Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Comparison of the military power of Qing and Japan before the war

On June 2, 1894, the day before Yuan Shikai went to the Japanese embassy in North Korea to find out the attitude of the Japanese, Muruhito received two memorials from Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi, both of which were waiting for his instructions: the first was to disband Parliament, the second is to immediately send troops to North Korea. These two memorials seem to be unrelated, but in fact they have a deep relationship. The cabinet petitioned to dissolve the parliament because the parliament wanted to force the cabinet to step down.Due to the long-term arms race, an economic crisis began in Japan in 1893, and the major political parties quarreled. The opposition party, which held a majority of seats in the House of Representatives, demanded that the cabinet collectively take the blame and resign, allowing the opposition party to come to power.They passed the resolution the day before (June 1).

At this time, there are only two choices before Hirobumi Ito: one is to lead the cabinet to resign collectively; the other is to refuse to resign and ask the emperor to order to dissolve the parliament, so as to keep this government. But there must be a reason for the emperor to dissolve the parliament and keep the government.The reason is this: we need to fight. For a government, whenever there is a crisis in power, choosing to go to war with the outside world is a panacea to divert conflicts and unite people's hearts.So there was the memorial to send troops to North Korea. Muren left the same imperial comment on this memorial: Agree!

Of course you have to agree.I can't wait to raise my feet to agree.The Mujinwa military department had been worried that Hirobumi Ito's government would not support the war, and now this worry has been eliminated.To use a familiar phrase, Japan has unified thought.Then there is the question of how to fight. It is reasonable for the military to worry that those civilians in the government will oppose the war. Now let's assume that in Tokyo and Beijing, there are two ministers reporting their country's military strength to their respective emperors. The situation is absolutely different.

Here in Tokyo. "Your Majesty, under your wise leadership, after decades of hard work, our country's military strength has been greatly enhanced. Now, the total strength of the standing army is-75,000! Among them, 6,000 are artillery and 4,000 are cavalry!" Don't laugh, everyone, the place is small, there are only so many. And how much is the standing army of the Qing Dynasty? 600000.Among them, there were 470,000 infantry, 100,000 cavalry, and 30,000 artillery. "Your Majesty, if there is a war, we still have some local regiments that can participate in the war, and the number is not large - only 1 million."

The navy is not much different.The Qing Dynasty had four fleets, and Japan had two fleets. The four fleets of the Qing Dynasty were Beiyang, Nanyang, Fujian and Guangdong.The coastal defenses from the Bohai Sea to the South China Sea are guarded from north to south, and they are also commanded by the Beiyang Minister, the Nanyang Minister, the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, and the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.Among them, the most powerful is Li Hongzhang's Beiyang Fleet, with 13 warships over 1,000 tons.And there are 31 warships of more than 1,000 tons in the four fleets. Japan's two fleets are the West Sea Fleet and the Standing Fleet, with a total of 21 warships above 1,000 tons.In order to use the power of the whole country to fight against the Qing Dynasty, preparations have been made to unify the organization and command of these two fleets to form a joint fleet.

Japan acted quickly, and the wartime base camp was quickly established to formulate a combat plan against the Qing Dynasty.This is a plan for the joint operations of the navy and the army, and the detailed steps are divided into two steps. The first step: the army landed in North Korea and captured Seoul, then the navy supported the army from the sea to occupy Pyongyang, and then drove all the Qing troops out of North Korea and occupied the entire territory of North Korea. The second step: cross the Yalu River from North Korea to the Qing Dynasty.According to the development of the war situation, according to the plan from the best to the worst, it is divided into three plans: A, B, and C.

Plan A: Use North Korea as a base, send an army to attack the Liaodong Peninsula, threaten Fengtian (Shenyang), contain the defenders of the Qing Dynasty guarding the Bohaikou, take the opportunity to capture Dalian and Lushun, and then the main force of the army lands on the Liaodong Peninsula and Bohai Bay to attack Tianjin , Beijing, and force Qing to sign an alliance under the city——to achieve this goal, the combined fleet must devote itself to sweeping up the Qing navy, gathering and annihilating the main force of the Beiyang Fleet at sea, and controlling the sea dominance of the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea.

