Since the Opium War, Britain, France and other powers have relied on their maritime superiority to wreak havoc on the southeast coast of China, greatly impacting and shaking the cornerstone of the Qing Dynasty's feudal rule. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 Faced with the situation of having a sea without defense and being beaten everywhere, the Qing Dynasty changed the pattern of preparing for the border in the northwest in previous dynasties, and instead focused on strengthening the construction of coastal defense. During the Guangxu period of Tongzhi, the Empress Dowager Cixi actively advocated that military training, armament making, strengthening coastal defense, and self-improvement should be regarded as "a major event" for the founding of the country, and encouraged Western-style officials to do their best without taking into account the accusations of stubborn conservatives. To a certain extent, this not only reflects the trust and reliance of the supreme ruler on the Westernists, but more importantly, it reflects the shift in the focus of national defense in the Qing Dynasty. It is precisely under the guidance of this ideology that China's coastal areas have successively started the activities of building ships, building artillery, building forts, and organizing and training new-style naval fleets.

In the First Opium War, Lin Zexu, who was directly engaged in the British invading army, deeply felt the power of the modern navy, put forward the idea of "mastering the skills of the army to control the enemy", and was the first to put forward the idea of establishing a modern navy. However, at that time, the government and the opposition were still ignorant of the general trend of the world, and believed that China was a "**** country" located in the center of the world, and foreign countries were still far inferior to China's "barbarian states", and "Shiyi shipbuilding" was not "****" decency, so they were not only content with the status quo, but also opposed the purchase of ships and shipbuilding. Lin Zexu's idea and practice of purchasing and imitating modern warships was met with fierce opposition from both the government and the opposition, and Emperor Daoguang even criticized Lin Zexu's proposal for shipbuilding: "It's nonsense." Lin Zexu's plan to build a modern navy was denied, and the Green Battalion Naval Division, which was in name only, backward and corrupt, and had long been vulnerable, was still the only naval force in China at that time. Although later, in the campaign to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Hunan army fought many water battles with the Taiping army in the south of the Yangtze River and had to build a naval division, but they were still old-style naval armies. During the Second Opium War, the British and French invading forces attacked from the sea and finally entered the capital, which deeply shocked the government and the public, and some people began to realize the power of the modern navy. Since the early 60s of the 19th century, the Qing court began to consider copying or buying warships from the West, at this time, it has been 20 years since Lin Zexu's proposal to establish a modern navy! In the past 20 years, the Western navy has made great progress, and steam warships have gradually replaced sail ships as the main ships of the navy.

Although the Qing court began to pay more attention to naval construction than before, it began the initial creation of the navy. However, compared with China's long coastline and the treacherous international situation it faced, the Qing court obviously did not attach enough importance to the navy, so the development of the navy was very unsatisfactory, and the development of the new navy was extremely slow. More importantly, it was even more difficult to understand in later generations that at that time, there was no unified naval command organ in the whole country, and all naval divisions were under the jurisdiction of local governors, so it was difficult to coordinate operations, and the provincial governors regarded the naval divisions as their own private property, which was not only difficult to deploy, but also unwilling to change. For example, the Yangtze River is under the jurisdiction of Nanyang, and the minister of Nanyang nominally has the right to control the Yangtze River sailors, but when the new governor of Liangjiang and Nanyang minister Shen Baozhen asked for the unification and reorganization of the Nanyang sailors, the old sailing ships were removed and replaced with steam ships. It is difficult to carry out the orders of the governor of Liangjiang and the minister of Nanyang in the Yangtze River naval division under his jurisdiction, and the overall situation of the navy of the whole country can be imagined. In short, the Qing court still used the traditional method of managing the navy to manage the modern navy, and did not realize that the equipment and technology of the modern navy were quite complex and had to be unified, and the height of system management was far from comparable to that of the old navy. Moreover, many people in the government and the opposition believe that the establishment of a new institution such as the Navy Yamen, which is not found in the traditional Chinese "Six Ministries" and only has "Yidi," means "changing the summer with Yidi"!

