After listening to Li Dawei's account of the Eight-Nation Alliance's burning, killing and looting in Yanjing, Deng Feng said helplessly: "I'm afraid these are only a small part of the cultural relics lost. Hey, I can't figure out how this account is. ”

Deng Feng slowly took a sip of wine and said: "Dawei, go and negotiate with others, how much do you know about the situation in the Old Summer Palace now, you can't just rely on the hearsay of later generations, you must always be able to come up with a little hard evidence and data."

"I haven't had time to read some materials yet, but I want to come up with some hard evidence and data, which is also very difficult, the burning of the Old Summer Palace is not the same as the robbery and murder case of the Eight-Nation Coalition Army entering Yanjing in 1900, after all, the burning of the Old Summer Palace happened 100 years ago. 1860, yes, this year is exactly 100 years. Moreover, after the British and French invading forces looted the Old Summer Palace, in order to eliminate the stolen goods and cover up the crime, the British Minister Plenipotentiary, James . Bruce, with the support of British Prime Minister Palmerston, ordered the burning of the Old Summer Palace. The fire burned for three days and nights, turning this world-famous garden into a scorched earth. Li Dawei paused for a moment and said: "After the British and French forces captured Yanjing, how many peerless treasures were lost in the unprecedented catastrophe of the Old Summer Palace, I am afraid no one can figure out how much damage was caused to China and the world's cultural heritage, which is simply immeasurable." ”

Yang Guang said disapprovingly, "If you want me to see that it is not very important to investigate the crimes of plundering and burning the Old Summer Palace between Britain and France, but what matters is my current strength and our determination and means in this matter." For this atrocity rarely seen in the history of world civilization! Everyone knows very well what is going on. I have read a letter written by Victor Hugo, the outstanding bourgeois writer in French history, to Butler, a French captain who had participated in the Anglo-French invasion of China, looting and burning the Old Summer Palace, on November 25, 1861. In this letter, he strongly condemned the looting and burning of the Old Summer Palace by the British and French forces, and revealed the historical responsibility of the British and French political axes, and wrote: 'You would like to know my opinion on the military expedition to China. Since you consider this expedition to be a heroic and decent affair, it is up to you to give some meaning to your opinion of me. It seems to you that this expedition of the combined fleet of Empress Victoria and the Emperor Napoleon was a great honour, and a glory shared by France and England, so you would be interested to know if I am fully aware of this Anglo-French victory. Then I'll talk about my opinion One day, two robbers broke into the Old Summer Palace, one looted, and the other set fire. It seems that after the victory...... Two victors, one stuffed with fanny packs, which is visible, and the other with a full box. They returned to Europe, holding hands and grinning. The two robbers who will be punished by history, one is called France and the other is called England'. ”

"Yang Zi, I can't see it, are you still quite educated?" Li Dawei said to Yang Guang with a smile.

"Political commissar, look at what you said, what is quite literate. That's quite literate. Anyway, we are also international students who have stayed abroad, not. Yang Guang then said proudly: "I also know that in the 80s of the later generation, there was a man named Berner. More than 100 years later, the French historian Brisset wrote a monograph on the burning of the Old Summer Palace, "1860: The Great Catastrophe of the Old Summer Palace," in which he once again reproduced this catastrophe in the history of world civilization, saying in this book of more than 300,000 words: "It must be unequivocally pointed out that the 'expedition' against China in 1860 was a colonial war, or more precisely, an imperialist war, which was completely in the same vein as the imperialist colonial plunder of the 19th century. The openly acknowledged goal is to open the door of trade between this vast country and the West by force. Their burning of the Old Summer Palace is an irreparable crime against the cultural heritage of humanity. Such sins, crimes, and sins can never be erased...... Not only in the hearts of Chinese, but also in all human memories will never be erased. Even the aristocratic Giscard d'Estaing, who served as president of France from 1974 to 1981, admitted: "The burning of the Old Summer Palace was cruel to China, and the British and French colonial armies were extremely shameful." I later donated the book to the small library of the guard company. I don't know if I can still find it. If you can find it, the commissar you take this book, and you will be able to resist it for a while in negotiations with Britain and France. ”

"Yang Guang, I see that you will learn from Dawei this time, and you will also become a diplomat in the future." Deng Feng teased.

"Teacher, don't tease me, you don't know about my two hits. It's okay to be a soldier under you and fight a battle. You can't do anything else. Yang Guang smiled and said: "I'll be a diplomat, heh, heh, three sentences will be fucking exposed." ”

Miscellaneous things in the world, review the old and learn the new. Deng Feng thoughtfully lit a cigarette, and his thoughts traveled to the Old Summer Palace, which recorded the infinite humiliation of the Chinese nation and was known as the "model of all gardening arts" and the exquisite "Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens".

