3. The laws of the country to be radically reformed.

3. The laws of the country to be radically reformed.

4. The military establishments to be reorganized under competent instructors, so as to render the country secure alike from internal disorder and external attack.

5. Education to be thoroughly reformed on modern lines.

Mr. Otori asked for the appointment of a commission to discuss details, and on July 10, unfolded before the three commissioners, in twenty-five proposals, the details of the contemplated reforms. They were of such a character as to weaken greatly the influence of the queen and the dominant Ming party. Personages of too great influence were to be removed; the foreign customs establishment to be abolished; all foreign advisers to be dispensed with; the resources of the country to be developed; railways, telegraphs and a mint to be established; the legal and judicial systems to be radically reformed, and a school system to be adopted, beginning with primary schools and culminating in universities, with provisions for sending pupils abroad.

These reforms were declared to be as essential to the true welfare of Corea and China, as to the interests of Japan. It being impossible, however, for the Coreans to effect them themselves, Japan proposed joint action on the part of herself and China with a view to the desired object. This proposal however, China curtly refused even to discuss, so long as any Japanese troops remained in Corea. She assured Japan that the peasant rebellion had been quieted, which was true in a sense, for the insurgents, after the landing of the Chinese regulars, had temporarily stayed their onward progress; but the cause of the trouble still remained. From the moment of this deadlock we may date the unofficial beginning of the war. The formal declaration was not made until about two weeks later.

[Illustration: JAPANESE ARMY ON THE MARCH.]

THE BEGINNINGS OF HOSTILITIES.

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Japan Decides to Reform Corea without China’s Aid—Corean Palace Guards Fire on the Japanese Escort of Minister Otori—Momentous Result of the Skirmish—Announcement of Corean Independence—Tai-wen Kun as Prime Minister—The First Collision at Sea—Sinking of the Kow-shing—Fighting Around Asan—Defeat of the Chinese—Li Hung Chang Declares that the War Will Be Fought to the Bitter End—Japan’s Formal Declaration of War—China’s Response—The Conflict Begun.

Failing to secure China’s co-operation, Mr. Otori told the officials at Seoul that the government was now determined of her own accord to see the needed reforms carried out. The Corean government still showing no disposition to acquiesce in his proposals, the Japanese minister determined to have a personal interview with the king, of whose sympathy with the policy of the Ming party, there was some doubt. The minister had regarded the reply of the Corean government to his demands as insolent, and knowing that its substance had been made known to the Corean officers, he felt an apprehension of violence toward himself and the members of the legation. He therefore insisted on being accompanied by a strong escort of Japanese on the occasion of any further visits to the palace.

On the morning of July 23, attended by this escort of Japanese guards, and accompanied by the father of the king, Mr. Otori set out from the legation for the purpose of having another interview with the Corean monarch. As the minister with his fully armed escort approached the palace, they were fired upon by troops in the service of the Ming ministry, some of whom were stationed within the palace walls. The fire was promptly returned by the Japanese, and a sharp skirmish ensued which lasted twenty minutes. One Japanese cavalryman and two foot-soldiers were wounded; while the Corean loss was seventeen killed and seventy wounded. When quiet was restored, the Japanese were in possession of the palace. The result of the fight was momentous—the complete overthrow of the Ming, or pro-Chinese faction in the Corean government.

On the same day the Corean king formally announced his independence of China. One of his first acts was to request an interview with Mr. Otori, and before the interview had ended that day the Japanese ministers saw the Tai-wen Kun, father of the king, and formerly regent during the latter’s minority, formally installed as prime minister and instructed to introduce administrative reforms such as Japan had proposed. A written pledge was signed by the king, guaranteeing that the remedying of social and political abuses should begin as soon as the proper machinery could be put in operation; the old counsellors of the king were replaced by men believed to be in sympathy with progressive principles. Japan on her part made herself responsible for the execution of these pledges. The part taken by the king in the reforms is somewhat uncertain. One of the most eminent authorities on Corean affairs has declared that the king himself cannot be looked upon as a potent factor in the struggle; that he is a weak, amiable, nervous man, whose only importance consists in the fact that he is a king and in the sanction that his presence, and authority, and seal may be considered to lend to the party with which he sides. He has not been on good terms with his father, and when the Japanese placed the latter in charge there was considerable uncertainty as to the results that would follow.

