Qing Dynasty Secret History

Chapter 102
It is said that since the war between China and Japan, the Chinese generals, for some reason, have been undefeated in every battle, and they have never fled without defeat. They have given up all the land east of the Liao River to the Japanese.However, the Japanese didn't know how to be grateful, so they didn't do anything and kept going. The army gained momentum, and they mobilized their warships in Dalian Bay, preparing to attack Weihai.First capture the nearby Dengzhou and Rongcheng. 25 warships, around the mouth of Lewei, the momentum is very turbulent.

At this time, the commander in chief of Weihaiwei was still Ding Ruchang, the admiral of the navy.After Ding Ruchang fell from Lushun, the imperial court dismissed him and questioned him.After Li Boxiang tried his best to protect the performance, he was able to protect him for his crime and meritorious service.Warships are weak, just sit and defend.At this time, when they heard the news that Dengzhou and Rongcheng had fallen, they hurriedly ordered Dai Zongqian, the guard of the fort in the north, and Liu Chaopei, the guard of the fort in the south, to guard carefully.Before the official documents arrived, Fengling, the back road of the Southern Gang, had been taken by the Japanese army, and Liu Chaopei fled to Beitai.Ding Ruchang was startled and said: "Why is the Japanese general marching so quickly? If Beitai falls again, the giant cannons on the fort will be of no use, and the harm will be unimaginable!"

He hurriedly issued an urgent document and asked Dai Zongqian to unload the cannon parts.

After the official document went, Zongqian refused to follow it.Ding Ruchang listened, but he was in a hurry.Things in the military camp are changing rapidly.The Japanese army got the southern fort, why did it take two days, and the northern fort was also taken by it, and Zongqian came to Liugong Island.

After occupying the fort, the Japanese army bombarded the Australian and domestic warships with the cannons on the platform, and sent torpedo boats to attack the population.The Dingyuan ship was hit by a torpedo and was seriously injured. It sailed to Liugong Island and sank into the sea.Then the two ships Laiyuan and Weiyuan were also sunk by torpedoes.Fortunately, Qiu Baoren and Lin Yingqi, the captain of Laiyuan and Weiyuan, were all swimming on the shore, and they never suffered disaster.At this time, the torpedo tube leader Wang Dengying led twelve torpedo boats and tried to escape.Unexpectedly, the Japanese warships rushing through the waves and snatching them in all directions, none of them slipped through the net, and all of them were taken away.All the warships and sailors left in the memory of the island, who could not bear the fire, all went ashore.Shots were fired across the city, claiming to seek survival at the military gate.In Liugong Island, there was a sudden chaos.All the deacons and foreigners on the warship couldn't look down on them. The Qi gang pleaded with Ding Ruchang and asked him to allow him to beg for peace, so as to reassure everyone.Unexpectedly, this part of fear of death and greed for life meets a loyal coach who never looks down on him.Ding Ruchang insisted on making up his mind, but he couldn't do it all the time.All the foreigners had no choice but to discuss with the soldiers in charge of the ship and go to the commander's ship to beg him to surrender.

At this time, Ruchang was stationed on the Zhenyuan ship, and all the sergeants supported Zhang Wenxuan, the commander of the army, and went to Ruchang, clamoring for favor.Niu Changbing, a Daoist in the battalion office, went with the leaders of the warships, just crying without saying a word.Ruchang was furious, and said to the crowd: "What are you doing here? The imperial court spent a lot of time, a lot of money and food, and training the navy to achieve this point. Unexpectedly, you can't even fight! That's not throwing me away. Your face, the face of the imperial court have been completely humiliated by you!"

Everyone said: "Master Junmen, we have never wanted to fight hard, but we have old mothers and wives at home, and no one will take care of them after the battle. We have no choice but to beg Lord Junmen to open a way of life. How merciful and merciful. If Junmen is willing to surrender , not only we ourselves are beneficiary, but even our family members are beneficiary of the military sect!"

Ruchang shouted: "After eating the imperial food, this body belongs to the country. How can I care about my family? Now that the public is begging me, I have a way to survive death. If you listen to me, you will not only be able to avoid death, but also pay attention to your family." You can build Qixun, quickly turn on the steam engine, and rush out to fight the Japanese ship to the death. As the saying goes, if one person fights for his life, ten thousand men should do nothing. After all, we are more than one person!"

