We all know that the Sino-Japanese War ended in the defeat of the Great Qing Dynasty and was a mess. So if the Qing government had not surrendered, would Japan have been able to lay the foundation of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and the Sichuan Basin? The result is still not a little likely.
The Sino-Japanese War was a defeat, not only the navy but also the army. In fact, objectively speaking, the overall strength of the Qing Dynasty was definitely not a rival to Japan at that time, but if Japan wanted to launch a full-scale war, then let alone the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and the Sichuan Basin, Japan could not fight for long.
The fundamental reason is that Japan's power has not reached a crushing level, although Japan embarked on the road of capitalism through the Meiji Restoration and began to industrialize. The Qing Dynasty was in a feudal system, or an agrarian society. However, Japan's level of industrial development is not enough to make it possible for Japan to strike at the Qing Dynasty.
This is the fundamental reason why Japan cannot win this war. But if the war continues, Japan will inevitably occupy some of the territory of the Qing Dynasty, and there is even a possibility of entering Beijing.
Judging from the comparison of strengths, Daqing is indeed in the inferior position. The Japanese army was far ahead of the Qing Dynasty army in terms of number, quality, organization, weapons and equipment, and so on. The number mentioned here is only the modernized army of the Qing Dynasty, and as for those old soldiers, it is of no use.
However, the number of Japanese troops was limited, and the Japanese standing army had seven divisions and regiments, with a number of 200,000 soldiers, which was obviously more than the army invested in the Qing Dynasty in the Sino-Japanese War.
The Qing army did undergo several reforms, but all of them ended in failure, and the army that was fighting against Japan at that time was still dominated by Li Hongzhang's Huai army, and the gap was obvious.
As for the Navy, the gap is not small. The Qing Dynasty had four navies, and there were many ships, but the number of more than a thousand tons was limited, and most of them were small ships and non-capital ships such as old ships. In particular, in addition to the Beiyang Navy, the other three fleets were obviously insufficient.
We followed the Beiyang Fleet, so the other three fleets came to reinforce, although the result would not be much better, but it would have a great impact on the Japanese landing.
Even if Li Hongzhang's Huai army was exhausted, it did not mean that Daqing had become unarmed, and then the Japanese would know how comprehensive and thorough the qing rebellion really was.
At the same time, the attitude of the rulers of the Qing Dynasty towards the invaders was also crucial. Although weapons at that time determined the outcome of the war to a certain extent, if the Qing government had gritted its teeth and resolutely confronted it, the outcome of the Sino-Japanese War would not have been so tragic.
Moreover, Japan itself does not have much strong strength, and once the main force is transferred into the Great Qing and a war of attrition is fought, then Japan will not have long to lose.