Zhang Mu A (1782— 1856) was born in Zhenglan Banner of Manchuria. Born into a Manchu bureaucratic family, his father Guang Tai, a bachelor from official to cabinet, was a right-wing company commander. Zhang Mu, Jiaqing Jinshi. He has served as Minister of Interior, Commander of Infantry, Minister of War, Minister of Government Affairs, College Students, Minister of Military Aircraft, etc. , and in power at home and abroad for a period of time. During the Opium War, he blocked the anti-smoking movement, framed Lin Zexu and other resistance factions, made peace with the invaders such as Britain and the United States, and concluded unequal treaties with them. After being dismissed.
Zhang Mu, a scholar in 1805 (the tenth year of Jiaqing), chose Jishi Shu as the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Punishment, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Industry and the assistant minister of the Ministry of Housing. After the early years of Daoguang, he was trusted by Daoguang Emperor, and was appointed as the censor by Zuo Du, the minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and concurrently served as the governor of the two water transport departments. He was awarded the posts of Minister of Industry, Ministry of War and Minister of Household Affairs, served as the master of the study, and worshipped the University of Wuyingdian. 1827 (Daoguang seven years) entered the military department as a toddler. The following year, he was awarded the post of military affairs minister, and Daoguang was promoted to chief military affairs minister in seventeen years. He served as minister of military affairs for more than 20 years. During the anti-smoking movement and the Opium War, Zhang Mu advocated maintaining the status quo of opium smuggling and surrendering to foreign countries, which played a very bad role in Daoguang Emperor's foreign decision-making. Before the Opium War broke out, he sheltered opium smuggling and officials at all levels from taking bribes, obstructed smoking ban, and was deeply jealous of the power granted by Daoguang Emperor to Lin Zexu as an imperial envoy. After the war broke out, he tried his best to crack down on the resistance forces represented by Lin Zexu and Deng Tingzhen, and advocated making peace with the British invaders. He first agreed with Qishan's compromise with Britain, and then supported sending Jian Ying and others as representatives to sign the treaty of nanking with the British invaders, and then signed other unequal treaties with the United States and France. When Lin Zexu was appointed as an imperial envoy and sent to Guangzhou to ban opium, Zhang Mu dared not openly oppose and obstruct it, but secretly waited for opportunities to destroy it. When the British ship threatened to go north to Dagukou, he saw that Daoguang Emperor "changed his mind", that is, he tended to compromise from the main battle, so he accused Lin Zexu of "going to war" and expressed his approval and discussion, prompting Daoguang Emperor to "strike Lin Zexu and change Qi Mountain." When Qishan compromised with the invading army in Guangzhou, and the problem of negotiating reparations and ceding Hong Kong without authorization was exposed, so that he was dismissed and locked back to Beijing for trial, he also sent a signal to Naer, the governor of Zhili, requesting Daoguang Emperor to treat Qishan lightly. He was appointed General Yangwei by Yijing and sent to Zhejiang to preside over the war. It is also recommended that Qishan join the army to "make meritorious deeds." On the other hand, he turned black and white and confused right and wrong, adding fuel to the flames for the Opium War and the post-war period, creating unjust cases for the British aggressors and obstructing the struggle against Britain and aggression. Lin Zexu and Deng Tingzhen were stationed in Ili, and Yao Ying and Da Hongga, who insisted on the anti-British struggle in Taiwan Province, were removed from their posts and escorted back to Beijing, all of which were related to his being framed. During the war, he took a negative attitude and opposed self-defense against the British invasion. Every time Jiangsu and Zhejiang were warned of defeat, he "looked after each other and said,' What's up!'" "Beggars really said. At the end of the war, he publicly said: "After three years of fighting, the soldiers have worked hard, and they have never had the effect of size and restraint, but their work and rest have been different, and the people are hard to rest, so it is convenient to discuss. "He totally denied the anti-aggression struggle of patriotic soldiers and civilians in the four southeast coastal provinces. And it is he who is qualified to persuade Daoguang Emperor to accept all the unequal clauses put forward by the British invaders. Since then, he has further supported the signing of a series of unequal treaties after the war.
1850 (thirty years of Daoguang), after Emperor Xianfeng ascended the throne, Lin Zexu, Yao Ying and others were used to suppress the peasant uprising in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. At the same time, Zhang Mu A and Ying Jie, who were criticized by the theory of time, were dismissed, no longer used and demoted to subordinates. In the imperial edict, Zhang Mu was accused of "sticking to his post and coveting honor, which hindered the sages". Zhong's little letter, selling his rape delicately; Learn from fake talents and try to figure out what to do. ..... Its heart is insidious, you can't ask! "After the order," the world is fast! " ⑩
1853 (the third year of Xianfeng), Zhang Mu donated money to suppress the Taiping Army, was awarded five top hats, and died three years later.
history
Zhang Mu, as a country, has been studying power for a long time. Flatter and cater to, and ensure the position of power; Make an alliance with the lower class for selfish purposes and exclude dissidents. He took advantage of various examination opportunities, recruited students, and formed a huge political group. "Draft of Qing History" records that he "has had three provincial examinations and five provincial examinations since Jiaqing. Every retake exam, court exam, Korean exam, teaching Jishi Shu Sanku exam and Korean War exam are all related to Hengwen War. National history, jade death and records are all presidents. My intimate friends and students are all over China and abroad, and I have quoted many famous people. It was once dubbed the' Mu Party'. "
"Biography of Zhang Mu in the Draft of Qing Dynasty" records: "Zhang Mu peeped at the meaning of the emperor, praised it, and then replaced it with Qishan."
