The Ming Dynasty is the only country in the history of China that has not signed an unequal treaty with any country. There was no kinship in the Han Dynasty, no alliance with ethnic minorities in the Tang Dynasty, no negotiations in the Song Dynasty, and no gifts from brothers and enemies in the Ming Dynasty. No matter how difficult and stressful the Ming Dynasty was, it didn't kneel down or cede land for compensation.
In the face of the invasion of Mongolian and Manchu minorities, even in the period of internal troubles and foreign invasion, the Ming Dynasty persisted, as evidenced by the two famous victories to protect the capital. Externally, the anti-Japanese struggle during the Jiajing period of Emperor Shizong of Ming Dynasty; During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, the three expeditions and the seven-year War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea kept Japan from going to war with China for 300 years. Therefore, in the history of the Ming Dynasty, it was called "no marriage, no compensation, no cession, no tribute, the son of heaven protects the country, and the king dies".
In fact, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, China went to war with the Netherlands, which launched a war of aggression against the southeast coast of China under the pretext of trade with China. At that time, the Netherlands was the first bourgeois country in Europe, with developed maritime trade, stronger than Britain, and was the maritime hegemon. The Netherlands wanted to open up the huge market in China, deliberately provoked war 1633, and attacked the southeast coast of China.
Facing the Dutch war of aggression, the Ming government was not afraid, and Emperor Chongzhen issued a decree to severely punish the Dutch aggression. In this war, Zheng Zhilong led 140 main warships and fought fiercely with more than 50 Dutch fleets, and finally won. After the war, the Ming government made a request to the Netherlands. In the end, the Netherlands paid an annual tribute of 6.5438+200,000 francs to the Ming fleet in exchange for the right of passage of the Dutch fleet in East Asia. This is undoubtedly a shame for the Dutch, the maritime hegemon at that time.
Compared with the Qing dynasty during the Opium War, the problems faced by the Ming dynasty in this period were more serious than those of the Qing dynasty, with serious social crisis, empty national treasury, internal and external troubles, and peasant rebels everywhere; The Qing army in Liaodong gradually invaded the northeast, seriously threatening Beijing; Pirates, Portugal and Spain on the southeast coast often invade the coast.
Under these difficulties, Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty resolutely insisted on waging war against the Netherlands. This is in stark contrast to the indecision and weakness of the Qing government in the Opium War. You know, in the war, the emperor's hesitation has a great influence on the battle ahead, which will delay the fighters. The emperor's insistence on participating in the war will naturally have a positive impact on his subordinates, and the soldiers will bravely kill the enemy.
The naval forces and weapons and equipment of the Ming Dynasty were relatively strong. We know that the Qing Dynasty pursued a closed door policy and enjoyed long-term peace, so the naval development of the Qing army was seriously inadequate or even retrogressed.
Many firearms and equipment of the Qing army still follow the technology of the Ming Dynasty and have not developed greatly. At that time, it was still an old gun, basically not updated, with poor quality and backward technology, and suffered a lot in the war. The warships of the Qing navy were not as big and strong as merchant ships, and they were equipped with fewer guns. Then I talked about the training of soldiers, with little training, lax armaments and poor combat effectiveness.
Compared with the fragile military fighting capacity of the Qing Dynasty, the navy of the Ming Dynasty was more powerful. The problem of Japanese pirates in the middle and late Ming Dynasty has been affecting the coastal areas of China. Therefore, the Ming army has been constantly tempered in long-term battles, such as the anti-Japanese struggle in the southeast coast and the war of resisting Japan and aiding Korea in Wanli period, which has continuously improved the combat effectiveness of the Ming navy. The army's combat effectiveness is high, and there are many excellent generals, which is unmatched by the Qing navy.
The weapons and equipment of the Ming dynasty were also relatively advanced in the world at that time, not worse than those of the west, especially artillery and cannon technology, and many cannons were installed on ships.
Speaking of ships, the shipbuilding technology in the Ming Dynasty was quite developed, and ships as big as Zheng He's treasure ship were once built. During the Yongle period, the Ming navy owned 3,800 ships, including patrol ship 1 350, warships belonging to Wei, Suo and Sai 1 350, 400 warships with Nanjing Xinjiangkou as the main fleet and 400 grain carriers.
There are also 250 treasure ships, and the average number of people per treasure ship has increased from 450 in 1405 to more than 690 in 143 1, and the largest treasure ship certainly exceeds 1000. During Zheng He's voyage to the Western Ocean, the number reached more than 27,800 at its peak.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Zhilong's ship was very powerful, and the double deck of the warship was equipped with a dragging ring bolt gun. A warship is equipped with 24 red cannons, with a load of 600 tons and a crew of 480 people. The displacement is several times that of ordinary small warships of the Ming army. It was Zheng Zhilong's ship that defeated the Dutch invaders.
During the Opium War in the Qing Dynasty, Britain led more than 40 warships and more than 4,000 soldiers, and later increased to more than 20,000, attacking the Qing Dynasty and staying away from the mainland. If the leaders of the Qing government had the determination to go to the battlefield, plus a strong navy and firearms equipment, the Opium War could still be won.