Real Histories
The Dagu Fort is located south of Baihekou and east of Beiyantian. The northern shore is called the North Fort, the southern shore is called the South Fort, and the area clustered in the south is called the New Fort. It is built of earth, surrounded by a stone wall, and its sturdiness rivals that of a fortified city. It is more than 480 miles from Beijing and over 200 miles from Tianjin, acting as a crucial waterway into Beijing, with both inner and outer ports, making it a strategically defensible position. There are sandbanks outside the port, and the water is shallow, which places it far from the fort. Even at high tide, the water is only six or seven feet deep, making it difficult for ships to enter and even harder for warships to approach. This is truly a natural stronghold, a place where "one man can hold the pass against ten thousand"! If properly deployed and adequately guarded, there is no need to fear even a fierce artillery assault from the enemy. However, in the blink of an eye, it was lost to the enemy, and those in charge at the time cannot evade responsibility!
Initially, all countries received urgent telegrams from their envoys, prompting them to mobilize their naval fleets to advance north at the first opportunity. By mid-May, more than thirty warships had already anchored outside Dagu, all eager to occupy the fort but struggling to find a valid pretext. So they discussed among themselves, and on the 20th, the commanders of the various fleets, along with interpreters, went to meet General Luo Rongguang, the fort's commander, ordering him to surrender the fort to the foreign military forces by the "hour of the dog" (between 7 PM and 9 PM) that night; if he did not comply by midnight, they would commence firing at two o'clock. General Luo replied that he could not make such a decision unilaterally and must consult the Beiyang Minister before responding.
The fleet commanders then withdrew. Subsequently, at six o'clock in the evening, an order was issued for all foreigners in Dagu to seek refuge on the American warship "Monocacy," anchored next to the railway dock, within one hour to avoid artillery fire. All warships made full combat preparations, ready for battle.
So, there was a commander of a US Navy fleet at the time, who started a war over a minor dispute. The Tianjin Concession was sure to be affected. He didn't want to get involved in this matter, but other commanders agreed to start the war, and he was unable to stop them. So he went ahead to assess the situation outside the concession.
As a result, the sound of cannon fire suddenly erupted, like thunder from the sky. The river was shrouded in smoke, and the other side was not visible at all. So no one knew who fired the first shot, only sensing cannonballs flying across the river, the booming cannon fire blended with the sound of the churning river. The British warship "Aurora" was nearly struck, but fortunately it was at night, and the battery's aim was inaccurate, so it escaped disaster. The German torpedo boat "Weideng" was struck by a shell that fell into its boiler, but it didn't explode. However, the German warship "Iltis" sustained heavier damage, and the captain almost lost his life; fortunately, he escaped quickly and was unharmed.
Both sides found themselves in a stalemate, and the warships could only fire from below, which proved to be quite challenging. They planned to send troops from one of the nations to flank the battery from the side and attack from both sides. As dawn approached, the powder magazine adjacent to the battery was struck by a shell, and with a bang, it exploded, with flames shooting into the sky and thick smoke billowing. The casualties were staggering, and the battery could not be defended. The northernmost battery was the first to be occupied by the Japanese, and they promptly hoisted their flag. The other northern batteries were also taken by the British. The warships seized the opportunity to enter the harbor. Soon after, the flags of Germany and Russia were raised on the southern batteries. This was the situation at six o'clock in the morning on the twenty-first.
After dawn, the Chinese ship Hai Rong and four torpedo boats were captured by British vessels. These ships had been docked in the harbor before the war broke out, unprepared, as they were unaware that war was about to break out, and as a result, they were easily captured. The British even raised their flag on our ships, Wei Ding and Fei Meng. At that time, many deserters and Chinese civilians were on the artillery platform; some were shot and fell into the river, while others jumped in themselves, drifting downstream. Such scenes were everywhere. I later heard that American warships rescued them, so there were not many casualties.