"Biography of Wang Ding in the Draft of Qing Dynasty" records: "Since the ban on smoking, British soldiers have committed crimes along the coast and fought with all their strength. The peace talks are about to be completed, and Lin Zexu will condemn them with sin. Ding was very angry and unable to struggle. Xuanzong comforted him and ordered him to rest for illness. A few days later, because the grass was thin, Zhang Mu, a college student, went to the countryside by mistake. Hanging himself behind closed doors, hoping to protest against the body. The military aircraft Zhang Jingchen's return to grace, and Zhang Mu's Arab Party, it is absolutely beneficial to destroy it. "
[Historical evaluation]
It is true that Zhang Mu rejected Lin Zexu, and it is also true that he advocated compromise with Britain. In some historians and literary works, Zhang Mu has always been regarded as a capitulator and a traitor, which makes sense.
However, we must pay attention to two points. First of all, Daoguang is mainly responsible for the real failure of opium, the signing of humiliating treaties and the attack on warring factions such as Lin Zexu. Because, whether it is the decision-making power in war, the signing of unequal treaties, the appointment and removal of senior officials, the decision-making power is in the hands of the emperor, and Zhang Mu only played a role in fueling the situation at most. Secondly, Zhang Mu's main "crime" is that he advocates "peace talks", which does not mean that he is opposed to the prohibition of opium.
At the beginning (in the 18th year of Daoguang in 1838), Daoguang received Huang Jue's book "Strictly Stop Missing the Education of State-owned Assets", which was well written. He ordered ministers from all over the country to discuss it, and then asked military ministers to draft a new "No Smoking Charter". 1839 (in the 19th year of Daoguang), led by a university student, the Ministry of Military Affairs and other officials drafted this 39-article draft law. The real moderator was Zhang Mu, and the draft was approved by the emperor and formally promulgated and implemented. A year later, some people put forward different opinions and suggested amending the contents of the Articles of Association. Its main point is that the punishment for opium users and traffickers is too heavy and should be relaxed appropriately. The person who holds this view is Gui Qing, the minister of rites at that time. Daoguang couldn't make up his mind about Gui Qing and others' suggestions, so he ordered his courtiers to discuss whether it was necessary to amend the original legal provisions. After studying the views of Gui Qing and others, Zhang Mu and others wrote to the Emperor and expressed their views.
In the example of Zhang Mu, minister of military affairs, changing the ban on smoking in Guiqing meeting, Zhang Mu refuted Guiqing's request for relaxing punishment, and two points deserve attention.
First of all, resolutely oppose Gui Qing's idea of reducing punishment for opium addicts.
. At the beginning, the Qing government punished opium addicts with "flail" and "stick", that is, flail plus corporal punishment. Later, the new punishment was to set a time limit of one and a half years. After the time limit, anyone caught smoking will be "suspended", that is, the death penalty will be suspended. Gui Qing thinks this punishment is too severe, on the grounds that it seems neither right nor good to punish those ignorant people so severely.
Zhang Mu and others retorted that the new punishment regulations have been implemented for more than a year, and the effect is good everywhere, without too many obstacles. At the same time, it is expressly stipulated that after one and a half years, the law will be changed before the deadline. First, it is impossible to judge whether the law is feasible without seeing the results. Secondly, it is easy to cause confusion, making people think that the policy has changed, making people who are quitting smoking feel lucky again, and eventually leading to all previous efforts being wasted.
This view is correct. Although we don't necessarily agree that the Qing government took such severe punishment measures against opium addicts, the laws at that time are indeed inhuman and inhuman today. However, combined with the historical conditions and objective environment at that time, a measure changed in the middle of the implementation process may indeed have very serious consequences. Zhang Mu's warning that all previous efforts may be wasted is not alarmist.
Secondly, it refutes Gui Qing's view that the lower-level officials threatened the king with capital punishment, which may cause a rebellion.
Gui Qing believes that in Fujian and Guangdong, there are many opium addicts, even to the extent of "ten people and nine addictions". It is difficult to ban so many opium addicts. If local grass-roots officials often threaten the death penalty, causing smokers to take risks and cause riots, it will not be worth the candle.
Zhang Mu and others first pointed out that the new anti-smoking regulations clearly stipulate that those junior officials threaten good people by banning opium, that is, they are punished as "falsely accusing good people of stealing"-they are sent to the edge and expelled from the army; Those who extort property should be sentenced to "wringing prison"; Higher-level officials will also be punished if they don't check.
Secondly, Zhang Mu and others pointed out that it is true that many people in Fujian and Guangdong provinces smoke opium, but there are also many people selling opium in other places in these two provinces, and not all of them are opium addicts. If the punishment is mitigated on the grounds that many opium addicts in the two provinces may cause unrest, then there are also many traffickers. Should the crime of human trafficking be mitigated, and should the law be amended for fear that these people will run amok?
Zhang Mu's point of view is undoubtedly correct. Because the blows to smokers and sellers complement each other. At that time, there were many opium addicts and trafficking was rampant. If we don't use heavy codes to contain it, the ban on smoking will definitely become a mere formality and eventually fail completely.
In addition, Zhang Mu and others also mentioned how to treat opium addicts in their memorials, that is, whether smokers and their descendants should be discriminated against. At the end of the paper, Zhang Mu and others pointed out that the formulation of policies and laws should of course be based on the actual situation at that time. However, once policies and laws are promulgated, they must be implemented and must not be changed because of the habits or characteristics of the people to be taken care of. The spread of opium has caused great harm, and it is very difficult to eliminate this harm. The only feasible thing is to ban smoking in accordance with the new policies and legal provisions, and it is absolutely impossible to change policies and amend laws easily, resulting in confusion.
Zhang Mu and others resolutely ban smoking, and their views are correct.
Zhang Mu did have the sin of compromising with foreign countries and crowding out Lin Zexu, but his position and attitude on the issue of smoking ban was correct. At least Zhang Mu has played an active role in banning opium in China.