Perang Dunia Timur. Jepang, Tiongkok, dan Korea/Bab 20

FROM PORT ARTHUR TO WEI-HAI-WEI.

China Makes Another Attempt towards Peace—The Envoy Rejected Because of lack of Credentials and Rank—President Cleveland Offers to Help Create Peace—Chinese and Manchoos at War—Japanese Victories Immediately after the Taking of Port Arthur—More Corean Politics—The Third Japanese Army—Preparing for a Descent on the Chinese Mainland—Wei-hai-wei and Its Capture.

Even before Port Arthur had fallen, China was making another attempt to secure peace through the intervention of foreign nations. As this seemed slow in coming, however, it was decided that an informal effort to stop hostilities would be made, one indeed of such a sort that it might be disavowed if criticism seemed to demand. Consequently, Mr. Gustav Detring, the Chinese Commissioner of Customs under Sir Robert Hart, was sent to Japan to feel the way in preliminary negotiations. In its perplexity and distress, the Chinese government took the step which only extremity could have driven it to take. It swallowed the pill which was of all things most bitter. The emperor, on the advice of his council and at the instigation of Prince Kung and Li Hung Chang, appointed a foreigner as envoy to Japan. The office was not one which timid Chinamen would envy, because none of them were ambitious to hand down their names to posterity in connection with the humiliation of their country. The wisest man in office was Prince Kung, but he was not the dictator which he was supposed to be. He was thwarted by other influences, among them the Grand Council, of which he was not but ought to have been a member.

In this confusion, the grand imperial effort towards centralization of authority had partially at least failed, and the failure had the effect of rehabilitating for the moment the Viceroy Li Hung Chang, who once more stood out as the only possible practical man. This aged statesman had many faults, which those who were nearest to him saw most clearly, but if we compare even his faults with the wisdom of his compeers, he was still the one-eyed man among the blind, the only man at the time in the empire 612who was capable of anything, and whose removal from the scene would have been regarded with grave apprehension by all who were interested in the maintenance of order against chaos.

Mr. Detring, with his suite, left Tien-tsin November 22 by rail to Tung-ku, embarked there on a steamer, under the German flag, called the Li-yu, and steamed down the Gulf of Pechili past Chefoo and Wei-hai-wei. Not until the vessel reached Japan did they know of the fall of Port Arthur. The vessel proceeded to Kobe, where no one was permitted to land at first. The envoy at once sought communication with Count Ito, and applied to the local authorities to inform His Excellency thereof. The result was not an invitation to Mr. Detring to visit Hiroshima, but the dispatch of the Secretary-General of the cabinet, Mr. Ito Moiji, to confer with him at Kobe. From this point there is a difference of statement as to what occurred. The Chinese declare that before the arrival of the secretary, Mr. Detring had been recalled by his government, and having taken leave of the governor he left at daylight on the 29th without waiting to see Mr. Ito, who had arrived the previous night. The Japanese, on the contrary, assert that they refused to entertain any proposals from Mr. Detring, as he was not properly accredited and had no authority whatever to make peace negotiations. However that may be, it is certain that he returned to China without having an audience with any Japanese officials, and that the peace negotiations were never even begun.

The next surprise was that whereas the United States had declined to entertain England’s proposal for a coalition of powers to restore peace to the orient, President Cleveland subsequently tendered to Japan his good offices as mediator. He hoped that by his aid peace might be restored, and restored in such a manner as to secure to Japan the just fruits of her victories. A reply declining his proposal, couched in duly grateful terms, was conveyed to the president by Japan, and he having learned in the interval that the European powers would not agree to intervene conjointly, ceased his own activity. It was still hoped however that Minister Denby at Peking and Minister Dun at Tokio would be able to use their good offices in advancing peace. Japan was holding out the insistence that China must speak for herself if 613she wanted peace. Japan however did go so far as to say that if China had any propositions of peace to make, they might be transmitted in the beginning through the United States ministers in Japan and China. It was still evident however, that China would hold off as long as possible, in the hope that something would turn up to relieve her of the necessity of suing for peace.

