ABSTRACT

While Lin Zexu was in Changsha, a major event erupted elsewhere in Hunan province. When Provincial Governor Feng Dexing returned to his residence after paying his respects to Lin, he received a stunning piece of information: "The county seat of Xinning has been occupied by a religious sect, and County Magistrate Wan Dingen has been murdered". Xinning was located in the southwest part of Hunan, along the Fuyi River, close to the border of Guangxi province. From the perspective of Hunan province as a whole, it was a peripheral region, but the seizure of a county seat and the murder of a county magistrate were nonetheless nothing short of astounding incidents. The traders who transported produce from the province of Guangdong and foreign commodities imported into Guangzhou crossed Thistle Mountain and headed north. Many pirate bands operated along the coastal region of Guangdong province.