What flag did the Qing government, which dispatched warships to seek justice and obtained tens of millions of dollars in compensation, change?

In the eyes of Chinese people, the government of the late Qing Dynasty has always been cowardly and had no dignity, and it sold its land to the foreign powers and squeezed the people, which is also the saying "lying in the nest". It is said that China at that time was like a big cake, waiting for the partition of the great powers, and there was no resistance, not just weakness. Little known is that in 1911, the Qing government also dispatched warships to seek justice for the Chinese people overseas and demanded compensation of tens of millions of dollars.

Since the Opium War, the Qing government was forced to open its doors and established friendly trade relations with many countries, among which Mexico was one. It happened in a city called Torreon in the north. More than 3 Chinese were slaughtered in 1 hours, and the means were brutal. The history is called "Torreon Massacre".

In the 16th century, the Spanish colonists' Manila galleon regularly traveled on the trade route between Manila, Philippines and Acapulco, a Mexican seaport, and some of the China crew members on it eventually stayed in Mexico, which was the earliest Chinese immigrant to Mexico. In the 196s, represented by Li Hongzhang, Zeng Guofan and Zhang Zhidong, the Westernization Movement was launched, calling for "learning from foreigners to control foreigners", sending a large number of students to western countries to learn their technology and culture, and also driving businessmen to do business abroad.

In the late 19th century, Mexican President Diaz implemented the policy of encouraging foreign investment and immigration, and more Chinese businessmen poured into Mexico. According to statistics, in 191, there were more than 27,8 Chinese who settled and lived in Mexico, including about 6 in Torreon City. Due to the diligence and trustworthiness of China businessmen, their business has been patronized by many local people and accumulated a lot of wealth.

Although there are only a few hundred Chinese living in Torreon City, their businesses involve restaurants, hotels, laundry rooms, farms and other aspects. And has a well-funded bank, in return for the local people also built a tram line in the city, which led to the rise and development of Torreon City. But there are always two sides to everything, and the success and wealth of Chinese people have also aroused the dissatisfaction and jealousy of Mexicans.

In p>1911, a Mexican named jesus Franí s stood directly on the street of Gomez Palacio, a city near Torreó n, and loudly declared that the Chinese monopolized the wholesale and retail of the local vegetable market, stole the business that should belong to Mexicans, hoarded a lot of money, sent it back to China, and also took the attention of local women. They were all dangerous people and should be expelled.

Francis's anti-China speech gave the team led by the anti-government armed forces Francisco madero an excuse to plunder Chinese property. It wasn't long before he surrounded the city of Torreon with 45 rebels, forcing back the federal defenders with only 8 people. After the rebels entered the city, they went straight to the assembly area of Chinese shops and looted property. It was not enough for all Chinese to be slaughtered, and the bodies of the victims would be decomposed.

This inhuman massacre lasted for 1 hours, resulting in the death of 33 Chinese. The daily necessities market, 23 food stalls, 1 food stalls, 5 restaurants, 4 laundry rooms and all vegetable gardens run by 4 Chinese were damaged, among which Chinese-funded banks and Chinese activity centers suffered the most.

after the news came out, the Qing government was furious, and directly sent a Haiqi ship full of ammunition to Mexico via the United States, Cuba and other places to put pressure on its government to solve this matter. It is worth mentioning that the United States has helped a lot in this incident. After the incident, the American Consulate in Mexico immediately set up a relief committee to help the affected refugees. The the State Council Latin American Affairs Department of the United States also recommended a lawyer named Lieber Wilfley to the Qing government to go to Torreó n City to investigate the massacre of Chinese people, and demanded compensation and an apology from the Mexican government.

At first, the Qing government proposed to compensate 1, pesos for each Chinese family member who was killed, or to pay 3 million pesos all together, but it was rejected. Because the per capita compensation was $16.8 million, which was 1/3 of the annual income of the whole Mexican country at that time and equivalent to 1% of the annual military expenditure of the US Navy, even The New York Times expressed surprise at the compensation proposed by the Qing government. Finally, after consultation, the amount of compensation was reduced from 3 million pesos to 6 million pesos. However, the local government must severely punish the murderer, and then 35 Mexican soldiers suspected of participating in the massacre were arrested and sent to a military court.

The Torreon tragedy has been successfully solved here, and the Haiqi ship has been dispatched to fight for the interests of the Chinese, which can also be regarded as promoting the national prestige of the Qing government. However, when they set out, the yellow Qinglong flag representing the Qing government was flying on the warship, which could overthrow the Qing Dynasty and establish the Republic of China in the middle of returning home. Under the leadership of Captain Cheng Biguang, the Haiqi warship entered the revolutionary ranks, and the flag on the warship became a five-color flag representing the Republic of China.

This incident also perfectly confirmed Napoleon's previous conversation with Amish, the head of the British envoy to visit the Qing government, who wanted to knock on the door of China by war:

"It is the biggest stupid thing in the world to fight against this vast and rich empire. At first you may succeed, you will seize their ships and destroy their military and commercial facilities, but you will also let them know their own strength. They will think; They will build ships and equip themselves with artillery. They will invite gunners from France, the United States and even London to build a fleet and defeat you. " This is also the theory that "China is a sleeping lion, and once he wakes up, the world will be shaken".

It was precisely because the government of the late Qing Dynasty was oppressed by the foreign powers that it inspired their belief in saving the nation and began to open the country and learn foreign technologies and military systems, which promoted the germination of capitalism in China and provided the foundation for the Revolution of 1911 to overthrow the feudal monarchy. The attack of the Japanese invaders inspired the blood of the Chinese people, and they vowed not to be conquered people, so that the new China was founded. All sufferings are not in vain, they are grindstones on the road of China's rise, inspiring generations to work hard and move forward.