Humen Cigarette Sales (1839)

On January 3, 1839, Lin Zexu was ordered to serve as an imperial envoy to Guangdong to ban opium.

On March 10, Lin Zexu arrived in Guangzhou and immediately started the anti-smoking work. After hearing the news, Yilu asked British merchant ships from outer ports to go to Hong Kong to plan a resistance to the smoking ban.

On June 3, Lin Zexu confiscated 2376254 kilograms of opium from foreign merchants and began to burn it on Humen Beach. It was burned on the 25th.

On July 7, British sailors drunkenly beat a villager, Lin Weixi, to death in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. Yilu refused to hand over the murderer, and also stopped British businesspeople from taking a knot against the smoking ban. Lin Zexu ordered the expulsion of British businesspeople in Guangzhou and Macau and cut off the food supply. Yilu led the British merchants back to the sea cargo ship and concentrated in Hong Kong.

On September 4, British ships dispatched to buy food from villagers, but China patrol ships stopped them. Yilu led the troops ships VOLAGE and HYOCHINTH to attack our Kowloon Battery. The Qing garrison generals responded and the two sides fought for several hours.

In October, 86 British ships, representing 21 trading houses, berthed in Hong Kong, and they took up residence on the shore for long-term residence.