PS: The second update is here! The introduction of the Opium War in this chapter cites historical materials, and there is also some historical materials in the following chapter, I hope you will understand.

As soon as the war resolution was passed by Parliament, the British government sprang into action. Sending troops from the British mainland to the Far East would be too far away. Fortunately, the British army stationed a large number of troops in India, and in order to maintain British rule in India, the British Army deployed more than 100,000 troops in India! Of these, the British made up 40 percent of the army, and the rest of the army was an indigenous army conscripted from India. In terms of navy, the British Royal Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet is the most powerful fleet in the British Royal Navy, except for the Home Fleet and the Mediterranean Fleet!

At the beginning of February 1840, the British Admiralty and War Office appointed George W. Yilu and Charlie. Yilu was the plenipotentiary and deputy deputy, responsible for the British military retaliation against the Qing state. Among them, George. Yoshiro was the commander-in-chief of the British forces for this operation.

George. Yilu was an English nobleman, born in 1784, and trained in the Navy in 1794. In 1800 he was promoted to Shaozo. In 1802 he was promoted to command. From 1834 to 1835 he was Secretary of the Admiralty and a member of the Naval Commission. In 1837 he was promoted to commander-in-chief of the Cape of Good Hope fleet. In 1840, he was appointed plenipotentiary and commander-in-chief of the British invasion army. At the same time, he is also Charlie. Righteous Brother's Cousin. Charlie. Born in 1801, Yilu was an English aristocrat. He joined the Navy in 1815 and served for many years in India and Jamaica. In 1822, he was promoted to Shaozo. From 1830 to 1834, he served as a high-ranking official in the British colony of Guyana, managing slaves. In July 1834, he came to China with the rank of Dazuo and the first commercial superintendent of the British government in Guangzhou. Served as secretary. In the following year, he was appointed Third Superintendent of Commerce, in the same year he was promoted to Second Superintendent of Commerce, and in 1836 he was promoted to Superintendent of Commerce. He oppressed and enslaved the local people in the British colonies for a long time. After coming to China, he actively engaged in aggressive activities and advocated a tough policy towards China, which was trusted by the British Foreign Secretary, Viscount Palmerston.

The deep-seated reason for Britain to send troops was to have the opportunity to trade freely with the huge Chinese market, so that it could directly enter the Chinese market. And it was hoped that the Qing government would recognize Britain as an equal country. However, China's arrogant attitude of claiming to be the Celestial Empire due to its unequal diplomacy such as the traditional order of the world and the tributary system made Britain unable to tolerate contempt and exclusion, and China's attitude seemed out of place in the international community that had entered the modern world at that time. Britain sees China's refusal as a sign of backwardness. Some Westerners also have a sense of mission to resort to force when necessary to push China into the modern world, believing that it will bring benefits to both sides. It was the arrogance, ignorance, and ignorance of the Qing Dynasty that accelerated the outbreak of frontal conflict.

After the order of the British government was conveyed to India. George. Yilu led a fleet from India to Guangdong, China. George. There were more than 40 ships under the command of Yilu, including 16 warships and 28 transports. Among the battleships were three battleships of the third rank, and the rest were four or five battleships! Other than that. In order to guard against the navy of the new country. The main force of the British Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet also operated west of the Strait of Malacca to deter the Xinhua Navy and make the Xinhua Navy dare not act rashly. George. The army led by Yilu numbered more than 4,000 men, including the 18th Royal Irish Wing, the 26th Scottish Rifle Wing, the 49th Bengal Wing, the Bengal Engineer Regiment and the Madras Engineer Regiment.

At this time, the Manchu government had no knowledge of the British invasion. Before the war, China had 220,000 Eight Banners and 660,000 Green Battalion troops in name or on the roster. The number of shells that should be charged at the artillery position of the Qing army in Zhejiang is not yet known, so it is called the artillery position on weekdays. It is a false responsibility, which can be summarized. Prevent the blockade of the sea frontier. The first major artillery, and the Zhejiang waterway battalions and towns will be prepared, can know the method of firing artillery, but Huangyan Town Biaozhong Battalion guerrilla Lin Liangguang is still known for training, the rest of the people are very few, everywhere in Haikou, the artillery positions, almost the same as the fictitious. ”

After Lin Zexu was appointed as the minister of the Imperial Mission, he began to rectify Guangdong's coastal defense, which increased Guangdong's defense strength a lot. However, with the exception of Guangdong, the coastal defense of the other coastal provinces is almost non-existent.

At the beginning of the war, the Chinese only regarded the British army as barbarians and did not consider them a threat. In June 1840, the British commander-in-chief and plenipotentiary Yi Lu led his troops to the sea of Guangzhou, and according to the instructions of the British Foreign Minister Viscount Palmerston, the expeditionary force blockaded the Haikou in Guangzhou, Xiamen (now Fujian) and other places, cut off China's overseas trade, and captured Dinghai (now Zhoushan City) in Zhejiang Province in July as a base for advance. At this time, China's coastal areas, except for Guangdong, which was slightly prepared for combat under the supervision of Lin Zexu, were all lightly prepared. On August 20, 1840, Emperor Daoguang replied to the British letter, ordering Qishan to convey to the British, allowing trade and punishing Lin Zexu, so as to seek the withdrawal of the British ship to Guangzhou, and sent Qishan south to Guangzhou to negotiate; At the same time, the British side also agreed to go south to Guangdong for negotiations because of the epidemic and the approaching autumn and winter. In October, Qishan became the acting governor of Liangguang. Lin Zexu and Deng Tingzhen were dismissed. In December, Qi Shan translated Bao Peng and Charlie through a private translator. Negotiate with the law of righteousness and delay time. After the British army moved south, the Qing court ordered the governors of the coastal provinces to prepare for the defense of Haikou, and ordered the governor of Liangjiang, Yi Libu, to lead his troops to eastern Zhejiang to prepare for the recovery of Dinghai.

