The videos I watched became popular in ancient times

Chapter 239 The British and French forces burned the Old Summer Palace

Ancient people from all dynasties felt sad when they thought that the Old Summer Palace was about to be sacked by the British and French forces.

Although the Old Summer Palace was built by the Qing Dynasty, most of the treasures in the Old Summer Palace were inherited from their era.

Now that the treasures have been passed to the Qing court, they do not have the ability to protect the treasures of each dynasty.

So much so that the treasures of their time were looted by their enemies and became trophies of foreign countries, placed in the British Museum for people to visit.

Ancient people from all dynasties were angry at the incompetence and cowardice of the Qing court and blamed the Qing government for failing to protect the treasures.

For the banditry of overseas enemies, ancient people in various dynasties felt deeply sad and angry when they condemned it, and scolded foreign bandits for stealing their precious treasures.

Xianfeng saw people from various dynasties criticizing him verbally on the barrage, and he dared not refute a single word.

The Old Summer Palace was burned down by the enemy when he was in power. He was well aware of the seriousness of his sin and could only bear everyone's anger silently.

When Su Chen mentioned that Xianfeng sent people to negotiate with the British and French forces, he took a drink of water to calm down and continued.

He was completely confused by Xianfeng's confusing operation and didn't know what was going on in Xianfeng's mind.

"Xianfeng was deceived by Guiliang and felt that what he said was reasonable, so the story ended like this."

Liu Che: It’s no wonder that the Qing Dynasty couldn’t even defeat the British and French coalition forces of thousands of people. Even the ministers and the emperor were so stupid. How could they be the enemy’s opponent?
The stupid behavior of the officials of the Qing Dynasty completely shocked his jaw. He had never seen such stupid and bold officials.

"Xianfeng repeated his old tricks this time. Seeing that the Qing government had a vague intention of defaulting on its debt, the British and French ministers decided to use force."

Not only did he agree to the enemy's exorbitant price, but he also signed the treaty in black and white.

"In December 1858, Tsarist Russia first came to the door and asked for a change of contract and confirmation of various benefit terms previously promised."

"The day before this treaty was signed, Tsarist Russia forced the generals of Heilongjiang to sign the Treaty of Aihun."

"After the four Tianjin treaties were signed, the British, French, Russian and American ministers were very satisfied, so they withdrew their troops and returned to their countries to claim credit."

"On June 6 and 26, Guiliang and Huazana signed the "Sino-British Treaty of Tianjin" and the "Sino-French Treaty of Tianjin" with British representatives and French representatives respectively.

"When Guiliang and others were manipulated by the envoys of the four countries in Tianjin, officials from the war faction and peace advocates in Beijing were arguing."

"We dare not negotiate at all on the terms it has prescribed, and we dare not change even a single word."

"If these terms can be easily agreed to, why did they have to deal with Britain and France for more than ten years over the treaty?"

To be able to sign such a treaty that is so humiliating and humiliating to one's country can be signed so easily is so stupid that even a word of stupidity is considered a frivolous thing.

“But neither the war faction nor the peace faction thought of fully agreeing to the demands put forward by the great powers.”

"Seeing that the emperor was angry, Guiliang's mind raced very fast, and he immediately said that these were alliances under the city and were just a temporary measure. We would refuse to pay the bills after the enemy withdrew."

"Six months later, a delegation of ministers from Britain, France and the United States came to request a contract exchange."

"Qi Ying, the only one with rich negotiation experience, died. Guiliang and Huashana, who had no negotiation experience, were manipulated by the representatives of Britain, France, the United States and Russia just as Xianfeng expected."

"For example, when ministers from various countries were allowed to enter Beijing, almost all Qing officials did not agree and required all kneeling rituals to comply with the Qing system."

If Tsarist Russia sent troops to defeat the Qing Dynasty, and the Qing Dynasty ceded 60 square kilometers of territory, it would be a reasonable excuse.

"Five days later, Guiliang and Huashana signed the "Sino-US Tianjin Treaty" with the US Minister to China."

He was so angry at Xianfeng's stupid behavior that he couldn't understand Xianfeng's mysterious operation at all.

