My answer is: I can't say that it has nothing to do with this, and it is not entirely because of the injury that I saved 100 million yuan in compensation, which includes international public opinion and environmental factors. It is said that in 1894- 1895 Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War (the Battle of the Yellow Sea), the Beiyang Navy of the Qing Dynasty was defeated by the Japanese Navy, and the whole army was wiped out. Qing had to raise a white flag to admit defeat, and then negotiate to compensate Japan for its losses. "If you don't fall behind, you will be beaten." Qing suffered from cowardice and lost. Don't Japan have strong ships and strong guns?
▲ Li Hongzhang goes to Maguan
At this time, Cixi wanted to find a representative to go to Japan to sign a treaty. At this time, Japan's main negotiator Ito Bowen sent a telegram, meaning that "this negotiation must be Li Hongzhang, and others can't do it."
Ito Bowen knew that Li Hongzhang listened to Cixi. Cixi originally wanted to end the war. She is afraid that foreigners will drive her away again when they enter Beijing. Ito Bowen also wants to sign an indemnity treaty as soon as possible. So I think only Li Hongzhang can do these things well as soon as possible.
Cixi had to summon Li Hongzhang, and Lao Li grinned. At this time, he was 72 years old and didn't want to take the blame for Cixi. He said that he was too old to leave. Cixi said that your son Li will accompany you and take care of you on the way. Lao Li refused at first sight and had to go to Shimonoseki, Japan by boat in April 1895.
On the second day of Li Hongzhang's arrival in Japan, Ito Bowen and Lao Li sat down to discuss compensation. In fact, this is not a negotiation at all. Ito Bowen took out the pre-written treaty and asked Lao Li to sign it. Lao Li is a knowledgeable senior diplomat. Lao Li also knows that "a weak country has no diplomacy", and diplomacy depends on whether the country is strong or not. But if Lao Li wants to put on a show, it's best to reduce the compensation.
Lao Li read out the contents of the treaty: China ceded Liaodong Peninsula, Taiwan Province Island and its affiliated islands, and Penghu Islands to Japan, and compensated Japan for 320 million taels of silver. China has also opened Shashi, Chungking, Suzhou and Hangzhou as trading ports, and allowed Japanese to invest and set up factories in trading ports in China. ▲ Cixi
After reading the content, Li Hongzhang gasped and secretly cursed: "The Japanese devils are really ambitious, which simply eats away at the rhythm of the Qing Dynasty." Li Hongzhang made up his mind to bargain with Ito Bowen to minimize the loss.
The negotiation process is a process of repeated stalemate. Ito Bowen also knows that this is a process that must go through. He predicted that as long as he put pressure on Cixi, Lao Li would sign the contract soon. Ito Bowen is full of confidence and waiting for this day.
Let's just say that on the seventh day of the negotiation between Lao Li and Ito Bowen, the treaty was basically settled, and Lao Li also asked Empress Dowager Cixi, meaning that it was almost enough. The large number is handled by you, mainly to prevent Japanese devils from entering Beijing. Li Hongzhang has a good idea. As long as Galeries Lafayette nods, it will be easy. Anyway, Qing is not my Li family. Lao Li was in a good mood that day, but he was assassinated by a Japanese cynic on his way back to the mansion after the negotiation. However, the young man's marksmanship is not so good. The bullet passed by Lao Li's cheek and didn't hurt the key, but Lao Li's face was covered with blood, which scared him. The guard rushed him to the hospital.
After the incident, Hirofumi Ito was furious and quickly arrested this young man. His name is Toyoda Shoichiro, and he is a member of the Japanese "radical faction".
▲ Ito Bowen
It's not how just Ito Bowen is, but such a thing has disrupted the signing plan.
It turned out that Akio Toyoda, after seeing the victory of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, did not want Japan to negotiate with the Qing Dynasty. He wanted to force the government to promote the victory and destroy the Qing Dynasty. This is radical thinking, which is actually an immature performance. It is impossible for a country to destroy another sovereign country, which is restricted by many factors. Radical young people don't understand politics, so he plays a bad role. National sentiments must be put to good use. The knife cuts bread and fingers.
After the assassination, the world public opinion was in an uproar, and their eyes turned to Japan. The world public opinion unanimously sympathized with Qing and Li Hongzhang, and the signing of the peace treaty was also exposed.
At this point, Lao Li was not seriously injured. He seems to see hope. He knows how to use world public opinion. Lao Li is also a diplomat. Two days later, Lao Li was discharged from the hospital, wrapped in gauze on his head and continued to negotiate with Ito Bowen.
Ito Bowen was really embarrassed to see Lao Li. His head is wrapped in half a head. It's not easy to bargain at this age. Old Li Can also took action and piteously begged Ito Bowen to reduce the silver. Ito Bowen pushed the boat with the tide and said, "Look at your face, you've been hurt, too. Therefore, you can forget to give 200 million silver, save you 100 million, and sign the treaty quickly. "
▲ Li Hongzhang was injured
Someone asked, why is Ito Bowen so generous? Actually, there's something inside. After the assassination, the eyes of the whole world paid attention to treaty of shimonoseki, and its contents were exposed. One of them (China's cession of Liaodong Peninsula) involves the interests of Russia, Germany and France, and the three countries protested, so the Japanese side had to cancel this one.
Ito Bowen knew that all foreign forces wanted to occupy the Qing Dynasty and gain greater benefits. They won't let Japan enjoy the benefits alone. Ito Bowen had to reduce the compensation of 1 100 million yuan to get Li Hongzhang to sign the contract as soon as possible, so as not to cause further interference from more powers.
This is the main reason why the Japanese side reduced the compensation1.200 million silver. Not Japanese, there are many people! It was not entirely Li Hongzhang's injury that relieved or relieved him of his post, but a diplomatic strategy based on maximizing the interests of the Qing Dynasty.