Chapter XXI: Introduction (19)

General Nogi now moved forward his headquarters to Huntsai. The Chinese army under General Seh was considerably reinforced, chiefly by Tartar troops with large bodies of cavalry, and skirmishes with the Japanese scouts were of daily occurrence. The strength of the enemy in the immediate vicinity of Niuchwang was more than twenty thousand men. On the 30th of January it was found that the Chinese had occupied Liao-Yang in force, and that the western contingents were gradually advancing southward. General Hoi-Pang-Tao was on his way to Ying-kow with a large force. On the 1st of February the Viceroy Liu arrived at Niuchwang and assumed the supreme command of the operations in Manchooria. He brought with him an army said to number nearly twenty thousand, so that his whole force numbered probably twice that many. It seemed certain that the viceroy intended to advance against Hai-tcheng in full force. The Japanese armies were also united, or in close touch with one another, at Kai-phing and Hai-tcheng, ready for a decisive battle. February 16 a Chinese army of fifteen thousand men attacked Hai-tcheng from Liao-Yang and the Niuchwang road. The fighting lasted three hours, and extended over a considerable tract of country. The attack was successfully repulsed, one hundred and fifty Chinese being killed and wounded, and the Japanese loss considerably less than that number.

The news of the capture of Wei-hai-wei reached the Japanese and Chinese forces in Manchooria, and the Viceroy Liu was evidently disheartened, for there was an entire absence of activity during the next ten days. The incessant drilling in the neighborhood of Niuchwang was stopped, and the forces were steadily dwindling through desertion. On the last day of February, after a period of comparative inaction, the Japanese troops began an advance on Niuchwang and its port Ying-kow. On that day General Nodzu attacked the Chinese positions between the Liao-Yang and the Niuchwang roads. The Japanese artillery first opened a heavy fire upon the Chinese. This lasted over an hour, and then the fifth Japanese brigade threw itself upon the Chinese right wing with such impetuosity that the enemy scarcely made a stand in that part of the field, but broke and fled in disorder. While this was going on, the main Japanese column under General Nodzu marched against the Chinese center, which rested on the village of Chang-ho-tai. Position after position was carried by the Japanese infantry, and the enemy was finally driven in disorderly retreat northwestward towards Kinchow city, at the northern extremity of the Gulf of Liao-Tung.

The sixth brigade had been told off to clear the Chinese out of the villages along the Laio-Yang road. This it accomplished without loss, and then by pre-arrangement it joined hands with the main column, the combined forces thereafter occupying Tung-yeng-tai and all the villages and heights near that place, in the direction of Liao-Yang. General Nodzu’s division extended its line southwestward from Hai-tcheng, so that the army extended through a very wide front. The Chinese forces engaged numbered about eighteen thousand men with twenty guns. General Yih was in command. They lost one hundred and fifty men killed, and about two hundred wounded. The Japanese losses amounted to about half as many.

Early the next morning the Japanese resumed their advance, this time without opposition of any sort. The Chinese retired before them, and when night fell the Japanese limit extended nearly to Maitzu. Throughout the advance upon Niuchwang there was no opposition offered worthy the name, and the annals of the march bring little fame to the Japanese defense.

The reconnoissances eastward and northward made by General Nodzu’s scouts on Friday, March 1st, brought the information that the main body of the Chinese forces had fled by the northern road, with the evident intention of rallying and making another stand at Liao-Yang, the only place of importance between Hai-tcheng and Mukden. Lieutenant-General Katsura’s brigade was ordered to pursue the enemy. By that evening the troops had covered about eight miles of difficult ground, and had got within a mile of Kan-thouan-phu, where several thousand Chinese were known to be ready to give battle. The Japanese advanced against the town at daybreak, only to find that the enemy had fled during the night. After resting his troops Katsura resumed the pursuit. It was thought that the Chinese would make a stand at Sha-ho-phu, a small town situated on the river Sha and commanding the high road to Liao-Yang, but the place was occupied by the Japanese on Sunday, March 3, without serious opposition. The next morning Katsura moved on until within five miles of Liao-Yang, which brought him within forty miles of Mukden.

While Katsura was driving the routed Chinese before him along the Mukden road, General Nodzu with all the remaining forces at his disposal was moving towards Niuchwang Old Town. The troops were under arms at dawn on Monday. The fifth division moved against the town from the southeast, while the third division came from the north. The movement was admirably timed, despite the difficulties of the ground. In three hours the men of both divisions were in position, and at ten o’clock a heavy shell fire was opened upon the Chinese fortifications. The Chinese appeared to be confused; their artillery fire was bad, and they kept massing troops at points which were never threatened. Many of their guns were dismounted, and after a two hours’ bombardment the Chinese abandoned the walls and retreated into the town. The Japanese infantry then poured into the place, both divisions forcing their way into the gates and over the walls almost simultaneously.

So far the Japanese had suffered very little loss. The leading brigade of the first division charged several Chinese regiments still standing their ground, and they at once fled precipitately towards Ying-kow, followed by the Japanese cavalry. Meantime, in the town the Japanese infantry were warmly engaged. The main body of the Chinese, when driven from the batteries and walls, had taken refuge in the narrow streets and houses. Every window and every housetop was occupied by sharpshooters. The fighting was of a desperate character. The Chinese seeing all hopes of escape cut off, fought until they were shot or cut down. The headway made by the Japanese was painfully slow. Each street had to be effectually cleared before an advance could be made to the next. Each house had to be assaulted and taken.

