The 60th birthday of Empress Dowager Cixi coincided with the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War. On July 25, 1894, Japan, without declaring war, suddenly attacked and sank a Qing Dynasty troop carrier off the coast of Korea, resulting in the death of more than 700 people on board. On August 1, the first day of July in the 20th year of Guangxu, China and Japan officially declared war. Subsequently, the Qing army and the Japanese army fought fiercely in Korea, but unfortunately the Qing army was defeated again and again, and as a result, Pyongyang of Korea fell.
During the First Sino-Japanese Period, there were 5 core figures in the Qing government. Empress Dowager Cixi was in charge, and she wanted to roll up the curtains and return to the government at the 60th birthday celebration, and build the Summer Palace in a big way to prepare for the elderly. When someone urgently suggested that the Summer Palace project be stopped because of the war, Cixi said: "Those who make me unhappy today will also make them unhappy for life."
The Guangxu Emperor bowed down to Cixi, but he was full of ambition and sought an opportunity to control real power. Li Hongzhangguan was directly subordinate to the viceroy and minister of trade and commerce of Beiyang, and controlled the Beiyang Navy, but was subject to the power struggle of the imperial court, and the Beiyang Navy fought alone, forming a situation of "using the strength of a corner of beiyang to fight the division of the whole country".
Prince Gong summoned ministers and declared that he would "wait until cixi's birthday has passed before resuming diplomatic negotiations." Li Hongzhang, on the other hand, saw that one of the reasons why Japan chose to launch a war of aggression in the year of Jia Wu was: "Knowing that this year's celebration of mercy and holiness is celebrated, Hua will tolerate it." He also did not prepare for war, but spent his energy on foreign mediation.
Therefore, in the midst of the song and dance of Cixi's birthday celebration, the Japanese soldiers took Dalian Bay without bloodshed. When Cixi received a report from Prince Gong that Dalian Bay had fallen, she only said lightly that as long as she could not hit Beijing for 3 days, she should not bother her with trivial matters and let her have a good 60th birthday.
After the defeat of the Sino-Japanese War, 10 warships such as the Beiyang Fleet "Zhenyuan" were captured, the warships such as "Dingyuan" were dismembered, the sunken ships such as "Zhiyuan" were dismantled, and the warships and a large number of parts were taken captive to Japan. In order to show off its victory in the Sino-Japanese War, Japan once displayed the main anchor, main shell head and anchor chain of the "Zhenyuan" ship around Tokyo's Ueno Park, and erected a monument to show off its militaristic achievements.
Until now, there are still a large number of relics of the Sino-Japanese War left in Japan, some displayed in the War Museum, some collected by the people, and some exiled in the wilderness. On the "Commemorative Seal for the 40th Anniversary of the Sino-Japanese War" issued by Japan, the statue of Ding Ruchang, the flag of the Chinese Navy, the rudder wheel of "Dingyuan", the bell of the "Jingyuan" ship, and the seal of the captain of the "Caojiang" were printed, and the evidence of the crime of aggression was displayed as a spoil of war. One side of the envelope, condensing the blood and tears of the Beiyang Navy.
On April 17, 1895, Li Hongzhang signed the Treaty of Maguan in Japan on behalf of the Qing government, recognizing the cession of the Liaodong Peninsula, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, compensating 200 million taels of silver for military expenses, and allowing Japan to open factories in China and open Shashi, Chongqing, Suzhou, Hangzhou and other places as commercial ports. The Sino-Japanese War ended in a complete fiasco in China, but it is a pity and sad!
Just as Li Hongzhang said with a sigh after his defeat in the Sino-Japanese War, "I have done things all my life, and the training of troops and the navy are all tigers with paper paste. However, it is barely decorated, and it is not revealed that it can be perfunctory. ”