The short videos I watched from all dynasties

Chapter 19 The Darkest Moment in History⑥

The comment section of the previous video about the late Ming and early Qing dynasties was really exciting, with nearly a thousand comments in a blink of an eye.

Click to continue watching. Li Ranran thought that the last one must be modern history, the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 or the War of Resistance against Japan?

[The “Darkest Moment” in Chinese History 6]

(On one side of the negotiation table sat an old man in Qing official uniform, with the inscription "Governor-General of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang" written next to him: Li Hongzhang; on the other side sat a man in a black suit, short hair and glasses, with the inscription "Prime Minister of Japan" written next to him: Ito Hirobumi.

"Please cede the Liaodong Peninsula, the entire island of Taiwan, and the Penghu Islands to the Empire of Japan. Please pay Japan 3 million taels of silver as compensation for military expenses."

"He is truly a great thief, worse than a jackal."

"There are thieves among thieves. Since the Qing Dynasty has been defeated, it has no choice but to follow the ways of Japan."

"It is true that the truth is not the truth. Well, in business, there is still bargaining, not to mention ceding land and paying compensation. Our price is that the land cannot be ceded, and the compensation is no more than 100 million taels of silver."

"The Great Japanese Empire has no second price."

"My Lord Prime Minister, this is not in line with diplomatic etiquette."

"There are no rules at all in this alliance under the city."

"Everything depends on human effort, and diplomatic rules are negotiated time and time again."

"Master Zhongtang, diplomacy master, if the power of two countries is equal, diplomacy is power. If the power of two countries is unequal, power is diplomacy. This is the true rule of diplomacy."

"I am old and powerless, but if you want to force me to surrender at the negotiation table, your Japanese samurai swords are not sharp enough."

"But the swords of Japanese samurai are already pointed at your three northeastern provinces. Zhongtang, you can also live here in peace. Our Great Empire of Japan is not in a hurry."

"Then let's fight over and see who can outlast the other."

"Zhongtang, the cherry blossoms are about to bloom. I hope that when the cherry blossoms bloom, our two countries can easily conclude our negotiations. Otherwise, the terms of our contract will not be the same as they are now."

The scene then changes to Li Hongzhang being stabbed and coming to the negotiating table despite his illness.

As Li Hongzhang was writing, he asked, "Can we reduce the indemnity by another 5000 million?"

Ito Hirobumi: “No.”

"2000?"

"No."

"In any case, reduce it a little and use it as my travel expenses to return home."

"..."

"no.")

【Sino-Japanese War】

In 1894, the st year of Emperor Guangxu's reign, in July of the Jiawu year, Japan took the initiative to provoke war, and the Qing Empire was forced to go to war with it. In response to Japan's provocation, two factions quietly formed within the court. One faction, represented by Li Hongzhang, the governor-general of Zhili and the minister of Beiyang, and headed by Empress Dowager Cixi, advocated peace talks. The other faction, represented by the emperor's teacher Weng Tonghe and headed by the young Emperor Guangxu, advocated war.

Before the war broke out, the emperor and empress were able to maintain superficial harmony, but the differences in their positions and attitudes led to huge differences in the Qing Empire's internal and external actions.

Two months later, the Qing Empire suffered a disastrous defeat in the Battle of the Yellow Sea, and the Beiyang Fleet, known as the strongest in Asia, suffered a heavy blow. Later, the Beiyang Fleet was completely annihilated in the Battle of Weihaiwei. The news shocked the government and the public. The Qing Empire was defeated by Japan, an island country that had always taken China as its teacher. This was a greater spiritual blow than the previous defeat by Western artillery fire.

This war completely exposed the true fragility and vulnerability of the Qing Empire, ushered in a new stage of Western powers' invasion of China, and caused the Qing's international status to decline sharply.

After the Sino-Japanese War, the Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed, which was a humiliating loss of sovereignty and a complete change in the East Asian landscape.

(Full text of the Treaty of Shimonoseki)

This war, later known as the "Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895", was a turning point in the history of the Qing Empire and even East Asia. Everyone was heartbroken by the defeat and worried about the fate of the country.