The Old Summer Palace is a scar deplored by the Chinese, and the ruins of the broken wall lying in Haidian, the western suburb of Yanjing, and the few stone carved pillars of the ruins of the Western Mansion record the infinite humiliation of the Chinese nation, lamenting and moaning year after year

In July 1860, under the guise of entering Beijing in exchange for a treaty, the British and French envoys led 200 ships and more than 10,000 British and French troops to break into the mouth of Dagu again. The purpose of driving straight from Tianjin was to force the Manchu Qing government to obey. The incompetent Manchu political axe was slow to decide on the strategy of war and defense. On the morning of September 22, Aixin Jueluo. Yixu, the Xianfeng Emperor with no vision, no courage, no talent, and no action, took his wife, children and singing troupe, ignored the country, and threw the people into dire straits, and fled from the Yuanmingyuan in Yanjing to Chengde Summer Resort in a panic, resulting in a crisis situation in which the capital was ownerless, hundreds of officials were scattered, the soldiers were slack, and the people were terrified. Treasures and treasures have been looted. The Old Summer Palace, a royal garden built by the five emperors of the Qing Dynasty, was looted and burned.

The Old Summer Palace carries the essence and long history of the splendid history of Chinese culture, is the crystallization of the wisdom and blood and sweat of the Chinese working people, and it is a model of human architectural art and culture and a treasure of brilliant civilization. It inherits China's excellent gardening tradition of more than 3,000 years, and "moving the sky and shrinking the earth" not only brings together a number of famous garden scenery in the south of the Yangtze River, but also transplants the Western garden architecture with the surname of the land, which is the culmination of ancient and modern Chinese and foreign gardening art at that time. In the garden, there are not only the graceful and magnificent palaces of the palace buildings, but also the euphemistic and colorful gardens of the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River, and the pavilions and pavilions that are light and exquisite; There is the "Buying and Selling Street" that symbolizes the bustling market, and the "Mountain Villa" that symbolizes the rural scenery; There are the autumn moon of Pinghu Lake and the sunset of Leifeng that imitate the West Lake of Hangzhou, and the scenic spots that imitate the lion forest of Suzhou; There are also imitations of ancient poets, painters of the poetic and picturesque construction, such as Penglai Yaotai, Wuling Chunse, etc., at the same time, but also absorb the European garden architecture form, the different styles of garden architecture into one, in the overall layout all reflect the harmony and perfection. It can really be said: "Although it is done by people, it is like being opened by heaven".

The Old Summer Palace is not only famous for its "Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens", but it is also a royal museum with a rich collection. The Old Summer Palace is one of the treasures of human culture, and it can be said that it is one of the largest museums in the world, such as calligraphy and painting of the past dynasties, gold and silver jewelry, Song and Yuan dynasty porcelain, etc. The great French writer Victor Hugo once said: "Even if all the treasures of Notre-Dame de Notre-Dame in our country are taken together, they cannot be compared with this grand and magnificent Oriental Museum." The halls in the park are decorated with countless rosewood furniture, and there are many rare cultural relics at home and abroad. The Chinese Yuan Pavilion is one of the four major royal library buildings in China. There are precious books and cultural relics such as "Four Libraries of Books", "Collection of Ancient and Modern Books", and "Collection of Four Libraries" in various places in the park.

The Old Summer Palace was once famous for its grand regional scale, outstanding construction skills, exquisite architectural scenery, rich cultural collection and profound national cultural connotation.

However, even the royal museum occupies an important place in the history of garden architecture in this world, and has a rich collection. Its fame spread to Europe, and was praised by Europeans as the "Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens". This fascinating building resembles the castle of the Moon Palace. A breathtaking, unparalleled masterpiece. From October 6 to October 19, 1860, it suffered an unprecedented catastrophe in the history of world culture.

On October 6, 1860, the British and French troops went around the northeastern suburbs of Yanjing City and went straight to the Old Summer Palace. The French army took the lead and broke into the gate of the Old Summer Palace in the evening through Haidian in the afternoon. At this time, in and out of the Xianliang Gate, more than 20 Yuanmingyuan skilled eunuchs, under the leadership of Ren Liang, the "leader of the eight products", engaged in the battle with the French army, "not afraid of distress, and strive to move forward", but in the end, because they were outnumbered, Ren Liang and other Yuanmingyuan technical warriors died in their duties. By 7 p.m., the French invading army had captured the Old Summer Palace. Wen Feng, the minister in charge of the park, committed suicide by throwing himself into the sea, and the concubine who lived in the park was frightened to death.

