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Text Chapter 202 The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894 broke out

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    ¡°Commander, does Japan, the Japanese island country in the East, really dare to launch a war against the Manchu Qing Dynasty?¡± Even at this time, the senior officials of the Western Sichuan Army and the cabinet still had doubts about this.  No matter how you look at it, there is a big gap between Japan's national power and the Manchu Qing Dynasty.  As long as the performance of the Manchu and Qing troops was not too bad, Japan had no chance of winning.

    "The war between the Manchus and Japan will break out within the next month at most!" Wang Yuze said with great certainty.  Because, the first stage of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894 mentioned in the history books started on July 25, which is only one month from now.

    "Commander, when will we take action? Should we take action with Little Japan, attack from both sides, and completely overthrow the Manchu Qing Dynasty?" Deputy Chief of Staff Cai Yun said.

    "We will wait until the Manchu Qing Dynasty is defeated before taking action. At this time, the Manchu Qing Dynasty suffered heavy losses under the Japanese attack. If we take action again, they will have no way to resist. In addition, after the Manchu Qing Dynasty is defeated, it will inevitably sign a treaty with Japan that will cede power and humiliate the country.  Treaty. By then, they will be spurned by the people across the country, and this is also our opportunity to replace them!" Wang Yuze said.  In China today, there are many foolish loyalists of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, especially those scholars and the so-called elites, who cling to the idea of ??loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, and regard Western Sichuan as rebel bandits.  Wang Yuze just wanted these people to see clearly the traitorous face of the Manchus.  When the time comes, how can they have the face to be loyal to the emperor and patriotic?

    "This is a good idea. However, since we want the Manchus and Japan to fight to the death, we can't send troops to the border. Instead, we have to withdraw the troops. Let the Manchus believe that we are not a threat to them, so that the Manchus can  Only the Qing Dynasty will feel free to go to war with Japan!" Xiong Wu reminded.  The current Manchurian New Army, with its main forces deployed at the border with Western Sichuan, is very wary of Western Sichuan!

    "The specific arrangements will be made by the General Staff Headquarters. In addition, I will ask the cabinet to express support for the Manchus and even support them with a batch of weapons so that they can fight the Japanese with confidence!" Wang Yuze said.

    "Yes, Commander!" Xiong Wu and Cai Yun both said.  Subsequently, the Western Sichuan Army carried out a large number of challenges, and the troops in the rear were still secretly advancing towards the front.  However, the troops stationed on the front line retreated one after another.  This made the Qing army on the opposite side very confused.  However, the retreat of the Western Sichuan Army is also a good thing for them.  At least we don't have to worry about when the Western Sichuan Army will attack again.

    After the Quanzhou Peace Agreement was reached, the North Korean government demanded that the Qing and Japanese troops withdraw their troops, but the Qing government demanded that the Japanese troops withdraw first.  Otori Keisuke also verbally expressed his intention to withdraw his troops to Yuan Shikai, the Qing minister stationed in Korea.  However, the Japanese reinforcements continued to increase, reaching more than 20,000 people. Sure enough, Ohtori Keisuke began to provoke continuously, denying that North Korea was a Chinese vassal state, and then proposing that China and Japan should work together to "assist" North Korea in "reforming" its internal affairs.  China and North Korea have both sternly refuted and rejected these unreasonable demands of Japan.  But Japan's goal has been achieved - while it kept its troops in North Korea in the name of "assisting North Korea to reform its internal affairs," it also held back the Qing troops stationed in North Korea, creating conditions for the outbreak of war.  At the same time, Japan finally found an excuse to provoke the Sino-Japanese War of Sino-Japanese War.

