynasty, but they also took the lead in setting off a bad ethos of "being colonized" because Hong Kong was cut off and Guangzhou was occupied. In this environment, when the British and French allied forces attacked Guangzhou several times, Ye was unable to raise a large number of military salaries to organize large-scale "people's armed forces" in the early days of the Opium War. Eight Banners of the Regular Army, green camp has no soldiers to adjust. "Ye Chenming is mainly composed of elegance and integrity, but he is blessed by Japanese affairs." But besides helping her masturbate and carrying out an "empty plan", how can Ye Can Chenming resist foreign enemies?

Even if Ye Chen Mingru resists as expected, can Guangzhou's fate be avoided? According to the comparison of Chinese and Western military strength at that time, the British and French allied forces could attack any heavily guarded China city. During the Second Opium War, the gap between Chinese and Western military strength was much greater than that between 65438 and 0840. This gap is just like the metaphor of the people at that time: "A scholar with a full stomach is absolutely impossible to write a book without wasting pen and ink." In the nearly twenty years after the Opium War, China's military technology and equipment are still home-made guns with "front loading and sliding chamber", as well as shotgun, old gun, bow and arrow and sword. During these twenty years, the technology and weapons adopted by the British and French armies have been further upgraded: steam iron ships have gradually replaced wooden sailboats, rifling guns have replaced muskets, and new miners' rifles and Enfield rifles have also been equipped in the army. In fact, the gap between Chinese and western military strength was explained in the wars in Zhenjiang, Zhapu and Fujian during the First Opium War. After the signing of treaty of nanking, Jian Ying, who was appointed as the governor of the two rivers, had a profound understanding of the gap between Chinese and Western military forces in the first Opium War: "If you can't win, it's not that you don't fight, nor is your defense lax. Not only Wusong, but also the defeat in Fujian, Guangdong and Zhejiang. With what I have seen and heard, I am so angry that I can't help crying for the fallen ministers and victims. " At the beginning of the Opium War, the British army bypassed Guangdong and Fujian, not because Lin Zexu and Deng Tingzhen were heavily fortified in the two places, but because the British army had no operational plan to attack the two places at that time. Britain's strategy is very clear, that is, to bypass Guangzhou, March northward, occupy Zhoushan, and then sail to Baihekou, Tianjin, and give Bamazun's note to the Chinese emperor. This strategy can be proved by Pa Max Don's instruction to the law of justice. Morally speaking, there is no doubt that Lin Zexu is impartial and strict. However, as analyzed, if Lin Zexu was not replaced by Qishan, and the British army later attacked Humen Fort and occupied the northern highlands of Guangzhou, Lin Zexu would be helpless; "If you don't go to Lin, you will fight and the war will fail. If he loses, his reputation will be equal to Ye's "5 1". If the re-enabled Lin Zexu can continue to gain the trust of Daoguang and is not "deprived of four titles, and both of them (and Deng Tingzhen) are sent to Yili to atone" 52, after Lin Zexu arrives in Dinghai in June, he will preside over the anti-British military action and recover the lost land in Zhejiang, and the fate of the failure of Yijing will soon fall on Lin Zexu; If Lin Zexu died in Puning, Chaozhou, Guangdong after being appointed as an imperial envoy to suppress the peasant uprising in Guangxi in June 1850+00, then Lin Zexu will soon make the same mistakes as Li Xingyuan and Cezana, who were later appointed as imperial envoys. In the eyes of ordinary people of present and future generations, Lin Zexu has become an epoch-making hero, with empty patriotic ambitions and good strategies for managing the enemy but no chance to display them. Lin Zexu's colleagues Qishan, Yishan, Yang Fang, Yijing, Bu, Yu Qian and He Yan were all considered to lack Lin Zexu's morality, courage and wisdom, so that some people thought that the success or failure of the Qing government in the Opium War depended only on whether Lin Zexu was appointed.

Related to the above viewpoint, China people after the Opium War did not fully believe in the defeat of China's army psychologically. Many gentlemen and officials still believe that the failure of the Opium War was due to the dismissal of loyal, brave and patriotic Lin Zexu. "If Lin Wenzhong gets what he wants from beginning to end, he will surely make the unruly knock down and repent, and I will manipulate him and fear the gods" 54; Second, the British army won in coastal cities only by the power of ships. Wei Yuan thought: "Britain and foreigners are strong at sea, but they lose their strength when they stay in inland rivers and land shores." Xue Shutang, a household administrator at the end of Xianfeng, also thought: "Barbarians rely on guns, and guns rely on ships. If the land phase angle, it can't stop me from riding east. " In the memorial of the first month of the ninth year of Xianfeng, Sheng Bao also thought: "Britain, rice and other countries are strong in foreign countries, and they lack the depth of Neijiang to land." If there is a commander in chief like Governor Lin, or if the enemy is lured inland, the British army will be destroyed by the Eight Banners.

However, the above views were quickly shattered by facts. During the Second Opium War, Emperor Xianfeng regarded it as the most elite division of the Qing Empire, led by the Mongolian Prince of Horqin, who defended the capital. Monk Qin's loyalty, patriotism and courage are comparable to those of Lin Zexu, and his command ability on land should be higher than that of Lin Zexu. The army he commanded was superior to the southern army in terms of soldiers' combat quality, equipment and morale. As Tan Tingxiang, governor of Zhili, said, "Tianjin has a narrow inland river, which is very different from Guangdong. The northern road is stronger than the southern road, as evidenced by Xianfeng's suppression of the Guangdong rebellion in 1934. " 1858 after the fall of Tianjin, the Qing army, which was dominated by this unit, also made intensive preparations for two years. 1860 On August 23rd, the British and French allied forces occupied Tianjin again and launched a series of campaigns to occupy Beijing. In the vast area between Beijing and Tianjin, Monk Qin's army fought fiercely with the British and French allied forces by using grassland cavalry and cavalry, which made him famous. However, the courage and boldness of grassland people can't resist the modern firearms and modern military tactics of westerners. "In modern times, firearms have become more and more sophisticated, and people who come to the battlefield use crouching and rushing forward as a means to avoid attacks. The cavalry and the war horse live together, and the more they occupy, the higher they will know that the gun is ringing, and it is difficult for the cavalry to win. " /kloc-In September of 0/8, 59-year-old Mokejun was defeated by the battle of Zhangjiawan and then by Baliqiao. In the Battle of Baliqiao on September 2 1, the commander-in-chief of the Qing army reinforcements who thought that the British army was "landing and galloping, all of them were short of troops" galloped at the head of Baliqiao, "wearing yellow clothes and supervising the war", which was magnificent; But before long, it was so anticlimactic that "foreign soldiers shot and wounded their cheeks and fell off their horses" 60. It can be predicted that in a few days, the Qing army will be wiped out, the door of Beijing has been opened to the allies, and Emperor Xianfeng fled the Jehol Summer Resort. 10/0/0 13, western troops occupied the capital of China for the first time. For thousands of years, the northern grassland nationalities have wandered in the desert and periodically raided the agricultural civilization in the northern temperate zone. When they rise, they are like hurricanes in the ocean, sweeping and carrying everything they have passed; When they gradually disappear, they disappear like ghosts. Speed, mobility and strength have become the characteristics of the grassland army. However, it is the descendants of countless great empire founders. With the military rout of the Qing army outside Beijing, it has withdrawn from the historical stage forever. The blood spilled by the Qing soldiers on the side of Bali Bridge has become the last glory of the brilliant achievements of the grassland people. This is an era when modern western industrial civilization devours nomadic civilization and agricultural civilization with thunderous momentum. The fall of the Imperial Capital is the end of an era.