Li Hongzhang has a quirk of spitting in a glass and drinking coffee from a plate.

In the history of China, there are many "little people", such as Wei Yan, a celebrity who took the fall for Zhuge Liang, and Qin Gui, a traitor who took the fall for Song Gaozong. Of course, the most famous "scapegoat" should be Li Hongzhang, an important official in the late Qing Dynasty who took the fall for Cixi and Manchu.

Li Hongzhang was a famous minister in the late Qing Dynasty and one of the main leaders of the Westernization Movement. He was born in Hefei, Anhui. His name is Li, also called Li Hefei, whose real name is Or Zifu and whose real name is Shao Quanlin.

As the founder and commander-in-chief of Huai Army and Beiyang Navy, the leader of Westernization Movement, an important minister in the late Qing Dynasty, the governor of Guanzhi Zhili and the minister of Beiyang Commerce, he received a bachelor's degree from Wenhua Hall and signed the Complete Works of Vietnamese Treaties, treaty of shimonoseki Concise Treaty and Li Wenzhong Treaty on behalf of the Qing government.

Japanese Prime Minister Hirofumi Ito regarded him as "the only able person in the Qing Empire who could compete with the world powers", while Empress Dowager Cixi regarded him as "the man who recreated Huang Xuan" and wrote treaty of shimonoseki. Together with Zeng Guofan, Zhang Zhidong and Zuo, they are called "four famous ministers of ZTE", and together with Bismarck and Grant, they are called "three great men in the 19th century".

In textbooks, Li Hongzhang has always been the image of a traitor and traitor. Why is there such an image? Because he signed a series of treaties on behalf of Manchu. The problem is that Cixi is not stupid. Why not send someone else to negotiate and sign the contract? Because others talk about harsher conditions, they will sign more humiliating treaties. Only when Li Hongzhang has a pile of rotten cards in his hand can the loss be minimized.

As we all know, weak countries have no diplomacy. The world speaks with strength. When the Manchu situation was eroded, it encountered "the biggest change in three thousand years". Even the gods can't save it. Li Hongzhang can only try his best to repair it. In his own words, he is the paperhanger of this broken house in Manchu. This shows Li Hongzhang's profound insight into the current situation.

1895 After the Sino-Japanese War, according to the usual practice, the Qing Dynasty wanted to sign a traitorous treaty with Japan. This chore finally fell on the hapless Li Hongzhang. In Japan, Li Hongzhang was assassinated and a bullet went through his face. After simple treatment, Li Hongzhang came to the negotiation site with blood all over his face, which shocked the Japanese.

In the end, Li Hongzhang signed the treaty of shimonoseki with Japan on behalf of the Qing Dynasty, reducing the amount of compensation to 200 million taels of silver. You know, the Japanese have always insisted on paying 300 million taels.

After signing the contract, Li Hongzhang was demoted as a scapegoat for the defeat of the Sino-Japanese War. It was not until 1896 that Li Hongzhang was re-employed as the envoy of the Manchu dynasty, attended the coronation ceremony of the Russian emperor, and visited Europe and the United States by the way.

Li Hongzhang's diplomatic style is called "rogue diplomacy". When dealing with foreigners, he always puts on an arrogant attitude and pretends to be a hooligan. It was with this that Li Hongzhang was able to negotiate the most favorable price for the Qing Dynasty. In fact, unlike most officials who were afraid of foreigners at that time, Li Hongzhang always ignored foreigners. Li Hongzhang's diplomatic work would have been more leisurely if it had not been dragged down by the weak national strength of the Qing Dynasty.

Because of this attitude of not taking foreigners seriously, Li Hongzhang made many jokes during his visit.

According to the records of the Qing Dynasty, when Li Hongzhang visited Britain, he was hosted by British nobles. Li Hongzhang has always had the habit of spitting everywhere. When he was in China, spittoons were everywhere. However, in Britain, the British have no habit of putting spittoons. Li Hongzhang was about to vomit when he suddenly found that there was no spittoon under the table. So, he grandly picked up a glass in front of him and spit the sputum directly into the glass. The British nobles had to endure nausea and finish the meal.

On another occasion, the Queen of England received Li Hongzhang. The drink served is coffee. After the coffee was served, Li Hongzhang tried his tongue. It's too hot. What should I do? I saw Lao Li calmly take down the small tray under the coffee cup, then pour the coffee into this small tray and blow and drink. The Queen of England looks embarrassed. In order to resolve the embarrassing scene, the queen also learned the appearance of Li Hongzhang, poured coffee on a small plate and drank it.

I have to say, the Queen of England is really considerate.