In 1896, Li Hongzhang visited not only Germany, but also Russia, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Britain, the United States, and Canada. On March 28, 1896, Li Hongzhang set out from Shanghai, which lasted 190 days, and did not return to Tianjin until October 3, which was more than half a year. It can be said that Li Hongzhang made a round-the-world trip this year and saw a wider market than anyone in the Qing government at that time. Therefore, after this round-the-world trip, Li Hongzhang, after returning to China, and then seeing the gap between the Qing government and the European and American powers, could not help but sigh!
In 1894, the Sino-Japanese "Sino-Japanese War" broke out, and the Beiyang Fleet was completely destroyed in battle. In 1895, Li Hongzhang, as the governor directly under the governor and minister of Beiyang, went to Japan to negotiate and signed the "Maguan Treaty" with Japan, which was a humiliating and humiliating treaty, which was strongly protested and condemned by the people of the whole country. The Qing government then removed Li Hongzhang from the post of viceroy and minister of Beiyang, retained a fictitious title of a scholar of the Wenhua Temple, and remained idle at home, feeling that he had nothing to do. Due to China's fiasco in the Sino-Japanese War, Japan's power in the northeast was expanding day by day, which made Tsarist Russia uneasy. On May 26, 1896, Tsar Nicholas II took the opportunity of the coronation ceremony to extend an invitation to the Qing government, hoping that the Qing government would send officials to participate in the event. In fact, their main purpose was not to have the Qing government attend the coronation ceremony, but to discuss how to limit Japan's sphere of influence in northeast China. Li Hongzhang was idle at home at that time, plus he was a pro-Russian faction, and when Tsarist Russia issued an invitation, Li Hongzhang naturally became the best candidate for envoy to Tsarist Russia. Therefore, the Qing government decided to send a delegation to Russia to visit Britain, France, Germany, the United States and other countries by the way. In 1896, Li Hongzhang was 74 years old and had reached his twilight years, and his family was worried that he would not be able to return from this trip, so they prepared a Nanmu coffin and made a world trip with him.
Li Hongzhang's first stop was Russia, and during his visit on June 3, 1896, he secretly signed the "Treaty of Mutual Assistance against Enemies" with Russia, which is historically known as the Sino-Russian Secret Treaty. Li Hongzhang ended his visit to Russia and began his trip to Germany. On June 13, 1896, from the moment he entered the German border, he received a more solemn reception than Russia, and Li Hongzhang enjoyed the treatment of a king, escorted by the Royal Guard, and the standard was unprecedented. Since Germany at that time was the birthplace of the second industrial revolution in Europe, Li Hongzhang really saw what an industrial power was during his visit to Germany. During his visit to Germany, he not only visited the German Imperial Palace, but also met and photographed with Bismarck, germany's iron-blooded prime minister, and the meeting between the two was widely reported in the international news.
In addition, Li Hongzhang also visited the world-famous Krupp steel foundry at that time. During his stay, Li Hongzhang showed the Maxim machine gun at the Germans at Mrs. Beaton Manor, which had a fastest rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute, which made Li Hongzhang stunned and sighed one after another: "Too fast, too fast!" At that time, Li Hongzhang also hoped that the Qing government could have such a powerful weapon, and after learning that its cost was as high as 30 pounds, Li Hongzhang sighed: "Too expensive, too expensive!" "The pound sterling in 1896 was worth £1: £6.25 for two silver. The Maxim machine gun costs about 1.5 pounds per minute, which is indeed a money-burning weapon for the Overstretched Qing government. As for how many Maxim machine guns Li Hongzhang later bought, it is not clear.
However, Li Hongzhang visited so many countries, and the most rewarding was Germany. After his visit to Germany, he saw the strength of Germany. Looking at the Qing government at that time, the country was poor and backward, always bullied by foreign countries, thinking of this, Li Hongzhang could not help but look up to the sky and sigh! Therefore, after visiting Germany, Li Hongzhang advocated that the Qing government follow Germany's example and establish a new type of army. Later, Li Hongzhang and others elected Yuan Shikai to establish a new-style army, and Li Hongzhang was indispensable. Although the new type of army was created a little late and did not renew the life of the Qing Dynasty, it affected the direction of history. Later, Yuan Shikai took control of the new army, and the soldiers did not force the Qing Emperor to abdicate, which was also the credit of Li Hongzhang!