Aihui Ancient City Travel Notes

On August 24, 2018, we went to the ancient city of Aihui on the outskirts of Heihe City to look for places that reflect the famous "Aihui Treaty" and "Hailanpao Massacre" and "Sixty-four Tun Massacre" - Aihui. Historical Exhibition Hall. The historical materials in the museum made us shocked and indignant! I found the articles of the "Aihun Treaty" again and read them carefully several times, and I couldn't calm down for a long time. If you are poor and backward, you will have to be plundered and plundered; if you are rich and powerful, you can stand in the world.

In the morning, we walked for about a few kilometers in the direction to Jiagedaqi. When we saw the sign for Aihun, we turned onto the left road and arrived at the ancient city of Aihun.

The ancient city and town are right on the Heilongjiang River. Jiayin, where we are going today, is not too far away, so we don’t have to hurry and walk along the river first.

The air beside the Heilongjiang River was fresh and fresh. We leisurely watched the surging eastward river water on the embankment, and the vast empty black land on the other side. Thinking of the historical tragedy that happened here more than 100 years ago, we couldn't relax. Looking across the river, the forests on the Russian side are quiet, and my country's towering border posts are clearly visible.

Aihui Ancient Town is small and very peaceful.

"Aihui Historical Exhibition Hall" is located on the south bank of Heilongjiang River in Aihui Ancient Town, Aihui District, Heihe City. It faces east and west, with several simple buildings, some tall red pines scattered in the courtyard, and a patchwork courtyard landscape. The entire courtyard Looks peaceful and tidy.

On a tree, I saw a mouse lying leisurely on the branches.

Aihui Historical Exhibition Hall is located in Aihui New City, where the first Heilongjiang general’s Yamen was stationed in the Qing Dynasty and the signing place of the Sino-Russian Aihui Treaty in 1858 (Aihui New City is relative to the old Aihui site on the left bank of Heilongjiang) The site is a national 4A tourist attraction and a national key museum. The Aihui New City site is a national key cultural relic protection unit and one of the first 100 patriotic education demonstration bases in the country.

It is also the only thematic heritage museum in the country that comprehensively reflects the history of eastern Sino-Russian relations. It focuses on the historical event that Tsarist Russia forced the Qing government to sign the "Aihun Treaty" and occupied a large area of ​​our country's territory. The museum integrates ruins, architecture, and displays, and uses modern scientific and technological means to reproduce open scenes such as the signing of the "Treaty of Nerchinsk" and the "Treaty of Aihun" between China and Russia and the "Destruction of Aihun" in the form of half-scape paintings. The tragic scene of the "Hailan Pao Massacre" shocked visitors deeply. The display content is divided into four parts, taking the event that a large area of ​​my country's land was ceded to Tsarist Russia as the main line, and using rich historical materials, photos and cultural relics to display the historical evolution, customs and sentiments of Aihui, as well as the historical facts of Tsarist Russia's invasion and the people's resistance. Aihui New City was destroyed in the "Gengzi Russian Disaster", and only a solitary "Kixing Pavilion" survived.

On the right side of the steps of the "Aihun Treaty Exhibition Hall", there is a "wind chime wall" with 1,858 wind chimes, ringing in the wind and warning bells ringing, reminding the Chinese people not to forget the signing of the "Aihun Treaty" between China and Russia in 1858 and the cession of territory. shame.

The Treaty of Nerchinsk signed in Nerchinsk on the left bank of the Ergun River defined the more than 600,000 square kilometers south of the Outer Xing'an Mountains and west of the Ussuri River as our territory.

Aihui New City on the right bank of Heilongjiang was forced to sign the "Aihui Treaty". It was brutally plundered by Tsarist Russia and massacred innocent people. It has occupied more than 600,000 square kilometers to this day. The Chinese people are very angry and sad.

