Events

In 1853, a sudden wave of water started changing the course of the Yellow River. This water did not stop coming, overflowing the banks and destroying the few barriers that were not in disrepair, and soon villages, cities and roads were overrrun, the calamitous waters showing no mercy to anyone.

Thus, the flood which has only ended in early 1855 has led to several million people dead. Canals have been destroyed, and rice has been scarce for two years now. The Yellow River, perhaps fittingly, is now discharging in the North. If one would ask for a more notorious symbol of the loss of the Mandate of Heaven, it is hard to find one.

Many ask themselves if this is the end of the Qing. The viceroys, now indebted due to the military innovations of the Emperor, with an amount that add up to 700 million silver taels (7m pounds), can barely help the populace. Who can?