Li Guolou led his fifteen Goshha to leave the Dagukou Fort, and nearly 100 instructors and students of the Xinwutang had to study in Dagukou for a period of time. He didn't like to talk about pomp, the group did not carry signs of avoidance and silence, nor did they sound gongs to open the way, and even the Yellow Dragon banner of Qincha was folded up, and it was not 'inserted' on the carriage. There were only three carriages, two of which contained items for personal use, some of which were belongings of his subordinates, as well as some seafood, scallops, and tea given to him by Admiral Yulu.

Li Guolou adheres to the courtesy exchanges in the officialdom. He refused to accept any of the expensive gifts given to him by local officials. But as long as it is not a precious food, he still smiles at the food such as souvenirs. Human nature is still abided by, and if the water is clear, there are no fish, and we cannot live up to the hearts of our colleagues.

Four horses pulled a carriage, a coachman, a guard, and three carriages were six goshkha. The other nine Goshha rode on tall horses, with majestic guards in front of and behind the carriages, and behind each carriage there were three horses with empty saddles, a total of nine war horses, which were used for 'alternate' use.

Li Guolou, Xie Liya and Bai Lian sat in a carriage, lying on a soft couch, and hugged each other comfortably. The fatigue of the journey made them a little lazy, and they looked forward to returning to the mansion in Tianjin City as soon as possible. Now Li Guolou is the identity of the minister, and he can't even go home, even if he goes back to Beijing, he must first live in Xianliang Temple, see the emperor, and only after 'handing' the mission can he go home.

Li Guolou hugged the two beautiful girls, opened his mouth, and a candied fruit entered his mouth, chewing on a sour and sweet snack, and said with a smile: "With the two of you serving me, the journey is a lot easier, and I usually have to ride a horse to eat ashes." ”

Xie Liya rewarded Li Guolou with a 'kiss', and said with a smile: "Husband is so hard, of course the two of us have to serve you well." ”

Bai Lian was still dissatisfied, and glanced at it: "There is no minister like you in the world, and you don't talk about pomp at all, no wonder those soldiers and ruffians are not afraid of you." There is prestige to be powerful, and even the ministers in the drama know how to shake the figure-eight steps. ”

Li Guolou 'touched' his chin and said with a smile: "The Qincha in the drama is all three strands of beard, and your husband hasn't grown a beard yet." I am the only one in the world who does not rely on cute 'yin' to achieve my position, let me put up a stand in front of dozens of years old, and I still can't pull off this face. ”

The carriage shook, and Bai Lian fell into Li Guolou's arms, and said shyly: "Brother Xiaolou is dead, and he is making fun of me for automatically sending the 'door' again, I won't pay attention to you", ".

Li Guolou pinched the little face of the white lotus, and said embarrassedly: "Nine 'milk' and 'milk' have the thickest skin, and take a bath together at night." ”

The three of them flirted and scolded in the carriage, killing the time of the journey, but they did not expect that a death trap was waiting for them, someone wanted to put Li Guolou to death, and it was someone who had never had a grudge against Li Guolou.

All this is due to the fact that Li Guolou was born out of thin air, created the modernization and restructuring of the Qing Dynasty, and led the Qing Empire to modernization.

In December 1871, more than 60 Ryukyuan people were caught in a typhoon and drifted to southern Taiwan, 54 of whom were killed by the indigenous people of Taiwan, and the others were sent back to China by the Qing government.

In 1872, Japan coerced Ryukyu into becoming its "internal domain" and "canonized" Shotai as the king of the Ryukyu domain. Under the pretext that the Ryukyu drifters were killed in Taiwan, Japan, with the assistance of Charles Li Xiande, the US consul general in Xiamen, and Li Xiande, who claimed to be a Taiwan expert, immediately attacked the Qing government and lodged a strong protest against the Great Qing government.

In November 1873, the Japanese government sent the foreign secretary Vice-Shima Tanetomi to China, and the attaché Yanagihara Maemitsu went to the Ya'men of the Qing Prime Minister to inquire about the killing of the Ryukyu drifters. Under the pretext of "exchanging the "Repair Rules" between China and Japan, to probe the reality of the Qing court's understanding of Taiwan's sovereignty, Deputy Envoy Yanagihara deceived Prime Minister Mao' Changxi into not understanding the modern Western concept of sovereignty.

The Qing Dynasty was proud of digging a hole for itself without realizing it, and the excuse for Japan's invasion of Taiwan was the "theory that there is no owner in the land," that is, the four words expressed by the Qing court officials that "the land is not owned outside of the land and is not governed by poverty" was misinterpreted into "the land has no owner," which is not Chinese territory, so Japan can rely on it.

This is certainly a sophistry, but the sophistry of the Japanese government has a historical origin, which can be traced back to February 1867, when the American merchant ship "Corsair" was wrecked off the east coast of Taiwan, and the landers were killed by the local "Shengfan". The U.S. consul in Xiamen, Charles Li Xiande, approached the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, Yamen, to "negotiate", and the local officials of the Qing court, in order to shirk their responsibilities, put forward the theory that the local Tufan was "not returned to the king".