The Manchoo princes feared and mistrusted the Chinese, who seemed to be indifferent to the issue of the war, and intent only on obtaining individual advantage. It was reiterated again and again, that the Chinese secret societies desired Japanese success in order that the Manchoo dynasty be overthrown and the Chinese restored to power. Captain Von Hannecken, at the request of the Tsung-li Yamen, submitted a comprehensive scheme of military reorganization. This was approved by the emperor and the Manchoo statesmen, but was frustrated by the strategem of certain wealthy taotais, on the alleged ground of economy. The question was then referred from Peking to Tien-tsin. Thus the central and provincial governments reduced each other to impotence. Genuine reform in China appeared to be hopeless, owing to the invincible ignorance of the rulers. There was much popular discontent at the imbecility of the government.

Let us now return to the other forces of Chinese and Japanese, whose movements, comparatively unimportant, have been neglected for the advance on Port Arthur. A considerable portion of the Chinese fleet was still in the harbor at Wei-hai-wei, sometimes cruising out for a little while, but usually safe at anchor. Several of the Chinese vessels had slipped out of Port Arthur harbor when Japanese backs were turned, and steamed across to supposed safety at Wei-hai-wei. On November 22 the Chen-Yuen, the largest and most formidable battle ship remaining to the Chinese, ran ashore while entering Wei-hai-wei harbor, and trying to avoid the torpedoes placed in the channel. She was somewhat damaged by a torpedo, and was finally beached and rendered useless for the time. Commodore Liu Taitsan, who was in command of the vessel, anticipated official condemnation by committing suicide.

The fall of Port Arthur was followed immediately by a succession of victories for the Japanese arms in Manchooria, the first 614Japanese army continuing its success. The advance of this army towards Mukden terrorized the people of Manchooria, and the abandonment of the sacred city by its inhabitants began. The country around was in a state of desolation. The wounded mostly remained in villages between Niuchwang and Mukden, the state of the country preventing the Chinese medical staff and foreign volunteers from proceeding thither. Mukden was evacuated in the beginning of November by the foreign residents, who remained at Niuchwang. The Roman Catholic fathers remained at their station in Manchooria, but the Protestant missionaries returned to safer regions.

At Jeh-ho the Mongols rose in rebellion, in revenge for the assassination of six Mongolian princes. Troops had to be called to put down the insurrection, as had so often occurred before during the war.

On the day of the taking of Port Arthur, a large body of Chinese troops under General Sung attacked Talien-wan and Kinchow, where Japanese had been left to guard baggage trains and provisions. The conflicts were sharp, and a number was killed on both sides, but the Chinese were finally forced to retire. The day after Port Arthur’s fall, the greater portion of Count Oyama’s army turned and marched northward through the Laio-Tung promontory, in the direction of Niuchwang. Ten thousand troops were left behind to guard Japanese interests at Port Arthur.

November 25, sharp fighting took place near the Mo-thien-ling pass, between a portion of General Sung’s army and the Japanese under Count Yamagata. After the Chinese troops had retired from Chiu-lien, they concentrated north of Mo-thien-ling, and the engagement was an attempt to turn the Japanese right flank at Tsokow. The conflict opened with a sharp fusillade, and the Chinese fought with considerable stubbornness for a time, losing heavily before they finally retired. The attack was the most determined effort that the Chinese had made since Ping-Yang. The alarm which existed among the residents of Manchooria, causing their exodus to Niuchwang, was caused quite as much by Chinese soldiery retreating or disbanded, as by the Japanese army’s advance. Many deserters had joined the bands of robbers and brigands to raid the country in every direction.

The first army, under Field Marshal Yamagata, finding the country in the direction of Mukden wasted and deserted, while guerrilla troops harassed them continually, now abandoned the march to Mukden and joined the second army, which had turned north, near Niuchwang, Field Marshal Oyama had sent his transports and a portion of his fleet around the Liao-Tung peninsula, to move towards Niuchwang, paralled with his army. General Techimi’s division met the enemy December 10, and after a pitched battle defeated them with heavy loss. It being reported that a large force of Chinese under General I was encamped near Kinkua-hu, General Techimi was ordered to advance upon that place. His scouts reported the Chinese to be in considerable force, and to consist of cavalry as well as infantry. General Techimi separated his division into two columns, and delivered a simultaneous attack early in the morning. The Chinese offered a stout resistance, and severe fighting ensued. The superior shooting and discipline of the Japanese soon told. The enemy were gradually driven back, and finally they broke and fled in disorder, the Japanese pursuing them for several miles. The majority of the Chinese escaped in the direction of Tso-hun-kou. The Japanese lost about forty killed and wounded, and their opponents one hundred.

