The six-dimensional pictures of emperors of all dynasties were exposed, and the ancestors panicked

Chapter 736: Isolating the country from the outside world? Isolating the country from the outside world!
[This was a formal diplomatic mission. The British ambassador was Lord Macartney and his deputy was Lord Staunton.]

[The mission's fleet was commanded by Captain Gower, with the flagship being the Lion]

【At the same time, the British took this mission very seriously, which can also be seen from the staffing. 】

[In addition to government ambassadors and crew members, there are also a series of special talents on board, such as scientists, painters, engineers, etc., in order to conduct a more in-depth investigation of China. ]

[The gifts the delegation brought to the emperor were also very exquisite.]

【In the Qing Dynasty, officials of all ranks were proud to own clocks and watches. 】

【But as Sino-foreign trade continued, the demand for this luxury item may have been saturated, at least for the emperor.】

[After some thought, the British chose a music box that also had spring gears and jewels.]

[In order to demonstrate their technological strength, the British also built several large astronomical instruments, as well as their most proud guns and cannons.]

[In addition, there were many daily necessities made in Britain in the gifts, which were intended to be presented to the emperor to create an advertising effect and slowly spread them in the Chinese market.]

……

{I am not familiar with foreign history, but I vaguely remember that this was not the first time the British came here, right?}
{It was not the first time I came, but it was the first time I established diplomatic relations, just to open up trade.}
{Didn't the Qing Dynasty have ports? Four.}
{You mean the four ports of Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangsu are open to trade? That's outdated.}
{In the late Kangxi period, because the other three ports all had more or less problems, foreigners finally chose Guangzhou as the main port for trade.}
{As time went on, a huge interest group formed in Guangzhou Port. From merchants to officials at all levels, and even the emperor, they all sucked blood from trade, and the life of foreign merchants became increasingly difficult.}
{In the 1755th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (), the British went to Ningbo to trade in order to avoid being exploited by Guangdong.}
｛Ningbo, having seen Guangdong's prosperity, was willing to choose a more open and low-tax approach, but was blocked by higher-level officials.｝
{They persuaded the emperor to raise the tariff in Ningbo on the pretext that doing so would reduce the emperor's tax revenue, forcing the British to return to Guangdong for trade.}
{In the 1757nd year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (), British agent Hong Renhui went to Tianjin to file a complaint against the emperor, denouncing the customs' bad practices. Emperor Qianlong banned the other three ports from trading with the West and concentrated all trade in Guangzhou. The system of one port for trade was thus formed.}
{In order to deter the British, Qianlong also introduced a series of systems.}
{For example, he realized that raw silk was one of the most favorite products of the British, and the largest producer of raw silk was not Guangdong, but Jiangsu and Zhejiang.}
{So, in order to reduce the attractiveness of Ningbo Port, he issued an order to ban the export of raw silk. Even if someone was willing to take the risk and come to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, they could not buy raw silk, so naturally they would not go there again.}
{It was not until the 1762th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (), when the dust settled on the one-port trade policy, that the emperor, at the request of the British, once again relaxed the ban on the export of raw silk.}
{It must be said that the Qing Dynasty still had some dignity at this time. The British tended to believe that they could no longer send private representatives to solve the problem. If they wanted to adjust the relationship between Britain and China, they had to send a formal envoy of the King of England to meet the Emperor in Beijing, so that things could be made clear and a new agreement could be reached.}
{This is how Macartney and his entourage came about.}
……

【The British government established contact with the Qing government.】

[This work was coordinated by the British Chamber of Commerce in Guangzhou and the Guangzhou "Foreign Bank".]

[As soon as the application was submitted, Qianlong immediately agreed. At the same time, as part of his grace, Qianlong allowed the British to choose a special route to Beijing.]

[Previously, all foreign missions, whether from the West or Southeast Asia, had to land in Guangzhou in accordance with Chinese practice.]

[The Chinese government then took them to Beijing for an audience via land and canal, and then back to Guangzhou.]

[When Emperor Qianlong heard that the British gifts were too valuable to withstand the turbulent journey, he allowed them to land in Tianjin and head to Beijing.]

