Chapter 7 6. Sino-Japanese War and Shimonoseki Peace Treaty

The Sino-Japanese War of Sino-Japanese War occupies an extremely important page in modern Chinese history. After this war, Japan became a powerful country in Asia. On the third day of May in the 20th year of Guangxu (1894), Li Hongzhang sent Ye Zhichao, the admiral of Zhili, and Nie Shicheng, the commander-in-chief of Taiyuan Town, to lead the fourth battalion of Luyu defense troops to aid the court.Nie Shicheng led 800 forwards. After arriving in North Korea on the sixth day, Ye Zhichao also arrived two days later to join Yashan.Asan is in the south of Incheon, west of Chenghuan, 150 miles to Seoul.

At that time, the Qing court judged that Japan would not send troops to North Korea because the parliament might hinder the government after the Meiji Restoration. Therefore, after the Qing troops were dispatched, they sent a note to Japan according to the "Tianjin Treaty", stating that China sent troops at the request of North Korea.At this time, the Prime Minister of Japan was Ito Hirobumi, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs was Mutsu Shigemitsu. They adopted a decisive solution. On the one hand, they asked the Japanese emperor to decide to send troops, and on the other hand, they dissolved the parliament. He led 400 people to Seoul, and sent another six warships to anchor at the mouth of the Han River.The Qing Dynasty sent troops to Asan, Chungcheong Province, North Korea, with the purpose of quelling chaos in North Korea; Japan sent troops to Seoul, with the purpose of controlling the overall situation in North Korea and holding the North Korean government hostage.After the Uprising of the Donghak Party was over, the Japanese army entered in a steady stream. By mid-May, the Japanese army had reached 8,000 people, and they all rushed to the key points around Seoul.The total number of Chitun Yashan in China is only 3,000.

For nearly two months thereafter, the Qing government only hoped that China and Japan would withdraw their troops at the same time, while Japan demanded that China and Japan jointly reform Korea's internal affairs. Japan's purpose was to obtain a pretext for war. Yuan Shikai returned to the country on June 15th, and six days later (21st), Da Bird led his troops to surround the palace, captured the king, and took over the monarchy in the courtyard.On the 23rd, the new government of North Korea announced that "North Korea is independent and will no longer pay tribute." On the second day, it asked Japan to expel the Chinese troops stationed in Asan.

Yuan Shikai returned to Tianjin to report the Japanese situation in North Korea to Li Hongzhang. Li Nai knew that China and Japan must fight. On June 22, he sent a telegram to Yashan to prepare for the defense, and sent Ma Yukun's Yijun, Zuo Guigui's Fengjun, and Wei Ru Gui's Huai Army, Sheng Army, and Fengsheng's Sheng Army totaled 29 battalions, with 14,000 people crossing the Yalu River into North Korea by land. On June 23, the Battle of Toshima took place. The two ships Jiyuan and Guangyi covered the Gaosheng (British ship) and the two ships Cao Jiang and the two battalions of defense troops reinforced Asan. The Japanese ships Yoshino, Naniwa and Akitsuzhou attacked.Both Guangyi and Jiyuan were seriously injured. Caojiang was hoisted a white flag by the Association and was plundered by the Japanese ship Qiujinzhou. The Gaosheng ship refused to surrender and was sunk by Japanese torpedoes.

Asan's foreign aid continued, the Japanese army launched a large-scale attack. The Nie and Ye armies fought hard, and fought and retreated. On July 21, they bypassed Seoul and retreated to Pyongyang.Ye Zhichao actually lied about his military achievements to the Qing court, claiming that killing the enemy is useless.The news of the victory spread to Beijing, and the Qing court rewarded him greatly, and ordered Ye to lead all the troops to station in Pyongyang.All the armies knew that Ye was defeated and lied about the victory, and were extremely dissatisfied with the Qing court's ordering Ye to command and dispatch.

