Before the First Sino-Japanese War, there were only three influential countries in Korea, one was the Manchu Dynasty, one was Japan, and the other was Russia. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

The relationship between the Manchus and Korea was very complicated, with a very traditional suzerainty system, and later signed treaties such as extraterritoriality, but in comparison, the relationship between the Manchus and the Korean government and the people was relatively harmonious, because this traditional relationship lasted for hundreds of years, and both sides were accustomed to it, and both found their own status.

The Korean government was relatively more trusting of the Manchus, and powerful ministers like Daewonjun, even if they were supported by the Japanese to ascend to the throne, when Japan and the Manchus went to war, they also tried every means to transmit information to the Manchus; The nationalist movement of the Dongxue uprising demanded expulsion from even Chinese. It is a psychological closeness that is unimaginable in later generations. The same sentiment is felt in Vietnam. The so-called same language and same species is not just a slogan, it can really affect people's psychology. After World War II, Western countries also began to develop this kind of worldview diplomacy, playing diplomatic cards such as values everywhere.

Even the elites of Japan, who were tainted with Western national views, needed to constantly publicize to the people in order to make the people Baoding determined to go to war with the Manchus.

Of course, there must be discordant things, for example, the Koreans also have their own little Jiujiu, when they saw that Japan defeated the Manchu Qing, the Korean court even dreamed of entering the Central Plains, and the Korean king imagined that one day he could rule the world. Vietnam must have this idea. But this kind of thinking proves from the opposite side that they naturally regard themselves as people like Chinese.

In the official records of Vietnam, if it is a letter to the Central Plains country, the Vietnamese Chinese are called the Chinese, and the Vietnamese are called the Yue people, but in their own records, they refer to the Vietnamese as the Chinese, and the local Chinese as the Tang people.

The Koreans also claim to be Little China, how can they not have the ambition to enter the Central Plains and turn themselves into Greater China.

So under the impetus of the Japanese, when they changed the name of the country to the Korean Empire, they were really happy, and now they are on an equal footing with the Central Plains countries, so the next step is to rule the world. They didn't feel the slightest sense of crisis about their situation, which was really tainted with the style of the Boss Empire.

In the face of the danger of partition by the great powers, there was also a faction similar to the Chinese Western-style faction in Korea, called the Enlightenment Party, but unlike China's Western-style faction, the Korean Enlightenment Party was completely pro-Japanese, and they saw the power of reform and Westernization from the Japanese gods, so they sought power politically with the help of Japan's strength, while trying to promote North Korea to follow Japan's comprehensive Westernization.

In opposition to the Kaihua Party were the diehards headed by Dayuanjun, who used to be called the Shida Party, adhered to the doctrine of Shida, and adopted a position of being close to and loyal to the Qing Dynasty, the suzerain.

In addition, there is a faction, is the Concubine Min group, Concubine Min gained political power as a concubine, and she actually did not have a clear political tendency. But then Japan was not satisfied with her either, and he began to appoint some new figures, but the new school of people he appointed was different from the pro-Japanese Kaihwa Party, but a group dominated by diplomats sent by North Korea to Europe and the United States.

Obviously, the Min Concubine group, which is similar to Cixi's political group, has no political pursuit, and the only pursuit is power, so in order to fight Su Shun and other powerful ministers, Cixi united with Westernists like Devil Liu, and supported the Westernists very much, and later used the diehards to fight the Westernists, always maintaining a certain degree of detachment, so that both parties had to rely on her.

Concubine Min was too far behind Cixi's level, so she tried to organize her forces again and again, and was fought again and again, although she also succeeded in many struggles, but she was always unable to firmly grasp the power like Cixi.

In the struggle between these three forces, the DPRK is in a chaotic state of affairs, let alone any reforms, and it cannot even achieve the most basic stability, and even the most basic stability at the top.

From 1894 to 1895, after the end of the Sino-Japanese War, Japan made a big splash in Korea, and in October of that year, the Japanese ronin broke into the Korean palace and killed Concubine Min. In 1896, Daewon-kun received double guarantees from the Ming Dynasty and Germany to lease Busan to Germany, but under subsequent pressure, he was deposed, and although Japan later had to acquiesce to the fact that Germany seized Busan, it further controlled the Korean court, and the pro-Japanese faction covered the sky with one hand, and began a series of reforms in the name of enlightenment; However, in February, the king of Joseon could not bear the bullying of Japan and the pro-Japanese bureaucrat Kim Hongji supported by Japan and ran to the Russian legation.

During his stay at the Russian Embassy, King Yi Hee of Korea ordered the arrest of the five rebel ministers, that is, the pro-Japanese faction led by Kim Hongji, and the Korean people staged a riot and killed Kim Hongji, and the other ministers either died or fled to Japan. Later, North Korea established a pro-Russian regime with Kim Jun-sik as prime minister and Ri Wan-yong as foreign minister.

