Volume 138 Treatises 113: Military 9, Coastal Defense

志一百十三

Treatise 113

兵九

Military 9

海防

Coastal Defense

國初海防，僅備海盜而已。自道光中海禁大開，形勢一變，海防益重。海防向分南北洋。山東煙台歸北洋兼轄。閩、浙、粵三口，歸南洋兼轄。茲取沿海各省有海防者分述之：曰東三省，曰直隸，曰山東，曰江南，附江防，曰浙江，曰福建，曰廣東。

In the early Qing, coastal defense amounted to little more than guarding against pirates. Once the maritime ban was largely lifted under the Daoguang Emperor, the strategic picture shifted, and coastal defense grew far more pressing. Coastal defense had long been organized under the Northern and Southern Seas commands. Yantai in Shandong was placed under the Northern Seas command. The Fujian, Zhejiang, and Guangdong ports came under the Southern Seas command. What follows is a province-by-province account of coastal defense along the seaboard: the Three Eastern Provinces, Zhili, Shandong, Jiangnan (with a section on river defense), Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong.

奉天沿海，南自牛庄至金、蓋各州，轉東至鴨綠江口，西則自山海關至錦州，地皆濱海，口岸凡三十九處。康熙初，廷議錦州一帶籌備沿邊。旋定金州旅順口設水師戰船，隸金州副都統督率訓練，戰船皆木質舊式。雍正四年，將軍噶爾弼以自旅順海口至鳳凰城，水程千里，僅恃旅順水師一營，議增二營，聯絡巡哨。道光二十一年，耆英以奉省海防經營不易，有移民內徙之議，海防漸重。咸豐之季，歐艦北犯津、沽，奉天亦嚴海防。同治四年，崇厚調天津洋槍隊千人赴營口屯駐。五年，以奉天兵船拙重，調天津輕利兵船十餘艘赴長島駐防。復增新練洋槍隊五百人於營口。十一年，瑞麟以南洋自制兵艦告成，砲械咸備，乃商撥兵艦一艘，巡防牛庄海口。光緒初年，以俄羅斯有窺北邊，沿海亦有俄艦游弋，乃於制兵外加餉練兵，凡選練馬步隊四千二百餘人。又增綠營兵四千人，調撥吉林、黑龍江、蒙古馬隊各二百餘人駐營口，與宋慶豫軍協同防守。其東邊道之練軍馬步隊一千三百人，則分駐鳳凰城、大孤山、北河、長甸河口及安東等處。額設正兵，幾同虛設，海上有警，全恃客軍。金州與海參威毗連之處，尤為重要。李鴻章遣鎮東等四砲艦巡防奉省海口。八年，鴻章以北洋迤東口岸，惟奉天旅順口為首沖，乃在旅順之黃金山頂，仿築德國新式砲台，設巨砲多尊，並建築兵房、子藥庫，近山要路，復設行營砲壘，海口內則布置水雷，沿海岸可登陸處，擇要埋藏地雷，陸路則有護軍營八哨，毅軍十一營，水路則有快砲船、蚊砲船各二艘，表裡依護。其次為營口，海灘平衍，敵易抄襲，復調勁旅接應後路。十年，將軍定安於營口創設水雷營，電線火藥，建雷庫十間存儲。十七年，李鴻章以大連灣為渤海門戶，築老龍頭等處砲台六座，仿西洋曲折式，兵房、藥庫皆備。二十六年，將軍增祺以岫岩、安東沿海，雖有北洋兵艦巡防，而海濱港汊紛歧，乃增造大號水師船八艘，布列於沙河、大孤山、太平溝等處。

Fengtian's coastline ran south from Niuzhuang through the Jin and Gai prefectures, east to the Yalu estuary, and west from Shanhaiguan to Jinzhou; the entire region fronted the sea, with thirty-nine ports along it. Early in the Kangxi reign, the court took up plans to fortify the Jinzhou frontier. Naval warships were then stationed at Lüshunkou near Jinzhou, placed under the Jinzhou deputy lieutenant-general for training—all of them old-fashioned wooden craft. In Yongzheng 4 (1726), General Ga'erbi argued that the thousand-li water route from Lüshun to Fengcheng could not be covered by a single Lüshun naval battalion and urged two more battalions to coordinate patrols along the coast. In Daoguang 21 (1841), Qiying, finding Fengtian's coastal defenses difficult to sustain, floated a plan to move settlers inland, and coastal defense there steadily gained weight. Late in the Xianfeng era, as European fleets pushed north against Tianjin and Dagu, Fengtian likewise tightened its coastal defenses. In Tongzhi 4 (1865), Chonghou sent a thousand men of the Tianjin foreign-rifle corps to garrison Yingkou. The next year, because Fengtian's gunboats were too slow and unwieldy, more than ten nimble gunboats from Tianjin were posted to Changdao. Another five hundred men of a newly trained foreign-rifle corps were added at Yingkou. In Tongzhi 11 (1872), Ruilin reported that a Southern Seas warship built in China was ready and fully armed, and secured one vessel to patrol the mouth of Niuzhuang harbor. Early in the Guangxu era, with Russia eyeing the northern frontier and Russian warships patrolling the coast, the province raised paid drill troops on top of the regular rolls, mustering more than 4,200 cavalry and infantry. Four thousand Green Standard troops were added, and cavalry detachments of more than two hundred men each from Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Mongolia were posted to Yingkou to cooperate with Song Qing's Henan army. Some 1,300 drilled cavalry and infantry of the Eastern Frontier Circuit were stationed at Fengcheng, Dagushan, Beihe, the Changdian estuary, Andong, and other posts. The regular quota troops were largely nominal; at sea any real alarm had to be met by outside forces. The stretch where Jinzhou bordered Vladivostok was especially critical. Li Hongzhang sent four gunboats, including the Zhendong, to patrol Fengtian's harbors. In Guangxu 8 (1882), Li Hongzhang judged Lüshunkou the critical hinge among the Northern Seas' eastern ports and on Huangjin Hill built German-style forts mounting heavy guns, with barracks and magazines, field batteries on nearby passes, mines in the harbor, and buried land mines at likely landing beaches; eight Guard Army outposts and eleven Yi Army battalions covered the landward side, while two fast gunboats and two mosquito craft guarded the water—defense in depth by land and sea. Yingkou came next: its beaches were broad and flat, inviting flanking landings, so strong reinforcements were posted to cover the rear. In Guangxu 10 (1884), General Ding'an set up a mine battalion at Yingkou with electric detonation gear and ten magazines to hold the charges. In Guangxu 17 (1891), Li Hongzhang treated Dalian Bay as the Bohai's outer gate and built six zigzag-style Western forts at Laolongtou and elsewhere, complete with barracks and magazines. In Guangxu 26 (1900), General Zengqi found the Xiuyan and Andong coast, though patrolled by Beiyang warships, riddled with creeks and inlets, and added eight large patrol craft posted at Shahe, Dagushan, Taipinggou, and similar anchorages.

至吉林、黑龍江之海防，以有松花、黑龍二江，貫省境而趨海，舊制二省各設水師營巡防，水師船止運船三十艘，槳船二十艘，每為運糧及采東珠、取樺皮之用，亦稱水手營，非戰艦也。

Jilin and Heilongjiang coastal defense centered on the Songhua and Amur, which cut through both provinces to the sea. Each province once maintained a naval patrol battalion, but its thirty transports and twenty oared craft served grain haulage, pearl fishing, and birch-bark collection—the so-called sailor corps, not fighting ships.

吉林海防，首重琿春。松花江雖可行海舶，而江水淺處為多。同治四年以後，屢有俄羅斯兵船，乘江水漲時，駛入至阿勒楚喀及伯都訥境內。將軍岐元擬於三姓設水師營，不果。光緒六年，府丞王家璧有整頓東省水師改造戰艦之議。李鴻章以長江水師船不適用於松花、黑龍二江，宜于吉林、三姓左近，擇水深溜大之處設船廠，造小號兵輪船，如廣東蚊砲船之式，入水不深，上可行駛伯都訥、省城附近，下可巡行黑河口，轉入黑龍江，以佐陸軍，備俄船侵入。並撥開花砲、新式馬槍、快槍等，為吉省練兵之用。時將軍銘安、及督辦寧古塔等處防務吳大澂、喜昌，以俄患未平，于吉省沿江沿邊，增練防軍馬步隊五千人，各旗及西丹又募千五百人，練成即赴琿春駐守，並設護江關，防範水路。又慮俄國海軍船堅力猛，水關不能阻其衝突，乃擇要依山建築砲台，以御俄艦。

For Jilin, coastal defense hinged above all on Hunchun. Seagoing ships could enter the Songhua, but much of the river was too shallow. After Tongzhi 4 (1865), Russian gunboats repeatedly steamed upriver at high water as far as Aletuheka and Boduna. General Qiyuan proposed a naval battalion at Sanxing, but the plan failed. In Guangxu 6 (1880), Vice Prefect Wang Jiabi urged reorganizing the eastern provinces' river flotilla into proper warships. Li Hongzhang argued that Yangtze gunboats would not do on the Songhua and Amur; instead a yard near Jilin and Sanxing should build shallow-draft mosquito gunboats like those of Guangdong—able to reach Boduna and the capital upstream, patrol the Amur mouth downstream, and enter the Heilongjiang to back the land forces against Russian river incursions. Shell guns, breech-loading muskets, and rapid-fire rifles were also issued for drilling Jilin's troops. General Ming'an, together with Wu Dacheng and Xichang, who oversaw defenses at Ningguta and elsewhere, raised 5,000 drilled frontier cavalry and infantry along Jilin's rivers and borders, with another 1,500 recruited from the banners and Xidan; once trained they garrisoned Hunchun and river-guard posts were set up to control the waterways. Fearing Russia's tough seagoing hulls might smash through river barriers, they also built hilltop batteries at key points to engage Russian warships.

黑龍江省於光緒三年始籌辦海防，通省額兵及西丹共一萬人，增鄂倫春兵五百人，兼習新式槍砲。黑省近俄，俄人環黑龍江左岸盤踞，達二千餘里，每相間百餘里，輒有俄兵屯駐之所，刁斗相聞。故黑省防務，重在陸而不在海。其江流入海之口，在省境東北隅，雖額設師船三十餘艘，僅循例操演。

Heilongjiang began coastal-defense planning in Guangxu 3 (1877), with ten thousand regular and Xidan troops province-wide plus five hundred Oroqen trained in modern firearms. Heilongjiang pressed against Russia: along more than two thousand li of the Amur's left bank Russian posts stood roughly every hundred li, their watch-drums within earshot of one another. Heilongjiang's defense therefore weighed on land, not sea power. The river mouth lay in the province's northeast; though more than thirty vessels were on the books, they saw only routine exercises.

東三省海防，奉天尤重。自日佔旅、大，遼東半島籓籬盡撤。而吉、黑二省，向受俄患，北海屢警，防務益形棘手雲。

Of the Three Eastern Provinces, Fengtian bore the heaviest coastal-defense burden. Once Japan seized Lüshun and Dalian, the Liaodong Peninsula lost its outer shield entirely. Jilin and Heilongjiang, long menaced by Russia, faced repeated alarms on the northern seas, and their defenses grew ever harder to sustain.

直隸津、沽口，為南北運河、永定、大清、子牙五河入海處，北連遼東，有旅順、大連以為左翼，南走登、萊，有威海衛以為右翼，為北洋第一重鎮。順治初，天津巡撫雷興疏言，大沽海口為神京門戶，請置戰船以備海防。下所司議行。雍正四年，于海口蘆家嘴創設天津水師營，令滿洲兵丁駐紮，學習水師，特簡都統大員，守御海口。復自天津城南門外起至慶雲縣止，所有沿海各州縣，設立海撥二十五處，分置守兵，扼要防範。

Zhili's Tianjin and Dagu mouths, where the Grand Canal and the Yongding, Daqing, and Ziya rivers reach the sea, anchored the Northern Seas command: Lüshun and Dalian guarded the north, Weihaiwei the south along the Dengzhou–Laizhou coast—the system's primary fortress. Early in Shunzhi, Tianjin governor Lei Xing urged that Dagu guarded the capital's maritime gate and asked for warships to strengthen coastal defense. The memorial was referred to the relevant offices for action. In Yongzheng 4 (1726) a Tianjin naval battalion was founded at Lujiazui, with Manchu troops trained for river and sea duty under a specially appointed lieutenant-general to hold the harbor. From Tianjin's south gate to Qingyun, twenty-five coastal patrol posts were established along the seaboard counties, each with troops at critical points.

