Alchemy Greater China

"With all our achievements in one battle, we launched a general attack on Pyongyang City! As long as Pyongyang falls, we have reason to announce to the outside world that our big Japan has won the victory over China! At that time, we will show the fact that we have defeated the main force of Beiyang, and it will naturally Great powers have come forward to mediate!" Ito Hirobumi said confidently: "In order to achieve this goal, we must create a sensational effect. I suggest that after the capture of Pyongyang, a massacre of Pyongyang City will be carried out, and the resisting North Koreans and Chinese people, Kill them all, leave no one behind!"

No matter how crazy Ito Hirobumi's plan is, how dehumanizing it is, the emperor has only one way to accept it.

After the emergency meeting ended, an army general attack order was quickly conveyed to the commander of the Japanese army in charge of the Korean land war through warships.

At the same time, taking a two-pronged approach, Ito Hirobumi announced to the world that the Beiyang Navy had been defeated by the Japanese Combined Fleet, and now demands that the Qing court pay Japan compensation, otherwise, Japanese warships will enter Bohai Bay, threatening Dagukou, and do not rule out After landing, they marched into Beijing via Tianjin to find the master's way of 'collecting debts'.

This is launching a war on the one hand and issuing verbal blackmail on the other!

It can be said that Ito Hirobumi has brought his wisdom and cunning, experience and cold-blooded to the extreme.

When the Japanese have no way out, the animal nature in their bones is often released more and more.

On May 1000th, six divisions of the Japanese Army, with a total of [-] soldiers, suddenly divided into four groups and surrounded Pyongyang City.

Ye Zhichao of the Qing army was caught off guard, and 6000 infantrymen were surrounded and annihilated. The Japanese army succeeded in a sneak attack, boosted morale, and then besieged Pyongyang in groups.

On May [-], Ye Zhichao, a famous fugitive general of the Qing army, led a total of more than [-] infantry and cavalry artillery.Forced to fight a decisive battle with the main force of the Japanese army five miles outside Pyongyang, the two sides fought from noon to sunset.

When the night became pitch black, the Qing army was finally defeated, leaving more than 8000 corpses behind.Abandoning the rescue of Pyongyang City, throwing away their helmets and armor, they evacuated in a panic in the direction of Andong County in the north.

The Japanese army took advantage of the situation to hide and kill, broke through the city gate, and captured Pyongyang.

That night, more than [-] soldiers and civilians in the city of Pyongyang were massacred to death, wailing all over the city, and blood flowing like rivers.

It was a dark and bloody night known to history as the 'Pyongyang Massacre'.

According to the singers in Pyongyang who later sang: "That night. The land in Pyongyang was dyed red, and the women's body was sprinkled all over the corner of the city like fodder..."

While bloody battles were taking place inside and outside Pyongyang, Ito Hirobumi also formally handed in the gauntlet to the Qing Dynasty!And arrogantly declared that as long as the Beiyang Navy dared to appear in the Yellow Sea, then the warships of the Empire of Japan would sink them all!

This time, the whole world knows.Li Hongzhang, who wanted to cover up the battle in the Yellow Sea, could no longer cover up. He was carried into the Forbidden City while ill.Accept the angry questioning of the Empress Dowager Cixi.

Cixi never imagined that Beiyang, which she has always relied on, would lose the naval battle and sink several priceless gunboats. She felt distressed. How much would it be if the money for buying the gunboats was used to repair the garden? Okay... In addition, she was also extremely angry at Li Hongzhang's behavior of reporting good news but not bad news.

According to a young eunuch in the palace.At that time, the queen mother's long nails almost scratched Li Hongzhang's throat, and her shrill voice resounded throughout the harem: "Li Hongzhang, don't think that you can get away with the excuse of being sick...you want to wait until the Japanese attack Do you tell Aijia when you reach the foot of the imperial city and let Aijia have nowhere to escape?"

It seems.This Empress Dowager Cixi, known as China's number one strong woman after Wu Zhao, was so 'foresighted': the Korean War was not over yet, and Beiyang was still fighting, so she thought of the fall of Beijing again.

The Empress Dowager really overestimated Little Japan too much.

However, the facts seem to be trying to prove the "wiseness" of the Empress Dowager Cixi like a prank. No, she just reprimanded Li Hongzhang who was in the sick bed, and the news of the "Pyongyang Massacre" came over while she was still angry.

