About Sanyuanli Anti-British War

Guangzhou people's spontaneous armed struggle against Britain during the Opium War. 1841May 25th (the fifth day of the first month of Daoguang on April 21st), the British army captured the northern fortress of Guangzhou and set its headquarters at Yongkang Terrain. Yongkang Terrace, also known as Sifang Terrace, is only one mile away from the city, and artillery can directly bombard the city. On May 27th, Yi Shan, commander-in-chief of the Qing army, made peace with Britain and concluded the Guangzhou Peace Treaty, in order to pay for the withdrawal of British troops from Guangzhou and other provinces, in exchange for the return of their batteries and their withdrawal from Humen. However, before the ink of the peace treaty was dried, the British army constantly harassed Sanyuanli and villages such as Mudeng, Xicun and Xiaogang in the northwest suburbs, looting and burning women. The broad masses of people were filled with indignation and all localities tried their best to resist. On the 29th, villagers in Sanyuanli repelled the invading British troops. The people in Sanyuanli expected that the British army would retaliate, so they gathered in Sanyuanli ancient temple and agreed to use the "three-star flag" in the temple as the command flag to command the battle, vowing that "the flag will advance and retreat, and there will be no forgiveness for killing". At the same time, patriotic gentry He Yucheng and others came forward to contact the people in the nearby 103 township. After the meeting, they contacted the people in the nearby 103 township respectively, and prepared to fight together. The next day, White village groups in Nanhai and Panyu, armed with spears and plows, besieged Yongkang Terrace. After nearly half a day of stalemate, the British commander Walter Gu Wu (also translated as "Guo Fu") personally led the troops to attack. Unite and fight and retreat, lure the enemy to Niulangang hilly area. When it rains suddenly, the British muskets can't be fired when they are wet (Indian mercenaries, the British are equipped with relatively backward flintlocks, which can't be used when it rains), and the people are trained to fight back in the rain, divide and surround the British, and fight hand to hand. During the pursuit, a company (60 people) of the 37th British Regiment was driven into a paddy field by insurgents, and thirty or forty Indian mercenaries were killed and wounded by knives. The British army sent two sailors with "detonator guns" (not afraid of rainy days) to reinforce. After being besieged for two hours, the British troops retreated to the square battery.

On May 29th, a small group of British troops fled to Sanyuanli village to rob and commit adultery. The villagers killed several British soldiers. In the early morning of May 30, thousands of people from Sanyuanli and various towns and villages, armed with hoes, shovels, wooden sticks, swords, spears, stone hammers and shotguns, made a feint at the square battery occupied by British troops. British commander Walter Gu Wu led the invading army in a life-and-death struggle. In the battle, the enemy's Major Bi Xia was so nervous and scared that he fainted in the hot weather and died a few minutes later. The enemy scattered guns and rockets, and the masses fought and retreated as planned. According to the records of the British troops who participated in this campaign, "our rockets (claimed by the British army) continued to advance one by one, but they were still fearless and waved flags and shields to lure us forward." Wowugu was so angry that he ordered the British to pursue him. The peasant masses led the arrogant and stupid enemy by the nose and came near Niulangang. Suddenly, drums sounded, and seven or eight thousand armed peasants in ambush rushed out and surrounded the enemy. At this point, the flag covered the sky and the killing was deafening. Women and children also went into battle, cheering and delivering meals for peasant soldiers in various towns and villages. More than 500 water warriors, led by Lin Fuxiang, also rushed to the war. There are more and more people in various towns and villages, and the British army is scrambling to shoot, but it can't stop the flood of armed men. Wowugu commanded his men to break through in two ways, and the armed masses immediately surrounded the road behind the British army from two wings, and used the favorable opportunity of crossing the river alone to rush forward for hand-to-hand combat.

According to popular accounts in China, this battle killed nearly 50 men under British Major Bi Xia (translated by Beecher) and captured more than 10 people (about 200 people were wiped out by the whole army). According to the report of Crouching Tiger Valley, Bi Xia "died of exhaustion" in order to kill 5 people and injure 23 others (another way of saying it is that 7 people died and 42 people were injured). On May 3 1 day, the people of Sanyuanli once again surrounded the Sifang Fort. Handicraft workers in Guangzhou and nearby counties such as Hua County, Zengcheng and Conghua also came one after another. The number of people around Taiwan Province increased to tens of thousands, and they starved to death when they met the British. They fought the British with soil guns, soil cannons, spears, shields, hoes, sickles and shovels. It can be said that "swords, axes and plows are all weapons in their hands, and the cries of women and children are also helpful to soldiers." Wowugu did not dare to fight again, but threatened the government to break the contract and attack the city. Yishan and others were shocked when they heard the news, and sent Yu Baochun, the magistrate of Guangzhou, out of the city to appease the British army first, and then returned to Panyu and Nanhai to put pressure on the Yong ying gentry. The nobles evaded one after another, but Yingyong people gradually dispersed and the platform was dissolved. When British troops withdrew from Humen, they issued a notice threatening the people of China to "never do it again". The people immediately issued the "Notice of Application to Britain and Foreign Countries", warning the British army that if they dare to come again, "No officers and men, no public funds, do it yourself, kill all the pigs and dogs in your, and eliminate the vicious harm of our village!"

In the battle of Sanyuanli, the British army was defeated. 1 June, British troops withdrew from Guangzhou. .