The most tragic battle of the Opium War

Although the vast majority of civil servants and generals committed suicide or died in battle to sacrifice their country after the defeat, the vast majority of the Qing army was defeated. He immediately slipped away.

It is rare that the Qing army fought a bloody battle with the British army until the whole army was annihilated.

Even in the Battle of Zhenjiang, which caused the greatest damage to the British army, after the reinforcements of the Eight Banners in Qingzhou suffered all their casualties, the Eight Banners stationed there dispersed.

However, the only exception is the Battle of Dabaoshan.

This battle was called by the British army:

"At the foot of this mountain, the killing was particularly fierce." ("British Army Combat in China")

So what happened at the Battle of Dabaoshan? Which Qing army fought bloody battles with the British until the entire army was annihilated? Why can the father and son of the general be called loyal men?

1. Five hundred Gansu troops arrived at the front line in eastern Zhejiang

After August of the 21st year of Daoguang (1841), the British army went north for the second time to capture Dinghai, Zhejiang, and then the war situation expanded. Zhenhai and Ningbo fell one after another.

This dissatisfied Emperor Daoguang, who had originally planned to "pacify the barbarians", so he appointed his nephew Yijing as a powerful general and mobilized troops from all over the country to reinforce eastern Zhejiang.

The intention is to fight a counterattack aimed at regaining the three towns in eastern Zhejiang.

Among them, Gansu was selected as the target of recruiting elite soldiers:

"Ente Heng'e and Fu Niyang'a were selected from Gansu and Shaanxi provinces to select a thousand elite soldiers each and give orders. General Guan of Mingqian Town, who had left the army, quickly went to Zhejiang and was dispatched by Yi Jing and others." ("Records of Xuanzong of the Qing Dynasty")

Among the thousand Qing troops deployed in Gansu, there were five. One hundred people were the Guyuan soldiers of Zhu Gui, the deputy general of Xining Town. Zhu Gui immediately led his troops to the front line in eastern Zhejiang after receiving the transfer order.

"The five hundred Guyuan soldiers under my command are all brave and good at fighting. They are the most temperate divisions." ("Dudu Yin")

Compared to being deployed to the front line The combat effectiveness of the other Qing troops, Zhu Gui's Guyuan soldiers, is definitely the ceiling for the Qing troops to gather on the front line.

And Zhu Gui himself was the queen of the generals. His grandfather Zhu Zhongqian was the general and was killed when he was pacifying Jinchuan and Jinchuan during the Qianlong period. His father, Zhu Xianguang, was also shot in the left leg while guarding Jinchuan. Discounted and disabled.

Zhu Gui himself joined the army at the age of seventeen. He participated in the pacification of the White Lotus Rebellion in Sichuan and Chu, and the pacification of the Zhangger Rebellion in the early years of Daoguang. He was promoted from an ordinary Qing army to deputy general for meritorious service.

After the British army captured Dinghai for the second time, Chongxiang, the deputy general of Zhejiang Jinhua Association, died in battle and martyred his country. Emperor Daoguang replaced Chongxiang with Zhu Gui and appointed him as the deputy general of Jinhua Association.

The five hundred Guyuan soldiers of the Gan Army under Zhu Gui have a high combat effectiveness compared with other Qing armies. This has a lot to do with Zhu Gui's use of lenient and strict tactics in leading his troops.

And Zhu Gui himself was extremely brave and able to convince the crowd.

According to the records of Bei Qingqiao, a staff member of Yijing, the Qing troops gathered on the front line at that time basically carried muskets and artillery, and few of them carried bows and arrows for practice.

This made Bei Qingqiao very surprised. After all, riding and archery are the traditional skills of the Qing army:

"As for the equipment of bows and arrows, our court is particularly important. Go up to the imperial camp He went to the army in various provinces and practiced this skill on horseback. "("Dudu Yin")

Bei Qingqiao walked around in the army, but only in Zhu Gui's camp. Bows and arrows were found in the military tent. Zhu Gui always carried bows and arrows with him when going into battle.

"When I entered the army, I saw two bows and two chambers of arrows at the deputy general Zhu Gui's place." ("Dudu Yin")

Although at this time the bows and arrows were basically They were replaced by muskets, and Zhu Gui's men also carried muskets and cannons. However, it can be seen that Zhu Gui was still very self-disciplined and would never carry any martial arts skills such as bowing, horse riding, and shooting.

Not long after Zhu Gui's Guyuan soldiers rushed to the front line, the counterattack in eastern Zhejiang began, which made Zhu Gui extremely depressed.

2. Zhu Gui’s Ministry was lost at the critical moment

On the night of the 29th of the first lunar month in the 22nd year of Daoguang (1842), the counterattack in eastern Zhejiang under the overall command of Yijing began, and Zhu Gui’s Ministry naturally Also in the battle sequence.

The counterattack in eastern Zhejiang aims to regain the three towns of Dinghai, Zhenhai and Ningbo.