Throughout the day the fighting continued, but slowly the Japanese cordon was brought more closely around the center of the city, and by eleven o’clock at night all opposition had ceased. Many of the Chinese, after nightfall broke through the Japanese lines, and made their escape into the open country, but a large number accepted quarter and remained in the hands of the Japanese. The Chinese fought with desperate valor. Repeatedly they charged the Japanese troops in the streets, and hand-to-hand fighting was frequent. The officers too, encouraged the men by their own example, and the defense of the streets was conducted with some military skill. Nearly two thousand Chinese killed and wounded were found in the houses and streets, and six hundred prisoners were taken. The Japanese losses exceeded five hundred in killed and wounded. A large quantity of stores and provisions fell into the hands of the victors, beside eighteen cannon, and a large quantity of rifles and ammunition.

After the engagement of the 4th, Lieutenant-General Yamaji’s division of the second Japanese army advanced upon Peh-mia-totsu, where it had been reported that the main body of General Sung’s defeated forces had halted. The enemy, however, did not wait for the Japanese troops, but fell back upon Ying-kow. General Nogi, following close along the coast road, came up with the Chinese and attacked them. During the fighting which ensued the Chinese were reinforced from Ying-kow, but they were soon driven back under the protection of the town batteries, leaving many dead upon the field. Most of the Chinese retreated in a northeasterly direction, but General Sung and troops immediately under his command made another stand at Ying-kow. The Japanese artillery was well handled, and the infantry fought with great spirit, driving the Chinese before them. By the time the town was entered General Sung and his troops had fled towards Chen-sho-tai. Meanwhile the Japanese artillery had concentrated their fire upon the shore forts, which protected the estuary. The Chinese brought their heavy guns to bear upon the assailants, and held their own for some time, but finally the Japanese infantry under cover of the fire of their artillery, carried the forts one after the other, and by nightfall Ying-kow was in undisputed possession of the invaders.

As soon as the fort had been captured, guards were placed for the protection of the foreign settlement, and the streets were strongly patrolled. Scouts were sent out along the Niuchwang road to meet General Nodzu’s patrol. On the morning of the 6th, General Nodzu sent a brigade towards Ying-kow, which the second army was to attack that day. Tung-kia-thun was found destitute of Chinese troops, and the Japanese advanced nearly to Kao-khan without seeing anything of the enemy. Here they camped for the night, and before morning the outposts of the two forces had met and had exchanged the good news of the success of each. The retreating Chinese, under Generals Sung and Ma, were reported to have halted at Chen-sho-tai.

The occupation of Niuchwang and its port by the Japanese marked a distinct phase in the interesting campaign in Manchooria. For many weeks Niuchwang and Ying-kow had sheltered the Chinese army. From them a succession of feeble attacks upon the Chinese positions had been delivered. General Sung’s unwieldy forces were now broken up; the Japanese front was advanced to the river Liao; and the first and second armies had joined hands. The third important fortified harbor had fallen into the hands of the Japanese. The defense of Niuchwang was maintained with vigor, the Chinese fighting most bitterly to the very end, but uselessly. The coast defenses too at Ying-kow made some show of resistance, but being attacked in the rear had quickly fallen in accordance with all established precedents.

The general situation in Manchooria was now entirely changed. The Japanese encouraged by the half-hearted attacks to which they had been subjected, had broken up the forces in their vicinity. The difficulties of movement in large bodies, combined with the incapacity of commanders, and general disorganization, had effectually prevented the Chinese from gaining any advantage from their superior numbers. Niuchwang, a city of sixty thousand people, a town with an immense annual trade, had fallen into Japanese hands, and its capture was unquestionably an important stroke. On the Japanese right Katsura had pushed forward until he was near Liao-Yang, and after the occupation of Niuchwang relieved some of the troops there, another brigade moved northward to his support. The country centering at Niuchwang was practically in undisputed possession of the Japanese. Thus, after a march of about four hundred miles, the troops of the first army which landed at Chemulpo were once again on the sea-board, and in possession of an important port.

CHINESE SOLDIER LADEN WITH PROVISIONS,
SHOWING WINTER DRESS.
]

On the 9th of March the first division of the first Japanese army attacked Thien-chuang-thai, on the western side of the river Liao, to which place General Sung fled after the capture of Ying-kow. A fierce engagement ensued, lasting three hours and a half. The main body of the Chinese force numbered seven thousand men with thirty guns, and the Japanese forces were but few less than that number. General Katsura commanded the Japanese center, and General Oku the right wing. The left wing was composed of Yamaji’s troops from Kai-phing. The Chinese fled towards Kinchow, leaving fourteen hundred dead on the field. For strategic reasons the village was burned, and the Japanese returned across the river.