It turns out that Tsarist Russia unreasonably occupied large tracts of land on the left bank of the Heilongjiang River and the right bank of the Ussuri River in our country, but the specific details were poorly understood. At the Aihun Historical Exhibition Hall, I saw detailed historical materials and cultural relics, so I reflected these details in my travel notes, so that everyone can understand in more detail that period of history that is humiliating to the Chinese people.

I saw the scenes of the Hailan Pao and Sixty-four Tun massacres in the exhibition hall, and I was filled with indignation. On the way, Chen Ping also told me that she would not look at it, and she would be even more angry after seeing it. She believed that when our motherland becomes stronger, we will definitely be able to take back these lands occupied by Tsarist Russia.

Since the late Paleolithic Age, ancient humans have worked, lived, and multiplied in the vast and fertile land of the Heilongjiang River Basin. Heilongjiang has been China's inland river since ancient times. Later in history, various dynasties and generations set up government agencies to administer these lands. There is no doubt that the land here belongs to China.

As early as the Ming Dynasty, the Nurgandu Commandery Si Yamen was set up in Telin near the mouth of the Heilongjiang River, and the famous Yongning Temple was also there. The Qing Dynasty established an institutional management agency on this land in October 1684 during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. In order to resist the Russian invaders, the Qing government established the Heilongjiang Yamen in the old Aihui City on the left bank of Heilongjiang River (with one general and two officers at the same time). Named Deputy Governor).

In 1689 (the twenty-eighth year of Kangxi), the Treaty of Nerchinsk signed between China and Russia affirmed the vast area of ​​the Heilongjiang River Basin south of the Outer Hinggan Mountains and east of the Ussuri River (including Sakhalin Island). It has been China's territory since then.

However, Yishan, who was the general of Heilongjiang in China at the time, said in a memorial to the emperor: "The place is cold and miserable, and there is no production... The people should be withdrawn as soon as possible to achieve peace." The weakness and inaction of the Qing government must have This led to the arrogance of Tsarist Russia to annex our country.

Encroaching on China's Heilongjiang region and seizing the seaport to the Pacific Ocean has been the consistent plot of successive Russian governments since the signing of the Treaty of Nerchinsk between China and Russia. They established the "Special Committee on Heilongjiang Issues", always keeping a close eye on the fertile land in northeastern my country, and stepped up their frequent incursions into Heilongjiang.

In 1847, Muravyov, who was appointed by Tsar Nicholas I as the governor-general of Eastern Siberia in Russia, nakedly clamored to "take action without delay to occupy the mouth of the Amur River (Heilongjiang)."

From 1849 to 1853, Russian naval officer Nevelskoy led armed men to invade the lower reaches of Heilongjiang. Under the command of Muravyov, a large number of Russian invading troops broke into Heilongjiang and implemented military occupation of the north bank of the middle and upper reaches and both banks of the lower reaches.

In July 1849, Nevelskoy broke into the Heilongjiang Estuary on the newly built "Baikal" and found huge harbors on the north bank of the river estuary, named Xingfu Bay and St. Nicholas Bay. The investigation also found that Sakhalin is an island, not a peninsula, and that the Heilongjiang estuary is navigable, calling this a "major geographical discovery." In fact, as early as more than 1,000 years ago, the Tang Dynasty of China recorded Sakhalin Island. Records of Sakhalin Island are common in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. This proves that this land belongs to China, and the evidence is ironclad.

In July 1850, Nevelskoy was ordered to break into the Heilongjiang estuary for the second time, and established the "Peter Winter Camp" on the nearby coast, and then rushed to Telin, 120 kilometers away from the estuary. In August of the same year, the "exploration team" occupied Temple Street again, openly raised the Russian military flag here, and renamed it Nikolaevsk Post after Tsar Nicholas I, calling it "the first time the Russians Completed the occupation of the Heilongjiang Estuary."