Plan B: If the Qing Dynasty only uses the Beiyang Fleet to fight (note this sentence), the combined fleet will be sure of victory. If the Qing Dynasty brings the whole navy to fight, the outcome is unpredictable—if the Bohai Sea cannot be controlled, and the Qing Dynasty Navy cannot To control the coastal waters of Japan, the combined fleet should send troops to North Korea, repel all Qing troops in North Korea, and take North Korea from Qing. Plan C: In the event of unfavorable naval battles, not only will the sea dominance of the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea not be obtained, but Japan’s offshore sea dominance will also fall into the enemy’s hands.Under the premise that local security is basically guaranteed, the Army still needs to send troops to North Korea from the north of the Tsushima Strait to land in North Korea through long-distance transport by sea, defeat the Qing army in North Korea, and achieve the goal of seizing North Korea.

Let's analyze this scenario. First of all, the Japanese army attached the most importance to naval warfare.Everything depends on the outcome of the decisive battle at sea. Secondly, what the Japanese army was most worried about was that the Qing Dynasty also unified the formation and command of all the warships in the country like they did, but the facts will soon prove that this worry is unnecessary. In the end, this is a thorough offensive plan that only considers offense, not defense—even when the security of the homeland is threatened, it is necessary to divide troops to occupy North Korea. What is a crazy gamble?

Immediately after the establishment of the wartime base camp, Muruhito instructed the establishment of the "Army Central Treasury Department". This department is dedicated to providing financial support for the war. Resources and military expenditures are allocated directly by it without the approval of the cabinet and parliament. After these preparations, the Japanese invasion force was established.They are elite soldiers carefully selected from the Fifth Division of the Army, including infantry, artillery, cavalry, engineers, heavy soldiers, health workers, etc., forming a mixed brigade with a total strength of 7,800 people-this can be counted as a brigade. It was a huge gamble of the whole family. The first time the troops were sent, they sent 1/10 of the country's total troops.

Although it is a gamble, this force is calculated.This situation will be clear to us later. The Qing army is also in action. On June 5, Li Hongzhang issued an order at the governor's office in Zhili, Tianjin: to dispatch a Huai army of 2,500 people to North Korea! Although both countries send troops, there are major differences between them: 1. The tasks are different.For the Qing army, they went to North Korea to help the North Korean government quell the rebellion of the Donghak Party, and they did not realize that the Japanese army was ready to fight against them.The Japanese army came to occupy North Korea and look for opportunities to fight with the Qing army.Due to the different purposes, there are also differences in troop strength and destinations. 2. Different forces.The Qing army dispatched an army of no more than 3,000 in accordance with international practice. Based on this estimate of the strength of the Qing army, the Japanese army formulated a plan that there should be about 7,000 troops entering North Korea (twice the number of the Qing army, ensuring that the first battle would be necessary). winning grasp). 3. The destination is different.The destination of the Qing army was Asan County near Incheon, which was directly engaged with the Donghak party army.The destination of the Japanese army was Seoul. The Japanese army that entered North Korea quickly occupied Seoul and all the traffic points from Incheon to Seoul, thus ensuring the convenience of continuing to increase troops from Japan to North Korea by sea in the future. The war has not yet started, and the deployment of troops in North Korea is already at a huge disadvantage. The Qing Dynasty has come to "help" North Korea to put down the chaos, but it has not made a plan for the possible war between Qing and Japan. As for the real war preparations, And no one cares. But at this moment, the rebel army of Dongxue Party made a move that surprised everyone.This move directly disrupted all the deployment of the Japanese army, and almost made them vomit blood with anger. This move is: we will not revolt, and negotiate peace with the government! When they saw two foreign armies appearing on their own country's territory, they realized that the Qing Dynasty and Japan were likely to break out of war in their own country. At this time, the Donghak Party members put away their hatred for the government and decided not to revolt.They knew that as long as North Korea regained its stability, neither the Qing army nor the Japanese army had any reason to stay, and the war that endangered the Korean people could be avoided.Therefore, on the second day after the Japanese army entered Seoul, the Donghak Party immediately announced