During the Opium War period, Emperor Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty had always been very concerned about the war on the front line. He would issue edicts almost every day to understand the military situation on the front line and make some military decisions at the same time. But in the later stages of the war, when the defeat of the Qing Dynasty was already determined, Emperor Daoguang suddenly became very interested in the situation of Queen of England . He issued orders to the frontline generals many times, asking them to report some of this situation. What on earth was going on? What's the matter?
1. The disastrous defeat in the Battle of Eastern Zhejiang
The story has to start with the Battle of Eastern Zhejiang in 1842. In February of this year, General Yijing Yijing, appointed by Emperor Daoguang, arrived in Hangzhou. At the same time, various armies mobilized by the Qing Dynasty also arrived at the front line in eastern Zhejiang. Therefore, Yijing decided to launch an offensive, adopting the strategy of "attacking openly and secretly at the same time" to march towards Dinghai, Zhenhai, Ningbo . In order to win, Yijing decided to launch an attack at the fourth watch on March 10, and appointed Duan Yongfu, a man born in the year of tiger, as his general, named "Five Tigers Attack Sheep".
Although Yijing was full of ambitions, the battle in eastern Zhejiang initiated by the Qing Dynasty ended in a disastrous defeat! The Qing army attacking Ningbo was blocked by the British army, suffered heavy casualties and was forced to retreat; the Qing army attacking Zhenjiang failed to enter the city and retreated in defeat; the army that attacked Dinghai had to be postponed due to unfavorable trends. After receiving the report, Emperor Daoguang wrote in the report: "It's hard to express resentment with pen!" But not long after, the Qing Dynasty had an unexpected gain and actually captured several British prisoners.
2. Emperor Daoguang’s problem
On May 1 of the same year, Emperor Daoguang issued a decree to Yijing, asking him to investigate the situation in Yingjili in detail. “Yingjili is said to be 70,000 miles away from the mainland by water. In the mainland, how far is it from Kesimir? Is there any communication between the country and England? "At the same time, he asked some questions about the Queen of England," At the age of twenty-two, how can he be considered the leader of a country? Is there a match for him? What is his name, where is he from, and what is his current position in the country? "
Not long after, Dahuna, who was captured by the British, was . Yao Ying wrote a memorial of more than 5,800 words to Emperor Daoguang, answering questions about the Queen of England. " In the eighteenth year of Daoguang's reign, the king died without any sons or daughters. He was passed down to his niece, the famous servant Duolili. Now he is twenty-two years old. He married Bingci Abul, who was called Bianbo Shiya. Bi, Yu Huayan's consort, gave birth to a son, who was two years old this year. At the same time, the queen died and he became the king. The results of listening to the music
Let me first explain that the Queen of England at that time was Victoria. In 1837, William IV died of illness, and his niece Victoria succeeded to the throne. In 1840, Queen Victoria married Prince Albert and gave birth to Edward VII in the second year. So the question is, why was Emperor Daoguang so interested in Queen Victoria? In fact, the reason is very simple. This is because the rulers of the Qing Dynasty have closed their eyes and listened for a long time.
The rulers of the Qing Dynasty have always accepted traditional education and disdained to understand the changes in the world. In Emperor Daoguang's opinion, how could a woman inherit the throne? There was only one empress in Chinese history, she was Wu Zetian , and she still relied on her status as the Queen Mother to seize the throne. How can the Queen of England rule such a large country when she is only in her twenties? At this time, Emperor Daoguang was like Grandma Liu who first entered the Grand View Garden, curious about everything. However, this was the result of the long-term seclusion in the Qing Dynasty.
Reference materials: 1. "The whole process of preparing for barbarism"; 2. "Historical Materials of the Opium War"