(The "Treaty of Nerchinsk" was signed)

In July 1851, Nevelskoy was ordered to break into the Black Dragon's Pass for the third time and join the Russian army in Peter's winter camp. He went to the mouth of Heilongjiang, the northern part of Sakhalin Island and the Chinese territory beyond the Xing'an Mountains to collect intelligence, draw maps, and establish new military outposts in Kuotuntun and Kemer Bay. In this way, Tsarist Russia placed a large area of ​​Chinese territory in the lower reaches of the Heilongjiang River under its own military control, thus laying the foundation for swallowing up the entire area north of the Heilongjiang River and east of the Ussuri River, and seizing the navigation rights of the Heilongjiang River.

In May 1854, Muravyov was ordered to lead an armed fleet to sail to Heilongjiang. The Russian ship forced its way through the city of Aihui and headed eastward along the river. Deploy most of the military forces in the area from Kuotun Tun, Temple Street to Kemer Bay and implement military occupation. Sverbeev, the Tsarist Russian missionary officer who participated in the voyage, said without hesitation: "This expedition proved that the river is suitable for navigation. The area is sparsely populated, the local residents are peace-loving, and the Chinese people are very weak, so they occupied both sides of the Heilongjiang River. It’s convenient and feasible.”

In May 1855, Muravyov ignored the solemn protests of the Qing government of China and made his second armed voyage to Heilongjiang. Arrive near Aihun on May 27th. At that time, Chinese officials "told them to travel through the outer sea and not to travel through the inner river." But they ignored it and forcibly set sail eastward. In June of the same year, Tsar Alexander II stated that "the entire left bank of Amur must be resolutely owned by Russia", so Muravyov accelerated the military occupation of the lower reaches of Heilongjiang. In the area of ​​more than 300 kilometers from Kuotuntun to Temple Street, the first batch of Cossack "immigration points" and food and material warehouses were built, and the garrison was increased.

In May 1856, under Muravyov's careful planning, more than 1,600 officers and soldiers sailed on 118 ships of various types on their third armed voyage to Heilongjiang. Ignoring repeated protests from the Chinese Qing government, in the name of "borrowing land to store grain," new military outposts such as Huma, Jieya, Xing'an, and Songhua River were built in the middle and lower reaches of Heilongjiang. In December of the same year, Tsarist Russia established the East Siberian Primorsky Province with Temple Street as the center, and blatantly included the lower reaches of Heilongjiang in China under the "jurisdiction" of Primorsky Province.

In 1857, Muravyov took advantage of the opportunity of the Second Opium War to organize the fourth armed voyage to Heilongjiang. He successively occupied large areas of land on the left bank of the upper and middle reaches of Heilongjiang in China. At the same time, he also "immigrated" to the Heilongjiang Basin, reaching By the end of the year, the number had reached 6,000. The so-called "Heilongjiang Defense Line" was established on the entire left bank of Heilongjiang, with two military regions under it. The first military region runs from Ust-Strelka to Xing'an post (today's north of Pashkov, Russia) and is under the jurisdiction of the Transbaikal garrison; the second military region runs from Xing'an post to Malinsk (i.e. Kuotuntun). ), under the so-called Maritime Province garrison jurisdiction. At this point, Tsarist Russia's illegal military occupation system of a large area of ​​territory north of Heilongjiang, China, has been basically established.

The Second Opium War broke out. On December 29, 1857, the British and French forces captured Guangzhou. The situation was extremely unfavorable to the Qing government. Muravyov took the opportunity to lead the Russian army directly to the city of Aihun. On May 20, the British and French forces captured Dagu. Tianjin was in panic and Beijing was shocked. On the 22nd, Muravyov was escorted by two gunboats to Aihun City to meet and negotiate with the Qing Dynasty's Heilongjiang General Yishan. Muravyov said that he came here to "help China and defend against the British" and to "defend his own territory." "For the benefit of both parties, the Qing Dynasty and Russia must delimit the borders along the Heilongjiang and Ussuri rivers." Yishan pointed out that the boundary between the two countries has been "agreed and implemented in accordance with the Treaty of Nerchinsk, and has not been changed for hundreds of years. If we follow what you and others have proposed, it will be difficult to accommodate it." The negotiation was highly controversial. Before the meeting ended, Muraviyov handed over the "draft treaty" drawn up by Russia to Yishan, giving him a deadline to reply the next day.

