Chapter 82 Section 82: France breaks the contract

This day was the first seven days since Li Hongzhang's mother was buried, and the whole family of Li's family arranged for the offerings to the grave early in the morning, and they pulled a whole cart full of them.The sedan chairs of each house in the Li family were also carried out of the house, and they lined up in a long line, attracting neighbors from the neighborhood to come out to watch the spectacle.At this moment, more than a dozen fast horses galloped to the gate of Li Mansion like lightning. Several officials got off their horses, rushed in and shouted loudly: "The imperial decree has arrived, Li Hongzhang accepts it!" Before they finished speaking, several people had entered the reception hall of Li's mansion.

In the hall, Li Hongzhang was discussing matters with Li Hanzhang. Upon hearing this, the brothers had to kneel down on the spot and respectfully listen to the oracle.The decree said: "According to the cabinet's decree: Li Hongzhang invited him to return to his hometown to bury his mother, and he was given a two-month leave. Now that Beiyang affairs are urgent, and Li Hongzhang's funeral is over, he will return to his acting post without arranging the full leave. Loyal to the country, we will be able to rely on the intention of the deputy court to rely on the post, and we will not be too late. Let this be known from the Wubaili decree. This is it."

As soon as the official who delivered the decree finished speaking, the second imperial decree entered the gate of the mansion again.The decree said: "There was a decree ordering Li Hongzhang to return to Beiyang Minister to act. Now I heard that the legal person is getting more and more rampant. The weak state of Vietnam is eating away and it is difficult to survive. The country is listed in the vassal. It has to be protected. And the provinces of Yunnan and Guangdong are contiguous. If the barriers are withdrawn, there will be no future troubles. The repeated scriptures ordered Zeng Guoquan and others to prepare for the defense. However, the priority of this matter must be adjusted accordingly. Minister, going to make preparations can strengthen the army and take care of the overall situation. The defense forces of the three provinces must also be honored. I sent Li Hongzhang to Guangdong to supervise the affairs of Vietnam. All the defense forces in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan are under restraint. What should we do? Lu Bing went bravely, and told the minister to prepare a performance. Don't avoid gold and leather, there are clear instructions in ancient times. Li Hongzhang is loyal to the country, and he will be able to rely on the trust of the deputy court. The star gallops to go, according to the opportunity, and make proper preparations. Immediately report the date of departure and the status of the preparations, so as to ease the relationship. I will tell you this from the Liubaili Secret Order. Hereby."

Li Hongzhang connected the two purposes, so he had to board the South Road after his mother's first seven days.On the way, Li Hongzhang asked Pan Dingxin, a veteran of the Huai Army and former governor of Yunnan, who is now recuperating from illness, to help with military affairs, and at the same time dispatched Liu Mingchuan, who was living in his hometown to support his eyesight disease, to go south urgently to discuss the deployment of defense. Li Hongzhang arrived in Jinling by boat and received another order.The decree said: "Due to the urgent situation in Vietnam, Li Hongzhang was ordered to go to Guangdong to make preparations... The minister is now going to Shanghai from Jinling, that is to say, he will be stationed in Shanghai temporarily to coordinate the overall situation, arrange the military affairs and pay in advance, and review the opportunity. Decided to advance and stop. I will report the situation of the preparations at any time and hear about the urgent events, and send a telegram to the Prime Minister's Office of State Affairs. I hope it will be swift. I respect this."

On the day Li Hongzhang left Jinling, he urgently sent a confidential message to Prince Gong, first talking about his thoughts. Dian Yun: "The Asian states have met each other with armies since the Europeans came from the east. It can be a good lesson to find out the mistakes of the past, and we have to be cautious. Since Hongzhang was ordered, every time he wanted to mention a brigade, he defeated Japan Airlines. The Hainan expedition, the first thing I worry about is that our army has just moved, and the new newspapers are saying that the legal person must use words to break peace with China, and the future troubles will be unimaginable." The telegram also said: "The coastal defense soldiers in all provinces are short of pay, and the navy has not yet trained, so they cannot compete with Europe. Powerful countries lightly talk about wars, and want to be in the light of the bright candle. The balance they hope for is in their hands, and it is really fortunate not to be deluded and frivolous, causing disasters and misleading the overall situation."

