In the words of Li Hongzhang, what the late Qing Encounter encountered was
"The great change that has not been encountered in a thousand years."
In the face of unprecedented difficulties, the first to bear the brunt of diplomatic difficulties. Forced by the situation, the Qing court had to deal with the so-called powers that were not eye-catching and did not want to deal with. In this way, it was immediately exposed that this heavenly kingdom was stretched to the limits--the Qing court suddenly found that there was hardly a talent in the government and the opposition who could deal with the great powers.
Originally, there was a Guo Songtao, who was proficient in foreign affairs and was also deeply appreciated by Empress Dowager Cixi. As a result, because the concept was too advanced, after arriving abroad, there was chaos and chaos, and after publishing a book called "Making the Western Chronicle", it caused an uproar in the country, and the government and the public criticized it one after another, and regarded it as a traitor, forcing Cixi to finally have to draw a clear line with it and recall the dismissal of the official.
Later, Chonghou looked good, originally used as a rare diplomatic talent among the Manchus, thinking that he could earn back face for the Manchus and avoid the Han people's great tail, but he did not expect to be an exaggerated mediocre talent. After going to Russia for negotiations, the other side's threats and inducements were not used, and they actually directly pulled their crotches.
The treaty of Livadia was signed,
Cixi was disgraced and had to be brought to justice to await beheading, or the British government intervened, leaving a small life (later paid a huge amount of money to rise again, demoted two levels of use, but it is already a later story).
Now that we have decided to break the contract and resume the talks, who should we send? For a time, no one in the government and the public could be used, after all, there were lessons from Guo Songtao and Chonghou's disgrace before, and the officials of the Western Affairs Faction cherished feathers and were unwilling to wade through this muddy water. Just when Cixi was at a loss, someone told him,
The son of Zeng Guofan, hereditary one awaited Zeng Jize
He has always liked to tinker with the things of foreign devils, and he can also say the lies of foreigners, so why not let him try it?
Cixi's eyes lit up, so she immediately summoned Zeng Jize to come to the interview. It is reasonable to say that the imperial examination never tested foreign languages, nor had I heard of any private school where it would teach foreigners ghost talk, and they said that this boy could speak the language of foreigners. Hearing is seeing is believing, so Cixi decided to test him. Unexpectedly, Zeng Jize exported into a chapter, and in front of the Manchu Dynasty Wenwu, he dragged the Foreign Text to everyone stunned. For a time, from Lafayette to the civil and military officials, they all thought it was incredible.
It is estimated that friends see here also have the same feeling, where did Zeng Jize learn the art from the teacher, and actually learned to speak English? This is really puzzling, who did he look for to learn from?
The answer is, there is no teacher, he is self-taught! So how did he come up with the idea of teaching himself English?
In fact, this is because of his father, what is going on? To put it simply, Zeng Guofan's life has three stages, the first stage is a righteous spirit, thinking that relying on ideals and morality alone can solve all the problems in the world. As a result, they ran into walls everywhere, not to mention fighting the Taiping Army, and at one time they were even chased by disgruntled soldiers under others, and almost became ghosts under the knife.
The second stage of Zeng Guofan's life is to play regardless of the white cat and the black cat, catching the mouse is a good cat, and engaging in pragmatism. At this stage, he no longer insisted on his generals, but must be absolutely morally high, as long as they can fight. Although the human setting becomes less noble, even a little thick black, but he can repeatedly lose battles and defeat without falling, it is precisely from this time that he begins.
Zeng Guofan's real sublimation of life is in the third stage of his life.
He finally figured it out,
The use of foreign guns and cannons is the key to winning this war.
Props are sometimes more important than leveling up. The key is that he can learn from each other, in this process, he can play with props, and finally become a master, achieving a leap in understanding, so that he recognizes both the advantages of Chinese civilization and the limitations therein.
In his later years, Zeng Guofan not only vigorously promoted the foreign affairs movement and simply sought a breakthrough in the "instrument", but paid more attention to the cultivation of talents.
In particular, it has promoted the program for young children to stay in the United States and cultivated a large number of talents who have been used in the world.
So Zeng Jize was influenced by his father, and when he was 32 years old, that is, in 1871, when Zeng Guofan began to promote the plan to stay in the United States, he also began to learn English, and even learned to play chess. By 1878, he could stutter and communicate with foreign emissaries, and could read foreign newspapers without even relying on a dictionary. Zeng Jize's remarkable spirit of learning, even if it is put on hold until now, can be regarded as an inspirational story that can no longer be inspired.
