After hearing about the Chinese efforts to eradicate opium from the lands and the destruction of opium, the British felt it best to retaliate. In June of 1940 the first ships of the British fleet arrived. To the British, the Chinese were to be made an example of. Nobody was to stand in the way of their empire. Not long after the British arrived did the Qing suffer numerous defeats. The naval supremacy from the British ships was obvious in this conflict, as the Qing Chinese were simply outmatched at every angle. There was no hope for the Qing. They had not seen anything quite like what the British were capable of. Heavy armaments, more advanced guns, powerful warships, all of which were completely alien to the Chinese. In addition, the British had several footholds, most notably in India, where they not only controlled the ports but essentially the country itself. This allowed not only for the opium trade to run so rampant since the British were able to smuggle and import massive quantities of opium to nearby China, but it also gave them a tactical advantage in war. In two years, the British had stormed their way to the old capital of Nanjing. The British were planning to shell the city, but the Qing surrendered. This time, the British would get their terms.