The same day that this skirmish at the palace occurred between Corean and Japanese troops, a report was sent out which might have involved Great Britain in the eastern war. It was alleged that ill-treatment had been offered by the Japanese troops to the British consul-general at Seoul, Mr. Gardner and his wife. The assertion was that the Japanese troops forbade their passing the line of sentries which had been drawn around an encampment, and that unnecessary force had been used to accomplish this. The falsity of the charges, or the fact that they were very much overdrawn, was proved upon the first investigation, no regulations being in force except those natural and proper in such times.

The situation in Corea developed very slowly. The ways of the east are not as the ways of the west, and one of the most deeply-rooted and highly-prized instincts which oriental diplomatists have inherited from a long line of their ancestors is a profound belief in the merits of procrastination.

The first important collision at sea occurred in Prince Jerome gulf, about forty miles off Chemulpo, on July 25, one week before the formal declaration of war. Up to the night of July 19, the highest authorities at Tien-tsin did not anticipate war, but as a matter of watchful policy the war-office chartered the British steamers Irene, Fei Ching, and Kow-shing, belonging to the Indo-Chinese Steam Navigation company, and a number of Chinese merchant steamers, for the transportation of troops. The object was to transport the second division from Taku to Asan, to reinforce the Chinese army in that Corean city. The Irene was the first to leave Taku, July 21, with one thousand one hundred and fifty troops, with one of the owners and his wife on board; the other two vessels were to leave on the 22nd and 23rd.

[Illustration: PROCESSION IN SEOUL.]

The Kow-shing was an iron vessel, schooner-rigged, of one thousand three hundred and fifty tons, built at Barrow and belonging to the port of London. She sailed from Taku July 23, with no cargo, but with one thousand two hundred Chinese troops on board. All went well with the transport until the second morning, July 25, when about nine o’clock the vessel was sighted by a Japanese man-of-war, the Naniwa Kan. The Naniwa was accompanied by two other men-of-war, one of which was the Matsusima, on board of which was the Japanese admiral. The Kow-shing was ordered by signal, “Stop where you are or take the consequences.” She promptly anchored. Then the Naniwa steamed up and sent a boarding party to the Kow-shing.

The officers in command made a strict scrutiny of the ship’s papers, and after some hesitation as to his course of action, peremptorily ordered the Kow-shing to follow. This caused great excitement amongst the troops, who said to the English officers of the ship, “We refuse to become prisoners and would rather die here. If you move the ship, except to return to China, we will kill you.” The Japanese having returned to their own vessel, the European officers on the Kow-shing argued with the Chinese to convince them that it would be wiser to surrender, thus saving the life of all and the ship itself. These arguments had no effect on the Chinese, and the Kow-shing then signalled to the Naniwa to send another boat.

Captain Von Hannecken explained the situation to the Japanese boarding officer, pointing out that there had been no declaration of war, that the Kow-shing was a British ship under the British flag, and that owing to the position taken by the Chinese it was physically impossible for the officers of the vessels to obey the Naniwa’s order. He claimed that the flag should be respected, and that the ship should be escorted back to the Chinese coast. The boarding party then returned to the Naniwa, which thereupon signalled “Quit the ship as soon as possible.” The Kow-shing officers replied that it was impossible to quit the ship, owing to the threats of the Chinese. The Naniwa threw an answering pennant, and steamed quickly into position, broadside on, at a distance of about two hundred yards. Mr. Tamplin, the chief officer of the Kow-shing, tells a graphic story of the scene that followed.

[Illustration:

AFTER THE BATTLE. From a Sketch by a Japanese Artist. ]

“The Chinese were greatly excited, and kept drawing their fingers across their throats in order to show us what we might expect. The British officers, and Captain Von Hannecken, were anxiously gathered on the bridge, and the bodyguards were at the bottom of the ladder watching us like cats. Two executioners fully armed were told off to follow the captain and myself, and they dogged us everywhere with drawn scepters. About one o’clock the Naniwa opened fire, first discharging a torpedo at the Kow-shing, which did not strike her. The man-of-war then fired a broadside of five heavy guns, and continued firing both heavy and machine guns from deck and tops until the Kow-shing sank about an hour later. The Kow-shing was first struck right amidships, and the sound of the crashing and splintering was almost deafening. To add to the danger, the Chinese rushed to the other side, causing the ship to heel over more than ever. As soon as the Kow-shing was struck the soldiers made a rush. I rushed from the bridge, got a life-belt, and jumped overboard forward. While in the wheel house selecting a life-belt I passed another European, but I had no time to see who it was. It was a regular _sauve qui peut_. Mr. Wake, our third officer, said it was no use for him to take to the water, as he could not swim, and he went down with the ship.