Charlie. Yilu lost patience and decided to negotiate after the war. On January 7, 1841, the British army suddenly captured the Dajiao and Shajiao forts in Humen, killing and wounding more than 700 Qing defenders, and sinking 11 handsome ships and tugboats. Qi Shan was forced to give in, and on January 25, he signed the "Treaty of Piercing Nose Grass" with Yilu, the first clause of which was to cede Hong Kong Island to the British. The next day, British troops occupied Hong Kong Island. Lin Zexu was assigned to Xinjiang, although he wrote to Emperor Daoguang, he strongly stated that smoking must be banned and coastal defense must be emphasized, so that Emperor Daoguang dismissed it as nonsense. However, the Treaty was not ratified by the Emperor of China from beginning to end, and Qi Shan did not use the seal of the Guan, so the treaty had no legal effect.

In December 1840, Qi Shan and Charlie. Yilu began negotiations in Guangdong. Because the conditions proposed by the British were too harsh and Qi Shan signed them without authorization, Emperor Daoguang was greatly dissatisfied, so Emperor Daoguang dismissed Qi Shan's family and sent Yishan, Longwen and Yang Fang to Guangdong to command the battle. On January 7, 1841, the British army was also dissatisfied with the progress of the negotiations, and Yilu struck first, dispatching the navy and army to capture the first gateway of Humen, Shajiao and Dajiao Forts, and launched the Battle of Humen.

When Emperor Daoguang heard the news, he ordered a declaration of war on the British, sent Yishan, the minister of the guard, as the general of Jing's rebellion, and transferred more than 10,000 troops from all over the country to Guangdong. On February 23, 1841, the Humen Fort was attacked, and although the troops resisted bravely, they were defeated by the British army, and the Humen Fort finally fell. On February 26, the British army dispatched the navy and army to break through the forts on the first line of the Humen rungs and the Dahushan Fort, and traced the Pearl River to Guangzhou. Guan Tianpei, the commander of the Guangdong Navy Division, was martyred in battle[26]. On May 21, Yishan ordered more than 1,700 sailors and troops to set out in a fast boat in the dark of night, carrying rockets and spray canisters, attacking the British ship at night and burning it. On the morning of May 22, the British counterattacked with 2,400 men. The Qing army retreated. On May 24, the British army launched an attack on Guangzhou, occupying the merchant hall in the southwest of the city and landing in the northwest of the city, outflanking the heights in the north of the city, capturing the forts in the northeast of the city, and shelling the city of Guangzhou. In this situation, Yishan and others erected a white flag to sue for peace, accepted the British conditions, and signed the "Guangzhou Peace Treaty", the British not only did not lead the troops to evacuate Guangzhou, but also extorted Guangzhou merchants to pay 6 million silver dollars to the British army for ransom. During this period, the anti-British atmosphere in Guangzhou was hot, and the atrocities of the British invaders aroused the people in Sanyuanli, a northern suburb of the city, to spontaneously arm themselves to carry out the anti-British struggle. In order not to be punished by the emperor, Yishan falsely reported his military exploits, and even said that the fiasco of the battle was a great victory.

After the signing of the Treaty of Canton, the war did not end. The British government's response to Charlie. In May 1841, the British government rejected the Treaty of Piercing the Nose and sent Minister Plenipotentiary to China. On August 21, 1841, the British fleet of 10 warships, 4 ships, and 22 transports carried the British Army's 18th Royal Irish Regiment, 26th Carmelanian Infantry Regiment, 49th Welsh Infantry Regiment, 55th Westmoreland County Infantry Regiment, 62nd Punjab Indian Infantry Division, and 66th Punjab Indian Infantry Division to the north.

From August 25, 1841 to August 27, 1841, Yan Botao, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, Jiang Jiyun, the commander-in-chief of Kinmen Town, and the Qing army fought with the British army, and the Qing army had more than 200 artillery pieces in the fort [22]. Jiang Jiyun was killed in battle, and the Qing army lost more than 40 people. British casualties are unknown.

From September 26, 1841 to October 1, 1841, Ge Yunfei, the chief soldier of Zhenhai Town, Wang Xipeng, the chief soldier of Shouchun Town, and Zheng Guohong, the chief soldier of Chuzhou Town, led 5,600 Qing troops [24] to fight with the British army. Wang Xipeng, Zheng Guohong, and Ge Yunfei were killed in battle. The British captured the Qing army's dragon banner. One British officer was killed.

On October 10, 1841, Yu Qian, the governor of Liangjiang, Yu Buyun, the governor of Fujian, and Xie Chaoen, the commander of Langshan Town, led 4,000 Qing troops to fight with 2,400 British troops. British casualties are unknown.

In March 1842, General Yangwei of the Qing Dynasty and Emperor Qianlong's great-grandson Yijing led a large army, and set the year of the tiger to take Yongfu, the general army of Ningxia Town, who belonged to the tiger, as the commander, and divided Ningbo, Zhenhai and Dinghai into three ways to counterattack the British army in Ningbo, Zhenhai and Dinghai with the plan of destroying sheep (ocean) with five tigers. However, the Manchu counterattack ultimately failed and suffered heavy losses.

More than a year after the war went on, the Manchu government had woken up. Especially Emperor Daoguang, he had realized that Britain's military strength was far stronger than that of the Manchus. If the Manchus continue to fight, they will definitely be defeated! (To be continued......)