This draft will tear up the Treaty of Nerchinsk between China and Russia and seize millions of square kilometers of land north of Heilongjiang and east of the Ussuri River. During the second negotiation, Qing government representative Ai Shentai categorically rejected Russia's unreasonable demands and returned the "draft treaty" to Russian representative Perovsky. Muravyov was so impatient that he proposed the final text of the treaty in the form of an ultimatum, forced Yishan to sign, and threatened: "We cannot negotiate peacefully with the Chinese!" That night, Tsarist Russian warships fired guns and cannons near the city. .

Under the threat of force from Tsarist Russia, Yishan finally succumbed and was forced to sign the "Aihun Peace Treaty" with Muravyov on the 28th.

(The signed version of the "Aihun Treaty" preserved in the "Aihui Historical Exhibition Hall")

This was the first unequal treaty between Qing and Russia that Tsarist Russia took advantage of during the Second Opium War and forced the Qing government to sign by force.

In order to "celebrate" the signing of the "Aihun Treaty", Muravyov held a rally in Hailanpao and blatantly announced that "Hailanpao" would be changed to "Blagoveshchensk (meaning "Annunciation City")". Tsar Alexander II awarded Muravyov a special award to commend Muravyov for his "meritorious service" in the signing of the invasion. At the same time, Muravyov was promoted to Count of Amur (i.e. Heilongjiang) Ski, and was promoted to general of infantry.

According to the orders given to Yishan by the Qing authorities in advance, Yishan had no right to sign a treaty with Russia. The Qing government refused to ratify the Treaty of Aihun and punished Yishan and others afterwards. It was not until the signing of the Treaty of Beijing between China and Russia in 1860 that the Treaty of Aihun was recognized.

The "Aihun Treaty" caused great damage to China's territory and sovereignty. It ceded more than 600,000 square kilometers of territory south of the Xing'an Mountains and north of Heilongjiang in China. However, Russia gained huge territorial interests and Heilongjiang and Wusu from it. Navigation rights on the Lijiang River, and access to the Pacific Ocean.

In 1900, Tsarist Russia took advantage of the fact that the Qing Dynasty was busy with the Boxer Rebellion and had no time to go east. Not only did it join the Eight-Nation Allied Forces in attacking my country's Beijing and Tianjin areas, but it also invaded Northeast China on its own and continued to persecute the Chinese residents of Hailanpao. The Chinese who could not bear the abuse fled back to Jiangyou. . In July, Tsarist Russia brazenly dispatched more than 100,000 invading troops in the name of "protecting roads" and caused four bloody massacres, claiming the lives of six to seven thousand Chinese people. The "Hailan Pao Massacre" and the "Koto Sixty" The history of the Situn Massacre is called the "Gengzi Russian Disaster". We will never forget this period of history.

Hailanpao is located at the confluence of the left bank of Heilongjiang River and the right bank of Jingqili River. It was originally named Mengjiatun and is a village in China. After the Treaty of Aihun in 1858, Tsarist Russia occupied Hailanpao, renamed it Blagoveshchensk, and later became the capital of Amur Province. There are many Chinese businessmen, hired workers, small traders and craftsmen living in the city, and there are also many farmers living in the suburbs.

In June 1900, Tsarist Russia declared a state of war in the Amur Military District under the pretext of the rise of the Boxer Rebellion in the Northeast. On July 9, the Tsar ordered two Russian armies to assemble in Khabarovsk and Shuangchengzi respectively, and be on standby to attack Harbin and Mudanjiang.