乾隆四年，直隸總督高斌請拓天津水師營、汛，增駐滿兵一千，合舊額為三千。及道光六年，那彥成奏請裁撤海口官兵，改歸大名鎮。十二年，琦善奏天津地處海隅，與山東登州、奉天錦州遙相拱衛，沙線分歧，非熟習海徑者，無由曲折而至。且海口二十里外，有攔港沙一道，融結天成，儼若海口外衛。總兵陸路營伍，足資捍衛，所有天津水師，無庸復設。於是水師營遂裁。二十年，又據琦善奏英艦到粵，難保不分投竄擾，天津密邇京畿，尤宜慎重防堵。遂復嚴旨派員駐紮要隘，協同防禦。二十一年，天津海口增駐官兵，建砲台營房，近海村落，招集團練，修築土堡，互為策應。二十二年，令直隸沿海營兵，善於鳧水及諳習風濤駕駛之技者，飭統兵官訓練，並增設巡哨兵船，以蘆台為北塘後路，設通永鎮標十五營駐守。二十三年，令天津水師營每年撥戰船六艘，分三路巡防，與奉天、山東師船，定期會哨，以登州、岫岩城、錦州三處為呈票考驗之地。有畏避風浪，巡哨貽誤者，嚴懲之。三十年，令訥爾經額察視海防。

In Qianlong 4 (1739), Zhili governor Gao Bin asked to enlarge the Tianjin naval battalion and posts by a thousand Manchu troops, bringing the total to three thousand. In Daoguang 6 (1826), Nayancheng proposed abolishing the harbor garrison and assigning the men to Daming. In Daoguang 12 (1832), Qishan argued that Tianjin, flanked from afar by Dengzhou and Jinzhou, was shielded by branching sandbars that only mariners who knew the channels could thread. Twenty li offshore a natural sand barrier had formed, serving almost as an outer rampart for the harbor. The regional commander's land forces were defense enough; Tianjin needed no naval battalion again. The naval battalion was duly disbanded. In Daoguang 20 (1840), Qishan warned that with British ships at Guangdong they might strike elsewhere, and Tianjin—hard by the capital—must be sealed with special care. An urgent order again posted officers at critical points for joint defense. In Daoguang 21 (1841) more troops were posted at Tianjin harbor, forts and barracks built, and coastal villages mustered into militia with earthen forts that could support one another. In Daoguang 22 (1842) coastal troops who could swim and handle boats in heavy seas were drilled, patrol craft added, Lutai secured as Beitang's landward line, and fifteen Tongyong battalions stationed there. In Daoguang 23 (1843) Tianjin was to deploy six warships yearly on three patrol routes, rendezvous with Fengtian and Shandong flotillas, and report at Dengzhou, Xiuyan, and Jinzhou for inspection. Officers who shirked rough weather and missed patrol faced severe punishment. In Daoguang 30 (1850), Ne'erjing'e was sent to inspect the coast.

咸豐八年，令僧格林沁在大沽口及雙港修築砲台，設水路木筏，及沿岸營壘，調宣化鎮兵會大沽協兵，守護海口砲台。又令史榮椿等由天津赴山海關履勘海防要隘。同治元年，令曾國籓、薛煥等購買外洋兵船巨砲，統以鎮將，酌分數艘，駐泊天津海口。九年，山東巡撫丁寶楨以大沽、北塘等處為京師門戶，慮直隸兵力不足，調山東舊部十八營，赴直隸邊境候調。十年，直隸總督李鴻章增設大沽協海口六營，酌定營制。修築大沽口南北兩岸砲台，與北塘相犄角，調遵化練軍千人移駐。十三年，又以北洋海防，僅恃大沽、北塘二海口砲台，後路尚恐單薄，乃就運河北岸，用三合土建築新城，四圍設大小砲台，護以金剛牆，引海河為城濠，屯駐重兵，與大沽防營相應。

In Xianfeng 8 (1858), Senggelinqin built forts at Dagu and Shuanggang, laid wooden booms on the channels, posted shore batteries, and brought Xuanhua troops to reinforce the Dagu garrison defending the forts. Shi Rongchun and others were also sent from Tianjin to Shanhaiguan to survey coastal strongpoints. In Tongzhi 1 (1862), Zeng Guofan and Xue Huan were told to buy foreign gunboats and heavy guns; a regional commander took charge and several were stationed at Tianjin. In Tongzhi 9 (1870), Shandong governor Ding Baozhen, seeing Dagu and Beitang as the capital's gate and fearing Zhili was under strength, moved eighteen of his old battalions to the Zhili border on standby. In Tongzhi 10 (1871), Zhili governor Li Hongzhang added six Dagu harbor battalions and standardized their organization. Forts rose on both banks of Dagu, paired with Beitang in a pincer, and a thousand Zunhua drilled troops were shifted to garrison them. In Tongzhi 13 (1874), fearing the Northern Seas defense rested too narrowly on Dagu and Beitang, Li Hongzhang built a new walled city on the canal's north bank with earthen ramparts, ring forts, reinforced walls, the Hai River as moat, and a heavy garrison to back the Dagu line.

光緒元年，李鴻章復於大沽、北塘、新城各處，增築洋式砲台營壘，購置鐵甲快船、碰船、水雷船，以備攻守。二年，令總兵周盛傳率淮軍馬步二十餘營，建築新城砲台。三年，成之。六年，李鴻章以北塘迤東至山海關，延長數百里，調宋慶、郭松林二軍，分駐沿海蒲河口、秦皇島等處，並增建砲台。又以淮、練各軍駐天津，防守大沽、北塘各口。以鮑超全軍三十營駐昌黎、樂亭，防守大清河、洋河各口。以山海關防軍，兼顧金山嘴、秦皇島、老龍頭各處。時曾國荃建議直隸海防，不宜遠守營口，宜以重兵守山海關。乃命曾國荃統率安徽、湖北、山西各軍赴山海關駐守。八年，李鴻章於大沽、北塘砲台下埋伏水雷，大沽口內設攔河木筏，山海關內外築三合土大砲台一，土砲台二，瀕海營牆，均仿砲台建築。又寧海城臨海受敵，於砲台牆外，悉以沙土掩護。其時大沽南北岸砲台大小共數十座，輔以水雷鐵艦，沿岸以陸軍駐守。十一年，因京東沿海空虛，調練軍各營，移駐灤州、昌黎等處。二十三年，直隸總督王文韶以武毅軍訓練初成，率前後二軍及馬隊一軍，周曆山海關沿海一帶，以重防務。自歐艦來窺，僧格林沁戰敗，廷議始專津、沽之防。中日之役，旅順、威海相繼淪陷，而津海未開戰事。及拳匪肇釁，聯軍北犯，沽口砲台，毀於一旦，北洋沿海防務，遂日形懈弛雲。

In Guangxu 1 (1875), Li Hongzhang added Western-style batteries at Dagu, Beitang, and the new city and bought ironclads, rams, and mine craft for both attack and defense. In Guangxu 2 (1876), regional commander Zhou Shengchuan led twenty-odd Huai battalions to build the new city's batteries. They were finished in Guangxu 3 (1877). In Guangxu 6 (1880), Li Hongzhang posted Song Qing's and Guo Songlin's armies along the hundred-odd li from Beitang to Shanhaiguan—at Puhe mouth, Qinhuangdao, and other beaches—and added batteries. Huai and drilled units garrisoned Tianjin to hold Dagu and Beitang. Bao Chao's thirty battalions held Changli and Leting to cover the Daqing and Yang river mouths. Shanhaiguan troops also watched Jinshanzui, Qinhuangdao, and Laolongtou. Zeng Guoquan then urged that Zhili should not spread forces to distant Yingkou but mass troops at Shanhaiguan. Zeng Guoquan was ordered to take Anhui, Hubei, and Shanxi forces to garrison Shanhaiguan. In Guangxu 8 (1882), Li Hongzhang mined the Dagu and Beitang batteries, boomed Dagu's inner channel, and built one major and two subsidiary earthen forts at Shanhaiguan, with seaside walls cast in the fort style. At exposed Ninghai, sand and earth were heaped over the batteries for added protection. By then Dagu's shores held dozens of batteries, backed by mines and ironclads and a coastal cordon of infantry. In Guangxu 11 (1885), drilled battalions filled the thinly held Jingdong coast at Luanzhou, Changli, and nearby posts. In Guangxu 23 (1897), Zhili governor Wang Wenshao, with the newly trained Wuyi Army, toured the Shanhaiguan coast with its two infantry wings and cavalry brigade to tighten defenses. After European squadrons probed the coast and Senggelinqin was beaten, the court fixed its attention on Tianjin and Dagu. During the Sino-Japanese War, Lüshun and Weihai fell in turn, but Tianjin's waters never saw battle. When the Boxer rising brought the allied armies north, Dagu's forts were smashed overnight and Beiyang coastal defense sank into steady decay.

山東海岸綿亙，自直隸界屈曲而南以達江蘇，其間大小海口二百餘處。東北境之登、萊、青三府，地形突出，三面臨海。威海、煙台島嶼環羅，與朝鮮海峽對峙，為幽、薊屏籓。海禁既開，各國商帆戰艦，歷重洋而來，至山東成山而折入渤海，以達沽口。故創練海軍，以威海、旅順為根據地。欲守津、沽，先守威、旅。齊、魯關山，遂與畿疆並重矣。

Shandong's shoreline ran from the Zhili border south to Jiangsu in a long curve, with more than two hundred harbors along it. In the province's northeast, Dengzhou, Laizhou, and Qingzhou jutted into the sea on three sides. Weihai and Yantai, ringed with islands opposite the Korea Strait, formed the maritime shield for the capital region. With trade opened, foreign merchantmen and warships crossed the oceans to Chengshan Cape, turned into the Bohai, and made for Dagu. The modern navy was therefore based at Weihai and Lüshun. To hold Tianjin and Dagu, one had to hold Weihai and Lüshun first. Shandong's passes thus rose to equal importance with the capital district itself.