that it would no longer revolt and withdraw from the occupied states and counties. Judging from the situation at the time, this was a valuable patriotic act. The depression of the Japanese lies precisely in this: If everyone withdraws their troops, there is no need to fight. The King of Korea felt relieved, and immediately sent a joint request to the Qing Dynasty and Japan: Our situation is stable, please come back, both masters! The depression of the Japanese army came from this: If Qingri withdrew its troops, all the hard work and preparations for war would be in vain. Of course Li Hongzhang was unwilling to go to war with Japan. He first ordered the Qing army in North Korea to prepare for withdrawal.Then, the Zongli Yamen issued a diplomatic note to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs: requesting the two countries to withdraw their troops from North Korea at the same time. The answer of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs is simple: no withdrawal. The Japanese plan is not only not to withdraw their troops, but also to use diplomatic friction to lead the two countries into war again.The so-called war has not started, diplomacy first.The battle on diplomatic documents has already begun, and this is the prelude to actual combat.And the leader of all this is a diplomat.Because of his subsequent "wonderful performance", after his death, he was regarded as a collective idol in the diplomatic circle by the Japanese, and he is also the only person with a statue in the compound of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan today. He was Mutsu Munemitsu, then Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Mutsu Munemitsu gave two reasons for not withdrawing: First, Mr. Li, we have sent so many troops so hard. If we return to China without doing anything in North Korea, will we lose face?Our military expenditures are all taxpayers' money, how can the government account to the people?Second, Mr. Li, to be honest, we don't believe in your Qing Dynasty. You said that you will withdraw your troops at the same time, but we are afraid of being deceived by you. Li Hongzhang already understood that the Japanese army would not withdraw.He has two choices, one is to continue to engage in diplomatic negotiations with the Japanese - as for the outcome of the negotiations, no one can guarantee.The other is to withdraw first, regardless of whether the Japanese army withdraws or not. The latter view was put forward by Fang Boqian, the captain of the Beiyang Navy, and Nie Shicheng, the general of the Huai Army.They believed that whether the Qing army stayed in North Korea or not, a war between Qing and Japan would be unavoidable.But the current situation is that our military deployment has lost the opportunity, and the enemy is outnumbered. If we rashly go to war, we will fall into Japan's tricks.It is better to withdraw the army to the country first, and buy time to gather superior forces several times that of the Japanese army to the border of the Yalu River. If the Japanese army still stays in North Korea by then, the army crosses the Yalu River, and the Beiyang Fleet enters the Incheon waters, outflanking by land and sea. Annihilate the Japanese army in one go! To use a professional military term, this is - strategic retreat and active defense policy.There is only one purpose: to grasp the initiative on the battlefield. But there is another problem with the unilateral withdrawal of troops: Will North Korea be handed over to Japan?In Fang Boqian's view, there is absolutely no need to worry about this, because the situation in Northeast Asia is very complicated, and it is not only Japan that wants to interfere with North Korea, but also the other two bosses-Britain and Russia.Japan does not have the strength to monopolize North Korea, and Britain and Russia will force Japan to withdraw from North Korea. The situation has plunged Li Hongzhang into deep entanglement.It's very embarrassing to be "scared" back by Japanese pirates before the battle has even started.But Li Hongzhang couldn't tell.Regarding the combat effectiveness of the Qing army, Li Hongzhang is quite clear. This is an army that has long been riddled with corruption. It can only be used to deal with insurgents like the Dongxue Party. It is no use fighting real armies of other countries. Japan is not sure of winning the battle.Considering these, Li Hongzhang was a little discouraged: Forget it, the court will lose face if it loses face, so let's withdraw first. Mutsu Munemitsu was watching Li Hongzhang's reaction vigilantly. What he was most worried about was that Li Hongzhang would withdraw his troops alone. In this way, the world would be peaceful, and the war with the Qing would be impossible. So when the Qing army showed signs of withdrawing alone, , Mutsu Munemitsu threw an olive branch: Mr. Li, we can still talk first. If the talk is good, we will withdraw at the same time. After getting this information, Li Hongzhang changed his mind: talk to the Japanese first! The Failure of Li Hongzhang's Diplomatic Strategy of "Using Barbarians to Conquer