“After jumping into the water I came foul of the chain, down which the Chinese were swarming. As I came to the surface the boiler exploded with terrific noise. I looked up and saw Captain Von Hannecken striking out vigorously. Captain Galsworthy, the master of the vessel, was also close by, his face perfectly black from the explosion. All of us went in the direction of the island of Shotai-ul, which was about a mile and a half to the northeast, swimming through the swarm of dead and dying Chinamen. Bullets began to strike the water on every side, and turning to see whence they came, I saw that the Chinese herding around the only part of the Kow-shing that was then out of water, were firing at us. I was slightly hit on the shoulder, and in order to protect my head covered it with the life-belt until I got clear of the sinking vessel. When I succeeded in doing this, and got away from the swarms of Chinamen, I swam straight for the Naniwa. I had been in the water nearly an hour when I was picked up by one of the Naniwa’s boats.

While in the water I passed two Chinese warriors clinging to a sheep which was swimming vigorously. As soon as I was on board the Naniwa’s boat, I told the officer in which direction the captain had gone, and he said that he had already sent another boat to pick him up. By this time only the Kow-shing’s masts were visible. The water was however covered with Chinese, and there were two lifeboats from the Kow-shing crowded with soldiers. The Japanese officer informed me that he had been ordered by signal from the Naniwa to sink these boats. I remonstrated, but he fired two volleys from the cutter, turned back, and steamed for the Naniwa. No attempt was made to rescue the Chinese. The Naniwa steamed about until eight o’clock in the evening, but did not pick up any other Europeans.”

The Irene, which had been the first vessel to leave Taku, herself had a narrow escape from an attack. She sighted a war vessel at eleven o’clock on the night of July 23, but by at once putting out all her lights was enabled to escape, and reached Asan early the next morning. The Chinese cruisers Chih Yuen and Kwang Kai, and the training ship Wei Yuen were at anchor. The troops were at once disembarked, and about nine o’clock the same morning the Irene left for Chefoo, arriving at four o’clock the afternoon of the 25th. Being under orders to proceed to Chemulpo to bring back refugees, she sailed at noon the next day in company with the British ship Archer. When some distance from Chefoo, the Irene was hailed by the Fei Ching, and informed that the troop ship Kow-shing had been sunk by Japanese war vessels. It was decided to take the Irene into Wei-hai-wei and confer with Admiral Ting as to the advisability of her going to Chemulpo; he advised her return to Chefoo.

The same morning, July 26, the cruiser Chih Yuen arrived at Wei-hai-wei from Asan, and reported that shortly after leaving that port, the new Japanese cruiser Yoshino fired on her and her consort, the Kwang Kai, unexpectedly, and a shell, piercing the bow turret, exploded, killing the entire crew serving one gun, and disabling the turret. As soon as the Chih Yuen got a little sea-room, her steering-gear having been disabled, she maneuvered and fought with her stern gun, one shell from which swept away the entire bridge of her opponent. A second shell striking the same place, the Japanese ceased firing and hoisted a white flag over a Chinese ensign, but Captain Hong, of the Chih Yuen, having his bow guns and his steering gear disabled, and other Japanese coming up, decided to make for Wei-hai-wei and report to the admiral. The first lieutenant of the Chih Yuen was speaking through the tube, directing the men, when a shot struck him and he fell dead. Twelve of the crew were killed and thirty wounded. The Japanese vessel suffering somewhat less.

