"In the early stage, Qianlong made his own efforts, as well as the property left by the previous two generations, so that the entire Qing Dynasty entered a prosperous era. After entering the prosperous era, Qianlong began to show greed for pleasure. Of course, if this is just like this, the Qing Dynasty will not be good for the time being. However, when the Qing Dynasty entered its heyday, global science and technology reached an explosive development. ”

"In 1793, the Queen of England sent an envoy to China. During this visit to China, this group of envoys brought the most advanced British products, such as firearms, globes, and telescopes...... Wait a minute. Britain hoped that with the help of these things, it would be able to reach a trade request with the Qing Dynasty. Because the tea and silk produced by the Qing Dynasty at that time were very popular in Britain and Europe. However, there were many things in Britain and Europe that the Qing Dynasty did not buy much. As a result, this creates a trade deficit for them. At the same time, the Qing Dynasty used silver as currency. If Britain wanted to buy Qing goods, they had to buy large quantities of silver from China. At this point, a large amount of silver was concentrated in the Qing Dynasty.

Eventually, they hoped to establish normal trade requests with a large state like the Qing Dynasty. It's just that after Qianlong saw these things, he thought that this was a strange lewd technique and had little effect. He refused the British request, and Qianlong also sent a letter back to the British Empress, in which he said. The Qing Dynasty had a lot of land and resources, and what kind of resources and technologies did not have did not need normal trade with Britain. ”

This incident does not mean that Qianlong was completely without vision.

In terms of historical analysis.

At that time, the British did not come to trade with the Qing Dynasty with great good intentions.

In addition to trade, they also wanted to draw a trade concession for them.

Faced with such a request.

With the strength of the Qing Dynasty at that time, it was impossible for Qianlong to agree to them.

Even a country of average strength cannot allow another country to draw a concession on its own territory.

Other than that.

Although some of the equipment brought by the British envoys looked very advanced, such as firearms and so on.

But in fact, the Qing Dynasty also had firearms at that time.

Moreover, the equipment brought by the British envoy was not particularly powerful, so Qianlong was not particularly interested.

Other than that.

There is one more reason.

That is.

The series of equipment brought by these British envoys, although they did not seem to be very powerful, greatly influenced the rule of the Qing Dynasty.

For example, the globe brought by the Qing Dynasty envoys.

If this kind of thing spreads, everyone in the Qing Dynasty will realize that the world is still so big, and the earth is a sphere...... That was obviously not good for the rule of the Qing Dynasty. In addition, the Qing Dynasty was also very restrictive on firearms and the like. If firearms appeared on a large scale among the people, with a population of hundreds of millions in the Qing Dynasty and so many Han people, the Han people would definitely be able to overthrow their rule in a short time. This is impossible for Qianlong to accept.

Of course.

In this incident, it cannot be denied that Qianlong has arrogant strength.

After all, with the national strength of the Qing Dynasty at that time, basically no country could do anything about the Qing Dynasty.

It's just that.

is the kind of self-righteous who thinks he is the best in the world.

In the time that followed.

With the continuous development of global science and technology, the Qing Dynasty continued to close the country in this way.

Finally.

Among Qianlong's descendants, the Qing Dynasty tasted the pain of seclusion and seclusion.

……

"After Qianlong's death, it was for Jiaqing to ascend the throne. But in the Jiaqing period, there was no longer the prosperity of Qianlong, or in other words, in Qianlong's later years, the prosperity was no longer there. At this time, because of the serious land annexation, many peasants gave birth to so many children, but they could not afford to raise adults, which actually had a lot to do with the Qing Dynasty's implementation of seclusion. ”

"Brother Fan, what do you say?"

There was some confusion among the people.

"As we said before, because of the prosperous Kangqian era, the population of the Qing Dynasty directly tripled, reaching about 300 million people. Such a population is equivalent to one-third of the world's population, not to mention then, even now, 300 million people is a terrifying number. And feeding 300 million people is really not an easy task. It may have been fine in times of peace and prosperity, but once this prosperity was not maintained. And if the level of productivity is not greatly improved, then the common people will not be able to live. The Qing Dynasty's seclusion and seclusion seriously restricted the improvement of the Qing Dynasty's productive forces. And without such high productivity, it is naturally impossible to feed a population of nearly 300 million. Therefore, since Jiaqing succeeded to the throne, there have been many peasant uprisings among the people. Like the White Lotus Rebellion, the Tenrikyo Rebellion...... These uprisings also greatly weakened the national strength of the Qing Dynasty. ”

This said.

The crowd understood.

In fact, the problem of the rule of a dynasty is complicated and complicated, and it is simple and simple.

