In fact, in the selection of people to go to Japan to discuss peace, the Qing court had almost no choice but to let Li Hongzhang go.
After the defeat of the battles in Pyongyang and the Yellow Sea, Empress Dowager Cixi seemed to have realized that the war was inevitable, but she still had illusions that she could rely on the mediation of Western countries to stop the war in a relatively dignified way. During this period, Cixi used Prince Gong Yixuan, who had a good personal relationship with the ministers of Western countries, and asked Yixun to negotiate joint mediation with Britain, Russia, and the United States, but Japan refused.
The Qing court pinned its hopes on the US Minister to China Tian Bei, hoping that he could reach mediation with the Japanese side, and the US Government expressed its willingness to come forward. At this time, Li Hongzhang was already thinking of hiding things, and he recommended De Qilin, a German who was working in the Tianjin Taxation Department at the time, to accompany Tian Bei to Japan as his representative to discuss mediation matters. However, the Japanese side objected, saying that the Chinese side was not sincere and did not even want to come out with a plenipotentiary of its own country, so it refused to negotiate peace.
However, by this time the Japanese army had advanced into Liaodong and attempted to capture Weihaiwei, forcing the Qing court to submit. The Qing court had no choice but to agree to the Japanese side's request and elect a plenipotentiary to go to Japan for peace talks. And the person initially selected was not actually Li Hongzhang, but Zhang Yinhuan, then a household attendant, and Shao Youlian, the governor of Hunan Province. However, after the two arrived in Japan, they were politely rejected by the Japanese side. Japanese Prime Minister Ito Hirofumi immediately proposed that he could let Prince Gong Yixun or Li Hongzhang go to Japan for peace talks.
Just when the Qing court was in a dilemma, the news came that the Japanese army had captured Liugong Island. As a result, the Japanese side also became more arrogant, saying that the prerequisite for accepting the peace talks was to cut land and pay reparations, otherwise it would continue to fight. The Qing court was forced to the edge of the cliff and had to send plenipotentiaries to quickly reach a peace. In terms of selection, it is related to the dignity of the imperial court and the Manchurian nobility, and Prince Gong Yixun must not go, then this black cauldron can only be buckled on Li Hongzhang's head.
Cixi immediately summoned Li Hongzhang to Beijing for an audience, but the problem was that after he arrived in Beijing, he could not see Cixi again, and only said that he should go to see the Guangxu Emperor. Li Hongzhang was not stupid, so he knew that Cixi was letting him back the black pot and deliberately avoiding him. Therefore, at the court meeting to discuss the peace issue, Li Hongzhang immediately threw the pot and said that it was okay to go to peace talks, but he could not cut the land, and if the Japanese side proposed to cede the land, he would immediately return to China. After that, Li Hongzhang also took the initiative to contact the ministers of various countries, hoping that they could mediate and mediate again, but at this time the war situation was irreparable, so no one paid attention to it.
Although the land cessation was completed, Li Hongzhang did not give up his efforts to dump the pot, and he urged the Guangxu Emperor instead, hoping that the Guangxu Emperor would give him a clear authorization to cede the land. The basic meaning is: you let me cut the ground, and I will not carry this pot. Guangxu is not stupid, just imagine who wants to be an emperor who loses the territory of his ancestors? But the matter was urgent, Weihaiwei had fallen, Shanhaiguan was not safe, Cixi hid in the deep palace, thinking that this matter could only be borne by him, and in the end he gave Li Hongzhang a clear authorization to cede land.
On March 13, 1895, Li Hongzhang, in his capacity as First Secretary Plenipotentiary, left Beijing with a large delegation and went to Magaseki, Japan, to open negotiations with Japanese Prime Minister Ito Hirofumi and Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu. It is impossible for him not to know that no matter how much he tries to throw the pot, it will be useless. He must go, and he must also take the blame for the Manchurian princes. Even if the Guangxu Emperor gave authorization, it was in vain, because the emperor would never be wrong.