順治十一年，令蘇利為水軍都督，駐軍碣石，為山東防海之始。乾隆五十五年，以膠州、文登、即墨等營，兼防海口，以總兵駐登州，統水師三營，戰船十二艘，修治各海口砲台。道光二十一年，以芝罘島扼東海之口，撥兵防守。蓬萊、黃縣、榮城、寧海、掖縣、膠州、即墨所屬之十三島，編練民團，互為防衛。三十年，以瀕海之三汛師船，四縣水勇，合併防守海口，並扼要安設大砲。咸豐元年，登州總兵陳世忠以海寇奪掠官船，山東水師無多，會閩、粵大號師船，合力截捕。三年，於登、萊、青三府舉辦聯庄團練，給以兵械。八年，飭天津鎮總兵赴山東，詳勘海豐一帶海口。九年，以海豐縣之大沽河有防營故址，飭崇恩等撥兵防守。十年，文煜令青州等沿海各城滿、綠營兵，勤加訓練，分守城官兵之半以守海口。同治九年，丁寶楨以東境海口紛歧，惟有扼要防守。其文登縣屬之馬頭石島，福山縣屬之煙台，蓬萊縣屬之廟島，掖縣屬之小石島，為洋船北來所必經，第居險要，共撥兵六千餘人分守。十一年，撥大號兵船一艘，駐泊登州洋面。光緒元年，丁寶楨以山東之東三府，三面環海，外寇隨處可登，宜扼要屯守。其要地有三：一、煙台，於通申岡設防營，駐兵三千。煙台山下及八蜡廟、芝罘島之西，共建浮鐵砲台三座。芝罘島之東，築沙土曲折砲台一座。一、威海衛，於劉公島之東口，建浮鐵砲台一座，而於島口內築沙土曲折砲台，於口外海面密布水雷，其北口內亦建沙土浮鐵砲台，可作兵輪船水寨之用。一、登州，於城北建沙土高式砲台，城內建沙土圓式砲台。長山之西，建沙土曲折砲台，與郡城相犄角。砲台用克魯伯後膛大砲，參用阿姆司脫朗前膛大砲。兵丁用格林砲、克魯伯四磅砲、亨利馬悌尼快槍，請求行陣攻守之法。六年，以新購外洋蚊砲船駐防煙台海面。十二年，許景澄建議山東膠州灣當南北洋之中，東為浮山，西為靈山，口狹而水深，宜規畫形勢，為新練海軍屯港，與旅順口東西相應。是年，李鴻章於威海衛南北岸築砲台，布水雷。十七年，於威海黃泥岩增築新式砲台，又於南岸龍廟嘴砲台外，增築趙北口砲台。劉公島新築地阱砲台，設後膛巨砲於隧道。其西之黃島，水中之日島，亦設砲台，與南岸相應。劉公島又設大鐵碼頭，為海軍寄椗上煤之所，防務益周密。

In Shunzhi 11 (1654), Suli was made naval commander with a garrison at Jieshi, marking the start of Shandong's coastal defense. In Qianlong 55 (1790), Jiaozhou, Wendeng, and Jimo garrisons took on harbor defense; a regional commander at Dengzhou led three naval battalions and twelve warships and repaired the coastal batteries. In Daoguang 21 (1841), troops were posted to Zhifu Island, which commands the Eastern Sea entrance. On the thirteen islands under Penglai, Huangxian, Rongcheng, Ninghai, Yexian, Jiaozhou, and Jimo, militia were organized to defend one another. In Daoguang 30 (1850), coastal patrol craft on three routes and water militia from four counties were pooled to hold the harbors, with heavy guns emplaced at key points. In Xianfeng 1 (1851), when sea pirates seized official vessels, Dengzhou commander Chen Shizhong—finding Shandong's fleet too thin—combined with large Fujian and Guangdong warships to hunt them down. In Xianfeng 3 (1853), linked-village militia were raised in Dengzhou, Laizhou, and Qingzhou and issued arms. In Xianfeng 8 (1858), the Tianjin garrison commander was sent to Shandong to survey the Haifeng coastal harbors in detail. In Xianfeng 9 (1859), troops under Chong'en and others were posted to the old garrison site on the Dagu River in Haifeng County. In Xianfeng 10 (1860), Wen Yu had Manchu and Green Standard garrisons in Qingzhou and other coastal cities drill hard, detaching half their strength to hold the harbors. In Tongzhi 9 (1870), Ding Baozhen argued that with so many eastern harbors, defense had to concentrate on choke points. Matou Rock Island (Wendeng), Yantai (Fushan), Miaodao (Penglai), and Xiaoshi Island (Yexian) lay on the northbound lane of foreign shipping; more than six thousand men were posted to these key points. In Tongzhi 11 (1872), a large warship was posted off Dengzhou. In Guangxu 1 (1875), Ding Baozhen urged key garrisons for Shandong's eastern trio—Deng, Lai, and Qing—which faced the sea on three sides and offered landing sites everywhere. Three positions mattered most: Yantai, where a fort was placed on Tongshen Hill with three thousand men. Three floating iron batteries were erected below Yantai Hill, at Balao Temple, and west of Zhifu Island. East of Zhifu Island they built an earthen zigzag battery. Second, Weihaiwei: a floating iron battery at Liugong Island's east entrance, an earthen zigzag battery inside the channel, mines thick in the outer roadstead, and another combined sand-and-iron battery in the north entrance that could serve as a steam-fleet anchorage. Third, Dengzhou: a tall earthen battery north of the walls and a round earthen battery within the city. West of Changshan an earthen zigzag battery was added to flank the prefectural seat. Batteries mounted Krupp breech-loaders, with Armstrong muzzle-loaders in support. Troops were issued Gatling guns, Krupp four-pounders, and Henry-Martini rifles, and drilled in field attack and defense. In Guangxu 6 (1880), newly bought foreign gunboats were posted off Yantai. In Guangxu 12 (1886), Xu Jingcheng urged developing Jiaozhou Bay—midway between northern and southern waters, Fushan east and Lingshan west, narrow mouth and deep channel—as a base for the new navy, paired with Lüshun across the gulf. That year Li Hongzhang fortified both shores of Weihaiwei and seeded the waters with mines. In Guangxu 17 (1891), new batteries rose at Weihai's Huangniyan, and Zhaobeikou Battery was added beyond Longmiaozui on the south shore. Liugong Island gained a sunken battery with huge breech-loaders mounted in tunnels. Batteries on Huangdao to the west and Ri Island in the channel complemented the south shore defenses. A large iron pier on Liugong Island gave the fleet a coaling station, tightening the defenses further.

東省形勢，以威海、膠州為要口，于海軍屯泊尤宜。乃甲午一役，威海水陸之防，既毀於日本，而德因教案，曾以大隊鐵艦奪踞膠州灣，辟商埠，開鐵路，浸窺腹地。東省海防，遂無所藉手雲。

Shandong's geography made Weihai and Jiaozhou the prime anchorages for fleet deployment. Yet the war of 1894–95 smashed Weihai's defenses, and Germany later seized Jiaozhou Bay with a squadron of ironclads over the missionary affair—opening a treaty port, laying rail, and probing the interior. Shandong's coastal defense was left with no firm ground to stand on.

江南海防，自海州南歷長江、吳淞江二口，稍折而西，至松江奉賢縣境之海灣，南接浙江洋面，其間港口羅列。惟江陰、吳淞二處，一為長江之筦鍵，一為蘇、松之門戶，防務尤重。至江陰以上，以江流深廣，外海兵艦商船，溯流而上，西達夔、渝，三千里流域，雖皖、贛、楚、蜀各有江防，實以江南當下游之沖。自狼、福山以迄京口、金陵，砲壘防營，星羅棋布。上游防衛，與下游繁簡迥殊。而江蘇轄境，長江千里，兵艦砲台，無異海防，水陸營汛，亦與海疆聯絡。故安徽省以上江防，即隸於蘇省海防焉。

Jiangnan's coast ran south from Haizhou past the Yangtze and Wusong entries, then westward to Fengxian Bay in Songjiang and the Zhejiang sea beyond, harbors strung all along. Jiangyin and Wusong bore the heaviest burden: one guarded the Yangtze's throat, the other the gateway to Suzhou and Songjiang. Upriver from Jiangyin the channel runs deep and wide; oceangoing warships and merchantmen can sail three thousand li to Chongqing. Each upstream province had its own river guard, but Jiangnan held the lower Yangtze's front line. From Langshan and Fushan to Jingkou and Nanjing, batteries and garrison posts dotted the banks like a constellation. Upstream and downstream defenses differed sharply in scale and detail. Within Jiangsu the thousand-li Yangtze was defended like a coast: gunboats, batteries, and linked land-and-water patrol posts tied the river line to the sea frontier. River defense upstream of Anhui thus fell under Jiangsu's coastal command.

自海州南抵江口，乃昔年黃河入海處，泥沙積久，凝結內海，稱五條沙，海潮甚急。海舶北赴燕、齊者，必東行一晝夜以避其沙，故淮、海州郡，得稍寬海防者，以五條沙為之保障也。自狼、福山口南抵吳淞，沙凝潮急，略同北境。惟長江、吳淞二口，水深溜大，巨艦可直駛內江，故海口防務，視海濱倍重。

From Haizhou south to the river mouth lay the old Yellow River delta, where silt had built the Five Bars shoals and the tides ran fierce. Northbound shipping for Yan and Qi had to detour east a full day to clear the shoals, which gave Huai and Haizhou a natural screen and eased their coastal burden. From Langshan and Fushan south to Wusong, shoals and rushing tides resembled the northern coast. But the Yangtze and Wusong entries ran deep with a powerful current, admitting heavy ships directly upriver—so harbor defense there weighed twice the open coast.

清初平定江南，分八旗勁旅駐京口，以鎮海大將軍統之，設水師營，造沙唬船以習水戰。旋以沙唬船難涉大洋，乃改造鳥船。時鄭成功據台灣，以師船進窺江表，由京口薄金陵，梁化鳳擊敗之。順治十四年，命梁化鳳為水軍都督，率軍萬人，駐防崇明、吳淞。以松江府三面臨海，設提督，駐重兵。康熙六年，因崇明孤懸大海，嚴出海之禁。十四年，以提督統八營駐崇明。二十三年，減存四營，列汛六十有八。太倉州為元代海運放洋之口，明代置兵屯守，清初設游擊，以劉河營移駐茜涇鎮。雍正四年，分設寶山縣，列汛五十有七。上海縣當黃浦江之沖，原有墩台十七座，康熙二年，以墩台距海較遠，乃建外塘斥堠。其南為金山縣，踞青浦、南匯之上游，設參將駐守，列汛七十有八。常熟之福山，與隔江之狼山對峙，常熟、昭文瀕海之口，為許浦、徐陸涇、白第港，康熙間，設墩堡戍守，列汛二十有四。通州為狼山營汛地，如皋為掘港營汛地，皆近海要區也。其北境之海州，為南北襟要，海口之大者凡九，最北為荻水口，其東北雲台山，清初曾徙民內地，阻塞入海之道，康熙二十年復開通，設通海營，列汛五十有五。淮安府昔為淮河入海之處，設廟灣、鹽城二營，會哨巡防，列汛四十有二。揚州府北之興化，南之泰州，為濱海之縣，清初設守備，康熙十一年，設游擊鎮之，列汛凡十。雍正八年，以福山營為江海門戶，於江蘇鎮標四營內分兵船二艘隸之，與狼山營會哨。此清初至雍正年江南之海防也。

After the Qing pacified Jiangnan, elite Banner troops garrisoned Jingkou under the Naval Commander-in-Chief; a river fleet of sand-junks was raised for training. Sand-junks proving unfit for open sea, the fleet was converted to bird boats. When Zheng Chenggong held Taiwan and sent warships to probe the lower Yangtze, pressing from Jingkou toward Nanjing, Liang Huafeng drove them off. In Shunzhi 14 (1657), Liang Huafeng was made naval commander with ten thousand men at Chongming and Wusong. Songjiang Prefecture, exposed to the sea on three sides, received a provincial commander and a heavy garrison. In Kangxi 6 (1667), Chongming's isolation in open water prompted a strict ban on seagoing. In Kangxi 14 (1675), the provincial commander took eight battalions to Chongming. In Kangxi 23 (1684), the force was cut to four battalions manning sixty-eight patrol posts. Taicang, the Yuan grain-fleet sailing port, had been garrisoned since Ming times; early Qing posted a battalion commander there and moved the Liuhe Battalion to Qianjing. In Yongzheng 4 (1726), Baoshan County was carved out with fifty-seven patrol posts. Shanghai County at the Huangpu's mouth had seventeen blockhouses; in Kangxi 2 (1663), because they sat too far inland, outer-shore watch beacons were added. South lay Jinshan County, upstream of Qingpu and Nanhui, garrisoned by a deputy regional commander and seventy-eight patrol posts. Fushan in Changshu stood opposite Langshan across the river. The coastal openings of Changshu and Zhaowen were Xupu, Xulu Creek, and Baidi Harbor; in the Kangxi reign blockhouses were manned, with twenty-four patrol posts. Tongzhou fell under the Langshan battalion's posts and Rugao under the Juegang battalion's—both vital coastal sectors. North lay Haizhou, a strategic hinge between north and south, with nine major harbor mouths—the northernmost at Dishui. Northeast rose Yuntai Mountain; early in the dynasty its populace had been moved inland, sealing the sea route until Kangxi 20 (1681), when it was reopened, a Tonghai battalion posted, and fifty-five patrol stations laid out. Huaian, where the Huai once reached the sea, had Miaowan and Yancheng battalions that patrolled together, with forty-two posts along the coast. Xinghua north of Yangzhou and Taizhou south of it were coastal counties. Early in the dynasty a garrison commander was posted; in Kangxi 11 (1672) a brigade commander took command, with ten patrol posts. In Yongzheng 8 (1730), Fushan being the river's gate to the sea, two gunboats were detached from Jiangsu's four garrison battalions and assigned to it for joint patrol with Langshan. Such was Jiangnan's coastal defense from the early Qing through Yongzheng.