Around ten o'clock, the commanders of each ship realized that the battle was nearing its end, so they sent officers ashore to assess the situation. Almost all the artillery platforms had turned into ruins, and the number of dead and injured soldiers was staggering; it truly was a scene of "corpses strewn everywhere, blood flowing like rivers!" The officers ordered the soldiers to gather the bodies and burn them. Numerous Chinese houses near the artillery platform were also damaged by cannon fire. There was originally a Chinese shipyard in Dagu, which had a fishing torpedo boat inside, but it was also marked with the Russian flag, effectively becoming Russian property.
In this battle, the Chinese soldiers suffered heavy casualties. On the foreign side, on the British ship HMS Orkney, one officer and one soldier died, and another officer was injured; on the ship Zhalake, one officer was injured in a powder magazine explosion that killed seventy people; the commander of the German ship Iltis was severely injured, and the ship's boiler also exploded, killing several people; the Russian ship Pobeda reported no casualties; on the Korean ship, two officers were injured, eight soldiers were killed, and twelve soldiers were wounded; the French ship Le Havre reported one officer dead and one injured. Therefore, after the war ended, all the foreign warships lowered their flags to half-mast in mourning.
This marks the beginning of the war between China and foreign countries; therefore, it is crucial to document the details of this event for future generations to study.
General Dong Fuxiang's Gansu Army was still stationed in Nanyuan at the beginning of May. Prince Duan and Gangyi felt that the capital was vulnerable and needed a strong military presence, so they quickly petitioned the court to deploy the Gansu Army to Beijing. On the 13th, Dong Fuxiang's troops began to depart from Nanyuan. On the 15th, they entered Yongding Gate.
At that time, the various foreign legations recognized the urgency of the situation and had already telegraphed for foreign troops from Tianjin to come to Beijing for protection. On that very day, the Japanese embassy secretary Sugiyama Hitoshi went out of the city by carriage to gauge the situation and ran into the Gansu Army on the road. Upon spotting him, the Gansu soldiers shouted, "Who are you?" Sugiyama Hitoshi honestly stated his identity. The Gansu soldiers erupted in anger, "Just a secretary, with such a lowly rank, how dare you ride in a red carriage? Too arrogant!" They immediately yanked Sugiyama Hitoshi off the carriage by his ear. Sensing the danger, Sugiyama Hitoshi pleaded, "I acknowledge my offense, I wish to see your commander to apologize in person." The Gansu soldiers continued to shout, "Our commander is a god in the heavens, how could a little Japanese like you think you could see him?" Sugiyama Hitoshi said, "Alright, then have your commander come to our embassy, let our minister apologize to him, how about that?" Before he could finish his sentence, the officers in the camp had already drawn their swords and stabbed Sugiyama Hitoshi in the abdomen. And that was how Sugiyama Hitoshi met his end.
When this matter reached Empress Dowager Cixi, she summoned Dong Fuqiang and reprimanded him, even considering sending someone to investigate the issue. Dong Fuqiang stubbornly refused to admit it, saying, "Even if it really happened, killing those few soldiers isn't a big deal; if you even think about killing a single soldier from the Gansu army, then it will truly cause trouble!" After hearing this, the Empress Dowager was silent for quite a while. Later, she thought about it and realized that the damage was already done; even if everyone involved was killed, what difference would it make? Therefore, she still put Dong Fuqiang in charge of calming the unrest. When Dong Fuqiang arrived at the Prince Duan's residence, Prince Duan gave him a pat on the back and a thumbs-up, praising him: "You're a real hero! If all the generals were as bold as you, the foreigners wouldn't be a problem at all!" Hearing this, Dong Fuqiang was overjoyed and became even more complacent.
The Japanese minister, upon hearing about this, was fuming and quickly shot off a telegram to Japan, demanding that the body of Sugiyama Take be brought into the city for burial. Initially, they refused, but after some serious pressure from the Japanese embassy, they finally caved.
After this incident, Dong Fuqiang's army grew even more cocky and overbearing, killing people left and right and treating murder like a game.