In June 1874, the Sino-Japanese Langqiao Naval Battle was the first foreign battle since the formation of China's modern navy, although it achieved a major victory, but also exposed the weakness of China's naval strength, so that the Qing court began to pay attention to naval construction, in February 1875, the Qing court issued an edict, admitting that although it had established a shipyard and built a navy, "the shipbuilding was not strong, the equipment was not prepared, the selection of generals was not precise, and the funds were not extensive" was the main reason for Japan's daring and brazen invasion. He said that "when this matter is decided, the former will be punished, and the great water control division will be the mainstay", and the navy yamen was established in this context.

It can be said that the establishment of the naval yamen met the needs of the development of the Westernization movement, and at that time China initially had the conditions for building a navy. Since the 60s of the 19th century, the Qing Dynasty has set up a wide range of factories to make weapons, make guns, make cannons, and manufacture ships, gradually changing the outdated and backward weapons and equipment of the Chinese army. This has not only enabled the army to rapidly transform from a thousand-year-old broadsword and spear to a new, advanced type of guns and artillery in modern times, but the conditions for building a navy have also become more and more mature. Before the establishment of the navy's yamen, there were more than 20 large and small ships made by Chinese enterprises, such as the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau and the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, all of which were equipped with new guns and guns and distributed them to the north and south oceans, thus creating conditions for the transformation of the old navy into a new navy. At the same time, the rapid development of civilian industries, such as the exploration of coal and iron resources, and the successive establishment of transportation and telegraph communications, are all suitable for this transformation. In order to speed up the development of the navy, the Qing government began to raise huge sums of money to order ships from foreign countries, and actively sought cooperation with foreign countries, absorbed advanced foreign technology, and made its own warships. At that time, many Western newspapers and periodicals were keenly aware of this trend and predicted: "From this point of view, in a few years, China's land troops will abandon the play of arcs and arrows, and will rely on the power of foreign guns and the ships of sailors, and will abandon the clumsiness of the wind and canopy, and take the speed of the steamer alone."

Despite its complicated background, the establishment of the Naval Yamen was a major event in modern Chinese history. It marked that the Qing Dynasty had finally made strengthening coastal defense and building a navy a top priority after being repeatedly attacked by foreign powers in the Opium War. Although Prince Yi's talent is limited, for the future of the Guangxu Emperor and the consolidation of the Qing Dynasty, he still regards the creation of a navy and the strengthening of coastal defense as a lifelong career to serve the country loyally. After he was appointed, he dared to abandon outdated concepts, pay close attention to the international situation, humbly seek advice from the Westernists, and won the sympathy and support of Cixi with his special status, thus creating a favorable environment for promoting the modernization cause centered on naval construction. With the vigorous cooperation and support of the far-sighted Prince Gong Yixin, the Navy Yamen became the center of the Westernization Movement.

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"Guo Songtao's Diary":

"On the ninth day of the first month, Yin Chu entered the Donghua Gate and sat in the room of Jiuqing. The surname Su Layang was transferred to the court room of the Internal Affairs Office, greeted the military plane, Gong Di, Bao, Shen Liangzhongtang and Li Lansun Shangshu, and still returned to the Jiuqing court room. After a while, the decree summoned the military aircraft and Songtao, and the six-forehead Jingshou brought it to him. Enter the moon garden, and sit in the inner room. The chamberlain passed the order of Gong Di and went to the military plane seat. Pei Heng Xiangguo gave up his seat, and he didn't dare to thank him. Gong Di said: 'The old man of the South Study, what is Qianwei? 'Because I know my family history very well, and ask my brother Kuntao, where is he now? Push with the refinement of foreign affairs, as for the fourth. Adviser Liang Zhongtang: 'This person is pragmatic and thorough. 'Sit for a long time and return to Westinghouse. The six foreheads were brought to the Heart Nourishing Palace. The throne should be in the main hall, and it should be regarded as indistinguishable. The inner servant has lifted the east curtain. Please finish it, kneel down to the table, see the holy face, sit solemnly on the royal couch, protect it with a small case on both sides and before sitting, and cover it with green cloth. The curtain hangs behind the seat, and the six foreheads kneel next to the curtain.

