Text/Comrade Guevara
After the Opium War, with the wanton invasion of the great powers, the Qing Dynasty lost a large area of land and countless rights of interest, and China's diplomacy at this time can only be described by the word "humiliation". Nevertheless, there are still a few positive results on the line of foreign war that are enough to lift the spirits of the Chinese people and save China a little dignity. A typical example of this is that Zeng Jize negotiated to get China to take back the Ili incident from Tsarist Russia.
Zeng Jize (曾紀泽字劼刚), a native of Xiangxiang County, Hunan Province, was the second son of Zeng Guofan, the number one prominent minister of the late Qing Dynasty. Under the strict requirements of his father, Zeng Jize learned about history and poetry from an early age, and later under the influence of the "Foreign Affairs Movement", he began to study the science and culture of Europe and the United States, and his vision was greatly broadened. In the fourth year of Guangxu (1878), Zeng Jize was appointed by the Qing court as a minister to Britain and France because he was proficient in foreign languages and understood the situation in Western countries. During his stay in Europe, Zeng Jize's achievements in diplomatic circles were comparable to Guo Songtao's, so the world collectively referred to them as "Guo Zeng".
Zeng Jize was the most capable ambassador of the late Qing Dynasty
Just a year before Zeng Jize's mission to Europe, the Agubai Rebellion (1865-1877), which was extremely deep in Xinjiang, was put down by Zuo Zongtang, but the strategically important nine cities of Ili were still stolen by Tsarist Russia. In order to recover the lost land, the Qing court sent Zuo Du Yushi Chonghou to st. Petersburg to negotiate with Tsarist Russia. However, Chonghou, fearing the coercion of Tsarist Russia, secretly signed the Treaty of Livadia in 1879, and in addition to reclaiming an isolated city in Ili, he gave a large area of land west of the Khorgos River and east of Lake Jaisan, as well as a large amount of economic rights.
After the news reached The country, there was a great uproar inside and outside the imperial court, and the call for punishment and renegotiation was so loud that even Prince Gong Yili, the leader of the "Lord and Faction", scolded Chonghou for betraying the country. Under the pressure of strong public opinion, the Qing court dismissed Chonghou from his post and arrested and imprisoned him, and then sent Zeng Jize to Russia to negotiate the revision of the treaty. In July 1880, Zeng Jize arrived in St. Petersburg and immediately engaged in arduous negotiations with the Russian representatives.
Zuo Zongtang recovered Xinjiang and stole a map of the situation in Ili
In the process of negotiations, Tsarist Russia repeatedly threatened war, demanding that Zeng Jize must accept the main points of the "Livadia Treaty" and insisted on refusing to "spit out" the land and various rights and interests seized by it. In this regard, Zeng Jize showed the fierceness characteristic of the Hunan people, resolutely refused to give in, and came up with various key points drawn up in advance, asking the two sides to revise the content of the treaty on this basis. Zeng Jize also claimed that Zuo Zongtang had led a large army into Hami and was preparing to retake Ili in three ways, and if China and Russia fought, the victory or defeat was unknown.
Tsarist Russia had never seen such a difficult Qing emissary before, and after receiving the news that Zuo Zongtang was preparing to retake Ili by force, it was inevitable that it would end up in a "bamboo basket to hit the water empty", so it agreed to renegotiate according to the main points proposed by Zeng Jize. During the six months of resuming negotiations, Zeng Jize and the Russian envoy repeatedly argued, and finally persuaded the other side to sign the Ili Treaty on February 24, 1881, under the premise of fully respecting China's interests.
Zeng Jize negotiated with the Russian envoys painstakingly and successfully revised the treaty
To be sure, the Ili Treaty was still an unequal treaty, because according to the agreement, China would cede the area west of the Khorgos River and east of Lake Jaisan to Tsarist Russia, and would increase the reparation by 4 million rubles. However, compared with the previous Treaty of Livadia, China successfully recovered the nine cities of Ili and the lost land in the Turks River Basin, covering an area of more than 20,000 square kilometers. At the same time, russia's trade privileges in Jiayuguan, Urumqi, Hami, and other places, as well as navigation and trade in the Songhua River basin, were abolished, which was equally important.
Considering the insatiable, stubborn and brutal nature of Tsarist Russia, it is simply more difficult to regain the territory and privileges seized from its "mouth" than to ascend to heaven, so Zeng Jize was able to regain some of his rights and interests through diplomatic negotiations, which is simply a great miracle, and he can be called the most capable ambassador in the late Qing Dynasty. Because of this, the envoys of the Western countries greatly admired Zeng Jize, and among them, the British minister to Russia, Defo, exclaimed: "China has forced Russia to do what it has never done before, and has spit out the territory it has swallowed." ”
Li Hongzhang deeply admired Zeng Jize's achievements
Not only that, but even Li Hongzhang, who usually despised and squeezed Out Zeng Jize, couldn't help but look at him with admiration, and sincerely praised him: "This waiter was appointed at a time of crisis, and he was able to make it difficult for him, and he was able to abolish the contract that had been set, to break the demands that were insatiable, to turn danger into peace, and to return to goodness." Not only are there many frontier affairs and business preservation, but the soldiers and the people are at stake, and the overall situation is at stake, especially not shallow and fresh" (see "The Biography of Zeng Jize"). The admiration is really overflowing!
After the signing of the Ili Treaty, Zeng Jize continued to serve as a minister in Europe, mainly dealing with negotiations with Britain, France and Russia. During this period, Zeng Jize was ordered to negotiate with the British minister in China, Wittoma, on the matter of increasing the opium tax, and adopted the "Yantai Treaty Renewal Special Article" (1885), which increased the tobacco tax for the Qing government by millions of taels of silver every year. In addition, Zeng Jize also participated in the British occupation of Burma, the French invasion of Vietnam and other issues of diplomatic involvement, as well as the ordering of warships to Britain, and other matters, with great achievements.
Zeng Jize died of overwork at the age of 51
In the twelfth year of Guangxu (1886), Zeng Jize, who had been stationed abroad for 8 years, was transferred back to China, and successively served in the prime minister's naval affairs yamen, the military department, the ceremonial department, the punishment department, and the official department, and the official department, and was appointed to manage the affairs of the Tongwenguan, which was really a painstaking effort to promote the development of the "foreign affairs movement." In the sixteenth year of Guangxu (1890), Zeng Jize died at home due to overwork and illness, at the age of 51, and was posthumously awarded the title of Prince Shaobao(s) with the posthumous title of Huimin.
Historical sources: "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty", "Selected Biographies of The Continuation Steles", "The Complete Works of Zuo Zongtang", "The Biography of Zeng Jize"