When the Empress Dowager Cixi learned about it, her face turned pale, she fell off the seat, and said in a trembling voice: "The Japanese defeated my invincible army in the Qing Dynasty? The sky has changed, the sky has changed, the navy can't beat it, and now the land can't beat it." I can't beat it, is it true that the city of Beijing is really going to be captured by the Japanese? Hurry up, call that trash Li Hongzhang, he is seriously ill? The Ai family doesn't care, call all the imperial doctors to hang his dog with ginseng Fate! The Ai family wants peace talks, the Ai family wants peace talks with the Japanese! Whether it’s paying compensation or ceding land, in short, let them retreat as soon as possible at all costs..."

It can be seen from this that what a "wonderful" move was a brutal and inhuman massacre, which actually scared the highest power in China to the point of utter incoherence!

It is extremely sad that China has this "person" on top of its head, and the consequences are worse than ten Pyongyang massacres!

Li Hongzhang was dying of illness, but the emperor ordered him to do so, so he had to personally go out to negotiate a war with Japan—to be precise, he was trying to find a way to make peace.

After discussion, the location of the peace talks was chosen outside the city of Pyongyang. Through the city gate, you can see that the city has not faded, and the smell of corpses still exists in the nose... But the Qinghe Council with Li Hongzhang as the general representative witnessed this. In this scene, they don't have the slightest idea of ​​revenge. They just think about it, quickly end the Korean War, and pull my Qing Dynasty out of the rotten pit of North Korea!

It was May [-]th, Ye Zhichao, the president of the Qing army stationed in the DPRK, was dismissed on the spot and sent back to Beijing for trial. This representative who was pushed out by the Huai army to "pick peaches" ended up the same as in history, although he lost face , but at least he didn't lose his life.

The peace talks of the Qing Dynasty have always been a joke, a joke of 'the other country is happy, the Qing Dynasty loses its property'.

If you want to ask the envoys of various countries which country they like to negotiate with the most in this world, then it is undoubtedly the Qing Dynasty, which is "closing the country and being arrogant"!

Since 1840, just look at how much the Qing Dynasty lost from the so-called "Treaty" and how much national humiliation it added!

This is the consistent urine of the Qing Dynasty.

Therefore, the Japanese who were lucky enough to sit opposite the negotiation table of the Qing Dynasty this time also hope to make a lot of money!

Therefore, they were asking for a lot of money in the first place!

The asking price standard is compared with the original historical "Treaty of Shimonoseki", which recognizes that Taiwan belongs to Japan.How about acknowledging Japan's war results on the Korean Peninsula, what about ceding the Liaodong Peninsula, and agreeing to North Korea's independence by the way... Of course, there are sky-high war reparations at the end!

The shamelessness of the Japanese, the lion opened his mouth, and Li Hongzhang was deeply shocked.It also made him so angry that he choked on a mouthful of thick phlegm.

Don't say that Beiyang still has the power to fight at this time. Take the Nanyang navy, which is much better than in history, for example. What the hell is going on in the head?

How dare you be so brave?

The tone is so crazy?

Do you think that a bloody massacre can blackmail so many things from my Qing Dynasty?

In terms of massacres, I did no less or worse than you when the Qing Dynasty was founded...

"You are not sincere. Don't talk about it!"

Holding his sick body, Li Hongzhang rejected the conditions proposed by Japan on the spot, and left Pyongyang on the same day, returning to his station in the north.

After Li Hongzhang returned, he said to his subordinates: "I don't think Japan intends to negotiate. They must have other sneaky motives! The only thing we can rely on now is not the imperial court, but Liu Kunyi from Shanghai. If the Nanyang Navy can make a move, we will Only the peace talks here can continue!"

Peace talks are Cixi's hard demand.As a slave, Li Hongzhang still wanted to complete it after all, and his refusal to leave just now was just a retreat to increase bargaining chips for the negotiation.

As for asking Nanyang to participate in the war, it is also to gain a favorable position for our side on the negotiating table.The war was used to force peace, not to defeat the Japanese and to turn defeat into victory in this war.

It can only be said that after Li Hongzhang's Beiyang was injured and disabled in the Battle of the Yellow Sea, this master Zhongtang who once dominated East Asia.Courage has been shrunk!