……

The period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty
Liu Che frowned and looked at the sky.

He began to understand Qianlong's thoughts a little.

One thing he could be sure of was that the Qing Dynasty was not opposed to foreign trade.

At least Qianlong would definitely not object.

The reason is simple. A large part of Qianlong's personal income must have come from tariffs!
If you want him to cut off his trade, it means you are cutting off his source of income.

Whoever dares to cut off his source of wealth will be killed along with his entire clan.

Judge others by yourself.

Liu Che understood very well.

"Non-my family, its heart must be different."

As for why there were so many restrictions on the British, it must be because of the subconscious debate between China and the barbarians.

but……

Liu Che still frowned.

Such behavior is a bit petty.

……

On the canopy.

A map of the sea route was spread out on the table.

A cartoon boat follows the route from "England" to "Tianjin"

……

【September 1792, , the th year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign.】

[The British mission left Britain and passed through Madeira, Tenerife and Santiago in the Atlantic Ocean.]

【Crossing the equator to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and rounding the Cape of Good Hope. 】

【Passing through the Southeast Asian archipelago and Cochinchina (Southern Vietnam).】

【Then we pass the Wanshan Islands outside Macau and the Zhoushan Islands in Zhejiang. 】

[On July 21, the 58th year of Qianlong's reign, the ship anchored at Miaodao Island outside Tianjin.]

……

Great Qin.

The hall suddenly fell into an inexplicable silence.

Ying Zheng and the other four stopped what they were doing.

Look up and exchange a glance.

Feng Quji was the first to speak:

"The Classic of Mountains and Seas states: Emperor Yan gave birth to Gonggong, Gonggong gave birth to Houtu, and Houtu is Goulong."

"It is also recorded that Gonggong had red hair."

"From this we can see that it was Gonggong's fief during the Yao, Shun and Yu periods, the Gonggong Kingdom!"

"It's too far away from Kyushu. It's time to return to China."

Ying Zheng and the other three looked strange.

Meng Tian came close to Wei Liao and whispered:
"Is this true? It's too...too far-fetched, isn't it?"

"And the leader isn't red-haired?"

Xiao He raised his chin and gestured to Meng Tian:

"Isn't there a red-haired person in that boat?"

"Furthermore……"

Xiao He thought that if Liu Bang was here, he would definitely say this...

"Why not just dye them red..."

The other three leaned back and gasped.

Ying Zheng glanced at Xiao He.

Half agree, half regret.

I agree with his approach, but it was unfortunately contaminated by Liu Bang.

Ying Zheng looked at Feng Quji again.

This one is also polluted...

and many more!

Will my Great Qin slowly become like Liu Bang?

……

[Neither side was satisfied with the result of the audience.]

[The clocks and other crafts sent by the British delegation were no more exquisite than those of the Guangzhou foreign companies.]

[The British sent muskets, cannons, astronomical instruments, battleship models, etc. to demonstrate their superb scientific and technological achievements.]

[However, Emperor Qianlong had dozens of very sophisticated muskets and could use them very skillfully for hunting. The firearms presented by the British delegation did not reach the level that could amaze him.]

[As for the astronomical instruments and battleship models, due to translation difficulties, the British did not let Qianlong figure out what they were so great about.]

[Just when the British thought they could start negotiations, Qianlong simply accepted their gifts, gave them a bunch of rewards, and then sent them on their way back.]

[The expected negotiation did not happen at all.]

