Why Russia was able to take advantage of the Second Opium War

It is estimated that the total value of the property looted and destroyed, was over six million pounds, and that every soldier present plundered a great deal. On entering the palaces of the palace, no one knew what to take. The silver was lost in order to take the gold,...... priceless china and enamel ware, which was too large to be carried away, was actually broken.

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October 1856, Britain and France in the tsarist Russia and the United States support with the cooperation of the United Kingdom and France jointly launched a new war of aggression against China - the Second Opium War. Their aim was to seize greater colonial interests. They first started two wars in Guangzhou, but failed to realize their aspirations. In order to exert direct pressure on the Qing government, they decided to set up troops in the capital. In May 1858, the invading forces approached Tianjin, and the Qing government was forced to sign the humiliating "Treaty of Tianjin" with Britain, France, Russia and the United States.

July 1860 (Xianfeng ten years), the British and French invader fleet once again broke into the Dagu Kou outside the British and French Minister to the Beijing for the pretext, one side of the force to force, one side of the temptation to "peace". And again and again, the conditions are more and more harsh, the purpose is to display troops in the capital, forcing the Qing court to give in. In the face of the aggressor's scheme, the corrupt and incompetent Qing government but begged for peace, and delayed the strategy of war and defense. Thus lost the opportunity to annihilate the enemy, resulting in the invasion of the army drove straight to Tongzhou. September 21, Tongzhou Bali Bridge duel our troops lost, the next morning, Emperor Xianfeng hasty from the Yuanmingyuan fled to Chengde summer resort and go. The name "northern patrol", in fact, put the ancestors of the countryside in disregard, escape from life. This caused the capital city without a master, all the officials are scattered, the soldiers will be slack, the people fear the crisis situation, which fundamentally shakes the invaders of the resolute resistance.

October 6, the British and French allied forces around the northeastern outskirts of Beijing to attack the Yuanmingyuan, at that time, the Sin Greenqin, Ruilin remnants of the city's northern area of resistance, that is, fled. French troops first, in the afternoon by Haidian, in the evening that broke into the Yuanmingyuan Palace. At this time, in and out of Xianliangmen, there are more than twenty Yuanmingyuan technology brave eunuchs with the enemy to fight." The encounter is not afraid, fight straight ahead", heroic resistance. But ultimately outnumbered, the Yuanmingyuan technology brave "eight products leader" Ren Liang and other people died in the line of duty. To 7:00 pm, the French invasion forces captured the Yuanmingyuan. The minister of the Garden, Wen Feng, threw himself into the sea and died.

October 7, the British and French invasion leader broke into the Yuanmingyuan, immediately "sent British and French members of each three people to discuss the distribution of the treasures in the garden." French commander Montauban wrote to the French Foreign Minister that day: "I order the French commissioners to pay attention to the first to take the most valuable items in art and archaeology. I will dedicate to His Majesty the Emperor (Napoleon the Third), by your Excellency, the most rare objects of France, which will be hidden in the French Museum." The British commander Grant also immediately "sent his officers to endeavor to collect the objects belonging to the British." The French and British invasion forces were no longer able to resist the lure of the objects on their second day in the garden, and officers and soldiers rushed forward in groups to loot them, devouring the gold, silver and cultural and artistic treasures in the garden like vicious wolves.

According to the participation of the British and French officers who witnessed the scene of the looting, priests, journalists described: officers and soldiers, the British and French, in order to seize the treasure, from all directions into the Yuanmingyuan, the long Qian wantonly, give and take, hand and foot, confused and confused. In order to seize the treasure, they beat each other, and even had a fight. Because there are too many treasures in the garden, they do not know what to take for a while, some move away cloisonné orchid vase, some covet embroidery long full, some pick a high-level leather coat, some go to get inlaid with jewels and jade of the wall clock. Some carry large pockets filled with treasures of all colors. Some filled the wide pockets of their tunics with bars and leaves of gold; some had their halves wrapped in brocaded silk; some had their hats filled with rubies, pearls, and crystal stones; some had emerald collars around their necks. In one compartment there was a mountain of fine silks, said to be sufficient for half the inhabitants of Peking, which were carried away in large carts by the soldiers. -An English officer plundered a gold Buddha statue, which could be worth 1,200 pounds sterling, from a temple containing 5,000 idols. A French officer looted property worth 600,000 francs. The son of Montauban, commander-in-chief of the French army, plundered treasure worth 300,000 francs, filling several wagons. A British army named Hurleys second officer, once that is stolen from the garden two gold pagodas (all three layers, one 7 feet high, one 6.4 feet high) and a large number of other treasures, looking for seven strong man for him to carry back to the barracks. The man for looting in the Yuanmingyuan rich, enjoy life, got a "Chinese Jaime" nickname. The invaders in addition to looting, they have trampled on countless things. There are several houses full of satin clothing, clothes were dragged out of the box and thrown all over the floor, people walk into the house, almost can not cover the knees. The sappers, armed with great axes, smashed all the furniture and removed the precious stones from it. Some smashed large mirrors, while others amused themselves by shooting menacingly at large candlesticks. Most of the French soldiers swung sticks in their hands and mashed everything that could not be taken away. When the French army temporarily withdrew from the Yuanmingyuan on October 9, this beautiful garden, has been destroyed to the point of destruction.