A proclamation was issued by the Japanese commander at Ying-kow urging the inhabitants to continue their peaceful pursuits, promising all law-abiding inhabitants justice and protection, and warning them of the consequences should they commit any belligerent acts or create any disorders. The commanders of the foreign war ships in the river called on the Japanese general, and asked him to telegraph to their respective admirals that all the foreigners in the town were safe. The general complied with this request, as well as with that of the consuls who asked him to telegraph in the same way to their governments. All Chinese were strictly prohibited from entering the European quarter, unless employed by or having business with the foreign residents. Six hundred troops were told off to carry this order into effect and to patrol the streets. English and American officers united to express their thanks to the commanding general, for the elaborate precautions taken to insure the safety of foreigners.

It will be remembered that from the very beginning of the war a Japanese descent upon Formosa was one of the operations expected and frequently reported. To provide against this threatened danger, a large body of the famous troops from the south of China known as the Black Flags, were sent to the island to intrench themselves and arrange for its defense. They were scarcely settled in comfort when they began a series of outrages on the native population that made them feared and hated by every one, and justified their name. Early in February they extended their outrages from the native population to the British residents. Disturbances on the island increased, and affairs became so bad that foreign residents became alarmed and left in haste. The British consul at the chief treaty-port of the island, sent to Hong Kong an urgent call for assistance, which was furnished without delay. The war ship Mercury left for the island in haste, and its presence acted strongly to quell the disturbances and insure safety for the people. A Japanese squadron too, which was seen patroling the island on several occasions, acted as a damper upon the spirits of the rioters, and the Chinese authorities themselves were able to quell the disturbance. Twenty-five of the ring leaders were arrested and punished, and peace was restored.

After this time, operations in the south were abandoned until early in the spring, when a fleet of Japanese transports moved down the west side of the island of Formosa, to the group of small islands known as the Pescadores, between Formosa and the mainland. The Chinese feared that an attack upon Canton was contemplated, but in reality there was at no time any considerable danger of this. The Japanese desired to be exceedingly careful of the interest of all foreign nations in the treaty ports, and so naturally avoided an attack on any city where they might be endangered. The real point of attack intended by this course, was the town of Makung, in the southwest of the island of Pong-hu, the largest of the group. Makung had a large and absolutely safe harbor, capable of affording accommodations for vessels of large draft, and was protected by its citadel and a line of defensive works. Admiral Ito was in command of the squadron, which numbered nine cruisers and two gunboats. Bombardment was begun March 23, from all the vessels of the fleet, the fire centering on the east fort, which dominated the others. A thousand troops from five transports landed simultaneously and attacked the same fort. The Chinese evacuated the place during the night, and the Japanese entered at 6:00 o’clock on the morning of the 24th, and turned the guns upon the other forts. One of the western forts blew up before it was evacuated. One thousand Chinese prisoners were taken, the rest of the garrison escaping in junks. Three thousand Japanese troops now garrisoned Pong-hu, securing a southern base of operations for the Japanese fleet. Within a few days the Japanese were in entire possession of the Pescadore Islands.

South of Yung-tcheng Bay, the Chinese coast line had remained inviolate up to this period of the war, in spite of frequent rumors from startled Chinese sources, of the appearance of Japanese squadrons and their threatened attack. The Japanese fleet had been profitably used to foster a continual state of nervous terror in all the Chinese coast cities, but attention was now turned suddenly in a very different direction, and actively developed towards the southward. Simultaneously with the attack on Pong-hu, the Japanese on the 24th of March made a descent upon Hai-chow, on the sea-board of the province of Chiang-su, some two hundred miles north of Shanghai. It was early in the morning when the Japanese squadron appeared off Hai-chow and at once opened fire upon the small forts there. Under cover of the bombardment a force of several thousand Japanese troops, landed and attacked the Chinese positions. After a few hours’ fighting, the stout resistance of the Chinese proved unavailing, and they abandoned their works, having lost some three hundred killed. The island of Yuchow, which lies off Hai-chow had already been occupied by the invaders. At Hai-chow the Japanese were less than fifty miles in a direct line from the Grand Canal connecting Nanking with Peking, which at this point approaches nearest to the coast. The canal had been the chief route by which supplies were conveyed to Peking, and had been of invaluable service for the movement of troops to the capital and to the front by way of Tien-tsin. The threatened dash of the Japanese upon this main artery of travel startled those who realized it. This sudden and unexpected descent upon the Chinese coast served to bring home the realities of war to a section of the population which probably had never heard of the Japanese successes. The Viceroy of Nanking awakened to his danger, and hastily ordered troops to the front to oppose the Japanese advance and recapture Hai-chow.

A third portion of the Japanese fleet, with war ships and transports, appeared simultaneously with these other operations, sailing past Taku into the neighborhood of Shan-hai-kwan. Passing the latter city, which marks the end of the Great Wall of China where it comes down to the coast, the fleet left terror behind, and moved upon the island of Thao-hua. This island lies but a few miles off the mainland, and fifty-five miles northeast of Shan-hai-kwan, at a point where the main highway from Manchooria to Peking lies close to the coast line. It was therefore about half way between Niuchwang and Taku, the port of Peking, and an excellent base for offensive operations against the capital.

The armies in Manchooria were practically idle during the latter part of March. The Chinese had nearly all withdrawn to Kinchow, in the north, while the Japanese contented themselves with restoring order in Niuchwang and Ying-kow, and in completing the military arrangements consequent on the junction of the armies. Snowstorms prevented an intended advanced towards Kinchow.