……

The British had prepared several topics in advance. The first was to send an envoy to Beijing to resolve any trade disputes that might arise.
{Second, do business with several places in the UK in Ningbo, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, Tianjin and Guangdong.}
{Third, follow the example of the Russians and set up a trading house in the capital.}
{From the letter Qianlong later wrote to the King of England, we can know that Qianlong felt that the three themes proposed by the British side were all fantasy.}
{First, you sent someone to live in China to look after your business, which is not in line with the system of China.}
{In the past, people from various Western countries did come to Beijing to live, but they came to serve the Celestial Empire, and once they came, they had to abide by the Celestial Empire's rules and serve as officials. They were never allowed to go back. As for merchants, that was absolutely not allowed.}
{Suppose the Celestial Empire also sent someone to live in your country's capital, wouldn't you be unable to tolerate it?}
{As for setting up foreign companies in Zhejiang, Tianjin and Guangdong, since ancient times (actually it was a practice of the Ming Dynasty, inherited by the Qing Dynasty), foreigners have set up foreign companies in Macau, you'd better abide by this rule.}
{If you are allowed to trade everywhere, other countries will follow suit and make such unreasonable demands. Wouldn't China be in chaos?}
{It is even less feasible to set up a trading company in Beijing like the Russians did. The reason why Russia could do so was a special situation caused by the early war, not a routine practice.}
{The Celestial Empire has strict borders and never allows foreigners to cross the border and mix in.}
{And so, all the proposals were rejected.}
{“The Celestial Empire has everything”... a country that is closed to the outside world...}
……

Yanhan·Mingdi period
"The Celestial Empire has everything."

Liu Zhuang looked calm and sneered.

“That sounds really nice…”

"This is just an excuse Qianlong made for himself!"

Liu Zhuang could no longer hold back and stood up, pointing at the sky and angrily saying:
"It's just to prevent the British from colluding with the Han people, so that the Han people who have been brainwashed by the literary inquisition will have improper thoughts and endanger the rule of the Qing Dynasty!"

"Locking the country and literary inquisition...are meant to go hand in hand!"

Liu Zhuang was filled with anger.

Liu Zhao on the side was thinking about something else.

The rulers in power need to consider more than just the pride of being the Celestial Empire.

It is more of a consideration from the perspective of the stability of rule.

If the distinction between Han and Manchu was removed...if the emperor in power was Han...

Will things really change?
……

Tang Xuanzong Period
Li Longji ate a watermelon and said incoherently:

"Bullshit..."

He didn't believe a word of what Qianlong said!
"Kangxi studied Western learning seriously, but Qianlong didn't?"

"In the final analysis, his real concern is that Westerners are not as reliable as traditional vassal states such as North Korea."

"The Han Chinese might collude with Westerners to resist their rule."

"The basic idea of ​​foreign trade in the Qing Dynasty was not simply to close the country to the outside world."

"It's that goods can be bought and sold at will, but people can't come in and out at will."

Li Longji threw the watermelon rind away and pulled a handkerchief from Yang Yuhuan's arms to wipe his mouth.

Looking at the word "foreign company", he sneered and said:

"So, Emperor Qianlong restricted the British to trade only in Guangzhou and prohibited them from doing business directly with ordinary Chinese merchants."

"Transactions must be conducted through the "foreign companies" designated by the court."

“British goods can only be sold to foreign companies, which then resell them to Chinese merchants.”

"British merchants can only place orders with foreign companies if they want to buy things, and the foreign companies will purchase and sell them to them."

“The only people who had dealings with Westerners were those few ‘Hong merchants’ who were deemed politically absolutely reliable by the Qing government.”

"Ordinary Chinese businessmen cannot come into direct contact with Westerners."

"Close the country to the outside world? Let's close the country to the outside world!"

Yang Yuhuan originally pinched her handkerchief with two fingers in disdain, but when she saw Li Longji's high-spirited and ambitious attitude, her eyes began to light up!

Everyone is lustful.

Yang Yuhuan didn't understand anything Li Longji said. Did she just think that the old emperor was so handsome when he was young?
Li Longji raised his head confidently.

You must be shocked by my statement!