Just when the Qing government to the invaders on bended knee concessions, promised to accept all the "peace" conditions, choose a day to sign, the British invasion of China leader Erjin, Grant, in order to give its invasion of China to leave a "Huran severe" impression, nearly make the Qing government long bowed to the ear, even on the pretext of its captured personnel were ill-treated, and brazenly ordered the Yuanmingyuan burned. 18, 19 October, 3,000 or 4,000 British troops in the country, the fire everywhere, the fire for three days. Everywhere arson, fire for three days and nights, the whole garden into a sea of fire, smoke, fire candles in the sky. More than 20 miles away from the city of Beijing over the dimming of daylight, as the eclipse, a large number of soot and ash star straight down the alleyway. The world's unrivaled garden masterpieces, rare Chinese and foreign art treasures, was put to the torch. Afterwards, according to the Qing officials, the large Yuanmingyuan only twenty or thirty pavilions and temples, official door, the value of the room and other buildings survived, but the doors and windows are not Qi, indoor furnishings, a few cases have been looted. At the same time, Wanshoushan Qingyi Garden, Xiangshan Jingyi Garden and Yuquanshan Jingmingyuan part of the building was also burned.

According to relevant materials, on October 18, the British invasion forces burned the Anyou Palace, because they came suddenly, the eunuch in charge of the Anyou Palace door is locked, so, there were eunuchs, maids, craftsmen, etc. ****300 people, was burned alive in the Anyou Palace. The atrocities of the invaders, heinous!

The Yuanmingyuan into a sea of flames, Erjin proudly proclaimed: "This will make China and Europe alarmed and shocked, and its effect is far beyond the imagination of people 10,000 miles away". The masters of the fire regarded this act as a remarkable achievement, while decent people all over the world were outraged by this barbaric crime. Victor Hugo wrote in 1861: "One day two robbers entered the Yuanmingyuan, one robbed and the other set fire to it. As if they had won the war, they could engage in robbery ....... In the face of history, these two robbers, one called France, one called England". This passage represents the voice of millions of decent people.

The Yuanmingyuan the fire of sin, the fire of shame is still burning when, ordered to stay in Beijing Prince Gong Yi? Soon that is with Britain, France, Russia, respectively, exchanged the text of the Treaty of Tianjin, signed the Treaty of Beijing. In this way, the imperialist powers not only occupied China's Jiulongsi and a large area of territory in the north, extorting to 16 million taels of silver in huge military reparations, and greatly strengthened the Qing Government's political and military control and economic and cultural aggression against our people. The suffering Chinese nation was further plunged into the abyss of semi-colonialism.

After the destruction of the Yuanmingyuan, it remained a forbidden garden for the royal family. Tongzhi years in the Empress Dowager Cixi's authorization, has tried to choose to repair. At that time to repair the scope of more than 20 * * * 3,000 halls, mainly concentrated in the Yuanmingyuan before the dynasty area, the lake area and the west, the northern area, as well as Wanchunyuan Palace Gate area, Shixing Chun Tongkou Qingxia Hall and other places. But less than 10 months of construction was forced to stop repair due to financial exhaustion. Thereafter, although the Empress Dowager Cixi repaired the Summer Palace, but did not completely give up the repair of Yuanmingyuan, until the twenty-second to twenty-four years of Guangxu, but also had to repair velvet Yuanmingyuan Double Crane Jie, the lesson of the Nongxuan and other scenic groups. 1900 (Guangxu twenty-sixth year), the Eight-Power Allied Forces invasion of Beijing to kill and loot, Empress Dowager Cixi hostage to the Emperor fled to Xi'an, the order of the capital city in great disarray, the eight banners of the soldiers, bandits that is, to take advantage of the fire to loot the garden and the remaining The basic repair *** about nearly a hundred buildings, are demolished and robbed, so that the Yuanmingyuan buildings and old and valuable trees were completely destroyed.

Subsequently, the Yuanmingyuan's relics, and long been bureaucrats, warlords, the treacherous businessman's trickery, and even the government authorities of the organized destruction. The Beiyang government's power and wealth, including some of the Yuanmingyuan ruins have the responsibility of protection, are relying on the power, have been transported from the garden a large number of stone carvings, Taihu Lake stone, etc., in order to repair its garden house. Such as Wang Huaiqing, Commander-in-Chief of the Guardsmen of the capital, parade (after the bribe for the President of the Republic of China) Cao Kun, infantry commander Nie Xianfan, Beijing Military Police Commander Che Qingyun, the Secretary General of the Office of the Wang Lanheng, etc. have this kind of bad deeds, only the Beijing Zhaoyi (the equivalent of the mayor of Beiping) Liu Menggeng a person, in the fall of 1922, within 25 days, forcibly transported the Changchunyuan Taihu Lake stone 623 large car, Qichunyuan cloud slice stone 104 large car. At that time, successively stationed in the Xiyuan area of the Army 13th Division, 16th Division, the National Army 11th Division, the Northeast Army 53rd Army, Song Zheyuan 29th Army and so on. All had forcibly dismantled the Yuanmingyuan wall, private sale of masonry, or used to circle building Xiyuan playground. Summer Palace, Zhongshan Park, Yanjing University, Beiping Library, etc., also transported a large number of stone pieces. early 30s, in the renovation of high Liangqiao through the Haidian to Yuquanshan stone ballast highway, approved by the special government of Beiping City, will be the Yuanmingyuan south (4,800 meters) and the east side of the tiger skin stone wall all rows of dismantled, smashed into stone ballast used to pave the road. Before and after, but also many times in the garden of the public price batch sale of large city bricks, tiger skin stone and cloud slice stone, and even the marble columns of the remnants of the Western building, so that the Yuanmingyuan reduced to a ruin.