But from the beginning to the end, Tsarist Russia showed no sign of sending troops, and thus obtained 60 square kilometers of land just by words.

In his opinion, it was completely incomprehensible how Xianfeng dared. Was he really not afraid of the anger of the Qing people?
You must know that he unified the world, and the entire territory of Daqin covered an area of ​​360 million square kilometers.

He had always known that the Qing emperor was stupid and incompetent, but now Xianfeng's act of giving away territory for nothing gave him a profound insight into the Qing emperor's stupidity to an outrageous level.

In other words, Xianfeng quietly assigned one-sixth of the territory of the Qin Dynasty to Tsarist Russia. Tsarist Russia gained 60 square kilometers of land in vain without spending a single soldier.

"In order to avoid retaliation by the great powers afterwards, Xianfeng transferred Prince Horqin back from the front line and ordered him to go to Tianjin to prepare for the war."

"On June 6, Dongge University Scholar Guiliang and Ministry of Civil Affairs Minister Huashana first signed the Sino-Russian Treaty of Tianjin with the Russian Minister to China."

"Due to the situation, Xianfeng had to send Guiliang, Huashana, and Qiying to negotiate with Britain and France."

"The answer is simple. These treaties were signed by Guiliang and Huashana on their own initiative, without Xianfeng's consent at all."

"So when Xianfeng saw the four Tianjin treaties brought back by Guiliang, he was immediately confused."

Emperor Xianfeng asked his ministers to negotiate with the enemy, but the result was not good. The ministers accepted the enemy's conditions like idiots.

Ying Zheng: What on earth was Xianfeng thinking? The treaty of ceding territory and paying compensation was signed so readily. Why did he go to such trouble with the enemy before?

"The British and French forces reached Tianjin and captured the Dagukou Fort."

"These four unequal treaties can be roughly summarized into eight articles. In short, they agreed to all the other party's requirements without reservation, allowing the other party to make a lot of money."

What's even more outrageous is that 60 square kilometers of territory was actually assigned to Tsarist Russia.

"And when it was revealed that Qi Ying had deceived the court during the First Opium War, he was sentenced to death by Xianfeng."

"Nearly 60 square kilometers of territory south of the Outer Xing'an Mountains and north of Heilongjiang were assigned to Tsarist Russia, and nearly 40 square kilometers of Chinese territory east of the Ussuri River were designated as a Sino-Russian co-administration zone."

"The warring faction advocates fighting, while the peace-promoting faction advocates negotiation."

"After Prince Horqin arrived in Tianjin, he recruited tens of thousands of people to build forts and install river blocking equipment to prevent enemy ships from penetrating deep. He also assembled 14000 elite troops to strengthen patrols."

"Xianfeng sent people to deceive him, and the Russian envoy said he would come back in half a year."

"Speaking of this, you may be wondering why the Qing Dynasty signed the agreement so readily with so many unequal terms."

What's even more ridiculous is that they still talk about expedient measures and then abandon the plan after the enemy withdraws.

You must know that ministers represent the face of a country when negotiating with enemies.

The result is not good. They sign a treaty on the front foot but refuse to accept it on the back foot. This completely leaves a country's face on the ground and is trampled on by others.

The minister's stupid and traitorous behavior was not only not punished by Xianfeng, but was actually recognized by Xianfeng.

It can only be said that both the ministers and the emperor were extremely stupid, and it was normal for them to be pressed to the ground and rubbed by the enemy.

What made him most ridiculous was that the treaty signed by the Qing ministers and Tsarist Russia gave 60 square kilometers of land to each other for free, and also set 40 square kilometers of land as territory under the joint jurisdiction of China and Russia.

Even if the Qing Dynasty wanted to default on a treaty signed in black and white, Tsarist Russia would never agree to it.

The comparison of strength between the two sides is very clear. Tsarist Russia is much stronger than the Qing Dynasty.

When one's own strength is far inferior to that of the enemy, once the treaty is signed, all the initiative will be in the hands of the enemy.