At first, those Boxers planned to destroy the embassy and then commit even more heinous acts. They also said things like "One dragon (the emperor), two tigers (Prince Li and Prince Qing), three hundred sheep (the officials in the capital)." They claimed that only eighteen officials could be spared, and none of the others would survive. So the situation was dire, and the Empress Dowager often had Prince Li and Prince Qing stay in the palace, probably because of the lesson from the death of Prince Qing Heng, fearing they might also fall victim to an attack.
On May 28, Deputy Minister Chen Xuefen went to various government offices to inspect the monthly appointees and brought along an official named Ding. There were a total of thirteen people, and just as they were inspecting, the Boxers suddenly rushed in, attacking and smashing everything. Deputy Minister Chen shouted at them, "Where is this! How dare you be so reckless!" The bandits, enraged, raised their knives to strike, and Ding, terrified, fled. The Boxers chased him out, and at that moment, Dong Jun happened to be outside and blocked them, saying, "You can't kill this person!" Only then did Ding narrowly escape disaster. Soon after, two rounds of gunfire were heard; three monthly appointees were killed, and Deputy Minister Chen also died.
After the government offices had been set ablaze, officials in the capital fled Beijing one after another. Scholar Huang Shenzhi also entrusted his belongings to relatives and friends for safe keeping, then escaped to Tongzhou. Later, concerned that his arrangements were insufficient, he returned to Beijing to re-entrust them before leaving. On the way, he encountered Boxers who stopped him to question him. Huang Shenzhi said, "I want to leave the city to visit relatives and friends." The Boxers replied, "It's so late; who would still go to see relatives and friends? You must be trying to escape!" They were about to kill him, but someone intervened. Someone pleaded with the authorities, asking not to kill him. However, the Boxers refused to listen. Jiayi, Zhao Shuqiao, and others submitted a memorial saying, "We shouldn't lose the people's support for one person; we should think about how to resolve this properly." Consequently, an order was issued for Huang Shenzhi's arrest and he was handed over to the Ministry of Justice for detention.
Ting Yong and Ting Jie, the two brothers, never got along and neither would submit to the other. When Ting Jie was summoned to the capital, Ting Yong planned to take advantage of the situation after Ting Jie handed over the imperial seal to incite thugs to kill him. His advisors strongly urged him not to do so.
In the end, Ting Yong spent six hundred taels of silver to hire six thugs, pretending to protect Ting Jie as they entered the capital together. Not long after, he found an excuse to kill him.
There was a man named Supervisor Yao, who was delayed for fourteen days on his way to the capital for official business. One day, while wandering the streets, he encountered the Boxer movement, where those thugs were shouting about killing "foreign devils." Supervisor Yao yelled at them, "The world’s at peace, so quit talking crap! If you want to kill 'foreign devils' now, be careful you don’t get killed by them instead!"
The bandits went wild, shouting, "The foreign devils are here! Kill them first!" Supervisor Yao tried to explain that it wasn't like that, but the thugs had their own rules: anyone who did not admit to being a "two-haired" (meaning a foreign lackey) had to burn incense and use yellow paper. If the ashes did not float upwards, they were deemed a true "two-haired" and must be killed without mercy.
At this time, a friend of Supervisor Yao, surnamed Li, who was a military officer in the capital garrison, heard about this and hurried over to desperately defend Supervisor Yao. He suggested waiting for their elder brother to discuss it. After a long wait, the elder brother finally arrived, stared for a long time, and said, "He must be killed! No more discussion!" Officer Li was anxious: "We already agreed not to kill him, how can you go back on your word?" The thugs still wanted to kill Officer Li, who quickly hopped on his horse and took off, narrowly escaping disaster. Supervisor Yao had three hundred taels of silver, as well as gold bracelets, horses, and other belongings, which the bandits took. Later, when Supervisor Yao's relatives and friends came to collect his body and mourn, they were also killed by the thugs. The Boxers were so out of control, it was just plain wrong!
