Can Peace Be Bought with Money? (1)
In the Forbidden City of Beijing, where the Emperor who had reached the pinnacle of power for so long governed the world, a great commotion erupted.
“How dare you bring such absurd demands before me!? Get out at once! How can you not leave without being dismissed!”
“Ah, Your Majesty…”
“Grant us mercy!”
“I don’t want to hear it! How can you not leave without being dismissed!”
“Your Majesty!”
With a shout that pierced the high platform, the surrender treaty of the allied country written in French was thrown down, and the backs of the Qing officials who saw it with their own eyes bowed forward familiarly.
The lackeys groveling before the old fox who was more emperor than the Emperor. In their eyes, contempt, anger, and emptiness flashed for a moment, but they quickly hid them behind their masks.
Only the Empress Dowager Cixi, who didn’t notice this, gazed at the empty seat of her own son, the Emperor, with eyes like heaven, then turned her head and let out a sigh.
“These treacherous foreign devils use despicable tactics to threaten the Great Qing and humiliate the imperial family, yet there is not even a single loyal minister who inherited the will of the founding ancestor in this country! It’s heartbreaking.”
“…”
Although thousands of people were in the vast square, the atmosphere was very quiet except for the Empress Dowager Cixi’s shouts. Most of the officials only stretched their necks and fixed their gazes on the floor, and no one took the Empress Dowager Cixi’s hysteria seriously.
Those who had even a shred of loyalty, whether they had been beheaded and executed or their families exterminated, didn’t need to be pointed out; those who didn’t mention it considered themselves fortunate.
Ah, there was still some courage left until last year to not notice and not hide the humiliation in front of the Empress Dowager Cixi.
It was Prince Gong, the head of the Zongli Yamen and a big hand of the Yangwu faction.
The problem was that he had fallen due to the Empress Dowager Cixi’s absurd plot last year in 1884, where she blamed him for the cause of the Qing-French War that he was not involved in. If he, as the deputy head of the Zongli Yamen and a military minister, had held the military power and fully supported Li Hongzhang, the Beiyang Minister, the tragedy of today would not have been so severe, according to the public opinion in Beijing.
For that reason, Prince Gong, who was capable and, on the one hand, curbed the Empress Dowager Cixi’s dictatorship, retired, and the vacant position was taken by his slightly inferior family members, Prince Chun and Prince Qing.
And they were completely betrayed, standing in front of the Empress Dowager Cixi, unable to raise their heads, only moving their mouths.
For that reason, it was really irritating, but the high officials of Beijing, who knew well that if they showed bad expressions or strange attitudes in front of the Empress Dowager Cixi, the loyal hounds would have a reason to destroy their families that very evening, just became spectators.
In this situation where no one pointed out the Great Qing’s current predicament due to the Empress Dowager Cixi’s own fault.
“What on earth are you wearing on your heads! If you have something to say, say it!”
And since everyone ignored her, the Empress Dowager Cixi’s outburst became even more severe.
In the end, unable to bear it, Prince Chun stepped forward one step with determination, reporting the situation.
“Your Majesty, the Great Qing currently has no proper army.”
“What, what do you mean?”
“As I said, Your Majesty. Currently, the Great Qing is in a situation where there is no suitable army to overcome the current crisis, nor mercenaries to replace it. Please take pity on us.”
“It’s a lie! It’s a lie! How dare you use such absurd words to humiliate me and try to escape this position!”
“Your Majesty!”
With a shocked expression, as if he didn’t know, Prince Chun trembled slightly.
Seeing this, Prince Qing also sensed that the situation the Empress Dowager Cixi was facing was very one-sided and full of lies, so he sided with Prince Chun, scolded the eunuchs and traitors around her, and frankly reported the situation.
“Your Majesty, his words are correct. Currently, the Great Qing is suffering consecutive defeats from the south to the north and from east to west to the three nations. To the south, the king of Yue requested a tour, Taiwan was occupied, and Yunnan, Sichuan, and Guangdong were each exposed to the threat of French armies and fighting.”
“Moreover, the Korean people, deceived by the treacherous Yangwu faction’s lies, assassinated their monarch and drove their army to massacre the loyal border people of Liaodong and Manchuria! Please take pity on us.”
“The Beiyang Fleet desperately fought but eventually lost, losing most of the warships, barely preserving a few ships and fleeing. Now, Shanhaiguan has also reached a dangerous situation…”
“…”
As if an opportunity had come, the officials who had been silent until then all spoke out behind the princes.
Some incompetent person recommended by eunuchs and traitors went to Liaodong and was crushed like a fly, or someone mixed gunpowder with sand so that soldiers couldn’t fight and surrendered, etc.
And with the flood of denunciations and revelations, the Empress Dowager Cixi, whose mind was shaken, looked at the Manchurian princes with a confused expression, and they also avoided their gazes and implicitly raised their hands to the ministers.
“Ah.”
Finally, the Empress Dowager Cixi came to her senses. She was also a splendid flower that bloomed in the women’s battles in the Forbidden City. Although she was too arrogant, she was a smart person and had excellent political instincts, considering her as an animal in politics.
