Chapter 66 Section 66 Not Advocating War with Japan

On April 18th in the thirteenth year of Tongzhi (AD 1874), Japan, an island country, sent 3,000 soldiers into Taiwan in three routes on the pretext of killing the Ryukyu boat people by the Gaoshan people in Taiwan, in an attempt to take Taiwan as its own. On the one hand, the Qing Dynasty sent Taiwan Tao Pan, the governor of Fujian Province, to quickly negotiate with the Japanese consul in Taiwan, Saigo Cong Tao, and at the same time, sent a military ship to support Taiwan. At the same time, Japan sent Okubo to China as a special envoy, heading straight to the capital, and cooperated with the newly appointed Japanese Minister Maemitsu Yanagihara in China to carry out diplomatic blackmail against the Prime Minister's Office of the Qing Dynasty.

On the day Okubo arrived in Beijing, he brought Maemitsu Yanagihara to the prime minister's office, claiming that he would submit the letter of credence to the emperor of the Qing Dynasty. In fact, he was testing the attitude of the Qing Dynasty towards the Japanese invasion of Taiwan and preparing for the next step. When the Prime Minister's Office made representations to Okubo about the Japanese invasion of Taiwan, Okubo said: "Taiwan Island has been a land of barbarians since ancient times. The Gaoshan people dared to kill the Ryukyu boat people of our country. Naturally, our country will send troops to punish these people. This is our country's responsibility." Your country has no right to interfere in internal affairs. This minister is here to discuss the matter of submitting a letter of credence to the great emperor of your country."

The Prime Minister’s Office pointed out to Okubo that Taiwan has been China’s territory since ancient times, and Japan must withdraw, but Okubo sneered: “Our country sent troops to Taiwan to punish the murderer under the order of the emperor. If our country will not withdraw its troops, what will China do?” Okubo’s His tone was full of provocation. However, the Zongli Yamen replied in this way: "Such discordant words should not be said, nor can they be answered." With the determination to fight, the tone of the two became tougher and more arrogant.Soon, Shen Baozhen sent a special report from Fujian, reporting on the war in Taiwan.

When a group of princes and ministers in Beijing read this excerpt from Shen Baozhen, they were even more frightened and lost their minds. Shen Baozhen said that although the Japanese were only 3,000, their ships were strong, their guns were strong, their weapons were excellent, and the officers and soldiers could not support them; and the few warships dispatched from the Ship Administration Bureau were completely vulnerable and could not fight against them. Shen Baozhen finally implored the court to quickly dispatch troops to aid Taiwan to prevent the war from expanding.At this time, Emperor Tongzhi had long since ignored state affairs, and had been bedridden for more than half a year because of an unclean disease from the outside.

The Japanese invasion of Taiwan caused the Empress Dowager Cixi to discuss with a group of princes and ministers for three days before finally deciding to transfer the foreign gun team that Chonghou founded when he was in Tianjin.In addition, 2,000 people from the Fourth Battalion were transferred from the governor of Liangjiang Li Zongyi to form 5,000 people to reinforce Taiwan.The imperial edict soon went down to Baoding and Jinling. After Li Hongzhang received the order, he urged the 3,000-strong foreign gun team stationed in Tianjin to fly to Taiwan by ship. He also dispatched 6,000 brave men from Tang Dingkui, the registered admiral, to sail to Taiwan in batches to return to Shen Baozhen for dispatch. The imperial court emphasized: "Thinking that Japan borrowed time to expand its territory and did not turn its troops around, it may be called a city of chaos at home and abroad. Regardless of the weak defenses at the mouths of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and seas, even if the ports in Beiyang are more than 2,000 miles away, they are too empty. If another new army is recruited, there is really no money to pay. The only way is to add a strong team that has been training for a long time and garrison a moderate place in the back road to support it. Chagan Province has been cleared up early, and the defense of Shaanxi has been loosened. I plan to request an order to go to Shaanxi. The Fuchen, who was quickly recorded as the official secretary Liu Shengzao, commanded the 22nd Battalion of the Wuyi Ming Army of the Shaanxi Defense Forces, and traveled to Jining, Shandong, and Xuzhou, Jiangnan at night and night, and chose to be stationed in order to prepare for the north and south Haikou. Li Zongyi, dispatch the camera."