The newly appointed Governor of Guizhou, Sir Deng, set out from Beijing to take up his post and encountered the Boxers on the way. The Boxers asked him, "Who are you?" His attendants replied, "He is the newly appointed Governor of Guizhou, Sir Deng!" The leader of the Boxers immediately ordered Sir Deng to get out of the sedan chair, but Sir Deng refused. They forcibly dragged him out of the sedan chair and forced him to kneel. Sir Deng still refused to kneel, so they found several men to pin him down. Then, the Boxers ordered one of their members to burn incense, and when the smoke billowed upwards, they waved their hands to put out the incense. The Boxers asked, "What do you need so many carriages and horses for? Who are the people in the carriages?" Sir Deng answered, "They are my son and servants." The Boxers asked, "What does your son do?" Sir Deng said, "He holds an official position in the capital." The Boxers asked, "Then why did you bring him along?" Sir Deng said, "Because I am old and have trouble walking; I want him to serve me." The Boxers said, "You seem to be in good spirits; you don't need so many people to serve you!" So they stripped Sir Deng of his clothes and sent him away. Sir Deng fled in a panic.
After trudging over twenty miles, he encountered a servant carrying a package containing only a coarse linen robe. Sir Deng had no choice but to put on the robe and continue on his way. After walking another forty miles, he met an old friend who graciously lent him three hundred taels of silver. Sir Deng used one hundred and fifty taels of silver to hire a carriage and arrived in Dezhou in a rather disheveled state. Along the way, the local officials had no idea he was a high-ranking official arriving for his post. Later, he encountered another official who lent him several hundred taels of silver, allowing him to continue southward. His family and servants who had set out with him, a total of twelve people, had all vanished without a trace.
When Admiral Seymour led his troops into Beijing, the court sent officials to intercept him. The court dispatched two officials, Deputy Minister Xu Zhuyun and Grand Minister Yuan Shuangqiu, to intervene. On the way, they encountered the Boxers, who asked them the reason for their departure from the capital. They replied that they were ordered to stop the foreign soldiers. The Boxers said, "If you two go, you deserve to be executed on the spot!"
Officials Xu and Yuan furiously denounced the Boxers. The Boxers took them to an altar and said, "We cannot discern your true intentions; you must burn incense and submit a memorial to discern your authenticity." After the memorial was submitted, the Boxers said, "The memorial has been submitted to the heavens, and although you have been granted a pardon, you two may not proceed any further. Hurry back to report back to the court, or you will be executed without mercy!" Xu and Yuan had no choice but to return to the capital to report back to the court. The Boxers' loyalty to the nation reached the court, which rewarded them for their loyalty.
The Boxers caused trouble, and among the ministers in the court, besides Duan and Gang, there were certainly many who believed in them. Especially a particular prime minister who had the most faith in them. I once heard that he gave his master brother a couplet that read: “Creating wonders never seen before in history, neither leftist nor malevolent, attacking heresy to rectify people's hearts; loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and frugality—this spirit remains unbroken. For this world, few good stories remain, with both surprise and joy, relying on divine power to instill fear in the hearts of the cold and barbaric; farmers, industry, and commerce can now dissipate grievances and anger.” The meaning of this couplet, which defends the Boxers, comes from genuine sincerity, and just a few words can reveal his thoughts; his foolish loyalty is truly hard to understand.
At the beginning of May, after Luo Dian wrote the exam in Guizhou, he went to visit Minister of Rites Qi Xiu, who said to him: “When you return to cancel your leave, there should no longer be any trace of foreigners in Beijing.” It is evident that Qi Xiu truly believed that the Boxers could win. Later, after the allied forces entered Beijing, Qi Xiu was arrested by the Japanese army, his hands bound with ropes, unable to even take his own life, and ultimately was executed; wasn’t this just inviting trouble?