After completing the liquidation of the pro-Japanese faction, Li Xi still lived in the Russian legation, for the simple reason that his palace was too unsafe, and the incident of Japanese ronins storming the palace and killing his wife made him too stimulated. It is impossible for him to return to the palace without a guarantee of safety.

It was not until 1897, after a full year in the Russian consulate, that he was able to return to the palace, because Russia had reached an agreement with Japan.

At this point, Japan had to take a step backwards in its infiltration of Korea and had to acquiesce in the status quo that the Korean court was controlled by pro-Russian ministers.

But they will definitely not be reconciled.

Unexpectedly, the following year, in 1898, Russia and Germany won the right to build a railway in Korea, which Japan could not tolerate. Japan did not have the funds to build a railway in Korea, but it also did not want to see Russia and Germany build a railway in Korea, so they strongly opposed Russia and Germany to build a railway in Korea, and actively lobbied the Korean government to take back the railway, and Japan expressed its willingness to support North Korea in building its own railway.

However, at this time, it was clear that North Korea had reached some agreements with Russia and Germany, and it was not these three countries that had previously obtained the right to build railways in Korea, but France, which had the right to build a railway from Gyeongshi to Incheon, and now the right to build this railway was transferred from France to Russia.

Russia did not care about Japan at all, they ignored Japan's threat, the Japanese sent warships to the port of Incheon, and Russia sent warships south from Vladivostok to enter Confucius's Pusan, Germany, obviously Germany was able to obtain the right to build a railway from Pusan to the northeastern border of China, and it was an exchange of interests with Russia, and letting the Russian navy use the port of Pusan, perhaps one of the contents of the exchange.

The Japanese fleet was only at Incheon, while the Russian fleet was in the heart of the Sea of Japan, and it was clear that the Russian threat to Japan was much greater, and Japan had to withdraw its fleet and confront the Russian warships in the Sea of Japan.

At the same time, the Russian Army entered Seoul and reached a condition with the Korean government, gaining the same power to garrison troops as Japan.

At this point, Russia actually replaced the Qing Dynasty in the past, and achieved a more advantageous position in Korea than Japan.

On the contrary, Germany seems to have adopted a certain degree of contraction on the Korean Peninsula, focusing on economic interests and supplemented by political interests, and began to cooperate with and support Russia in its confrontation with Japan.

After turning around, the Japanese suddenly found that the gains of the First Sino-Japanese War seemed to be about to be completely lost, and they had no choice but to continue to grit their teeth and expand their armaments.

Unless Japan or Russia can give up their interests here.

But the Russians have never been in the habit of shrinking, except in the case of defeat in the war, they are extremely greedy in the face of profit. As for Japan, they are probably even more greedy than Russia.

After the First Sino-Japanese War, and even before the First Sino-Japanese War, Korea had become Japan's largest overseas market.

Beginning in 1880, Japan began to dump large quantities of cotton cloth, salt, shochu, nails, umbrellas, and other goods into Korea, bringing Korea's traditional handicraft industry to the brink of bankruptcy. Japan, on the other hand, imported cheap agricultural products from Korea, which led to a rapid doubling of the price of rice in Korea from about 2,600 wen per stone in 1886 to 8,589 wen per stone before the Russo-Japanese War.

Japan also controlled Korea's finances, and in February 1895, the Japanese minister to Korea, Inoue Shin, submitted a report on the state of Korea's economy to Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu. In 1894, Joseon's annual income was 7,490,000 yen (about 4,824,000 taels of silver).

At that time, North Korea's foreign debt was as high as 712 million yen (458.5 million taels), and its domestic debt was as high as 946 million yen (609 million taels), mainly from the First Bank of Japan, Yokohama Zhengjin Bank, Qing Dynasty Merchants Bureau, Tongshuntai Bills, etc., as the First Sino-Japanese War squeezed out the Manchu forces, it can be said that Japan became the largest creditor of the Korean government.

Japan estimates that the Korean government's ability to repay its debts is around 960,000 yen per year, and it will take 1,727 years for Korea to repay these foreign debts, even without interest.

In addition, North Korea, which lacks silver and uses copper as its main currency, is completely unable to resist Japan's financial infiltration, and the currency that circulates in Korean commerce is mainly bank bills issued by the Bank of Japan.

With commercial and financial control over Korea, Japan grabbed a lot of profits and was not willing to give it up at all.

On the other hand, after the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan, which had incurred huge domestic and foreign debts, finally broke out into an economic crisis, and from 1896, a large number of factories serving the military began to shrink, and the Japanese economy began to enter a depression, and by 1898, 218 of the 294 large enterprises in Japan, mainly banks and railways, closed down, closed down, or reduced their capital.

Korea was originally the number one target of Japan's plunder, but now that the economy is in crisis, it is even more reluctant to give up.

With the contraction of China in Korea and the expansion of Russia in Korea, the contradictions between Japan and Russia have exceeded the contradictions with China, and Korea has become a powder keg at this time, which will explode sooner or later.