The Kow-shing affair caused a complete change in the attitude of the Chinese government and in the foreign mind. The viceroy, Li Hung Chang, declared in an interview that if war was once provoked, China would fight to the bitter end. Japan was attacked in the European press for having sent a British ship to the bottom, even though it were loaded with Chinese soldiers, inasmuch as war had not been declared. The Japanese government at once instructed the minister in London to apologize to Great Britain for firing on the British flag, which was floating over the Kow-shing, and it was talked in every quarter that a heavy indemnity would be required from Japan. As further details became known, however, European and American sentiment began to shift. A British consular court of inquiry called to investigate the matter, decided that inasmuch as the two nations were virtually in a state of war at the time, though no formal declaration had been made, the Japanese commander was justified in his action on the ground that the Kow-shing was violating neutrality. The demand for an indemnity was practically abandoned on account of a clause contained in the ship’s charter to the effect that in the event of an outbreak of hostilities between China and Japan, the Kow-shing should be considered Chinese property. The case was therefore ended, so far as the action of nations outside of China and Japan was concerned. Less than two hundred were saved, out of nearly twelve hundred souls who were on board the vessel. French, German, and Italian gunboats which were cruising near, brought to Chefoo the few Chinese survivors, and several of the European officers were saved by the Japanese. Captain Von Hannecken was rescued by a fisherman’s boat, and made his way back to China.

Immediately following the date of these sea battles, hard fighting began at and around Asan, where the body of Chinese troops was intrenched. Early on the morning of July 29 the Chinese troops, who had left their fortifications at Asan, were attacked by General Oshima, the commander of Japanese armies in Corea, at Seikwan. The Japanese gained a decisive victory. After a hard fought battle in which one hundred Chinese were killed and five hundred wounded, out of twenty-eight hundred troops engaged, while the Japanese lost less than one hundred, the Chinese were forced back towards Asan, their entrenchment at Chan Hon having been captured. During the night the Chinese evacuated Asan, abandoning large quantities of ammunition and some guns, and fled in the direction of Koshu. When the Japanese reached Asan early in the morning of the 30th they found the trenches deserted. Many flags, four cannon, and a quantity of other munitions of war were captured, and the victorious troops took possession of the enemy’s headquarters.

Elated by the results of the actions which had occurred, Japan was now hurrying troops into the field. Thousands of soldiers were shipped in transports and stationed in Chemulpo, in Seoul, along the Great Northern road in Fusan, and finally around Asan, sixty miles south of Chemulpo, out of which the Chinese had just been driven. Three attempts at mediation had been made with a desire to avert war by diplomatic interference, first by Russia, then by England, and lastly by England supported by all the powers, but Japan was ready and anxious to prove her prowess over her ancient enemy, and to show to western nations the strength that she had acquired; while there were ample and strong reasons which appeared to the Japanese worthy ones why they should wage war upon China. They asserted that the best interests of civilization and humanity demanded this action and the time had come to begin. Belligerent acts had multiplied and formal action became necessary, without further delay. August 3 was the important date which marked the formal beginning of warlike operations.

The announcements to the world that an oriental war was actually to be waged, were in every way characteristic of the people and the habits of the two belligerent nations. Each one took pains to declare its power and the age of the reigning dynasty. Japan however took its greatest pride, very evidently, in the advance of its civilization, and the introduction of western methods in diplomacy as well as elsewhere. China, on the other hand, was more verbose, and at the same time very scornful of the fighting strength of the ancient rival. Each of course took pains to justify her own actions and cast all the odium of the war on the other.

[Illustration:

THE ATTACK ON PING-YANG. (Japanese Entering at the Gate of the Tai-Dong River Bridge.) ]

Japan’s formal declaration of war appeared in the “Official Gazette,” and in substance was as follows:

“We, by the grace of heaven, Emperor of Japan, seated on a throne occupied by the same dynasty from time immemorial, do hereby make proclamation to all our loyal and brave subjects as follows: We hereby declare war against China, and we command each and all of our competent authorities, in obedience to our wish, and with a view to the attainment of the national aim, to carry on hostilities by sea and land against China, with all the means at their disposal, consistently with the law of nations.

“Over twenty years have now elapsed since our accession to the throne. During this time we have consistently pursued a policy of peace, being deeply impressed with a sense of the undesirability of being in strained relations with other nations, and have always directed our officials diligently to endeavor to promote friendship with all the treaty powers. Fortunately our intercourse with the nations has continued to increase in intimacy.

