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From June to August 1900, a striking incident of siege of foreign embassy occurred in Beijing city .
1. The evidence of officers and soldiers attacking the embassy
For a long time, the domestic historical community generally believed that the basic force of attacking the embassy was Boxer , followed by Gan Army , and as for Ronglu , the Wuwei Central Army directly under the jurisdiction of Ronglu , was "fake attack and real protection."
Some scholars praised the attack on the embassy as a heroic act of the Boxer Rebellion against imperialism;
Some scholars criticized the attack on the embassy as an important example of the Boxer Rebellion being fooled and exploited by the feudal stubborn forces in the Qing Dynasty;
Some scholars severely condemned the attack on the embassy as a "barbaric crime" of the Boxer Rebellion "trampled on international public law ".
For many years, scholars with different opinions have held their own opinions and have fierce debates. But they didn't seriously examine whether the basic power of Mei to attack the embassy was the Boxer Rebellion.
The Boxers entered Beijing in large numbers since early June, and their activity locations were mainly in the outer city. Starting from June 12, the Boxers began to burn churches in the inner city, but did not attack the embassy.
According to the "Records of the Boxer Embassy" written by British embassy staffer Park Denamwell, the Boxer Rebellion first appeared near the embassy on June 12. On this day, two Yi and the Regimentists passed by the road in front of the embassy in a mule cart. They did not attack the embassy, but the German envoy Clinder rushed out of the embassy to attack them and arrested one of them.
On June 13, a large number of Boxers burned churches near the Italian and Austrian embassies, but did not attack the embassy. On the contrary, foreign soldiers from the embassy went outside the embassy to shoot at the Boxer Regiment, killing and injuring many people.
Dou Nale's report to the British government also said in his description of the situation on June 13:
"We were prepared to resist the attack on the embassy area. But until the next night, nothing important happened. Before June 20, the only offensive operation of the Boxer Rebellion against the embassy occurred on the night of June 14."
According to Dou Nale's report, on that night, the Boxer Rebellion "produced several attacks" against the embassy sentries, but they were "easily repelled." Obviously, this is just a sporadic activity of a minority group, and cannot be confused with the subsequent large-scale siege of the embassy.
June 16, Cixi ordered Ronglu to "quickly send the powerful team of the Wuwei Central Army to the area around Dongjiaomin Lane to defend the strength of each embassy."
Dou Nale report said:
"The Zongli Yamen notified the envoys of various countries of this edict and solicited their opinions on how to best station the troops under Ronglu."
report also mentioned that the Qing army did adopt the embassy's suggestions when arranging the sentry.
Ronglu is known for his charming foreign countries, and he strictly implemented his decree to Cixi. In the following days, the embassy was under the dual defense of the Qing army and foreign soldiers, and the Boxer Regiment had no way to get close.
According to foreign embassy personnel, the siege of the embassy started on the afternoon of June 20 and was launched by the Qing government forces.
Dou Nale report said:
" (June 20) at 4:00 pm, the Qing army opened fire from the north and east... So the Chinese government army began an organized attack on the embassies in Beijing." "They made more than three weeks of resolute efforts to defeat and eliminate us. ... This effort was not to use thugs or rebels, but to use the organized troops of the Chinese government."
From the official documents of the Qing Dynasty:
June 30 Hanlin Academy’s lecturer Zhu Zumou said:
"Now the official army besieged the embassy, but I have not resolved for several days... I am foolish in my mind thinking that the war must be prepared and the envoy must protect me."
July 5 Censor Zheng Binglin reported:
"Although guns and cannons were used all night, foreign soldiers in Dongjiaominxiang were still in the same position, waiting for foreign aid.Please order the military guards in the city to quickly report their skin and plow the courtyard and sweep the caves, and destroy the foreigners' mouths. In the future, we can shirk all the riots and the riots, which are beyond our control. "
Zhu Zumou advocated the preservation of the envoys and "keep the opportunity to turn things around in the future." Zheng Binglin advocated killing all foreigners to silence the words. The two agreed on the contrary, but they both confirmed that the Qing army attacking the embassy was the Qing army.
2. Did the Boxer Rebellion also participate in the operation to attack the embassy?
From the records of the embassy, Dou Nale's report to the British government and Park Denamwell's "The Boxer Embassy is Besieged" There are systematic and detailed records of the battles at the embassy, with the former nearly 50,000 words and the latter nearly 40,000 words (all calculated in Chinese translation).
It repeatedly talked about how thousands of Qing troops used "cannons" and "guns" to attack the embassy, but there were only a few mentioned the Boxer's offensive activities.
One of them is:
On June 23, "several Boxers rushed into a house near the German embassy to set fire, but were "stricken and killed by German soldiers."
The second is:
June 27, "The US Task Force reported that 200 people and the Boxing launched an attack under the pressure of the Chinese army, attacking the fortifications on the streets, but were forced to retreat."
