Looking at "Towards * * * Harmony" again, was the failure of the Sino-Japanese War really caused by Cixi misappropriating the military expenditure of Beiyang Navy on her birthday?

Of course not. First of all, Cixi did not misappropriate the military expenses of Beiyang Navy on her birthday. Secondly, the military expenditure of Beiyang Navy was not completely spent in the right place. Even in "Towards * * * and", Beiyang Navy was very corrupt, and Huang Ruilan embezzled a lot of money from guns. Later, during the military parade, these details were doomed, and the Beiyang Navy was doomed to failure:

From 65438 to 0868, Emperor Meiji of Japan began to carry out reforms in an all-round way. Meiji restoration? . At the same time, Emperor Tongzhi of China was still fighting for the elimination of the Nian Army under the guidance of Empress Dowager Cixi.

With the successive extinction of mutinies in various places, the Qing court began to implement it? Westernization New Deal? The national strength of the Qing dynasty also increased, which is known by history? Tongzhi zhongxing? .

After Emperor Guangxu ascended the throne, he also promoted Westernization under the rule of Empress Dowager Cixi. It was also during this period that the Beiyang Navy became an army and began to take shape. 1888, at the order of Empress Dowager Cixi, Prince Chun, accompanied by Li, went to the Beiyang Navy for the first time. 1894, Beiyang navy held its last military parade. This military parade, Li Hongzhang convened envoys and media from various countries, which was very large in scale.

In "Towards Harmony", the director combined these two military parades into one, so there was such an absurd scene?

One,

After Li Hongzhang inspected the Beiyang Navy, the next step was to prepare for the military parade. Before that, he arrested a Japanese spy.

Having said that, I have to mention Japan, which is a very strong opponent and should not be underestimated. The Japanese never fought unprepared wars, and several wars were initiated on their own initiative. Don't deny the whole of Japan by launching the Battle of Pearl Harbor.

It must have spent a lot of time gathering information before it started the war. Later, the September 18th Incident happened. In fact, Japan has been fully prepared for decades. Including expanding the subsidiary of Manchuria Railway, implementing administrative power, including operating mines, seaports and other industries to control the northeast economy, bribing officials, supporting puppets, finding collaborators and controlling public opinion.

And long-term immigration, plus the collection of information on politics, military affairs, economy, resources, society, culture, education, folk customs, laws and regulations in the whole northeast region. For a simple example, the map of China used by the Japanese invaders is much more detailed than that drawn by the China people themselves. Even the maps of Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and other cities, as small as every household, every stream, including the size of buildings, and even the deployment of troops, are clear.

Far from the point, back to the plot, back to 1894- 1895 Sino-Japanese War, Ding Xiang reported that he had caught a Japanese spy. Unfortunately, he turned around and let the Japanese spy go, so Li Hongzhang didn't blame him:

Even if the two countries go to war in the future, relying on these tricks will not become a big climate. ?

Since ancient times, soldiers in front must be sent to spy on the military situation before fighting. This simple truth cannot be ignored by Li Hongzhang, a former general of Huai Army.

Second,

Therefore, Li Hongzhang agreed to let the spy go, more likely for fear of stimulating Japan and more for diplomatic etiquette. I hope to shock Japan, let Japan have scruples and dare not mess around, instead of actively preparing for war and relying on real strength to get rid of Japan.

Sure enough, when Li Hongzhang lectured the officers and men of Beiyang Navy, he mentioned three purposes of his military parade:

First, publicize the prestige of our country, so that those who covet me have scruples and dare not act rashly; The second is to let the court know that the money given to the navy is for local use, so as to calm down the discussion and eliminate slander; Third, through the military parade, we can mobilize morale, unite the morale of the army, and make all the officers and men of Beiyang Navy proud of being loyal to the court and being proud of being in Beiyang. ?

In fact, it is not difficult to see that Li Hongzhang's strategy is to pretend to be a big fat man to scare other countries. Of course, this other country is mainly Japan.

Secondly, support soldiers and respect themselves, deter people with different political views, and gain more resources and power from the Qing court.

Finally, it is necessary to unite the morale of Beiyang Navy, not only to let others say that Beiyang Navy is good, but also to let yourself think that Beiyang Navy is good and become Li Hongzhang's own armed force.

In fact, Prince Chun came to the military parade on behalf of the imperial court after all. What does Li Hongzhang want to achieve most? Money? Word, the theme is to ask for money!

It's best to buy 5 million more warships. The next best thing is to buy1500,000, and you can buy a rapid-fire gun. Otherwise, it will cost 600 thousand, at least to maintain the livelihood of officers and men.

Third,

The grand military parade was held as scheduled, and Dante and Li Hongzhang were puzzled about how to arrange Li, which was also easy to understand, because the Qing Dynasty had patriarchal clan system:

There are only four grades of eunuchs. Unless they are sent, they are not allowed to leave the imperial city without authorization, and offenders will be killed without forgiveness. ?

The Qing dynasty mainly learned the historical lessons of the eunuch's authoritarian power in the Ming dynasty, so it formulated a series of laws to restrain eunuchs. But in Li's case, it broke several rules, including the rule that the official position of eunuchs should not exceed four levels. Li was made a eunuch by Empress Dowager Cixi. Historically, when Li followed Prince Chun to participate in the military parade, he specially changed the second-class official uniform into the fourth-class official uniform.

In the play, Li wore the clothes of ordinary people, not official clothes, so as not to violate the ancestral system. But he is a eunuch after all. According to people's ideas at that time, all warships were men and eunuchs were yin and yin. After they get on the warship, they will break the feng shui and have bad luck.

In fact, it is not only unlucky for eunuchs to go to warships, but also unlucky for women to go to warships. But then again, what if Empress Dowager Cixi came to the military parade in person?

The attitude of Li Hongzhang and Ding is bound to make a 180-degree turn. It is an honor for Beiyang Navy that Empress Dowager Cixi can board a warship. That's for sure. Empress Dowager Cixi's masculinity can't be compared with a boatload of masculine men.

Li Hongzhang certainly knows why Empress Dowager Cixi sent Li. Li represents Empress Dowager Cixi and Prince Chun represents Emperor Guangxu. Are you pro-emperor or pro-queen?