Li Xiande could not approve of the prevarication of the Qing court magistrates, and reproached: "Over the past two hundred years, the Chinese have gradually expanded their activities in Taiwan, cooperating with the Chinese government and Taiwan's administrative power, from the west coast to the east coast, and in fact have never recognized the sovereignty of Shengfan as the land where they now live, there is no basis for it", ". ”

Liu Mingdeng, the chief soldier of Fujian Taiwan Town, and Wu Dating, a concurrent scholar and politician of Fujian Taiwan Province, who directly 'dealed' with Li Xiande, said at the beginning of their memorabilia to the imperial court on this matter: "The land of life is full of birds and sheep intestines, and the forest is deep and dense, and it is rare for people to come and visit, and it has not been collected on the map. I set up a ban on earth cattle and strict entry and exit prevention, so the murderous and heavy human life, the intention is far-reaching. ”

These magistrates, who are deeply influenced by China's traditional view of the world and ignorant of the concept of territorial sovereignty in the modern world, smugly think that they have found an excellent reason to shirk responsibility for the incident.

So in the twists and turns, he wishfully thought: "The people are not Chinese, the land is not the inside, the Keri is tried, all difficulties are handled, the reason is reasonable, and the foreigners should also forgive." ”

This way of categorical governance of the people, acquaintance, and birth, as well as the political discourse system of "outside" and "inside" derived from it, are all based on the degree and boundaries of the rituals of education, and have nothing to do with the boundaries. Therefore, in the eyes of the Qing court, it is not inappropriate to describe the "Fandi" in eastern Taiwan as "unreturned to the king" and "outside the life of Fanhua", and it can be regarded as a successful 'negotiation' that is worth learning from.

The American consul Li Xiande could not forgive him, he could not understand the Qing court officials' view of the world, and could only interpret the failure of Fandi to be the quibble of the Qing court magistrates: "Fandi is not China's territory, so China is not responsible for the killing of American sailors by Fanren."

In Li Xiande's view, this way of shirking responsibility is simply unreasonable.

Japan's ill-intentioned play of 'tricking' the Qing court's outdated view of the world was exactly what the Japanese hoped for the Qing court's reaction, and the Taiwanese magistrates did not realize that this matter was related to China's territorial sovereignty in eastern Taiwan.

It was not until May that the Qing court 'discerned' Japan's true intentions. The Japanese army sent a note to Li Henian, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, to send a note to the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, but was unexpectedly counterattacked by Li.

After May 11, Li successively sent a note to Saigo Congdao, saying: "The headquarters has investigated the whole of Taiwan and has been subordinate to the territory of our country for a long time. Although there is a difference between raw and cooked aborigines, they have been eating 'Mao' and practicing the soil for more than 200 years: all plants, animals, and inhabitants in the territory, regardless of those who are born in the soil or from outside, should be governed by local laws. According to these articles, Taiwan is China's territory, and it must be subject to Chinese law, and it is not allowed to let other countries act as conspirators. The Japanese lieutenant general hereby sent a note stating that he had killed the refugees in Taiwan and was ordered to lead his troops deep into Fandi and kill the murderers as punishment. However, since the whole of Taiwan belongs to China, Japan's national government did not discuss with the Prime Minister Ya'men what to do, and ordered the troops to go forward, which not only violated the public law of all countries, but also did not agree with the first and second articles of the peace treaty exchanged in the 10th year of Tongzhi. ”

Li Henian's sudden toughness was due to the Western countries' suggestions to the Qing court: first, the British ambassador to China, Wittmar, sent a letter to Prime Minister Ya'men on April 18, informing the Qing court that Japan had sent troops to Taiwan, and asked in the letter whether "the place where Shengfan lived was subordinate to the Chinese territory"; Later, the British and French envoys, as well as the chief tax secretary Hurd, also went to the prime minister's ya'men to ask whether the place where Taiwan was living was Chinese territory.

Of particular importance was the fact that the British, through their envoys to China, informed China of the information that had been learned from the British ambassador to Japan, Pashali: "The internal statement is based on the opinion of the East. The island of Taiwan is from a certain place in Dinan, and it is not part of China's territory."

Wei Tuma emphasized that the Qing court's determination of Taiwan's sovereignty and other aspects is closely related to Britain's foreign 'diplomatic attitude' toward this matter. If China believes that Fandi is not part of China's territory, then the British government does not impose any restrictions on the British people to assist Japan in sending troops to Taiwan; If the Qing court determined that Taiwan belonged to China's territory, the British government would explicitly prohibit the British people from participating in the Japanese army's dispatch to Taiwan. The views of France and the United States are broadly similar to those of the United Kingdom.