The third is:
In early July, a "15-year-old boy... came straight to the Japanese defense line, without weapons in his hand, and only took a bottle of fire-induced objects and oil." He intended to set fire to foreigners' houses, but was beaten to death on the way. These sporadic activities of
obviously cannot be compared with the long-term attacks of thousands of Qing troops on the embassy.
Some scholars insist on exaggerating the role of the Boxer Regiment in attacking the embassy.
They said:
"On the first day of the battle, the Boxers broke through the front line of defense of the invading army and captured four embassies."
Dou Nale reported:
June 20th "at 4:00 pm, the Qing army opened fire from the north and east, mainly against Austrian and Italian fortifications. The Austrian Guard quickly abandoned the building and fled, and the Italian Pavilion was captured on the 21st.
Dou The report of Nale clearly pointed out that the Qing army attacked these two embassies and did not mention the Boxer Regiment.
To sum up, the basic force of attacking the embassy was always the Qing army, and the role played by the Boxer Regiment was insignificant.
3. Why do people think that the Boxer Regiment was the main force?
The Boxer Regiment attacked the embassy began to become popular when attacking the embassy. At that time, the Qing government sent troops to attack the embassy on the one hand. On the other hand, it was afraid that this action would hinder its seeking peace.
Moreover, Li Hongzhang , Liu Kunyi , Zhang Zhidong and other governors who hold great power and have a significant influence in the ruling group all strongly opposed attacking the embassy. Therefore, the Qing government tried its best to attack the embassy on the Boxer Rebellion, and repeatedly confessed that it was trying its best to protect the embassy.
Censor Zheng Binglin advocated killing the embassy staff to silence the words, and in the future, all the responsibilities were put on the Boxer Rebellion and the rebels, which typically reflected the mentality of the Qing rulers. .
During the Qing army besieged the embassy, the battle on the spot was fierce, and guns and cannons on both sides were not new, and outsiders could not go to the scene to observe on the spot. The news about the battle at the embassy obtained by the people and ordinary officials in Beijing was mostly indirect rumors, and it was impossible to be as accurate as Dou Nale and others knew.
"The Chronicle of the Boxer" May 25 (June 21):
"Each army and the Boxer Army attacked and burned the foreign buildings of the embassy. The sound of guns and cannons shook the mountains. "
June 25 (July 21):
" The sound of gunfire in Dongjiaomin Lane and Xishiku , and the sound of gunfire in the middle of the night. Both places are blocked by soldiers and regiments, and outsiders cannot approach them. ”
When narrating the battle at the embassy, the diary author vaguely mentioned the Qing army and the Boxer Regiment, but from the specific plot, it can be seen that the main attack on the embassy was the Qing army.
After the Eight-Nation Alliance War, the Qing government tried to push all anti-foreign activities around the Boxer Regiment as much as possible, but exonerated Ronglu, who was still favored by Cixi.
Therefore, the role of the Boxer Rebellion in the besieging embassy was arbitrarily exaggerated, while Ronglu, who had served as the main attack mission, was portrayed as the protector of the embassy. A batch of writings about Boxer Movement published in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China (most of which were written by officials and gentry against the Boxer Rebellion) basically adopted this statement. In the following decades, these works were regarded as basic historical materials for studying this period of history by many scholars.
Therefore, the Boxer Rebellion besieged the embassy and Ronglu protects the embassy for a long time. From the 250s to the 1970s, praising the people's anti-imperialist struggle has become the main theme of political propaganda.
Historical community's evaluation of the Boxer Rebellion has also changed from past denial and derogatory to affirmation and praise. However, during this period, most scholars who studied the Boxer Rebellion focused on re-commenting history with new ideas, but rarely verified the historical facts themselves.
Regarding the siege of the embassy, some scholars have focused on commenting on new ideas, but in terms of historical facts, they have not carefully examined the statement that the Boxer Rebellion attacked the embassy and Ronglu protected the embassy.
They believed that this statement not only illustrates the heroic and tenacious Boxers in the anti-imperialist struggle, but also illustrates the cunning of Cixi, Ronglu and others. Therefore, they are willing to adopt this statement without any doubt.
4. How many days will the attack on the embassy last?
Dou Nale report clearly stated that from the afternoon of June 20, the Qing army launched an "organized offensive" to the embassy. So, a few days later, will the Qing army be converted to protect the embassy or "open attack and secret protection"?
According to the "Records of the Besieged Embassy of the Gengzi", on June 25, the Qing army did stop the attack for a time and sent people to "hold the white flag of truce in hand and place a wooden board on the bridge to the north", with the wooden board, "I will be ordered to protect the embassy and stop the attack immediately. There will be a note, and it will be handed over from the Yudai Bridge." But in fact, "no note will be seen."
