Lin Zexu's prejudice

Daoguang is really an unfortunate man. He succeeded to the throne in 1820. In the first 20 years of his reign, there was hardly a year without floods, droughts, famines, riots and rebellions. Around 1839, the new dilemma focused on the fruit of a ghost flower, that is, the proliferation of opium smoke.

In the late Qing Dynasty, there were opium addicts in other countries in the world, and only China people smoked opium. Opium smoking spread from the Dutch to Taiwan Province Province in the late Ming Dynasty, and then to the mainland through the Strait. Yongzheng, Jiaqing and other dynasties banned opium several times, but the addiction was never eradicated. By 1837, China's opium imports increased from several hundred cases in 1796 to 40,000 cases, and it lost tens of millions of silver every year. There are also cigarette houses everywhere among the people, and even green camp soldiers smoke opium a lot, so it is conceivable that the fighting capacity of the army is weak.

At this time, the call for smoking ban finally occupied the mainstream, and Daoguang also made up his mind to ban smoking. As a result, Lin Zexu, then governor of Huguang, entered the court's field of vision. Over the years, he has always appeared as a smart, honest and determined person, and he is also one of the important ministers who have long supported the ban on smoking. As soon as the imperial edict came out, Lin Zexu, as an imperial envoy, rushed to Guangdong to ban smoking and embarked on the road of "hero" from then on.

Lin Zexu's smoking ban has been recorded in many books, so I won't go into details in this article. In a word, he went to Guangzhou as an imperial envoy on March 1839, collected 200029 1 box on May 2 1 day, and destroyed it every day in mid-June. Today, the achievements and efficiency of drug control are still quite remarkable.

As for Lin Zexu, we have always regarded him as the historical hero of Gao Daquan. Therefore, some aspects of his "Gao Daquan" accident were ignored by people intentionally or unintentionally. Here, I want to talk about some unknown things about Lin Zexu's ban on smoking in Guangzhou and his subsequent diplomatic and military actions, so as to outline his profile. As I will explain at the end of the article, these profiles of Gong Lin may not look good, but they will only make his image more comprehensive, true and vivid.

First, Lin Zexu's biased side

"In addition to the gun, the foreign army's stabbing pace is not allowed, but the legs and feet are wrapped, and the end is tight, which is inconvenient for flexion and extension. If they are more helpless on shore, it is inevitable. "

Lin Zexu was once praised as "the first person to see the world with his eyes open" in modern China, and he really deserves this title. During his stay in Guangzhou, he organized people to translate foreign newsprint, abridged political and military books and even selected and translated international law for the first time.

Lin Zexu also believes in western medicine. 1839, he asked the Guangzhou Church Medical Association for help to see if there were any drugs for opium addiction. But this association may not be the best place to ask for help, because its second largest director, Charton, was the largest opium dealer in Britain in China at that time. Later, Lin Zexu proposed that China people who could not quit opium addiction within 18 months should be sentenced to death.

Lin Zexu himself used western medicine therapy. 1839, he went to a missionary's clinic called peter parker because of a small intestinal hernia. The doctor who graduated from Yale University installed a hernia belt for Lin Zexu, which relieved his pain and gave him five hernia belts-all of which were in Peter's stock.

However, everyone inevitably has the limitations of the times, and Lin Zexu, who is relatively enlightened, is no exception.

For example, he thinks that foreign soldiers can't bend their knees because they have leggings on their feet. 1September, 839, in his memorial to the emperor, he said: "Except for guns, the pace of attacking and stabbing foreign soldiers is beyond their control, but the legs and feet are tightly wrapped and it is inconvenient to bend and stretch. If they can't do anything on shore, it is inevitable. " This is actually a ridiculous view prevailing at that time. Foreigners can't bend their legs, so they are only good at naval battles. Once they land, there is nothing they can do.

1840, during the First Opium War, after the fall of Dinghai, Lin Zexu encouraged the soldiers and civilians to fight bravely against the enemy. He still believes that the British can't bend their knees, "a servant can't rise again" and can be slaughtered. Lin Zexu also has a strange fantasy about foreigners' strong guns: "Britain will attack China by ship. If you dare to enter the inland river, the tide will ebb, the boat glue will burst, another grain will be insufficient, and the three military supplies will not continue, such as fish lying in a dry river, come to a bad end. "

Based on these prejudices, Lin Zexu looked down on the land-based ability of the British army. The two fortresses he presided over in piping also had no measures to prevent the enemy from launching ground attacks from the rear. As a result, with the war, the British army quickly fell to the fort under the attack of port warships and landing troops. Afterwards, an official of the British Army told a friend in a letter: "It is strange that these forts have no facilities to defend against ground attacks at all, just like an ornament to welcome us home."