In the end, after all the joint efforts and revelations that the Great Qing’s situation was unfavorable, she finally accepted it and asked with a weak, powerless voice.
“What should I do? Or is there a suitable candidate to mediate this matter?”
“That.”
That meant a proper plan within the range where no harm would come to the Emperor or the imperial family. For example, to appease the foreign devils holding swords with billions of wealth, or to bring in other foreign devils to crush the enemies one by one.
The problem was whether there was any country that would easily raise its butt in such a great power where the situation was completely tilted.
“There is none, Your Majesty. Recently, the United Kingdom and Japan, who started deep exchanges with us, drew a line saying it was unrelated to them, and Russia might become the arch-villain by scratching the border with us recently.”
“Britain?”
“Those meddlesome lackeys are quiet.”
“Quiet?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. That’s why it’s even more unsettling.”
Hearing that even the British were silent, the Empress Dowager Cixi truly sensed the seriousness of the situation. The fact that those madmen who sold their souls to ghosts for wealth knew the wealth of the Great Qing and yet ignored this incident meant that the probability of the situation ending even with their half-hearted intervention was extremely low.
After pondering the frozen head, trying to recall a European country to put forward as mediator, the Empress Dowager Cixi soon pressed her forehead.
“Could it be that the surrender negotiations that the ministers are seriously considering…”
“Your Majesty.”
“Say it honestly. Now that I know the inside story, I want to hear your opinions.”
Some traitors who realized that the Empress Dowager Cixi’s illusion had been completely shattered looked up at the platform with sunken faces, but the officials who still recognized them as Great Qing bureaucrats let out a relieved sigh and pushed Prince Chun, who had taken up arms, forward.
“Beiyang Minister Li Hongzhang said it. Since the enemies’ tactics are like a poisoned cup, their demands have no value, but the Great Qing’s situation is unfavorable, so some should be accepted, he said.”
“Beiyang Minister said that?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
At this, the Empress Dowager Cixi brightened. Defeat was not always bad.
If wrong, Beiyang Minister Li Hongzhang could take responsibility and resign, and if necessary, she could push him out and completely seize power.
After rolling her brain, she asked.
“Then what do you think?”
“Proposing to accept their demands while buying time for the Beiyang Army to inspect the defense posture in North China, negotiating unfavorable terms and poison clauses with them to end the war, and preemptive surprise attack is the worst plan, he said.”
“Uh, there is no plan for our Great Qing to win-”
“Your Majesty, please.”
“Ah, I understand.”
With an expression of having endured it as much as possible, Prince Chun raised his head, committing a rudeness.
The Empress Dowager Cixi reached out her hand, startled by Prince Chun’s appearance.
It was a bit cold even for her to look back at what she had just done.
In the end, the choice was up to her, since the Emperor had made her unable to come to this position.
And the most appropriate way to weigh the Empress Dowager Cixi’s own treatment more than the Great Qing’s future was to give full authority to Beiyang Minister Li Hongzhang and make the agreement fall through, so the Empress Dowager Cixi gathered her mind and issued the order.
“The surrender that the treacherous foreign devils presented is garbage that doesn’t require any consideration. However, the Great Qing’s generals also need time to recover from defeat, so full authority is given to the Beiyang Minister to investigate the enemies’ situation and, furthermore, to grant authority over the entire North China to supply the materials needed for the war.”
“Long live, long live, long live.”
Thus, a two-week short peace was born in the continent from a form that didn’t trust each other from the beginning.
*****
Right after we announced the 10-point surrender treaty, chaos erupted in Beijing, Zhili, and Hong Kong.
First, the place where the conclusion was reached after a two-week long breath was the Zongli Yamen and the Forbidden City in Beijing where the Empress Dowager Cixi was, and the Zhili General’s Office, the core of the Beiyang Army and where the war was directly carried out.
“As expected, the Zongli Yamen called it a worthless negotiation plan and even fired Forward Gong.”
“As expected.”
“Beiyang Minister also sent someone to apologize, saying that since the Empress Dowager Cixi is stubborn, as a subject, he could not disobey the above solemn command.”
“That too, I expected. After all, by dragging it out for two weeks, there should be enough time to organize the army. It will be an excuse.”
“And the British ambassador visited.”
“Want to join?”
“Yes.”
“Have you already told them to get lost?”
“After some evasion, I pushed them away, saying that help was not needed yet.”
“Well done.”
“However, perhaps because of our side’s cohesion, it was the first time seeing the British ambassador’s sincere attitude.”
“Don’t be fooled. They’re both bastards.”
“I know.”
Forward Gong, the representative of the Tripartite Alliance and the American ambassador in Beijing, reporting the news that the Empress Dowager Cixi’s anger and expulsion order had driven him out of the Forbidden City.
He positively reported that the British, who smelled the scent, bit the bait, while frowning at the fact that the Qing side had dragged their feet for two weeks and then broke the negotiation table as soon as the military concentration in North China was completed.
Those who heard it together from the side also vented their anger.
“Those cowardly bastards!”
“In the end, from the beginning, they didn’t even look at our proposal to stop the battle because human lives were precious!”