The first of April therefore found the Japanese ready to act on the offensive at several points, spread over a distance of one thousand two hundred miles, and extending from the Pescadore Islands in the south to Niuchwang in the north. On the Liao River the combined forces numbered nearly forty thousand men, with a further strength of some ten thousand men on the Laio-Tung peninsula at Kinchow, Talien-wan and Port Arthur. The whole of these troops could be transported to Shan-hai-kwan in twenty-four hours, as soon as the port of Ying-kow was free from ice. There were no troops to be spared from the garrisons at Port Arthur or Wei-hai-wei, but further levies would undoubtedly be brought from Hiroshima to these places to await transport. The distance to Shan-hai-kwan from all these ports were short so that the troops could be closely packed for the short voyage. In a few days therefore, at least seventy-five thousand men could be concentrated at Shan-hai-kwan and the transports would be available for maintaining a supply service. At the same time the possession of the island of Chao-hua would facilitate the cutting of the line of Chinese communications between Manchooria and Peking. With Hai-chow held by the Japanese and threatening the line of communication from south to north by the Grand Canal and Japanese forces threatening Formosa and the south, the possibility of the repulse of an advance in force on Peking seemed very slight. It was the approach of these dangers and the final certainty that nothing else could be done to avert them that brought the Chinese at last to humiliate themselves and sue for peace at the hands of the Japanese.

THE NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE.

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John W. Foster in Japan—Failure of a Peace Embassy—Diplomatic Discussions—Foolish Pride—Li Hung Chang Again in Favor—His Journey—The Viceroy Knew China—The Envoy in Japan—Attempted Murder—The Mikado’s Appeal—What the Assault Indicated—Declaration of the Armistice—Provisions of the Armistice—Continuing Negotiations—Signing the Treaty—Its Terms—No Alliance of China and Japan—The Mikado Proclaims—Peacefulness Enjoined—What of the Future?—Ultimate Effect of the War.

While the war operations during the first three months of 1895 were in progress, peace negotiations too were actively under way. The annals of the hostilities which have occupied the last few chapters might have been interrupted by paragraphs telling of the progress and defeat of different efforts to secure peace; but it seemed more intelligible to the prospective reader to place him in full possession of the particulars of the military affairs as they developed, without interruption. Not until the end had nearly come did the peace negotiations for one moment interrupt hostilities, and there was consequently no need to interrupt the consecutive record. It now remains a final task to outline the various peace negotiations after those that have already been described, and follow oriental diplomacy to its conclusion.

We left the Chinese peace envoys lingering at Shanghai in January, after several weeks of idleness resulting from continual postponement of their departure. At last the imperial government abandoned its hope that something would intervene to destroy the necessity of a suit for peace, and the embassy was ordered to start. The Chinese peace envoys arrived at Kobe January 30, and were received by the Secretary of the Foreign Department. When the envoys came ashore, a mob greeted them with hostile demonstrations and they had to be protected by a large force of police. After consulting with Mr. Foster, their American adviser who had reached Kobe several days before, the envoys left in a special steamer for Ujina. The general tenor of Japanese opinion was that the negotiation would prove fruitless, as China was scarcely ready to accede to the Japanese demand. It was acknowledged however, that the present embassy showed a much more sincere desire for peace on the part of China than did the Detring mission which resulted in such a fiasco.

Ex-Secretary Foster was treated with especial courtesy during his stay at Tokio and Kobe. Mr. Foster exchanged many telegrams with the Chinese government in reference to the power and authority of Chang and Shao, the Chinese peace commissioners, regarding which the Japanese were all along very doubtful. The diplomatic contest promised to be stubborn. China did not seem to realize that Japan would demand a cession of territory, and it was anticipated that the humiliation of losing any of her continental domain would be more than she was willing to endure. Mr. Foster was frankly given to understand that unless ample powers were guaranteed by their credentials the envoys would not even be admitted to a hearing.

Count Ito and Viscount Mutsu who were appointed to treat with the Chinese peace envoys, received the credentials which were presented them as coming from the emperor of China, and found them to read as follows: “By decree we appoint you our plenipotentiaries, to meet and negotiate the matter with the plenipotentiaries appointed by Japan. You will, however, telegraph to the Tsung-li Yamen for the purpose of obtaining our commands, by which you will abide. The members of your mission are placed under your control. You will conduct the mission in a faithful and diligent manner, and fulfill the trust reposed in you. Respect this.”

It was immediately officially announced that the plenary powers with which the mikado’s government demanded that the Chinese envoys should be invested, were found to be utterly defective. The envoys were therefore refused further negotiations, and were requested to leave Japan without delay. It was believed by many that the Chinese envoys were quite ignorant of the trick that had been played upon them by their government. They supposed that they had been given full powers to treat for peace, but they found that not only had they no power either to conclude or sign a treaty, but that their credentials did not even contain an intimation of the purpose of the mission which they had to Japan. The ministers, however, told them that Japan was willing to reopen negotiations with a properly empowered embassy. The envoys therefore left Hiroshima after two days in the Japanese city, and returned home via Nagasaki.