It's as simple as feeding the people in your territory.

As long as they can be fed, there will be no big problem with domination.

Because the common people of China, as long as they have a bite to eat, they don't want to revolt at all.

It's just that when you can't even eat, and you can only sell your sons and daughters, there will be a large-scale uprising.

And what is the solution to the problem of adequate food for farmers?

In addition to internal governance, eradicating corruption, reducing taxes, and focusing on agriculture...... The biggest effect is to increase productivity.

Just like during the Han Dynasty.

From the Bronze to the Iron Age, the entire level of productivity increased rapidly.

This also allowed the population of the Han Dynasty to grow by leaps and bounds at that time.

If the Qing Dynasty did not close itself off from the country during this wave of world science and technology explosion, but opened its eyes to the world.

Keep up with the pace of the world.

So.

How could the Qing Dynasty have a series of crises in the future?

"Of course. The Jiaqing period also left a shadow of the Qianlong era, although there were many uprisings during the Jiaqing period, but on the whole, the Qing Dynasty was able to maintain its rule. However, the Qing Dynasty did not want to make progress, but a series of European countries made rapid progress. In order to expand trade with the Qing Dynasty, the British thought of countless methods, but none of them had much effect. Eventually, in order to earn silver from the Qing Dynasty, the British began to import something called opium to the Qing Dynasty. ”

"Brother Fan, what is opium?"

"Opium is smoke. With just a few puffs, this big cigarette can become addictive in an instant. As a result, while British opium continued to be imported to the Qing Dynasty, a large amount of silver began to flow into Europe. ”

Opium did not appear in the Qing Dynasty.

He had already appeared in the Han Dynasty.

At that time, after Zhang Qian went to the Western Regions, he brought opium back.

However, this kind of thing was not circulated among the common people at that time, only in high society, and even for the royal family.

The "Ming Huidian" records the fact that the Asian vassal states paid opium tribute to the Ming royal family. It is said that the kings of Siam, Java, and Bengal regularly sent tributary missions to the Ming Dynasty, and opium was among the tributes, but the "Da Ming Huidian" called it "Wuxiang". Siam paid 200 catties to the emperor and 100 catties to the empress each time, and the amount of tribute paid by the other two countries is undocumented. However, this amount did not meet the needs of the imperial family, and the emperor had to send eunuchs everywhere to find and purchase opium, and the price of opium at that time was the same as the same weight of gold.

It is said that the Wanli Emperor did not go to court for 30 years, and tested and took pills in the palace, and there was opium in his pills, and he named the opium "Fushou Ointment". The excuse for not going to court is dizziness and dizziness, but in fact, the main reason is excessive indulgence and opium addiction. In 1958, after the excavation of Dingling, scientists examined the body of Emperor Wanli and found that his bones contained morphine.

At that time, opium was only available to the upper class or the royal family.

But.

As the British imported a large amount of opium into the Qing Dynasty, opium became a disaster in the Qing Dynasty.

Countless ordinary people have gone bankrupt because of opium smoking.

Although Jiaqing has always advocated a ban on smoking, and has made a stricter ban on the sea. But the profits of opium are too high and too high. Many unscrupulous merchants still smuggled opium to the Qing Dynasty through various methods. Until Emperor Jiaqing's son Emperor Daoguang succeeded to the throne, opium was already popular in the Qing Dynasty. From the dignitaries to the common people, they are all smoking opium. ”

Opium is such a thing.

He's a very addictive thing.

Once you smoke, you can't quit if you want to.

It was said that there was no other way to stop the opium smoker than to kill him.

Not only can't I quit.

If you continue to smoke every year, in addition to spending a lot of money, it will also cause serious damage to the body.

Hear here.

A group of fans asked again: "Brother Fan, that is to say, opium is equivalent to the current Du Pin?" ”

"Yes."

Chen Fan nodded.

"The emperor of the Qing Dynasty is already so mediocre, is this not forbidden?"

"Not really."

Chen Fan shook his head and said: "The emperor of the Qing Dynasty was not so mediocre, when Jiaqing was in power before, opium was also strictly prohibited, and after Emperor Daoguang succeeded to the throne, it was also strictly prohibited. However, many methods have been used, but it still does not work. Because the benefits of opium are too great. ”

"But if the Qing Dynasty uses the power of the state to ban it, this should be fine, as long as they make up their minds."

"Yes."

Chen Fan also recognized this: "Emperor Daoguang was still promising in the early days, and in the face of the opium invasion, he made up his mind. , he ordered Lin Zexu to be the minister of the Qin mission and went to Guangshi to destroy opium. Facing the mountains of opium in Guangshi. Lin Zexu was also deeply disgusted, he received an order from Emperor Daoguang, and came to Humen as soon as possible, and seized all the opium at that time, and then Lin Zexu fused with lime through the sea water to destroy all the millions of catties of opium confiscated. This incident is also called Humen Tobacco Sales. ”

Hitherto.