乾隆至道光，江海清平，防汛率循舊制。及道光中葉，海警驟起，東南戒嚴。二十一年，以寶山海口為江南要區，屯駐大營，分設游緝之兵。吳淞亦屯兵，增設濠壘。二十二年，令耆英等周曆吳淞、狼山、福山、圌山關各處，整頓戰船砲械。二十三年，以江陰鵝鼻嘴為由海入江要口，設險守御。又防堵瓜洲及南河、灌河、射陽湖之口。令璧昌等察沿海城邑，聯絡保障。所用砲位，設局開鑄，並造水師舢板船，築砲台於江岸南北。二十四年，璧昌因狼、福山江面太寬，於劉聞沙、東生洲、順江洲、沙圩等處，修築砲堤。水師各營，增大小戰船一百三十餘艘，分廠製造。二十七年，李星沅籌防泖湖，貯石沈船，增置木牌，並存儲砲位，分佈重兵。而其時所築砲台，實止因土為堤，且器械窳舊，布置多疏，非特不足御歐洲巨艦，咸豐間，粵寇東下，沿江防戍，咸望風奔靡。及湘軍底定東南，軍勢始振。

From Qianlong through Daoguang the rivers and sea stayed quiet, and coastal garrisons mostly kept to the old arrangements. Mid-Daoguang, maritime alarms flared and the southeast went on full alert. In Daoguang 21 (1841), Baoshan harbor was deemed a Jiangnan strongpoint; a headquarters camp was posted and patrol troops distributed. Wusong likewise received troops and new entrenchments. In Daoguang 22 (1842), Qiying and others were sent to inspect Wusong, Langshan, Fushan, and Mt. Tu, overhauling warships and guns. In Daoguang 23 (1843), Jiangyin's Ebizu Point, the chief ingress from sea to river, was fortified at every strong position. Guazhou and the mouths of the Nan, Guan, and Sheyang Lake were sealed as well. Bi Chang and others were dispatched to inspect coastal towns and knit their defenses together. Foundries were opened to cast guns; naval gunboats built; fortifications raised on both banks of the river. In Daoguang 24 (1844), finding the river too wide at Lang and Fushan, Bi Chang built gun embankments at Liuwen Sha, Dongsheng Isle, Shunjiang Isle, Shawei, and similar spots. Every naval battalion added over 130 warships of various sizes, built at separate yards. In Daoguang 27 (1847), Li Xingyuan fortified Lake Mao with stockpiled stones, scuttled blockships, new wooden booms, stored guns, and a heavy troop concentration. Yet those forts were little more than earthen ramparts, armed with worn gear and loosely arranged—no match for European men-of-war. When the Taiping swept down the Yangtze in Xianfeng, riverside garrisons broke and ran at the first alarm. Once the Hunan Army secured the southeast, morale and force revived.

同治元年，諭薛煥等購西洋兵艦，在上海等要口防守。四年，曾國籓於狼山鎮標，每營增造大舢板船二十號，仿紅單船之式，多設砲位，巡緝內洋。海門設綏海營，置大舢板船二十號，酌設兵輪，分防北岸海汊。七年，更定內洋水師五營，外洋水師六營之制。以兵輪四艘，分隸蘇松、狼山、福山三鎮總兵，駐防海口。九年，南洋初設兵輪統領，駕駛出洋，周曆島嶼。十三年，調陝防武毅軍馬步二十二營，赴山東、江南沿海適中之地駐防日本。時台灣告警，李宗羲以蘇、松之門戶，吳淞為要，長江之關鍵，江陰為先，而鎮江府屬之焦山、象山，對岸之天都廟，江寧府屬之烏龍山，省城外之下關，均為扼要。以大木方石為基，搗三合土，築砲台砲門，護以鐵柱鐵板，空其下以藏砲兵。先築烏龍山砲台十六座，以次江陰、天都廟、象山、焦山、下關各築明暗砲台，置巨砲。北岸之沙州圩、吳淞口，及江陰北岸之劉聞沙，亦一律增建砲台，以嚴防務。

In Tongzhi 1 (1862), Xue Huan and others were ordered to buy Western warships and hold Shanghai and other key ports. In Tongzhi 4 (1865), Zeng Guofan had each Langshan battalion build twenty large gunboat sampans on the red-bristle junk model, heavily armed, to patrol inland waters. Haimen gained a Suihai battalion with twenty large gunboat sampans and a modest steam contingent to cover the north shore's tidal inlets. In Tongzhi 7 (1868), the five inner-sea and six outer-sea naval battalions were reorganized. Four steamers were apportioned among the Suzhou-Songjiang, Langshan, and Fushan commanders to guard the harbor mouths. In Tongzhi 9 (1870), the Southern Seas command appointed its first steam flotilla chief, who put to sea and surveyed the islands. In Tongzhi 13 (1874), twenty-two battalions of the Shaanxi Wuyi Army were deployed at strategic points on the Shandong and Jiangnan coasts to guard against Japan. With Taiwan in crisis, Li Zongxi ranked Wusong as Suzhou-Songjiang's gateway and Jiangyin as the Yangtze's first line; Jiaoshan and Xiangshan in Zhenjiang, Tiandu Temple across the river, Jiangning's Wulong Mountain, and Xiaguan below the provincial capital were all critical holds. Foundations were laid in timber and ashlar, walls built of rammed earth, embrasures shielded with iron pillars and plates, the hollow below sheltering gun crews. Sixteen forts went up first at Wulong Mountain, then open and masked batteries at Jiangyin, Tiandu Temple, Xiangshan, Jiaoshan, and Xiaguan, each mounting heavy guns. Shazhou Wei, Wusong mouth, and Liuwen Sha on Jiangyin's north bank likewise received new forts to tighten the cordon.

光緒元年，劉坤一於江陰鵝鼻嘴砲台外，復於下游增築砲台。其北岸之十圩港，亦增築砲台，與南岸相犄角。又修改焦山、圌山關、烏龍山等處砲門，以期合法。五年，以外海兵輪統領駐吳淞口，凡沿海各省兵輪，悉歸調遣。七年，令彭玉麟籌辦江陰至吳淞口一帶海防。重修圌山關、東生洲兩岸舊築砲堤，並築營壘，置大砲。又改天都廟舊式砲台為明砲台。八年，左宗棠舉辦沿海漁團，選漁戶精壯者五千人隸吳淞鎮，給以糧械，隨時操練。彭玉麟以狼、福山為長江總口，長江下游雖修治砲台，而江面空虛，鐵甲大戰艦無多，止有海防，未能海戰。議造鐵甲小兵艦十艘，專顧內洋，與砲台相掩護。十年，令安徽疆臣籌備上游江防。乃於安慶城外，築明暗砲台各一座，石營一座。攔江磯北岸，建明砲台二座，石營一座，南岸建明砲台、石營各一座。西梁山建明砲台四座，石營一座，土營二座。東梁山就其形勢，築石城、砲堤各一道，以控制江面。十年，曾國荃以新購西洋十四口徑八百磅子大砲及開花子彈，分置江陰、吳淞二口砲台。又購馬梯尼快槍二千枝，分給各營。又於吳淞砲台增兵八營，江陰砲台增兵十二營，扼守江海總路。十三年，又增建吳淞、江陰砲台，以鐵木石土各料築成，各設新式後膛大砲，其旁佐以哈乞開司砲。江陰之四門大砲台，分建於小角山、黃山二處。黃山舊砲台所存之八十磅子後膛砲，移設於大石灣明砲台。凡砲台之門，各建砲房，護以三合土牆。又田雞砲為軍中利器，於江干要隘，建砲房，置田雞砲，以資操練。二十二年，張之洞以江南各砲台分為四路，南路獅子林、南石塘各台為一路，南北岸各台為一路，象山、焦山、圌山關、天都廟各台為一路，江寧之獅子山、幕府山、鍾山、下關各台為一路，設總管砲台官四員，以新購外洋四十餘磅子快槍砲三十具分置各砲台。二十五年，以長江水師兵力單弱，皖省防軍尤少，令沿江督撫，不分畛域，節節設防。

In Guangxu 1 (1875), Liu Kunyi built additional forts downstream from Jiangyin's Ebizu battery. Shiwei Harbor on the north bank gained forts as well, pinching the river with the south bank. Embrasures at Jiaoshan, Mt. Tu, Wulong Mountain, and elsewhere were reworked to meet specification. In Guangxu 5 (1879), the outer-sea steam commander was posted at Wusong, with every coastal steamer under his orders. In Guangxu 7 (1881), Peng Yulin was charged with Jiangyin-to-Wusong coastal defense. Old gun embankments at Mt. Tu and Dongsheng Isle on both banks were rebuilt, barracks added, and heavy guns mounted. Tiandu Temple's old battery was converted to an open fort. In Guangxu 8 (1882), Zuo Zongtang raised a coastal fishing militia: five thousand stout fishermen enrolled under Wusong, provisioned and armed, and kept under drill. Peng Yulin saw Lang and Fushan as the Yangtze's main gate. Downstream forts had been rebuilt, but the river was thinly held and armored capital ships scarce—coastal defense there was, not a fleet that could meet the enemy at sea. Ten small armored gunboats were proposed for inland waters, acting in concert with the forts. In Guangxu 10 (1884), Anhui's governors were told to ready the upper Yangtze defenses. Outside Anqing they built one open and one masked battery and a stone barracks. At Lanjiang Ji the north bank received two open batteries and a stone barracks; the south bank one open battery and one stone barracks. West Liang Mountain gained four open batteries, a stone barracks, and two earthen camps. East Liang Mountain, following its contours, got a stone wall and gun embankment to command the river. In Guangxu 10 (1884), Zeng Guoquan placed newly purchased 14-inch guns firing 800-pound shells and explosive rounds at the Jiangyin and Wusong batteries. Two thousand Martini rifles were bought as well and issued to the battalions. Eight battalions were added at Wusong and twelve at Jiangyin to hold the main junction of river and sea traffic. In Guangxu 13 (1887), Wusong and Jiangyin batteries were rebuilt in iron, timber, stone, and earth, each mounting new breech-loading guns with Hotchkiss pieces in support. Jiangyin's four-embrasure heavy battery was split between Xiaojiao Mountain and Huangshan. The 80-pound breech-loaders held at the old Huangshan battery were shifted to the open fort at Dashiwan. Each fort entrance got a gun chamber shielded by concrete walls. Frog mortars, prized infantry weapons, were housed in riverside gun rooms at critical points for training. In Guangxu 22 (1896), Zhang Zhidong reorganized Jiangnan's batteries into four sectors—Lion Grove and South Shitang on the south; all north- and south-bank posts; Xiangshan, Jiaoshan, Mt. Tu, and Tiandu Temple; and Jiangning's Lion Hill, Mufu Hill, Bell Hill, and Xiaguan—appointing four fort superintendents and distributing thirty newly bought foreign quick-firers of 40-plus pounds among them. In Guangxu 25 (1899), with the Yangtze flotilla too thin and Anhui's garrison especially sparse, riverside governors were told to ignore provincial lines and fortify every stretch.

