#长文创作激励计划#
Lin Zexu was an outstanding patriotic minister in the last years of the Qing Dynasty, who actively participated in the anti-smoking movement and resolutely safeguarded the rights and interests of the people. Although later suppressed by the Qing government and United Kingdom, he still made outstanding contributions to the country.
Today we are going to focus on the story of Lin Zexu and his daughter.
Why can Lin Zexu's daughter make the ancestral hall incense still flourish?
Lin Zexu was born in 1785, during the Jiaqing period. The Jiaqing Dynasty was at a critical moment when the Qing Dynasty was turning from prosperity to decline. Before Jiaqing, the Kangqian era was the heyday of the Qing Dynasty, and the Jiaqing Dynasty was faced with various problems and challenges left over from the Kangqian era, and the situation was undergoing profound changes.
When the Jiaqing Dynasty succeeded to the throne, political corruption and embezzlement became more and more serious. Officials are mired in corruption, and the lag in the system of appointing officials makes it difficult for the government to govern effectively.
After the anti-corruption work came to an end, the Jiaqing Emperor set out to ban smoking. Faced with the problem of political corruption, the Jiaqing Emperor firmly advocated the prohibition of opium and maintained a high degree of vigilance against the disturbance of the United Kingdom invaders along the coast. On two occasions, he issued a ban on smoking, ordering the cessation of the taxation of opium and the prohibition of its importation. In addition to the prohibition of the importation of opium, the cultivation of opium is also expressly prohibited.
Emperor Jiaqing was keenly aware of the conspiracy of the foreign devils, and wisely rejected it with a resolute attitude. He again rejected United Kingdom's request for the establishment of diplomatic relations and the opening of treaty ports.
In fact, there was a precedent for banning smoking in the Qing Dynasty, and in the seventh year of Yongzheng, the Yongzheng Emperor issued the first anti-smoking decree due to the influx of opium into China, which opened the prelude to the ban on smoking in the Qing Dynasty. Despite the ban, the opium trade persisted.
As opium smuggling continued to run rampant, the Qing Dynasty not only had a large number of subjects become addicts, but also led to a large outflow of silver. In the eighteenth year of Daoguang, the annual outflow of opium in Guangdong Province alone was as high as 30 million taels.
The problem gradually intensified, making Emperor Daoguang's worries even heavier. Under these circumstances, he resolutely decided that measures must be taken to eradicate the problem of opium. And it was at this critical moment that Lin Zexu came into being and completed the feat of selling cigarettes in Humen.
In order to deal with the unforeseen, Emperor Daoguang decided to send an official who was trusted by him, upright and competent, to be in charge of the anti-smoking affairs. Lin Zexu was a Jinshi in Jiaqing for 16 years, and later served as the editor of Hanlin, the envoy of Jiangsu, the governor of Donghe, the governor of Jiangsu, and the governor of Huguang.
This official was fully in line with Emperor Daoguang's expectations of a non-smoking official. Therefore, Emperor Daoguang ordered Lin Zexu to come to Beijing to discuss the smoking ban. As a result, Lin Zexu was appointed as the Minister of the Imperial Mission and went to Guangzhou to take charge of the anti-smoking work.
Lin Zexu's anti-smoking campaign is far from a simple act of confiscation. He knew very well that in order to eradicate the opium problem once and for all, it was necessary not only to start with the drug dealers and addicts of the Qing Dynasty, but also to contain foreign suppliers. Therefore, he deliberately rectified the sailors, demanded that the possible smuggling channels be strictly guarded, and began to confiscate the tobacco and soil in the hands of foreigners.
Seeing Lin Zexu's determination, foreign businessmen expressed their willingness to hand over opium. Despite the loud slogans, in reality they were just formalistic, handing over very small quantities of opium in a passing manner. Lin Zexu was furious.
Lin Zexu took advantage of the situation and issued an ultimatum to foreign businessmen to hand over opium: If you don't hand over opium, I will kill two people at 10 o'clock tomorrow. Not only that, but he also blocked the foreign merchant settlement, the Thirteen Foreign Stores in Guangzhou, and cut off their food. United Kingdom merchants then handed over 20,280 boxes of opium.
In order to gain a deeper understanding of the activities of foreign businessmen, Lin Zexu observed them very carefully, specially collected information such as small leaflets and various books of foreigners, and also consulted relevant archives, and began to take action after accumulating enough knowledge.
