Although the Qing knew that it would inevitably pay a heavy price for the mediation of the five European and American countries, the Qing government could not care much when the Liaodong Peninsula had been actually occupied by the Japanese and the center of the empire had been directly targeted by the Japanese soldiers.

After the Japanese government made territorial claims and offered an indemnity of up to 300 million taels, the Qing government immediately asked the ministers of the five countries for help. Since the guarantee of the territorial integrity of the Qing State was agreed upon by the five countries, the envoys of the five countries immediately visited the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and raised objections to the vice foreign minister.

"The Japanese occupation of the Liaodong Peninsula not only threatened the security of the Qing capital, but also rendered the independence of Korea in name only, creating a clear obstacle to permanent peace in the Far East," the dissent said.

Taiwan and the Penghu Islands were the southern barrier of the Qing Dynasty and an important point on the Far Eastern shipping route, and in order to maintain stability in the region, governments wanted Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to maintain the status quo.

Therefore, the governments of the five countries advised the Japanese Government to give up its territorial claims to the Qing Government, and expressed support for the other demands of the Japanese Government. ”

The words sounded good, but the actions were not so friendly, and the Russian Far Eastern Fleet set out from Vladivostok to patrol the sea outside the Qing country and the Japanese god to demonstrate.

Although there was some dissatisfaction with such reckless actions of the Russians, it was agreed that the French would support Russia vigorously, and Britain, the United States and Germany would turn a blind eye to the Russians' actions, and said that if necessary, the Chinese fleet of the British Royal Navy and the Far East Fleet of the German Royal Navy would also act together to assist the Russian Far East Fleet.

In the face of the aggressive deterrence of the five countries by force, the Japanese did not dare to resist at all. In fact, the Japanese already knew that the great powers were colluding with each other when the negotiations between the five countries began in Berlin, and the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which had received the report from Shuzo Aoki, did not raise its vigilance, but it was not that no one expected that such a thing might happen.

Gonbei Yamamoto mentioned to Ito Hirobumi: "The talks between Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States in Berlin must be aimed at the current war between us and the Qing state, and they will intervene for their own interests, and we have no ability to compete with the five countries, so no matter what they ask, we can only accept it." ”

Ito Hirobumi could only smile bitterly and say, "Yes, you can also see that we have no other way but to endure." If we can't achieve our goal this time, we will have to wait for the next opportunity. ”

Therefore, in the face of the aggressiveness of the five countries this time, Ito Hirobumi asked the army boss Aritomo Yamaguchi and the navy boss Saigo to give three plans and asked them about their views: "We now have three choices, first, categorically reject the demands of the five countries. 2. Convene an international conference and refer the issue to the conference for discussion. 3. Accede to the demands of the five countries. ”

And Ito Hirobumi actually had a plan when he was talking with Yamamoto Gonbei, and at this time, he was also worried about the end of the war, so he first expressed his opinion before Yama Prefecture Aritomo and Saigo Congdao answered: "The first one is not advisable, the navy of the Lu people is about to move, and the army is also beginning to assemble in Heilongjiang."

And even if the Qing State agreed to cede Taiwan, the French would not give up, although the British and the Independents did not make any moves, but since the five countries reached an agreement, if we really refused, then they would inevitably advance and retreat together.

If the British and the Nationalist navy were to join in, our navy would be wiped out without any ability to resist. At that time, the army could not be withdrawn from Korea, and the empire was in danger.

The second point, I don't think it is meaningful, because the five countries are united, and even if an international conference is held, they will still have the final say. So I personally think we should accept their requests.

Of course, we can't confront the five countries, but we can't let the Qing state think that if the five countries interfere, we are weak and can be bullied, and we must have a tough attitude when negotiating with the Qing state. ”

Historically, in the face of the intervention of the three countries, Japan can still count on the British, although the British did not shed muddy waters in order not to fall out with the three countries, but also gave the Japanese hope to maneuver, and now that the five countries have joined forces, Ito Hirobumi has no room for maneuver at all.

Yama Prefecture Aritomo and Saigo said everything they could say from Michimi Ito Hirobumi, and there was nothing to object, so they could only report to the emperor like this, and Meijimi's prime minister, army and navy leaders all said that they could only do this, and they had no choice but to agree.

Ito Hirobumi then instructed Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu to "lie down and taste the guts" in four words. Since there was no hope for territorial claims, the Japanese had to take a tough stance against the Qing state.

The Japanese side warned the Qing government that Japan would no longer make territorial claims against the Qing state, and that the Japanese side had made "such heavy concessions," so the rest of the demands would not change in the slightest, and if the Qing government still refused to allow them, then there would be no sincerity in negotiations, and if the time came, there would be another war.