The enemy can completely enforce the contents of the treaty by force and occupy these 60 square kilometers of land reasonably and lawfully.

And not to mention the 60 square kilometers of land, even the 40 square kilometers of condominium territory will eventually be annexed by Tsarist Russia.

When he thought of 100 million square kilometers of territory being given to Tsarist Russia by the Qing Dynasty in vain, he became extremely angry with the Qing Dynasty, as if what he had ceded was 100 million square kilometers of territory belonging to his great Han Dynasty.

"On June 1859, 6, the British and French fleet arrived in the waters of Dagukou Fort and broke through the Qing army's first line of defense at 25 p.m."

"The Qing army was fully prepared before the war, and when the coalition fleet was ready to break through the second line of defense."

"The forts deployed by the Qing army on both sides of Dagu Port opened fire, beating the coalition fleet and fleeing in panic."

"After losing the first battle, the British and French forces adjusted their attack direction and dispatched 1000 infantrymen to land in small boats."

"However, the Qing army was also prepared on land. When the coalition forces rushed ashore, they were immediately shelled by the Qing army."

"After these two battles, a total of 4 warships of the British and French forces were sunk, 6 were damaged, 93 people were killed, 385 were injured, and the Qing army lost 32 people."

"With victory ahead, and a genuine victory, Xianfeng suddenly became energetic, and then he also developed a happy attitude."

"Some ministers are even more arrogant than Xianfeng, threatening to pursue victory, overthrow all previous unequal treaties, and regain Hong Kong."

"Six months later, the British and French forces came back."

"This time Britain sent 12000 troops and France sent 7000 troops."

"After Xianfeng learned the news, he ordered to strengthen the alert to prepare for British and French counterattacks."

"On March 1860, 3, the British and French forces arrived in Hong Kong."

"Before the war officially started, the British and French forces jointly issued an ultimatum to Xianfeng and put forward three demands. The demands were still the same as before."

"Faced with the demands of the great powers, Xianfeng was relatively sober."

"The reply given by Xianfeng was that each family could be compensated with 100 million taels of silver, but there was no negotiation for an apology or contract exchange."

"Compared to Xianfeng, the main war ministers represented by Prince Horqin are more radical. They will not agree to anything and will do whatever they don't accept."

Li Shimin: I really can't understand Xianfeng's brain circuit. Even when the situation is good, he still has to pay 100 million taels of silver to the enemy. Why does it look similar to those useless emperors of the Song Dynasty?

He did not understand the operation of Emperor Xianfeng. He did not understand the operation of being tough on the enemy while rushing to compensate the enemy with 100 million taels of silver.

It was certain that the Qing army was finally defeated by the British and French forces, but Emperor Xianfeng obviously didn't know this before the war officially started.

Judging from Xianfeng's previous actions, Xianfeng had a tough attitude towards the British and French coalition forces and was not afraid at all.

Coupled with the war between the two sides in June, the Qing army achieved a complete victory, and Xianfeng was in despair.

Under such circumstances, shouldn't Xianfeng give a stronger response to the ultimatum issued by the British and French coalition forces?

Why did you give up in the end and pay 100 million taels of silver each to Britain and France?

When he thought that the emperor and ministers of the Qing Dynasty were confused from beginning to end, he understood Xianfeng's inexplicable decision.

"The British and French ministers also formally declared war on the Qing Dynasty. In April 1860, the British and French forces occupied Zhoushan."

"From May to June, the British army occupied Dalian Bay and the French army occupied Yantai."

"As a result, the British and French forces blocked the Bohai Bay and used Dalian and Yantai as advance bases to attack Tianjin."

"In July, 7 British and French warships and 173 people arrived at Dagukou, Tianjin."

"After learning that the enemy had arrived with more than 100 warships, Prince Horqin thought that foreigners were good at naval warfare but not good at land warfare."

"If the British and French forces are lured out of the range of naval guns, they can definitely be wiped out in a land battle."

"So the Qing army abandoned Beitangkou north of Dagukou before the war began, giving the enemy an opportunity."

"However, facts have proven that the Qing army is a scumbag in front of the great powers, whether it is a naval battle or a land battle."