According to the deployment of Yangwei General Yijing, the Qing army attacking Zhenhai City was divided into three teams, and Zhu Gui's battle sequence was among them.

The first team is guerrilla Liu Tianbao, led by 500 soldiers from Henan Province; the second team is led by General Ling Changxing, led by 500 Shaanxi soldiers to provide support; the third team is Zhu Guisuo He was led by five hundred Guyuan soldiers as backup.

Unfortunately, when Liu Tianbao led his troops to attack Zhenhai City, they were caught in a trap by the British army. After being ambushed, they suffered heavy casualties and were forced to retreat.

As a result, on the way back, they met Ling Changxing's troops who were supporting them. After discussing it, the two felt that another attack was necessary, so they launched a second attack on Zhenhai City.

At first, both sides greeted each other with muskets. However, because the Qing army did not carry heavy weapons such as artillery, they suffered heavy casualties under the cover of British artillery.

As a result, the two Qing armies began to be unable to resist.

Ordinarily, as the elite of the front line, if Zhu Gui's troops can come for reinforcements and support at this time, even if they cannot help capture Zhenhai, they can still build up their momentum.

However, until Liu Tianbao himself was shot and wounded, resulting in chaos and a rout among the troops, Zhu Guibu was not seen on the Zhenhai front line.

Is it possible that Zhu Gui’s tribe became a deserter?

Obviously not, but Zhu Gui's troops were not local soldiers, and they secretly traveled in the dark, so they got lost when they rushed to Zhenhai.

"Zhu Gui, the commander-in-chief at that time, took the road through Cixi and could not tell the way at night." ("Dudu Yin")

When Zhu Gui's troops found the right way and reached the front line, they recovered Zhenhai The battle was over, but Zhu Gui was very unhappy.

The three Qing armies were immediately asked to join forces and launch an attack on Zhenhai City, but Liu Tianbao and Ling Changxing both refused.

It is estimated that they not only rejected Zhu Gui's proposal, but also probably humiliated Zhu Gui with words like "deserter". Even two Qing troops also spoke rudely to Zhu Gui.

Putting the blame for Zhenhai’s failure to recover on the lost Zhu Gui:

“Gui wanted to join forces and advance again, but neither Tianbao nor Changxing responded. You are particularly resentful, saying that General Zhu's delay in rescuing me caused my defeat." ("Dudu Yin")

Zhu Gui would definitely not be able to bear this, so he wanted to prove that he was not a deserter or a coward. , and also made an attempt to regain Zhenhai.

They insisted on asking Liu and Ling to join forces to attack, but they had just withdrawn after the battle, and they would definitely not agree to Zhu Gui's request, so the two sides blamed each other and started to fight.

It almost led to internal strife and mutiny.

Fortunately, he was dissuaded by Zhang Yingyun, the general who arrived in the end. Zhu Gui saw that the opportunity to regain Zhenhai had been lost, and he was also concerned about the face of his superior generals.

Give up the request to attack Zhenhai.

However, this incident was a thorn in Zhu Gui's heart. It made Zhu Gui feel like a deserter or a deliberate evader of war, and he suffered huge psychological pressure.

Always looking for opportunities to prove that I am not a coward.

"In the beginning, when I was lost, I was ridiculed by Liu Tianbao, Ling Changxing and others, and I felt very angry." ("Dudu Yin")

Soon Zhu Gui had something to prove himself. Excellent opportunity.

After the failure of the counterattack in eastern Zhejiang, the British army took the initiative to counterattack the Qing army, which threatened the Qing army's base camps in Shaoxing and Hangzhou. Zhu Gui and others were sent to Cixi to stop them.

Zhu Gui's troops were ordered to guard Dabaoshan outside the north gate of Cixi. They cooperated with counselor Wen Wei, guerrilla Xie Tiangui and other troops stationed in Changxiling to guard Cixi from falling to the enemy.

A bloody battle between Zhu Gui and Guyuan soldiers is about to begin.

3. From the bloody battle at Dabaoshan to the annihilation of the entire army

On the fourth day of February in the 22nd year of Daoguang (1842), the British army consisted of the 49th Regiment and the 18th Regiment. The main force gathered about 2,000 people from both the navy and the army to attack Cixi.

The British troops including the 18th Regiment, the 36th Regiment and the Naval Brigade attacked in two directions and were responsible for encircling many hilltop positions set up by the Qing army outside the north gate of Cixi.

As expected, the Qing army collapsed at the first touch. Liu Tianbao, Ling Changxing, Xie Tiangui and others ran away after a little resistance, and were ridiculed by the British general Wowugu as:

"They ( The Qing Army was just 'saving face for the emperor'" ("The British Army's Combat in China")

The so-called three shots have been fired, and they are worthy of Emperor Daoguang's military pay. Moisten it quickly.

