The Desperate Telegram That Shook Shenyang

In the waning days of the eighth lunar month, 1894, Yuan Shikai—then a rising military official—received an urgent telegram from Li Hongzhang that cut through all pretense: “Why are you still dawdling? Proceed immediately to Jiuliancheng! Your mission extends far beyond mere supply procurement!”

This moment captures the tension and dysfunction plaguing the Qing military during the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895). Yuan and his colleague Zhou Fu had been lingering in Shenyang under the pretext of organizing grain supplies—a task easily delegated to merchants. Their reluctance to approach the frontlines reflected a grim reality: the Qing forces were crumbling after the disastrous defeat at Pyongyang, and officers feared the consequences of engagement.

Li Hongzhang’s rebuke forced their hand. Their true mission, assigned before departing Tianjin, was darker: to regroup shattered troops in the event of retreat. With the Qing army in disarray, their presence was critical to maintaining any semblance of order.

The Collapse of Qing Military Strategy

The war had exposed fatal weaknesses in the Qing dynasty’s modernization efforts. While Japan’s Meiji reforms had birthed a disciplined, Western-style military, China’s Self-Strengthening Movement—spearheaded by Li Hongzhang—had produced uneven results. The Beiyang Fleet, once Asia’s most powerful navy, was undermaintained; corruption siphoned funds meant for ammunition.

At the Battle of Pyongyang (September 15, 1894), Qing forces collapsed within hours. Japanese troops flanked their positions, exploiting poor coordination between regional armies. As soldiers fled northward, panic spread. Yuan Shikai’s assignment to Jiuliancheng was a desperate attempt to stem the rout.

Meanwhile, General Song Qing raced toward the front, his arrival timed for October 8 (per Japanese press reports). Contrary to speculation, Li Hongzhang had actually requested Song’s appointment as frontline commander—a move some misinterpreted as a power struggle.

The Political Firestorm in Beijing

While the military faltered, the imperial court became a battleground. A coalition of 35 Hanlin Academy scholars, led by Wen Tingshi—a protégé of Li’s rival Weng Tonghe—launched a scathing memorial against Li Hongzhang. Their accusations ranged from negligence to outright treason:

– Failure to prepare defenses
– Hobbling military commanders
– Nepotism in appointments
– Falsifying reports to the throne

The memorial’s conclusion was damning: Li Hongzhang is senile, arrogant, and has betrayed the nation. He must be dismissed!

Wen Tingshi’s rise had been meteoric. A tanhua (second-highest imperial examination graduate) in 1890, he leveraged connections to the Guangxu Emperor’s favorite concubine, Zhenfei, to vault from seventh-rank to fourth-rank in just four years. Now, he saw Li’s wartime failures as an opportunity to topple the old guard.

For Li Hongzhang, this was familiar terrain. He dismissed the memorialists as “yellow-mouthed children”—a biting reference to their inexperience, though Weng Tonghe, at 65, was hardly youthful. The real conflict was generational: reformist factions, clustered around the emperor, sought to displace Li’s pragmatic conservatism.

The Human Cost of Disarray

As politicians maneuvered, soldiers paid the price. Li’s subsequent telegram to General Wei Rugui laid bare the stakes:

The Hanlin scholars accuse your troops of looting, cowardice, and fleeing Pyongyang without resistance. The court detests you. Gather 5,000 men, fight fiercely, and you might atone. Otherwise, your life is forfeit.

This ultimatum reflected Qing leadership’s desperation. With Jiuliancheng on the verge of falling—Yuan Shikai had already relocated supply bases to Fenghuangcheng—the war’s outcome seemed inevitable.

Legacy: A Prelude to Revolution

The Sino-Japanese War shattered Qing prestige. The 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki ceded Taiwan, granted Japan Liaodong (later reversed by Western powers), and imposed crushing indemnities. Three key consequences emerged:

1. The Beiyang Fleet’s Destruction – Exposed the failure of half-hearted modernization.
2. Rise of Yuan Shikai – His battlefield pragmatism later made him a pivotal figure in the 1911 Revolution.
3. Accelerated Reform Movements – Intellectuals like Kang Youwei saw Japan’s success as proof constitutional monarchy worked, spurring the 1898 Hundred Days’ Reform.

Wen Tingshi’s faction briefly gained influence, but their idealism couldn’t salvage the dynasty. Within two decades, the Qing collapsed—partly due to the very institutional rot this crisis revealed.

Li Hongzhang, signing the humiliating treaty, reportedly said: This is the greatest shame of my life. Yet the greater shame belonged to a system that prioritized factional politics over national survival—a lesson echoing through Chinese history.