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Foreword
In 1840, the British launched the Opium War, knocking on the door of the Qing government with guns and artillery, and kicked off a century-old history of humiliation.
It is a pity that the Qing government was weak at that time, and Britain was also known as the "Empire on which the Sun Never Sets." At that time, we were unable to fight back.
It was not until China and Britain clashed again in 1949 that things changed.
When Churchill clamored to use aircraft carrier to retaliate against our country, Chairman Mao responded strongly with 5 words, leaving Churchill and others speechless.
So what kind of twists and turns has Sino-British relations experienced and ? When Britain put pressure on our country, how did Chairman Mao respond domineeringly?
一 The rise of Britain and the entanglement between China and Britain
The exchanges between China and Britain can be traced back to more than 400 years ago. After the two countries officially opened trade in the 17th century, their relations became increasingly close.
It was not until the 1830s that Britain's industry developed rapidly and it was eager to open up overseas trade markets and reverse the trade deficit with China, which led to conflicts with my country.
After Lin Zexu destroyed opium in Humen, Britain took the opportunity to launch an attack and provoked the Opium War.
The Qing government was poor and weak, and collapsed after the First World War. Not only was it forced to cede Hong Kong to the British, it also exposed the nature of foreign power and internal interference.
So that later, various countries came to attack one after another, all wanting a piece of the pie. The Qing government ceded territory and paid compensation along the way, starting a century-old history of humiliation.
If we say, the Opium War paved the way for the conflict between China and Britain.
Then the Taiping Rebellion broke out, and Western powers such as Britain intervened in my country's internal affairs, which can be said to have put conflicts on the table.
Not only Hong Kong, the British also wanted to put Tibet on the "dining table". After capturing Lhasa, they supported the rebels to invade Tibet.
Had it not been for the severe weakening of British national power after World War I and the glory of the "Empire on which the Sun Never Sets", I am afraid that a larger-scale war would have been launched.
But after all, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. Britain, which once had a quarter of the world's land and population, could extort large sums of money even if it didn't take action directly.
For example, after Chiang Kai-shek rebelled against the revolution in 1927, the so-called "new era of diplomacy" began between the reactionaries and the United Kingdom.
On the surface, it was Britain that made concessions to the National Government on many matters; but behind the scenes, it was Chiang Kai-shek who colluded with Britain and made many compromises with the British government.
Although World War II broke out later, Britain had to rein in its minions and start the anti-fascist struggle with our country.
But in fact, because of the long distance, it is difficult for Japan to threaten Britain in the short term, so Britain is not willing to turn against Japan at all.
When the Chinese people were struggling to resist Japan, the United Kingdom even signed an agreement with Japan to directly block the Myanmar highway and prevent international supplies from being transported into China.
Later, Japan endangered the British colonies, and Britain had to declare war with Japan, but it still did not forget to embezzle our country's interests.
Under pressure from the United States, the United Kingdom agreed to return Hong Kong.
However, after the victory of the war, they reoccupied Hong Kong and shamelessly declared their sovereignty.
In order to gain the support of allies and , the United States also made compromises on the Hong Kong issue. As a result, Hong Kong was occupied by the British until the end of the 20th century.
In the eyes of Britain, China has not made progress in a century. China in 1949 was as easy to bully as China in 1840.
So they dared to send a warship across the Yangtze River , and caused the infamous " Amethyst Incident".
二 The Amethyst Incident
It was an early morning in late April 1949.
The main force of our 20th Army is preparing to cross the river in the Sanjiang Camp area on the north bank of the Yangtze River.
But just before crossing the river, the artillery regiment suddenly discovered a warship coming from the east with the British flag hanging on it.
Considering the overall situation, the order from the regiment headquarters at that time was to ignore it for the time being. Only if it provokes us can we fight back.
Sure enough, this warship came with bad intentions and fired multiple cannons as it passed by our military position, and our troops also fired back with artillery fire.
When it opened fire, the British warship also wanted to cover the Kuomintang troops on the other side of the Yangtze River and use its artillery fire to attack. Unexpectedly, the ship ran aground not long after.
Immediately afterwards, the warship hoisted the white flag and surrendered to our army.
After the British ship hoisted the white flag, our army immediately ceased fire. Unexpectedly, the other side was cheating and lowered the white flag again and replaced it with the British flag.