Originally, the Qing army would definitely not be able to defeat the Qing army if they fought hard, but several Qing armies were stationed in scattered positions to support each other, and at least they could take turns to cover and resist for a while.

As a result, the original confrontation turned into a trapped beast fight among Zhu Gui's troops. This gave Zhu Gui a chance to show off his talents, and also gave him and Guyuan soldiers a stage to prove themselves.

When the British Naval Brigade and the Forty-ninth Regiment jointly attacked Dabaoshan, they happened to run into Zhu Gui's troops, and a bloody battle was inevitable.

Before the war, Liu Yunke, the governor of Zhejiang, was very worried. In his letter to Wen Wei who participated in the war, he clearly pointed out that it would be unreasonable for Zhu Guibu to fight alone.

Sooner or later the entire army will be annihilated.

If all Zhugui's troops are annihilated and the hilltop positions such as Dabaoshan are lost, Cixi will inevitably fall into the hands of the enemy, and Zhapu, Shaoxing and other places will be threatened by the British army.

"(The British army) attacked the camp from all sides. The officers and soldiers fought for a long time and were unable to resist, and then they collapsed. Only the deputy general Zhu Gui led the troops to fight alone, and it was difficult to support him. Cixi was in a critical situation. After hearing this, my brother He is anxious and cannot be said in words." ("Liu Yupo Zhongcheng's Letter")

Liu Yunke hinted that Wen Wei would lead troops for reinforcements. Zhu Gui also sent people to request Wen Wei for reinforcements three times before the war. However, Wen Wei was not only indifferent, but also not long after the war started. He also left.

It can be said that Zhu Gui's tribe was very desperate. It stands to reason that it would not be ugly for Zhu Gui to retreat at this time. Staying and holding on would be the same as surrendering to death.

But Zhu Gui and Gan Jun Guyuan soldiers stayed and held on.

After the battle started, facing the attack from two groups of British troops, Zhu Gui personally held the banner and commanded his men to fight. The two sides fought from noon to the afternoon.

Zhu Gui’s troops suffered heavy casualties but were determined not to take a step back!

"One of our soldiers is worth a hundred, from Chen to Shen, hungry and unable to eat, fighting to the death." ("General Zhu Temple Stele")

Because Zhu Gui was on the front line to fight against the enemy. , resulting in him being seriously injured in the battle, including three gunshot wounds on his body, and his right arm was broken by enemy artillery, but he still refused to get off the field to be bandaged.

In the end, Zhugui's hilltop position was broken through by the British army, and the few remaining Guyuan soldiers of Zhugui's Gan Army started a hand-to-hand battle with the British in front of the position.

Zhu Gui held a spear and fought the final battle with the British army. In the end, he was exhausted and seriously injured and died in battle for his loyalty to the country. He can be called a well-known national hero.

During the Battle of Dabaoshan, Zhu Gui's second son, Zhu Zhaonan, always followed his father Zhu Gui. When the British army rushed to the position, he desperately protected Zhu Gui.

As a result, he was severely wounded by the British army and died for his country.

The fourth son, Zhu Weinan, also fought bravely against the British army after his father Zhu Gui and second brother Zhu Zhaonan were killed in battle, and eventually died for his country.

Even after Zhu Gui and his son were martyred, the remaining Guyuan soldiers of Zhu Gui's tribe still refused to retreat. Only a few of them were able to break through and retreat back to the Yijing camp.

According to Yijing's post-war statistics:

Of the 500 Guyuan soldiers under Zhu Gui's tribe, 436 were killed, which meant that the entire army was almost wiped out.

The military generals who died in the battle below Zhu Gui include:

The commander-in-chief Chen Zhilan, the commander-in-chief Zhang Huapeng, the foreign commissioner He Hai, Mao Yugui, Ma Longtu and other 30 people; in addition, there were also some who took the initiative to lead Yan Lujing, the alternate county magistrate who sent troops to reinforce Zhu Gui, was also shot and killed during the reinforcement process.

The fighting will of Guyuan soldiers in this battle shocked the British army. The British army recorded that they almost completely annihilated the Qing army of Zhugui tribe, but they had to admit:

"The Gansu army is A kind of person with strong muscles and strong muscles, who is accustomed to fighting on the border, and the Chinese (Qing Dynasty) praised him as unconquerable." ("British Army's Combat Plan in China")

According to the records of the Qing Dynasty, Zhu Gui's troops killed hundreds of British soldiers in this battle, which was the largest casualty suffered by the British army since fighting in eastern Zhejiang.

But this is actually an exaggeration. According to the British army's own records, only 3 British soldiers were killed and 22 injured in this battle.

Although the ratio of casualties between the two sides is too disparate, this will not affect Zhu Gui's identity as a national hero at all, just like Bei Qingqiao passing through the Dabaoshan battlefield after the war.

Seeing the corpses of the Qing army all over the ground, he praised:

"You will be on the cloud platform in life, and you will be remembered in history." ("Crossing Dabao Mountain")