The Queen Mother asked: 'How many years have you been away?' ’

He replied, 'Four years.' ’

The Queen Mother asked: 'How many years have you been in Guangdong?' ’

He replied, 'Three years.' ’

The Queen Mother asked: 'Have you ever encountered snow on the way?' ’

He replied: 'Snow in Taean. ’

The Queen Mother asked: 'Is the place quiet?' ’

He replied, 'Quiet? ’

The Queen Mother asked: 'What kind of envoy did you serve in the capital?' ’

He replied: 'Walk in the south study. ’

The Queen Mother asked, 'But go home from illness?' ’

He replied: 'I will come to Beijing to wait for another commissioner, and I will ask for sick leave on the way. ’

The Queen Mother asked: 'How many years?' ’

He replied, 'Fifty-six.' ’

After summoning him, he retreated to the outer courtroom. Yingxiangyan in the middle hall rotated, and greeted a few words. Compound fertilizer Bo Xiang a letter. ”

"On the 11th, the middle hall of Wenbo Chuan was extended to the inner room, and the conversation lasted for two hours. The body has just recovered, described as haggard, loyal, and respectful. Shen Jingsheng Zhongtang and Li Lansun Shangshu met at the beginning, and Yunwen Zhongtang was extremely important. and see the text in the hall, if it is very concerned. This trip is undoubtedly recommended by the article in the hall. The language, and asked the reason for Yuedong's slander, and Zuo Jun got along so much, it was quite difficult to answer, and it was just a brief statement. The monk's mansion and Zuojun are famous, and they are also valued by the contemptible, but they cannot be tolerated, so that the contempt cannot be self-solved, isn't it the so-called Tianye? ”

"On the 15th, Lin Kunyu came and sent a secret letter, with the words 'Trouble is sent' on the box, I don't know what it means, I asked, when Kunyu said to England, something big happened, when it can be used, it is useless to say more now. Blame it. During the mission, Kun Yu said that the situation in England was very detailed, and he wrote a letter to the family, and when he went to London, he handed it over to Chen Tingxuan, the president of the British Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and the Chen family was his wife. Kunyuyun Chen is quite famous overseas, and has donated money to repay the service, won the gold medal awarded by the Queen Mother, and lived in England for Chinese, although he was knighted by the British king, his heart always existed in his homeland, and he could still take care of each other after arriving in the UK. Yu happily obeyed his fate, there is such a good business overseas, and everything should be very convenient. There was a long conversation. A letter to Zeng Yuanfu for Liu Xunan. ”

"On the 20th, His Majesty resigned from Beijing and went to Tianjin to wait for the ship, because Fangxian and Kunyu were on the same road, so they went together. The road is rainy and snowy, the journey is very bumpy, Kunyu said and the railway, want to go to the book to repair the Beijing-Tianjin line, Yu and Fang Xian are worried about the topic is difficult to do, Kunyu said that the garden workers transport wood and stone, Yu Shifang knows the deep meaning of Kunyu advocating the garden work, and admires inexplicably. ”

"On the 30th, to Dagu, the trip was bumpy and handsome, very tired, Hefei Boxiang came to meet, and talked with Fangxian and Kunyu, Yunsheng was here. Kunyu language Hefei Boxiang within three months, there will be a major event, ask Boxiang to be cautious, and issue a letter, sent to Boxiang, there is also a box with the words "in case of trouble". Bo Xiang smiled and accepted it, not asking. Gai Kunyu often acts in a new way, and he is familiar with him, so it is not surprising. Talk about the three drums and start to disperse. ”