Li Hongzhang was afraid that the imperial court would be deceived by the rumors this time and start a quarrel with the Western European powers, so he had to state his views to Prince Gong in advance. What is going on between France and Vietnam?This has to start with the UK.Britain opened the back door to China's Yunnan through Burma, and France also wanted to achieve the same goal as Britain by occupying Vietnam, that is, to enter China's Yunnan through Vietnam. Vietnam, known as Annan in ancient times, is also a vassal state of China, just like North Korea.France attacked northern Vietnam (China calls this place Beiqi, France calls it Tokyo), trying to destroy the Black Banner Army stationed on both sides of the Red River in North Vietnam and achieve the purpose of occupying this place.The Black Banner Army was originally a peasant uprising armed in Guangxi, China. Because the troops often carried the black flag to fight, everyone called it the Black Banner Army.Liu Yongfu, the leader of the army, was originally a leader of the Tiandihui. After taking over the army, seeing the decline of the Tiandihui, he led his troops into the Liu'an Prefecture of Vietnam in the sixth year of Tongzhi (AD 1867) and expanded the team. Finally, there were more than 2,000 people, with one flag erected, claiming to be the "Black Banner Army of the Zhonghe Regiment".

In the thirteenth year of Tongzhi (AD 1874), when the French army invaded Hanoi and other places, Vietnam was unable to support it, so it asked Liu Yongfu for help, hoping to resist the French together.Liu Yongfu led the army to meet the enemy, so in December of that year, he killed the French commander An Ye in the suburbs of Hanoi, forcing the French army to withdraw from Beiqi.As a result, Liu Yongfu was appointed by the King of Vietnam as Deputy Admiral of Sanxuan, and the Black Banner Army under his command was also legalized in Beiqi, and became a defense force not dispatched by Vietnam.

The number of troops sent by France this time was double that of the previous one, and Li Weiye, a naval general who was accustomed to fighting, was appointed as the commander. He was determined to annihilate the Black Banner Army and occupy Beiqi. Considering that Liu Yongfu had few soldiers and it was difficult to fight against the enemy, Vietnam dispatched personnel to seek help from the Prime Minister's Yamen of the Qing Dynasty, hoping that the Qing Dynasty could dispatch troops as soon as possible to stabilize the situation in Vietnam. Zeng Jize, the Chinese Minister to the UK and France, also promptly lodged stern representations to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding this banditry in France.He pointed out: "China is deeply disturbed by France's activities and purposes in Vietnam, and France's actions cannot be ignored; France's desire to conduct legitimate trade in North Vietnam can be resolved through negotiations."

The French cabinet instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to tell Zeng Jize that "France has no ambitions for Vietnam, but just wants to eliminate the Black Banner Army and avenge General An Ye." On the other hand, it issued an order to Li Weiye to step up the offensive. Li Weiye quickly captured Hanoi and used Hanoi as a base to attack Beiqi.The Beiqi area includes major cities such as Shanxi, Xinghua, and Beining, including the Red River Delta in northern Vietnam.At that time, there were several battalions of the Guangxi Army and the Yunnan Army stationed in Beiqi. In order to strengthen the defense here, Li Hongzhang once arrived in Shanghai and invited Tang Jiong, governor of Yunnan, and Xu Yanxu, governor of Guangxi, to transfer five battalions of green battalions into Yue and Yuangui, The various Yunnan armies and Liu Yongfu's army were in a tense situation.