三十一年，以東南各省新軍，次第練成，命兵部侍郎鐵良至江南考察江海防務。旋鐵良覆陳江南之沿江海砲台，分為四路，曰吳淞，曰江陰，曰鎮江，曰金陵。第一路吳淞砲台，在寶山縣南，分設三台，置前後膛大小砲三十四具，砲勇三百餘人，水旱雷營二哨，雷勇一百餘人，以盛字五營駐防。第二路江陰砲台，在縣城北，於長江南北岸分設砲台，南岸置前後膛大小砲三十七具，北岸置砲二十具，砲勇共四百餘人，水旱雷營三哨，雷勇二百餘人，以合字、南字等八營分兩岸駐守。第三路鎮江砲台五處，曰圌山關，曰東生洲，曰象山，曰焦山，曰天都廟。南岸各台置砲十五具，北岸各台置砲六具，砲勇二百餘人，以新湘二旗駐防。溯江至鎮江府城，南岸象山，北岸天都廟，中流焦山，分設三台，象山置砲十八具，焦山六具，天都廟九具，砲勇三百餘人，以武威六營、新湘三旗駐防。金陵城外砲台七處，曰烏龍山，曰幕府山，曰下關，曰獅子山，曰富貴山，曰清涼山，曰雨花台。烏龍山在省城外四十里，於南岸分設五台，置砲十二具，砲勇一百餘人。幕府山在北門外，砲台依次置砲七具，迤西老虎山置砲四具，砲勇一百餘人。下關砲台在城外東面對岸，東岸置砲二具，西岸置砲十具，砲勇一百餘人。獅子山在城內，分設東西二台，置砲八具，砲勇九十人。富貴山在鍾山之麓，置砲六具，砲勇四十餘人。清涼山在西門內，依城為砲台，置砲二具，砲勇十四人。雨花台在聚寶門外，置砲二具，砲勇十四人。

In Guangxu 31 (1905), with southeastern new armies coming up to strength in turn, Vice Minister of War Tie Liang was sent to Jiangnan to review river and sea defenses. Tie Liang soon reported back that Jiangnan's river and coastal batteries fell into four sectors: Wusong, Jiangyin, Zhenjiang, and Jinling. First sector: Wusong, south of Baoshan County—three batteries mounting thirty-four guns of mixed calibers, 300-plus gunners, two naval and land mine platoons with 100-plus sappers, garrisoned by five Sheng battalions. Second sector: Jiangyin, north of the county seat—batteries on both Yangtze banks with thirty-seven guns south and twenty north, 400-plus gunners, three mine platoons with 200-plus sappers, held by eight battalions including He and Nan units split between the shores. Third sector: five Zhenjiang batteries—Mt. Tu, Dongsheng Isle, Xiangshan, Jiaoshan, and Tiandu Temple. South-bank posts held fifteen guns each, north-bank six; 200-plus gunners manned them under the New Xiang two banners. Upriver from Zhenjiang city—Xiangshan on the south bank, Tiandu Temple on the north, Jiaoshan midstream—three batteries with eighteen, six, and nine guns respectively, 300-plus gunners, garrisoned by six Wuwei battalions and three New Xiang banners. Seven batteries ringed Jinling—Wulong Hill, Mufu Hill, Xiaguan, Lion Hill, Fugui Hill, Qingliang Hill, and Yuhuatai. Wulong Hill, forty li outside the provincial capital, had five south-bank batteries with twelve guns and 100-plus gunners. Mufu Hill, beyond the north gate, mounted seven guns; Laohu Hill farther west had four—100-plus gunners between them. Xiaguan battery faced the city's east bank—two guns on the east shore, ten on the west—manned by 100-plus gunners. Lion Hill inside the city had east and west batteries with eight guns and ninety gunners. Fugui Hill at the foot of Bell Hill mounted six guns with 40-plus gunners. Qingliang Hill inside the west gate used the city wall as its parapet—two guns, fourteen gunners. Yuhuatai, outside Jubao Gate, had two guns and fourteen gunners.

安徽省砲台分為四路，曰東西梁山，曰攔江磯，曰前江，曰棋盤山。梁山夾江對峙，東台置砲十四具，西台十二具，以精銳營步兵三哨為砲兵。攔江磯砲台在省城外四十里西岸，置砲十五具，以續備步隊中營駐台為砲兵。前江口砲台在上游十餘里，踞東岸高阜，分上下二台，置砲十二具，由續備中營撥兵分駐。棋盤山砲台在安慶東門外北岸，置大小砲六十八具，以步兵前營駐防。

Anhui's batteries fell into four sectors—East and West Liang Mountains, Lanjiang Ji, Qianjiang, and Qipan Mountain. The Liang Mountains faced off across the river—fourteen guns east, twelve west—manned by three elite-infantry platoons converted to artillery. Lanjiang Ji, forty li west of the provincial city, mounted fifteen guns under the reserve infantry middle battalion. Qianjiang Mouth, ten-plus li upstream on an east-bank height, split into upper and lower batteries with twelve guns, manned by detachments from the reserve middle battalion. Qipan Mountain, on the north bank outside Anqing's east gate, held sixty-eight guns of assorted calibers under the infantry front battalion.

江西省砲台分為四路，曰馬當，曰湖口，曰金雞坡，曰岳師門。馬當在彭澤縣東南岸，分設五台，置砲五具，砲勇六十人。湖口砲台在縣城北之東西岸，分設二台，置砲十具，砲勇七十人。金雞坡砲台在九江府十里外東西岸，分設三台，列東西北三面，置砲十二具，砲勇二百人。岳師門砲台在九江東門外，分上下二台，沿江岸建築，置砲二十一具，砲勇七十人。

Jiangxi's batteries formed four sectors—Madang, Hukou, Jinji Slope, and Yueshi Gate. Madang, on Pengze's southeast bank, had five batteries with five guns and sixty gunners. Hukou, on both banks north of the county seat, had two batteries, ten guns, and seventy gunners. Jinji Slope, ten li from Jiujiang on both banks, had three batteries facing east, north, and west with twelve guns and two hundred gunners. Yueshi Gate, outside Jiujiang's east gate, had upper and lower shore batteries with twenty-one guns and seventy gunners.

湖北省砲台，僅田家鎮一路，分中南北三台，置砲三十一具，砲勇五十人。

Hubei had but one battery sector at Tianjiazhen—central, south, and north forts with thirty-one guns and fifty gunners.

自同治間，經營江海防務，歷四十餘年，始稱完密雲。

River and sea defenses had been under construction since the Tongzhi era; only after forty-odd years were they deemed complete.

浙江東南境瀕海者，為杭、嘉、寧、紹、溫、台六郡，凡一千三百餘里。南連閩嶠，北接蘇、松。自平湖、海鹽西南至錢塘江口，折而東南至定海、舟山，為內海之堂奧。自鎮海而南，歷寧波、溫、台三府，直接閩境，東俯滄溟，皆外海。論防內海，則嘉興之乍浦、澉浦，海寧之洋山，杭州之鱉子門，紹興之沙門為要。論防外海，則定海縣與玉環廳皆孤峙大洋。定海為甬郡之屏籓，玉環為溫、台之保障，尤屬浙防重地。定海之東，其遠勢羅列者，首為海中之馬跡山。山北屬江蘇境，山南屬浙江境，而五奎山亦為扼要。陳錢山則在馬跡之東北，山大而隩廣，可為舟師屯泊之所。迤南經岱山、普陀山，出落迦門，至東霍山，與陳錢山南北相為犄角。其南有昌國外之韭山，均可駐泊舟師。自寧波而南，內有佛頭、桃渚、松門、楚門諸山，外有茶盤、牛頭、積穀、石塘、大小鹿山，為溫、台所屬水師會哨之所。由玉環廳而更南，歷漁山、三盤、鳳凰、北屺、南屺而至此關，則接閩省防地矣。

Zhejiang's coastal southeast comprised six prefectures—Hangzhou, Jiaxing, Ningbo, Shaoxing, Wenzhou, and Taizhou—stretching over 1,300 li. Fujian's coast lay to the south, Suzhou and Songjiang to the north. From Pinghu and Haiyan southwest to the Qiantang estuary, then southeast to Dinghai and Zhoushan, lay the inner sea's heartland. South from Zhenhai through Ningbo, Wenzhou, and Taizhou to the Fujian border, all waters opening onto the open Pacific—outer sea throughout. Inner-sea defense turned on Jiaxing's Zhapu and Ganpu, Haining's Yangshan, Hangzhou's Biezi Gate, and Shaoxing's Shamen. Outer-sea defense hinged on Dinghai County and Yuhuan Subprefecture, each isolated in the open ocean. Dinghai screened Ningbo; Yuhuan guarded Wenzhou and Taizhou—both linchpins of Zhejiang's coastal defense. East of Dinghai, the foremost of the distant islands was Mazhi Mountain at sea. Its north lay in Jiangsu, its south in Zhejiang; Wukui Mountain was another critical outpost. Chenqian Hill northeast of Mazhi was large with a broad anchorage—a natural fleet mooring. Southward through Daishan and Putuo, out Luojia Gate to Donghuo Hill, pairing with Chenqian in a north-south pincer. Farther south lay Jiushan beyond Changguo—another suitable fleet anchorage. South of Ningbo, inner islands included Fotou, Taozhu, Songmen, and Chumen; outer ones Chapan, Niutou, Jigu, Shitang, and the Luzhi islets—joint patrol stations for Wenzhou and Taizhou flotillas. South from Yuhuan through Yushan, Sanpan, Fenghuang, Beiqi, and Nanqi to this frontier lay Fujian's defense zone.

清初平定浙江後，沿明制嚴海防。順治八年，令寧波、溫州、台州三府沿海居民內徙，以絕海盜之蹤。康熙二年，於沿海立椿界，增設墩堠台寨，駐兵警備。四年，以欽差大臣巡視浙江海防。七年，命偕總督出巡沿海，直至福建邊境，提督則每年必巡歷各海口，增造巨艦，備戰守。二十九年，命江、浙二省疆臣，會勘轄境海面，分界巡哨，勒石于洋山，垂為定制。雍正五年，以提標之游擊、守備二員，統率兵丁，改隸水師。六年，定沿海商船漁船之帆檣符號，以別奸良，並增設汛弁。選福建之精練水兵至浙，教練浙軍十二營水戰諸務，巡遊海口。七年，增建沿海要口台，增設巡船，及防汛移駐之區，總兵官出巡之制。乾隆五十九年，以五奎山為浙洋扼要之地，撥定海標兵駐守。道光二十年，奇明保等以杭州之鱉子門，為錢塘通海要口，於潮神廟江狹之處，屯兵防守。二十一年，令沿海疆臣，仿定海土堡之法，凡近海村落，招募團練，築土堡，互相聯絡。三十年，以漁山孤懸海外，令黃岩鎮總兵以舟師靖盜。光緒六年，譚鍾麟以浙省沿海各口，巨艦之可深入者，距省最近為乍浦，次則寧波之鎮海、定海、石浦，台州之海門，溫州之黃華關，舊有砲台三十餘座，惟海門鎮砲台建築合法。其澉浦之長山，乍浦之陳山，定海之舟山，海門鎮之小港口各砲台，咸加修改。鎮海之金雞、招寶二山，於原有砲台外，增築金雞山嘴砲台一座。十三年，劉秉璋以浙江海防，首重舟山，次以招寶、金雞二山為要塞。乃酌度形勢，分建宏遠、平遠、綏遠、安遠砲台四座，置克魯伯後膛大小銅砲，東御蛟門海口。十四年，砲榮光以浙江原有之營勇砲兵，已陸續汰弱留強，加以整練，鎮海新築砲台，及改造舊式砲台，皆已竣工，增置新購後膛巨砲，以新練之軍駐守。十九年，譚鍾麟以浙江水師船僅五十餘艘，增紅單船八艘，助巡洋面。二十五年，劉樹棠以浙江武備新軍左營操法最精，其陸軍水師前敵駐防洋槍隊各營，步伐分合進退，亦均嫻熟，飭分駐寧、台、三門灣各隘，並澉浦、乍浦沿海口岸。三十三年，張曾易攵建言，浙江象山港在定海之南，深入象山境六十六里，口寬而水深，群山環繞，作海軍根據地最宜。尋諭南北洋大臣勘度經營。