What is even more peculiar is that Lin Zexu thinks that foreigners are addicted to beef and mutton. Rhubarb and tea imported from China will die of indigestion if they are not used as complementary food. In a play with Daoguang, he wrote: "Take tea rhubarb as an example. If foreigners can't do this, there will be no life." In a document to be handed over to the Queen of England, he once again stressed: "Rhubarb, tea and shredded lake are all precious products of China. If foreign countries can't do this, they will have no life. "

These prejudices will inevitably make Lin Zexu's self-confidence "explode", coupled with his unfamiliarity with international diplomatic practices, and thus make some rash things.

Second, Lin Zexu's reckless side

A China boatman was executed simply because he had a letter from Europe.

In Lin Zexu's anti-drug campaign in Guangzhou, some overseas historians criticized his two practices, which they thought were reckless.

First, at the beginning of the ban, he blocked foreign commercial buildings in Guangzhou and strictly isolated all foreigners. This practice is really knocking over a boat with one pole, and many isolated people have not got their hands on the opium trade. From today's perspective, Lin Zexu's practice has actually caused a great diplomatic accident. It's like some foreigners in Guangzhou are engaged in drug trafficking, but the government directly sealed the embassies of various countries and put everyone under house arrest. Of course, in the era of Lin Zexu, China did not even have a special diplomatic department, let alone diplomatic standards. It is understandable that Lin Zexu made such a strong move out of his desire for drug control.

At that time, there was a "forest terror" in the Guangzhou Foreign Trade Pavilion, and a China boatman was executed just because he had a letter from Europe. At the same time, food, even a bucket of water, cannot be brought into the business hall. Halfway through the blockade, when the conflict intensified, Lin Zexu also asked workers to build walls around the commercial building, completely turning the commercial building into a prison. The blockade was not lifted until British business representatives compromised.

Lin Zexu's ban on smoking was mainly aimed at British businessmen, but he didn't pay much attention to the opium smuggling forces that culled China. He only punishes people who smoke opium, without guidance. As a result, although a large amount of opium was seized, opium smuggling did not disappear. 1In June, 839, Macau Monthly reported that in September of the same year, opium trade was active again, and tens of thousands of boxes of opium had been shipped to China.

Drug control is a systematic project, but Lin Zexu's drug control methods are monotonous and rude, and it is reasonable that he failed to achieve even a temporary success.

Another reckless practice of Lin Zexu is to ask foreign businessmen to write a letter of guarantee after seizing opium, and never carry opium with them in the future, and offenders will be executed. At first, foreign businessmen were willing to write a letter of guarantee in person, but Lin Zexu demanded that the letter of guarantee be valid not only for the signatory, but also for everyone on board. In other words, if the shipowner signs this letter of guarantee, it is equivalent to signing a "certificate of life and death" for everyone on his ship in the future. As a result, the other party refused, further intensifying the contradiction.

Now it seems that Lin Zexu's idea is relatively simple. He said in a memorial that outsiders value credit, so they are required to sign a "guarantee", that is, a guarantee, which can be done once and for all. In his time, of course, without considering the issue of legislation, he could only make such a request. However, diplomatic communication at that time was not as smooth as angel's skin. On the one hand, as stubborn as a stone, on the other hand, as stubborn as a bull's head. However, if they think and deal with problems according to their own laws, regulations and customs, the result will naturally be only a slap in the face.

By the way, the adjective "recklessness" I use here is not derogatory at all, but an objective description. In fact, Lin Zexu's recklessness was also due to his patriotic enthusiasm and hatred of opium. As Jiang Tingfu, a historian who complained about Lin Zexu in his early years, said in his later years, "... Britain is not opposed to banning smoking, but it is opposed to China using the methods used by Lin Zexu again. From this point of view, banning is tantamount to helplessness, because with China's national strength and national conditions, there is still a glimmer of hope in using Wenzhong's method, and there is no hope if it is not banned. " .

Third, the side covered by Lin Zexu.

1842, on the way to exile in Yili, he also wrote to his friends: "First, we must use cannons, so that this thing can be left alone, which really makes Yue Han helpless!" But unfortunately, he didn't want more people to know this reality, and he also asked his friends not to show this letter to others.

China's former ministers often had a habit of whitewashing peace and lying when they were playing military intelligence, which was obviously a one-sided defeat. They also said that "our army suffered many casualties and the enemy suffered more casualties", so as to deceive the dragon's face.

It's a pity that Lin Zexu can't avoid customs.

1839 After the Battle of Nose-piercing, Guan Tianpei reported to Lin Zexu that China won a great victory and sank several British ships, causing more than 50 British casualties. However, in fact, the British army did not suffer any casualties in this campaign. A British officer who took part in the campaign later sarcastically wrote: "It seems that someone set off fireworks on China batteries." . According to common sense, Lin Zexu should investigate the real situation (of course, he may have been cheated), but according to Junbao, he made a victory report.