In order to destroy the tobacco soil, Lin Zexu chose Humen, which is about 100 miles away from Guangzhou City. He ordered two 15-zhang square pin ponds to be dug at the height of Humen Beach, with a culvert in front of the pond leading to the sea and a ditch at the back for filling water.
The smokers first filled the pond with water, then poured packets of sea salt into the pool, and then cut the opium into four pieces and threw it into the water. When the smoke was soaked through, they poured a load of quicklime into the pool.
After a while, the pool was like a boiling pot, black opium rolled in the pool, and clouds of white smoke rose from the pool, filling the entire Humen beach.
The crowd of onlookers cheered. Amid thunderous cheers, the culvert to the sea was opened, and the destroyed opium was washed away by the surging water.
It took 23 days for more than 20,000 boxes of opium to be destroyed. This feat greatly boosted the morale of the Chinese people and completely dealt a blow to the prestige of foreign invaders.
Lin Zexu was cheered and applauded by many onlookers, and his frank and selfless behavior won people's admiration. As the first person to open his eyes in modern China, Lin Zexu's vision and courage are impressive, and the situation of his descendants often arouses people's curiosity.
Lin Zexu has been consistent with his wife all his life, has not married other concubines, and all his children are from his wife. Although he is an iron-blooded man, he is not a reckless person, and he loves to pursue beauty in life.
During his tenure as the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, there was a Mid-Autumn Festival one year, and the family drank and admired the moon in the garden. Lin Zexu inadvertently mentioned that although the scenery is beautiful, there are few palace lamps and orchids missing. This unintentional remark has attracted attention. A few days later, the palace lanterns were hung in the garden, and the orchids were in full bloom.
Although Lin Zexu was happy, his wife Zheng Shuqing was quite uneasy. She bluntly told her husband that although these lanterns are beautiful, they are favored by others, purely because you are in a high position. If you continue like this, you may fall into other people's calculations without realizing it.
This warning woke Lin Zexu deeply, so he immediately ordered someone to remove the palace lamp and orchid.
After that, Lin Zexu deeply remembered his wife's advice and strictly restrained his words and deeds. At the same time, he advocated frugality and devoted more energy to understanding and solving the people's suffering, so he was deeply loved by the people.
Lin Zexu and Zheng Shuqing have a total of eight children, of which there are three daughters who are really adults, namely the eldest daughter Lin Chentan, the third daughter Lin Puqing, and the fourth daughter Zheng Lin. The eldest daughter, Lin Chentan, was arranged by Lin Zexu to marry Liu Qi, who was only a poor student at the time. At that time, Lin Zexu was already a high-profile practical official in the political arena, and he took a fancy to Liu Qi's diligence and studiousness, and insisted on letting his eldest daughter marry into the Liu family.
Three years later, Liu Qi was successfully admitted to the examination, and the following year, he was admitted to the Jinshi in one go. Since then, Liu Qi has served as a local official many times, transferred to many places, and held important positions many times.
Despite his humble background, Liu has excellent business acumen. He used his fortune to devote himself to business, amassing a large amount of wealth and becoming a wealthy local man.
Lin Zexu's third daughter, Lin Puqing, can be described as the most legendary of the Lin family's children. At the age of 18, her brother Lin Ruzhou suggested to her father that Lin Puqing marry Shen Baozhen, who was still an obscure petty official at the time.
Lin Zexu still exerted his unique ability to recognize people, and agreed to this family affair just like when he was looking for a husband for his eldest daughter. Subsequently, Shen Baozhen and Lin Puqing got married, and Shen Baozhen entered the Hanlin Academy in high school, and later held an important position in the imperial court.
As for the fourth daughter, Zheng Lin, her name is not recorded in detail in the history books, only her husband Zheng Baozhong is mentioned. Zheng Baozhong was just a talent in his life and had never been a showman. Lin Zexu didn't know that the marriage of the fourth daughter was completely dominated by herself, but after Lin Zexu learned about it after marriage, she could only accept her daughter's choice.
Lin Zexu's third daughter, Lin Puqing, became the most well-known of them. Lin Zexu's words and deeds had a profound impact on Lin Puqing. Lin Zexu was amazed by Lin Puqing's writing, praised her for her manly spirit, and predicted that she would be able to be filial to her family and loyal to the country.