Wang Peiyou once petitioned to provide rations for the Boxers, earning the favor of Duan and Gang, and was appointed as the governor of Shuntian Prefecture. The county magistrates, having received orders from the court to capture the Boxers, went to see Wang Peiyou to ask what to do. Wang Peiyou told them: “The recent order to capture the Boxers is not the true intention of the government; you only need to follow the established protocols, which means doing your job; otherwise, you will definitely be impeached.” The county magistrates then left, enlightened.
Furthermore, the Minister in charge of railways, Xu Zhuyun, because the railways in various places were burned, petitioned for funds to repair them. After the memorial was submitted, Duan, Gang, and others reprimanded him for being meddlesome, and soon after, it was decreed that there was no need to discuss it further. This clearly indicates that the Boxers burned the railway lines at the instigation of Duan, Gang, and others, without a doubt.
He Naiying took office as the magistrate of Shuntian Prefecture in early May, aligning with the wishes of Duan and Gang and strongly advocating for appeasing the Boxers instead of suppressing them. This earned him the favor of Duan and Gang, and he was promptly promoted to Deputy Censor.
Mr. Wu Yusheng had served as a magistrate and later became a chief examiner. After leaving the capital, his family had amassed a collection of antiques and inscriptions. One day, members of the Boxer movement stormed his home, looting everything and taking it all to Prince Duan. Prince Duan kept only the antiques and inscriptions, distributing the rest among the Boxers.
Prince Duan loved collecting antiques and inscriptions, so he certainly appreciated those items. Mr. Wu's family fortune was entirely looted by the Boxers. It’s truly tragic to think that his hard-earned wealth was taken away; it's genuinely heartbreaking.
The Boxers gathered in Beijing, and what made matters worse was that Dong Fuxiang's sworn brother, Li Laizhong from Shaanxi, was commanding them. This led to a fusion of soldiers and bandits, resulting in even more lawlessness. They burned and looted at will, acting just like common bandits. I penned this account, titled "Record of the Soldiers and Bandits Burning and Plundering the Capital," as a reference for future generations.
On the night of May 16, the Boxers realized that the Christians in the Yaojia Well area outside the city had taken refuge in the embassy, rendering them unable to act. They proceeded to burn down all the Christian houses in the area. The westerners' horse racing hall outside Zhangyi Gate was also burned that night, marking the Boxers' first act of arson in Beijing. The next day, the Boxers charged into Jiaomin Alley but were met with gunfire from the westerners, resulting in eight fatalities. That evening, fires suddenly erupted throughout the area, and all the churches inside Chongwenmen were burned down. The clergy had already sought refuge in the embassy, so they were unharmed. However, approximately two to three hundred Christians and their families lost their lives, and the situation was extremely tragic. That day, foreign houses in places like Denshi Hutong and Goulanyuan were also burned, with flames reaching high into the sky, and the smoke lingering until dawn, with embers still not extinguished.
On the 18th, the church outside Shunzhi Gate was set ablaze once more. Several shops run by Christians in Dashilar were also destroyed. The Boxers' cries continued unabated until dawn. On the night of the 19th, the Boxers attacked the Austrian embassy. That day, the Boxers sustained heavy casualties, and they were too preoccupied with fleeing to start any fires. However, the sounds of violence persisted until the early hours of the morning. Around 9 a.m. on the 20th, flames erupted once more, with smoke darkening the sky, taking on a pale yellow hue.
Lao De Ji Pharmacy, a foreign-run pharmacy, was burned down by the Boxer Rebellion. As a result, a strong southwest wind picked up, and the fire grew larger and larger. It burned eastward to Qianmen Street, westward to Meishi Street, southward to Heyan, and even crossed the river to reach Yueqiang and Lianghebao Alley, with the Zhengyangmen Tower catching fire as well! That day, at least four thousand shops were burned. The next day, the fire was still not extinguished. At the start of the fire, the Boxers even forbade using water to extinguish it!