"Governor Liu? He is listening to the instructions and not listening to the announcement, and is playing around. Besides, if Nanyang wants to join the war, he would have joined the war long ago. We beg him to be useful now?"

"Ahem, useful, you don't know, Liu Kun didn't dare to move before, it was because Long Hao was in trouble..."

Li Hongzhang coughed hard, and what he coughed up was his loyalty to the Qing Dynasty. He explained to his subordinates: "But now that Long Hao's crisis has been resolved, we are going to ask Liu Kunyi, but we are actually turning to Long Hao for help... ...Long Hao, he has been involved in a lot of industries in my Qing Dynasty, so he probably won't watch us being bullied by the Japanese."

"Then...then why didn't your lord just ask Long Hao to bring his submarine force to kill the Japanese?" The subordinate didn't understand, since there was reinforcement and the trouble of reinforcement was solved, why didn't he come? How about killing Little Japan?Also to avenge Paozawa who died in Pyongyang!

"Have you heard a sentence? It's easy to ask God to send God away. Remember, our task is to end this wrong war according to the Queen Mother's will! North Korea is lost, as long as we can keep our land of the Qing Dynasty. If we fail, and the fire in Beiyang is not extinguished, it is a success... Our peace talks with the Japanese are less dangerous than inviting Long Hao to come directly to help!"

look look look!This is the thought of preferring to be with outsiders and not to be slaves!

Well, Long Hao is not a 'domestic slave', but Cixi and Li Hongzhang are more effective against him than against the Japanese!

The subordinate nodded to express his understanding, and hurried to contact Liu Kunyi.

However, from North Korea to Shanghai, whether it is by boat or horse, or by telegram, it will take time. Unfortunately, the Japanese will not give Li Hongzhang time!

On May [-], the third day after the suspension of the peace talks, the Japanese army launched an attack on the Qing army's garrison in Korea.

This time, the Japanese army, as if they had been beaten to death, cooperated with the warships that rushed to the vicinity of the Liaodong Peninsula, attacked by sea and land, and poured artillery fire, annihilating all 3000 Qing troops stationed in the camp.

Even Li Hongzhang, the chief negotiator, almost became a prisoner and almost escaped!

Faced with the desperate Japanese attack, the Empress Dowager Cixi was furious, and issued an order to reprimand Li Hongzhang for arbitrarily suspending the peace talks, which led to the Japanese army continuing to attack.

Cixi dismissed Li Hongzhang and returned to Beijing to wait for action. At the same time, he replaced the chief representative of the peace talks with Prince Gong's "Ghost Six".

This time, Cixi was cruel, and at all costs, she must appease the little Japan, and don't let them invade the surrounding areas of Beijing and ruin her [-]th birthday.

On May 25, Prince Gong packed up and was ready to go to North Korea to seek peace again.

But this time, the Japanese refused first, and said: "Talk? Don't talk! If you don't give it to the Liaodong Peninsula, we will get it ourselves!"

May 26.The Japanese army and navy coordinated again to launch an attack on Lushun Port.

The Beiyang navy stationed in Weihaiwei was forced to go to war. The Chinese and Japanese navies confronted for the second time, and it started again in a piece of sea near the mouth of Bohai Sea!

The naval battle lasted a day and a night.It was tied.

The Beiyang side lost three warships again, and the Japanese fleet was also hit and sank a cruiser.

This battle was very fierce. Although the Japanese warships had the upper hand, facing Beiyang, which was fighting at the 'home court', it was difficult to win it all at once.

It has to be said that this is the second confrontation between the Chinese and Japanese navies. Although Beiyang is at a disadvantage, it has dragged Ito Hirobumi into the quagmire. If he persists for another ten and a half months.The Japanese who lack military spending may not withdraw their troops!

If so, Ito Hirobumi's cabinet will be able to steal chickens and lose money. They wanted to use blitz to bring bargaining chips to themselves, but they didn't want to expose their weaknesses that they are not good at protracted wars.

However, Ito Hirobumi was lucky. After Prince Gong arrived at Weihaiwei on the 28th, he immediately stopped the Beiyang Navy's last stand.

He brought a paper treaty, which read "Agreed to the independence of Korea. Ceded the Penghu Islands and Taiwan Islands to Japan, and compensated Japan with 5000 million taels of silver..."