The terms of the Treaty of Shimonoseki seriously compare its losses above the Treaty of Shin. After the Sino-Japanese War, the personnel of the two sides of the negotiations were Li Hongzhang and Li Jingfang's father and son, and the Japanese side was Ito Hirofumi and Mutsu Munemitsu, because of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, China officially lost Taiwan and the surrounding islands and the Penghu Islands; Add Shasha, Chongqing, Suzhou and Hangzhou as trade ports and allow Japan to open factories; lost its vassal states Korea and the Ryukyu Islands; The Liaodong Peninsula (due to the intervention of the three countries to return Liao) ransomed 30 million taels of silver and paid another 200 million taels of silver.
There are objective reasons why the Treaty of Shimonoseki can be represented by Li Hongzhang and Li Jingfang's father and son:
First of all, it is the will of the Japanese side. The Japanese side firmly believes that Li Hongzhang's father and son as representatives of the Chinese side to conduct this negotiation is in the best interests of Japan.
First, Li Hongzhang invested millions of taels in Japan's Chashan coal mine, and his son Li Jingfang opened three foreign businesses in Japan, which means that Li Hongzhang's father and son have major economic interests in Japan.
Second, some people will say that personal interests should be subordinated to national interests in any case, but Li Hongzhang's father and son are by no means such people! Just because Li Hongzhang refused to give up the supply of strategic materials such as warships, thermal coal, and rice to Japan during the Sino-Japanese War to benefit the Li family, we can see how shameless Li Hongzhang was for personal gain!
Third, in order to suppress political opponents in the Sino-French War, Li Hongzhang was able to advocate the abandonment of the Indochina Peninsula vassal states and France when China had the advantage of the war, and signed the Sino-French New Treaty with France so that China could be defeated and defeated; Similarly, in order to suppress political opponent Zuo Zongtang's achievements in counterinsurgency in Xinjiang, he first opposed the use of troops and then strongly advocated the abandonment of China's sovereignty in Xinjiang. The Japanese side has long seen through this, Li Hongzhang has only selfish interests in his heart, and has no national interests at all.
Second, it is Li Hongzhang's personal wishes.
The reason why Li Hongzhang did not obey the Qing court's demand for the abolition of the Huai army in the early stage, and later took the opportunity of forming the Beiyang Naval Division to essentially turn the Beiyang Naval Division into the Li Jia Army on the sea, was to support the troops and maintain their own power, so as to achieve the purpose of Li Jiaguangzong Yaozong and make a fortune. To put it simply, Li Hongzhang's purpose in holding military power is to become an official and make a fortune.
Under the control of Li Hongzhang, the Beiyang Navy Division, with an annual budget of 4 million taels, was able to make Li Hongzhang and Zhang Peilun's son-in-law find that the German officers serving in Beiyang found that the main guns of the two capital ships had only three shells in total; Under the control of Li Hongzhang and his nephew in the supply of military supplies, it can be seen from Ding Ruchang's telegram that Beiyang thermal coal is often not guaranteed (at the same time, Li Hongzhang's nephew is doing coal and rice and business in Japan). From this, we can see how corrupt Li Hongzhang was when he held military power!
Then, after the defeat of the First Sino-Japanese War, when the strength of the army under Li Hongzhang was greatly damaged, in order to protect the wealth of his personal family, he would naturally seek to take advantage of foreigners and self-respect!
Finally, the Qing court's short-sightedness and ignorance did not realize that negotiations were a battlefield more dangerous than the battlefield. According to the wishes of Wokou and Li Hongzhang, such negotiations concerning the national fortune were handed over to Li Hongzhang, who had just lost the national fortune in the war and was only bent on selfish interests.
And Li Hongzhang, in order not to unilaterally be subject to Japan when he was holding himself to the weight of foreigners (during the Sino-Japanese negotiations, he let the Japanese side lead the way and signed an unprecedented traitorous treaty, forcing him to collude with the Wokou to stage a shooting drama, in order to have a good explanation after returning to China), and he also strongly advocated taking the initiative to seduce Tsarist Russia with the interests of northeast China to sign the "Sino-Russian New Treaty" and eat kickbacks of 3 million rubles.
This is the fundamental reason why the Treaty of Shimonoseki can be negotiated so humiliating to the country!
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