On July 15, 1900, the two Russian ships "Mikhail" and "Selenge" that were on standby to attack the Russian army in Harbin arrived at the Aihui River. The Aihui garrison "flew across to block" the "Selenge" and opened fire. The Chinese army fought back, damaging the "Selenge", severely damaging the "Mikhail", and killing and wounding five Russian officers and soldiers. Gribsky, the military governor of Tsarist Russia's Amur Province, led the cavalry and artillery to the Russian outpost on the other side of Aihui and bombarded the city of Aihui. The Heihetun garrison and the Hailanpao Russian army on the other side launched a counterattack. This is the so-called "Heilongjiang Incident". Tsarist Russia used the above incident as an excuse to plan a bloody massacre of the Chinese residents of Hailanpao. On that day, a Chinese resident representative asked Gribski for instructions on whether the Chinese in the city needed to evacuate. He deceived him and said that the Chinese "can stay where they are without any worries."

On July 16, Gribsky ordered the arrest of all Chinese without leaving any trace, and a crazy manhunt began. Heavily armed Tsarist Russian soldiers broke into Chinese homes and shops and arrested all Chinese, regardless of gender, age or child. He was taken away, and "even the baby in his arms was forcibly pulled out." In the afternoon, the Russian side prohibited the Chinese from crossing the river, detained all ferries, and sent cavalry to disperse the Chinese who were preparing to cross the river. More than 1,500 Chinese people fled to hide outside the city, but were also found by Russian soldiers. Many were stabbed to death with bayonets, and those who were still alive were "herded into the police station as if they were imprisoned in an animal pen." A total of nearly 3,500 people were rounded up that day. They were first surrounded by Russian soldiers in a Chinese residential area. Some people fled, and fifty or sixty people were killed on the spot. Later, these people were transferred to the city police station, which could not accommodate them. That night, they were escorted to a sawmill by the Jingqili River.

In the early morning of July 17, the Hailanpao City Police Department rushed all the detained Chinese to the Heilongjiang River and lied about using boats to ferry them across to the other side. When they arrived at the river, there was not even a boat on the shore, so the Russian soldiers waved Using swords, he drove all the Chinese "into the water" until they were drowned alive.

"While the women threw their babies onto the shore, begging for at least their lives, the Russian soldiers caught the babies, picked them up on their bayonets, and cut them into pieces." A mother "left her child on the bank and walked into the river herself", but after walking a few steps, she came back and hugged her child and walked into the water. Finally, she had to go ashore to "put down her precious child". It was inhumane. The Russian soldiers stabbed the child and his mother to death. There are countless examples of such cruelty.

After this bloody massacre, the Chinese "those who were seriously injured died on the shore, those who were lightly injured died in the river, and those who were not injured all drowned in the water, with their skeletons floating over the river and covering the ocean." There were "mountains of 'cadavers' piled up on the shore, most of which were still alive people." They were all "thrown into the river at once." Another layer of half-dead human rafts floated on the water, rolling and flowing eastward. .

Jiangdong Sixty-Four Tun is located on the left coast of Heilongjiang from the mouth of the Jingqili River to the south of Holmoljin Tun. It was developed from the military garrison established by the Qing government when it suppressed the Russian invaders of Yakshasa. It is commonly known as Jiangzuo Banner Tun. It has always been China's territory.

At this time, there were nearly 35,000 Chinese residents including Han, Manchu, and Daur people, most of whom were immigrants from Shandong and Shanxi. "The land is fertile, the people are diligent in farming, and the annual output of grains makes the whole province rich." It is the richest place in the middle reaches of Heilongjiang. In the more than 40 years after the signing of the Treaty of Aihun, the Russians in the Far East obtained half of their food and vegetables from this place. By the end of the 19th century, a large number of Russian immigrants were arriving, and this land immediately became the target of Tsarist Russia.