Barbarians" This is the old method of Qing Dynasty diplomacy.It means to use contradictions to divide and disintegrate the enemy before the war comes, and use foreigners to contain and subdue foreigners, and the Qing Dynasty seeks peace and tranquility in it.Li Hongzhang also knew that if external pressure exerted pressure on Japan, Japan would most likely agree to withdraw its troops, so Li Hongzhang took out this trick again. Li Hongzhang first thought of Russia.Since ancient times, Russia has always been a European country, but it has paid more and more attention to the interests of Asia. When Japan's "Continental Policy" was introduced, they launched the "Yellow Russia" plan, which is to turn the Northeast of the Qing Dynasty and the Korean mainland into "yellow" Russia", opening up Russia's sea outlets in the Far East.In order to realize this plan, in 1891, Russia began to build the longest railway in the world - the Trans-Siberian Railway.This railway is 10,000 kilometers long and crosses the Eurasian continent. The most important purpose of Russia's construction of this railway is to quickly transport Russia's heavy troops in Europe to Asia. When the Japanese army marched into Seoul, Russia's first reaction was to get angry. They must not let Japan take the lead and monopolize North Korea.It was in this situation that Li Hongzhang thought of Russia. In Beijing, he personally visited the Russian Minister in Beijing and told the Russians: As long as you can successfully mediate the disputes between Qing and Japan and avoid war between the two countries, the Qing Dynasty is willing to give Russia some other benefits. .The Russians agreed. But what happened next was something no one expected. When Russia began to put pressure on Japan, Mutsu Munemitsu made a powerful move. This trick is to grasp the psychology of the Russians and grasp the key points of Russia's interests.Mutsu Munemitsu told the Russians: North Korea is now a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty, and our purpose of sending troops is to force North Korea to give up its vassal status to the Qing Dynasty and make it "independent". At that time, won't you also be able to easily enter North Korea? The Russians suddenly realized that they really did not want Japan to invade North Korea first, but the strange thing is that once Japan invades and breaks the existing situation in North Korea, they will be able to reap benefits in the future.What's more, the Russians know that their most urgent task at present is to build the Trans-Siberian Railway, so let the Japanese go first. Mutsu Munemitsu's operation made Japan and Russia reach a tacit agreement: as long as Japan maintains North Korea's "independence" after the war and Japan does not station troops in North Korea, Russia will acquiesce in Japan's war against the Qing Dynasty! Li Hongzhang finally understood that Russia was unreliable.This situation was already expected by Fang Boqian. In his report to Li Hongzhang in advance, he believed that although Russia is a big neighboring country, it is also very friendly to the Qing Dynasty on the surface. It will help the Qing Dynasty. Once the Qing Dynasty goes to war, the Russians will be the biggest beneficiaries of the war (the Japanese spy on Korea, and the Russians secretly profit from it). Facts have proved Fang Boqian's judgment, and also proved that Fang Boqian's grasp of the essence of this war is very accurate.There is also a European who has the same opinion as Fang Boqian. He said in a letter to others: "I think that the Sino-Japanese War was provoked by the Russian government, which used Japan as a tool." His name is Engels. , the letter was written to Marx's daughter ("To Laura Lafargue"). The Russian dream was shattered, so Li Hongzhang had no choice but to go to England again.Needless to say, the empire on which the sun never sets is the number one in the world. It is the first country in the world to carry out the industrial revolution, that is, the first country to use the little gas produced by boiling water. After the "Sino-British Treaty of Nanjing" in 1842, the most important interest center of Britain in Asia was the Yangtze River Basin, and the vast and fertile Northeast and North Korea have always been regarded as fat.For Britain, Northeast China and North Korea do not yet have the strength to compete with Russia, so the last thing Britain wants is war in North Korea. Britain began to put pressure on Japan, asking Japan to give up its plan to go to war.Mutsu Munemitsu couldn't resist the world leader's move, so he had to discuss the withdrawal of troops with Li Hongzhang's representative.Mutsu Munemitsu has already prepared for the worst: Once under the pressure of the United Kingdom and finally unable to fight the Qing Dynasty, he must get what Japan wants at the negotiating table!He drafted a "Proposal for Qing and Japan to Jointly Promote North Korea's Internal Affairs Reform". In this plan, the most important one is that the Qing Dynasty should voluntarily give up its suzerain status to North Korea and make North Korea "independent"! Mutsu