All the generals wept and said: "Master Junmen, we have no deep grudges with you, why do we have to be buried? Except for fighting, no matter what, your old man pays us, we will obey everything.

Ruchang said: "If you want me to surrender, it's better to kill me with a knife!"
"All the generals begged: "The lives of tens of thousands are all due to your words, the old man, who saved us. "

Ruchang just refused to follow.Suddenly I saw Renel, a member of the German army, walk into the cabin and whispered in Ruchang's ear: "Ding Junmen, the soldiers' hearts have changed, and there is no way to do anything. It seems that it is not so important to sink the warship, bombard the fort, and surrender the enemy with bare hands. Otherwise. , You are so loyal and brave, how can you retreat from so many powerful enemies by yourself?"

Ru Chang sighed and said, "As the commander in chief, Ru Chang couldn't even fight a single battle. He owed the imperial court's kindness deeply, and he deserved to die! Since the soldiers don't want to fight, you all go and surrender, I absolutely can't surrender! "

So the generals were ordered to sink the ship at the same time, but all the generals did not obey the order.He also ordered all the warships to break out of the siege, and all the soldiers shouted.The sergeant bared his blade into the cabin and shouted: "Master Junmen, help!
Lord Junmen help! "

Seeing this, Ru Chang knew he couldn't hold back any more, and said, "Don't make noise, I have my own way, and I can save your lives."

After finishing speaking, he turned and went into his room.For a long time, I didn't come out.When all the soldiers rushed in to have a look, they saw Ding Ruchang, the admiral of the navy, lying on his back on the bed impressively, and had died of taking medicine for a long time.The crowd shouted: "Ding Junmen is martyred! Ding Junmen is martyred!"

Niu Changbing stepped in and said, "Don't yell, don't yell, let him be the martyr, let's discuss important matters!"

So he invited all the ship management leaders and all the deacons to discuss the matter of surrender.Haowei, a member of the group, drafted the letter of surrender, still relying on Ruchang's tone, transcribed the list, sealed it with the seal of the admiral of the navy, asked Guang Bingguan to lead Cheng Biguang to submit the letter of surrender, took a small boat by the town, and hung a white flag, The Japanese army begged to surrender.When the Japanese general accepted the surrender, he sent people to inspect the warship's equipment and replace it with a flag.While burying Ruchang's body, he sent the Kangji ship to Yantai and handed it over to the Chinese local officials.

Since then, the Chinese navy has been wiped out.

The shocking news spread to Beijing, and the whole dynasty was shaken.This year, the Empress Dowager was supposed to live in her [-]s. According to the story of the Qianlong Dynasty, from the Summer Palace to the Xiyuan, the scenic spots along the way were segmented, and all of them were there for the sake of war.Congratulations are only received in the Paiyun Hall in the garden, and internal coins are issued to reward former enemy soldiers.

Later generations have chanted epics:
The other halls line up the clouds and enter the birthday cup, caring for the love day and night.

Stop all the scenic spots in all states, and hear about it frequently and make a big profit.

At that time, several ministers who were in charge of the battle, seeing this situation, did not dare to persevere to the end.

Li Boxiang, the Beiyang Minister, originally advocated peace talks, so he naturally discussed the convenience of peace talks.

The imperial court humbly adopted it, and sent its servant Zhang Yinhuan to Tianjin to discuss with Li Boxiang.

Li Boxiang wrote a letter in his own hand, and sent De Cuilin, a member of the tax department, to travel east to Japan and deliver it to Japanese Minister Ito Hirobumi.When the German tax department arrived in Kobe, the Japanese official sent a telegram to the cabinet, and the cabinet replied, saying that the private letter was not a letter of credence, and that De Trilin was not a Chinese official.Sure enough, if you really want to reconcile, please send officials to come to discuss.Detriline had to come here in high spirits and return in disappointment.The Japanese also declared that they would need to cede land for peace talks, and they would pay [-] million yuan in military expenses, and the American minister informed them of this intention through the intermediary.

At this time, China simply could not fight, so Zhang Yinhuan, the minister, and Shao Youlian, the governor, were appointed as ministers with full power.Ruiliang, Gu Zhaoxin, Wu Tingfang, Liang Cheng, etc., as counselors, presented their credentials and came to Japan for a meeting.Arriving in Hiroshima, Japan appointed Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mutsu Munemitsu as ministers with plenipotentiary powers, and they exchanged edicts at the Hiroshima prefectural office.The Japanese said that the imperial edict with full power of the Japanese was not a general rule of thumb, and they refused to discuss it.