The "Aihun Treaty" demarcated China's 600,000 square kilometers of territory north of Heilongjiang and transferred it to Tsarist Russia. It retained the permanent residence rights of Chinese residents in the 64 villages in Jiangdong and the Qing government's permanent jurisdiction over these residents. Russia was not allowed to invade and occupy it. The Russian side's statement, "Our immigrants still need their food," reveals Russia's innermost feelings in agreeing to retain Jiangdong Sixty-Four Tun. However, since the Qing Dynasty did not have sovereignty over this area, the separation of jurisdiction and sovereignty laid hidden dangers for subsequent events.

After the signing of the Treaty of Aihun, Tsarist Russia stepped up immigration to the left bank of Heilongjiang. Although the Amur Province is vast, it is mostly covered with forests, wilderness and swamps. Only the upper and middle reaches of the Heilongjiang River are suitable for farming. Therefore, Jiangdong No. 64 Tunnel, a fertile land suitable for farming, became the target of Russian invasion and encroachment. By 1879, under the encroachment of Tsarist Russia, the area of ​​the 64 villages in Jiangdong was reduced to about 140 miles long, 42 miles wide, and about 1,600 square kilometers.

In 1894, in accordance with the 1860 Sino-Russian Beijing Treaty, Tsarist Russian official Maqiunin proposed a report on thoroughly solving the problem of "Manchus on the banks of the Ziya River (i.e. Jiangdong Sixty-four Tuns)" and decided to cancel the Qing government's control of Jiangdong Sixty-four Tuns. Resident jurisdiction and the right of residence of Chinese residents within the territory. In 1898, the Aihui authorities of the Qing government "sent a sentry of officers and soldiers across the river to protect Qitun", but they were forcibly disarmed by the Russian army and turned into an armed conflict. From then on, "the arrogance of the Russians continued unchecked" and finally accumulated into a bloody tragedy.

On July 17, 1900, Russia sent an army across the Jingqili River and attacked the 64th village of Jiangdong. They drove a large number of villagers to "gather in a big house" and set them on fire. Most of them were burned alive, and not enough people escaped. half. The Russian army went from village to village along the river, setting fire to the houses of Chinese residents and destroying them. The Chinese residents who escaped death fled to the Heilongjiang River with their young and old in their arms. Because the river was blocked by the river, they could not bypass it, so they had to sleep on the river beach, crying and miserable. In an instant, the Russian cavalry came after them, shooting like rain. Finally, the Russian army forced "those who had not crossed the river, men, women, young and old, farmers, craftsmen, traders, merchants, and people from all walks of life, into the river together, and they all survived by floating on the water." There were only sixty or seventy of them, and the rest were forced to drown in the river, with corpses floating in the river covering the river for several days." The blood of Chinese residents has once again dyed the water of Heilongjiang red.

In order to protect the Chinese soldiers stationed in Aihui when they crossed the river, Fengxiang, the deputy governor of Aihui, sent Commander Wang Liangchen and more than 300 cavalry artillerymen to sneak across the Heilongjiang River on the night of the 17th and arrived at the mouth of the Jingqili River to intercept Russian reinforcements. In the early morning of the 18th, a fierce battle broke out between Chinese officers and soldiers crossing the river and Russian troops at Bordotun at the mouth of the Jinqili River. This battle bought time for the residents of Jiangdong No. 64 Village to cross the river.

While the fierce battle was taking place in Bordotun, the Aihui Naval Battalion recruited more than 20 merchant ships and a total of more than 30 warships from the Marine Battalion to ferry some of the villagers who had survived day and night back to the river. right.

On July 18, another Russian army crossed the Jingqili River and continued to burn the "Manchu villages". They shot thousands of Chinese residents in Bordo Village alone. They also forced all those who had not crossed the river, including men, women, old and young, farmers, craftsmen, and people from all walks of life, into the river. Except for dozens of people who swam across the river bank and survived, the rest were forced to drown in the river, leaving corpses floating in the river for several days. More than ten days after the incident, the bodies of countless victims who had drowned at the bottom of the Heilongjiang River surfaced and flowed down the river. Oil layers floated on the surface of the river, making the river smell strangely fishy.

