From 1840, after the defeat of the late Qing Dynasty in the Opium War with the British powers, the Qing government was almost victorious in foreign wars. After Cixi took power, she became condescending after several battles with the Western powers without getting any benefits.
Cixi domineeringly declared war on the Eleven Kingdoms, and the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded China
The Manchu Qing, under empress dowager Cixi, bowed to the Western powers to the extreme. However, whenever the Western powers made any demands, Empress Dowager Cixi was almost responsive. In her later words, it was "measuring the strength of China and forging a happy heart with the country." "At that time, foreigners had a lot of privileges in China.
The defeat in the Sino-Japanese War brought the prestige of the Qing government into a low ebb. The misdeeds of the foreigners led to the emergence of a Boxer Rebellion against the foreigners in the land of China at that time. At first, Cixi was blind to the Boxers' encroachment on the interests of the foreigners, and sent troops to suppress them.
Cixi's view of foreigners changed after the Penghu Reform. At that time, the Guangxu Emperor was deeply distressed by the defeat in the Sino-Japanese War, and he was determined to reform and save his life. So with the support of Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao and others, the Guangxu Emperor began the vigorous Hundred Days Restoration.
The Guangxu Emperor's starting point was good, for the sake of the country's prosperity and strength. However, the reforms violated the interests of the old interest groups, causing the conservative ministers to begin to fight back against the emperor's changes for their own benefit. The concept of heaven and earth kings and masters was deeply rooted in the feudal dynasty. Guangxu had the name of the emperor, and the conservative faction could not refuse the emperor on its own. So they asked Cixi for help. Cixi also believed that Guangxu's change threatened her control over the Qing Dynasty. At the request of the conservatives, she intervened. The emperor was imprisoned and the reformists were purged.
After imprisoning Guangxu, Cixi also created a "self-hai Jianchu", so Cixi was ready to choose an heir for the Guangxu Emperor. Guangxu was the emperor after all, and cixi, while he was still alive, crossed him and began to choose an heir, which was unreasonable both at home and abroad. Cixi in China was not afraid, she was afraid of the intervention of the great powers. The attitude of the great powers toward "building a reserve on their own sea" is one of contempt. But the attitude of the foreigners made Cixi think that she was against her.
For Cixi, sacrificing the interests of the state was not a big problem, as long as it did not affect her own rule. However, the attitude of the foreigners on the matter of appointing an heir led her to believe that the foreigners were planning to interfere in the internal affairs of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and were preparing to seize power. This was intolerable to Cixi. So she changed her previous appearance of bowing to the foreigners, and she cooperated with the Boxers who rebelled against the foreigners and issued a "Declaration of War Edict" in the name of the Qing government, declaring war on eleven great powers.
Cixi's move was crazy, and the Qing government could not defeat either Britain or Japan alone, let alone fight eleven powerful powers at once. Finally, at Cixi's provocation, eight of the eleven powers formed a coalition to attack the Qing government.
Southeast mutual protection, Xinugu Treaty
As soon as the "Edict of Declaration of War" was issued, the world was shocked. The governors of the provinces in the south-eastern region objected. The Viceroys of Liangjiang, Liangguang, Fujian and Zhejiang, and Sichuan united to reach a collegial agreement with Empress Dowager Cixi and the great powers. History refers to this matter as southeast mutual protection.
At the same time, the governors of the provinces referred to Cixi's "edict declaring war" as chaos. They conspired to elect Li Hongzhang as the Chinese "president" to preside over state affairs once Beijing could not be saved.
The mutual protection of the southeast allowed the southeast to avoid war, but the Manchu Qing court, which had lost its economic and military support in the southeast, although it had the help of the Boxers, still appeared vulnerable in the face of the Eight-Nation Alliance. In the end, Cixi ordered the Qing army to attack the Boxers in order to seek forgiveness from the great powers. And signed the "Xinugu Treaty" with the great powers, which humiliated the country, and Cixi truly achieved "measuring the material strength of China and the happiness of the country."