Field Marshal Yamagata, who had been in command of the first army since its organization, at last broke down in health under the strain of his responsibility and labor, and was compelled to return home in the hope of restoring his health. He was succeeded by Lieutenant-General Nodzu, his friend and adviser with the troops. The news of Yamagata’s illness caused much distress in Japan, and he was welcomed with the highest honors, both from the government and the people.

In China the position of the government seemed to be precarious. Dissatisfaction was rife in Peking and Tien-tsin over the conduct of the war, and every one in turn was accused of responsibility in the matter. The Manchoo and Chinese elements were bitterly opposed, and an anti-war which advocated peace at any price was increasing rapidly. The court of inquiry which sat at Peking to inquire into the circumstances connected with the loss of Kinchow and Talien-wan, held that Kinchow was strong 616and well-garrisoned and ought never to have been surrendered. The commandant was therefore sentenced to degradation from military ranks for allowing the Japanese to take the place. The foreign residents in Peking, Tien-tsin, and Chefoo were by this time getting nervous over their own prospects for safety, owing to the disorder and rioting that prevailed, enhanced by the threatened invasion of the Japanese army. Marines were sent to Peking from the war ships of all western nations in Japanese waters, and attached to the legation for the protection of their countrymen in China. Anti foreign feeling in the capital was on the increase, and the blue jackets were welcomed most heartily when they landed.

Early in December Corea suffered another political crisis, owing to the duplicity of the government. All the Corean ministers professed gratitude to Japan, for giving them the opportunity of undertaking the administrative and social regeneration of their country. They promised Count Inouye, the Japanese resident, faithfully to follow his advice and to carry out with the least possible delay the program of reforms recommended by him. Count Inouye however discovered, that while making these professions, the ministers were plotting to obstruct his policy of reform, and had even gone so far as to send messengers to various parts of the country to incite the people to rise against the Japanese. He therefore informed the Corean government that Japan would give no further assistance to the king in suppressing the Tonghak rebellion. The minister of the interior at once resigned, and the king promised to make inquiry and punish those guilty of treachery. In a private audience, Count Inouye sharply remonstrated with His Majesty, explained that reforms were necessary to save the country from barbarism, complained of the encouragement given to the plotters and repeated his threat to recall the Japanese troops sent out against the Tonghaks. The king promised that matters would be put right. The following day the ministers called in a body upon Count Inouye. They admitted that they had behaved in a deceitful manner, begged that he would pardon their duplicity and assured him that they would in future give faithful consideration to his suggestions and his schemes of internal reform.

617There is a little confusion in the names of towns around the Gulf of Liao-Tung, owing to the duplication of names. Kinchow is a village to the north of Talien-wan Bay, and was one of the first points of attack by the Japanese when they landed on the promontory. At the extreme northern point of the gulf is a city of the same name, and several reports that were made as to the capture of Kinchow were discredited because of this confusion. The first Kinchow was indeed occupied by Japanese troops from the time of its capture. The other one, however, was not threatened at all. Unless mention is made here to the contrary, references to troop movements around Kinchow refer to the village at the head of the promontory.

The bulk of the second Japanese army moved to Kinchow, on its way northward after the capture of Port Arthur, and the Chinese force which attacked the Japanese garrison at Kinchow on November 22, fell back to Foochow, a little to the northward of Port Arthur, on the road to Niuchwang. About the 1st of December General Nogi’s brigade left Kinchow, with orders from Marshal Oyama to attack Foochow. The garrison of the city was reported to number five thousand, and the position was favorable for defense. The brigade moved forward very rapidly, as there was no organized opposition to its advance. On the 4th, General Nogi heard that the Chinese were retreating, and on the following day the Japanese entered Foochow without firing a shot. The Chinese had evacuated the city and had retreated northward towards Niuchwang.

