On June 3, 1894, the Dongxue Party peasant revolt broke out in Korea, and the vassal state of Korea urgently requested China to send troops to suppress it, but the Qing government never expected that Japan would take this opportunity to invade Korea and premeditate a war. By June 16, the Japanese army's combat strength in Korea had reached 4,000, and with the addition of eight warships such as Matsushima, Yoshino, and Chiyoda, the Japanese army had an absolute superiority in the Korean army. At this time, Li Hongzhang underestimated the war situation, did not want to be involved in the war, and was bent on seeking to preserve the peace situation, still did not perceive Japan's ambition to plot to provoke the end of the war, constantly did not make active preparations militarily, and tried to promote Japan's withdrawal from Korea through diplomatic representations.
Japanese fleet in Korea
In view of the severe situation that the Japanese army had already occupied Seoul, Inchon and other important towns in southern Korea at that time, the Qing court began to hastily decide to select elites from the Beiyang Army to reinforce Korea in two ways.
According to the "Memorabilia of the Beiyang Navy", on July 21, 1894, Li Hongzhang sent Wei Rugui, the commander-in-chief of Datong Town, to lead 7,000 men of the 6th Battalion of Mabu of the Sheng Army, and Admiral Ma Yukun to lead 2,000 yi troops, and to take the "Xinfeng", "Guangji", "Haiyan", "Zhendong", "Puji", "Tunan", "Gongbei", "Xinyu", "Fengshun" and other Merchants Bureau steamships, and rushed from Xincheng and Lushun to Yizhou and Pyongyang in Korea on the 19th, 20th and 23rd. In addition, 3 British merchant ships such as "Airen", "Flying Whale" and "Gaosheng" were hired, carrying the General Soldier Jiang zi Kangren and the 2nd Battalion of the Beitang Defense Army to reinforce Asan.
The 3,500 men of the Zuo Precious Horse Infantry Team and the 1,500 men of the Fengsheng Ama Infantry Team rushed to North Korea by land.
And what kind of unit was the Qing army, which was shouldering the task of fighting against the DPRK? Let's take a look at Wei Rugui, the chief soldier of Datong Town. Wei Rugui was born in 1836, with Ding Ruchang Tonggeng, Zi Dasan, a native of Hefei, Anhui, and Li Hongzhang, who was a fellow villager and his old subordinate.
Wei Rugui
Li Hongzhang was very familiar with Wei Rugui as a person and leading troops, and on July 21, 1894, Wei Rugui was ordered by Li Hongzhang to lead more than 7,000 people from the Tianjin Small Station garrison to reinforce Pyongyang. When Wei Rugui was about to leave, Li Hongzhang warned him: "Admonish him to take a private view and strict military discipline." However, the sheng army commanded by Wei Rugui was the worst discipline. This army "collapses when it encounters thieves, and takes captivity when it encounters things, without scruples." On the way to north Korea, "harassment along the way, so that the reputation is notorious, especially in the Korean border." When garrisoning Pyongyang, soldiers forcibly occupied houses, destroyed utensils, and seized property, and "the Han people were deeply resentful."
Li
When Wei Rugui's various violations of military discipline were also transmitted to Li Hongzhang, Li Hongzhang heard the news and once sent a telegram to warn him: "If the enemy atmosphere is approaching, if it causes great chaos, Ru's life will not be saved, where is my face and reputation?" He was asked to "try to appease the hearts of the army and take into account the overall situation." However, Li Hongzhang, who was bitter and bitter, did not let Wei Rugui restrain his horse from the cliff and change his course, but turned a deaf ear, went to the black road, and finally fell to the shameful end of being beheaded by the Qing court after the Battle of Jia-Wu.
Just when the Sino-Japanese war was about to break out and the front was dispatching troops one after another to make preparations for war, the great enemy was present, and the rear of the Qing court was not idle, hollowing out their minds and constantly slandering Li Hongzhang's subordinates.
According to the "Beiyang Naval Memorabilia", on July 21, 1894, Pang Hongshu played a song to impeach Ding Ruchangri, the admiral of the Beiyang Navy, for the matter of Yeyou Bo opera, and asked the Beiyang Minister to strictly control it.