The imperial court soon received Li Hongzhang's request, and Prince Gong also saw his urgent telegram.The next day, the Military Aircraft Department issued a secret decree, ordering Tang Jiong and Xu Yanxu to dispatch troops to the front line of Beiqi, and also ordering the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, Cen Yuying, to organize the army to show solidarity. At the end of the secret order of the Military Aircraft Department, this point was particularly emphasized: "The current method is always to stick to Beiqi. If the legal person invades the place where our army is stationed, the war will start from the other side, and we have to take the fight."

Anyone with a discerning eye can see at a glance that the Empress Dowager Cixi and Prince Gong have agreed with Li Hongzhang's point of view.Li Hongzhang arrived in Shanghai for less than a month, and sure enough, he picked up the military plane and received a secret letter from the Empress Dowager Cixi forwarded by the Tianjin Telegraph Bureau. Talk about Vietnam." When Li Hongzhang saw Yizhi, his eyes lit up: it was exactly what he hoped to be able to resolve the Vietnam dispute at the negotiating table.On the same day, he left Shanghai by boat and flew to his office in Tianjin, hoping to meet with Baohai as soon as possible. Li Hongzhang insisted that the current peace situation in the Qing Dynasty was hard-won, and the flames of war must not be ignited, especially if a Western European power like France turned against it, it would be harmful but not beneficial. Li Hongzhang had only been in Tianjin for five days, and Baohai, the French minister in China, also came to Tianjin by order of his own country.Baohai and Li Hongzhang are old friends. In Li Hongzhang's eyes, among all the ministers stationed in China, Baohai can be regarded as a person who keeps his promise. China and France started formal negotiations on the Vietnam issue, and until the end of the year, they reached such a memorandum: "Open Baosheng, Vietnam as a commercial port for French and foreign merchants to sell goods; France promises not to invade Vietnam's land and not to degrade Vietnam The power of the king; the proper withdrawal of Chinese troops stationed in Vietnam from northern Vietnam." It can be seen from the memorandum that both China and France have made concessions.The Empress Dowager Cixi and Prince Gong were very satisfied with the Sino-French memorandum signed by Li Hongzhang and Baohai. The Empress Dowager Cixi even exclaimed, "We can live another stable year!"Li Hongzhang also believed that everything will be fine, just wait for the French army to withdraw, and the Chinese troops stationed in Vietnam will also withdraw appropriately. Soon after the memorandum was signed, Li Hongzhang went to Hefei to pick up his family members, hoping to spend a reunion year in Tianjin.However, Zeng Jize, Minister to the UK and France, sent a confidential message from Paris saying: France is holding a general election, and if the current cabinet falls, it is unknown whether the memorandum reached between China and France will take effect. Li Hongzhang urgently sent Zeng Jize's telegram to the capital, and said to his staff with a smile: "Zeng Jiegang is nothing to worry about. Breaking trust and breaking promises is the most taboo in the "Public Law of the World". The country despises things." When the Empress Dowager Cixi saw Zeng Jize's telegram, she immediately summoned Prince Gong, Prince Chun, and some military ministers, and said, "Zeng Jize said that France is holding a general election and that the current cabinet is very likely to fall. What does this mean? What is the French emperor doing?" ah?" Prince Gong took a step forward and explained: "The queen mother, there is no emperor in France, but a president. France implements a parliamentary system, and the cabinet is in power. The prime minister of the cabinet is equivalent to the prime minister of our country in ancient times. France is governed by the prime minister." The Empress Dowager Cixi waved her hands impatiently and said, "I don't understand what you said. Why does this govern that pavilion? What does a country look like without an emperor? Just tell me, once they change their prime ministers, what will they do with us?" Is the memo still valid?" Prince Gong replied: "The Queen Mother, I believe that the memorandum reached between France and us should be effective regardless of whether they change the cabinet or not. Why? Because this is a certain agreement reached between the two countries, such as their new If the cabinet repents, it will be ridiculed by