Li Hongzhang On May 18, 1896, China’s special envoy Li Hongzhang went to Moscow, the old capital of Russia, to attend the coronation ceremony of the Tsar.

According to reports from American reporters, among the guests from all over the world who participated in the ceremony, Li Hongzhang received the warmest welcome, and his grandeur was second only to the entry ceremony of the tsar and his wife, the protagonists of the coronation ceremony.

Of course, in the red carpet, the guard of honor and the rumbling nineteen-gun salute, what the Russians want to convey is by no means just their admiration for a "big statesman" (Russian Finance Minister Witte's words), nor is it just a display of "admiration for a great statesman".

The profound friendship of the Chinese people", but has a more realistic interest consideration: "borrowing land to build roads", borrowing land from China to build roads to Russia.

The Siberian Railway can lead from Chita to Vladivostok in a straight line, and the "borrowed" land belongs to Russia, and troops can be stationed there.

In addition to this wishful thinking, an exquisite package touched the hearts of the Chinese people: China and Russia formed an alliance to fight against Japan.

This was of course a big deal, so the Russian side insisted on Li Hongzhang's visit, and the Qing court was willing to make it a good thing.

After the defeat of the Sino-Japanese War, Russia joined forces with France and Germany to force Japan to return the Liaodong Peninsula. This won widespread respect and gratitude from both the Chinese government and the public, and even triggered a major adjustment in the Qing court's diplomatic strategy.

Li Zongtong, a famous historian of the Republic of China, believes that after the intervention of the Three Kingdoms and the return of Liao Dynasty, China's diplomacy changed from "one body rejects foreign countries" to "one alliance and one rejection", and the object of "alliance" was first of all Russia.

Li Hongzhang's mission to Europe and the United States in his seventies is a strong signal in itself: the Chinese Empire has finally put aside its status and begun to actively participate in international politics as an equal.

In addition to Russia, European and American countries have also sent invitations to Li Hongzhang.

Russian Finance Minister Witte said in his memoirs that Russia was worried that Li Hongzhang would first visit Western Europe and then Russia, in which case Li Hongzhang might be "deeply affected by the various tricks of various European politicians."

Therefore, the Tsar specially sent Duke Ukhtomsky to Port Said at the north entrance of the Suez Canal to greet Li Hongzhang.

Li Hongzhang also said in the telegram reporting his itinerary to the Prime Minister's Yamen that he had agreed with Russia to "avoid following the law and virtue, and at most setbacks."

Li Hongzhang's visit to Russia was a grand drama that "set the stage for the coronation ceremony and concluded the Sino-Russian alliance."

During his stay in Russia, Li Hongzhang was interviewed by the Tsar many times, sometimes even in extremely confidential talks.

Russia emphasized that it did not have any territorial ambitions towards China. After Li Hongzhang secretly met with the Tsar (May 7, 1896), he reported to Beijing: "(The Tsar) said that our country (Russia) is vast and sparsely populated, and will never occupy human-sized territory.

The relationship between China and Russia has become closer, and the connection with the Eastern Province will help China quickly mobilize troops in the future. Not only will it benefit Russia, but China may not be able to handle it on its own. " Many of the Chinese advocates of alliance with Russia are Li Hongzhang.

political opponents.

Li Hongzhang's chief political enemy Weng Tong once said in his diary that "the alliance with Russia has been regarded as inevitable by Tong."

Before Li Hongzhang left Beijing, Weng Tong actually made a special trip to visit and discuss secretly the major affairs of the alliance with Russia.

All the secret messages Li Hongzhang sent back from Russia were decoded by Weng Tong and Zhang Yinhuan personally, and even the military commander Kyoto could not handle them.

Regarding the necessity of alliance with Russia, Zhang Zhidong believes that among the five major countries, Britain is poaching China for commercial interests, France relies on the church to abduct Chinese people, Germany does not have any colonies bordering China, and the United States has never been willing to get involved in the disputes of other countries.

Therefore, only Russia can "contract and provide assistance."

Moreover, since Emperor Kangxi signed the Treaty of Nerchinsk with Tsarist Russia, the two countries have been "allied neighbors" with two hundred years of exchanges. "They have never started a provocation, which is different from those of other countries who have repeatedly fought wars, and their actions were open and aboveboard."

, it is not comparable to that of the West... It is time to take advantage of this to strengthen contacts, deepen friendship, and make secret agreements with Russia, and be accommodating in all business affairs involving Russia... If there is something wrong with China, Russia must help me with troops and water.

"Teacher is especially important".

In other words, in order to form an alliance with Russia, we can do whatever it takes.

The price offered by Russia only included "borrowing land to build roads", which of course made the Qing court overjoyed.

After only a few exchanges of messages, the Sino-Russian secret treaty was quickly approved by Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi.

Paradoxically, even though Li Hongzhang was keeping his tail between his legs at this time and obeying Beijing's instructions, in the future, this "treason" account would still only be charged to him.

Li Hongzhang's long stay in Russia made Western countries smell that something major was happening between China and Russia.

Western newspapers during this period were full of speculation about the Sino-Russian secret treaty, as well as the firm denial of this by the two countries' governments.

A widely circulated mystery is that the Russian Communist Party bribed Li Hongzhang 3 million rubles for a secret agreement.

Romanov, who was the director of the General Office of the Russian Ministry of Finance at the time, and Ukhtomsky, Li Hongzhang's "accompany" during his stay in Russia, both mentioned such a special fund.

Although this special fund, which was extremely damaging to Li Hongzhang's political character, was called the "Li Hongzhang Fund," there is no evidence to prove that it was a bribe collected by Li Hongzhang.

What can be confirmed is: 1. There does exist such a "fund for special purposes for negotiation"; 2. This fund has always been deposited in the account of Sino-Russian Daosheng Bank and is managed by the General Affairs Department of the Russian Ministry of Finance; 3. This fund

Indeed, 1.7 million rubles were received by the Chinese; fourth, the fund was more often used as a small treasury by the tsar himself, with huge expenditures.