Opium War

The prelude to the Opium War can be traced back to 1834. At that time, the British nationalized the trading privileges of the British East India Company, and then sent the aristocratic officer William John Lawboy to Guangdong to serve as the general supervisor of commerce in China, replacing the so-called "big squad" of the previous East India Company. Establishing direct and equal relations with Chinese officials, instead of going through the Thirteenth Line, was Lu Laobei's main task when he came to China. At the same time, he was also told not to damage Britain's existing relationship with China. But as soon as he arrived in Guangdong, he submitted a "parallel style" official letter to Lu Kun, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. Lu Kun refused to "parallel" with Lu Laobei and ordered him to return to Macau immediately. Lu Laobei refused to return to Australia, so Lu Kun interrupted the trade. Jier closed the business building, cut off supplies, and sent Chinese warships to the river near the British business building to intimidate him. Unwilling to show weakness, Lu Laobei ordered three British warships to be mobilized and broke into Humen from the sea to threaten. After exchanging fire with Humen Fort for 35 minutes, the British ship sailed into the Pearl River. Lu Kun immediately sank 12 large ships at the bottom of the Pearl River to intercept them, and mobilized 28 ships and 1,600 soldiers from various places to surround the inland river. The British warships were unable to advance and retreat. Lu Laobei had contracted malaria due to seclusion before, and everything went wrong. He had to say that he could leave Guangzhou, and then ordered the British warships to retreat. At the same time, he returned to Macau under the supervision of the Qing Navy. Soon after returning to Macau, Lu Laobei died with hatred. Before his death, he pointed out that only war could resolve the Sino-British trade dispute.