The first Japanese army continued clearing the country north of the Yalu. Large bodies of Chinese were in the triangle formed by lines drawn between Chiu-lien, Niuchwang, and Mukden. The mountains around about Feng-hwang, which constituted a strong strategic position, had been in the hands of the Japanese since October, and now General Tatsumi attacked the highest pass, Lien-shan-kuan, from the east. On December 12 a strong Japanese scouting party from Feng-hwang sighted a large force of Chinese advancing from the west. The Japanese, who consisted entirely of cavalry, sent word back to Feng-hwang, and keeping the Chinese in sight fell back upon the main body. The Chinese pushed on as far as Yih-man-shan, where they encamped for the 618night. The Japanese force set out to attack the Chinese position, and at dawn the next morning the fight began. The Chinese were fully four thousand strong, and while the fight was in progress two more regiments joined them. The Japanese fell back to a stronger position, and adopted defensive tactics. The Chinese forces, emboldened by their temporary success, made repeated efforts to break through the Japanese lines, but each attack was repulsed. Seeing that the Chinese were in such force, General Nodzu ordered one battalion of the fifth division to reinforce the garrison of Feng-hwang. This reinforced garrison then started on Thursday night, December 13, to strengthen the Japanese advance posts at Yih-man-shan. Colonel Tomayasu was in command of the Japanese force, which numbered one thousand four hundred men with six field guns.

At daybreak an attack was made upon the Chinese left flank. The enemy was well posted, and fought better than any troops heretofore encountered by the Japanese in Manchooria. The struggle was a severe one, but the Chinese left wing gave way before the Japanese charge, and threw the center into confusion. A hot and continuous fire prevented the Chinese from recovering their formation, and a second charge drove them into a disorderly retreat. The contents of the camp and thirty prisoners fell into the hands of the Japanese. The Chinese lost some two hundred and fifty killed and wounded and the Japanese about one hundred.

It is difficult to convey a clear idea of the various operations in Manchooria, for no map accessible to general readers is sufficiently accurate to afford trustworthy indications, and the field of fighting extended over a considerable area among places too small in many instances to be recorded on a map. There were in fact, at this time, December, three Japanese and three Chinese armies operating in Manchooria. The Japanese forces consisted of the second army under Oyama, in the Liao-Tung peninsula, and the right and left wings of Yamagata’s force, who had been succeeded by Nodzu. The first army, Yamagata’s, after passing the Yalu and capturing Chiu-lien, separated into two parts, the right wing nominally twelve thousand five hundred strong, moving northward along the Mukden road under the command of Nodzu, and the left wing of equal strength, under the command of 619Katsura, moving westward down the Yalu, its object being ultimately to establish communication with Oyama’s forces, twenty-two thousand strong, when the capture of Port Arthur should have freed the latter to advance northeastward up the peninsula.

The Chinese armies were also three. One of these armies was massed at the north, defending the approaches to Mukden. It aggregated about twenty-five thousand men so far as could be ascertained, but its fragmentary fashion of fighting rendered a total estimate difficult. The second army was grouped in the southwest, guarding the coast roads to China proper, via Niuchwang. This army, according to the accounts, aggregated about thirty thousand. Its headquarters were at Kai-phing, where a junction would naturally be effected between Oyama’s forces and the left wing of Yamagata’s army. The easiest method of obtaining a clear idea of the situation, is to follow in outline, the operations of the various armies.

The southeastern Chinese army was composed of the Amoor frontier forces, under General I. It was moved down under direct orders from the throne, the strategical idea being to strike swiftly and secretly at Marshal Yamagata’s weak point, namely, his long line of communications between the Yalu River and his outposts, fifty miles north of Feng-hwang. Thus General I's operations ultimately resolved themselves into an attempt to recover Feng-hwang. He marched against it from three directions, the main northerly road, and two easterly roads. The Japanese did not wait to receive his attack. On December 10, Major-General Techimi, who commanded the van of the Japanese right wing, launched his battalion at I's van of three thousand men on the main road, and by consecutive onsets cut the enemy in two, driving a part of his force into the mountains eastward, and a part along the main road northward. Two days later a reconnoissance sent eastward from Feng-hwang found the main body of I's forces on the Aiyang-pien road, and the following morning a battalion moved out to attack him. But it having been seen that he mustered fully six thousand, and that advancing along two roads his front extended over a distance of more than three miles, the Japanese plan was modified so as to deliver the chief assault against his left wing, orders being also forwarded to Techimi, then 620operating north of Feng-hwang to move east and south with the object of taking I's right wing in the rear. December 14 saw the attack on the Tartar general’s left wing. It was completely rolled back and broken, the Japanese pursuing its remnants far into the mountains. The Chinese lost one hundred and fifty killed and sixteen prisoners, and abandoned four Krupp guns, a number of horses, and a quantity of war material. The Japanese had twelve killed and sixty-three wounded. I's right wing made no attempt to hold its ground after the defeat of the left. It retired in a northeasterly direction and its retreat was subsequently changed into a route by collision with a Japanese pursuing column sent out from Techimi’s position.