Ito Hirobumi was overjoyed.After reading this treaty, he deliberately made a gesture of "reluctantly", agreed to a truce, and reopened the peace talks with Prince Gong.

It is said that when Prince Gong boarded the Japanese peace talks ship, there were twelve Beiyang officers and soldiers.Jumped off the wharf in Weihaiwei, to kill Mingzhi.

The Beiyang people would rather die in battle than accept the humiliating ending of the peace talks!

However, the deaths of these twelve Beiyang people are doomed to be in vain, in the eyes of Prince Gong who shoulders the mission of "sacred" peace talks.They are ants!

The Beiyang navy is a defeated army, and sooner or later they will be punished by the court. Maybe they jumped into the sea and committed suicide in fear of crime?

In this way, Prince Gong boarded the Japanese ship ten nautical miles away from Weihaiwei, and signed the "Weihai Treaty" with him as quickly as possible.

The treaty stipulates that the Taiwan Islands and the Penghu Islands belong to Japan;

North Korea is independent, and Japan, as the supervisor of North Korea, can station troops on the Korean peninsula;

Many ports north of Shanghai, such as Qingdao...are open to Japan unconditionally, which is the reality of trade;

The Qing court compensated the Emperor of Japan with 300 million taels of silver, and agreed to cut the size of the Beiyang Navy to one-third of its current size...

As soon as the "Treaty of Weihai" was signed, the Japanese got what they wanted and immediately agreed to a truce and withdrawal.

On the other hand, the Empress Dowager Cixi also got what she wanted, a safe [-]th birthday!

However, there is no impenetrable wall in the world, and the content of the "Weihai Treaty" was quickly leaked out. On the vast land of China, the content of this humiliating treaty, as if it had wings, flew into the hearts of all enlightened people overnight. Home.

Most of these enlightened people are gentry with well-to-do families. They are engaged in business or politics. Although they don't have any official ministers, they have become a force with the most potential in today's China, where the illiteracy rate exceeds [-]%.

Among them, some have stayed abroad, and actively absorb Western technology, wanting to serve the country and the imperial court, and wash away the humiliation brought about by the two Sino-British wars... But this time, the exposure of the "Weihai Treaty" made them all The blood in his chest suddenly turned cold, and the thousands of words turned into the indignation filling his chest and the sorrow clogging his throat.

There is nothing greater than heartbreak!

If I hadn't learned about this from the "Shenbao", I don't know how long the court would have kept this power-defeating and humiliating treaty secret before it was made public!

The enlightened people of this generation did not personally experience the two Sino-British wars. They only heard the humiliation and grief dictated by their elders, and they did not empathize with them.

With the development of the Westernization Movement, factories across the country were overhauled, and foreigners' gadgets were introduced...plus the establishment of the Beiyang Navy, Asia's first fleet... This generation still has a high sense of pride and self-confidence in their hearts.

They even think that being beaten up by Westerners is not a bad thing, at least it can change the stubborn imperial court's conservative attitude, open the country, and create many opportunities for the people, many opportunities to see the colorful world outside!

Furthermore, as Long Hao became famous overseas in the past few years, this generation of enlightened people has more and more this kind of thinking: Long Hao is just lucky. If I went to Alaska, I would definitely be able to dig out gold mines. And to get rich overnight, although it may not be possible to be knighted by the Queen of England, it is not difficult to become a prominent figure on an equal footing with Westerners...

People of this generation are all immersed in this happy and self-indulgent idea. They even think that as long as the emperor promotes himself again, Qing Dynasty will definitely be able to stand in the ranks of world powers again!

However, the "Weihai Treaty" was like a thunderbolt that came out of the sky, waking them up from Yelang's arrogant dream!

Unexpectedly, my Qing Dynasty can't even defeat the Japanese pirates?

Still want to cede land and pay compensation?

Due to the lack of information, this group of enlightened people did not know the results of the previous sea battle in the Yellow Sea very clearly. They only learned roughly that the imperial court's war in Korea was not going well.

But they thought that the failure was only temporary, probably because the emperor was imprisoned and the morale of the army was low.

But...how did the situation deteriorate to the point where it was necessary to sign a treaty of humiliating the country and begging for peace in the blink of an eye? (to be continued..)