Therefore, in 1880, just when the Qing Dynasty was determined to break the contract, snatch food from the bear's mouth, and consider who to send to complete this difficult action, Cixi immediately made a decision, and sent the boy who knew foreign languages from the Zeng family. I have to say that Cixi, this person, still has a very good set of people, and it should be known that Zeng Jize, at this time, in addition to wearing the aura of his father and speaking a few words of English, did not make any commendable achievements. Familiar business, whether it is foreign affairs or diplomacy, has not touched the edge, who knows how many pounds he has?
What's more, Cixi can no longer do anything wrong, before Chonghou looked away, it was enough for her to bear, and then messed up the Mandarin Duck Spectrum, then it would directly sweep away the prestige. But what makes people puzzled is that before the construction of the Summer Palace, this Lafayette was always able to see the hero at a critical juncture, and the old woman who was confused and reactionary and ignorant later was completely two people.
So this heavy burden was placed on this Zeng Jize, who had no actual diplomatic experience and was no longer a hairy boy, so could he do a good job? Did he know what he was asking him to do? Of course he knew! He said it was"
It is necessary to obstruct the flow of the river and save the fleeting waves, probe the tiger's mouth and ask for the food that has been thrown. "It means to let him go and take back the water that was spilled, and to get the flesh of the tiger's stomach swallowed back, how is this possible?"
Speaking of the father and son of the Zeng family, that is really the perfect person in China's modern history, this errand that others have to push away by all means, Zeng Jize gladly agreed, and also wrote a poem with great pride:
"Cangpao zhu pan jade dun, wait for the tongue Gong Shan River."
His father was a scholar, and he was tenacious in the face of thousands of difficulties and obstacles.
"Knocking down teeth and swallowing blood"
It is hard to break out of the world and use foreign guns and cannons to save all people from water and fire. Now Zeng Jize inherits his father's legacy, and is also ready to rely on his three-inch incorruptible tongue to turn the tide of the tide with the spirit of jumping into the fire pit, recover the lost land for the country, and win back dignity.
But that's not easy!
Tsar Alexander II of Russia
After learning that Daqing had decided to abrogate the contract, he was mad! Because since the Opium War, daqing was beaten by the great powers, the polar bear took advantage of your illness to take your life, and has already gnawed several pieces of fat from the qing, and has long been accustomed to giving and taking. The Russians had thought that even if the Qing army could not be driven out of Xinjiang this time, it would be appropriate to continue to occupy Ili. It was not easy to meet Chonghou, who did not understand diplomacy, who took advantage of it in vain, and did not think that Daqing, the sick man of East Asia who had been bullied and used to being bullied, dared to ask for the adjournment of the agreement and talk again this time, so the Russians were surprised and could not help but be angry.
Because Russia could no longer accept defeat, they were frequently beaten in the face during this time, first at the Berlin Conference negotiations failed, lost most of the fruits of the Tenth Russo-Turkish War, and the sacrifices on the battlefield were wasted. Then, in 1879 and 1880, Russia encountered famine, coupled with the payment of war loans of up to 52 million taels of silver, Russia's finances were on the verge of collapse, domestic contradictions became increasingly acute, Tsar Alexander II, in order to appease the people, began to organize a constituent assembly, discuss constitutional monarchy, and further reform the form of government.
However, it did not occur to the democrats in the country that still did not hesitate and issued a continuous challenge to the legitimacy of the monarchy, and some of the extremists even formed a terrorist organization called the Popular Opinion Party, publicly sentenced the Tsar to death, and began one round after another of assassinations.
Therefore, in this case, Russia urgently needs a diplomatic victory, and the Treaty of Livadia, naturally regarded as the achievements of the Tsarist Government, is hyped up, but it never occurred to them that the Qing Dynasty, which is cowardly in the eyes of Westerners, actually decided to break the treaty, which made the Tsar feel bad?! So the Russian government became angry and began to prepare for war, using force as a backing, to force the Qing Dynasty to recognize the planting. For a time, wolf smoke was everywhere, the storm was turbulent, and the Great Qing Dynasty was facing unprecedented pressure. So how will the Qing court respond? Will Zeng Jize still be able to reach St. Petersburg smoothly?
To find out what happens next, look at the next breakdown. If you think the article is readable, please pay attention to the literary history salon of The Body. What do you think, welcome to speak freely below, look forward to your advice!