The northerly army of China consisted of that portion of General Sung’s troops that retreated along the main road towards Mukden after the fall of Chiu-lien and Feng-hwang, together with the Mukden garrison. They held the pass of Mo-thien-ling against several attacks of the Japanese, and remained there in force after severe winter set in. They had several collisions with Techimi’s outposts, but none of importance to the general conduct of the war.

The western Chinese army consisted partly of troops originally engaged in the defense of Chiu-lien and Feng-hwang, partly of the Niuchwang garrison, and partly of a Mongolian force that had come down to join them from the northwest. This was the largest force and aggregated nearly sixty thousand. After the battles around the lower Yalu, these troops had been driven inland by the Japanese, taking Hai-tcheng as their objective point, but halting on the way at Siu-Yen. They were driven out of here by the Japanese, and moved westward to Simu-tcheng, a town eighteen miles southeast of Hai-tcheng. On December 11, the Japanese troops under Osako, moving northward from Siu-Yan, reached the advance posts of the enemy and made an attack. The Chinese force consisting of three thousand infantry and four hundred cavalry, with eight guns, was driven back after a brief resistance, and the next day another body four thousand five hundred strong, with six guns, was dislodged from a position three or four miles further on. The Japanese, following up their advantage, took possession of the Simu-tcheng the same afternoon. This division and the co-operating division which had 621taken another road, entered the place almost simultaneously after two days of unbroken success. They advanced together on the following day, and at 11:00 A.M. Hai-tcheng was in their possession. Its garrison was found to consist of only one thousand five hundred men, who after a show of resistance retired northeastward in the direction of Liao-Yang. The occupation of Hai-tcheng placed the Japanese on the high road from Niuchwang to Mukden, some twenty miles from Niuchwang and eighty from Mukden. This was a position of considerable strategical importance. For the moment however, Japanese troops turned southward a few miles in the direction of Kao-Khan, a fortified town not far from the mouth of the Liao River. This movement was connected with the march of the second army up the Laio-Tung peninsula, to which reference must now be made.

After the capture of Port Arthur and the completion of arrangements relating to the occupation of that place, Marshal Oyama returned to Kinchow and made preparations to advance northward against Foochow, an important walled town of twenty-five thousand inhabitants fifty-three miles to the northward. General Sung, with some six thousand men held Foochow, and a vigorous resistance was anticipated. But on December 5, the Japanese van entered the town unopposed. The advance was then resumed to Kai-phing, a city of still greater importance sixty-three miles distant. And as this army moved northward, the left wing of the first army moved southward from Hai-tcheng, as has just been said, threatening Kai-phing from the other side and cutting off the garrison’s direct line of retreat. It is interesting to note that wherever Japanese troops took possession of a city or district, an officer was immediately appointed to be military governor, the inhabitants were kindly treated, and every effort was made to preserve peace and free the natives from annoyance or oppression.