The three armies can seize the marshal, not the will! Just when Ding Ruchang, the admiral of the Beiyang Navy, was about to lead his army to the front line, one after another slander and impeachment came pouring in.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > July 12, 1894, the attendant Wen Tingshi accused "Ding Ruchang is a mediocre talent, and the navy pilots all the Min people..."</h1>
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > July 19, 1894, Yushi Anweijun played "The Navy is useless, please stop." ”</h1>
Most of the previous times of slandering Ding Ruchang were problematic in his talents, but Pang Hongshu accused of the problem of life style.
Pang Hongshu
Pang Hongshu was a native of Changshu, Jiangsu Province, and was a fellow villager with the Guangxu Emperor's teacher and Hubu Shangshu Weng. Weng Tonggong's brother Weng Tongshu was impeached and died by Li Hongzhang, and Weng Tonggong and Li Hongzhang have since formed a bond, and the filth has continued. Could it be that Pang Hongshu, because he was in the same hometown as Weng Tonggong, formed a party with him for personal gain, and jointly slandered Li Hongzhang? There is no historical basis, and it is not possible to make a judgment.
Weng Tonggong
Continuing to say Pang Hongshu, he was born in a family of officials and eunuchs, his father Pang Zhonglu was once a shangshu of the Punishment Department, a typical second-generation official, but he was not a clumsy disciple, he was still very smart, in 1880, he was admitted to Hanlin for ten years, paying attention to current affairs, and for the books of military punishment, salt and canal, all of which were considered.
In 1907, Pang Hongshu was promoted to Inspector of Guizhou. During his tenure as inspector, he was praised for his sympathy for the revolutionaries' kindness, not as an executioner stained with the blood of the revolutionaries, which was rare in the bloody and bloody late Qing Dynasty at that time.
At that time, Zhang Bailin, Zhou Peiyi, and others in Guizhou were ideologically active and were planning to organize an "autonomous society" to secretly carry out anti-Qing activities. Zhou Peiyi published an article in Qianbao, the headline of which was "Warning of Division" and threatened to "weep bitterly for the future of the motherland." Zhang Bailin, on the other hand, made a generous statement, saying: "I don't care about crying and weeping about the 'division warning', but we are talking about the method of salvation." According to the opinion of no foolishness, when we defend the country today, we should use the 'national responsibility theory', and when the country is established in the future, we should use the 'national subject theory'..."
The Governor of Sichuan, Chen Kuilong
The practical approach in Zhang Bailin's mind is to set up an "autonomous society" and carry out "revolution" in the name of "learning."
When Chen Kuilong, a prominent eunuch from Guizhou and the governor of Sichuan, who had returned to Guiyang to visit his tomb at that time, heard about this incident, he met with Pang Hongshu, the governor of Guizhou, and said that Zhang Bailin and Zhou Peiyi were "indeed the culprits and had an extremely impure purpose" and advocated arresting the fa-rectification.
However, Pang Hongshu read the first issue of the "Autonomous Society Magazine" presented by his subordinates, but he praised the case. When reading "Danger! China in the Transitional Era. Just as a ship carries a treasure, and when it encounters the wind, it looks around the boat, and there are those who sit and wait for its overthrow, those who benefit it, and those who want to take advantage of its failure to plunder. Then why is the hardship of the people in the boat such as also..." Pang Hongshu praised the festival: "Good literary style, the article is a thousand miles, the thinking is meticulous, I did not expect that Guiyang has such a talent." ”
Zhang Bailin
In fact, Pang Hongshu did not agree to the arrest of Zhang Bailin and others who were "such talents". However, in the copy of the autonomous society's declaration, he criticized it as follows: "The headquarters is now offering an edict that students should concentrate on their studies and should not interfere in political affairs." The "List of Names of Members" contained in the investigation has already accounted for the majority of students, and the headquarters is difficult to approve the filing of the case, and send it to the Patrol Police General Bureau for information. "Zhang Bailin and Zhou Peiyi revolutionaries escaped the disaster like this...
From the handling of the matter of Zhang Bailin and Zhou Peiyi's revolutionaries, it can be seen that Pang Hongshu was open-minded and kind, and he also left a glorious mark in history. But where did his accusations against Ding Ruchang come from, and did they have any evidence? A hundred years of wind and smoke have passed away, and everything has turned into clouds and passed away with the wind...
This article is "The Fourteenth of Today in the History of the Beiyang Navy", which is continuously updated, so stay tuned!