Was it Li Hongzhang’s idea or Cixi’s idea to “avoid war and save ships” after the Sino-Japanese War in the Yellow Sea?

"Avoiding war and preserving ships" was Li Hongzhang's idea. Since the suppression of the Taiping Rebellion, as the military strength of Han officials has grown, there have been local governors such as Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, and Liu Kunyi who are in charge of local affairs and have military power to influence the Qing government's decision-making. Li Hongzhang is considered the master of these. The Beiyang Fleet, known as the number one in Asia, is the guarantee that Li Hongzhang will be unique and undefeated in the court. It is Li Hongzhang's political capital. Naturally, he does not want the strength of the Beiyang Fleet to be damaged.

Before the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, Li Hongzhang had a relatively clear understanding of the prospects of the war and that the Beiyang Fleet would be defeated. The enemy of the Beiyang Fleet was not only the Japanese army, but also the Manchu dignitaries who were wary of Li Hongzhang's military power, and Han officials such as Weng Tonghe who had a personal vendetta against Li Hongzhang. The Sino-Japanese War of 1898-1898 was a battle between the Beiyang Fleet and Japan. How could it be undefeated?

For example, Ding Ruchang, the admiral of the Beiyang Fleet, proposed to replace the rapid-fire cannon to offset the advantage of Japanese naval guns at a cost of 600,000 taels. Weng Tonghe flatly refused because of personal grudges and missed important military and national affairs; Manchu dignitaries regarded the Beiyang Fleet as Li Hongzhang's private army deducted naval funds, causing the Beiyang Fleet to lack maintenance and most of its ships were aging. It can be said that these people have helped Japan a lot.

So Li Hongzhang always hoped to avoid the occurrence of war. First, he asked Britain and Tsarist Russia to mediate, and then he sent a large-scale increase of troops to North Korea in order to frighten Japan's intention to go to war. Unfortunately, the Japanese fleet secretly attacked the Chinese troopship "Gaosheng". All Li Hongzhang's plans failed.

The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894 broke out. The Qing Dynasty and the Manchurian civil and military leaders started the war not because these people were so patriotic, but because they were all waiting to see Li Hongzhang’s jokes. Li Hongzhang had a clear view of the situation and knew that the victory of the Beiyang Fleet was in vain. Even after the defeat, the Qing court would not dare to touch him as long as the main force of the fleet was still there, so Li Hongzhang ordered "to avoid fighting and save the ship."

It is a pity that Li Hongzhang underestimated the ambitions of the Japanese. Small Korea could not satisfy Japan's ambitions of aggression. After the Battle of the Yellow Sea, the Japanese army marched straight into Northeast China and the Liaodong Peninsula. The Beiyang Fleet's home bases, Lushun and Weihai, were all lost. The Beiyang Navy was destroyed, and all the cowards were annihilated in the Bohai Bay harbor.

Li Hongzhang, who lost the Beiyang Fleet, also completely lost his special status in the Qing court. He could only become the ruler's scapegoat and signed one treasonous treaty after another, leaving him with infamy.