In September, Lin Zexu, who was famous for destroying opium in Humen, decided to strike while the iron was hot and ordered foreign businessmen in China to sign binding documents, without which they were not allowed to enter Hong Kong for trading. The so-called pledge means that foreign businessmen "make a statement on the contract of foreign characters and Chinese characters, and they will never dare to carry opium on ships in the future;" If it is brought, once it is found out, the goods are all officials, and people are words. "To put it bluntly, it is to ensure that opium is not smuggled.
Although smuggling opium was a profitable business at that time, objectively speaking, British businessmen paid more attention to the vast consumer market behind China. In their imagination, even if China people need a nightcap, all factories in Britain can't supply it. These are far more important than the immoral and short-lived opium business. Faced with a seemingly bigger market, they were more willing to accept the regulations of the Qing government, but due to the obstruction and persistence of the British business supervision law, they have not been able to sign the letter of commitment as expected.
Long-term confrontation can only be suffered by British businessmen who have come all the way, and individual British businessmen have long been impatient. 10 10 14, the captain of the British merchant ship "Ma Dan Shi Ge" took the lead in signing an agreement with Lin Zexu to ensure that he would never carry opium, and was immediately introduced to Huangpu for import trade. Based on the principle of "those who abide by the law come, those who resist the law go", Lin Zexu protected its safety and asked the shipowner to give a reward. This sets an example for British businessmen who deal properly. Soon, some British businessmen followed suit, and businessmen from other countries also promised to resume normal trade.
Seeing his carefully designed alliance strategy, Lin Zexu cracked it easily. While scolding our compatriots for forgetting "righteousness" at the sight of money, we tried to stop British businessmen's anti-water behavior by force. 165438+1October 3, another British merchant ship, Saxon, was also ordered to pledge. Yifa became angry from embarrassment, that is, two warships, Volayin and Hai A Xin, were sent from Macau to Chuanbiyang to stop the "Saxons" who had just entered the customs. Guan Tianpei, the prefect of Guangdong Navy, is leading a warship of Guangdong Navy to patrol the Chuanbi Ocean. Seeing this situation, he wanted to find out. Wolai people fired first. Guan Tianpei then ordered the soldiers of this ship to fire back and ordered the rear ships to attack together. A naval battle provoked by the British invaders broke out in the pungent ocean.
According to historical records, there were 26 navy ships in Guangdong at that time, and some records were 29. Whether it is 26-2 or 29-2, China's superiority in numbers still cannot make up for the strength gap between the two sides. Even if Guan Tianpei drew his sword and bid in person, the soldiers of the Qing army were enthusiastic and brave, and it didn't help.
At that time, China's naval vessels were all old-fashioned in China. Even if there are guns, they are only placed on the deck. Due to the large recoil of artillery after firing, naval vessels are not large. In order to prevent collision, a ship can only put a few guns, the bigger one is usually one at the bow, one at the stern, and the rest are small guns. The firepower is poor, and the navy installs guns to scare pirates. In a real naval battle, you have to rely on it to board other people's ships for hand-to-hand combat. When Zheng Chenggong recovered Taiwan Province Province, the Dutch stood on the other side and were pushed up by Zheng Chenggong's army, and the result was defeated. But the British navy during the Opium War was far from being comparable to the Dutch navy. A warship, dozens or even hundreds of cannons, are installed under the deck and have many layers. Above the ship's rail, there are gun holes. One shot, a dozen shots volley. Moreover, British warships, made very strong, key parts, all wrapped in iron, China's artillery, even if hit, can't cause any harm.
Lin Zexu is very aware of the huge gap between the naval strength of the two sides. So he bought a British merchant ship in advance, transformed it into a warship, and installed more than 20 guns, but it was not used for water combat. China's navy is only practicing how to board a ship in order to fight hand-to-hand with others. Although this tactic is suspected by scholars, it is theoretically the only way for China's navy to win because of Zheng Chenggong's precedent. Unfortunately, the Opium War did not use such tactics at all, and no one dared to use them.
For the final result of this naval battle, the two sides of the war also hold their own words. Regarding the loss of the British army, Lin Zexu said in his memorial to Daoguang: "After receiving the army, the nearby fishing boats recovered 2/kloc-0 foreign hats, two of which were identified as being worn by foreign officials and gave them clothes and shoes. There are countless people who go with the flow ... There are 17 people who took the body of Cha Yiren and buried it nearby ... countless people were injured. " The British claimed that no soldiers were killed and only four people were injured. As for the losses of the Qing army, Lin Zexu reported that three ships were flooded, 1 gunpowder cabin was put out after the fire, 15 people died and several people were injured. The British Army said that all 29 warships were injured and almost destroyed except a few that escaped during the Cold War.
Real statistics of war losses are hard to get today, but according to the naval strength gap between the two sides at that time, it can be roughly inferred that the Qing army should be the party with more serious losses. Unfortunately, in the Manchu court at that time, it was difficult to hear the truth, even Lin Zexu was no exception. (Later, I found Lin Zexu's diary. As for the naval battle through the nose, Lord Lin recorded that the number of people who fished out hats from the sea and decided to "kill the enemy" was eleven, but in the memorial, it became twenty-one. The extra ten people were undoubtedly added by Lin Zexu on purpose. )
In the battle between Sichuan and Bihai (165438+1October 3), although the British army withdrew from the Chuanbi Ocean, it did not go far, but attacked the piping fort in Kowloon. On 4, 8, 9, 1 1, 65438+3, the British army shelled the Qing fort off Kwun Chung, Kowloon. On the 9th, Lin Zexu once again dispatched Ryan Jue and others from Mirs Bay to attack the British troops in nearby Guanchong. The British army later withdrew to Tsim Sha Tsui, and Lin Zexu ordered the troops to attack the British army from Guanchong Mountain, north of Tsim Sha Tsui, and finally expelled the British army from Tsim Sha Tsui. When the British army retreated to the Pearl River Estuary, Lin Zexu reported to the court the results of the anti-British war. In his report, he summarized these conflicts as "seven wars and seven wins", including the previous conflict on September 4. Not to mention that this is not a "seven battles" or a "seven victories", but this high estimate of the Qing army's coastal defense ability actually misled and encouraged Daoguang and his courtiers' illusory sense of victory, and blind self-confidence expanded rapidly again. Daoguang, who hesitated between war and peace, was excited by the frequent good news, quickly put out the lingering fear and became awake to the increasingly obvious gap between the two countries. He beat the murderer of China people without directly ordering him to hand it over. "
At this point, the Manchu completely gave up the last chance to avoid all-out war. 1840 In the early British Parliament, after a heated debate, the British Parliament passed the bill of declaring war on Qing by 27/kloc-0 to 262 votes. When the Opium War broke out in an all-round way, the door of China officially opened, and then everything got out of control. ......
The naval battle through nose was one of the frequent military frictions between China and Britain before the Opium War. It directly and simply puts the gap between the military strength of the two countries (mainly the navy) on the table. If the Manchu adults can carefully estimate each other's strength through this naval battle and provide some real basis for the next decision, the tragedy behind it may not have happened. It's a pity that adults don't have the ability to turn over tables, but they are good at burying their heads under them. History really has no ifs.