Munemitsu's cunning has revealed its tail.According to his plan, the Qing Dynasty would automatically give up North Korea, and Japan would get something for nothing, which is a beautiful idea.Li Hongzhang refused in a tactful tone: Your intentions are good, but we believe that North Korea's "internal reform" can only be implemented by the North Korean people themselves.Our country has never interfered in the internal affairs of other countries, and we also hope that other countries will not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.Even if you don't recognize North Korea as a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty, you should at least recognize North Korea as an independent country, and you have no right to interfere in the internal affairs of an independent country, so both of us should withdraw our troops from North Korea at the same time. And Mutsu Munemitsu's answer is very hooligan: Our Great Japanese Empire believes that it is necessary to implement various plans for the peace and stability of North Korea. Now that the views of our two governments are different, how can our country proceed from the North Korea withdrawal? Mutsu Munemitsu later wrote a memoir of his diplomatic battle with Li Hongzhang - "Jian Jian Lu" (the word "Jian Jian" comes from, showing the image of a royal minister who swears allegiance to the emperor).This diplomatic note is what Mutsu Munemitsu called "the first letter of severance to the Qing Dynasty" in "Jianjianlu". Li Hongzhang also acted like a hooligan. He made a temporary compromise and agreed to carry out "internal reforms" on North Korea, but the premise was that the troops must be withdrawn first-this was obviously a delaying measure.But Mutsu Munemitsu was not fooled, and his answer was more thorough: "I think your Qing government is looking for trouble on purpose. If there are unexpected events in the future, our Japanese government will not be responsible!" (The Qing government also intends to cause trouble! .There will be unforeseen changes in the future, and our government will not be responsible for them!) This is the so-called "second severance letter to the Qing Dynasty".Compared with the first time, we found that not only did Japan not withdraw its troops, but it also beat back, shifting the responsibility for starting the war to the Qing Dynasty. Talking about this result, the British were disappointed. They personally took action and proposed to Japan the idea of ​​setting up a "neutral zone" in Incheon: no army from any country can enter Incheon.Due to the face of the British, Mutsu Munemitsu reported this plan to Muruhito.And Muren's reply was: I don't agree. Incheon is the most important transit base for Japan to transport troops from the mainland to North Korea. This strategic location cannot be lost. The British also proposed: draw a line in North Korea (similar to the later 38th parallel), the south of Seoul will be occupied by the Japanese army, and the north of Seoul will be occupied by the Qing army.Japan has already taken advantage of this plan, but Muren still did not agree - Japan's ambition is not half of Korea, but the whole of Korea and the Qing mainland! With the support of the emperor, Mutsu Munemitsu began to use what Britain was afraid of in turn. He knew that what Britain was most worried about was Russia, and what Russia was most wary of was also Britain. This allowed him to find something that could be used both ways.Mutsu Munemitsu "tactfully" reminded the British Foreign Office: Japan has already reached an agreement of understanding with Russia to start a war with the Qing Dynasty. If Britain continues to interfere, the old man will send troops! This information sent a great shock to Britain.Britain is not sure of winning the battle against Russia in Asia, so they are not willing to have a direct conflict with Russia.After several fights, Britain has taken Japan with admiration. From the emperor to the common people, this is a bunch of desperate gamblers.They know exactly what they want and will not compromise in order to get it.They can back down temporarily, but not forever.These short guys are a group of powerful characters. They never think about sacrifice, the destruction of the country, and the long-term rule. Whenever necessary, even Muren will rush out of the palace with a big knife! This change in view influenced the subsequent change in Britain's attitude towards the North Korean issue. Mutsu Munemitsu keenly detected the change in the attitude of the British. He took the opportunity to set fire to the Qing Dynasty and provided the military information held by the General Staff Headquarters to the British: Boss, you see, during the negotiation period, we in Japan have been doing The preparations for war, all the deployments have been done, flawlessly.However, the military defense of the Qing Dynasty was still very lax, and they did not even make any preparations around Beijing. Once a real fight broke out, the Qing Dynasty would not be able to defeat Japan!As long as Britain does not prevent Japan from going to war, Japan promises