Our army immediately continued to fight back, and finally the British soldiers on the ship flew three white flags and surrendered completely.
Originally, the matter came to an end here. Unexpectedly, at around 1 o'clock in the afternoon, Britain actually sent another warship.
This time, the opponent's speed was very fast, and they did not open fire until our army's artillery blind spot, which finally allowed it to escape to Shanghai smoothly.
This seemed to give the British a taste of the sweetness. Around nine o'clock that night, they started to do the same trick again, but this time they were beaten severely and ran away in despair.
The next day, the British sent two more warships to support them, the Black Swan and the London.
When the opponent was far away, our army had already raised a flag to warn. As a result, instead of retreating, the opponent came straight towards us.
This time, Chairman Mao personally gave instructions:
"The foreign warships on the river may be real, or they may be disguised by the Kuomintang."
"But whether they are true or false , As long as it affects us from crossing the river, we will fight. If there is no obstacle, we can ignore it for the time being. "
The proud British never expected that our army would counterattack so hard this time that they were unable to react immediately and many people ran away.
After this incident was exposed, all countries were shocked, especially the United Kingdom. It was clearly wrong but refused to admit it. Instead, it became angry and said:
"Our ship only went up the river with the approval of the National Government. It should not have been attacked!"
Former British Prime Minister Churchill even shouted in public:
"This is an atrocity. We want to retaliate and send aircraft carriers to fight back!"
Originally, the British thought that they could use force to overwhelm others and make our army surrender.
Unexpectedly, at the end of April, Chairman Mao directly drafted a statement angrily denounced the British.
Chairman Mao said:
"The Yangtze River is the Yangtze River of the Chinese people. The British have no right to bring in warships. This is a violation of China's territorial sovereignty."
Faced with Churchill's cross-examination, Chairman Mao even more domineeringly replied: "What are you taking revenge for?"
Faced with Chairman Mao's rhetorical question, Churchill was speechless. This matter was the British's fault. They could not use force to suppress others and could only suffer the consequences.
As for their so-called "sending aircraft carriers", it is even more nonsense.
3 The escaped Amethyst
After the Amethyst ran aground, our military did not monitor the ship or surrender its weapons.
still let them stay in the Zhenjiang area, where they can repair the cabin.
Our military will also provide it with the necessary fuel every day, but the ship cannot leave until the UK apologizes.
Britain prides itself on being a long-established imperialist power and is naturally unwilling to apologize easily. However, the evidence of their violation of my country's sovereignty is conclusive and cannot be denied.
As a result, the negotiations between the two parties quickly reached a deadlock, which involved a lot of energy from both parties.
The British side was okay, it just lost some face internationally, but our army had already liberated Shanghai at that time, and there was a lot of work to deal with the aftermath.
So Premier Zhou and others decided after discussion to give the British a "chance" -
If the Amethyst passed through the Jiangyin area and escaped secretly, then it would not be bombarded.
As expected, the British gradually gave in and arranged the evacuation.
Whenever our army provides fuel, they will secretly hide some.
Later, the merchant ship Jiangling sailed through the Zhenjiang area, and the Amethyst set sail secretly to follow it, and finally escaped quietly.
The British always thought that they had used a clever trick to finally complete this "feat". However, they did not know that our army had expected this.
At the end of 1957, Chairman Mao went to the Soviet Union to attend a meeting. When he met members of the British Communist Party, he mentioned this matter:
"They had no fuel at that time, so we gave them some oil and finally let them go."
"Chiang Kai-shek begged During the rescue, the Americans once said that they can give money and equipment, but not people. The same is true for the British. If they retreat, Sino-British relations will not be too sharp..."
As the old saying goes, there are no permanent friends between countries, only permanent interests.
Although Britain has had considerable conflicts with old China over the past hundred years, it does not necessarily have no room for cooperation with new China.
The reason why the Amethyst Incident broke out in 1949 was not so much that the British were helping Chiang Kai-shek, but rather that they were helping themselves.
Because the British were worried that after the People's Liberation Army crossed the Yangtze River, they would take back the Hong Kong area by force.
In fact, our army does have such strength, and many generals in the army also have such plans.
However, Chairman Mao gave up after discussing with Premier Zhou and others. Because in their eyes, they not only see China today, but also the overall situation a hundred years from now.
