Sun Yat-sen’s fame shocked the whole country. Li Hongzhang was appointed governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, so he had to leave a place for himself. He took the risk of secretly helping the Revolutionary Party with thirty thousand foreigners, and he also looked for opportunities to meet Sun Yat-sen at sea. If Sun Yat-sen had not changed his mind temporarily, this meeting would have had a huge and far-reaching impact on Chinese history.
In the year of Sino-Japanese War, I naturally think of the tragic protagonist Li Hongzhang more than 100 years ago. Foreigners praised him as a "navigator", but he thought he was a "pastor". After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894, the precarious "paper house" was riddled with holes. Li Hongzhang had the heart and strength to turn over.
In the early summer of the 22nd year of Guangxu, Li Hongzhang served as the special envoy. It is false that he went to Russia to celebrate the coronation of the Czar, but it is true that he signed a secret treaty between China and Russia. After that, my itinerary is to travel to many countries in Europe and the United States. His visit to France coincided with the opening of the International Games in Paris. At the flag-raising ceremony, all countries played national anthems, but the Qing Empire was so unreliable that it didn't even have a national anthem, which caused a storm in the city. Li Hongnian, who is older than ancient times and has gray and sparse hair, was originally a guest invited to watch the ceremony. Seeing this embarrassment, he left the table with vigorous steps, walked to the Huanglong flag, stood proudly, and loudly sang Jasmine, a folk song from his hometown of Anhui. At that moment, the audience was silent, and then burst into applause. It is really awe-inspiring for an old man from the East to defend the dignity of his country in such a strange way.
Liang Qichao and Li Hongzhang are known as "the best among ordinary people", and they have a great relationship in modern China. Li Hongzhang and Sun Yat-sen had never met, but they were not far apart. At first, Sun Yat-sen's Li Zhongtang calligraphy stone sank to the bottom of the sea. Li Hongzhang did not expect that this young man from Guangdong was a dormant dragon, riding on the clouds, he would definitely make rain. Later, Sun Yat-sen's reputation shocked the whole country. Li Hongzhang was appointed governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, so he had to leave a place for himself. He even risked secretly helping the Revolutionary Party with thirty thousand foreigners, and he also looked for opportunities to meet Sun Yat-sen at sea. If Sun Yat-sen had not changed his mind temporarily, this meeting would have had a huge and far-reaching impact on Chinese history.
Before the Sino-Japanese naval war in 1894, the Japanese rated the five great men of our time: German Chancellor Bismarck, American abolitionist President Lincoln, Chinese Minister Li Hongzhang, and Garibaldo of Lissogimento No., Japanese Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito. Li Hongzhang ranked third in the overall ranking, which is surprising. Liang Qichao gave a reasonable explanation for this: "There are more than a hundred people like Ito in Japan, but there is only one Li Hongzhang in China." Obviously, scarcity is valuable.
Not only did the Japanese speak highly of Li Hongzhang, but the British missionary Timothy Richard also said: "Li Hongzhang is taller than most people in terms of body shape, and he is also superior to others in terms of intelligence. So he can see far beyond their heads. "Li Hongzhang's height is about 1.85 meters, which means he can make friends with foreigners without any disadvantages. When his gaze is higher than that of his opponent, the opponent will inevitably feel tremendous pressure. If it were not a weak country without diplomacy and the imperial court used Li Hongzhang as the "fire captain", his achievements would be unlimited. Mao Zedong once said a fair saying in his youth: "Li Hongzhang is a ship, and the Qing government is water. The ship is big, but the water is very shallow. Li Hongzhang cannot sail in the water, so he cannot perform his duties."'
History is like this. Like the Yellow River, it cannot be simplified to such a clear-cut level as "clear water clears itself, and turbid water clears itself". Its complexity even exceeds the margins of ordinary people's imagination. Lust, fame, achievement, family vision, social ambition, national interests, etc. All mixed together. In the end, you will be surprised and helpless to find that history is very confusing, and you are the top expert in this field. Let's go back to the beginning of the question: Is Li Hongzhang a patriot or a traitor?
As time goes by, some historical facts gradually become blurred, while others come to light. Li Hongzhang was most criticized for his Westernization, improper employment, and covering up the corruption case of Sheng Xuanhuai Investment Promotion Bureau. Li Hongzhang's military affairs, "governing the people with virtue and technology," led to the people's dire livelihood and a state of emergency in North Korea. He reused the cowardly General Ye Zhichao and the greedy General Wei. Not only did he lose his teacher's life, he was also beaten everywhere in front of the Japanese army, humiliating the world. These are established facts. However, the inside story of the secret agreement between China and Russia was easily revealed, which still made everyone break out in a cold sweat.
In 1937, the Commercial Press published the Russian historian Romanov’s History of Imperial Russia’s Invasion of Manchuria.
According to the secret files of the Russian Ministry of Finance, the author discovered a "Li Hongzhang Fund" with an amount of 3 million rubles, which was earmarked for special use. Only Li Hongzhang can recover the money. From this point of view, Levin's belief that Li Hongzhang "brought the wolf into the house and created the rumor about the tiger" was not groundless. Li Hongzhang was called a "traitor" and "traitor", which was not entirely unjust. The huge wealth of the Li family includes black income from growing and selling opium, and the evil color is quite strong.
Isn’t this tricky? If you look at the problem from another angle, it is not difficult to understand: those who truly have power, ability, and means to betray the country are by no means idle. These bosses are usually representatives of core interest groups, and it is not easy for them to keep fighting for the word "privacy." It is not unusual for autocratic dynasties to constantly produce such monsters, who are both good and evil, loyal and treacherous.