“We were therefore unprepared for such a conspicuous want of amity and of good faith, as has been manifested by China in her conduct towards this country in connection with the Corean affairs. Corea is an independent state. She was first introduced into the family of nations by the advice and under the guidance of Japan. It has however, been China’s habit to designate Corea as her dependency, and both openly and secretly to interfere with her domestic affairs. At the time of the recent civil insurrection in Corea, China dispatched troops thither, alleging that her purpose was to afford succor to her dependent state. We, in virtue of the treaty concluded with Corea in 1882, and looking to possible emergencies, caused a military force to be sent to that country, wishing to procure for Corea freedom from the calamity of perpetual disturbance, and thereby to maintain the peace of the east in general. Japan invited China’s co-operation for the accomplishment of that object; but China, advancing various pretexts, declined Japan’s proposal.

“Thereupon Japan advised Corea to reform her administration, so that order might be preserved at home, and so that the country might be able to discharge the responsibilities and duties of an independent state abroad. Corea has already consented to undertake the task, but China has insidiously endeavored to circumvent and thwart Japan’s purpose. She has further procrastinated and endeavored to make warlike preparations, both on land and at sea. When these preparations were completed, she not only sent large re-enforcements to Corea with a view to the attainment of her ambitious designs, but even carried her arbitrariness and insolence to the extent of opening fire upon our ships in Corean waters.

“China’s plain object is to make it uncertain where the responsibility resides for preserving peace and order in Corea, and not only to weaken the position of that state in the family of nations—a position obtained for Corea through Japanese efforts—but also to obscure the significance of the treaties recognizing and confirming that position. Such conduct on the part of China is not only a direct injury to the rights and interests of this empire, but also a menace to the permanent peace and tranquility of the Orient. Judging from her action, it must be concluded that China from the beginning has been bent upon sacrificing peace to the attainment of her sinister objects. In this situation, ardent as our wish is to promote the prestige of the country abroad by strictly peaceful methods, we find it impossible to avoid a formal declaration of war against China. It is our earnest wish that by the loyalty and valor of our faithful subjects, peace may soon be permanently restored, and the glory of the empire be augmented and completed.”

China promptly accepted the issue thus formally raised, and published a declaration in substance as follows:

“Corea has been our tributary for the last two hundred odd years. She has given us tribute all of this time, which is a matter known to the world. For the last dozen years or so Corea has been troubled by repeated insurrections; and we in sympathy with our small tributary have as repeatedly sent succor to her aid, eventually placing a resident in her capital to protect Corea’s interests. In the fourth moon (May) of this year, another rebellion was begun in Corea, and the king repeatedly asked again for aid from us to put down the rebellion. We then ordered Li Hung Chang to send troops to Corea, and they having barely reached Asan, the rebels immediately scattered, but the 'Wojen' (the ancient epithet for the Japanese expressive of contempt translated ‘pigmies’ or more strictly according to usage ‘vermin’), without any cause whatever sent their troops to Corea and entered Seoul, the capital of Corea, re-enforcing them constantly until they have exceeded ten thousand men.

“In the meantime the Japanese forced the Corean king to change his system of government, showing a disposition in every way of bullying Coreans. It was found a difficult matter to reason with the ‘Wojen.’ Although we have been in the habit of assisting our tributaries, we have never interfered with their internal government. Japan’s treaty with Corea was as one country with another. There is no law for sending large armies to bully a country in this way and to tell it to change its system of government. Various powers are united in condemning the conduct of the Japanese, and can give no reasonable name to the army she now has in Corea. Nor has Japan been amenable to reason, nor will she listen to an exhortation to withdraw her troops and confer amicably upon what should be done in Corea. On the contrary, Japan has shown herself belligerent without regard to appearances, and has been increasing her forces there. Her conduct alarmed the people of Corea as well as our merchants there, and so we sent more troops over to protect them. Judge of our surprise then, when half way to Corea a number of the ‘Wojen’ ships suddenly appeared, and taking advantage of our unpreparedness opened fire on our transports at a spot on the sea coast near Asan, and damaged them, thus causing us to suffer from their treacherous conduct which could not be foretold by us.

“As Japan has violated the treaties and not observed the international laws, and is now running rampant with her false and treacherous actions, beginning hostilities herself, and laying herself open to condemnation by the various powers at large, we, therefore, desire to make it known to the world that we have always followed the paths of philanthropy and perfect justice throughout the whole complications, while the ‘Wojen’ and others have broken all the laws of nations and treaties which it passed our patience to bear with. Hence we command Li Hung Chang to give strict orders to our various armies to hasten with all speed to root the ‘Wojen’ out of their lairs. He is to send successive armies of valiant men to Corea, in order to have the Coreans freed from bondage. We also command Manchoo generals, viceroys, and governors of the maritime provinces, as well as the commanders in chief of the various armies to prepare for war and to make every effort to fire on the ‘Wojen’ ships if they come into our ports, and utterly destroy them. We exhort our generals to refrain from the least laxity in obeying our commands, in order to avoid severe punishment at our hands. Let all know this edict as if addressed to themselves individually.”