On the day when the booklet was sent out, Li Hongzhang, in order to prevent the quarrel, sent another letter to Tang Dingkui and the Zongli Yamen each night.In the letter, Li Hongzhang ordered Tang Dingkui: "Set up defenses, you don't have to use force with them." There is absolutely no reason to expel them with soldiers." Tang Dingkui was a little baffled when he saw the order. He didn't know why Li Hongzhang dispatched him to lead the army to Taiwan in an emergency.Since Li Hongzhang asked the Tang troops to "not start fighting hastily" after they arrived in Taiwan, then why did he transfer Tang Dingkui's Liuqianbuyong to follow the foreign spear team into Taiwan?

Li Hongzhang wrote in an express letter to the Prime Minister’s Yamen on the same day: “The handling of Western affairs has always been due to the indecision between peace and war. I despise that it is a peace, but it must be prepared for war, and the peace can be achieved quickly. And it lasts for a long time. Foreigners don’t care about the situation, and they use the power of the army to suppress them, but if I want to win with the pen and tongue, this must not be counted.” To put it bluntly, Li Hongzhang just didn't want to fight this war. He sent troops to Taiwan just to "quickly make peace".

After dinner that day, while drinking tea, Li Hongzhang said to Xue Fucheng and Li Shuchang's staff: "I used to underestimate Japan as an island country. He invaded Taiwan this time, and he will definitely swallow our entire territory in the future. China and that country The islands are separated by a strip of water and can be reached by boarding a ship. The harm is actually greater than that of Western countries. If we want to protect the Qing Dynasty, we must strengthen our coastal defenses and establish a naval fleet comparable to that of Western countries." However, Li Hongzhang's proposal to transfer the 22nd Mabu Battalion of the Wuyiming Army of the Shaanxi Defense Forces to Jining and Xuzhou was firmly opposed by Zuo Zongtang, Governor of Shaanxi and Gansu.

Zuo Zongtang scolded Li Hongzhang for his lack of understanding of military matters, and urgently appealed to the imperial court to dismiss the proposal and to deploy troops from other provinces for defense. When Zuo Zongtang's copy was submitted to the capital, Japan had agreed to withdraw its troops from Taiwan on the condition that the Qing Dynasty must pay Japan 500,000 taels of compensation silver. Seeing that the Japanese lion opened his mouth wide, Prince Gong dared not make his own claim, so he had to report Japan's request to Empress Dowager Cixi.The Empress Dowager Cixi immediately asked Prince Gong to send an express letter to Li Hongzhang to ask for Li Hongzhang's opinion.

Li Hongzhang originally did not advocate starting a war against Japan. After receiving the letter from Prince Gong, he immediately replied: "In all fairness, the Ryukyu refugee case has been reviewed for three years, and Fujian Province has not seriously investigated and dealt with it. No matter how you argue, China has little to say." No, as a last resort, or just that. For the sake of human life, consider how to support the victims of Ryukyu. I also think that the soldiers of the country have traveled far and hard, and begged for kindness and rewards, no matter how much, and no military expenses, so that they can return to the country enthusiastically, and it is out of my own will , I can’t help bargaining with each other, or a little bit of decency instead of an alliance under the city.” He also said: “Hongzhang also knows that this discussion is not allowed by the Qing Dynasty, but he still cares about the current situation. Coastal defense cannot be prepared urgently. "

