In the past, he only knew about military affairs, but after he was stationed in Korea, he came into contact with the economy, trade, diplomacy, and finance. He is willing to learn, which is different from learning Baguwen, and he has a strong learning ability to learn these practices. After leaving North Korea, he has become familiar with and exposed to a wide range of businesses. This gave him a valuable personal quality resource for his later life.

Fate always favored Yuan Shikai, and as soon as he left North Korea, the situation changed abruptly.

On July 25, 1894, that is, June 23, the 20th year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, the Japanese navy suddenly attacked Chinese warships and troop carriers off the coast of Toshima Island off Asan Pass, provoking a war against China.

On 28 July, it attacked the Chinese troops stationed in Asan.

On 1 August, China declared war on Japan, and the Sino-Japanese War officially broke out.

Due to poor preparation and little knowledge of Japan's forces and combat power, the war began with a series of defeats.

Within the Qing Dynasty, there has always been the main battle faction and the main peace faction. Li Hongzhang is the main and faction, although Yuan Shikai does not belong to the main and faction, but he is Li Hongzhang's person, whether he wants it or not, in the eyes of the people, he must be the main and faction.

The battle was not fought well, but the main battle faction did not want to take responsibility for the defeat.

When did so many people pop up in Japan? When did you gather such a strong combat force? How did we not know? Why didn't anyone tell us? Whose responsibility is this? Who is in charge of this?

Yuan Shikai! What does Yuan Shikai eat? What did Yuan Shikai do?

It just so happened that Yuan Shikai was Li Hongzhang's person, and the main battle faction pointed the finger at Yuan Shikai for accountability.

Send someone to check, first check the incoming and outgoing telegrams.

Seeing Yuan Shikai's self-righteous and subjective judgment of the Japanese situation in the early stage, Yuan Shikai's responsibility seems to be getting bigger and bigger.

Some people even asked, is this Yuan Shikai a traitor? Isn't it a foreign country? How do you have such a tacit understanding with the Japanese? One telegram after another, each more infuriating, each more shocking.

Killing Yuan Shikai's head to thank the world has almost become the consensus of the main battle faction, and the call is getting louder and louder. Seeing the ironclad evidence, the people of the Lord and the faction also quickly shut their mouths, and they were also very angry with Yuan Shikai. How can Yuan Shikai be like this? On the issue of holding Yuan Shikai accountable, the main battle faction and the main peace faction seem to have reached a consensus.

However, Yuan Shikai was lucky, because. Just when the responsibility and the charges were about to be confirmed 100 percent, his telegram asking for more troops came out.

No one is a god, and no one can pinch and calculate. It should not be surprising that Japan's prior conspiracy and planning were not known.

Japan marched into Korea on a large scale, and Yuan Shikai reported it in time.

In fact, we know that Yuan Shikai's telegram was not intended to warn and report the military situation at home, but mainly to provide an excuse for himself to slip away. But by mistake, this telegram saved Yuan Shikai at a critical moment.

As we said, Yuan Shikai is lucky, and the balance of luck is always tilted in his favor.

In this war between China and Japan, the Chinese side has lost one after another.

In November 1894, Japan had already entered northeastern China. The Qing army was defeated and retreated.

During the Sino-Japanese War, Yuan Shikai was arranged by Li Hongzhang in the transit bureau to be responsible for raising food and ordnance. It's hard to verify how well you did it, but you can run faster than the average person.

From Jiulian City on the Yalu River, retreat to Phoenix City, retreat to Liaoyang, retreat to Xinmin Hall, and retreat to Tianjin.

I can't defeat them, so I can only ask for an armistice and negotiate peace. In February 1895, the Qing court dismissed Li Hongzhang from his post as governor of Zhili and minister of Beiyang. He was appointed Ambassador First and Plenipotentiary and went to Japan to make representations.

Li Hongzhang set off for Shimonoseki, Japan, on 14 March, where he was stabbed and nearly lost his life in a foreign land.

What say can the defeated side have? It's a thankless chore.

On 17 April, after some negotiations with Japan, Li Hongzhang signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which has always been called a loss of power and humiliation of the country.