Once the early Qing had pacified Zhejiang, it tightened coastal defense along Ming lines. In the eighth year of Shunzhi, coastal inhabitants of Ningbo, Wenzhou, and Taizhou were ordered to relocate inland, so that pirates might find no foothold along the shore. In Kangxi 2, the coast was marked with a pile boundary, new beacon towers, watch posts, and fortified camps were added, and garrisons were posted to stand watch. In the fourth year, an imperial commissioner was dispatched to inspect coastal defenses in Zhejiang. In the seventh year he was ordered to join the governor-general on a coastal tour all the way to the Fujian border, while the provincial commander-in-chief had to inspect every harbor mouth annually; more large warships were built for war and defense. In the twenty-ninth year, officials of Jiangsu and Zhejiang were ordered to survey the seas under their jurisdictions together, divide patrol zones, and set up a boundary marker on Yangshan—a rule thereafter treated as permanent. In Yongzheng 5, the brigade commander and garrison commander under the provincial commander's banner, together with the troops they led, were transferred to the naval service. In the sixth year, standardized sail and mast markings were imposed on coastal merchant and fishing craft to tell loyal traffic from smugglers and pirates, and more garrison officers were posted. Seasoned sailors were brought from Fujian to drill Zhejiang's twelve battalions in naval tactics and to patrol the coastal harbors. In the seventh year, coastal strongpoints were fortified, patrol ships were added, zones for seasonal redeployment of garrison troops were fixed, and a schedule was set for regional commanders' inspection tours. In Qianlong 59, Wukui Mountain was judged a vital point on the Zhejiang coast, and Dinghai garrison troops were posted there. In Daoguang 20, Qi Mingbao and his colleagues argued that Biezi Gate near Hangzhou was the Qiantang River's main outlet to the sea, and posted troops at the river narrows by the Tide God Temple. In the twenty-first year, coastal officials were told to follow Dinghai's model of earthen forts: recruit militia in seaside villages, build earthworks, and connect them into a network. In the thirtieth year, because Yushan lay exposed and alone far offshore, the Huangyan garrison commander was ordered to send ships against the pirates there. In Guangxu 6, Tan Zhonglin observed that of Zhejiang's coastal entrances where heavy ships could sail deep inland, Zhapu lay closest to the provincial capital, followed by Zhenhai, Dinghai, and Shipu in the Ningbo area, Haimen in Taizhou, and Huanghua Pass in Wenzhou. More than thirty forts already stood along the coast, but only the one at Haimen Town was soundly built. Forts at Changshan near Ganpu, Chenshan near Zhapu, Zhoushan in Dinghai, and the small harbor at Haimen Town were all rebuilt. At Zhenhai's twin hills, Jinji and Zhaobao, a new battery was added on the promontory of Jinji Hill, beyond the forts already there. In the thirteenth year, Liu Bingzhang argued that Zhejiang's coastal defense should center first on Zhoushan, and next on the twin fortresses of Zhaobao and Jinji hills. Weighing the terrain, he built four batteries—Hongyuan, Pingyuan, Suiyuan, and Anyuan—armed with Krupp breech-loading brass guns of various calibers to guard Jiaomen harbor to the east. In the fourteenth year, Pao Rongguang reported that Zhejiang's garrison gunners had been thinned to keep only the best and put through rigorous training; Zhenhai's new batteries and renovated older ones were all finished; freshly bought breech-loading heavy guns were installed; and newly drilled troops were posted to man them. In the nineteenth year, finding Zhejiang's naval force numbered barely fifty ships, Tan Zhonglin added eight red-banded junks to broaden patrol coverage. In the twenty-fifth year, Liu Shutang praised the left battalion of Zhejiang's New Army for Military Preparedness as the best drilled in the province, and noted that the foreign-rifle companies of the army and naval vanguard were equally expert in manoeuvres. He ordered them distributed to the passes at Ningbo, Taizhou, and Sanmen Bay, and to the coastal ports of Ganpu and Zhapu. In the thirty-third year, Zhang Zengyi proposed that Xiangshan Harbor south of Dinghai—sixty-six li deep into Xiangshan, with a wide mouth, deep water, and encircling mountains—was ideally suited to serve as a naval base. The court soon ordered the ministers of the Northern and Southern Fleets to survey the site and develop it.

浙江海岸綿長，省垣據錢塘江上游，外恃龕、赭二山為口門，江狹沙橫，儼如天塹，敵艦卒難闌入。道光以後，海疆屢警，雖寧、台戒嚴，而不致牽動全局。中法之役，法艦曾至寧波洋面，招寶山砲台卻之。此後遂無歐艦之蹤。惟象山港天然形勝，與膠澳、旅順鼎峙而三，惜築港未成雲。

Zhejiang's coastline stretches far. The provincial capital lies up the Qiantang River, guarded outward by the Kan and Zhe hills at its mouth; the river narrows and sandbars run across it like a natural moat, so enemy warships can hardly force their way in. After Daoguang, the coast was repeatedly threatened, yet even when Ningbo and Taizhou went on alert, the province as a whole was not thrown into crisis. In the Sino-French War, French ships approached Ningbo, only to be turned back by the battery on Zhaobao Hill. After that, no European warships appeared again. Xiangshan Harbor's natural advantages rivaled those of Jiaoao and Lüshun—the three great sites—but the planned naval base was never finished.

福建東南沿海凡二千餘里，港澳凡三百六十餘處，要口凡二十餘處。額設水師二萬七千七百餘人，分三十一營，大小戰船二百六十六艘。自清初以迄乾隆，削平鄭氏，三定台灣，及嘉慶間靖海之役，福建用兵海上，較他省為多。島嶼星羅，處處與台、澎相控制，故海防布置，尤為繁密。其州郡濱海者，為福寧、福州、興化、泉州、漳州五府，而台灣障其東方。五府防務，各有注重之處。福寧重在各港口，自北境之南關山、沙埕港口迤邐而西南，為烏岐港口、鹽田港口、白馬門口、金垂港口、飛鸞江口、東沖總口，海舶之輕利者，隨處可入。其外海島嶼較大者，為東西台、七星礁、浮瀛、大小崳山，足資屏衛。此福寧之防也。福州重在閩江，以江口內為省治所在。其外自北境松崎、江戶，經東西洛、南北竿塘、鼇江口，至閩江近口之琅崎島、金牌、五虎門，皆扼要之所。入口經大小嶼、羅星塔，乃同、光間所創建之海軍船廠、軍械製造局，咸在於是。出口沿海而南，經梅花江口、龍江口，少東即海壇島，水師重鎮所在。其外海之島，若猴嶼受閩江之沖，東永當長樂之臂，較白大、東沙諸島為要。此福州之防也。興化重在海濱諸島，自三江口經鹿耳、大小丘，循平海衛、湄洲嶼，至雙溪港口，乃沿海之境。其外海島嶼，為平海、南日二島，列汛置官，視為重地，而湄洲亦興郡屏籓。此興化之防也。泉州重在金、廈二島。自北境惠安峰、崎港口，經雒陽江、晉江、安海港三口。其南為金州鎮。又西經大登、小登，即廈門島。島北為同安港口。金、廈二門，遠控台、澎，近衛泉、漳，為海防重地。其外海之永寧、定安、烏潯諸島，亦設汛置兵。此泉州之防也。漳州重在南澳，鼓浪嶼為南境盡處，尤擅形勢。其沿海之境，自九龍江口折而西南，經六鼇港、漳江二口，循銅山而南，為詔安港口。其南隔海為南澳鎮，南疆要地，與粵海共之。其外海島嶼，首為烏丘，最當衝要。而鼓浪嶼當海門之口，與鎮海城砲台同為重地。此漳州之防也。中國沿海各省，自浙洋而北，海濱淤沙多而島嶼少，其海岸徑直，故防務重在江海總口，而略于海岸。自浙洋而南，島嶼多而淤沙少，其海岸紆曲，故防務既重海口，而巨島與海岸亦並重焉。

Fujian's southeastern coast runs more than two thousand li, with over three hundred bays and inlets and more than twenty strategic entrances. On paper the navy fielded more than 27,700 men in thirty-one battalions, with 266 warships large and small. From the early Qing through Qianlong—crushing the Zheng regime, thrice pacifying Taiwan, and fighting pirates in the Jiaqing era—Fujian saw more naval warfare than any other province. Islands dotted the sea, each point balancing Taiwan and Penghu across the strait, so coastal defenses there were laid out with unusual density. Five coastal prefectures—Funing, Fuzhou, Xinghua, Quanzhou, and Zhangzhou—faced the sea, with Taiwan standing as a barrier to the east. Each of the five prefectures had its own defensive priorities. Funing's defense focused on its harbors—from Nanguan Hill and Shacheng in the north, sweeping southwest through Wuji, Yantian, Baima Pass, Jinchui, Feiluan River, and Dongchong—any point where light, fast ships could slip in. Larger offshore islands—East and West Platform, Qixing Reef, Fuying, and Greater and Lesser Yushan—could serve as outlying shields. Such was Funing's coastal defense. Fuzhou's defense centered on the Min River, whose inner reaches held the provincial capital. From Songqi and Jianghu in the north, through East and West Luo, North and South Gantang, and Aojiang mouth, down to Langqi Island, Jinpai, and Wuhumen near the Min River's entrance—each was a vital choke point. Inward past Greater and Lesser Islets and Luoxing Pagoda lay the naval shipyard and ordnance factory built in the Tongzhi and Guangxu eras. Southward along the coast past Meihua and Longjiang river mouths, a short distance east lay Haitan Island, home to a major naval garrison. Offshore, Houyu absorbed the Min River's force and Dongyong guarded Changle's flank—both more important than Baidai, Dongsha, and the other outlying islets. Such was Fuzhou's coastal defense. Xinghua's defense focused on its coastal islands—from Sanjiang mouth through Deer Ear and Greater and Lesser Qiu, along Pinghaiwei and Meizhou Island to Shuangxi Harbor. Its key offshore islands were Pinghai and Nanri, each garrisoned and treated as vital ground; Meizhou too served as Xinghua's outer shield. Such was Xinghua's coastal defense. Quanzhou's defense centered on the islands of Kinmen and Xiamen. From Huian Peak and Qi Harbor in the north, through the mouths of the Luoyang, Jin, and Anhai rivers. To the south lay Jinzhou garrison town. Farther west, past Daden and Xiaodeng, lay Xiamen Island. North of the island lay Tong'an Harbor. The Kinmen and Xiamen straits commanded Taiwan and Penghu at a distance while shielding Quanzhou and Zhangzhou up close—making them among the most critical positions on the coast. Offshore islands such as Yongning, Ding'an, and Wuxun were likewise garrisoned and manned. Such was Quanzhou's coastal defense. Zhangzhou's defense focused on Nan'ao; Gulangyu, at the southern edge of its jurisdiction, commanded the finest strategic position. Its coastal stretch ran from Jiulong River mouth southwest through Liu'ao Harbor and the Zhang River mouth, then south along Tongshan to Zhao'an Harbor. Across the sea to the south lay Nan'ao garrison, a key southern stronghold shared with the Guangdong coast. Offshore, Wuchiu Island stood foremost—the most exposed and contested position. Gulangyu guarded the sea gate, and together with the Zhenhai City battery it ranked among the most vital positions. Such was Zhangzhou's coastal defense. North of the Zhejiang seas, China's coastal provinces had muddy, silt-laden shores and few islands, with relatively straight coastlines—so coastal defense focused on major river and sea mouths rather than the shoreline itself. South of the Zhejiang seas, islands were plentiful and silting less severe, with winding coastlines—so harbor mouths mattered, but large islands and the coast itself were equally vital.

