Riots broke out one after another, and revolution was imminent.

The nature of the two is fundamentally different, the riot is to vent anger, there is no clear goal, it comes fiercely, but it is also easy to suppress.

But the revolution is not for venting, it is for overthrowing the government, changing shijie, with a clear program and clear goals, which is the most frightening thing for the feudal dynasty.

Japan was already on the eve of revolution.

On May 7, 1884, at the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Momoka Rakudo, Emperor Meiji of Japan, Muhito, was looking out the window with a tight eyebrow, and the new right minister, Hirobumi Ito, was standing behind him.

Muren sighed: "Great Xia will fall! There are rebellious people everywhere, but the army has only one division, and I am afraid that this eternal kingdom of God will end in my hands. ＂

"Bixia doesn't need to be pessimistic, the situation is precarious, but it's not the time to despair," Ito said. As long as we work together, the empire may not be able to weather the storm. ＂

"What do you mean by that?"

"Looking back now, it was too hasty for the empire to challenge a huge empire like China when it was not yet fully fledged, and it suffered from it.

For the sake of the present situation, the empire is no longer able to compete with China for the time being, and must endure the humiliation and bear the burden of humiliation and negotiate peace with China as soon as possible, so as to concentrate on stabilizing the country and recovering its vitality.

Therefore, the negotiation of peace can make the maximum concession, and the bottom line is that the Chinese army cannot land on the mainland of the empire. As long as China agrees to return the tens of thousands of captured army forces, including the corresponding weapons and equipment, we can be flexible in terms of the amount of reparations, after all, it also costs a lot of money to train and equip the troops.

If a few divisions can return, the situation in the country will be easily stabilized.

When everything is stable, the empire must change all its previous policies, take the initiative to be friendly with China, cooperate with China, and even curry favor with China, while paralyzing the other side while strengthening its own national strength, and must not repeat the mistakes of the past until it is completely sure. ”

Muren was silent for a while, and then said: "What I said is extremely true, Iwakura Gu is not mistaken, Qing is an important minister of the country, and the future of the empire is more please." ”

Hirofumi Ito was grateful: "Your Majesty will do your best to be loyal and do your best." ”

On May 8, in Beijing, the Japanese delegation received a telegram from China, asking for "a peace treaty to be negotiated as soon as possible" and setting a bottom line:

First, Chinese troops were not allowed to land on the Japanese mainland;

Second, the amount of compensation should be less than 50 million taels as much as possible, and it should not exceed 90 million taels if it is really not possible, and it must be paid in installments;

Thirdly, all captured troops, including the corresponding weapons, must be returned.

Subsequently, China and Japan held talks again, and the process of negotiations was greatly accelerated due to the softening of the Japanese side's attitude.

However, the Japanese delegates did not know that the secret telegram sent by China had long been intercepted and deciphered by China, and that the Chinese side was well aware of its bottom line and had seized the initiative in the negotiations.

Zeng Jize quickly showed the "Zuihou ultimatum":

First, the Chinese army will not claim Japanese territory, but the Ryukyu Islands are not part of Japan's "inherent territory" and must be returned to the Ryukyu King Shotai, and China will lead the "restoration of the Ryukyus";

Second, the amount of compensation shall not be less than 100 million taels of silver, which can be paid in installments;

Third, China can return the captured Japanese troops, and it can also consider returning some of the guns;

Fourth, Japan can add another 30 million taels of silver in exchange for China lifting its economic blockade against Japan.

This "ultimatum" stuck Japan to the death, especially the amount of reparations, which was only a little more than Japan's bottom line, forcing the Japanese deputies to agree. However, the restoration of the Ryukyus and the lifting of the economic blockade are two major issues, and the Japanese side once again asks for instructions from the country.

At this time, Japan was already mentally prepared to lose the Ryukyus, and on May 12, according to domestic instructions, the delegation simply accepted the "restoration of the Ryukyus."

As for the lifting of the economic blockade, after some bargaining, the price was reduced to 20 million, so that the total amount of compensation was 120 million taels of silver.

After repeated deliberations on the details, on May 14, the two sides basically finalized the details of the treaty.