    During July 1894, Japan's conspiracy to launch war became increasingly obvious. Chinese domestic public opinion and the Qing generals stationed in the DPRK requested the Qing court to increase troops to prepare for war. Prince Yixin of Gong and Weng Tonghe (Guangxu Shang Shu) were also formed in the court.  The main war faction (the Imperial Party) was headed by the Imperial Teacher). However, the Empress Dowager Cixi did not want her sixtieth birthday to be interfered with by the war. In order to preserve the strength of his direct lineage's New Army and the Beiyang Navy, Li Hongzhang also attempted to reconcile.  These people formed the Zhuhe faction (the rear party) in the Qing court.  Li Hongzhang knew Japan's ambitions, but did not seriously prepare for war. Instead, he blindly placed his hope on the United States, Britain, Russia and other European and American powers to stop.  Due to the aforementioned interests of various countries, the United States, Britain, and Russia only expressed "condemnation" to Japan, and mediation failed.

    In the early morning of July 23, 1894, the Japanese army raided the Seoul Royal Palace, kidnapped King Yi Xi of North Korea (Kojong Gojong of North Korea), dissolved the pro-China government of North Korea, supported the king's biological father, Heungseon Daewonjun Yi Shiyeong, to take over as regent, and established a government with Kim Hongji as the actual leader.  Pro-Japanese puppet government.  Japan ordered the Jin Hongji cabinet to sever relations with the Qing Dynasty and "entrusted" the Japanese army to expel the Qing troops stationed in Korea.  After taking control of the Korean government, Japan launched an undeclared war on July 25, 1894 (June 23rd of the Sino-Japanese War of the Sino-Japanese War) and attacked the battleships "Jiyuan" and "Guangyi" of the Beiyang Navy in the sea off Fengdao, North Korea.  "The Battle of Toshima broke out. During the naval battle, the "Naniwa" ship of the first guerrilla force of the Japanese Combined Fleet sank the British merchant ship "Gaosheng" borrowed by the Qing army to transport troops, creating the Gaosheng incident.  At this point, Japan finally detonated the Sino-Japanese War of Sino-Japanese War.

    After the news of Japan¡¯s attack on the Qing army came, the Qing court was in chaos.  The main war faction and the main peace faction quarreled.  At this time, Western Sichuan took action.  The Western Sichuan Cabinet proactively contacted ManchuriaThe ?? government, Western Sichuan supports the Qing Dynasty in its war against Japan, and will provide the Qing Dynasty with 20,000 new rifles and 200 cannons free of charge. In addition, it will also support the Qing government with 10 million taels of silver.  At the same time, the Western Sichuan Army withdrew from the border and guaranteed not to launch an attack on the Manchu Qing during the war.  Although some people in the Manchu and Qing government pointed out that this was Western Sichuan's wolfish ambition, and they wanted the Manchu and Japanese to fight to the detriment of both sides, and then reap the benefits.  However, Prince Gong Yixin pointed out.  If the Qing army could defeat Japan, it would undoubtedly greatly improve the Qing's reputation.  It can also improve the international status of the Qing Dynasty.  If Western Sichuan goes to war with the Qing Dynasty, the great powers will definitely support the Qing Dynasty.  At the same time, Sichuan Province has made a promise to everyone in the world, and it is impossible for Sichuan Province to break its promise and get rich.

    Under the influence of these factors, Empress Dowager Cixi finally nodded and agreed to declare war on Japan.

    On August 1, 1894 (the first day of July in the 20th year of Guangxu), China and Japan officially declared war.  The Qing Dynasty pointed out in its edict declaring war that Korea had always been a vassal state of China, and that China sent troops at the request of the Korean government. On the contrary, Japan "did not abide by treaties, did not abide by public laws, acted arbitrarily, practiced tricks, provoked others, and was just."  "Obviously" made China intolerable, so "following Li Hongzhang's strict orders, he sent out various armies to attack quickly, gathered a large army, and marched one after another to save the Korean people from misery." Japan's Meiji Emperor Mutsuhito responded tit-for-tat in his declaration of war, claiming that "  Korea was the first country that the empire inspired to join other countries." It claimed that the reason for the war was that "the empire persuaded Korea to reform its politics Although Korea had promised, the Qing Dynasty had always secretly tried to obstruct it and even sent troops.  It is extremely arrogant to attack our ships in the Korean Sea." It stated that its purpose was to "save Korea from chaos forever", "maintain overall peace in the East", and "promote the glory of the empire at home and abroad."

