In 1879, Japan sent troops to annex Ryukyu under the pretext that Ryukyu had been subordinate to Japan.
Ryukyu Royal Palace
The decision-making level of the Qing government, represented by Li Hongzhang, generally lacked the thinking of sea power and the geopolitics of the country, and ignored the demise of the Ryukyus.
However, there was still a strategic official at that time, Liu Changyou, who saw the strategic value of the Ryukyus, and he pointed out the strategic value of the Ryukyus to the Qing government and offered a feasible plan to subdue Japan.
Patriotic official Liu Changyou
In 1881, he first pointed out the value of Ryukyu to China's coastal defense, and he believed that Ryukyu, as a vassal state in southeast China, was a barrier to defend the southeast coast, and once Ryukyu was not protected, Japan could use this as a springboard to invade Taiwan and the Nanyang Islands, and then blockade China's southeast sea frontier, and China could not sit idly by and watch the Ryukyus perish.
"The minister thinks that the border provinces are the gateway of China, and the foreign vassal is the fence of China, the tree fence is the gateway of the guard, the gate is the solid hall, the fence is in danger, and the door is in danger, and the door is in danger."
Liu Changyou also provided three options for subduing Japan.
The best strategy was to start from the Ningbo and Zhoushan areas, mobilize the navy, and go east to Nagasaki, Japan, to deter Japan and force it to abandon the Ryukyus and return to the mainland. "Choose the Ming Xi Tao strategy, the skilled sailor general, from Ningbo and Dinghai to lead the boat division to Nagasaki to attack its south"
The middle strategy was to send an army to march into the Ryukyus, and the Japanese garrison in the Ryukyus was not much, "the subjects of the Ryukyus, happy to restore the territory, will definitely help the army of Shun."
Ryukyu Nationals
The next strategy is to send troops from the three eastern provinces, take advantage of Busan, Korea, to seize Japan's Tsushima Island, and deter Japan's southwestern islands, and at the same time use Tsushima Island as a bargaining chip to negotiate with Japan in exchange for Japan's abandonment of the Ryukyus. "Minister Jane will have prestige, raise troops from the three eastern provinces, and go out of Korea to strangle its west"
Liu Changyou also refuted the fear of the enemy among the decision-making circles of the Qing government, and advocated a compromise with Japan in view of the fact that the Lord and the faction took Kublai Khan's defeat in the third expedition to Japan as an example; Liu Changyou held that first of all, Kublai Khan's conquest of Japan was a war of aggression, and now it is a just war of the Qing government to safeguard the independence of the vassal states, and the two cannot be compared.
"There may be a punishment for the battle of Yuan Shizu in Japan...... I thought that Dongyi was strong and unstoppable, but I didn't know that Yuan Shizu was diligent and far-sighted, and the people who used it were arrogant soldiers, not righteous soldiers.
Secondly, Liu Changyou also pointed out that the Qing Dynasty had grown in national strength since the Westernization Movement began in 1864, and it was an opportunity to test the results of reform.
"Since the Tongzhi period, we have paid attention to foreign affairs, set up coastal defense, trained sailors, repaired forts, purchased iron ships, built guns, and spent millions of dollars, but they could not be used for a day, and they also knew whether the strength of the army was fine or not?"
In the end, Liu Changyou bitterly advised the Qing government to strike preemptively, subdue Japan, and deter the Western powers, so as to achieve the effect of "fighting with one punch, lest a hundred blows come." It should not let Japan grow bigger because it was afraid of spending military salaries, and it would cost more financial resources and energy to take the initiative to attack the door later.
Ryukyu Death
It's a pity that Liu Changyou's heartfelt words finally fell into the sea and were left behind by the Qing government. The Ryukyus were eventually annexed by Japan, and 14 years later, Liu Changyou's fears were fulfilled in the Sino-Japanese War, when the Qing Dynasty was overthrown by Japan and the fortunes of the country were completely interrupted.
The Ryukyus never returned to China's embrace, but instead became a chain to block China's exit from the Pacific Ocean, and the harm has affected to this day.