Yin Huan and You Lian fought hard for reason, but the people of the victorious country forced their resignation, so they had to sail back to the country.The imperial court only said that the Japanese were unwilling to discuss peace, and they were extremely frightened.On this day, the U.S. envoy went to the Zongli Yamen again, explaining what the Japanese wanted, saying that if China sincerely seeks peace, it should send Wang Sulong a high-level official with full powers, and they can still hold discussions at any time.Between the meanings, it is implicitly pointing to Li Boxiang, the Minister of Beiyang.Seeking peace after defeating a war is not a big country, so it has to accommodate others.

On the 21th day of the first lunar month in the [-]st year of Guangxu, Li Boxiang was sent to Japan to discuss peace as the first-class plenipotentiary minister.Wang Wenshao was appointed as the acting governor of Zhili.The U.S. envoy sent a letter to Li Boxiang, saying that Japan had sent a telegram saying: In addition to paying military expenses in advance and North Korea becoming independent, if there is no commercial transfer of land and full power to draw and deposit, the envoy can do nothing in vain.Li Boxiang heard about the imperial court, and the imperial court decreed to allow it.Li Boxiang brought his son Li Jingfang, beauty member Fu Shide, counselors Luo Fenglu, Ma Jianzhong, Wu Tingfang, etc. to Maguan.The full powers of Japan, Ito and Mutsu, also arrived.The Chunfan Building was used as the meeting place, and the two countries met with full authority.

As soon as Ito opened his mouth, he said: "Recalling that year in Tianjin, I have to look at Fu Xiang's appearance. At that time, Fu Xiang's majesty made people feel palpitations when thinking about it. Unexpectedly, Fu Xiang will condescend to come to our country today. Your honor Stepping on the humble ground. The two of us will meet here, it is really unexpected."

When Li Boxiang heard this, his face was full of shame. For the sake of the country, he had no choice but to bear the humiliation.After surveying each other's imperial edicts, they began to discuss business.Ito Hirobumi first took Dagu, Tianjin, and Shanhaiguan as hostages before agreeing to a truce.Li Boxiang refused, and Ito became more persistent.Li Boxiang, please don't attack Dagu, Tianjin, and Shanhaiguan, and discuss the peace agreement first.Ito refused.I have no choice but to negotiate an agreement first.

On the twenty-eighth day, when Li Boxiang came back from the conference hall, he encountered an assassin on the way, and Boyang was shot in the cheek, causing serious injuries.The assassin's name was Koyama Toyotaro, and he was captured by the police on the spot.Fortunately, Bo Xiang was hit by this shot. The Emperor of Japan was very sorry and sent a doctor to treat him.Eurasian public opinion, all send Japan is not.Eighteen generals couldn't carry a word of reason, so Ito had no choice but to agree to a truce without asking for quality.Therefore, an armistice treaty was first signed, and Fengtian, Zhili, and Shandong temporarily ceased fighting for 25 days.The two parties discussed the peace agreement, and Ito sent ten items, and the deadline was four days for discussion.On the one hand, Bo Xiang telegraphed the Prime Minister's Yamen, saying that the most important thing in Japan is: first, North Korea's independence; second, all parts of the south of Fengtian, Taiwan and Penghu islands must be cut off; third, compensation for military expenses of [-] trillion taels.If you want to ask for extravagance, please inform the ministers of Britain, Russia and France to mediate.On the one hand, he replied to Ito: [-]. North Korea is independent, and the treaty drafted by Japan must be changed;Ito replied to the letter and still urged speedy discussion.Li Boxiang only allowed the cession of four places in Fengtian, Anton, Kuandian, Fenghuang City, Xiuyan Prefecture, and the Penghu Islands, and the compensation was only allowed to be [-] million taels.At this time, Bo Xiang's gunshot wound has healed, and he returned to Chunfan Tower for a meeting.Ito then handed in the contract draft, and subtracted a land in Kuandian from the land cession payment; the compensation was reduced to [-] million taels, divided into six installments, and paid off in seven years in total.Ito said: "This time, there is nothing to reduce the manuscript, and there is nothing to let it go. Our country has taken care of the whole and the situation, and we are meticulous. China only agrees or not. Please don't be ignorant." It's time."