The rebuff sustained by the Chinese envoys created some astonishment among the highest officials in Peking, but not much apparent concern. Just at this time, early in February, they were having glowing reports from General Sung in Manchooria. He claimed to have already beaten the Japanese on many occasions, and promised if well supplied with men and stores to drive every invader from Chinese soil. Japan’s excuse for refusing to treat with the envoys, scarcely satisfied some export diplomats. It was insisted that it would have been very unusual for any government to endow its agents with final powers as long as it was able to communicate with them daily and hourly if necessary by cable. The Chinese government once gave final powers to one of its ambassadors who went over to Russia to negotiate a boundary treaty, and his head would have been amputated when he returned to Peking, had it not been for the intercession of the Russian ambassador, who suggested that his government would resent such punishment inflicted upon a person so recently honored by the Czar. He offered at the same time to consider the treaty suspended, until the Chinese authorities might have an opportunity to examine it and suggest any changes they might like to have made. After this experience it was not likely that the emperor of China would confer final powers upon any ambassador. It was asserted that since modern forms of communication had been introduced, it has not been the custom to give final powers to agents who visit civilized nations. Therefore it was assumed that the objection raised in Japan to the credentials of the Chinese envoys was a diplomatic ruse for the purpose of gaining time for the Japanese generals to reach Peking. This was disproven by the cessation of efforts, which Japan might have made to reach Peking, but it may have been true that Japan wished to bring China into still further distress, so that her demands would be more surely granted.

The very important action was now taken by the Chinese emperor of restoring to Li Hung Chang all his honors which had been taken away, because of the succession of defeats in the early weeks of the war, and appointing him imperial commissioner to negotiate for peace with Japan. China then requested that the Japanese peace commissioners might meet Li Hung Chang at Port Arthur to conduct the negotiations at that place. A prompt reply was received from Hiroshima, in which the Japanese government absolutely declined to treat anywhere but upon Japanese soil. The Grand Council of the Chinese empire met on Sunday, February 24, and deliberated for several hours upon the question, “Shall the war with Japan be prolonged or shall we treat for peace?” It was resolved that before the council took a final decision, the same question should be put to all the provincial authorities, from the first to the third rank inclusive. Their opinion was urgently demanded by telegraph. The replies received were nearly all to the effect, that although the war was unjustly provoked by Japan, it was very desirable that peace should be concluded. Some of the replies, however, declared that the terms of peace should not be too exacting. China had learned something by her failures of two peace missions, Detring’s and the last embassy.

One of the ancient Chinese methods of waging battle was to play “Soft, voluptuous airs to melt the heart of the enemy.” How far China had advanced in practical wisdom might be gathered from her latest diplomatic manœuver which seemed to indicate that the Chinese diplomacy of the present followed the military usages of antiquity. Ever since the eventual triumph of the Japanese became a moral certainty, China had been given vague intimations of a desire to secure peace. These intimations unaccompanied by any definite terms were steadfastly ignored by Japan, until the Chinese government gave notice that it had sent a peace commission to the mikado. When the useless credentials of these commissioners were examined in Japan, they were turned back without consideration, and the Chinese pretended surprise at the treatment, asserting that Japan was simply seeking to further humiliate the empire. To unbiased observers it seemed quite as reasonable to believe that the Chinese were playing to gain time, meanwhile assailing the enemy with the “soft, voluptuous music of peace.” This policy of antiquated diplomacy was terminated abruptly.

Li Hung Chang’s star was again in the ascendant. Even as he journeyed towards Peking his calumniators continued their attacks. In Shanghai it was positively asserted that he was now given a chance to accomplish what he had long awaited, the overthrow of the Manchoorian dynasty in China. It was also declared that Kung, the disgraced Ex-Taotai of Port Arthur, had made a confession showing the traitorous designs of Li. It was said that Li had been leagued with the officials of the palace at Peking for the overthrow of the dynasty, ever since he was deprived of his yellow jacket, his peacock feather, and his various offices. All this now had no weight. The privy council heartily supported Li’s mission to Japan. Prince Kung silenced all opposition to it by presenting papers showing that the previous failure was due to a backward policy, for which the council were themselves to blame, and exonerating the viceroy. The emperor completely vindicated Li Hung Chang, confessing that he had tried others and found him alone trustworthy. He therefore granted him the fullest powers to deal with the Japanese. The central government publicly assumed the entire responsibility for the condition of the national defense, explaining it as the result of blindness to the progress of other nations. This placed future reforms in the hands of Li.

The American minister at Peking assumed a personal interest in the matter at this point, and telegraphed to Japan the text of Li Hung Chang’s proposed credentials. At last, after a tedious exchange of messages, the credentials were accepted by Japan and arrangements were made for the journey of the envoy. Li Hung Chang was received in audience by the emperor and the dowager empress five times within as many days, and in his conversations with them spoke frankly of the condition of the empire. His powers to negotiate were made complete, his commission bore the emperor’s signature, and on the fifth day of March he left Peking for Japan.

There were signs at last that the Chinese were beginning to recognize the imperative necessity of concluding peace with Japan. With their strongholds in Japanese hands and their fleet practically annihilated, the sooner they made submission the more easy would be the terms which they could obtain. It was therefore gratifying to all friends of the empire to learn that the viceroy had been appointed as envoy to proceed to Japan to discuss terms of peace. Holding a position second only to that of the emperor himself, it was impossible that the Japanese should refuse to treat with him on account of his inferior station, or his insufficient credentials. His mission was the first genuine attempt that China had made to open negotiations. It was a proof that Chinese pride and obstinacy had at length been overcome, and that there was a real willingness to take steps calculated to bring the disastrous war to a close.

