Introduction: In 1900 (the twenty-sixth year of qing guangxu), eight invaders, including Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, Italy, and austria-Hungary, each sent a part of their troops to form a coalition army to invade the Qing Dynasty, and it took only 10 days to capture the capital Beijing. The defeated Qing Dynasty was once again forced to sign an unequal treaty with the great powers that humiliated the country, which was the "Xinugu Treaty", which plunged the whole of China into an even deeper disaster!
Empress Dowager Cixi stills (from the Internet)
How many troops did the Eight-Power Alliance have?
How many of the eight countries that invaded the Qing Dynasty had? Let's do a simple arithmetic problem and add up the total strength of eight countries:
There were 800 Japanese troops, 4800 Russian troops, 3000 British troops, 2100 American troops, 800 French troops, 58 Austrian troops, and 53 Italian troops. So, the total number of the eight bandits is: 18,811!
The coalition forces had so few troops, why did they capture the capital in 10 days?
Although the great powers are eight countries, the strength of more than 10,000 troops is not worth mentioning at all compared to the huge army of the Qing Dynasty, so why was the capital city captured in just 10 days?
We know that the main force resisting the bandits of the Eight Kingdoms in the early stage was the Boxers, although their numbers were large, but the weapons were only very primitive and backward Soul Spirits, Thunder Fire Fans, Yin and Yang Bottles, Ruyi Hooks, etc. This naturally could not be opposed to the advanced Mauser guns of the great powers, and the resistance was undoubtedly pebbled to the stones, and the failure seemed to be taken for granted.
Boxers fought valiantly (from the Internet)
So what were the Qing dynasty's armies doing? Don't think that the Qing Dynasty had no resistance during the whole process, this is not the case.
Some people may not know that in fact, This war was declared by Empress Dowager Cixi on her own initiative to the great powers. In the early days of the war, Empress Dowager Cixi, in order to show her determination to fight to the death, did not tolerate those who disagreed with the great powers in starting a war. For example, five ministers who opposed the declaration of war, such as Xu Yongyi of the Bingbu Shangshu, Hubu Shangshu Lishan, the Cabinet Scholar Lianyuan, the Left Attendant of the Bureaucracy, Xu Jingcheng, and the Secretary of the Taichang Temple, Yuan Chang, were all "cut off and decided" by her.
In fact, the Qing army still made some resistance. However, the army of the Qing Dynasty was not much stronger than the Boxers, and as a result, it was a complete defeat in all wars. It can be said that the army of the Qing Dynasty was not even a Boxer!
However, after the defeat of the war, Empress Dowager Cixi, in order to retain her power, immediately turned back and reconciled with the "kingdoms"!
Both the Qing army and the rebels were defeated, and it seems that there is something to be said for it. However, behind this great defeat, there are more questions worthy of reflection than defeat!
The Eight-Power Coalition had a large number of mercenaries
When the bandits of the Eight Kingdoms attacked the Qing Dynasty, there was such a scene that still seems heart-wrenching today:
When the Eight-Nation Alliance marched, there were always a large number of "mercenaries" following behind, pushing carts to help the robbers transport supplies and feed them. When the combined bandit forces reached Beijing and faced with the height of the city walls, it was these men who informed them that they could enter through the sewers. As a result, the coalition forces successfully attacked the city from the sewer along the guide. When climbing the wall to besiege the palace, some people helped to build ladders and escalators, and some people rode on the wall to help the robbers look out.
Empress Dowager Cixi (from the Internet)
And ordinary people, when they saw the coalition troops coming from the inlet, they were standing on both sides with their hands on both sides, watching numbly! This is really more poignant than defeat, so the world under the Qing Dynasty is completely in a state of disarray, and the result of the fiasco is known!
Conclusion
Perhaps, we can mercilessly rebuke those who are "mercenaries" for the robbers of the eight countries, and we are also very ashamed of those numb spectators. But what should be reflected on is the reason for these strange and bizarre actions that are deeply painful: what did the Qing Dynasty do to the people that made them so indifferent? The answer is that the Qing Dynasty has left nothing for the people except to ruthlessly demand or even kill from the people! Therefore, the qing dynasty's repeated defeats were rooted in the complete loss of the people's hearts. Do you have any comment on that?