“Now is the time to occupy Shenyang and break through Shanhaiguan to destroy the Great Wall! I heard that after the Beiyang Fleet was completely destroyed, all traces of the Qing’s battleships have been hidden in the West Sea!”
“I remember Admiral Courbet mentioning that by sticking ships close to the coast, we could receive sufficient firepower support from the Far East Squadron. It wouldn’t be bad to become the first Korean to destroy the Great Wall as per General Seo’s words this time.”
“Truly, everyone, calm down. This isn’t just our place, is it?”
At first, the officials and ministers who were a bit deflated when the ones who had been flattering and begging as if our side was in control suddenly changed their tune.
Seo Jae-pil, the Vice Minister of War and Division Commander, had his hand on the beloved scabbard of his sword, with an uncomfortable expression, and Park Yung-hyo, the External Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who had been promoting this matter, was quite displeased.
“Instead of rejecting it from the beginning if it didn’t appeal to you, dragging it out for nearly two weeks. I worry that they might have been buying time to organize their own troops.”
“We also got time to redirect the northern expedition army with extreme combat fatigue and the Far East Squadron ships that needed maintenance to nearby Japan and Vietnam, so it’s no big deal. It’s fine.”
“Hah, but Your Excellency…”
“It’s fine. Our allied governments all took this negotiation seriously, and it was the Qing who ignored it. The hope that the world and the people of various countries had been expecting with this news for the past two weeks was crushed in their hands, so we will blame the incompetent and greedy Qing court more than us.”
I explained this with a slight smile. Rather, from my point of view, this was what I had hoped for. If the Qing rejected the ‘generous’ (with too much subjective bias) peace agreement we presented, it would give us a reason to not respect human rights for the ‘Republic Alliance’?
By the generous agreement, we tried to take care of human rights and the survival rights of enemy civilians, but there would still be some sympathy for the failure.
The territorial cessions in the 10-point surrender treaty, as well as the movements of the Zhili General’s Office and the Beiyang Army trying to drag out time to resist military occupation, canal passage rights, and economic aggression in North China, were all anticipated from our side from the beginning.
No, from the beginning, the 10-point surrender treaty was close to a bluff that included nearly half of the poison clauses that they would never accept.
“It’s like saying ‘accept and die’. Especially, the poison clauses of France and the United States that would simultaneously capture the North China economy and the South China economy and infiltrate the inland economy are decisive.”
Moreover, the inclusion of the Qing Emperor kneeling before me and kowtowing three times was included only based on the will of the Republic’s people. No diplomatic officer of the allied governments thought that was realistic.
Rather, I was momentarily surprised that the Beiyang Army and the Zhili General’s Office in Zhili responded more rationally than expected.
“It was a shock that they really were ready to cede territory.”
It might have been my mistake for not properly thinking about what Liaodong and Manchuria meant to the Yangwu movement reformists of Han descent.
However, the lesson I learned clearly this time was that ‘foreign lands’ (Yunnan, Sichuan, Tibet, Xinjiang, Mongolia, etc., border regions) were received differently by Han and Manchus.
They were united as one body but were close to a patchwork doll made by force, and this was not much different from the situation of each province gradually becoming independent.
“Cities concentrated on coastal cities are provincial, inland cities are urban, the discord between South and North China is an unquenchable flame, and the south where the White Lotus Sect and Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were born is the empire’s chronic rebellious tendency…”
As the country became difficult and politics became chaotic, the central control of the Qing court naturally weakened. Each province, blinded by economic benefits from foreign trade based on self-preservation, did not hesitate to ally with foreigners to plunder them, and border regions where rebellions continued to erupt often let go of the secret agents sent from the center.
The reaction of Zhili and Shandong, where Hongzhang’s Zhili General’s Office and Beiyang Army’s prestige was higher this time, was the same. They felt regret for the short negotiation period for Liaodong rescue and Manchurian counterattack, and their attitude was more inclined to cede the entire Taiwan Island and the southern part of Shenyang rather than having the capital march in a victorious symbolic meaning with our garrison and some French expeditionary forces in Beijing.
Of course, the rest was to pay with money, but anyway. Adding that the fate of the Indochina Peninsula was left to them. That is, the Vietnamese kingdom is now truly finished.
“However.”
But what to do? Peace is not bought with money. I didn’t grab power by scattering public funds while barely getting this.
If a pig’s piggy bank owner pulls out a cutter knife saying his belly is full, do they extend their hand to negotiate? Just stick out their belly.
Although still lacking, I thought I had regained a surface-level pretext that it was okay to fight one more time.
“At times like this, it’s right to strike the blow one more time.”
“Your words are right!”
As if waiting for that, Seo Jae-pil kicked his seat with great excitement and raised his voice. Behind him, many officers and generals responded with shoulders shrugged.
“This time, completely occupy Shenyang to appease the old souls of our ancestors and completely liberate the homeland!”
“Woah, run across the Manchurian plains!”
“Long live the Republic! Long live the revolution!”
Naturally, the next goal was set to Shenyang.
Now, the conquest of Liaodong was really at hand.