On the 17th and 18th of December the scouts of General Katsura’s division brought word to him of important movements of the enemy, who appeared to be advancing in strong force. All this proved to be nothing more formidable than the flight of General Sung’s army northward. On the night of the 18th the Chinese army was ascertained to be passing within a few miles of the Japanese camp, and Katsura therefore moved against them 622with his full strength. The Chinese were overtaken on the following morning. Osako’s brigade was the first to be engaged. The enemy made a stand at the village of Kungwasai and severe fighting ensued. While this was proceeding Oshima’s brigade coming from Hai-tcheng entered the field and joined hands with Osako. The combined force consisted of four complete regiments, five batteries of artillery, besides other troops. The Japanese artillery, which was well placed, played havoc with the Chinese, who stubbornly stood their ground. The Japanese infantry charged splendidly and cut their way through the Chinese army, but the enemy rallied and fired steadily. A desperate hand-to-hand struggle took place. After five hours’ fighting, the Chinese began to falter and soon they were in full and disorderly flight, some to the westward and others north. The Chinese lost probably five hundred killed and wounded and the Japanese loss, too, was very severe. This was probably the most obstinate engagement yet fought by the armies in Manchooria. The Chinese had strongly entrenched themselves at the little village of Kung-wasai, near Hai-tcheng, and they defended their position most vigorously. The ground was thick with snow, and the battle was a desperate one. Charge after charge made by the Japanese was faced and the assaulting troops driven back. But with a fourth charge the battle ended, the Japanese rushing into the Chinese works and carrying everything before them.

The constant succession of defeats of the Chinese forces, made imperial circles in Peking a nest of nervous uncertainty. Factional fights existed among the officials, and no one knew when his position or his head was safe. The empress dowager remained firm in her confidence in Li Hung Chang, and this fact served to retain him the title of viceroy. All of his decorative honors had however by this time been stripped from him, and only the queen’s favor and the fact that it was not wise to make of him an open enemy saved him from losing his last title. Early in December Prince Kung was appointed president of the Grand Council. He lost no time in moving towards severe punishment the military and naval officers who for being defeated were adjudged traitors. An imperial decree imperatively ordered the arrest of Taotai Kung the civil commandant and the four generals 623who commanded at Port Arthur in order that they should be sent to Peking to be tried and punished for the loss of the fortress. Admiral Ting was also arrested for failing to defend the dockyard. Generals Yeh and Wei of Ping-Yang fame were handed over to the same board of punishment. The foreign officers serving in the Chinese fleet sent to Prince Kung a unanimous protest against the infliction of punishment upon Admiral Ting, declaring that the charges made against him were unjust and that they would resign if he was punished. In response to this protest therefore an edict was issued continuing the admiral in command of the fleet.

The late viceroy of Nanking, Liu-kun-yi, was now appointed to the chief command of all the Chinese forces in the field, thus superseding Li Hung Chang and Prince Kung so far as military command was concerned. He had made an impression at the palace by his energy and by his plans for resisting invaders. Immediately upon his appointment Liu petitioned to be relieved from the office, pleading indisposition, but his request was refused at the palace. His desire was taken as an indication that he felt himself incapable of successfully carrying out the arduous task imposed upon him. In the face of the emperor’s imperative orders Liu could not avoid accepting the command, and he therefore began making appointments to his staff and preparing for his immediate departure to the front.

At last on December 21, it was given out to the world that peace negotiations with Japan were to be begun in earnest, in the hope that the crowning humiliation of a Japanese occupation of Peking might be averted. The emperor selected Chang Yen Hoon, vice-president of the Tsung-li Yamen as his peace envoy and, it was said, invested him with the fullest powers to treat. It was announced that he would proceed immediately to Japan with an adequate suite and ample credentials. He was a man of great ability, and great confidence was expressed in the success of his mission. Mr. Dun, United States minister at Tokio, learned that the Japanese government would receive the Chinese envoy with every consideration due to his rank, and with an honest desire to help him to bring his mission to a successful conclusion. But from the very beginning there was strong evidence to indicate that China was not acting in the best of faith, for no authoritative 624statement was made by the government at Peking of the appointment of such a plenipotentiary. This suspicion was only too well corroborated a few weeks later.

The Chinese government, after deciding to send an envoy to Japan, addressed a formal request to President Cleveland for the assistance of a recognized statesman in connection with the forthcoming peace negotiations in Tokio. The president lost no time in replying. It was officially announced in Washington December 27, that the Hon. John W. Foster, Secretary of State in the cabinet of President Harrison, after the death of secretary Blaine, had been appointed legal adviser to the Chinese peace plenipotentiary who was about to be sent to the government of Japan. Before entering President Harrison’s cabinet Mr. Foster had represented the United States as minister at Madrid and he acted as agent of the United States in the court of arbitration of the Bering Sea question at Paris. He was one of the foremost among international lawyers in the United States, with large experience in Chinese affairs. His selection by President Cleveland was not an official one, but was merely in response to a request from China for friendly assistance. Mr. Foster had no official standing from the United States, but acted simply as an adviser to the Chinese envoy.

