First of all, it was Cixi who discredited Li Hongzhang at the beginning, and someone was always responsible for the defeat of the Sino-Japanese War, so Li Hongzhang became the most suitable scapegoat. China people only know that Li Hongzhang is the plenipotentiary of the Qing government in treaty of shimonoseki, but the actual decision is in the hands of Cixi.

Later, Sun Yat-sen overthrew the Manchu government, and Li Hongzhang was the defender of the Manchu government. Of course, it is impossible for Sun Yat-sen to reverse Li Hongzhang's conviction under the banner of expelling Tatars and restoring China. Moreover, China was in turmoil in the first half of the 20th century, and there was no time to pay attention to these things. Later, when New China was founded, this problem was not corrected. After all, the Kuomintang and communist party were revolutionaries relative to the Qing government. They overthrew the former dynasty and then affirmed an important and influential figure in the former dynasty. Isn't that shooting yourself in the foot?

There are many examples in history. Typical examples are as follows: when the Han Dynasty overthrew the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shihuang was described as a tyrant and was demoted to nothing, but he followed the Qin system; The Tang Dynasty replaced the Sui Dynasty, so Yang Di became a rare tyrant in history who could rival Zhou Wang. However, the Tang Dynasty inherited the three provinces and six departments system and the imperial examination system of the Sui Dynasty, and benefited a lot from Yang Di's canal digging.

Revolutionaries always belittle the objects they overthrow to show their legitimacy. They are saving the people from fire and water, not rebelling!

Li Hongzhang's tragedy is the tragedy of that era! But we still have to respect him, because we know that it is a tragedy to stand up, and we still bear this burden. I'm not going to hell. Who is going to hell?