In 1868, through the Meiji Restoration, "breaking away from Asia and entering Europe", Japan began to embark on the capitalist road, and was eyeing our country, 20 years later, the Japanese General Staff Headquarters formulated the "Qingguo Conquest Strategy", and from 1890, Japan put 60% of the state revenue to develop the navy and army, in addition, The Meiji Emperor also allocated 300,000 yuan from his own court funds every year, and also drew one-tenth of the salary of the civil and military officials.
What the Qing Dynasty was doing at that time, the Qing Dynasty did make progress through the foreign affairs movement, and the Beiyang Marine Division was also internationally renowned, but the Qing court did not persist, the Foreign Affairs Movement was progressive, but it was not carried out thoroughly, and the situation of exploitation at all levels was not curbed, and the Beiyang Water Division, which had shown its majesty, turned out to be misappropriated of military assets.
Initially, it cost 20 million taels to establish the navy, but in 1891, Hubu Shangshu Weng Tonggong advocated that the Beiyang Marine Division be strictly prohibited from adding new "ships, guns, and munitions", and li Hongzhang, the head of the Beiyang Naval Division, could only produce shells through the Arsenal in Tianjin.
And because of the drastic reduction in funds, the Beiyang Marine Division is no longer the Beiyang Marine Division at the beginning, the coal burning problem cannot be solved, the old boilers cannot be replaced, the shells produced by the Tianjin Machinery Bureau are not practical, and the new warships cannot appear again.
Under such conditions, Japan used the strength of the whole country to attack our country, and the Qing court did not know whether it was still living in the dream of the beiyang water division's majestic style, or whether the total destruction of the Beiyang water division was the result that those imperial court officials wanted to see, the Beiyang water division finally withdrew from the historical stage, and the Sino-Japanese war ended with Li Hongzhang signing the "Maguan Treaty" on behalf of the Qing court.
In fact, from the sonata presented by Li Hongzhang, it can also be seen why Japan was able to defeat the Qing Dynasty in the Battle of Jiawu. Li Hongzhang played by the Guangxu Emperor:
Since the fourteenth year of Guangxu (1888 AD), our army has not added a single ship. Ding Ruchang and the generals repeatedly asked for the purchase of new clippers, and when the subjects were leaning on their backs, they were difficult to pay, and did not dare to play the advice request...
A clash at sea is not a chance of victory, that is, because the Clippers are invincible. If you go to the ocean, the victory or defeat is unknown. In case of setbacks, it is impossible to buy and not urgent. But it is not necessary to fight with the attack, and today's naval strength is insufficient to attack people; there is still more than enough to defend itself.
Li Hongzhang was in the late Qing Dynasty court, when the dynasty was corrupt, and it was also at the end of the Qing Dynasty that han courtiers like him were active on the stage of history, and they only came to the fore, but those "layman" courtiers attacked them in groups.
First of all, the Beiyang Marine Division has not been adding new ships since 1888, and after 6 years, the Beiyang Marine Division is no longer the first in Asia, and Ding Ruchang and other generals of the Beiyang Marine Division have repeatedly requested the addition of new clippers, but Li Hongzhang did not dare to report it considering the attitude of the imperial court, etc., in fact, some people were unwilling, and these Foreign Affairs Hanchen were not as glamorous as they appeared.
Secondly, it is pointed out that although the Beiyang Marine Division does not have fast ships, it can still protect itself, there is no need for frontal confrontation, as long as there is a war of attrition with them, the losses may not be irreparable.
Finally, after Li Hongzhang played the game, those courtiers reprimanded Li Hongzhang for treating the Beiyang Water Division as a private army, and the pros and cons and suggestions pointed out by Li Hongzhang were not taken seriously and adopted, and the result was that the Beiyang Water Division was defeated and defeated very thoroughly, but those courtiers did not reflect on themselves.