On the first day of July, China and Japan declared war on the same day, and the four-way army sent by Li Hongzhang arrived in Pyongyang the next day. The Battle of Pyongyang officially broke out on August 16, and Pyongyang fell after only one day of fighting.The most brave man in the Qing army was Ma Yukun's department, and the most deadly one was Zuo Baogui's department.The Qing army killed more than 2,000 people and captured hundreds of people. All the weapons, salaries, and official documents in the city belonged to the Japanese army.The defeated army went straight for 500 miles, retreated across the Yalu River, and the entire territory of Korea fell into the hands of the Japanese army.

After the land battle in Pyongyang ended, the Yellow Sea naval battle broke out on August 18. This main battle at sea lasted only half a day. The Beiyang Navy of the Qing Dynasty was commanded by Admiral Ding Ruchang.Ding Ruchang is an old man in the Huai army. In the spring of the Sino-Japanese War, the navy just had a grand parade, and the war broke out shortly after the parade.It is reasonable to use thousands of days to raise troops, but how do you know that the Qing Dynasty navy has nothing good except for the large number of ships and tonnage; the warships are old, the anti-gun steel plates are weak, and the speed is slow. Treating warships as a yamen, supplying rations, and all the navy funds are removed to build the Summer Palace. How can such a navy fight a war!

When the Chinese and Japanese navies met on the Yellow Sea, the Qing navy lined up in a herringbone pattern, with its wings spread out to wait for enemy ships;Ding Ruchang supervised the battle on the flagship Dingyuan. He looked through the binoculars and saw that the Japanese fleet was like a long snake, so he ordered to fire, hoping to break up the opponent's formation. Most of the army's shells fell on the sea surface, stirring up countless waves and killing countless fish and shrimp.The Japanese fleet did not fight back at this time, but advanced at full speed to copy the back of the Qing army.The commander-in-chief of the Japanese navy was Ito Yuhiro. He ordered the Japanese ship to sail within the range of the cannon before ordering to fire.The Japanese guns were all large-caliber, and the speed of the Japanese ships was faster than that of the Qing ships. Therefore, under the concentrated bombardment of the Japanese guns, the bow of the Qing army Chaotong was sunk.At this time, the Qing army panicked, and the formation was also in chaos. A fierce battle lasted only four hours. The Qing fleet was defeated. The flagship of Xia Dingyuan and the ships of Zhenyuan, Laiyuan, Jiyuan, and Pingyuan fled back to Lushun Port in embarrassment, not daring to go to war, so the control of the Yellow Sea was completely controlled by the Japanese Navy.

The Japanese army had won great victories on land and at sea, but it was not satisfied. After the Japanese army in North Korea captured Pyongyang, they continued to advance to the south bank of the Yalu River, while the army of the Qing Dynasty gathered in Jiulian City. Another army of President Song Qing was sent.Song Qing belonged to the Hunan Army system, but his qualifications were very low, and the armies were unwilling to be bound by it.At this time, the Qing army combined no less than 70 battalions, but Song Qing was unable to command, and he was not a good general, and he had no strategy in mind.The enemy was at present, but instead of guarding the banks of the Yalu River with heavy troops to prevent the Japanese soldiers from crossing the river, he only guarded the riverside with a few sentries.On September 26, the 20th year of Guangxu (October 24, 1894), the Japanese army forcibly crossed the Yalu River. Song Qing had to abandon Jiulian City and retreat in a hurry. Then they crossed the river from Sinuiju to the north, captured Andong, Xiuyanzhou, Ximucheng, and approached Haicheng, cutting off the retreat of the Qing army.

The Japanese Navy led a division from Dashanyan to sneak into Dalian and Lushun. The Beiyang Fleet that was originally in Lushun had already fled after hearing the news, while the army's troops defending Lushun had already moved to Jiulian City for reinforcements. Admiral Jiang Guiti, Recruits recruited by Cheng Yonghe.On October 9th, the Japanese army captured Jinzhou and marched into Lushun and Dalian in three ways. In less than a month, Lushun and Dalian were successively occupied by the Japanese army. The Qing army was already defeated, but the remnants of the navy still fled to Weihaiwei. The Japanese military showed no mercy and wanted to completely wipe out the Qing navy, so they launched an offensive against Weihaiwei.On December 25th of the 20th year of Guangxu (January 10, 1895), it landed from Rongcheng and attacked westward to smash the back of Weihaiwei.On the fifth day of the first lunar month in the 21st year of Guangxu (January 30, 1895), the Weihaiwei Fort was captured. On the same day, 25 Japanese ships surrounded the port of Weihaiwei. Dingyuan and Laiyuan were sunk by torpedoes, and Jingyuan was sunk by cannons. Ding Ruchang saw the defeat of the Qing navy so miserably. As the commander of the navy, he had no face to go ashore.When Ding Ruchang died, more than 30 large and small warships of the Beiyang Fleet were captured by Japan.

