In the 1850s, the industrial production of capitalist countries such as Britain, France, and the United States was further developed, so economic resources and commodity markets became particularly important.
During the First Opium War, they had already peeked into China's extensive energy space and commodity circulation market. Therefore, they used various means to make demands against China that were detrimental to national interests and territorial sovereignty.
In 1854 and 1856, they demanded the signing of a new unequal treaty based on the Treaty of Nanking, and Britain, France, and the United States also made unreasonable demands to the Qing government, including the opening of all of China and the legalization of the opium trade, on the pretext of helping to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom twice, but all of them were rejected by the Qing government. Subsequently, Britain and France planned a new war of aggression against China, trying to achieve their goal of economic plunder by force again.
In February 1856, French priest Ma Lai engaged in illegal activities in Xilin, Guangxi, and was executed by the local government, which france used as a pretext to take military revenge against China. Britain also deliberately sought an excuse to restart the war and deliberately created the "Yarrow" incident. The Yaro is a Chinese smuggling vessel that once received a registration certificate in Hong Kong but has expired. In October, Chinese sailors boarded the Yarrow near Guangzhou to arrest the bandits, which was protested by the British consul in Guangzhou, Pasha Li, who insisted that it was a British ship. Although the smuggling crew captured on the Yarrow had been returned to them, the British ignored them. On October 23, they launched a surprise attack, occupying various forts along the river south of Guangzhou, and at one point rushed into the city of Guangzhou, and the Second Opium War broke out.
At this time, France could not wait to follow suit, and sent troops to China the following year to form an Anglo-French coalition with the British army. In December 1857, more than 5,600 Anglo-French troops (including 1,000 French troops) assembled at the mouth of the Pearl River and prepared for a major attack. American Minister Levilian and Russian Minister Putiatin also arrived in Hong Kong and conspired with Britain and France to invade China. At this time, the Qing government was suppressing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Twister Rebellion with all its might, and adopted the policy of "stopping the army as the most important thing" against foreign invaders. Ye Mingchen faithfully carried out the policies of the Qing government and did not fight and defend. On 28 December, the Anglo-French forces shelled Canton and landed on the city. Du Tonglai Cun and cadre general Deng Anbang led the troops to resist stubbornly, and the next day they were lost. The general Mukhdene surrendered and continued to serve as an enemy under the supervision of the "Coalition Committee" headed by Pashali. Ye Mingchen was captured by the invading army.
After the fall of Guangzhou, the invaders of the four countries conspired to continue north in order to pose a direct threat to the Qing government.
Anglo-French coalition
In April 1858, the envoys of Britain, France, Russia, and the United States led ships to The Dagu Pass one after another, and sent a note to the Qing government separately, asking for the appointment of plenipotentiaries to negotiate.
Russia and the United States also expressed their willingness to act as "mediators." The Xianfeng Emperor ordered the Qing army to fortify Tianjin and Dagu, and on the one hand sent tan Tingxiang, the governor directly subordinate to him, as the minister of Chincha, to Go to Dagu to handle negotiations, and pinned his hopes on the "mediation" of the Russian and American ministers. The British and French aggressors did not have the sincerity to negotiate, but only used this to delay time and step up military preparations. On 20 May, British and French warships shelled the Takukou Battery. The Qing troops stationed at the various forts rose up to fight back and fought against the enemy. However, Tan Tingxiang and others had no fighting spirit, and they were overwhelmed by the wind, and the facilities of the fort were obsolete, and the Dagukou fell.
Old photos of Dagukou
The Anglo-French forces followed the Bai River upwards, invaded the outskirts of Tianjin on the 26th, and threatened to attack Beijing.
Under the obscenity and intimidation of the invaders, the Qing government once again surrendered on its knees. In late June, Gui Liang, a frightened university scholar, signed a shameful traitorous treaty with Britain, France, the United States, and Russia, the Treaty of Tianjin. In the Treaty of Tianjin, Russia forced the Qing government to recognize the treaty of aid to Hun that had been signed, completely occupying a large area of northeast China.
In June 1859, the British and French envoys to China insisted on leading warships from Dagukou to Beijing on the grounds of exchange for the agreement, but the Qing government refused. On 25 June, British and French warships attacked the Taku Kou Battery. The reorganized Defenders of Dagukou fought back, sinking and wounding more than a dozen British and French warships and killing or wounding 400 or 500 invading troops. The Anglo-French forces withdrew from Taku Pass.
The news of the disastrous defeat of the Anglo-French coalition in the attack on Tagu spread to Europe, and there was a clamor of war within the British and French ruling classes, clamoring for "large-scale retaliation against China and occupation of the capital." In February 1860, the British and French governments reappointed Erkin and Gro as plenipotentiaries respectively, leading more than 15,000 LinkedIn troops and about 7,000 French troops, expanding the war of aggression against China. In April, the Anglo-French forces occupied Zhoushan. In May and June, the British occupied Dalian Bay and the French occupied Yantai, blocking Bohai Bay and using this as a forward base for attacking Dagukou.
During this period, the former enemy commander of the Qing Dynasty, Monk Gelinqin, thought that the enemy army was not good at land warfare, so he exclusively guarded The Dagu Pass and abandoned the defense of Beitang to give the enemy an opportunity. On 1 August, the Anglo-French forces landed at Beitang without encountering any resistance. On the 14th, Tanggu was captured. Then the land and water coordinated to attack the fort on the north bank of the Dagu Pass. The Qing army under the command of Viceroy Leshan, who was directly subordinate to the Taiwan, fought bravely. However, the Qing government had no determination to resist the war, and the Xianfeng Emperor ordered the monk Gelinqin to leave the camp and retreat. The Qing army then fled From Dagukou and retreated via Tianjin to Tongzhou (present-day Tongxian County, Beijing). On August 21, the Taku pass fell. The invading army drove straight in and occupied Tianjin on the 24th. The Qing government urgently sent Guiliang to Tianjin to negotiate peace. Britain and France proposed that, in addition to accepting the "Tianjin Treaty" in their entirety, they should also open Tianjin as a treaty port, increase reparations, and bring thousands of troops into Beijing to exchange treaties. The Qing government refused, and negotiations broke down. The invading army then invaded From Tianjin to Beijing. At this time, the qing dynasty was in a panic and rushed to escape. On September 22, the Xianfeng Emperor fled to the Chengde Mountain Resort with his concubines and ministers, and ordered Prince Gong Yi bi to ask the invaders for peace. In October, the Anglo-French coalition took full control of Beijing, and then looted the Yuanmingyuan and set it on fire.
Old photos of the invading army invading Beijing
In late October, the Qing government representative, Prince Gong Yi bi, signed the Treaty of Beijing with British and French representatives.
The treaty stipulates that Tianjin should be opened as a commercial port; Permission for Chinese workers to leave the country; Ceded Kowloon Division to the British; Return of Catholic assets; The reparations to Britain and France increased to 8 million taels of silver. The land was lost and rights and interests were damaged, and the Qing government once again used the dignity of the Chinese nation to draw a humiliating end to the Second Opium War.