順治十七年，王命岳以閩省之海門與廈門相望，左為鎮海衛，乃漳州府之門戶，同安縣之高浦城等處，地近廈門，為泉州府屏衛，乃屯兵於鎮海、高浦二城，而分營以防鄰近隘口。雍正四年，浙閩總督高其倬奏陳操練沿海水師，並令閩洋水師巡視本省各口，兼赴浙洋巡緝。嘉慶四年，令閩省水師仿商船式改造戰船八十艘，編為兩列。自泉州之崇武，分南北犄角。由崇武而南，令南澳、銅山、金門及提標後營各鎮將率船巡緝。崇武而北，令海壇、閩安及金門右營各鎮將率船巡緝。道光二十年，諭鄧廷楨招募練勇，嚴守澎湖，以扼閩省赴台灣之路。二十二年，諭怡良等屯兵福州金牌各要口。其距省二十里外之洪塘河及少岐，均沈船布椿設防。閩省門戶在外洋者，為五虎、芭蕉二口。入口為壺江，水勢稍狹，無險可扼。進至金牌、長門，有巨石橫亙中流，扼守較易。又進乃閩安之南北岸，為水路總匯，兩山夾峙，可稱天險。光緒六年，於南岸建鐵門暗砲台六、明砲台八，北岸建鐵門暗砲台七。七年，又於長門建暗砲台四、明砲台六，悉仿洋式。二十四年，增祺因閩省濱海，屯戍空虛，增練旗、綠各營，以厚兵力。二十五年，許應騤以漳州之鼓浪嶼設防尚未周備，增建砲台，置新式砲。

In Shunzhi 17, Wang Mingyue noted that Fujian's sea gate faced Xiamen across the strait. Zhenhaiwei to the left was Zhangzhou's gateway; Gaopu City in Tong'an county and other sites near Xiamen shielded Quanzhou. He garrisoned Zhenhai and Gaopu and deployed separate camps to guard the nearby passes. In Yongzheng 4, Governor-General Gao Qizhuo of Zhejiang and Fujian memorialized on drilling the coastal navy and ordered Fujian's fleet to patrol every port in the province while also conducting suppression patrols in Zhejiang waters. In Jiaqing 4, Fujian's navy was ordered to refit eighty warships on merchant-ship designs, organized into two squadrons. From Chongwu in Quanzhou, the fleet split into northern and southern wings in pincer formation. South of Chongwu, the commanders of Nan'ao, Tongshan, Kinmen, and the provincial admiral's rear camp were ordered to lead patrol squadrons. North of Chongwu, the commanders of Haitan, Min'an, and Kinmen's right camp were ordered to lead patrol squadrons. In Daoguang 20, Deng Tingzhen was ordered to recruit and drill militia, hold Penghu firmly, and block the route from Fujian to Taiwan. Two years later, Yiliang and others were ordered to garrison troops at the key passes of Fuzhou's Jinpai. At Hongtang River and Shaoqi, twenty li from the provincial capital, defenses were set with sunken ships and driven stakes. Fujian's outer gateways on the open sea were the Wuhu and Bajiao channels. The entrance at Hujiang had relatively narrow waters, with no natural choke point to hold. Farther in at Jinpai and Changmen, massive rocks spanned midstream, making the passage easier to defend. Still farther lay Min'an's north and south banks, where all water routes converged between two facing mountains—a natural fortress. In Guangxu 6, six iron-gate concealed batteries and eight exposed batteries were built on the south bank, and seven iron-gate concealed batteries on the north. The following year, four concealed and six exposed batteries were added at Changmen, all built to Western designs. In Guangxu 24, Zeng Qi, finding Fujian's coastal garrisons undermanned, expanded drill across banner and Green Standard camps to thicken the province's defenses. In Guangxu 25, Xu Yingqi found Gulangyu's defenses incomplete and added batteries with modern artillery.

綜閩省海防，所注重者，隨時異宜。當康熙間，以鄭氏由台、澎據海壇、金、廈，故海防獨重泉、漳。其時水師以沙唬船不適于海戰，改造鳥船。施琅之平台灣，即藉鳥船之力。及嘉慶間，海盜蔡牽竄擾浙、閩、粵三省洋面，而閩省當其中，寧、福、興、泉、漳五郡皆剽掠經由之境，故列郡咸重海防。其時水師利用巨艦，李長庚造霆船三十艘，置大砲四百餘具，屢敗牽於閩海，卒合閩、浙水師之力，圍而殲之。最後為光緒中法之戰，法人以大隊鐵艦專攻福州，故海防獨重閩江口，而各郡無驚。同治以後，創船廠，造鐵艦，築砲台，制槍砲，海防漸臻嚴密。乃馬江失律，盡隳前功，良足慨耳。

Overall, Fujian's coastal defense priorities shifted with the demands of each era. Under Kangxi, with the Zheng regime holding Haitan, Kinmen, and Xiamen from bases in Taiwan and Penghu, coastal defense focused chiefly on Quanzhou and Zhangzhou. The navy then found sand junks ill-suited to open-sea combat and converted to bird ships. Shi Lang's conquest of Taiwan owed much to the bird ships. By Jiaqing, the pirate Cai Qian plagued the seas of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong. Fujian lay at the center, and all five prefectures—Ning, Fu, Xing, Quan, and Zhang—lay in his path, so every district strengthened its coastal defenses. The navy then fielded heavy warships; Li Changgeng built thirty thunder ships mounting over four hundred large guns, repeatedly routed Cai Qian in Fujian waters, and finally, joining Fujian and Zhejiang fleets, surrounded and destroyed him. Finally, in the Guangxu-era Sino-French War, French ironclads concentrated on Fuzhou, so coastal defense focused on the Min River mouth while the other prefectures went unscathed. After Tongzhi, shipyards, ironclads, batteries, and modern arms were built, and coastal defenses grew steadily more formidable. Yet the disaster at Mawei undid all these gains—a loss truly to be mourned.

台灣西與福、興、泉、漳四府相值，距澎、廈各數百里。其山脈北起雞籠，南盡沙馬碕。東西沃野，一歲三熟。宋稱毗舍那國。明季日本、荷蘭人迭踞之。順治間，鄭成功佔台灣、金、廈，時犯泉、漳。康熙初，姚啟聖以閩省水師三百艘討之，先克金、廈。二十二年，施琅以水師二萬克台灣，乃置台灣府，設廳縣各官，鑄鐵幣，開學校，築城垣，逐生番，戍兵萬有四千，遂為海外重鎮。康熙六十年，硃一貴之叛，施世驃由廈門率水師六百艘進攻，七日而克之。乃以總兵官鎮台灣，副將守澎湖。乾隆間，福康安平林爽文之亂，台灣北境乃漸展拓。其山後之地，至嘉慶間始辟之。光緒十三年，開台灣為省治，設巡撫以下各官，為中國海南右臂。及中日之戰，割讓於日本，而疆事益不可問雲。

Taiwan faced Fujian's Fu, Xing, Quan, and Zhang prefectures to the west, several hundred li from Penghu and Xiamen. Its mountains ran from Keelung in the north to Samabachi in the south. Fertile plains east and west yielded three harvests a year. The Song knew it as the land of Pizhena. In the late Ming, Japanese and Dutch alternately held it. Under Shunzhi, Zheng Chenggong held Taiwan, Kinmen, and Xiamen and periodically raided Quanzhou and Zhangzhou. Early in Kangxi, Yao Qisheng led three hundred Fujian warships against him, first seizing Kinmen and Xiamen. In Kangxi 22, Shi Lang conquered Taiwan with twenty thousand sailors. He established Taiwan prefecture, appointed district and county officials, minted iron currency, opened schools, built fortifications, drove back the aborigines, and garrisoned fourteen thousand troops—making the island a major overseas stronghold. In Kangxi 60, during Zhu Yigui's rebellion, Shi Shipiao led six hundred warships from Xiamen and captured the island in seven days. A regional commander was posted to Taiwan and a vice commander to Penghu. Under Qianlong, Fuk'anggan suppressed Lin Shuangwen's rebellion, and Taiwan's northern frontier was gradually expanded. The mountainous interior was not settled until the Jiaqing era. In Guangxu 13 (1887), Taiwan was elevated to full provincial status, with a governor and the complete provincial bureaucracy, forming China's strategic bulwark along the southern sea. After the Sino-Japanese War, Taiwan was ceded to Japan, and the fate of the maritime frontier could no longer even be discussed.

廣東南境皆瀕海，自東而西，歷潮、惠、廣、肇、高、雷、廉七郡，而抵越南。其東境始於南澳，與閩海接界。潮郡支山入海，有廣澳、赤澳諸島，皆水師巡泊所在。迤西為惠州，民性剽悍，與潮郡無異，設碣石鎮總兵以鎮之。又西為廣州境，其海灣深廣。自新安折而北，又折而南，至香山，是為內海，群島環羅，為廣州省治之外護。又西為金州、馬鞍諸山，則肇郡陽江之屏障也。又西為高州海，多暗礁暗沙，海防較簡。又西為雷州，其南幹突出三百餘里，三面皆海。渡海而南為瓊州。又西為廉、欽，與越南錯壤。廉州多沙，欽州多島，襟山帶海，界接華夷。瓊州孤懸海表，其州縣環繞黎疆，沿海多沈沙，行舟至險，水師可寄泊港口僅有六七處。此全境海防之形勢也。

All of Guangdong's southern coast faces the sea. From east to west it runs through the seven prefectures of Chaozhou, Huizhou, Guangzhou, Zhaoqing, Gaozhou, Leizhou, and Lianzhou, reaching the border with Vietnam. The eastern frontier begins at Nan'ao, where it meets the Fujian coast. In Chaozhou, spurs of the mountains run out into the sea, where islands such as Guang'ao and Chi'ao lie—all of them anchorage points for naval patrols. Farther west lies Huizhou, whose people are as tough and unruly as those of Chaozhou; a regional commander was posted at Jieshi garrison to keep them in check. Still farther west is Guangzhou, whose harbor is deep and wide. From Xin'an the coast curves north, then south again to Xiangshan, forming the inner sea—a ring of islands that shielded the provincial capital of Guangzhou. Farther west rise Mount Jinzhou, Mount Ma'an, and other peaks—the natural rampart behind Yangjiang in Zhaoqing prefecture. Farther west lies the Gaozhou coast, riddled with submerged reefs and sandbars; coastal defenses there were kept relatively light. Farther west is Leizhou, whose southern peninsula juts out more than three hundred li, surrounded by sea on three sides. South across the sea lies Qiongzhou (Hainan). Farther west are Lianzhou and Qinzhou, on territory interleaved with Vietnam. Lianzhou is mostly sandy flats, Qinzhou mostly islands; mountains behind and sea before, the frontier stood where China met foreign lands. Qiongzhou lay isolated beyond the sea, its counties encircling Li territory. Submerged sandbanks made the coast treacherous to navigate, and the navy could find safe anchorage at only six or seven harbors. Such was the overall coastal defense posture of the entire province.