On October 7, after the leaders of the British and French invasion of China broke into the Old Summer Palace, they immediately sent three British and French members to discuss the distribution of the treasures in the garden. On the same day, the commander of the French army, Montauban, wrote to the French Minister of Foreign Affairs: "I instruct the French commissioners to take note of the objects of the greatest artistic and archaeological value." It will be presented to His Majesty Emperor Napoleon III as a very rare object in France, and in the collection of the French Museum. The British commander Grant also immediately sent officers to collect the items that belonged to the British invading army.

Officers and soldiers of the British and French forces rushed into the Old Summer Palace in groups to loot the gold, silver, treasures, and cultural and artistic treasures in the garden. According to a chaplain of the French army at the time, Hack Trickridge recorded: The first batch of French naval captain Balu to storm the Old Summer Palace said to me with relish: "All of us who entered the Old Summer Palace were stunned by everything here, where is this place to live, this is definitely a museum on a grand scale." The oriental jade, gold, silver, and lacquerware on the shelves are so rare and rare in terms of materials and shapes, even European museums will look dull and inferior to them. I was fascinated by a strange 6.5-inch-long and 4-inch-tall golden unicorn, and I took it into my arms as a souvenir of my visit to the Chinese emperor's home. ”

Another participant, Sergeant Almarusi, also said with emotion: "I was shocked by what I saw, dumbfounded, stunned! Now One Thousand and One Nights is completely tangible to me. For two days I wandered through this inexhaustible treasure and treasure, and I could barely breathe from the Chinese gold bars and precious stones in the pockets of my uniform, but I did not feel the slightest fatigue! ”

Before entering the Old Summer Palace, the French general Montauban had pretended to order that soldiers could not touch the items in the Old Summer Palace at will. But what these soldiers of his saw was too expensive, too exquisite. People's greed for wealth cannot be suppressed. No one can resist the temptation, and everyone does it in unison

Captain Castaño, a French doctor, said: "The robbery of the Old Summer Palace is inevitable. Who wouldn't be indifferent to such a beautiful, priceless treasure? I even threw out all the medicines and instruments in the medicine box I had brought with me to hold the exquisite oriental jade, gold, and jewelry, and I took off my military uniform and put on my body 18 beautiful clothes made of precious silk. ”

Count Erison, translator of the French commander Montauban, once asserted: "All attempts to stop the plunder are impossible, futile and doomed to failure." What can a general do? And what can his officers do? Helpless. …… The only thing that the commander-in-chief of the French and British armies could do was close their eyes and turn a blind eye, and even if General Montauban tried his best, he could not prevent his subordinates, who had been stimulated by great wealth, from entering the gates of the glorious summer palace of the Chinese emperor. ”

Robbery then becomes an open, insane, permissible act.

The British and French robberies were different. The French were disorganized, fighting separately in a state of acumen; The robbery of the British, on the other hand, was organized, arranged, and carried out in an orderly manner. As Count Elisson recorded in his chronicle, "The French robbed with great grandeur, and all in one action." The British are more organized, they quickly understand how to grab more and faster, and they do it professionally. They all acted in whole squads, and under the command of the non-commissioned officers, some carried pockets, some loaded into pockets. The British even set up a committee to collect the looted goods from the Old Summer Palace, and the soldiers had to hand over their booty to the committee, which compiled a list and organized the public sale of the entire barracks into a masquerade ball...... As for the silver, it was so much that it was almost dismissive, because it was too heavy

Lieutenant Negnilocchi was very clever enough to take more than 600 pieces of Chinese porcelain, each of which was priceless, and brought them back to Europe on a warship

The clergy accompanying the army faced the soldiers who knelt before them and repented: Children of God, take away all this that belongs to God here, these hateful and obscene Chinese do not deserve it. You are saving the world's civilization, not robbing.

British and French officers and soldiers, in order to grab treasures, poured into the Old Summer Palace from all directions, indulging in wanton grabbing and plundering, in a hurry. They beat each other and even fought with each other in order to grab the treasure. Because there are so many treasures to grab in the Old Summer Palace, they don't know what to do for a while, some move away the cloisonne porcelain vase, some are greedy for embroidered robes, some choose high-end leather coats, and some go to get the wall clock inlaid with pearls and jade. Some carry large pockets filled with all kinds of treasures. Some put gold bars and gold leaves in the wide pockets of their coats; Some of them are constantly wrapped around brocade and satin; Some hats are filled with red orchids, pearls, and crystals; Some have jade collars around their necks. There was a large chamber with a mountain of fine silk enough to feed half of the inhabitants of Yanjing, which was transported by British soldiers in carts. - A [***] official snatched a gold Buddha statue worth £1,800 from a temple with 500 statues of gods. A [***] magistrate robbed property worth 600,000 francs. The son of the French commander-in-chief, Montopia, plundered 300,000 francs worth of treasure and filled several wagons. A second-class officer of the British army named Helis stole two of them from the garden at one time, both of which were three-storey, one was 7 feet high, and one was 6.4 feet high, and a large number of other treasures, and found seven strong men to carry them back to the barracks for him. It was this second-class British military officer named Helis who became rich for plundering the Old Summer Palace and enjoyed it for life, earning him the nickname "Chinese James".