At that time, the navy of the Qing Dynasty could be divided into four branches: Beiyang, Nanyang, Fujian, and Yueyang. The Beiyang fleet was the strongest and largest, and the four navies did not belong to each other.In the spring of the Jiawu year, Li Hongzhang presided over the naval parade, and the three ships of the Yueyang Fleet, Guangjia, Guangyi, and Guangc, were called to participate in the parade. After the exercise, just in time for a war, they were merged into the Beiyang Fleet to strengthen their momentum.On June 23, Guangyi escorted Gao Shenglun to Yashan with troops, but was attacked by enemy fire and the two ships were destroyed.During the Battle of the Yalu River on August 18, Guangjia fled back to Dalian, but was rested in a moraine on the way, and also sank.Guangbing was captured by the Japanese army.The Daoist Niu Dao who contacted the surrender actually wrote to the surrendered naval admiral Ito Yutou, saying: "The three ships Guangjia, Guangyi, and Guangc belong to Guangdong, and they are crowned with the word Guang as proof; the province of Guangdong has no interference with the military. Now that the catastrophe of Jia and B is left, there is only one C, and Beiyang has no way to deal with it." Guangdong, Admiral Wanggui thinks that Guangdong is an outsider's meaning, and thinks that the ship's commander, Vice Admiral Zhang (actually, Cheng Biguang), has to pass the message back and forth in the past few days. Can he propose that the ship be handed over to the Vice Admiral and brought back to Guangdong, so that the ship can be obtained? A little respect in front of the Governor is greatly appreciated." After China and Japan went to war in Korea, Li Hongzhang appointed Zhou Fu, the governor of Zhili, to handle the transshipment of the Eastern Expedition.Zhou Fu invited Yuan Shikai to help, and Yuan Nai went to Fenghuang City to set up a bureau. At this time, the Japanese soldiers were about to cross the Yalu River to the west.The various commanders of the Qing army on the river, such as Song Qing, Liu Shengxiu, Ma Jinxu, etc., had no discipline, demanded wages, and abandoned them as they were given. Yuan Shikai made a comprehensive suggestion on the logistics supply of the Qing army. He said: "Xinmin Hall is located between Yuguan and Fenghuang City. It strangles the Liaohe River in the east, serves as a thoroughfare for water and land, and supplies miscellaneous grains to the north. It converges here. It is advisable to set up a grain platform to store grain and pay. According to the front and back stations, separate official cars and hire private cars at any time. Transshipment in stages. There are also several places in the east of Shengjing that can be purchased, and it is planned to buy and store them at the nearest garrison. Always use Xinminting as the base." In September of the 20th year of Guangxu (1894), the Japanese army crossed the Liaohe River, and Ma Yukun and Song Desheng were defeated in battle.Song Qing planned to retreat to Motianling. Yuan thought that the Japanese soldiers would march in three ways, and defending one way alone would be of no avail.The Japanese army landed at the lower reaches of Huayuankou in Xiuyan Prefecture and marched in two routes, one to Dadonggou and the other to Piziwo. The defending Qing army was exhausted.In October, when Yuan went to Wangbaotai, he broke his army and looted the carriages and horses of the transport bureau. Yuan searched and intercepted hundreds of people and killed several people before stopping the looting. No matter the training and combat of the Qing army, it was the old method, and the Japanese army had completely adopted the Western method. Compared with the two, they were vulnerable. Yuan sent Sheng Xuanhuai a telegram saying: "Westerners use troops roughly divided into four lines. The front line fights loosely. If you lose, you will retreat to the third line and form a whole line. The second line will take care of you. The rotation is continuous. The back line is strictly organized to prevent outflanking and attacking. The troops stationed here set up cannons to stop the pursuers and cover the remnants of the soldiers. Even though they are defeated, they will not be defeated. Today, the enemy armies in the front also use this method in their daily drills. Going straight forward, it was like a lonely bet, panting undecided, already overwhelmed by the enemy, the rear team did not dare to fire their guns, for fear of hitting the front team by mistake. Only dozens of people