In this way, due to the time pressure of the Japanese side and the control of the situation by the Chinese side, the Japanese delegation arrived in China only one and a half months ago, and China and Japan negotiated for only three weeks to decide on such a major treaty, which is extremely rare in international diplomacy.

On May 15, at Penglai Pavilion, Chinese and Japanese representatives Zeng Jize and Iwakura Gushi formally signed the "Sino-Japanese Beijing Treaty", which consists of eight articles:

Article 1: The Chinese Empire and the Japanese Empire, with effect from the date of the signing of the treaty, shall cease all military operations and undertake to mutually agree on issues between the two countries in a peaceful and rational manner and in a friendly manner;

From now on, the division of the "Okinawa Prefecture" of the Japanese Empire will be abolished, and the Ryukyus King Shotai and his son Shono will be sent to China, and China will lead the restoration of the Ryukyus;

In view of the responsibility of the Japanese Empire for the war, the Japanese Empire was required to compensate the Chinese Empire with 120 million taels of Kuping silver, to be delivered in ten years, and the unpaid part was subject to the principle of "five per hundred" plus interest. The Imperial of Japan also has the option of paying in advance;

Fourth, the Chinese Empire will send back 43,000 Japanese officers and soldiers, as well as the corresponding weapons and equipment;

Article 5: The Empire of Japan shall open the five ports of Nagasaki, Nagoya, Yokosuka, Osaka, and Hiroshima to the Chinese Empire as free trade ports, establish bonded zones, open consulates, and enjoy consular jurisdiction at the same time;

Sixth, the Chinese Empire would lift the trade blockade imposed by the mainland and Korea on the Japanese Empire;

Article 7: The Chinese Imperial Huaxia Bank, as an investor, will jointly establish the Yawatahama Iron and Steel Plant with the Japanese side, with China and Japan each contributing 50% of the shares, and the income will be equally divided.

Article 8, the Chinese Empire will assume its own moral responsibility and international obligations to uphold the imperial system of the Japanese Empire.

These eight articles can be said to be frightening step by step, and each article has been carefully designed and has profound political intentions.

In the first article, after China's strong request, the word "dai" in the Empire of Japan was not allowed to appear in official documents in the future. This is not a matter of one word, but in fact it is tantamount to forcing Japan to change its own name, which will greatly dampen the national self-esteem of Japanese intellectuals.

In Article 2, Japan is tantamount to a disguised recognition of the future Ryukyu Kingdom as a vassal state of China.

In Article 3, although the indemnity is 120 million, the total amount of interest will exceed 150 million taels with the interest for 10 years, which will greatly control the economic development of Japan.

The fourth was to enable the Japanese government to suppress the revolution.

Article 5 would not only facilitate China's export of goods to Japan, but would also turn these five ports into semi-colonies. The so-called free trade zones are that Chinese goods can be stored in these five ports in Japan without paying customs duties, greatly facilitating China's trans-Pacific entrepot trade, while depriving Japan of its judicial sovereignty through consular jurisdiction.

The purpose of Article 6 is to re-establish Japan's dependence on the Chinese and North Korean markets.

The most insidious is Article 7 and Article 8, the joint establishment of the Yawahama Iron and Steel Plant, which can control Japan's steel production and thus affect Japan's national industry. In particular, the words "divide the proceeds equally" laid the pretext for another war against Japan in the future.

The equal division of the income can be interpreted as half of the steel products produced in China, or it can be explained as half of the sales of steel products in China. Since there is a price difference between steel in the Chinese and Japanese markets, there is a big difference in the amount of profit between the two explanations. As for which explanation to choose, it depends on China's wishes.

Article 8 was imposed by China, and although the Japanese side felt that it was inappropriate, it really could not refuse. On the surface, China seems to be helping the emperor system out of friendship, but in fact it has planted countless pretexts for interfering in Japan's internal affairs.

For example, if Japan wants to carry out democratic reforms in the future, China can invade under the pretext of maintaining the emperor system, and even use this to intervene in the succession of the emperor.

Ding Yuntong stood in the Qianqing Palace, looking at this treaty, and the joy in his heart was indescribable.

(Xiexie everyone, the fourth volume is over, please continue to watch the fifth volume )