There are still ruins of Lin Zexu's cigarettes in Humen.

……

"Brother Fan, it seems that the emperor of the Qing Dynasty is not so mediocre, and he also knows that opium is very harmful."

Although Chen Fan didn't say anything very specific, he just talked about it roughly.

But such a big event, even if it is not specific, everyone knows that this incident has a very big impact.

Especially.

Millions of pounds of opium were burned.

This was not only for the Qing court, but also for the whole of China.

It's just that.

Facing the discussion of a group of fans, Chen Fan said: "Maybe Emperor Daoguang is not so incompetent, but the world at that time is no longer the original world. At that time, the Qing Dynasty was no longer the so-called Celestial Empire, and the whole world and the global pattern had undergone earth-shaking changes. ”

This said.

The crowd chuckled.

There's a hint that they're not feeling good.

But where exactly it was referring to, they didn't know where it was.

"Brother Fan, could it be that other countries invaded the Qing Dynasty?"

"Yes."

"Which country is the other country? It seems that some of the countries bordering the Qing Dynasty ......"

The crowd thought about it.

Although the national power of the Qing Dynasty has declined a lot.

According to the territory of the current Qing Dynasty, it is more than 10 million square kilometers.

How great he is.

Some countries bordering the Qing Dynasty did not seem to have much ability to invade the Qing Dynasty.

For this.

Chen Fan said: "Maybe the countries bordering the Qing Dynasty don't have this ability for the time being, but what about the countries that don't border the Qing Dynasty?" ”

"Countries that don't border the Qing Dynasty, they don't seem to be able to beat the Qing Dynasty."

"Who said it couldn't be beaten."

"You may still think that the Qing Dynasty at that time was still an ancient feudal country like the Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, but in fact, the Qing Dynasty at this time has come to 1800 years later. The year 1800 may seem ancient to us, but at this time in 1800, Europe had already exploded in science and technology. Perhaps it was impossible for these European countries to attack the Qing Dynasty by land, but what if they were by sea. ”

"I'm grass, on the sea."

Yes.

Sometimes the minds of the people are really limited.

Just like the Qing Dynasty royal family always thought that China was vast and rich.

Although China is indeed vast.

Compared with the rest of the world, China is not necessarily that big.

More important.

When your strength is not so awesome, and you guard such a large and rich place, anyone will be blushing.

After Emperor Daoguang ordered Lin Zexu Humen to sell cigarettes, Britain was greatly shaken. They attacked the Qing court on the grounds that they had burned their British personal belongings. This offensive is also called the Opium War. ”

Although according to the laws of the Qing Dynasty at that time, the British did not have the right to store goods in the Qing Dynasty.

"More than 40 British ships and 4,000 soldiers of the mobile fleet from India to the Qing Dynasty sea, the fleet has 16 warships, of which 3 are large warships equipped with 74 cannons, 4 steam warships, 28 transport ships. After the outbreak of the war, Britain continued to reinforce from the mainland. In addition to the ships that were replaced and repatriated, the British army had 25 warships, 15 steam ships, and more than 60 hospital ships, survey ships, and transport ships. ”

In the face of the attack of the British, the Qing court did not care much at first. Or, although they knew that they were attacking, they did not think that they had the strength to fight against the Qing Dynasty. Because, they think, the Qing Dynasty is only a small country in terms of area and population, how can they win against themselves. However, after the real confrontation, the Qing soldiers found that they were simply vulnerable to the British spears and cannons.

On July 21, 1842, the British army used more than 12,000 people, 76 warships, and 724 guns to defeat the defenders of the Green Camp outside Zhenjiang City, crossed the city, and fought with 1,500 Mongolian Eight Banners in a street battle, 185 British soldiers died, the Qing army was annihilated, and Hailing committed suicide. The whole city was burned and plundered, and there were ruins. Seeing that it could not resist the British, the Qing court wanted to negotiate peace with the British army. The British army, relying on its own guns, forced the Qing court to sign the first unequal treaty in modern China, the Treaty of Nanjing. ”

Speaking of this, Chen Fan couldn't go on anymore.

But everyone was clenching their fists with both hands at this moment.

Even if they knew that the Qing Dynasty was not the world they knew.

"Brother Fan, what are the specific contents of this treaty?"

"There are thirteen articles in total. And the first one, that is, the cession of Hong Kong Island ......"

This moment.

The entire live broadcast room exploded instantly.