in the front, crowded in one place, easy to hit the enemy's bullets, so it is difficult to win. If the team doesn't garrison troops, it will collapse if it is defeated. Please tell the commander to order all the troops to practice seriously according to the Western method." He also said: "Liu Shengxiu's military affairs are based on routs and looting, and he has no fighting spirit. Nie Shicheng's army has no more than a thousand soldiers, and they are all dead. Lu Daosheng's army also suffered more than half of the casualties. It is really difficult to fight again. Mo Ruo is transferred back for rectification.... Song Qingnan aided , it seems to know that the mountain is undefendable, and it is too difficult to retreat, so please be a guerrilla teacher. The situation is now, and it is more cost-effective to cease fighting and negotiate a peace." In December of the 20th year of Guangxu (1894), the Qing government sent Liu Kunyi, governor of Liangjiang, to supervise the military affairs outside the pass and stationed in Jieyuguan.In the 21st year of Guangxu (1895), Niuzhuang and Yingkou fell one after another in February, and Li Hongzhang was ordered to go to Japan to negotiate a peace.Yuan explained the strategy to Liu Kunyi: "In spite of seeing that the use of troops must be punished fairly, it is enough to encourage. My public supervisor in the customs should ask you to distinguish whether you are good or not at any time, and to praise them. The generals will know how to punish and persuade them. I hope they can be saved. Zha Ma Yukun has both courage and insight, and Song Desheng Loyal and courageous, they are always the same after repeated hard battles. It seems appropriate to ask for rewards and encourage them to work harder. Wu Fengzhu and Xu Bang's Taoist soldiers harassed them a lot, and they don't know how to love themselves. They should be reprimanded so that they can be vigilant. Jiang Xiyi of the Yingkou Defense Battalion abandoned the important ground , wanton embezzlement, it seems advisable to participate strictly after the disbandment of the army. These five people are only special, and the time is so difficult, but I hope that Shuji will be divided first, and all the middle-aged people will know how to persuade them." In the first month of the 21st year of Guangxu (1895), Yuan Fu rushed back to Qiansuo (place name) to meet with Nie Shicheng.Returning to Shishan Station in February, Niuzhuang and Yingkou fell one after another, so the Qing court sent Li Hongzhang to Japan to discuss peace.At this time, due to the disastrous defeat of the Qing army on both sea and land, the whole country was shaken, and the government and the public were in an uproar. The public slandered Li Hongzhang. It was said that Li Hongzhang had an affair with Japan. The iron armor of the big mast is a leaky boat.” Some people actually participated in the performance of Li Hongzhang’s cronies transporting arms to help the Japanese army.Everyone did not believe that China would be defeated by Japan, so they blamed Li Hongzhang for the defeat.Li was ordered to negotiate a peace agreement, but he dared not make the trip, because the Queen Mother was ill and Guangxu refused to cede the land.At the moment when the peace war was pending, the Japanese army threatened to capture Liaoyang in the north and attack Shanhaiguan in the west. The Qing generals Changshun and Yiketang'a rushed to the emergency, and the armies outside the pass were also fighting to abandon their defensive positions. They retreated one after another and disturbed each other. Soon Nanan Heniuzhuang also fell. The land and sea armies of the Qing Dynasty had been completely defeated, and the situation had turned to the point where peace was inevitable. The Qing government then issued an edict ordering Li Hongzhang to go to Shimonoseki to make an alliance with Japan. In February of the 21st year of Guangxu (1805), the Qing court formally sought peace with Japan and dispatched Li Hongzhang, appointed by the Japanese side, as a negotiator.At this time, the Japanese army had fallen into Weihaiwei and the Liaodong Peninsula, and Beijing was in dire straits.Li Hongzhang held the first meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito and Foreign Minister Shigemitsu Mutsu in Shimonoseki on March 20.Li Hongzhang and Itomoto were old acquaintances. The two met very cordially and talked for more than three hours. At this meeting, Li represented the defeated country, and everything was at a disadvantage.Because