Bo Xiang argued with him repeatedly, and Ito became more persistent and gave him four days to reply.Bo Xiang played Beijing electronically and got permission.So the two countries had full power and signed a draft treaty with each other.The armistice period will be renewed on the 21st, and the appointment is scheduled to be exchanged in Yantai.Yuewen outlines: [-]. North Korea is completely independent; [-]. Fengtiannan is ceded to Japan from the Yalu River to the mouth of Anping River, Fenghuangcheng, Haicheng, Yingkou, Taiwan, Penghu and its affiliated islands; [-]. Ceded the border affairs, The deadline is within one year; four, the indemnity is [-] million taels, to be paid in eight installments; five, the migration of the people is limited to two years.If you don’t move after the deadline, you will be a Japanese citizen forever; [-]. Open four ports of trade with Pisha City, Chongqing, Suzhou, and Hangzhou; [-]. Withdraw your troops within three months after the contract is renewed; [-]. Temporarily occupy Weihaiwei and withdraw your troops after the compensation is paid; [-]. Captives shall not be abused; [-]. This treaty approves the exchange of strikes; [-]. Regular exchange in Yantai.

After the draw was over, Li Boxiang returned to Tianjin, took a sick leave, and sent Wu Tingfang to Beijing with the full text of the treaty.Why do you think Li Boxiang asked for leave suddenly?It turned out that at this time, the government and the public were up and down, and there was already a commotion.The news of the cession of the land spread to Beijing, and the courtiers were outraged.Taiwanese subjects, arguing about Yuli.By the time Li Boxiang agreed on the grass chapter, the Chinese and foreign ministers had already written more than a hundred chapters, all of which were arguing about the land.Thousands of people, including Zi Kang Youwei, who participated in the examination, jointly signed a letter, and they were impassioned. Compared with Chen Dong, a student of the imperial court in the Song Dynasty, and others, they were comparable to each other.The imperial court was quite moved, and the secret decree asked Li Boxiang to change it.

Li Boxiang signed the contract with full powers, and he never changed it. He was deeply concerned about Tengxiao Wanguo, and he refused to follow.

Sun Yuwen and Xu Yongyi, the ministers, advocated to change the contract as soon as possible.The principals, He Zaoxiang and Luo Fenghua, wrote a letter asking to kill Yuwen and others to thank the world, but the court ignored him.Bo Xiang knew that the courtiers would not forgive him, and he would be the target of public criticism, so when he arrived in Tianjin, he had to excuse his illness.

This time in the draw, the British favored Japan very much.Russia, France, and Germany are very unequal.Japan occupied Liaodong, and Russia caused great harm.The ministers stationed in Japan of Russia, France and Germany tried their best to block the discussion.Russian warships have been cruising in Nagasaki, Japan, and Liaodong, China.Japan's national power cannot fight against Russia in the first place, and now it will start a new war with China. How can there be any courage to start a war with Russia?It is precisely that there are strong players among the strong, and there is a blue sky above Mount Tai.When the Russians came in this way, Japan had no choice but to return the Liaodong region it had acquired to China.The envoys of the three countries informed the General Administration that if Liaodong does not return it, it must not approve the renewal of the contract.At this time, the imperial court hesitated, and ordered Wang Wenshao and Liu Kun to negotiate a peace.Wen Shao and others repeated: "Shenyang and the capital are two places of great importance, and they must be well-planned.

In terms of Zhili, for example, Admiral Nie Shicheng, Commander-in-Chief Zhang Gaoyuan, Wu Hongzhi, Chen Fengqi and other armies are all worthy of a battle. From Yuguan to Liaoshen armies, I dare not speculate.Now the situation has become a lonely bet, which is quite different from before the agreement was not negotiated. I beg all the ministers to discuss it carefully. "

The imperial court decided to sign a contract, and specially sent priests Wu Tingfang and Lianfang to Yantai to exchange the contract as ministers.Mikuharu Ito, the Japanese envoy to change the treaty, went to Yantai and claimed that it would be easier to sever the Treaty of Liao Dynasty. He did not follow the national order and did not dare to amend the Treaty of Shimonoseki without authorization.The two ministers, Wu and Lian, did not argue with him.At this time, ten Russian ships were moored in Yantai, loading coal and washing guns, and the momentum was raging.Ito was shocked and sent a telegram to Tokyo to plead for his life.When the call came back, he asked the chief to discuss the terms of returning to Liao, and the appointment was changed in the middle of the night.