The officers and soldiers of England and France, in addition to the wanton looting, were trampled on by them countless things. Several houses were full of satin clothing, and clothes were dragged out of boxes and thrown to the ground, and people walked into them almost to their knees. The sappers, armed with large axes, smashed all the furniture and removed the gems from the top. Some smashed large mirrors, others ferociously shot at the menorah for fun. Most of the French soldiers used sticks in their hands to mash everything that could not be taken away.

The French chaplain Shackellich finally wrote: When the French team temporarily evacuated the Old Summer Palace on October 9, this beautiful garden had been destroyed to the point of lupus.

After two days of sacking, the British and French troops marched into the city. On October 11, the British army sent more than 1,200 cavalry and an infantry regiment to sack the Old Summer Palace again. How many treasures the British and French invaders robbed and damaged the Old Summer Palace can never be said because the furnishings and accounts in the garden were all looted. According to a "modest" newsletter in The Times at the time, "it is estimated that the looted and destroyed property is worth more than £8 million". In fact, the vast majority of the objects looted and destroyed by the British and French invaders were priceless. This heinous crime of destroying human culture is truly heinous!

Just as the Manchu government was bowing its knees to the invaders, agreeing to accept all the terms of "peace" and choosing to sign the agreement, the British plenipotentiary representative of the British invasion of China, James Brown. Bruce and Grant, the commander of the British army, in order to leave an impression of "severity" in their invasion of China, and to achieve the effect of "brazenly shocking" the Manchu political axe, even used the Pasha Li incident as an excuse. Under the pretext of his clean government axe, he arrested the British minister of "peace negotiation" Pasha Li and treated prisoners of war poorly, and brazenly ordered the burning of the Old Summer Palace. James. Bruce fully inherited the mantle of his father, Elgin, and wanted to send a message by burning down the Old Summer Palace that it was the Chinese Emperor Xianfeng and his minions who were responsible for the atrocities of the British minister, Pashali, and the mistreatment of prisoners, not the Chinese people. A few days before the retaliation, James. Bruce ordered the following proclamation to be posted throughout the city of Yenching, declaring the purpose of the burning of the Old Summer Palace by the Anglo-French forces: "No one, no matter how high in status, shall escape responsibility and punishment for committing fraud and atrocities; The Old Summer Palace was to be burned down on October 18, 1860, as punishment for the perfidy of Emperor Xianfeng of China; Only the Qing Empire's political axe was responsible, and the common people who had nothing to do with the atrocities had no need to worry about being harmed. ”

Their real purpose in doing so was to cover up the crime of plundering the Old Summer Palace by the British and French forces.

On October 18 and 19, 3 to 4,000 British soldiers set fire to the Old Summer Palace, and the fire did not go out for three days and nights, and the smoke and clouds enveloped Yanjing City for a long time. This unique masterpiece of the garden was burned to the ground. Afterwards, according to the investigation of the Qing officials, only twenty or thirty palaces, pavilions, temples, official gates, duty rooms and other buildings survived in the huge Three Gardens of the Old Ming Dynasty, but the doors and windows were many uneven, and the interior furnishings and several cases were all looted. Since then, some buildings in Wanshoushan Qingyi Garden, Xiangshan Jingyi Garden and Yuquan Mountain Jingmingyuan have also been burned.

According to relevant materials, on October 18, when the British invading army burned down the Anyou Palace, because they came suddenly, the chief eunuch locked the gate of the Anyou Palace, so a total of 300 eunuchs, palace maids, craftsmen, etc., were burned alive in the Anyou Palace.

When the Old Summer Palace was in flames, the British plenipotentiary James . Bruce got carried away and declared: "This move will be a blatant shock to China and Europe, and the effect will be far beyond what people from thousands of miles away can imagine." The arsonist regarded this act as a remarkable achievement, while the righteous people of the whole world were outraged by this barbaric crime, and the "two robbers" will be punished by history, as Hugo said!

(To be continued)