to share some benefits in the future! Britain has to reconsider: it seems that this little Japan is irresistible, and it can just support it as its own little brother, let their power enter North Korea, and tie Japan and Russia together in North Korea. It will turn into a conflict between Japan and Russia, and Britain will then provoke or mediate in it, and reap the benefits of the fisherman! A strange scene happened.The attitude of the United Kingdom took a 180-degree turn. The British Foreign Office informed Japan: As long as you are not in the United Kingdom and fighting in Shanghai and the surrounding areas, the center of Asian interests, we agree with you to go to war against the Qing Dynasty! Mutsu Munemitsu readily agreed, and it is said that he also set up a letter for the British. And Mutsu Munemitsu also saw the minds of the British, and he began to ask the British for something. This thing is a new treaty. During the Shogunate era, Western powers forced Japan to sign a series of unequal treaties.After more than ten years of hard work after the Meiji Restoration, the original unequal treaties were abolished one by one, leaving only the last unequal treaty, which was the "Japan-British Treaty of Commerce and Navigation" signed with Britain.In order to abolish this treaty, Mutsu Munemitsu had negotiated with the British dozens of times before and tried every means, but it has not been successful.There was great dissatisfaction in Japan, criticizing him as "weak and incompetent diplomacy". Now, in order to act as Britain's younger brother in Asia, Mutsu Munemitsu proposed that this treaty must be abolished.He succeeded. On July 16, 1894, in London, Mutsu Munemitsu personally signed the new "Japan-UK Treaty of Commerce and Navigation".The last unequal treaty of the Western powers to Japan was abolished. According to the provisions of the new treaty: Britain abolished its concession in Japan, abolished its extraterritorial rights in Japan, and Japan raised its tariff rate to Britain (from 5% to 10% to 15%).Not only did Britain cancel its privileges in Japan, but the increase in tariff rates would also provide huge economic support for Japan to launch the Sino-Japanese War. On the same day that the treaty was signed, Britain immediately turned against the Qing government, and Li Hongzhang received a note from the British Foreign Office: immediately agree to all the conditions proposed by the Japanese! The Russians withdrew from the "mediation", and Britain changed from playing the "Qing Dynasty card" to playing the "Japan card" in the North Korean situation. Li Hongzhang's diplomatic means of using barbarians to control barbarians failed.It shows that the core of this method is not only how to accurately grasp the interests of other countries, but also needs to be matched with the courage of the country to draw a sword.The Japanese are cunning, greedy, insidious, determined, brave, and full of wolves, and they are fighting between Russia and Britain. This is another version of using barbarians to control barbarians.And the Qing government lost its own opportunity. In diplomacy, the Qing government showed humility, tolerance, honesty and sincerity, and peace-loving, but everyone knew that in the face of national interests, it was useless to only be honest, and it was useless to only shout peace-loving.In international conflicts, offense or defense is actually the first choice most of the time. Blind compromise and concession may allow you to gain "moral support", but you will also lose many allies and potential allies—if If you are not tough yourself, how can everyone support you to be tough? In the diplomatic battle with Mutsu Munemitsu, Li Hongzhang can be described as "completely defeated".In addition to national strength, the guiding ideology of Qing and Japan's diplomacy is also completely different.It starts with a book. In 1864, the Qing Dynasty translated and published a very professional book (Elements of International Law). This is a book of international law, mainly about international practices such as exchanges between countries, missions, and wars. The author is an American. His point of view is very kind. For example, children do not fight unless they have to. The same is true for countries. They must pay attention to maintaining world peace; Start the fight first (you can't provoke yourself). After the book was translated into Chinese, it took a very scary name: "Public Law of the World". "Public Law of the Nations" was warmly welcomed by the diplomatic circles of the Qing Dynasty. In addition to the views in the book being in line with traditional morality, it also represented their "good" wishes for the world of Western powers.In their view, this book was written by a "great Confucianist" in the West, and the monarchs of all countries must sincerely abide by it and dare not disobey it. Once frictions arise between countries, all countries have to turn to a certain page in the book to make a final decision. So they regarded this book as a diplomatic treasure, and when there were important issues that could not be resolved, they