For this reason, the Qing court issued an edict on May 14, stating: "The place of birth is under the jurisdiction of China, and Japan will not be allowed to watch it." ”

He also sent Shen Baozhen to lead the steamship army, in the name of patrolling, to inspect the area around Shengfan in Taiwan, "silently 'lust', and the camera was prepared." Li Henian's strong note on May 11 was completely consistent with the later edict to the 'spirit' of God. Britain, France, and the United States also sent notes to the Qing court, expressing their dissupport for Japan's actions.

But Li Henian apparently still has no idea what territorial sovereignty is. A later chapter returns to the old tune of "Fandi is not within the boundary" in the world's view: "However, it is easy to open and easy to kill, and the hinterland of Fandi is distinguished, and if the Japanese soldiers disturb the hinterland of Taiwan, they should be the governor of the town and encourage the corps to work together to block and suppress." If it is only in the name of killing Ryukyu refugees. Revenge with life, but according to the theory of the contract, do not speak up for the crime, so as not to provoke the self. ”

This distinction between "Fandi" and "hinterland" will inevitably be misinterpreted by Japan as having no owner of Fandi. Therefore, on June 5, Prime Minister Ya'men issued another edict, sternly emphasizing: "Although Fandi lives in a deserted country and is under the territory of China, it harms Japanese refugees. If it is said that the country is only seeking revenge with Shengfan, and does not disturb the hinterland, and then it is allowed to fight with each other, it will be despised by foreign countries, and even more coveted. The provocation is indispensable, and the system cannot be lost. The governor should only follow the theory of the covenant and prevent the return of the army, and make peace with the tun, and not let the land be different from the hinterland, and let it act arbitrarily. ”

The concepts of "Fandi" and "hinterland" in the world view must be subordinated to territorial sovereignty in the world view. This was the clearest statement of the Qing court that Taiwan was Chinese territory, and it played the most crucial role in thwarting the Japanese invasion of Taiwan later.

The matter finally stabbed the prime minister's ya'. After the meeting, the premier's ya'men did not negate the wording of the 'exchanges' in Fujian and Zhejiang, but at the same time, he instructed the relevant officials in Fujian and Zhejiang in a secret letter, and specifically emphasized the issue of the ownership of Taiwan's Shengfan region: "Although it is not a legal rope, its territory is the land of the Qing Dynasty, and the debate with the consul of that country should not 'revea' the theory that it is not China's territory, so as to cause foreigners to have their hearts."

In the political discourse system of the Prime Minister's Ya'men': 1. Taiwan's "Shengfan" area belongs to the land of the Qing Dynasty and is undoubtedly the territory of the Qing Dynasty.

2. "Shengfan" has not been returned to "Wanghua", and Chinese law cannot govern "Shengfan". The two can coexist, and the latter is not a negation of the former. The former is similar to the territorial sovereignty claims of the modern West, while the latter is based on the traditional Chinese view of the world.

In the traditional system of the world view, the general outline is the whole world, not the royal land, and the central dynasties of the past dynasties regard themselves as the center of civilization. Radiating outward from the center, there are different levels depending on the degree of civilization.

In turn, it includes: Fan, Miao, Yi and local Tusi who live in their places and defend the territory for the country;

the four-descended vassals who guard the 'gate' household and pay tribute;

Beyond the vassals is the unknown. Its classic description is: the Qing Dynasty lives in the middle of the world, and the four Yi live in the middle of the world. China and the people of the five directions are "the world" and live together in the "four seas". There is no specific limit of territorial sovereignty in this "view of the world," and everything depends on the degree of "civilization and enlightenment."

Yanagihara Maemitsu proposed: "In the land of Taiwan, only half of the people governed by your country are on the island, and in the eastern part of the country, your country has not exercised any political power, and the people of your country still maintain an independent state. In the winter of the previous year, our people drifted to this place and were plundered and killed by them, so our government will send an envoy to ask for the guilt. ”

Prime Minister Ya'men Minister 'Mao' Changxi replied: "The killing of the people of Liumin has heard about it. The husband and the two islands belong to the land, and the people who belong to the land kill each other, and the verdict is on me. I have my own measures for the people, so why bother to ask about your state affairs? ”

Yanagihara Maemitsu argued that Ryukyu was already part of Japan, and that the Qing government should punish the people who killed the Ryukyuans.

'Mao' Changxi said: "The murderers are all born, so they are left alone." None of them accept the king. ”

Yanagihara Maemitsu said: "If you are born and hurt people, your country will not be treated, but I will ask the people of the island to sin." ”

The Qing Dynasty ignored Japan's protests for the simple reason that Ryukyu and Taiwan were both vassal states of the Qing Dynasty and did not need to be irresponsible for Japan.

The Japanese cabinet had already drawn up a plan to invade Taiwan, and two years earlier than the early morning in Japan, it had purchased two British-built cruisers to build a modern navy. Japan was vigorously fighting its troops, and at the moment when Taoguang was raising a strategy to 'blind' the Qing Empire, the Qing Dynasty suddenly gave birth to a financial management minister, Li Guolou, to build the Qing Empire built by new ideas. This frightened the Japanese cabinet, and under the planning of Yanagihara Maemitsu, an assassination of the minister Li Guolou had quietly begun.