At this time, the Qing government's psychological bottom line for the indemnity was 100 million taels of silver, and the Japanese side asked for such a high price, begging for an appropriate reduction in the indemnity, and said that Japan's demand for 300 million taels of indemnity was the military expenditure consumed in the war with the Qing State, but in fact, there was neither an account nor a breakdown of how much money the Japanese government spent, and the actual amount must be far less than this figure, so the Qing State could not agree to the indemnity of 300 million taels.

In the end, the two sides bargained and reached a consensus on compensation of 200 million taels.

At this time, how could the Qing government come up with so much cash, and when it was anxious and at a loss, the five countries jointly proposed to provide loans to the Qing government, 200 million taels of silver, and each country took out 40 million taels, that is, 10 million pounds, with an annual interest rate of 4 and a half percent.

Originally, the five countries were ready to force the Qing government to pay off the principal and interest in 45 years, but Germany said that 45 years was too long, and the amount of 300 million taels was too huge, rather than let the Qing government be in debt and difficult to repay, it was better to take a step back and let the Qing government pay off within 20 years, as compensation, Germany demanded to increase Qingdao as a German treaty port, and allowed the German Far East Fleet to anchor in Jiaozhou Bay.

As soon as the Russians saw that they could still do this, and they didn't have to pay the money themselves, most of the money was paid by the Germans, so I would simply change something else, so I also proposed to allow the Qing government to pay it off within 20 years, and as compensation, Russia wanted to obtain the right to cross the North Manchuria of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

This requirement was originally a clause in the Sino-Russian Secret Treaty reached between the Qing and Russia in 1896 with the goal of defending Japan, but now it is such a good time for the Trans-Siberian Railway, which was difficult to construct after the construction of the construction began in 1891, to move the line south and build part of the line in the territory of the Qing State, which can not only reduce the difficulty of construction, but also use the cheap labor of the Qing State to reduce the construction cost.

The French also lowered the repayment period, once demanded that Keelung be opened up as a French treaty port, and leased Keelung Port as a base for the French Far East Fleet, which can be regarded as the fulfillment of the French dream of Taiwan.

Britain asked to lease Weihaiwei, so that the Chinese fleet would have Weihaiwei, an excellent military port closer to the heart of the Far East, in addition to Hong Kong, the home port of the Chinese fleet.

Everyone was like this, and the Americans had no choice but to follow, but the Americans did not make any Lend-Lease demands, but said that the United States enjoyed the same preferential policies as the great powers in the sphere of influence of various countries.

At this time, the Qing government had no choice, and it was much better to accept the demands of the five countries than to cede the land, pay 300 million taels in compensation, and pay the principal and interest for a full 45 years, and the Qing government finally agreed to the demands of the five countries.

In this way, a total of 200 million taels of silver equivalent to about 50 million pounds of loans, each country will lend a lump sum to the Qing State, so that the Qing State will pay off the indemnity in a lump sum at an annual interest rate of 4.5 thousandths, and repay it within 20 years, with a total cumulative repayment amount of about 55 million pounds.

Although considering that the British would inevitably use a series of financial means to devalue silver, thereby causing the Qing government to lose more silver, the current situation is clearly better than the actual outflow of silver in history of more than 400 million taels.

In fact, the historical "Treaty of Shimonoseki" could have not ceded Taiwan, and there was no need to take out the so-called "redemption" of 30 million taels of silver in Liaodong.

Before Li Hongzhang and Japan reached a treaty, but before the treaty came into effect, Russia, Germany and France had already begun to intervene, the Russians said that they could keep Liaodong, and the French said that they could keep Taiwan, so that the Qing government should not rush to change the treaty.

However, incompetent, afraid of death, and ruining the Han people, Prince Gong and Prince Qing led the lord and faction to bewitch Guangxu to immediately change the treaty and let the treaty take effect, so that he could feel at ease as soon as possible, and the Qing State also lost Taiwan and paid an extra 30 million taels of silver.

Although a lot of demands have been put forward by the five countries now, these demands will be put forward by them in the future anyway, and the difference is just a little earlier and a little later, and in general, the situation is much better than in history.

Jochen was also very happy when he heard the news, of course, not because he was glad that the Qing government's losses were not as bad as the "Treaty of Shimonoseki" in history, but now not only the Russians and the Japanese were facing each other, but even the French and the Japanese were extremely disgusted, because the Taiwan that the Japanese wanted was now leased by France to the port of Keelung, which actually meant that Taiwan had become a French sphere of influence.

If the Japanese wanted to go south in the future, they would have to confront the Qing and France in the Taiwan region, that is, in fact, there would be an additional barrier on top of the Philippines, which the Germans wanted to obtain. It is impossible for the Japanese to covet the Philippines when Taiwan is not in their hands, and even if Japan and France were on the same front during World War I, it is impossible for the Japanese to use Taiwan without any guilt, and this also provides a certain convenience for Germany's defense in Southeast Asia at that time. RS