At this time, Wang Zhichun came back from Russia and passed by Fajing. He lobbied France to intervene in the peace treaty, willing to surrender Taiwan to France.Before the agreement was reached, Gong Zhaoao, the imperial envoy in France, sent a secret message to Li Boxiang.Afraid of breaking the peace treaty, Bo Xiang urged Ito Hirobumi to change the treaty as soon as possible, and at the same time asked to send envoys to deliver Taiwan.On April 25, the court ordered Li Jingfang to be the emissary to cut off Taiwan, and Japan sent Huashan Ziji as the governor of Taiwan, and the delivery was carried out in the Japanese ship.Unexpectedly, the people of Taiwan do not want to be subordinate to Japan. They publicly elected the governor Tang Jingsong as the president of Taiwan, established the internal, external, and military departments, and established the name "Yongqing".Japan dispatched both the navy and the army to conquer Taiwan, and it took two years of bloody battles before it could be established. This is a later story.

Although Taiwan is currently cut off, the Japanese army is still guarding Liaodong.Russia, France, and Germany severely demanded to withdraw their troops, so the Japanese demanded to redeem 5000 million taels of Liaodong fees. After trying their best to negotiate, it was reduced to 3000 million taels, but China refused to agree.In August, there is still no agreement.Russia, France, and Germany arbitrarily determined that it was 3000 million taels, and the Japanese began to withdraw their troops three months after the Japanese demanded that the compensation be paid off.The imperial court still asked Li Boxiang to meet with the Japanese envoy Lin Dong to repay the Liao contract.Lin Dong made four proposals: [-]. Repayment of [-] million taels; [-]. Russia, France and Germany shall never occupy the three eastern provinces, and China shall not cede them; [-]. Dalian Bay shall be open to trade;

There was no agreement, and the announcement of severe punishment from Russia, France, and Germany came again, asking him why the Liaodong soldiers did not withdraw?Japan had no choice but to accept a repayment of 3000 million taels and make an agreement.In October of this year, all the Liaodong soldiers retreated, and all the cities in the south of Fengtian were handed over to China.However, the territory has been lost for thousands of miles, and the people have paid [-] trillion yuan. The navy, which has been operating hard for more than ten years, has benefited the neighbors in vain.Such a big creation, it is said that the palace has already received a sign.Before Jiawu, Dezong dreamed of an old man many times and asked himself, "When will you return my old things?"

Dezong couldn't answer, so he woke up and told the queen mother.

The queen mother said: "If you dream again, I will tell you that I will pay you back in the year of the donkey."

Later, I dreamed of this old man again, and in a hurry, I mistakenly said "return you in the year of the horse". Therefore, later generations have poems saying: why did Pang Mei fall into the dream, and return my country.

Meeting people at night seems old, donkey years change to horse years.

At that time, the trauma was so painful that everyone in the government and the public felt unbearable resentment after being stimulated by this time, and everyone had the will to work hard and become a hero.The principal, Kang Youwei, initiated a strong society in the capital, advocating reforms, and the courtiers followed suit, so a reform party was formed.Emperor Dezong issued a series of new imperial edicts, ordering ministers at home and abroad to recommend talents; he also ordered the generals and governors of each province to take into account the situation in the province, to make proper arrangements for salary raising, military training, sympathy for merchants, and benefiting workers, and to repeat within one month. He also ordered Hu Yanfu to supervise the Jinlu Railway.A group of old-fashioned bureaucrats can't help but feel jealous when they see that the court's behavior is gradually inclined to reform.Censor Yang Chongyi was the first to go up, and announced that the Qiangxue Bookstore established by Kang Youwei would be banned, and scholars would be prohibited from paying attention to current affairs.It just so happened that Hu Fuchen, the censor, requested that the Qiangxue Bookstore be turned into a government-run office, and the Prime Minister's Office also issued an invitation to issue a decree.Conservative bureaucrats are getting more and more attention.

To the judge, it was only because Emperor Dezong was angry with the weak and tried to change his ways to become stronger that he caused a catastrophe and almost lost his life!If you want to know what happened next, let's see the next chapter.

(End of this chapter)