    After China and Japan declared war, the Manchurian New Army was transferred from the border with western Sichuan to the Northeast and North Korea via railway. The 400,000 new troops were sent to the battlefield except for tens of thousands who were left to guard the border and local areas.  This all shows the Manchu Qing's determination to win this war.  At the same time, Japan also launched tit-for-tat mobilization, adding ten more divisions in addition to the six previously added divisions.  In order to win this war, Japan even borrowed money from various countries.  At this time, the world's major capitalist countries were gradually transitioning to imperialism, and Japan's aggressive behavior was supported by Western powers to a certain extent.  The United States hoped that Japan would become its assistant in the invasion of China and North Korea; the United Kingdom attempted to use Japan to contain Russia's power in the Far East; France also supported Japan's invasion of China in order to seize new interests while Japan invaded China.  Although Russia has great ambitions for Northeast China and North Korea, it is not ready yet, so it adopts a non-intervention policy towards Japan.  The acquiescence or connivance of the great powers became a favorable condition for Japan to implement its aggressive plan.

    In late July 1894, the Chinese and Japanese armies went to war in North Korea.  After the Qing army was sneak attacked by the Japanese army on the sea surface of Fengdao, it was also quickly attacked by the Japanese army in Chenghuanyi on land. Since the Korean government was controlled by Japan, the Qing army stationed in Asan such as Ye Zhichao and Nie Shicheng were forced to detour to Seoul.  Evacuate north to Pyongyang, an important town in northern North Korea and the capital of Pingan Road.

    On September 7, the Battle of Pyongyang broke out.  This was a large-scale battle between the Manchu and Japanese armies.  At that time, the fifth and eighth towns of the Qing Dynasty Army were stationed in Pyongyang, with a total strength of more than 40,000 people.  Those attacking Pyongyang were the Japanese 2nd Mission and the 5th Division, with a total strength of more than 37,000 troops.  The strength of both sides was evenly matched.  The terrain of Pyongyang City is also very dangerous, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.  Moreover, the Qing army also received support from the Korean people.  Although the North Korean government was forcibly pulled into the Japanese camp at that time, North Korea's Ping An Road Observer Min Byeong-seok actively assisted the Qing army in fighting, and even Li Shiying, the puppet king who was pushed to power by Japan, secretly passed information to the Qing army.  Unfortunately, the Qing army did not take full advantage of these advantages. Due to its commander Ye Zhichao's command errors and desertion, the Qing army failed, which affected the entire war situation.

    On September 7, the Japanese army besieged Pyongyang in four directions, and its forces were dispersed. Due to Li Hongzhang's combat policy of "defending first, then making progress" and the timidity of Qing general Ye Zhichao, the Eighth Town commanded Zuo Guogui and others to attack the Japanese army.  The operation was constantly obstructed by Ye Zhichao, and the Japanese army successfully completed the siege of Pyongyang on September 14.

    The fighting was very fierce. Although the New Manchu Army was at a disadvantage, it still resisted the Japanese attack.  Ye Zhichao was greedy for life and feared death. When the battle situation was stalemate, he actually raised a white flag to stop resistance at 4 o'clock in the afternoon and ordered the entire army to retreat.  Japan then set up an ambush on the Qing troops' retreat.  On a rainy night that day, the retreating Qing army was ambushed and in chaos. Nearly 5,000 people died and more than 3,000 were captured.  The Battle of Pyongyang ended with the Qing army's defeat.  In the next six days, the Qing army ran for five hundred miles and fled all the way to the Yalu River. On the 21st, they crossed the Yalu River and returned home.  The Japanese army marched forward with great success and occupied the entire territory of North Korea.

    PS: The second update is here!  (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to subscribe and reward (this site). Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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