……

{In the 1756st year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (), he ordered the cessation of British-American trade in Zhejiang, Fujian and other places.}
{The ban on opening more ports was said to be due to concerns that "many Westerners would stay in the mainland" and endanger coastal national security.}
{The root cause was that the Qing Dynasty’s military was unable to control maritime commercial activities, and was unwilling to hand them over to the Han people.}
{It has nothing to do with whether the emperor was arrogant or not, and it has nothing to do with whether the Qing Dynasty emphasized agriculture and suppressed commerce or whether the ideology was conservative.}
{This policy can actually be compared to that of the late Ming Dynasty.}
{On the one hand, the navy directly controlled by the Ming Dynasty was stronger than that of the Qing Dynasty.}
{On the other hand, the imperial court was not too worried about the civilian military forces at sea, and allowed large-scale maritime merchant and pirate military groups like Zheng Zhilong to grow stronger, and finally recruited them to surrender.}
{Later history also proved that Zheng Zhilong's group was indeed loyal to the Ming Dynasty - although they were very independent warlords.}
{But when it comes to safeguarding national sovereignty and even expanding territory, China has never been ambiguous.}
{During the Ming Dynasty, foreign exchanges along the coast were fully open, not limited to commercial trade, and foreigners were free to enter and leave China.}
{That is why we can see many records of foreigners' observations of life in various parts of China in the late Ming Dynasty, and Chinese scholars have also learned a lot about the achievements of modern Western science, technology and culture.}
{The key reason is that the rulers have a high degree of legitimacy in their power, and do not have the same concerns as the Qing Dynasty regarding the distinction between Manchus and Han people.}
{The Qing dynasty rulers didn’t have this kind of confidence—but they were damn smart enough to realize they shouldn’t have had this kind of confidence!}

{That is why we adopt a strict and defensive approach to deal with foreign relations issues.}
{… Damn it… I’m speechless…}
……

Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Period
Kangxi sat on the chair with a solemn expression.

When the Ming and Qing dynasties were at war, the Ming Dynasty used its naval superiority to transport strategic materials from the Shandong Peninsula to the Liaodong Peninsula and the Korean Peninsula, supporting Mao Wenlong's activities in Pi Island.

Zheng Chenggong and his sons established their own regime in Taiwan to fight against the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty could only adopt the policy of "banning the sea and moving the border" to cut off their economic ties with the mainland, and was powerless militarily for a long time.

If it weren't for the rebellion of Shi Lang, a naval commander under Zheng Chenggong, the Qing Dynasty would not have been able to establish its own navy and successfully recover Taiwan.

Manchu generals did not have the ability to command the navy, and it was difficult for Manchu and Mongolian soldiers to participate in naval warfare.

Therefore, after regaining Taiwan, the development of the navy basically stopped.

As for the purpose...

Kangxi looked at the sky.

Of course, it is to prevent the Han people from independently controlling a powerful army.

Due to their living habits, the Jurchens and Mongols were not adapted to life on the ocean, so they were stationed in the nine garrisons of the Eight Banners in the Central Plains.

There were no Manchu or Mongolian soldiers in the southernmost cities of Guangzhou and Fuzhou, only Han troops.

The Qing army also did not have its own navy for a long time.

And now, Britain is coming from overseas.

Should we build a navy or not?
Build it, employ Han people, and let the Han people control the navy.

If we don’t build it, will the British have second thoughts?

In that case, it would be better to just launch it directly.

He understood Qianlong.

……

Qing Dynasty and Qianlong period
"The Holy Ancestor once said in his later years..."

Qianlong looked at the sky and suddenly said to Yongyan:
"Overseas countries such as the West may cause China to suffer from them thousands of years later."

“However, the Han people are not united, while the hundreds of thousands of people in Manchuria and Mongolia are united.”

"I have been on the throne for many years, and I have always found the Han people difficult to govern because they are unable to unite their minds."

"Do you understand what I mean?"

Yongyan's forehead began to sweat, and he said nervously:

"What the Holy Ancestor meant is... is..."

"Western countries are a great threat to China, but the Han people and the Qing Dynasty are not on the same page..."

"If they go to the South Seas controlled by Western countries to sell rice and ships, and if they stay there and collude with the West, it will be troublesome..."

Qianlong nodded and suddenly fell silent again.

……

Qing Dynasty, Xianfeng Period
Xianfeng looked at the words "close the country to the outside world" and didn't know what to say for a moment.

The maritime ban issued by Emperor Kangxi did not prohibit trade, but prohibited residents in coastal areas from going out to sea without permission and prohibited foreigners from staying in China for a long time.