But for the messenger himself! Surely history, which delights in setting at naught the hopes and filling the fears of men, never saw a sadder faring forth than the journey of Li Hung Chang to Japan. He was old now, paralytic, his side and arm half useless, his eyesight dim, his family long since gone, and all the fabric of empire to which his life had been given in ruins about him. He saved it once before in straits as great. He of Honan, Honan men about him, all come down from the central hills of China, sturdy and tall above the men of the plains whom they swept aside, Gordon and Ward aiding, leading and winning the early battles, but the work in the end done, and the rich harvest reaped by those sons of Honan whom Li Hung Chang found poor among their fields of tea and millet, and raised to half the posts of honor in China. That was thirty years ago. The great work spread and grew. The old boundaries of the empire were regained. The Russian advance in Asia retired for the first time in two centuries. On the Amoor it was halted. France retired discomfited. England treated Chinese frontiers with a new respect. In Burmah, in Siam, in Nepaul, Chinese aid was sought. The big empire was never so big, never looked so strong, never had more deference or outer respect since the days of the great Tai-Tsung, when China ruled from the Pacific to the boundary of the Roman empire, and the Roman empire extended to the Atlantic—two realms between the two oceans.

Through it all one man knew how hollow it was, Li Hung Chang. He pleaded for railroads and telegraphs. He bought war ships and ironclads. He urged that the old policy be reversed and the military and naval forces of the empire duly organized. For years he had seen the cloud gathering, and in the great quagmire of Chinese corruption and conservatism sought to make ready for it. It had been in vain. Army, fleet, and court had collapsed. Corea and Manchooria were conquered. If Peking was not occupied it was because Japan wished to leave some semblance of central authority with which to treat. Any war-fine could be levied by the victors; any vassalage exacted of the vanquished. Port Arthur could be made a Gibraltar. The policy of Peking could be controlled by Japan. Japan would dominate the Asiatic seacoast. The Japanese ambassador at Peking would be supreme whenever his government chose to speak.

All this was in the mind of the paralytic old man as he journeyed by land and sea. For forty years he had greatly ruled, a great empire was the greater for his work, and it had all come to this. Were the French tri-color to be near Berlin, and Bismarck wearily seeking peace at Paris, the tragedy were no less than that with Li Hung Chang as its central figure in the east.

Li Hung Chang spent a few days at Tien-tsin, and then passed on down the river to Taku, whence he sailed with his suite on March 15 for Shimonoseki. The viceroy sailed in royal state, with a suite of one hundred and thirty persons in two vessels. On the morning of the 19th they reached their destination in Japan. Shimoneseki is on the extreme southwestern coast of Japan and it was here that in the early '60s the foreign powers forced Japan to assent to certain indemnities demanded of the empire. Upon arriving, the envoy was immediately visited by the representatives of the Japanese foreign office, and later Li Hung Chang accompanied by his American adviser, John W. Foster, visited the Japanese minister of foreign affairs. This was the first time in his life that the venerable statesman of China had ever set his foot on other than Chinese soil.

The viceroy and his party were escorted to the foreign office by Mr. Inouye, who cordially greeted the statesman, and placed his services at his disposal. The party was received on landing by a guard of honor, and was taken to the foreign office in carriages under escort. The following day was spent by the peace envoys in examining each other’s credentials and powers. Both sides devoted much time and thought to this matter and were assisted by experts in matters of diplomacy and etiquette.

The Chinese letter of credential proved to be precisely what might have been expected from Chinese character. The phraseology had been repeatedly discussed through the ministers of the United States in Tokio and Peking and a form satisfactory to Japan agreed upon. Whether intentionally or not the Chinese had given more than one indication of waywardness in preparing the document. They were very particular in honoring their emperor with his proper title but they did not insert that of the emperor of Japan. Moreover they used an expression signifying that it was in consequence of Japan’s desire for peace that an ambassador was sent. This was not allowed to pass uncorrected. As finally amended the paper was virtually in accordance with Japan’s dictation.

In the end all the documents were found to be in due form, and polite notes to this effect were exchanged. Subsequently Li Hung Chang and his suite went ashore.

The viceroy was received with a military salute, and all the honors due to his exalted rank. He proceeded to the chief hotel, where accommodation had been prepared for him and part of his suite. Further communications passed on the morning of March 21, and at half past two in the afternoon the first business conference in connection with the peace negotiations began, Li Hung Chang, Count Ito, Viscount Mutsu, and their secretaries, together with the sworn interpreters being present. The deliberations which were conducted in secret, lasted for an hour and a half. There was much diplomatic fencing, Li Hung Chang being evidently anxious to ascertain at the earliest possible moment the terms upon which an armistice might be granted. Nothing occurred to suggest the possibility of a break down of the negotiations, and some gratifying progress was made towards a general understanding.