Immediately following China’s declaration of war, the Chinese Imperial Foreign Office addressed an important circular letter to the ministers of the various European countries, and of the United States, to be forwarded to their respective governments. The message began abruptly with the announcement that some time ago a rebellion broke out in the district of Chung in Corea, and the king of that country sent a written application for Chinese assistance through Li Hung Chang, Viceroy of the North.

“Our Imperial Majesty,” the message continued, “considering that on previous occasions rebellion in Corea had been suppressed by our assistance, dispatched troops, which did not however enter Seoul, but went direct to the scene, with a view to exterminating the rebellion. At the first rumor of their approach the rebels dispersed, and our army, having brought merciful relief to the distressed people, meditated a victorious retirement. To our astonishment Japan also dispatched troops to Corea, pretending that it was for the purpose of assisting to quell the rebellion, but their real object being to occupy Seoul, which they did, posting themselves at all the important passes. They continued to re-enforce themselves, until the number of their troops rose to upwards of ten thousand, when they demanded that Corea should repudiate her allegiance to China, and declare herself independent. Japan further drew up many rules and regulations for the alteration of the Corean government, which they required the king to conform to in every detail. That Corea has been a dependency of China from time immemorial is known to all the world, and therefore when your different respective governments established treaties with that nation, such treaties were approved and recorded by ourselves. For Japan to ignore this in so high handed a manner, is an offense against the dignity and authority of China, and a grave breach of the pre-existing harmonious relations.”

[Illustration:

OPENING THE GATES AT PING-YANG. Japanese Drawing. ]

The message comments upon the doubtful right of any country to interfere with the internal administration of the affairs of the neighboring states, and adds that while friendly counsel and exhortation may sometimes be permissible, the enforcement of suggestions of reform by direct and strenuous coercion and armed invasion cannot be tolerated. It is impossible, the message declares, for China to submit to such ignominious treatment, which would be equally intolerable to any of the respective governments to which the message is addressed. Reference is next made to the efforts of the British and Russian governments through their representatives to induce Japan to withdraw her forces from Seoul, thus making possible the peaceful negotiation of Corean affairs.

“This,” says the circular, “was an extremely fair and just proposal, but Japan stubbornly refused to take it into consideration, and on the contrary strengthened her forces to such an extent that the people of Corea and resident Chinese merchants there became daily more alarmed and disturbed. China, out of consideration for the commendable efforts of the different governments to effect a peaceful solution of the Corean question, rigidly abstained from any act of bloodshed, which would have led to great suffering and serious injury to commerce, and though it became necessary to send further forces for the protection of the country, we placed them at a careful distance from Seoul, studiously avoiding a collision with the Japanese troops, which would have occasioned the commencement of hostilities. Notwithstanding all this, and by a most unexpected and treacherous scheme, the Japanese on July 25, collected a number of their war vessels outside the port of Asan, and began hostilities by firing on our transports and attacking and sinking the British steamer Kow-Shing, flying the English flag. Thus, therefore, the commencement of the war on their part was beyond all justification, and China, having done her utmost hitherto to preserve the good fellowship of nations, can carry forbearance no further, but feels constrained to adopt different counsels and to take effectual measures for the management of affairs.

“We anticipate,” says the message in conclusion, “that the various governments of the world will hear of these extraordinary proceedings with wonder and surprise, but they will know where to lay the entire blame attaching to them. This full statement of the circumstances under which Japan has iniquitously and unlawfully commenced war, is presented to your excellency for communication to your respected government for its inspection.”

The two great nations of the orient were now at war, one with forty millions of inhabitants, the other with four hundred millions, fighting on the soil of their helpless neighbor, a nation which was to act as little more than a buffer for the shock of war from either side to strike.

FROM ASAN TO PING-YANG.