That is to prohibit direct communication between Han people and overseas countries.

All trade must be conducted under the strict supervision of the imperial court to ensure that the two trading parties only exchange money and goods and not other exchanges such as ideas, culture, technology, weapons, and emotions.

Emperors Yongzheng, Qianlong, Jiaqing and Daoguang all strictly adhered to this policy principle.

Just because...

"The purpose of setting up the ban is to prevent our people from colluding with the barbarians to spy on China."

……

[However, the failure of negotiations and the one-port trade policy did not prevent the rapid increase in trade between China and Western countries. ]

[In the more than half a century from 1764 to the eve of the Opium War in 1833, the volume of British trade into China increased by about fifteen times.]

【China's trade volume with the UK has increased by about ten times.】

[Between 1789 and 1833, the trade volume of the United States to China increased by about times, and the trade volume of China to the United States increased by about times.]

[If we take merchant ships as an example, according to statistics, in the 1685 years from the 1757th year of Emperor Kangxi () to the nd year of Emperor Qianlong (), there were merchant ships from Europe and America that traded with China.]

【In the 1758 years from the 1838rd year of Qianlong's reign () to the th year of Daoguang's reign (), the number of merchant ships trading at the Guangdong Customs totaled , an increase of times.】

[In the 19s, the British House of Commons organized a "Subcommittee to Investigate the Current Situation of the East India Company and the Trade between Great Britain, India and China."]

[They consulted a large amount of literature and conducted extensive and detailed investigations and research among a large number of British, American and Indian businessmen involved in trade with China.]

[The panel concluded that the vast majority of witnesses who had lived in Guangzhou unanimously claimed that doing business in China was easier and better than almost anywhere else in the world.]

[In short, in terms of trade in goods and money, China's door was almost open in the mid-Qing Dynasty, and there was no closed-door trade policy.]

[As for the restrictions on treaty ports, they were entirely for national security reasons, not to restrict trade.]

[Just as the Qing government implemented a policy of divide and rule internally, it also resolutely implemented a policy of divide and rule externally.]

……

{…No more words to say, everything is in the wine! I’ll drink it and you take a sip! Gululu!}

{Let's have a drink together!}

{I'll have a drink too!}

{In the 58th year of Qianlong's reign...Britain had already stood out after a century of hard work.}
{France, once its greatest rival, now only had the isolated city of Pondicherry left in India, which was also the most important port for France's trade with China.}
{In the same year when Macartney came to China, due to the French Revolution, the British once again took Pondicherry, causing France to lose its base for trade with China.}
{In 1784, the British government issued the Tax Reduction Act, which significantly reduced tea taxes and squeezed out merchants from the Netherlands and other European countries through price competition. In 1799, the Dutch East India Company, which could no longer hold on, declared bankruptcy.}
{In this process, the South Asian subcontinent also underwent earth-shaking changes that were favorable to the British.}
{After the decline of the Mughal Empire in India, although there was an emperor at the center, there were many small lords in the local areas.}
{With the decline of the Mughal Empire, these small lords gradually separated from the central government, some of them established independent states, and some of them became dependent on Britain.}
{Over time, Britain formed three major colonies in the coastal areas, namely Calcutta in the northeast, Madras in the east, and Bombay in the west.}
{The British relied on these three colonies and gradually united the remaining small states, turning India into a mosaic-like mixture.}
{Britain has begun to monopolize the world's trade and is on the road to becoming a world where the sun never sets.}
{And China...}
……

[The Macartney Mission did not achieve its goal of relaxing the Qing Dynasty's trade policy, but still received a very grand reception.]

【Along the way, they carefully observed the real situation of Chinese society at that time and recorded it.】

【Some people wrote the report, and some people drew the images.】

[These records have become precious materials for us to understand the true situation of Chinese society during the Qianlong period.]

[At the same time, these reports also promoted Britain's new understanding of the old empire in the East. ]

…I feel like it’s a bit too harsh…

He won’t die suddenly, right?
I don’t dare anymore!!!



(End of this chapter)