"On August 8, the British and French forces attacked Tanggu, and the Qing army was defeated miserably."

"The casualties of the coalition forces are negligible, with only one person dead and 1 injured."

"After the fall of Tanggu, Prince Horqin led the Qing troops on the south bank of Dagu Port to escape towards Tianjin."

"More than 1000 Qing troops on the north bank stood firm under the command of the Zhili Admiral and fought bravely. After killing 62 people from the British and French coalition forces and wounding 349 people, they all died heroically for their country."

"On August 8, Prince Horqin fled to Tianjin."

"But there was no danger to defend Tianjin, so Prince Horqin immediately continued to retreat and decided to fight the allied forces near Tongzhou."

"On August 8, the coalition forces captured Tianjin and established a puppet government to manage it."

Hearing that the Admiral of Zhili died heroically for his country, Xianfeng showed a rare trace of relief and finally regained some face.

Ever since the anchor started talking about the history of the late Qing Dynasty, ancient people from various dynasties have been criticizing him, and there was not a single kind word in the overwhelming barrage.

He now also knows his subsequent performance from the anchor's mouth, and has no way to refute the accusations made by ancient people from various dynasties.

He was a dignified emperor of the Qing Dynasty, but now he was blamed by countless people. It was impossible not to feel sad.

But fortunately, the Admiral of Zhili who heroically resisted the enemy and died for his country saved a bit of face for him, and he was already very satisfied.

"Seeing that the British and French forces planned to stay in Tianjin for a long time, Xianfeng sent Guiliang again for negotiations."

"After Guiliang met with representatives of the coalition forces, he unconditionally accepted all demands."

"That is, on the basis of the Tianjin Treaty, an additional 400 million yuan in compensation will be added, and Tianjin will be opened as a treaty port."

"After the negotiation is over, Guiliang will go back and report."

"But because Xianfeng believed that the British and French coalition forces gathered in Tianjin, Beijing's security could not be guaranteed, so he asked the coalition forces to retreat to Dagukou first, and then negotiate."

"Obviously the British and French forces will not take the initiative to abandon Tianjin, so in the next half month."

"While negotiating with the Qing government, the British and French forces stepped up preparations for war and prepared to attack Beijing."

"On September 9, Xianfeng stated that he would personally lead the expedition to boost morale and calm people's hearts."

"But on the next day, Xianfeng sent Prince Yi Zaiyuan and the Minister of War to Tongzhou to replace Guiliang and negotiate a peace with the coalition representatives." "During the negotiations, the peace talks broke down again due to disagreements between the two sides."

"Before Prince Yi went back to resume his duties, he received Xianfeng's handwriting."

"The general idea is that the representative of the coalition forces is the mastermind of the coalition forces and is considered the chief culprit. If necessary, he should be arrested."

"At that time, Tongzhou was under the control of the Qing army. Seeing that the emperor requested the arrest of representatives of the coalition forces, Prince Yi immediately ordered Prince Horqin to arrest 39 people including representatives of the coalition forces."

"After capturing the coalition representatives, Prince Yi reported victory to Xianfeng."

"The general idea is that the representatives of the coalition forces are good at using troops. The British, barbarians and French barbarians have taken orders. Now that they are captured, the British and French coalition forces will definitely be in chaos."

"In Prince Yi's view, the representatives of the coalition forces are very important officials, similar to military advisors and Zhuge Liang of the coalition forces."

"If the representatives of the coalition forces are captured alive, the British and French coalition forces will be demoralized and will collapse without a fight."

"However, in fact, the coalition representative is just a diplomat who is good at translating."

Zhao Kuangyin: What were the emperors and ministers of the Qing Dynasty doing? Why can’t I understand their operations?

Xianfeng's mysterious operations were completely blinded by him. He really couldn't understand the emperor's confusion when doing things.

First, ministers are sent to negotiate, but after the negotiations are over, they go back on their word and demand further negotiations.

He wanted to conquer the enemy personally, but in the end he replaced his ministers and negotiated peace with the enemy.