Sure enough, when the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement swept the country, Lin Puqing played a huge role with his perseverance and hard work.
Lin Puqing received a pure family education since she was a child, she is a virtuous and dignified, knowledgeable, and knowledgeable woman. Her father, Lin Zexu, also thinks she is extraordinary and cultivates her wholeheartedly. Whenever Lin Zexu came back from the court, Lin Puqing would listen carefully to his father's views on decision-making on military affairs, and benefited a lot.
After marriage, she wholeheartedly assisted her husband in studying the council, and the two respected each other like guests. However, soon after Shen Baozhen became the prefect of Jiujiang, the country fell into war. The Jintian Uprising of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom swept across Jiangxi, and Shen Baozhen was busy recruiting troops and raising salaries in various counties, leaving only Lin Puqing to sit in Shangrao. Suddenly, a large number of Taiping troops swarmed in an attempt to capture Shangrao City.
The onslaught of the Taiping army terrified the common people in Shangrao, and at the same time, many local officials packed their bags and prepared to flee. The soldiers in the city were weak, the city was isolated, and the whole situation was chaotic.
Lin Puqing was advised to flee as soon as possible and then try to join her husband. However, Lin Puqing is not willing to survive in secret, and she is determined to stay in the city and complete the mission of defending the city. She told her subordinates that if the Taiping army invaded Shangrao, she would defend the city with her own life.
Fortunately, under the influence of his father and husband in peacetime, Lin Puqing also has a slight understanding of the way of using soldiers. She approached the leader of the city's defenders, discussed a plan to defend the city, and did not hesitate to open the treasury and take out all the food stored to motivate the army. The defenders fought bravely on the city wall, and Lin Puqing personally led the women in the city to cook and send it to the city wall.
However, the situation remains dire. Lin Puqing realized that the number of defenders in Shangrao City was limited. She decided to seek the help of Rao Tingxuan, the chief soldier of Yushan Town, not far from Shangrao. Rao Tingxuan used to be Lin Zexu's old department, and now only by asking him to send troops to help him can he save Shangrao's crisis.
However, Yushan Town is also frequent, is General Rao willing to take the risk to save him? In order to move Rao Tingxuan, Lin Puqing resolutely broke his middle finger and wrote a letter asking for help in blood.
It takes time for reinforcements to arrive, and Lin Puqing is faced with the dilemma of how to hold on for two days. In view of the fact that the Taiping army was adept at using the tactics of rolling dragons (i.e., digging tunnels) to attack the city, Lin Puqing had an idea and immediately ordered the soldiers defending the city to urgently dig a ditch along the inner side of the city wall, eight feet deep and five feet wide. In this way, once the enemy army attacks the city from underground, it will inevitably fall into the ditch and its tracks will be exposed.
Under the ingenious tactical command of Lin Puqing, the Shangrao army and civilians successfully survived the two-day predicament and won precious time. At the same time, the reinforcements sent by Rao Tingxuan and the soldiers and horses led by Shen Baojiao gathered, plus the troops in the city, forming a three-way encirclement. They fought bravely for seven days and seven nights, and finally succeeded in rescuing Shangrao.
Lin Puqing's heroic deeds are widely praised and are known as heroines. Subsequently, because of the long-term running and fatigue, Lin Puqing's body gradually collapsed. In 1873, Lin Puqing died of illness at the age of fifty-two. After learning the bad news, Shen Baozhen was in pain.
Zuo Zongtang, a famous minister of the Qing Dynasty, personally sent her a couplet, praising her noble character and believing that she was "loyal to her family, loyal to the country, and glorious in her life". In order to express their respect and nostalgia for her, the court and the people jointly built an ancestral hall for her. Her heroic deeds have been praised to this day, and the incense in her ancestral hall is still flourishing.
Summary: From Lin Puqing's birth to her eventual early death, her deeds show the image of a legendary woman, profoundly influencing the people around her and the women of the late Qing Dynasty, like a lighthouse, illuminating the way forward.
She was not complacent because of her noble background, bravely faced difficulties, resolutely stepped forward, bravely commanded to quell the chaos, and finally achieved great achievements. The spirit of this heroine deserves to be remembered forever today.