took out the treasure to have a look. In the same year, this book was introduced to Japan from the Qing Dynasty.Naturally, the Japanese did not dare to neglect the books that were popular among the high-level governments of the great powers of China. They attached great importance to this book, which set off a wave of "international law craze".In the words of articles written by scholars at that time, it was - "For the first time, I know that there are laws and regulations for exchanges between countries."However, the Japanese raised their doubts after careful study: Will countries really abide by such regulations? A few years later, with such doubts, a delegation set off. They saw the imperialism and colonialism of the weak and the strong in the Western world, and they were even more puzzled.In Germany, the famous "Iron Prime Minister" Bismarck told the Japanese without hesitation: "Nowadays all countries in the world say on the surface that they should interact with each other with etiquette and pay attention to a peaceful world. However, in international relations, justice and strength have always been together, and there will be justice when there is strength. For a country, the most important thing is Strengthen your strength, defend yourself with your own strength, and don't rely on any country. You have to know that the fact can only be that when a certain country feels that international law is against it, it will ignore it, make many sophistry, and resort to war. So Whether or not the public laws of all nations can be enforced depends entirely on strength." The Japanese finally confirmed their suspicions with on-the-spot experience, and the inspection team happily brought the answer back to China.Fukuzawa Yukichi even summed it up in one sentence: "The tens of millions of words of the "Wan Guo Gong Law" can be obliterated with a single gun." Since then, Japan has devoted itself to pursuing pragmatic diplomacy and power diplomacy, and Mutsu Munemitsu is undoubtedly an outstanding representative in this regard. The situation suddenly became tense.The helpless Li Hongzhang had no choice but to accept the proposal originally proposed by Japan: we can discuss North Korea's "internal affairs reform" first, and then withdraw troops. At this time, Mutsu Munemitsu replied with the familiar words: Today is different from the past, brother! July 19 - Three days after Britain made clear its support for Japan, Japanese forces occupying Seoul move quickly, breaking into the Joseon palace to deliver an ultimatum to the North Korean government.We only need to look at three of them: 1. The king of Joseon must decree to expel the Qing army in Asan. 2. North Korea abolished all treaties with the Qing Dynasty (changed the status of a dependent country). 3. North Korea is limited to give a reply within three days (as of 0:00 on July 23). This ultimatum was nominally issued to the North Korean government, but in fact it was to find a reason to "be famous" for the war with the Qing Dynasty.Because the North Korean government as a vassal state cannot agree to such an ultimatum. Once three days pass, the Japanese army can occupy the palace openly and force the king to order "ask the Japanese army for help" to expel the Qing army. At that time, the Japanese army will have a plan to attack the Qing army. reason! After receiving the news, Li Hongzhang finally completely despaired. He finally understood that a war with Japan was inevitable, and the governor's Yamen of Tianjin Zhili began to rush to deploy more troops to North Korea. Since the Japanese army had already controlled Incheon and Seoul, Li Hongzhang decided to send 10,000 troops across the Yalu River into North Korea to occupy Pyongyang, the second largest city in North Korea, 260 kilometers north of Seoul, and use Pyongyang as the gathering place. But there is still a problem at this time, that is, Asan still has 2,500 Qing soldiers who were originally sent out to suppress the rebellion of the Donghak Party. The troops, going deep alone, are extremely dangerous.Li Hongzhang decided to send warships to the sea of ​​Asan to pick them up and transport them to Pyongyang to join the army.But Ye Zhichao, the commander of the Asan army, put forward another opinion. Ye Zhichao believes that Asan is close to Incheon, and Incheon has seven or eight Japanese warships, so it is not safe to go by sea.Therefore, he suggested that the troops should still be stationed in Asan, and if Japan really went to war, they could attack the Japanese army with the Pyongyang army! After receiving the telegram, Li Hongzhang felt that it made sense.But the safety issue really made him worry too much.So he thought of another way: send another 2,500 reinforcements to Asan by sea! It is difficult for us to understand this strange method for a while.Since the sea route for transporting troops out is not safe, the sea route for transporting troops in is also unsafe.Li Hongzhang would not have thought of this question, but after careful consideration, we can understand Li Hongzhang's deep meaning. Up to now, Li Hongzhang still does