When the hard move failed, the Qing court changed the soft move, wanted to recruit Sha Wuzai, and promised him a red crown. This is at least from the official position of Yipin, equivalent to the head of a cadre. Moreover, judging from the history of wooing in the Qing Dynasty, as long as the army is still in its own hands, it is nothing more than changing uniforms, and the benefits are only a lot more. Loyalists are never worse than bandits and water bandits, and they can also bring red tops. After all, they can still worship their ancestors. However, Sha Wuzai flatly rejected the court's kindness.
Cui Apu was originally the messenger of Sha Wuzai, and later came from Chengshantou. The two families also echo each other from afar. 1February 849, Cui Apu killed two British officers, Costa (Da? Captain Costa and Captain dwyer angered the British military. In June, Sha Wuzai's men plundered the British junk near Hainan, which strengthened Britain's determination to use force.
The British navy began this important battle in the history of the Far East Navy in May. The British ships "Pilot" and "Columbine" won successively. Colombina defeated Chui Ap in two battles in September and destroyed 23 pirate warships. 1, more than 400 pirates were killed and only 1 British soldiers were slightly injured.
"Colombina" then went south to search for Sha Wuzai and his gang. The Qing army stationed in Hainan sent eight warships to act together with the British army, chasing all the way south and biting Sha Wuzai's tail tightly. 10 10 18, the steam ship Plegethon of the East India Company, which accompanied the operation, attacked Shawuzai's flagship, but Shawuzai managed to escape. Two days later, a fierce battle broke out between the two sides in coastal defense of Vietnam, and the British navy and the Qing army destroyed 27 pirate ships. After the battle, the Shawuzai gang with 64 ships and 1.200 guns and 3,000 men suffered heavy losses, 58 ships were destroyed, and more than 1.700 people were killed, but the British army suffered no losses.
The victory was not complete: both pirate leaders managed to escape. Cui Apu fled to the mainland of China, was kidnapped by British agents and sent back to Hong Kong for trial. He was sentenced to life exile in Tasmania, Australia, but Cui Apu hanged himself in a Hong Kong prison before exile. Sha Wuzai is much luckier. After surviving with eight ships and 400 men, he was finally accepted by the Qing government and became an official.