As a result, the negotiations fell into a situation of constant disputes, which eventually led to the breakdown of the negotiations.

In the end, he did not hesitate to anger the enemy and asked the minister to arrest the enemy's messenger.

After a erratic operation, he could not understand Xianfeng's thoughts.

Perhaps it was precisely because of such an extremely dim-witted ruler that the Qing Dynasty suffered a disastrous defeat in the end!
"September 9 was the day after the coalition representatives were arrested."

"The British and French forces captured Tongzhou. Before taking Tongzhou, the British and French forces fought a battle with the Qing army in Zhangjiawan."

"The total strength of the Qing army in this battle exceeded 3, of which 4000 were Mongolian cavalry, and the British and French allied forces had troops."

"Zhangjiawan is a plain, very open, very suitable for Mongolian cavalry to charge."

"Based on the situation at the time, 2 Mongolian cavalry and 4000 backup troops fought against enemy troops."

"If it were in the era of cold weapons, such a battle would be victorious. Prince Horqin's deployment is no problem."

"But the problem is that it was not the era of 1260 when the Mongolian cavalry dominated the world, but the era of 1860 when hot weapons became the mainstream of warfare, so there was no suspense in this battle."

"After the war began, the British and French forces launched the first attack, and Prince Horqin sent cavalry to outflank the British and French forces."

"When the Mongolian cavalry rushed into the battlefield, they were immediately hit by a hail of bullets from the coalition forces, and a large number of them fell instantly."

"Prince Horqin saw the heavy losses of the cavalry and decided to withdraw the cavalry and take over the defense with infantry."

"But when the cavalry retreated, the horses were frightened and rushed towards the infantry formation coming from behind. As a result, the Qing army's position was immediately in chaos."

"The coalition forces seized the opportunity, first attacked with artillery fire, and finally launched an infantry charge, which caused the Qing army to collapse in an instant."

"After the entire battle of Zhangjiawan, the Qing army suffered more than 1000 casualties, while the British and French forces only lost more than 30 people."

"After taking Tongzhou, the coalition headquarters gave soldiers one day to loot as retaliation for the Qing army's arrest of coalition representatives."

"While the coalition forces were burning, killing and looting in Tongzhou, Prince Horqin led his troops to retreat to Bali Bridge."

"This is only 30 miles away from Beijing. It is Beijing's last barrier."

The emperors of various dynasties were not surprised by the final victory of the British and French forces, but they were still shocked by the amazing results of the British and French forces.

1 Mongolian cavalry, supported by 2 backup troops, fought against 4000 British and French forces. In the end, the British and French forces won a complete victory.

The emperors of each dynasty were shocked that the British and French allied forces won the victory despite the numerical disadvantage. They only lost more than 30 people and defeated the entire Mongolian cavalry.

As emperors, they are most aware of the strength of the prairie nation's cavalry.

Since ancient times, the Chinese nation has been frequently invaded by nomads for more than two thousand years, and the Central Plains has nothing to do about it.

Nomads continued to invade the Central Plains with their powerful cavalry, causing great harm to every Central Plains dynasty.

It can be said that the nomadic cavalry has always been a nightmare for the Central Plains dynasty, but now they are unable to fight back under the hail of bullets from the British and French allied forces. The impact on their emperor's heart can be imagined.

"On September 9, 21 British and French troops arrived at Baliqiao, including about 8000 participating troops and 6000 main artillery pieces. The Qing army had nearly 27 troops."

"The two sides started fighting that morning, and the Mongolian cavalry was the first to charge. As for the result of the charge, it can be said to be a replica of the Battle of Zhangjiawan."

"At that time, a French officer recorded the situation on the battlefield. The artillery and gunfire seemed to be unable to defeat the Qing soldiers, and they even sometimes rushed 30 meters in front of the cannon."

"But the artillery fire became more intensive and fierce, driving them back one by one."

"Under the continuous heroic charge, the Qing army once beat the French infantry to the point where they could hardly support themselves. Several positions actually allowed some brave Qing soldiers to rush in."

"But the Qing army's extremely poor hand-to-hand combat capabilities made it impossible for them to take advantage in close combat."