Negotiation is not only a contest in front of the negotiating table, but also a contest of national strength.

According to the Treaty of Shimonoseki, China was to recognize Japan's control over Korea and cede the Liaodong Peninsula, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to Japan; Compensation for Japan's military expenses was 20,000 taels of silver.

Four treaty ports were added: Shashi, Chongqing, Suzhou and Hangzhou. Japanese ships can sail along inland waterways to these ports, and Japan can set up factories in treaty ports.

When the news came, the whole country was in an uproar.

The treaty greatly hurt the national feelings and self-esteem of the Chinese people. Grief and indignation, they demanded the abolition of this treaty and resolutely fought a bloody battle against the Japanese to the end.

As mentioned earlier, within the Qing Dynasty, there have always been two major factions. One is the Western-style school represented by Li Hongzhang, and the other is the Qing school represented by Li Hongzao.

Li Hongzhang and Li Hongzao, the name is only one word apart, many people think they are brothers, but they are not.

Li Hongzao: The word Lansun, the number Shisun, Yanzhai, is a native of Baoding, Hebei. In the second year of Xianfeng, he was awarded the editor, supervised the Henan school and politics, and was promoted to the waiter in the first year of Tongzhi. Deeply trusted by Galeries Lafayette, he was successively promoted to the Cabinet Bachelor. Zuo Shilang of the Department of Household Affairs, plus the prince Shaobao; At this time, he was serving as the secretary of the ministry.

Li Hongzhang is a native of Hefei, Anhui Province.

Although they are all important ministers of the imperial court, not only are they not related, nor are they from the same place, but they are precisely mortal enemies.

At this time, Li Hongzao, who was angered by the Treaty of Shimonoseki, the official of the dynasty, repeatedly went to the court and killed Li Hongzhang to thank the world.

Amid the condemnation of the people of the whole country and the imperial court, Li Hongzhang hid at home and did not dare to go out.

It is not enough to kill his head, and Li Hongzhang's political life should have begun to decline.

People are like this, when they are powerful, they naturally have friends all over the world, and there is an endless stream of guests at home. However, at this point today, there are no more doors.

This is actually very normal, you are powerful, and people are talking to you, not to you as a person. You have no power or power, what are people still talking to you for?

How could Li Hongzhang not know the reason for this.

It's just that when it comes to the end, there is still some sadness and the world is cold.

But Yuan Shikai is not such a person, after returning to Tianjin, he immediately prepared a heavy gift to visit Engong.

If this is on weekdays, in the days when Lord Li Hongzhang is full of scenery, this must be an ordinary thing and a must.

For a neighbor like Yuan Shikai, the first thing he did when he came back from outside was not to go to him, that was a strange thing!

However, this is no longer the case.

"I'm here, I'm here, what else do you bring?" Li Hongzhang said movingly.

"Lord Zhongtang, I bought some souvenirs along the way, a few Korean ginseng, it's not a rare thing." Yuan Shikai put down the things in his hand.

"Nephew Wei Tingxian, you just returned to Tianjin, right? At this time, it's rare that you can still ......"

Li Hongzhang shook his head, as if he hadn't thought of what words to express.

"Lord Zhongtang, you are kind to the younger generation, higher than the sky and deeper than the sea, without the protection of your old man, how could I Yuan Shikai be today. Besides, if you can't fight a war against others, you want to stop the war and make peace, but you don't agree to some conditions and give them some benefits, okay? Somebody has to talk, somebody has to sign. It's just that it has been received on behalf of others, on behalf of the country and the court. ”

Yuan Shikai's words were reasonable and spoke to Li Hongzhang's heart.

"Hey! It's such a thing, others don't think so! Li Hongzhang let out a long sigh.

"The mouth grows on someone else, and whoever wants to say something will let him say it. We are worthy of our hearts, and we have the right to be the wind in our ears. "Yuan Shikai is very good at comforting people.

For several days, Li Hongzhang was very bored and in a bad mood, and when he talked to Yuan Shikai, he was in a much more cheerful mood. Thinking that he would not be able to help Yuan Shikai in the future. When sending Yuan Shikai away, he told Yuan Shikai to pay special attention to having a good relationship with the two of them.