Ever since the British opened the country's door with their powerful ships and guns in 1840, they have been trying to find a solution but have always been defeated, including the Treaty of Nanjing, the Regulations of the Five Ports, the Treaty of Humen, the Treaty of Wangxia, the Treaty of Huangpu, the Treaty of Tianjin, the Treaty of Beijing and even today's Treaty of Shimonoseki.

For the Qing Empire, the disastrous defeat in the Battle of the Yellow Sea also cast a shadow on the 60th birthday of Empress Dowager Cixi, the actual ruler of the empire.

The defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War made the plight of the Qing Empire known to everyone. This was not just a failure in a war. The internal conflicts and external threats of the empire intensified day by day, and finally at the end of the 19th century, the danger was imminent.

"I travel thousands of miles on the clouds and come back again, alone in the East China Sea with the spring thunder.

I can bear to see the colors change in the picture, and I am willing to make the country fall into ruin.

The wine will not dissipate and the tears of concern for the country will not go away. When it comes to rescue, we should rely on the talents of a group of people.

"We must save the world even if we sacrifice a hundred thousand lives and blood" (Qiu Jin)

"How can I talk about the past? My battle shirt is stained with blood and tears.

The dragon returns to the sky and it rains, The turtle sinks into the sea and the mountain.

After the poetry drinking under the silver candlelight, the hunting competition is over.

I didn’t realize it had become a foreign land, I dreamed of Taiwan every night. ” (Qiu Fengjia)]

＜Emperor Meiji: The royal family should save as much as possible and tighten their belts to purchase warships for the empire to enhance its combat capability.

Empress Dowager Cixi: The heavens and the earth are big, but they are not as important as my birthday. If I don’t have a good birthday, I will make his whole family suffer. >

＜This war surprised the whole world, and Japan itself was also surprised…＞

＜The Qing Dynasty began to decline after Emperor Qianlong＞

＜But the peak of the Qing Dynasty was also during the Qianlong period…＞

＜Li Hongzhang's army was a separatist warlord. He used this army to fight an independent country. Li Hongzhang's idea was whether he should fight for the Qing Dynasty with all his capital or preserve his strength. As a Han minister, the Qing Dynasty was also wary.＞

＜The subsequent impact of the Sino-Japanese War was far greater than the direct impact of the defeat. Before the Sino-Japanese War, although the West looked down on the Qing Dynasty, at least they thought that the Qing Dynasty would not be bullied by Japan. As a result, the Qing Dynasty lost miserably in the Sino-Japanese War, and all the powers in the world saw that the Qing Dynasty was really weak. [Speechless]＞

＜Kangxi knew the power of industry and had correspondence with Louis XIV. Qianlong also knew its importance, but his pen pal Louis XVI was beheaded…＞

＜The Qing Dynasty is selfish, always trying to fool the people and control them…［Disgusting］＞

＜All the great powers miss our Qing Dynasty＞

＜The outrageousness of the Sino-Japanese War was not as great as the beating of the Ming Dynasty by the Later Jin Dynasty [dog head]＞

＜I can’t figure out how Sarhu lost…＞

＜The Ming army has no food, and they have not yet paid their salaries ［狗头］＞

＜The Ming army is not fully paid, and is invincible when fully paid. ［Eat melon］＞

＜What we want is not to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty must perish, and the Ming Dynasty can also perish. What we want is a new civilization, full of vitality, strong national strength, people living and working in peace and contentment, and a country that has the people in mind. ［Come on］＞

＜What TV series is the one in the opening credits? ＞

Towards a Republic

＜We should strive to be strong! ［Come on］＞

＜Please comment rationally in the comment section and don’t argue… The Qing Dynasty is also a part of our country’s history. We cannot deny it just because we don’t like it [covering face]＞

＜The Ming Dynasty won the war against Japan, and the Qing Dynasty lost the war against Japan. That is a fact.＞

＜Measure the material resources of China and win the favor of other countries. ——Empress Dowager Cixi [Doghead]＞

＜Why didn’t the French Revolution come earlier? The Qing emperor should have stepped down long ago＞

＜Those who offend the Qing Dynasty must pay compensation, no matter how far away they are＞

＜up You really like this bgm, six videos in a row are all about the same song…＞

＜up reply: I will definitely change it next time＞

……

Ming powder and Qing powder are not only like water and fire, but they are also constantly in friction.