廣州海防，自零丁洋過龍穴而北，兩山斜峙，東曰沙角，西曰大角，由此入內洋，為第一重隘。進口七里有山曰橫當，前有小山曰下橫當，左為武山，亦曰南山，為海船所必經，乃第二重隘。再進五里曰大虎山，西曰小虎山，又西曰獅子洋，乃黃埔入省城之路，為第三重隘。歷朝於此雖築壘駐兵，而設備未周。歐艦東來，粵東首當其衝。道光禁煙之役，英艦進薄廣州內海，林則徐督粵，屢戰卻之。其時布防較密，而壁塢皆循舊式。至光緒間，彭玉麟、張之洞守粵，始有曲折掩護之砲台，後膛連珠之槍砲，防務益嚴矣。

Guangzhou's coastal defenses began at Lintingyang; passing Longxue to the north, two headlands faced each other across the channel—Shajiao to the east and Dajiao to the west. This gateway into the inner sea was the first line of defense. Seven li inside the entrance stood Mount Hengdang, with the smaller Mount Xiahengdang before it and Wushan—also called Nanshan—on the left. Every ship had to pass through here—the second line of defense. Five li farther on lay Dahu Mountain, with Xiaohu Mountain to the west and still farther west Shizi Channel—the waterway from Huangpu to the provincial capital, the third line of defense. Dynasties past had built fortifications and garrisoned troops here, but the defenses were never fully adequate. When European fleets came east, eastern Guangdong was the first to take the blow. During the opium prohibition campaign under Daoguang, British ships pushed into Guangzhou's inner harbor; Lin Zexu, as governor-general of Guangdong, fought them back again and again. Defenses were then more tightly deployed, but the forts and batteries still followed outdated designs. Not until the Guangxu era, under Peng Yulin and Zhang Zhidong, did Guangdong acquire batteries with angled cover and breech-loading repeating cannon—and coastal defenses grew truly formidable.

清初規制，設大小兵船一百數十艘，僅能巡防內洋，不能越境追捕，遇有寇盜，則賃用民船。康熙五十六年，始建廣州海濱橫當、南山二處砲台。乾隆五年，以廣東戰船年久失修，諭疆吏加意整頓。四十六年，巴延三以各海口時有寇船出沒，於石棋村總口設立專營，與虎門營汛聯絡。五十八年，吳俊以東莞米艇堅固靈捷，便於追捕海寇，造二千五百石大米艇四十七艘，二千石中米艇二十六艘，一千五百石小米艇二十艘，分佈上下洋面，配置水兵，常年巡緝。嘉慶五年，於沙角建砲台。九年，倭什布以粵海窮漁伺刦商船，遇水師大隊出巡，輒登陸肆擾，遂無寧歲，乃規畫水陸緝捕事宜。十五年，設水師提督駐虎門，扼中路要區，以二營駐香山，一營駐大鵬，為左右翼。二十年，就橫當砲台加築月台，又於南山之西北，增建鎮遠砲台，置砲多具。二十二年，建大虎山砲台，置砲三十二具。

Under early Qing regulations, a fleet of some 150 warships of various sizes could patrol only the inner sea, not chase raiders beyond provincial waters; when pirates struck, the navy had to hire merchant vessels to pursue them. In Kangxi 56 (1717), the first batteries were built at Hengdang and Nanshan on the Guangzhou coast. In Qianlong 5 (1740), the throne ordered frontier officials to overhaul Guangdong's war fleet, long neglected and in poor repair. In Qianlong 46 (1781), Bayan San reported pirate craft haunting the province's harbors and set up a dedicated garrison at the Shiqi Village estuary, coordinating with the Humen outpost. In Qianlong 58 (1793), Wu Jun commissioned a fleet of Dongguan rice boats—sturdy and fast, ideal for chasing pirates: forty-seven large vessels of 2,500 shi, twenty-six medium ones of 2,000 shi, and twenty small ones of 1,500 shi. Scattered across the coastal waters and manned with naval troops, they patrolled year-round. In Jiaqing 5 (1800), a battery was erected at Shajiao. In Jiaqing 9 (1804), Aishibuo reported that destitute fishermen preyed on merchant ships and, whenever the main fleet put to sea, pillaged the coast instead—leaving the province without a peaceful year. He drew up a coordinated land-and-sea suppression plan. In Jiaqing 15 (1810), a naval commander-in-chief was posted at Humen to hold the central choke point, with two battalions at Xiangshan and one at Dapeng as the left and right wings. In Jiaqing 20 (1815), a barbette was added to the Hengdang battery, and Zhenyuan battery was built northwest of Nanshan, mounting a large complement of guns. In Jiaqing 22 (1817), Dahu Mountain battery was built with thirty-two guns.

道光十年，於大角山增建砲台一，置砲十六具。十五年，在虎門砲台置六千斤以上大砲四十具。又於南山威遠砲台前環築月台，亦置砲位於橫當之陰，及對岸蘆灣山，增建永安、鞏固二砲台，沙角、大角並增建瞭望台。十九年，林則徐籌防粵海，以零丁洋入口之要隘數重，歷年雖增築砲台，而武山、橫當海面較狹，設大木排八千排，分為二道，大鐵練七百丈，臨以砲台，輔以水兵，以阻敵船來路。時鄧廷楨因虎門當粵海中路，亦於橫當山前海狹之處，增設練排。又於武山下威遠、鎮遠二砲台之間，增大砲台一座，置砲六十具，以護排練。二十年，林則徐以大鵬營所轄尖沙嘴一帶海門島嶼，為海舶東赴惠、潮，北往閩、浙所必經，乃於尖沙嘴之石腳上官涌偏南之處，皆建砲台，並藥庫兵房。二十三年，祁等以廣東民風宜於團練，招集已得十萬人，以昇平社學為團練總匯之所，推及韶州、廉州等處。二十七年，增築高要縣屬琴沙砲台，並虎門廣濟墟兵卡。同治十年，瑞麟以欽州海面與越南接界，調撥兵輪，會同舟師巡洋。時閩、滬二廠兵輪次第告成，粵省亦仿造兵輪，以備巡防。

In Daoguang 10 (1830), a new battery was added on Dajiao Mountain with sixteen guns. In Daoguang 15 (1835), Humen mounted forty heavy guns of over six thousand jin each. A barbette ring was built before Weiyuan battery at Nanshan; gun positions were added on the lee side of Hengdang and on Luwan Mountain across the channel; Yong'an and Gonggu batteries were erected; and watchtowers were added at Shajiao and Dajiao. In Daoguang 19 (1839), Lin Zexu planned the province's coastal defense. Though the approach from Lintingyang had multiple fortified passes and batteries had been added over the years, the waters at Wushan and Hengdang were narrow enough to block: eight thousand great timber rafts in two rows, seven hundred zhang of heavy iron chain, batteries covering the line, and naval troops in support—to cut off the enemy's path. Deng Tingzhen, noting that Humen guarded the middle of the Guangdong coast, also deployed chain-linked rafts where the channel narrowed before Hengdang Mountain. Between Weiyuan and Zhenyuan batteries below Wushan, a large battery mounting sixty guns was added to protect the chain barrier. In Daoguang 20 (1840), Lin Zexu recognized that the islands around Jianshazui under Dapeng garrison's jurisdiction lay on the route of every ship heading east to Huizhou and Chaozhou or north to Fujian and Zhejiang. He built batteries at Shijiao and Shangyong south of Jianshazui, with powder magazines and barracks. In Daoguang 23 (1843), Qi and others argued that Guangdong's folk tradition suited local militia organization; they had already mustered a hundred thousand men, with Shengping Community School as the training headquarters, and extended the program to Shaozhou, Lianzhou, and beyond. In Daoguang 27 (1847), Qinsha battery in Gaoyao county was strengthened, and a military checkpoint was added at Guangji market near Humen. In Tongzhi 10 (1871), Ruilin deployed gunboats to patrol the Qinzhou coast jointly with the navy, since those waters bordered Vietnam. By then the gunboats of the Fujian and Shanghai shipyards were coming off the ways one after another; Guangdong built its own on the same pattern for coastal patrol.

光緒六年，劉坤一修整大黃窖及中流砥柱、虎門各砲台，威遠及下橫當共築砲台六十餘座，沙角及浮舟山各砲台亦依次建築。八年，曾國荃以瓊、廉二郡洋面，與越南沿海相通，撥兵輪八艘，拖船二艘，赴北海駐防。九年，國荃以虎門為省城門戶，而黃埔、長洲、白兔、輪岡、魚珠、沙路尤為要區，乃於南岸屯重兵，為砲台犄角，兼顧後路。十年，彭玉麟辦理廣東軍務，就粵省原有各砲台，修整改造，並於砲台後辟山開路，以藏弁兵。築綿亙牆濠，聯絡各砲台聲勢。自虎門、大角、沙角以次各隘，節節設防。其新會、香山、順德等縣，選練精壯漁團，及新編靖海營兵，防堵各口。十一年，玉麟以省城要口雖已嚴防，而橫門、磨刀門、厓口皆可由海口互達，窺伺後路，淺水兵輪尚未造成，先造舢板船百艘，編為水師，以散御整，藉固內口。十二年，張之洞於廣州駐防兵內，選千五百人，習洋槍洋砲，以旗營水師併入，編為兩翼，分防海疆。十四年，張之洞、吳大澂以瓊州一島，內綏黎族，外通越南，就瓊州原有制兵，酌設練軍，並加練餉，一洗綠營積弊，舊額四千九百餘人，按七底營抽練，共編練一千七百五十人。崖州等處水師，加以整頓，原有拖船，亦配撥練軍，以二艘駐崖州，二艘駐儋州，二艘駐海口，二艘駐海安。其守兵二千人，勻撥緊要塘汛。三十三年，以廣東民風不靖，已裁之廣東水師提督，復其舊制，以資鎮懾。此粵海防務之概略也。

In Guangxu 6 (1880), Liu Kunyi overhauled the batteries at Dahuangjiao, Zhongliudizhu, and Humen; more than sixty batteries were built at Weiyuan and Xiahengdang combined; and batteries at Shajiao and Fuzhou Mountain followed in turn. In Guangxu 8 (1882), Zeng Guoquan stationed eight gunboats and two tugs at Beihai, noting that the waters off Qiongzhou and Lianzhou connected with the Vietnamese coast. In Guangxu 9 (1883), Zeng Guoquan posted heavy forces on the south bank, treating Humen as the capital's gateway and Huangpu, Changzhou, Baitu, Lungang, Yuzhu, and Shalu as especially critical points—batteries arranged in mutual support while guarding the rear approaches. In Guangxu 10 (1884), Peng Yulin took charge of Guangdong's military affairs, renovating the province's existing batteries and cutting roads through the hills behind them to shelter troops from enemy fire. Continuous walls and moats were built to link the batteries into a single defensive line. From Humen, Dajiao, and Shajiao on down, every pass along the line was fortified in turn. Xinhui, Xiangshan, Shunde, and neighboring counties mustered drilled fishing militia and the new Jinghai battalions to seal the river mouths. In Guangxu 11 (1885), Peng Yulin saw that though Guangzhou's main gates were guarded, Hengmen, Modaomen, and Yai mouth linked by sea and threatened the rear; with shallow gunboats not ready, he built a hundred sampans as a naval flotilla—many small craft to counter concentrated attack—and locked down the inner channels. In Guangxu 12 (1886), Zhang Zhidong picked 1,500 Guangzhou garrison troops for drill in Western rifles and guns, absorbed the banner naval corps, formed two wings, and posted them along the coast. In Guangxu 14 (1888), Zhang Zhidong and Wu Dacheng reorganized Qiongzhou—an island that held the Li inland and faced Vietnam—by turning part of its 4,900 regulars into 1,750 paid drill troops, with drill subsidies meant to break the Green Standard's old rot. Yazhou's river flotilla was overhauled; existing tow-boats were paired with drilled troops—two each at Yazhou, Danzhou, Haikou, and Haian. Two thousand garrison troops were spread across the most critical coastal posts. In Guangxu 33 (1907), with Guangdong unsettled, the abolished post of Guangdong naval commander-in-chief was restored to help keep order. Such, in outline, was Guangdong's coastal defense.

歷朝海疆有警，若大沽，若吳淞，若馬江，迭遭挫敗。惟林則徐、彭玉麟先後守粵，忠勇奮勵，身當前敵，將士用命，敵艦逡巡而退雲。

Whenever the coast was threatened through the ages—at Dagu, Wusong, Mawei—defeat followed defeat. Only when Lin Zexu and Peng Yulin held Guangdong in turn—fighting at the front themselves, with troops who would follow orders—did enemy squadrons hang back and withdraw.

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