25, the Qing army resumed its attack, and the offensive was even more fierce than before.
Dounale report also said that the shooting restarted in the middle of the night on June 25 was "the most violent artillery fire that has been suffered so far."
The reason for the brief suspension of fire on June 25 has no reliable information for investigation so far.
But it is certain that this brief ceasefire must not be regarded as a sign that the Qing army stopped attacking the embassy. According to the Dou Nale report, from midnight from June 25 to July 13, there were fierce battles almost every day, and the embassy's defense line was broken again and again.
Especially on July 13, the Qing army launched an unprecedentedly fierce full-line attack on the embassy defense zone. broke through the seventh line of defense in Suwangfu (there are nine lines of defense in the foreign soldiers here).
In the French Embassy, the Qing army exploded from the tunnel while attacking from the ground, almost occupying the French Embassy.
In the German Embassy, the German army was in danger and was forced to ask for help from the command center. The Qing army also launched an attack on the British Embassy where the foreign army command was located. Foreign soldiers were in a mess.
On July 14, the situation suddenly changed and the offensive weakened significantly. On this day, the Qing government submitted a note to the British Minister, requiring foreign personnel in the embassy to temporarily move to the Zongli Yamen. After July 16, the attack on the embassy was stopped for a while. The messengers of the two sides continued to communicate, and the Qing government also sent melons, vegetables, rice, noodles, etc. to the embassy.
From August 1, the Qing army resumed shelling, but the intensity was far less severe than before July 13.
The two sides continued to exchange letters and conduct resultless negotiations. Starting from August 10, the situation has changed dramatically again. The Qing army launched a very fierce attack on the embassy again.
"The Gengzi Embassy is Besieged" August 12 record:
"The attack suddenly came again, and it was particularly fierce than the previous day." "If the coalition forces did not arrive for another two or three days, then this momentum would be like a storm attack, and all of you and others would be sent to the hospital."
On August 14, Eight-Nation Alliance attacked Beijing, and the battle of the embassy ended.
From the above records, the so-called Qing government's statement that it would implement protection or "open attacks and secret protection" on the embassy from June 25 is not in line with reality.The Qing army attacked the embassy for more than five days, but lasted for more than 20 days (June 20 to July 13, and August 10 to 14).
5. Ronglu is protecting the embassy?
For most of the time during the battle of the embassy, the Gan army led by Dong Fuxiang were attacked from the north and west, and the Wuwei Central Army directly under Ronglu was attacked from the east, and on the city wall on the south side of the embassy, there were the Qing army commanded by Yi Li (in the last few days, the troops retreated from the front line entered the battle of the embassy, and the deployment of troops changed).
The northern section of the eastern front is the Su Palace, the middle section is the French Embassy, and the southern section is the German Embassy. The Gan Army is to the north of the Su Palace, and the German Embassy is also to the south of the German Embassy.
In order to make an accurate judgment on Ronglu's behavior, we focus on the investigation of the battle situation of the French Embassy. The French Embassy faced the Qing army was completely the Wuwei Central Army directly commanded by Ronglu. Zhiguo Ronglu has been "strengthening to protect the embassy", so the French Embassy should be the safest.
But this is not the case.
From July 7 to 13, the attack on the French Embassy reached its climax.
According to the "Gengzi Embassy's Besieged Record" July 14:
"From July 7, Chinese soldiers have decided to break this place. They bombarded with heavy cannons for sixty minutes, causing the defense line to break through the crack, and rushed in from the crack, using a long rod to tie a torch, and burned it when it encounters something. They also attacked with authentic tunnels, hoping to blow the legal person into ashes."
July 13, Dou Nale's report and "Gengzi Embassy's Besieged Record" were confirmed unanimously, and the embassy's During the war, the place where the battle was the most intense, the Su Palace was the first to be the French Embassy . Dou Nale's report on the embassy situation emphasized in the end:
"From June 20 to July 13, the defenders of these two important positions were forced to retreat step by step, fighting for every inch of land. Their concessions were only due to being outnumbered and had to deal with the bombardment and arson of cannons. As for the French Embassy, they had to deal with underground tunnels."
Judging from the number of casualties in each embassy, the number of casualties in France was also particularly large. According to the "Bottoms of the Boxer Embassy" on July 20, the number of casualties in France at that time was 42, which was only 3 fewer casualties than the Japanese stationed in Suwang Mansion, which far exceeded the number of casualties in other countries.
According to the "Eight-Nation Alliance Witnesses", in the battle of the embassy, "the French Marines suffered the greatest losses", with 75 people and 61 casualties in the Communist Party of China, accounting for one-quarter of the total casualties in the eight countries.
It seems that Rong Lu does not advocate attacking the embassy. However, according to the decision of the Qing government, he commanded the Central Army of the Wuwei to attack the Martial Embassy, which was also a fact.
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