Japan is the winning side, the conditions are extremely harsh. On the third day after the Shimonoseki Peace Conference began, that is, on March 24th, Li Hongzhang was shot by the Japanese on his way back to his residence after the conference, and the bullet hit his cheek, causing him to faint immediately.When he woke up, he refused to stop the talks and turn to seek medical treatment. He said, "The country is in a difficult situation, and there is an urgent need to achieve peace. How can we delay and harm the country? I would rather die than seek medical treatment." Said: "This blood is also used to serve the country." He has a poem about Maguan, which says: "Lao Lao's chariot and horse are not out of the saddle, and you will know that you will die when you are in trouble; for three hundred years, you have hurt the country, and you have been hanging for eight thousand miles." The people are disabled. The autumn wind, the sword, and the lonely officials cry, and the setting sun conquers the flag and the altar of the generals. Japan is confident that it can defeat China, but it did not expect to win so quickly and easily. After the war, the Qing Dynasty was so vulnerable.Japan has a taste for food and taste, so its ambitions have greatly increased, and it has made progress. It does not stop military operations when negotiating peace, so that the terms of the peace can be more beneficial to Japan.At the beginning of the Shimonoseki peace talks, all kinds of difficulties and delays in Japan were due to this reason.However, when Li Hongzhang was assassinated, the situation changed. The chief representative of the peace talks of a defeated country was attacked by the Japanese. The international impression was too bad; The relevant treaty is still very harsh. The "Treaty of Shimonoseki" was signed on April 17th in the 21st year of Guangxu (1895), the contents are: (1) Korea's independence; (2) ceding the Liaodong Peninsula, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to Japan; (3) China shall pay Japan 20 million taels of military expenses; (4) Allow Japanese to engage in commercial handicraft manufacturing in China's treaty ports; (5) Japan shall enjoy all the privileges that Western countries have obtained in China. After the treaty was signed, Western countries were outraged, believing that Japan had violated the interests of Western powers in China.Especially Russia, Russia has always regarded the Liaodong Peninsula as its sphere of influence, but now it has been seized by the Japanese, how can it stop, so it united with Germany, France and other countries to intervene, and Japan said that Britain can occupy Zhoushan, and Russia can occupy Zhoushan. North Manchuria, Germany can also take an island off the coast.Japan's idea is a way to carve up China, but Russia is unwilling to accept it.Russia's ambitions are not limited to North Manchuria, but include North Korea and Northeast China. Since the interests of the two sides have such a big conflict, it is of course difficult to reach an agreement. Fortunately, Japan did not dare to openly break with the big powers at this time, so it reluctantly returned the Liaodong Peninsula. In China, the Qing Dynasty issued 30 million taels of silver as an exchange condition. After the peace talks, Li Hongzhang became the target of public criticism, and there was a lot of slander.He is 73 years old, and he is in great pain in his heart to undertake the internal and external affairs of the aging Qing court.He once wrote a letter to Tao Mo, governor of Xinjiang, which shows his state of mind: "In the past ten years, entertainment and martial arts have led to this change. We usually pay attention to military equipment, and we often talk about extravagance and extravagance. It is forbidden to buy weapons and ships. Once something happens, we know that our troops are outnumbered, and we are confused by the crowd. It's too easy to throw a throw, and it becomes more and more out of control. After the war, make peace, and when the capital is in danger, the matter is extremely urgent, and it is not comparable to ordinary communication. As soon as the military affairs are resolved, the slander is released again. Knowing that I am guilty, pay for it For thousands of years, it is beyond the ability to analyze it with words.” The defeat in the Sino-Japanese War and the "Treaty of Shimonoseki" greatly hurt the self-esteem of the Chinese people, but the Chinese people did not accept this lesson and consciously strengthen themselves.