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Chapter 368 Treaty of Shimonoseki

"In addition, after completing the edict, Emperor Xianfeng was still worried and announced that during the period of the eight ministers' assistance, all military edicts drafted by the military offices must be stamped with the two seals of "Tongdaotang" and "Yushang". Effective."

"These two seals are in the hands of Cixi and Ci'an respectively."

"The reason why Emperor Xianfeng thought of this move was that he was worried that the eight ministers would imitate Ao Bai's dictatorship, and tried to control the eight ministers through the empress dowagers of the two palaces, while avoiding the empress dowager's dictatorship, so as to achieve the purpose of mutual restraint. But he never expected that this move would actually Intensify the conflict between the two parties."

"After the death of Emperor Xianfeng, the two empress dowagers started fighting with the eight ministers. The eight ministers firmly opposed the two empress dowagers to listen to politics behind the curtain. The two sides got into a quarrel, which finally frightened the little emperor Tongzhi to the point of peeing."

"At this time, a key figure appeared, namely Yi, known as Guiziliu. He was the younger brother of Emperor Xianfeng and the brother-in-law of Cixi."

"He has outstanding abilities and has always been feared by Emperor Xianfeng. He was worried that he would become the second Dalton. Therefore, he was excluded from the center of power. He was dissatisfied and always ready to take action."

"And Cixi's side was also weak, so the two met secretly, hit it off immediately, and decided to launch a coup to get rid of the eight ministers and gain power in the court."

"So, the queen mothers of the two palaces returned to the palace first to make arrangements. When the eight ministers returned to Beijing, they were arrested directly and declared guilty. Those who deserved to be killed should be caught. This coup was clean and neat, showing the viciousness of Cixi. It is known in history "Xinyou Coup"."

"The two empress dowagers Cixi and Ci'an began to listen to politics behind the curtain."

"Not long after, Ci'an died of illness, and Yi was kicked out of the center of power by Cixi."

"From then on, the era of Cixi, the old witch, taking charge of the family truly began. It was the beginning of a nightmare!"

"Cixi truly came to power in the seventh year of Emperor Guangxu's reign. After the death of Empress Dowager Ci'an, I have to say that this woman really lived a long life."

"During the years when Cixi was in power, the third emperor of the late Qing Dynasty under his control was quite miserable. The three emperors Tongzhi, Guangxu, and Puyi also had a dark history."

"Let me talk about these two emperors first. To be honest, Emperor Guangxu was an accomplished emperor. He also thought about reform, but Cixi opposed it."

"Emperor Guangxu can be regarded as a two-faced emperor, with praise and praise, but as a puppet emperor, he also wanted to reform the declining Qing Dynasty. In fact, it was pretty good, although he failed."

"Emperor Tongzhi passed away. Regardless of the truth, Tongzhi died for some reason, but he was already dead. At that time, Tongzhi was only 19 years old and had no sons."

"The country cannot live without a monarch for a day, so Empress Dowager Cixi chose to let Guangxu succeed the emperor."

"This choice is perfect for Cixi. Emperor Guangxu's biological mother is Cixi's sister."

"In other words, Guangxu is Cixi's nephew and has a close blood relationship."

"Besides, at this time Guangxu was only three years old and knew nothing, making it easier for Cixi to control."

"After Guangxu succeeded to the throne, it was actually the beginning of his miserable career as emperor. His whole life was shrouded in the power of the Empress Dowager Cixi. Although he had great ambitions, he never had the opportunity to display them. In the end, he died lonely and even died. It’s unclear, and I have to say it’s a tragedy in life.”

"Because the Qing Dynasty experienced the Opium War, and this war also made the Qing people see the backwardness of their country in military and economic aspects, so many intellectuals began to slowly learn Western knowledge and culture in an attempt to "learn from the foreigners" "Extending skills to control the barbarians", but the results were not satisfactory." "During the reign of Emperor Guangxu, the Westernization Movement led by the Qing Dynasty gradually turned from prosperity to decline."

"Faced with such social conditions, the young Emperor Guangxu could no longer remain silent. After years of receiving the most advanced education, he also wanted to do something for the Qing Empire."

"Because he did not want to see the Qing Dynasty die in his own hands, Emperor Guangxu, who had just taken over part of the internal power, immediately wanted the world to see his efforts."

"And at this time, the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894 appeared."

"This war is also the reason why Emperor Guangxu was scolded."

"The war here allowed Emperor Guangxu to see that he had the opportunity to bring the Qing Dynasty back on track, because during the Westernization Movement, a large number of Beiyang naval forces were cultivated. At that time, it was known as the number one naval force in Asia."

"But in fact, Emperor Guangxu's judgment on this war was not very mature, and because he was eager to regain the imperial power from the Empress Dowager Cixi, Emperor Guangxu agreed to go to war without careful consideration. However, at that time Li Hongzhang and Cixi The Queen Mother’s conservative party is urging peace.”

"But Emperor Guangxu did not listen to their suggestions because he believed that the Qing Dynasty had already cultivated an excellent Beiyang Navy, and the Qing Dynasty had been studying Western culture for a long time, so when facing the small Japanese army, this small island country , Emperor Guangxu did not predict that he would face a failure."

"In addition, if Emperor Guangxu can lead the Qing Dynasty to victory in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894, it means that this is the first victory for the Qing Dynasty in a foreign war after Emperor Daoguang."

"This can also help Emperor Guangxu establish his imperial authority over the court, so that he can better control the entire court."

"But the reality is not what Emperor Guangxu thought. Do you know why Empress Dowager Cixi's conservative faction opposed this war?"

"This is because they have quietly misappropriated a lot of military expenditures used to train the Beiyang Navy, so the conservative party, which clearly understands the truth, is desperately opposed to this tough war."

"The fleet of the Beiyang Navy is the country's first modern naval force. This is also the confidence of Emperor Guangxu."

"At that time, the Qing Dynasty allocated 400 million taels every year to build this navy (actually there was not that much money, and a large part of it was embezzled by Cixi), so this fleet also prided itself on being the number one naval force in Asia."

"But Emperor Guangxu didn't know about this, so the young emperor was firmly prepared to fight, driven by his patriotic sentiments."

"Everyone also knows that the end of this war dragged the flower-growing country into an even lower abyss. After the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the Qing Empire and Japan signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki. This treaty also It has brought our country into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal situation.”

Zhang Yanxi still showed them the contract.

"Everyone who has some war projections from the Qing Dynasty should share it with each other. I won't say more about the war."

"When knowing the truth fails, there is actually no choice. No matter how unequal the treaty is, Emperor Guangxu must sign it."

(End of this chapter)