"After several rounds of charges, the Qing cavalry were either killed by French guns or stabbed to death by French bayonets."

"When the French army fought against the Qing army, the British army used artillery to attack the Qing army's infantry positions."

"And sent the Sikh cavalry to charge with standard European-style lancers to attack the Mongolian cavalry."

"In this battle between cavalry and cavalry, the Mongolian cavalry, which is not good at close combat, was completely defeated."

"According to the later recollection of a Sikh cavalryman, they were just difficult to catch. Once caught, they could not cause much harm."

"A British officer also said something similar. After the two sides collided, the Mongolian cavalry was chopped to pieces and looked like they were bowling."

"Weapons and equipment are inferior to human beings, and the quality of soldiers is inferior to human beings."

"Even the Mongolian cavalry, which has always considered itself the trump card, was chopped down by the British and French cavalry like melons and vegetables."

"With such poor combat effectiveness, there is no possibility of winning."

"In the end, under the attack of the British and French forces, the Qing army was defeated and retreated, and the British and French forces occupied Bali Bridge."

"According to the subsequent inventory, the loss of the British and French forces was about 30 to 50 people, and the loss of the Qing army was about 1200 to 3000 people."

Zhu Di: What does this European-style lancer look like? It is so powerful that it caused the Mongolian cavalry to lose their armor.

He knew how powerful the Mongolian cavalry was, otherwise he would not have gone out one after another.

Although the Ming Dynasty's cavalry was powerful, it was still inferior to the Mongolian cavalry.

But now the Lancers could easily destroy the Mongolian cavalry, which made him feel a little excited.

If his Ming Dynasty can also have lancers, then it shouldn't be too easy to deal with the Mongolian cavalry on the border.

When he thought that the massive books prepared for him by the anchor should contain content about the Lancers, he looked forward to the final sales session.

"After the fall of Bali Bridge, Beijing has no chance of defending."

"On September 9, when Xianfeng saw that the foreign troops were about to attack the city, he fled to the Chengde Summer Resort with his wife and children without hesitation."

"After Xianfeng escaped, he stayed in the capital. Prince Gong was responsible for dealing with the aftermath."

"On September 9, the British Minister and the French Minister sent a note to Prince Gong, requesting the Qing government to release the coalition representatives and others, and sign a treaty in Tongzhou."

"Prince Gong refused to release the hostages and asked the coalition forces to retreat outside the entrance of Dagu before negotiating."

"The British and French ministers dared to bargain with themselves when they saw that Prince Gong had reached this stage, and threatened to attack the capital and loot the royal gardens on the outskirts of Beijing."

"On October 10, Prince Gong agreed to the release request made by the British and French ministers after repeated deliberation."

"But because it was agreed too late and the order was not issued in time, the British and French forces have already looted the Old Summer Palace."

"On October 10, the coalition representatives and their party were released. The British and French ministers saw that the coalition representatives and their party were mistreated by the Qing army. They were furious and decided to burn the Old Summer Palace in retaliation."

"Before the British army burned the Old Summer Palace, the British and French forces had already looted all the treasures in the Old Summer Palace."

"But the British minister was unyielding and insisted on burning the Old Summer Palace."

"Both the French Minister and the French Commander-in-Chief disagreed with the British Minister's proposition."

"However, the reasons for their opposition were completely opposite. The French minister believed that burning the Old Summer Palace would anger the Chinese and lead to the breakdown of negotiations."

"The French commander-in-chief said he would burn the Forbidden City if he wanted to, teaching the Chinese emperor a profound lesson."

"The three people quarreled back and forth, and finally decided to burn the Old Summer Palace first, and then issue an ultimatum to the Qing government."

"In this way, the Old Summer Palace, which brought together the essence of Eastern and Western architectural arts, was burned into ruins by a fire by the British army."

"When the British army attacked the Old Summer Palace, the French army was not idle. They took advantage of the situation together with the British army, causing Wanshou Mountain, Qingyi Garden, Yuquan Mountain, etc. to be damaged to varying degrees."