other countries, and this is the most unacceptable thing in the "Public Law of Nations". Please learn from the Queen Mother." Empress Dowager Cixi gave a "hmm" to express her acquiescence.After the princes and ministers withdrew, the Empress Dowager Cixi finally let go of her heart, and soon someone from the House of Internal Affairs came in to make arrangements for the New Year. In February of the following year, the French cabinet election came to an end, and the French Minister of Public Education, Journey Journey, who directly participated in the suppression of the Paris Commune, was elected as the new prime minister. On the second day of Jufeli's coming to power, he organized a new cabinet and appointed Shamelakou, who has always despised China and considered China "insignificant", as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (used to call him Foreign Minister). On the day of accepting the appointment, Shamelaku submitted a note to the Chinese embassy in France, refusing to recognize the memorandum reached between Baohai and Li Hongzhang as a valid treaty, and at the same time revoked the post of Baohai's minister in China, and appointed another French minister in Japan Toligu is the new ambassador to China. Zeng Jize urgently telegraphed the content of the note from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Zongli Yamen and Li Hongzhang.When Li Hongzhang received the telegram, his face was livid with anger and he trembled all over.As he quickly delivered the telegram to the capital, he cursed angrily: "Ru Feili, that bastard, he is crazy! How dare he ignore the "Public Law of the World" and unilaterally break the contract!" When the prime minister's office saw the telegram from Zeng Jize, it immediately panicked.Prince Gong quickly passed the telegram into the palace, and said: "It seems that France is determined to start a quarrel with me!" Empress Dowager Cixi summoned the princes and ministers in Beijing to the palace overnight to discuss the matter.Co-organizer Li Hongzao, Minister of the Department of Scholars, and Weng Tonghe, the master of Emperor Guangxu, minister of military aircraft and minister of the Prime Minister's Office of State Affairs, and other Qing schools firmly advocated sending heavy troops to Vietnam to fight against France; Prince Gong, Bao Jun, Jing Lian and others, Although they also advocated increasing troops to Vietnam, they still advocated diplomacy first, followed by the use of troops; some people simply suggested to Empress Dowager Cixi to abandon Vietnam, and it is not worthwhile to spend money on Vietnam.The leader of this group of people is naturally Xu Tong. The princes and ministers quarreled in the palace for half the night, but to no avail.The next day, the Empress Dowager Cixi had to repeat the same trick, asking the Military Aircraft Department to draw up an order and consult the governor. Just when the Qing Dynasty had not yet made a decision on Vietnam, Ru Feili had quietly issued an order to Li Weiye stationed in Hanoi, Vietnam, to attack the Black Banner Army and occupy all of northern Vietnam.At the same time, Ru Feili sent a telegram to Ligu to go to China as soon as possible to negotiate with China on the Vietnam issue, which was a dual-pronged approach of diplomacy and military. Bao Hai, the outgoing Minister to China, was ordered to return home. When he arrived in Tianjin, he bid farewell to Li Hongzhang with guilt.When he led his entourage to the hotel and greeted Li Hongzhang in accordance with the etiquette, what surprised him was that Li Hongzhang, the Beiyang minister who had always been prudent and steady in his eyes, now had his eyes burning, his face full of anger, and he was as tense as a boxer in battle. He clenched his fists, clearly waiting for a duel with others. Li Hongzhang said with a sneer: "Your country actually disregarded the "Public Law of All Nations" and insisted on starting a quarrel. Please return your envoy and tell your family, Ru Feili, that although the old man is over sixty years old, he can still return to the battlefield. Your country insists on going its own way, and this old man can meet him on the battlefield! Send off!" Baohai felt that he was in the wrong, and backed out without saying a word.After Baohai left, Li Hongzhang gradually calmed down.He knew very well that starting a big quarrel would be something that Ru Fei could not have dreamed of, but China's strength really couldn't compete with it for a long time.It is easy to fight with words, but it is extremely difficult to fight in real terms!Li Hongzhang felt extremely contradictory at this time.