Of course, this practice greatly inspired Daoguang's fighting enthusiasm. After receiving Lin Zexu's report on the artillery battle in Jiulong Mountain, he gave an energetic instruction: "I'm not worried about Meng Lang, but I don't want to be afraid of Qing." It probably means: Work hard and kill all foreigners! Lin Zexu and others also cooperated very well, constantly reporting great victories, and even boasting openly, such as "winning all six wars", which made Daoguang's appetite big.

1September, 839, Lin zexu, who had long known the military strength of both sides and knew that he could not bear it, once again said, "British businessmen should repent and try their best to turn back." As a result, Daoguang instructed: "Don't do this, you may lose control", which made Lin Zexu in a dilemma.

In fact, in 1840, both the Eight Banners soldiers and the Green Camp soldiers in the Qing Dynasty were corrupt and backward in equipment, and could not resist the troops of any western powers at all. For example, "Modern History of the Cambridge World" said: "Corruption is prevalent in the army and morale is low. Only a small part of the roster of some troops actually exists; Weapons are only old muskets, darts and bows and arrows; Besides, China people have always respected educated civil servants and despised Beowulf. Therefore, China's army was unprepared. Once the Qing Empire had to face heavy pressure, it could not shoulder the heavy responsibility of national defense. " .

In this regard, Lin Zexu gradually gained a profound understanding, especially the gap between the two sides' armaments, especially the power of western artillery. 1842, on the way to exile in Yili, he also wrote to his friends: "First, we must use cannons, so that this thing can be left alone, which really makes Yue Han helpless!" But unfortunately, he didn't want more people to know this reality, and he also asked his friends not to show this letter to others. Since then, Lin Zexu has made a comeback, serving as governor of Shaanxi but Gansu and governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, but he has never advocated reform or publicly publicized the disparity between China and foreign countries. On the other hand, Lin Zexu kept a secret, and it was better to appease Yi-sent Qi Shan and Ying Jie-they at least poured cold water on the literati who dreamed of becoming a great country in China-but Lin Zexu kept his mouth shut all his life.

Fourth, small flaws do not hide the true colors of Jieshi.

When Governor Ren Yungui settled the dispute between Yunnan and Guizhou and the Han Dynasty, Lin Zexu insisted: "Only good or bad, regardless of the Han Dynasty", which is an extremely valuable national equality mind!

Jiang Tingfu once said, "Zhong Gong Lin (Zexi) is undoubtedly the best product of China's old culture", and I agree with him very much. According to Mencius' theory of "knowing people and discussing the world", Lin Zexu's life, even though there are various limitations of the times, is still a generous and upright generation of scholars. After all, imperfect heroes are still heroes, and perfect flies are still just flies.

Throughout his life, Lin Zexu made outstanding contributions to smoking ban, water control and chaos suppression, exploration and mining, and frontier construction. And its personal ethics is widely recommended at home and abroad. A foreign opponent who dealt with him at that time admitted that Lin Zexu was very different from contemporary Qing officials. "He seems to have no habit of favoritism."

Lin Zexu presided over river engineering and salt administration, both of which were so-called "fat differences", but he never had an affair with money. During the anti-drug campaign, some people suspected that he was trying to resell some of the confiscated opium, but even the British who hated him finally admitted that Lin Zexu had not cheated.

When Governor Ren Yungui settled the dispute between Yunnan and Guizhou and the Han Dynasty, Lin Zexu insisted: "Only good or bad, regardless of the Han Dynasty", which is an extremely valuable national equality mind!

He was smart and capable when he was managing the water in Donghe River. Investigators believe that "no one has ever been so serious to check the material stack with the minister." On the way to exile in Yili, he was temporarily taken to Jianhe and continued to exile in Yili after his success. On the way, he wrote a famous sentence through the ages, which is a concentrated portrayal of his life.

Yesterday was World Anti-Drug Day, and finally I wrote a poem about Lin Wenzhong's ban on smoking. Let's listen to his anti-drug voice 100 years ago:

Gao Yang Taihe Yi Yun's Old Rhyme

Corn is harvested, planted with gold thread, and it is smokeless.

Who can't sleep with both hands?

I don't know what it feels like to breathe, but I love to light that lamp, and the night will last forever.

The most pitiful thing is a grain of mud, which costs thousands of dollars.

Spring thunder broke Dingding's point, laughing at the building, and there was no ashes burning.

The sand angle is high, and the sail closes the horizon.

If the float is full of neon festivals, it looks like a mirror.

What's more important is to cross the ocean and leave the island and return to the side.