This time, the Jiangdong No. 64 massacre took the lives of more than 2,000 Chinese residents.

There were four massacres in Hailanpao and Jiangdong Liusitun, in which more than 7,000 Chinese residents were killed.

American historian Beveridge said this tragedy was "the most notorious scandal in Russia's recent history in the Far East." The Japanese Ishimitsu Masaki pointed out that this was the "biggest massacre, the biggest tragedy, and the biggest crime" in Heilongjiang's history. Russian Deutsch believed that "the cruel and inhumane practices practiced by Tsarist Russia today are only different from the medieval trials." The inquisition of the Catholics can be compared with the persecution of pagans, Jews and Moors in Spain."

On August 4, Gribsky issued an order that the Sixty-fourth Village in Jiangdong and the land on the right bank of the Amur River, which had been under the jurisdiction of the Chinese government according to the Treaty of Aihun, were now under the jurisdiction of the Russian government. On July 31, the Hailanpao City Council held a meeting and authorized Gribsky to requisition the grain and livestock abandoned by the Chinese residents of Jiangdong No. 64 Village for civilian and military needs. All the pastoral properties of the Chinese residents were seized by the Tsarist Russian military. Expropriation and confiscation by authorities.

After the "Jiangdong No. 64 Massacre", successive Chinese governments had many negotiations with the governments of Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union, demanding the return of this territory. However, due to various complex reasons, the negotiations were fruitless. Currently, Jiangdong No. 64 Village is under the jurisdiction of the Amur Oblast of the Russian Federation.

After the massacres of Hailanpao and Jiangdong No. 64, Tsarist Russia immediately used these two places as bases to launch a barbaric conquest of Northeast China. Gorodekov first sent Russian ships into the Ergun River, Heilongjiang River and Ussuri River to destroy Karen and villages and towns along the Chinese rivers, and sent cavalry deep into the left bank of the Ussuri River to burn and kill. Then the main force of the Russian army rushed towards Heihetun and Aihui. They "killed and threw all the residents of Heihetun into fires who could not escape" and "razed this town with a population of five to six thousand people." They "burned all directions" in Aihui City, destroying "more than thousands of houses." , destroyed to ruins", leaving only a camp and a weapons depot for their combat use.

Tsarist Russia summarized Muraviev's actions in seizing China's Heilongjiang region as an aggressive formula: "Russian diplomatic requirements must be supported by actual occupation of local areas." Later, Tsarist Russia occupied large areas of territory east of the Ussuri River and the outer northwest of China through unequal treaties such as the 1860 Sino-Russian Treaty of Beijing and the 1864 "Sino-Russian Treaty on the Demarcation of the Northwest Boundary." The signing of the "Aihun Treaty" set a criminal precedent for Tsarist Russia to further plunder Chinese territory.

About 400,000 square kilometers of land east of the Ussuri River that originally belonged to China was placed under "co-administration" between China and Russia. This was actually just a transitional period for Tsarist Russia to formally annex this area. After the "Beijing Treaty" between China and Russia, the land east of the Ussuri River in China, including Ku Island, was invaded by Tsarist Russia. So far, through two unequal treaties over more than ten years, Tsarist Russia has annexed about 1 million square kilometers of land in the northeast of our country.

As Engels said, Russia "seized from China a territory equal to the size of France and Germany and a river as long as the Danube" without firing a shot. The picture below shows the comment of the British Curzon: It is very rare to obtain such fertile land with extremely convenient and cunning means.

In the summer of 2018, we were walking along the Heilongjiang River on the way to "driving to a distant place". Along the way, we saw the fertile land on the other side, the dense forests, and the crops they planted on our land. Every time we saw it, I felt like Once angry, we were in a bad mood all afternoon until we arrived in Jiayin County, Yichun.

August 24, 2018 in Aihui Ancient City, Heilongjiang