A curious incident comes well substantiated regarding Mr. Foster’s preparations for his trip. Shortly before he sailed for China, it is said, a party of Wall street men went to see him on the subject of the Chinese indemnity. This indemnity was destined to have an important bearing upon American politics. Should the indemnity be paid in gold, our own treasury reserve would be drawn upon rather seriously. Should it be paid in silver the demand for the white metal would undoubtedly create an enormous demand for the product of western mines to the great advantage of the silver producing states. The Wall street men visited Mr. Foster in a body and urged him to favor a gold settlement. The diplomat became very much incensed at this. He declared that the representations of the bankers were a gross violation of diplomatic ethics, and that he would act as he thought best in the interests of China. From that time forward the prospective treaty was anticipated with great interest by American bankers.

The eighth session of the Japanese parliament was opened at Tokio, December 24. In the absence of the emperor at Hiroshima his speech was read by one of the ministers. It took occasion to congratulate the country for the success of the Japanese arms and declared the need of further persistence towards the successful conclusion of the war. Political sentiment, so far as party spirit was concerned, did not run high in Japan, for nearly all parties were united in support of the war. The session of parliament therefore awakened no marked interest.

The collossal nature of the task that devolved upon Japan when she undertook to reform the Corean administration was becoming daily more apparent. The first difficulty presenting itself was the fact that all the high offices of state were occupied by proteges of the queen, members of the Ming family. The queen was a woman of considerable and large ambition. She exercised great influence over the king and employed it to secure preferment and appointment for her own relatives. But the queen and her friends were indefatigable supporters of China. The Chinese resident always worked in their interests; they firmly believed that Chinese supremacy would be re-established sooner or later; and they were wedded to Chinese systems as affording the widest scope for self-aggrandizement. Thus they stood in the very forefront of the opponents of reform. That was recognized from the outset, and the device was adopted of entrusting the chief powers to the Tai-wen Kun, an inveterate enemy of the Ming family. But the old prince whose political record was written in blood cared not one jot for reform. His one idea was the Tai-wen Kun. Moreover, he too believed in the restoration of Chinese influence and wishing to enlist it in his own behalf he opened secret correspondence with the Chinese generals, promising them that the appearance of their troops before Seoul should be the signal for a widespread insurrection of the Tonghaks to attack the Japanese simultaneously. These letters were discovered and placed in the hands of Count Inouye. He invited the Tai-wen Kun to the Japanese legation and quietly showed him the incriminating documents. Of course there was no imperative reason why any Corean subject should prefer Japan to China. The Tai-wen Kun had a right to choose between the two, but he 626had no right to hold the regency under pretext of furthering reforms which he was secretly working to defeat. It was not difficult to induce him to resign the regency. He saw that the game was lost and consented to efface himself from the political arena. At the demand of the Japanese minister, the Corean king formed a new cabinet more satisfactory to Japanese influence and the crisis was passed. The revolts of the Tonghaks, however, seemed to be almost continuous and every day brought news of a riot engendered by them.

The Japanese armies which we left in Manchooria near Kai-phing, were posted on a curve extending from that city near the sea, to Hai-tcheng, which was strongly fortified, and posts also extended from there to the Mo-thien-ling hills. They thus occupied a strong position for defensive and offensive purposes. Very severe weather had set in early in January and hundreds of Japanese soldiers were suffering from frostbite. The Chinese forces had withdrawn to Kao-khan near Niuchwang, although the force occupying Liao-Yang had advanced some distance towards Hai-tcheng, which the Japanese were occupying.