not believe (and is unwilling to believe) that Japan will really go to war with the Qing Dynasty, so he sent the main force to Pyongyang, hoping to "deter" the Japanese army and avoid war.And Ye Zhichao had the same idea as Li Hongzhang. He believed that as long as he stayed in Asan honestly, did not move his nest, and did not give the Japanese any "chance to provoke", the war could be avoided. Li Hongzhang quickly found a two-way solution, which would neither "irritate" the Japanese, but also ensure the safety of the seaborne troop transport. This method is to rent a few British ships to transport troops, instead of sending the Beiyang Fleet to escort, it only needs to send one or two warships to guard the landing point on the shore of Asan. Li Hongzhang believed that "with the public law of all nations, whoever goes to war first will be unreasonable." The Japanese would never dare to provoke a war.What's more, no matter how crazy the Japanese are, they dare not fire at ships flying the flag of the British Empire! The three British ships rented from Jardine Matheson were soon ready. They would be converted into troop carriers and transport the 2,500 Qing troops from Tianjin to Asan, North Korea in batches.According to the plan of "no need for escort, just be alert at the landing site", the Beiyang Fleet of the Qing Dynasty did not dispatch the main force to escort the troop carrier, but only sent the cruiser Jiyuan, the practice ship Weiyuan, and the gunboat Guangyi belonging to the Guangdong Fleet. The warship rushed to Asan first. At the same time, the Japanese wartime headquarters ordered all warships in the Qing Dynasty to return.It turned out that although the two countries have been at odds, the "friendly exchanges" have not been interrupted. Japan sent several warships to visit Mawei Port and Weihai in Fujian.After these warships return, all warships in Japan will gather at Sasebo Naval Port, and a unified fleet will be established soon. Japan will use all warships in the country to fight and participate in the battle! Everyone is quietly waiting for the deadline for the ultimatum - the arrival of midnight on July 23.What awaits the Qing and Japanese armies is an unknown fate. On July 23, different things happened in different places, and we will talk about them one by one in chronological order. Seoul - Joseon Palace: Mutiny! Poor Joseon king, since he got the ultimatum, he has been helpless and terrified.At the end of the day, we finally gave the Japanese an answer: the Qing army was indeed invited by us, and we have already asked the Qing Dynasty to withdraw its troops through the Tang Charge d'Affaires (Tang Shaoyi). The implication is: if the Celestial Dynasty does not withdraw its troops, there is nothing we can do. Don't bully honest people, okay? The Japanese army knew what to do. At midnight on the 23rd, the Japanese army in Seoul launched an attack on the Korean palace.After rushing into the palace, the first thing the Japanese army did was to cut off the telegraph line between North Korea and the Qing Dynasty (blocking news), and then forced the King of North Korea to issue an order: to abolish the vassal relationship with the Qing Dynasty, and North Korea "requested the Japanese army" to take Asan The Qing army was expelled from the country! With this edict, the Japanese army had a "justifiable" reason to attack the Qing army. The completed combined fleet is waiting for the review before sailing.This is an echelon formation. The three fastest warships form the first vanguard (guerrilla). They will serve as the vanguard fleet to attack the Qing warships. The flagship is the fastest warship in the world at that time, which was launched less than half a year ago—— Yoshino.The cannon battleships formed the main force, and as the main force in the decisive battle, the flagship was the Matsushima—and it was also the flagship of the United Fleet.Other old and weak warships formed the second vanguard, mainly doing logistical support and security work. Vice Admiral Ito Yohiro has been appointed as the commander of the joint fleet. He will command the huge fleet on the Matsushima and search for the Qing warships in the sea of ​​Asan, looking for fighters.伊东佑亨的命令是：如果碰到的清国军舰力量弱小，则不必一战，先放过他们，等待对方强舰或舰队出现，一举歼灭！ 当时并没有军事侦察卫星，而联合舰队却能够准确地将搜索的目标锁定在牙山海面。只有一种解释：在清国大陆，一直潜伏着一支庞大的日本间谍网络（后面详细讲述），他们成功地猎取了李鸿章向牙山运兵的情报，情报发回日本，联合舰队立即出动。 11时，海军军令部部长桦山资纪的身影出现在了佐世保军港，他是来为伊东佑亨和联合舰队的出征送行的。联合舰队所有军舰汽笛长鸣。 “发扬帝国海军荣誉！”桦山资纪的检阅船打出了旗语。 “完全准备就绪！”第一先锋队旗舰“吉野”用旗语回答。 “待我凯旋！”第二先锋队旗舰“葛城”回答。 “坚决发扬帝国海军荣誉！”主力队旗舰“松岛”回答。 惊天的海浪中，蕴藏着惊世的野心。Set off! 7月23日下午，济远等三艘军舰到达牙山湾海面，而运兵船还没有到。24日凌晨四点，第一艘出发的运兵船终于到了，济远等军舰警戒运兵船完成士兵登陆工作，然后等着第二艘和最后一艘运兵船的到来。 在等待的同时，济远舰舰长方伯谦作出了一个改变了后来战局的决定：派威远号前往仁川海面侦察，了解汉城日军的动向。 24日下午，威远带回了一个严重的消息：汉城兵变了。 方伯谦顿时感到事态严重，他判断自己已经处于危险之中。由于朝鲜到清国的电报线已经被割断，只能人工报信，方伯谦命令威远号立即返航威海北洋舰队基地报信，济远和广乙继续等运兵船。 晚上，第二艘运兵船抵达，方伯谦命令加快速度卸载武器和士兵登陆，到25日凌晨四点，运兵船上的马匹和火炮仍没有卸载完，而最后一艘运兵船也还没有到达，方伯谦认为不能再等了，运兵船是英国籍的，日军应该不敢攻击它们，而两艘孤零零的军舰必须脱险，他命令运兵船继续卸货，济远和广乙立即调头向威海返航！ 7月25日凌晨四点半的晨雾中，济远和广乙两艘军舰起航了，按照航速，三个小时后它们将驶出牙山湾，进入茫茫大海，然后一路朝清国海岸方向疾驰。方伯谦有一种预感：在不远处的海面上，日军舰队正在乘风踏浪向牙山海面驶来，像猎人一样四处搜寻猎物，一旦相遇，炮战即将打响！ 方伯谦的预感是对的。