Next to Lao De Ji was Guang De Lou, which, fearing it would catch fire, poured water to extinguish the flames. Consequently, the Boxers claimed they had only intended to burn Lao De Ji, but Guang De Lou used dirty water, angering the gods, which is why the fire spread so severely; it wasn't due to our spells being ineffective! After the fire broke out in the jewelry market, the entire market was thrown into a panic, and all four city gates were closed. From then on, every night there were flames shooting into the sky, burning either churches or the homes of church members.
On the 25th, the Boxers, along with the Gansu army, attacked the Austro-Hungarian embassy. The Bank of China and the Silver Yuan Bureau also caught fire, with the flames spreading rapidly from east to west. Between the Austro-Hungarian embassy and the bank, there was a large railway school located.
From the 16th to the 25th, these were all incidents of arson by the Boxers. Following that, the Gansu army commenced looting.
On the morning of the 26th, at nine o'clock, gunfire suddenly erupted, with shouts and cries echoing everywhere, like thunder. This marked the beginning of the soldiers' looting. On that day, the homes of all officials in Beijing and wealthy families were completely ransacked. The first soldiers rushed in, overwhelming the place, using knives to pry open boxes, tossing clothes into the courtyard, and taking the best ones. Once they left, more soldiers arrived to take whatever was left. After about seven or eight waves of soldiers, all the clothes were gone. Banknotes and other valuables were also stripped bare. If anyone tried to close the door against them, they would climb over the wall, fire a few warning shots at the house to intimidate them, and then proceed to loot. If anyone dared to resist, they were immediately shot dead. If they were not satisfied with what they looted, they would set the house on fire. The streets were swarming with soldiers looting, with children crying and women crying everywhere, shattering hearts. Bodies lay strewn across the streets, far too many to count. However, despite the widespread looting, it paled in comparison to the devastation faced by residents near Dongjiaominxiang. Due to its proximity to the embassy, the damage there was especially devastating.
The home of Minister Sun was robbed even more severely; his son was only wearing a short tunic, and everything else had been taken. The soldiers were still not satisfied and pointed their guns at Minister Sun, forcing him to hand over his gold and silver treasures, threatening to shoot him if he didn't comply. With no other choice, Minister Sun had to tell them where he had hidden his valuables, and only then did they relent. At that moment, Minister Sun was already in a state of panic, worried that they might come back, so he hurriedly got into a sedan chair, which is the type used for court attendance, to seek refuge at Xu Songge's hall. The soldiers were in a frenzy when suddenly someone shouted that the cavalry from the camp had arrived, causing them to scatter. It turned out that the main camp had just learned about the soldiers' rampage of burning, killing, and looting, and had sent troops to suppress them. After a while, someone shouted that the camp had issued an order for the robbers to be executed. Immediately, cavalrymen displayed heads outside Minister Sun's home, and this great disaster was finally over. That day, several prominent women were killed by the soldiers, and the number of common people killed was even higher.
On the morning of the 27th, Minister Rong learned about this incident and was greatly shocked. He quickly went to various places to check the situation and even ran to inform the minister. After investigating, he found that not only had everything been taken, but several parts of the walls were also damaged. That evening, a fire broke out again at Taiji Factory and at the east end of Jiaomin Alley, with flames spreading like a dragon's tail.
On the 28th, gunfire erupted, particularly intense near the Imperial River Bridge. Behind the Hanlin Academy was the British Embassy, where foreign soldiers were gathered. While they were fighting, suddenly many followers burst out of the embassy, killing anyone they saw. The soldiers from various countries opened fire to chase them, capturing many people and directly dragging them to Dengshikou to burn them alive. The stench of the corpses could be smelled from dozens of miles away, making anyone nauseous.
A few days later, the Hanlin Academy was set on fire, and all the ancient texts and books turned to ashes, scattered like butterflies. In the courtyard, twenty-six men, women, and children were forcibly taken to... (original text missing)... and sent to Pastor Ying in a neighboring county... (original text missing)... it was indeed a tremendous tragedy!
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