Early on the morning of January 10, a brigade under General Nogi marched against a Chinese force encamped in the vicinity of Kai-phing. The attack was made at dawn, but the deep snow rendered military movements, especially the bringing up of guns, a matter of great difficulty. The Chinese had twelve fieldpieces and two gatlings which were well handled. Their force numbered about three thousand. The fight lasted four hours, and consisted mainly of an exchange of shot and shell until the Japanese were in position on the Chinese flank, when an infantry charge was ordered and the Chinese fell back before the heavy fire. The final attack upon the center was splendidly made and by 9:00 o’clock the Chinese were well beaten. There was some stiff fighting at the last, but by 10:00 o’clock the Japanese were in full possession of the town. Two hundred Chinese were found dead in the positions which they had held, and one hundred and fifty were taken prisoners. The Chinese force was commanded by General Seh, who expected to be strongly reinforced before the Japanese attack could be made. On learning this, General Nogi sent out scouting parties towards Yo-chow. They reported that a 627Chinese army estimated to number ten thousand men had been marching upon Kai-phing but having heard of the defeat of General Seh this large force had immediately retired towards Ying-tsu, the port of Niuchwang.

Either confidence or desperation of the Chinese was exemplified in the vicinity of Niuchwang a few days later when two Chinese corps marched against the Japanese advanced lines, and opened an attack. One of these corps advanced from Liao-Yang, whilst the other marched from the direction of Niuchwang. They were estimated at from twelve to fourteen thousand men and they had with them several fieldpieces and gatling guns. They came in sight of the Japanese lines before noon and continued their advance until within less than two miles. Then they halted and a consultation was held amongst their staff. They made no further advance, much to Japanese disappointment, but simply began a heavy fire from their artillery. At 2:00 o’clock in the afternoon, General Katsura ordered the Japanese to reply, and a concentrated fire was opened upon the Chinese ranks. The total Japanese force concentrated to receive the Chinese attack consisted of four battalions of infantry and one battalion of artillery with twelve guns. The artillery fire continued for an hour, when seeing that the Chinese were being thrown into confusion by the bursting shells, General Katsura ordered a charge upon the enemy’s right wing. It proved to be entirely successful. Five guns which protected the enemy’s right were captured at once, and the whole force immediately retreated. Another charge upon the center scattered the Chinese. The majority fled to the north, whilst a portion retreated in the direction of Niuchwang. The Chinese losses were roughly estimated at nine hundred, and the Japanese scarcely one-tenth of that number.

The first army, finding the country in the direction of Mukden wasted and deserted while guerilla troops harassed them continually, now virtually abandoned the march to Mukden and formed a junction with the second army drawing together at the acute angle to which they had been so long converging. Oyama and Nodzu met and from that time worked with their forces conjointly. The Chinese were becoming bolder in the vicinity of Hai-tcheng which made the necessity greater for a union of forces. At the 628same time Mukden itself was in a state of riotous disorder, the Manchoo and Chinese troops continually at conflict with one another and therefore scarcely needing the attention of the Japanese to attack either side. Military operations in Manchooria were now exceedingly difficult owing to the depth of snow and the bitter cold weather. Both armies were suffering from the rigors of the season, and neither regretted the opportunity for a cessation of active hostilities. General Nogi moved forward his headquarters to Huntsai. Cavalry skirmishes between scouting parties between Niuchwang and Kai-phing, and between Niuchwang and Hai-tcheng were of daily occurrence and with them we will consider the season’s campaign of the armies in Manchooria closed.

The raising of Li Hung Chang’s enemy, Liu-kun-yi, to the chief military command in China stirred up more and more trouble for military and naval officers as the time went by. Half of the generals of the army and the admirals and commanders of the navy were arrested, charged with various degrees of guilt, and many of them were sentenced to death. As a matter of fact, however, not many of these sentences were carried out, although General Wei was beheaded in Peking, January 16. The influence of Li Hung Chang could not, however, be destroyed, even though he had been relieved of all his functions except that of governor-general of his province. His connections with prominent officials in China had been too intimate and his strength too great that all could be taken away from him even by imperial edict. The old viceroy, the Bismarck of Asia quietly bided his time and waited the results that he felt sure would come. The Chinese envoy and his suite of fifty-six lingered at Shanghai day after day delaying their start to Japan with the avowed explanation that further instructions were expected, but with the understanding frankly held by every one except themselves that they were really detained in the hope that something would turn up, that some special providence would interfere to relieve them of the necessity of presenting China’s suit for peace to her ancient enemy.

And now the third Japanese army was ready for its descent upon the Chinese coasts and another invasion of the Celestial Empire was impending.