Allegedly, the Qing Dynasty opened its borders and expanded its territory to tens of millions. The emperor did not have the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, did not have a single emperor, never closed the country, exchanged frequently with foreign countries, and the army developed science and technology. Why did China become a semi-colony? This is because China has lagged behind since the Ming Dynasty. Not only that, but the new argument also argues that the Qing Dynasty's declaration of neutrality in the Russo-Japanese War against Chinese territory actually saved China. Is this really the case?
First, to remain neutral on its own land, and to say that it saved China
The Russo-Japanese War was part of the humiliating history of the late Qing Dynasty, and did you know that from modern times on, the territory of any country is sacrosanct? In the foreign wars of the Qing Dynasty, although defeat, land expropriation and silver compensation were commonplace, the Russo-Japanese War alone was a spectacle. Two states are at war on the territory of a sovereign State that has declared neutrality. This view that Japan and Russia remained neutral in the war and saved China was that the Qing Dynasty itself could not prevent the war, so it had to close its eyes and enjoy it. At the same time, the Qing Dynasty secretly supported Japanese policy, thwarted Tsarist ambitions, and allowed Japan to compete with Tsarist armies, in order to lure tigers into fighting wolves. The Qing government used others to avoid the monopoly of the northeast by Tsarist Russia, thus saving China. How absurd it is to claim to have saved China despite the trampling of national sovereignty!
Second, the choice of the Qing government, neutrality to help Japan
At the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War, Yuan Shikai, then chancellor of beiyang, was the main supporter of the centrist. He believes that China is not capable of waging an all-out war. Neither the united Tsarist Russia nor the unified Japan can effectively defeat one side and guarantee sufficient interests. For example, if A unified Tsarist Russia attacked Japan, the Japanese Navy would attack China's southeast coast. If Japan were to unite with Japan to attack Tsarist Russia, Tsarist Russia would certainly face greater pressure to force its soldiers to invade the Sino-Russian border. Similarly, Yuan Shikai was right, when calls from Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Huguang, and other local parties to bring Russia to Japan were suppressed.
After the United States, Britain, and other major powers declared neutrality, the Qing government issued a decree saying that "now That Japan and Russia are losing peace and fighting, the imperial court believes that they are friendly friends, and China should take external neutrality as an example..." It also sent a note to the governments of all countries, "in order to maintain the cities and government institutions of these three provinces, the lives and property of the people, and the two countries must not be harmed" No matter how the two countries win or lose, all the territorial rights of the three northeastern provinces still belong to China, and neither country can occupy them.
So the two robbers fought over their property in their own home. The host sat at home watching the hilarity. Why are they fighting? This is the tomb of qing dynasty ancestors in the so-called Longxing region and the so-called hometown of the Manchus is controversial. You know, Han Chinese didn't enter this place until the end of the Qing Dynasty. In fact, the Qing government was outwardly neutral, but in fact secretly supported Japan. One might think that a distant tiger is inferior to a near wolf. A large number of Qing government officials provided pensions to the families of Japanese soldiers. They also recruited spies to provide information to the Japanese, and some even gave money to buy explosives for the Japanese. Many gentlemen worked for the Japanese.
Third, the mistakes and mistakes of the Qing government's choice
Ostensibly, the Qing government played a secret game. Will this neutral and biased policy of betting on Japan's win really save China?
In fact, both Japan and Tsarist Russia at that time were countries with considerable ambitions for northeast China. As a weak political party, the Qing government won the victory for Japan. They stayed in the northeast and turned the northeast into a Japanese colony. However, the rights and interests of Tsarist Russia have not diminished much. The end result of the Qing government's actions was that Japan and Russia had considerable interests in the northeast. The two countries have established government agencies, taxation and garrisons in the northeast. The northeast became their colony, which was the end of the shameless neutrality of the Qing government!
In fact, China had a third way, but the stupid Qing government did not think of this
The Russo-Japanese War was in fact a war between Japan and Russia for hegemony in Asia. Japan had just risen and had no advantage. Later, it was Japan that won the Russo-Japanese War and occupied Tohoku. It has a lot of labor and resources. It became a threat to all of Asia and waged a war of aggression against China, which later resulted in tens of millions of casualties Chinese. At this point, China can choose to help Tsarist Russia. Although Tsarist Russia has ambitions for China. However, it was originally a big country, and the countries of the world were very wary of it. Although the Qing government was not in a position to stop it, if it secretly favored Tsarist Russia and further led to Japan's defeat, Japan would not have human and mineral resources in the northeast and would not pose a threat to China, North Korea, and Asia.
After Tsarist Russia defeated Japan, the biggest gain was only the privilege of the Northeast. Russia had many military bases and concessions in China. For China, there is not much difference between giving Japan the privilege of northeast China and giving it to Tsarist Russia. But if Tsarist Russia wins, China could gain the upper hand in world war I, which broke out shortly after the revolution. Tsarist Russia collapsed in the war, and China could seize the opportunity to retake northeast China after the revolution. The third way not only prevented Japan, but also enabled China to win world war I.
In the Russo-Japanese War, the Qing government's choice did not save China, and China's greatest disaster began with Japan's victory over Tsarist Russia and the privilege of northeast China. Under the rule of the Qing government, the Chinese nation entered the darkest period in history.