It must be remembered that during all this time there was no cessation in the war operations which were going on in Manchooria and on the Chinese coast. Fresh troops were being hurried forward from Japan for active service, and the war spirit gave no sign of subsidence. In Yokohama the success of the peace negotiations was regarded as doubtful. The military element, which was all in favor of the continuance of the war until the victory of the Japanese was made complete by the capture of Peking, had at that time a predominant voice in Japanese politics, and this feeling was reflected in parliament. Notice was given in the house of representatives of a resolution declaring that the time for peace negotiations had not arrived.

While negotiations were thus progressing, they were interrupted by an incident that amazed and shocked the civilized world. As Li Hung Chang was returning to his lodgings on March 24, after having attended a conference with the Japanese peace plenipotentiaries, he was attacked by a young Japanese who sought to murder him. The young man’s name was Koyama Rokunosuki, and he was but twenty-one years of age. The bullet struck the Chinese envoy in the cheek, and it was believed that the result would not be serious. The news of the attempt at assassination created much excitement in Japan, in China, and in the western world. The ministers of state and other officials visited Li Hung Chang without delay, to express their deep sorrow at the occurrence. Every precaution was taken by the police and military to prevent any trouble. The mikado was deeply grieved at the affair, and sent his two chief court physicians, Surgeons Sato and Ishiguro, to attend the Chinese envoy. The bullet entered the cheek half an inch under the left eye, and penetrated to a depth of nearly an inch and a half. The Chinese plenipotentiary strongly objected to undergoing an operation for its removal. The empress of Japan, to show her own regret, sent two nurses to assume the care of the old man, and from every side letters and telegrams of regret and sympathy arrived in great quantities.

Beside the physicians, the mikado sent the imperial chamberlain to convey his condolences to the viceroy, and to the public he issued the following proclamation:

“A state of war exists between our country and China, but she with due regard of international forms and usages sent an ambassador to sue for peace. We therefore appointed plenipotentiaries, instructing them to meet and negotiate at Shimonoseki. It was consequently incumbent upon us, in pursuance of international etiquette, to extend to the Chinese ambassador treatment consistent with the national honor, providing him ample escort and protection. Hence we issued special commands to our officials to exercise the utmost vigilance in all respects. It is therefore a source of profound grief and regret to us, that a ruffian should have been found base enough to inflict personal injury on the Chinese ambassador. Our officials will sentence the culprit to the utmost punishment provided by the law. We hereby command our officials and subjects to respect our wish, and to preserve our country’s fair fame from impairment by strictly guarding against a recurrence of such deeds of violence and lawlessness.”

The would-be assassin belonged to the class known as the Soshis, or political bravos, who are always ripe for any acts of riot or violence. When the attack was made, Li Hung Chang was in a palanquin being conveyed to his hotel from conference with the Japanese negotiators. He had nearly reached the house, when a young man rushed out of the crowd, and seizing the hand of one of the carriers in order to stop the palanquin fired his pistol almost point blank at the Chinese plenipotentiary. There was little room for hesitation as to his motives. He was a fanatic who thought to serve his country by murdering the Chinese statesman. No delusion, it is hardly necessary to say, could be more gross than such a one. The criminal had done a grievous injury to his country and its government. Japan had striven long, earnestly, and successfully, to earn the reputation of a civilized state. Nobody of course should be unjust enough to upbraid her with the conduct of an irresponsible and apparently an isolated malefactor. Individuals with ferocious passions and ill-balanced minds are to be found in all countries, and such a crime as this, deplorable and unusual though it was, might have occurred in any European capital or our own capital city under similar conditions. Nevertheless, there were those who chose to take it as an index of national feeling condemning the country for the act of one. The manner of the expressions of regret that came so universally from every Japanese voice seemed to offer sufficient disclaimer against the existence of any such a cruel sentiment. Resolutions were presented in the Japanese diet expressing deep regret at the attempt upon the life of the Chinese plenipotentiary, and the native newspapers were unanimous and sincere in the same expressions. It had to be recognized, however, that an element existed among such people as the Soshis, inclined to violence under such circumstances, and precautions were doubled. No government is adequate to control fanaticism of the extremer sort, and the attempt upon the life of Li Hung Chang was a symptom of the frenzy which had been engendered in a large element of the Japanese people by the war. It was now learned for the first time that Mr. Detring was attacked by a Soshi in November, but was defended by the police. He kept silence in order to avoid embittering the situation.

The immediate effect on the negotiations of the attempted assassination of Li Hung Chang was that the emperor of Japan on March 29, declared an unconditional armistice. This was avowedly done because of the attack on the Chinese plenipotentiary and was so declared in notifications which were sent to all countries and to all Japanese legations. The language of the notification thus sent out was as follows: “On the opening of the negotiations the Japanese plenipotentiary proposed armistice, which Japan was willing to accept on certain conditions. While this negotiation was going on, the untoward event happened on the person of the Chinese plenipotentiary. His majesty, the emperor, in view of this unhappy occurrence, commanded the Japanese plenipotentiaries to consent to a temporary armistice without conditions. This was communicated to the Chinese plenipotentiary.”