It is easy to regain Hong Kong by force, but it is also easy for Hong Kong to slip from its status as a major world trade center, and the gains outweigh the losses.
Of course, Hong Kong is an indivisible territory of our country and can wait, but it will never be given to the United Kingdom, so Deng Xiaoping was not so tough in negotiations later.
Facts have also proved that the decision made by Chairman Mao and others was correct.
Only three months after the founding of New China , in order to safeguard its own interests, the United Kingdom took the lead in announcing its recognition of New China's international status, which had a great impact on the international community.
Since then, there has been a Cold War between China and the United States. China and the United Kingdom belong to two different camps, but their relationship is not hostile.
On the contrary, China and the UK also ushered in a "golden development period", seeking common ground while reserving differences, and working together to make progress.
This also tells us once again that the most important thing is to be strong.
"A weak country has no diplomacy". If it is strong, it will have friends wherever it goes; if it is weak, it will be "fish and meat" wherever it goes.
Four Thoughts on Strength and Weakness
As we mentioned above, Britain’s strength ushered in an obvious decline after World War I and World War II.
So where does this weakness come from? How should the strength and weakness of Britain be defined? What enlightenment should we get from it?
Let’s talk about World War I first. In fact, the artillery fire of World War I did not hit the British mainland, but the British expenditure in this war was too great.
Before the war started, Britain was a creditor country and only needed less than 200 million pounds a year for military expenditures.
However, after the war started, Britain quickly became a debtor country, with annual military expenditures reaching 2 to 2.5 billion pounds. When its own money was spent, it could only borrow from the United States.
Before the start of World War I, the United States owed Britain 400 million pounds; after the end of World War I, the United Kingdom owed the United States 850 million pounds.
In addition, as an empire on which the sun never sets, Britain has also borrowed money from many younger brothers, including France, Russia, and Italy.
As a result, it was really a headache to ask for debt after the war. Tsarist Russia , which had borrowed 750 million pounds, perished directly and became a "bad debt".
Affected by this, the UK began to decline after World War I. Unfortunately, the UK itself did not realize this.
Immediately after World War II came, major colonies sought independence one after another, and the empire on which the sun never set gradually collapsed.
Even Germany, which had been defeated before, quickly recovered due to the appeasement policies of Western countries such as the United Kingdom.
Although Britain became a victorious country after World War II, it was no longer a "foreign power but a powerful country". Instead, it directly put its weakness on the table.
In the end, the once powerful Britain shrank back to the British Isles, and its status was gradually surpassed by the United States and the Soviet Union.
Of course, the saying goes, "A skinny camel is bigger than a horse." Regardless of Britain's decline, its strength can still rank among the top 5 in the world.
The reason why everyone thinks that Britain is weak is mainly because its army is average, but in fact its navy and air force perform very well.
For example, in the famous Atlantic anti-submarine warfare, Britain destroyed 600 German submarines in a direct battle.
As for the British air battle that lasted for nearly a year, it defeated thousands of Nazi aircraft in one fell swoop, and its contribution was obvious to all.
After World War II, although Britain had a lot of debt and its overall strength was retreating, its naval power was still very outstanding.
As a typical maritime power and one of the largest Western powers with the largest number of aircraft carriers, Britain's strength cannot be underestimated.
However, the more this happens, the more rare it becomes for Chairman Mao to respond strongly to Churchill.
No matter how powerful the United Kingdom is, if it dares to interfere in my country's internal affairs and affect my country's territorial and sovereign security, it will fight as necessary, just like " Resist U.S. Aid Korea ".
In addition, the increasing decline of the Qing government and the rise of the empire on which the sun never sets has also given us a lot of inspiration.
The reason why the Qing government was left behind by other countries in the world and eventually destroyed was closely related to its closed-door policy;
The reason why the Sun Never Sets empire also relied on frequent exchanges with other countries, which ultimately formed the Industrial Revolution.
It can be seen that working behind closed doors will not work. If you want to seek development, you must actively communicate with other countries, learn from the strengths of all countries, and achieve integration.
It is with this concept in mind that New China has been developing steadily.
The same is true for us in life. We must be good at opening our hearts, communicating more with others, and learning the strengths of others.
Only in this way can we continue to progress with the times and jointly help our motherland flourish and develop sustainably.
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