Li Hongzhang's expectations were right. As soon as his letter was published, it immediately attracted a lot of criticism.But Li Hongzhang thought he was right.The Empress Dowager Cixi discussed repeatedly with a group of princes and ministers, and decided to adopt Li Hongzhang's suggestion, and agreed to Japan's request for money. The situation tended to ease, so Zuo Zongtang agreed.After Japan got the silver, it began to slowly withdraw its troops from Taiwan.However, the imperial court did not deploy troops from other provinces to garrison key points such as Shandong, Jining, Jiangnan, and Xuzhou as Li Hongzhang suggested.It seems that Japan's large-scale invasion and occupation of Taiwan was just for sightseeing; Russia's occupation of the nine cities of Yili in Xinjiang was only for the management of the Qing Dynasty.The country of the Qing Dynasty was prosperous and the people were peaceful, and it was in the period of resurgence, and nothing happened.The so-called border instability and foreign covetousness are mediocrity and unfounded worries. The Empress Dowager Cixi's 40-day longevity is only once in a lifetime, and nothing is bigger than this. Early on, the imperial court issued an order to order governors from all over the country to purchase tributes, and sent people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs several times to Jiangning, Jinling, and Suzhou to escort brocades, silks and other items needed for longevity to the capital. In order to make things look good, Shuntian Mansion asked Cixi for a good deal. Not only did the first county raise money, but also paved all the streets and roads in the capital with new yellow sand, and painted all the nine gates. New paint, and all the lanterns on the Jiumen City Tower were replaced with new ones. The Military Aircraft Department was originally the center for discussing state affairs, but at this time all the errands that should be done were put aside. All the military aircraft ministers and Zhang Jing, all wearing brand-new official uniforms and court boots, went all out to work on Wanshou's affairs.At this time, the Military Aircraft Office became the Office of Longevity. The Zongli Yamen is the only foreign affairs agency in the Qing Dynasty. It was originally stipulated that ministers should be on duty every day, in case there is no one to handle the negotiations.But at this time, this rule is no longer a rule, not only is there no minister on duty in the Yamen, even Zhang Jing is gone, only one door has not forgotten his duty, sitting in the porter all day long , drinking tea with a teacup in his hand, his mouth was clearly pursed up, very reluctant.The prime minister's yamen has become an ignorant yamen. The Qing Dynasty was so busy, but there happened to be an ignorant Peruvian Kingdom that sent a mission to the prime minister's office in the capital, declaring that it would make a treaty with the Qing Dynasty.No matter how Menzi explained, the interpreter accompanying them still stubbornly declared: "We will not leave until we see the Minister of the General Administration!" Just like the rascals in the countryside. The door was being troubled by them, and it happened that a Zhang Jing came to the yamen to get something.As if seeing a savior, Menzi grabbed Zhang Jing and said: "Your Excellency came just in time. A few foreigners are making trouble in the lower official's house. This matter can't be resolved unless you go there yourself." Zhang Jing couldn't let go, so he had to follow the door to the porter's room.Zhang Jing asked about the purpose of his visit, so he asked Menzi to bring some stools inside, and asked the foreigners to sit down first, then he left the yamen and went all over the world to look for the ministers on duty, but he couldn't find them anywhere. Zhang Jing was so anxious that he became ruthless, and went straight to Prince Gong's mansion. Prince Gong was not in the mansion that day, he had been asked by people in the palace for several days to discuss what should be done on the day of Wanshou.Zhang Jing had no choice but to borrow the pen and ink of Wangfumenzi to write down the contract of the Kingdom of Peru on paper, and asked the doormen to hand it over to the prince. Zhang Jing walked out of the palace, not daring to go back to the yamen, fearing that he would be entangled by foreigners, so he went to find the minister on duty again.The delegation of the Kingdom of Peru was delayed in the capital for more than ten days before word came out from the palace that they should go to Tianjin to find Beiyang Minister Li Hongzhang to discuss the contract. "Couldn't the Prime Minister's Office of your country handle this matter?" the interpreter of the mission asked the messenger.The officer replied with a helpless face: "Now the imperial court is dealing with important matters, and it can no longer take care of these. I heard that the Military Aircraft Department has issued a special order to Li Hongzhang, ordering him to have full authority to negotiate with your country about the contract. Hurry up." Go, it's too late, if Li Zhongtang comes to the capital to participate in the Wanshou celebration, you will miss out again." As soon as the Peruvian mission heard this, they dared not delay, and rushed to Tianjin by car on the same day. Before the Peruvian mission arrived in Tianjin, Li Hongzhang had already received the imperial decree, entrusting him with full powers to discuss and conclude a commercial treaty with the Peruvian mission, so he did not need to enter Beijing.