It was now felt that the power of the Japanese government to execute the armistice would be put a critical test. The military power of Japan, in the judgment of many intelligent observers, had almost outstripped the civil power during the war. This had caused serious concern as it was feared that the military element backed by the war spirit among the people would not submit to an armistice even if the civil authorities ordered one. To meet this emergency a change of army commanders was made early in March. There had been three army corps operating in different campaigns and each under a general of supreme authority over his particular campaign. Prince Komatsu was created commander-in-chief over all armies in anticipation of an armistice. The purpose of this step was to concentrate authority in one man in close touch with the imperial household who could thus execute an armistice by a simultaneous cessation of hostilities by the three armies. It now remained to be seen whether Prince Komatsu could execute the important commission given to him. The splendid discipline shown by the army during the war gave assurance that there would be immediate acquiescence by the military, and yet Prince Komatsu had to contend against a war spirit inflamed by many victories. It had been said that an armistice would be so unpopular among the people and soldiery that it would insure the political retirement of Japan’s two chief statesmen, Count Ito and Viscount Matsu, who had served as peace envoys.

On the opening of the negotiations, after the arrival of Li Hung Chang at Shimonoseki, the Japanese plenipotentiaries at first proposed the following conditions for the conclusion of an armistice:—The occupation of Shan-hai-kwan, Taku, and Tien-tsin by Japanese troops; Japanese control of the uncompleted railroad from Shan-hai-kwan to Tien-tsin and custody of the various forts and fortifications, together with the arms and ammunition; the payment by China of the war contributions required for such occupation.

Li Hung Chang sought to obtain more moderate conditions, but the Japanese plenipotentiaries refused, and it was then proposed to continue the negotiations without a suspension of hostilities. This was the stage which the negotiations had reached at the third conference, when the attempt was made on the life of Viceroy Li. In view of this circumstance the emperor of Japan waiving the conditions previously made ordered the Japanese plenipotentiaries to consent to an armistice until the 20th of April. The armistice was to apply to the forces in Manchooria and in the circuit around the Gulf of Pechili, including the two great promontories, but did not include any operations to the south of that region. Neither government was to be prevented from making any new distribution or disposition of their troops not intended to augment the armies in the field. The movement of troops and the transport of goods contraband of war by sea were, however, prohibited and if attempted would be made at the risk of capture. The armistice was to terminate should the peace negotiation be broken off in the meantime, and a convention embodying these terms was signed.

The news of the armistice was received excitedly by the Japanese and Chinese living in the United States, but only the former found it possible to concede the truth. A characteristic crowd of excited Chinamen gathered in front of a Chinese temple in their own quarter of New York City discussing a flaming red poster, the translation of which read: “The war between China and Japan has ended and it is time for every one to rejoice. Our fathers and brothers have fought the old enemy and those who have not been butchered will be honored at home. China is a greater country than Japan, and if the war had been allowed to go on the Japanese would have been whipped out of their boots and China would have annexed Japan as a colony. It is well for Japan that her people have been called off by the emperor, but the time will not be long before the war will be opened again, for it is written in the mystic language of the shrine that China and Japan cannot dwell forever on the same earth.”

During the time of Li Hung Chang’s illness resulting from his wound, his son, Li Ching Fung, acted as his representative in Japan and continued the negotiations. On April 7th the wound in Li’s face had completely healed and the bandages were removed. The young man who had committed the assault was sentenced to imprisonment for life at hard labor, while the chief of police and the prefect of Shimonoseki, together will all their staff, were dismissed in disgrace.

After three days of obstinate silence the assassin dropped his air of bravado and made a full confession to Judge Toyama, who conducted a private examination at the Bakan court. The prisoner declared that he had long brooded over the causes leading to the disturbance of peace in the east, and had reached the conclusion that the evil practices of Li Hung Chang were accountable for all of them, beginning with the mismanagement of affairs in Corea. He believed that as long as Li lived peace could not be restored and resolved at one time to go to China and kill the viceroy. This purpose was defeated by his inability to raise the necessary money, but when he learned that Li was coming to Japan as peace ambassador he felt that his opportunity had arrived. He bought a revolver in Yokohama, March 11, and the next day started for Tokio, reaching Bakan, March 24. At 4:15 o’clock that afternoon he approached the sedan chair in which the ambassador was returning from the conference hall to his lodgings in Shimonoseki and discharged his weapon, aiming it at the victim’s breast. Although he endeavored to steady his right arm by clasping it with the left, he missed his aim inflicting only a slight wound.

The conditions of the peace which was to be concluded by treaty now began to interest the civilized world almost as closely as the two contending nations. The conditions which were demanded by the Japanese were guessed at by every one who thought himself competent to form an opinion, and the varying opinions were sent out for discussion in the press of the world. At one time it was asserted to be arranged that Japan would conclude on offensive and defensive alliance with China, the object being to oppose European interests in the far east. This prospect occasioned considerable excitement among European diplomates. It was recognized that should China’s numbers and enormous resources be united to Japanese progression, activity, and administrative ability, the coalition would be almost impregnable to any assault that might be delivered upon it, and that it might enjoy excellent success in any Asiatic aggressions which it cared to attempt.

It will be unprofitable here to discuss the various conditions of peace that were supposed to be proposed when we have at our command the settlement that was actually made. Nor is it worth while to consider the threatened intervention of Great Britain and Russia and France and Germany, each to protect her own interests in the east, for as a matter of fact no such interventions were made unless through the most secret diplomacy. Inasmuch as Japan’s demands did not encroach upon any rights possessed by those countries in the east, there was no proper reason why they should intervene.