"On October 10, after the British army destroyed the Old Summer Palace, they issued an ultimatum to the Qing government."

"The content of the ultimatum can be summed up in one sentence, that is, if Emperor Xianfeng continues to disagree with the signing of the treaty, the coalition forces will burn the Forbidden City on October 10."

Yongzheng: Xianfeng escaped as the Qing Emperor, so I won’t say anything. But why is Prince Gong so stupid?

When he thought that the Old Summer Palace, which he had spent his whole life working on, was burned to the ground, he felt extremely regretful and heartbroken, and at the same time, he was extremely angry at the stupid Prince Gong.

The enemies were all coming. Even though they couldn't defeat them, they could not clearly see the situation and negotiate with them, which made them angry and caused the disaster to the Old Summer Palace.

If Prince Gong agreed to the enemy's request for release, how could the Old Summer Palace, which he devoted his whole life, end up like this.

"On October 10, Emperor Xianfeng received the news and immediately sent a message to Prince Gong to agree to peace talks."

"After receiving the imperial edict that night, Prince Gong expressed his agreement to all the requirements of Britain and France, and signed the Sino-British Beijing Treaty and the Sino-French Beijing Treaty with Britain and France respectively."

"The content of the treaty is to open Tianjin as a treaty port on the basis of the Treaty of Tianjin, cede the Kowloon Peninsula to the United Kingdom, and increase the compensation from 400 million taels to 800 million taels."

“Afterwards, Tsarist Russia continued to take advantage of the situation and, on the basis of the previous Treaty of Aihun, made the 40 square kilometers of Sino-Russian condominium land east of the Ussuri River, including Sakhalin Island, exclusive to them.”

"After this disaster, the Qing Dynasty lost nearly 100 million square kilometers of territory."

"As for the other troublemaker, the United States, although it did not sign a new treaty with the Qing government alone."

"But because the United States has one-sided most-favored-nation status in China, the United States automatically enjoys various privileges obtained by Britain, France and Russia, so the United States also benefits a lot."

"After signing the treaty, the British and French forces withdrew from Beijing."

"Many people don't understand this. Since they all occupied Beijing, why didn't Britain and France just destroy the Qing Dynasty?"

"Because after the British and French forces captured Tianjin, they could not control the Chinese at all and could only indirectly control Tianjin by supporting puppets."

"There are only so many people from the coalition forces. Robbery is possible, but governance is completely out of the question."

"Destroying the Qing Dynasty under such circumstances would actually be detrimental to Britain and France's trade with China."

"Leaving the Qing Dynasty to continue cutting off flesh and blood will make Britain and France more profitable."

"Compared to Britain and France, Tsarist Russia was able to occupy territory through a steady stream of immigrants because it bordered the Qing Dynasty."

"There is no unmanageable phenomenon, so Tsarist Russia is more keen on occupying land."

“Looking back at the Second Opium War, it can be said to be a replica of the First Opium War.”

"The Qing government was confused from beginning to end, and everyone from the emperor to the ministers was extremely ignorant."

"Through this war, the Qing government's ignorance and backwardness were fully demonstrated."

"Of course, the Qing government did not gain nothing from the Second Opium War."

"Because they were beaten so badly, the Qing government took the initiative to carry out the Westernization Movement the following year."

"Because of its thorough betrayal of the country, the Qing government also received strong support from the great powers."

"The Westernization Movement and the support of the great powers laid the foundation for the Qing government to later eliminate the Taiping Rebellion."

The common people of all dynasties deeply hated the ignorance of the Qing court and looked forward to the early end of this chaos.

As ordinary people, they naturally know how miserable the lives of ordinary people in the late Qing Dynasty were.

The Qing Dynasty failed in successive foreign wars and paid huge sums of money to its enemies.

For such a huge compensation, the common people will definitely have to foot the bill in the end. It is the common people who will suffer in the end.

Only as common people can they feel the same and deeply understand the hard life that the common people lived in the late Qing Dynasty.

The common people of all dynasties deeply sympathized with the common people in the late Qing Dynasty, but they were powerless and could only hope that someone could change everything.

(End of this chapter)