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Preparations for War in the Two Nations—Activity to Provide Defense for Southern China—Chinese Arsenals—War Spirit Among the Japanese—Armies of China, Their Organization and Administration—Burdens Upon Li Hung Chang—Manner of Campaign Followed by Chinese Armies—Seeking a Commander for the Chinese Troops in Corea—Complications with European and American Interests—Trade Relations—The Chung king Affair—Arrest of Japanese Students in Shanghai—Efforts of American Representatives to Save Their Lives—Delivered to the Chinese by Order from Washington—Tortured to Death—Operations in Corea—The Masterly Retreat from Asan—Engagements in the North—The Lines of the Japanese Drawing Around Ping-Yang.

As soon as the formal declaration of war was made public in the rival nations, the preparations for aggression and defense which had been in progress in China for a few weeks, and in Japan for several months, began to be multiplied with unceasing activity. The conditions which existed in the two nations were very different, and required different treatment.

Immediately following the outbreak of hostilities, the viceroy at Canton, Li Han Chang, brother of Li Hung Chang, began to make great efforts to put the southern part of the empire in something like an efficient state of defense. The first definite word of warning that reached him, through an official channel, was a cipher telegram from Peking informing him of the sinking of the Kowshing and the other engagements on sea and land, immediately prior to July 30. Li Han Chang was mainly responsible for the series of indignities which led to the resignation of the last British officers remaining in the Chinese naval service in 1891, so that China’s defeat at sea was to a certain extent his fault. For this reason he was placed in a position to be peculiarly anxious to make a good showing now. It was incumbent upon him to send forces to Formosa, the favorite point of attack in every important war that has been waged against China, and also to guard practically the whole southern coast, of which Canton with the naval station and arsenal at Whampoa, forms the principal point.

In times of peace the defenses of Canton consist of the southern squadron, the river forts, and the Manchoo or Tartar garrison, supposed to number four thousand, but really of very indefinite strength. The squadron at this time, however, was in the north, except about a dozen river gunboats, belonging to the navy and various revenue offices. The forts were in fairly satisfactory state, although insufficiently supplied for war, and the army sought recruits to increase its numbers as rapidly as possible. The investigation of the Whampoa arsenal, however, was highly unsatisfactory as to its results. When orders were given to the various arsenals to get to work building ships and making guns, the Shanghai and Nanking stations were found in readiness, and the Foochow arsenal, the largest and only one that had ever done any shipbuilding on a serious scale, was also in reasonably good condition. But Whampoa arsenal was in a lamentable state of unfitness, and all that remained of it was its naval training college, torpedo depot, and warehouse for guns and ammunition. The responsible officials whose negligence and dishonesty had resulted in this unfortunate condition, had good cause to anticipate severe punishment.

In the north of China, where the administration had been more closely under the eye of Li Hung Chang, things were in somewhat better condition, although still not what they ought to be to meet a great war.

The Japanese nation at the same moment presented a rare spectacle. To a man, ay, to a woman, the whole people were for war to the knife. They scarcely knew, nor did they greatly care, for what, but having been without the luxury of a serious foreign war for two hundred or three hundred years, their military and patriotic spirits were raised over the invasion of Corea and the prospective conflict with China. Never was a stronger antithesis than that between Japanese and Chinese at the beginning of this conflict. It was the perfection of order and of precision against slovenliness and carelessness; the pitting of a trained athlete against a corpulent brewer who hated fighting. China has in her history had good soldiers, but her system does not produce nor encourage them. Despised by the literary class, which has been in absolute control of everything, the soldier, having little chance of fame, and feeling himself as belonging to a degraded class, has taken naturally to pillage. If he has hoped to succeed to honors, it has been as likely to be by corrupt interest as by meritorious service, for the Chinese have had no appreciation of military excellence. Of course an army, however numerous, composed of such unkindly material, is but a mob, and if the Chinese had the spirit of soldiers they lacked the arms, for in a service built up on corruption it was natural to expect that the funds allotted for equipment would find other destinations.

After the war broke out, immense efforts were made by Japan in mobilizing troops and transporting them across the straits to Corea. The reserve was called out, and from every house and every shop some one was drafted to serve with the colors. So perfect, however, was the machine, that all this was accomplished without the least visible disturbance to the internal business of the country, and with such secrecy that it was only through reports of trains full of troops passing at night, and occasional train loads of war material, that any inkling was obtained of what was going on. The embarkation was kept equally secret, even when whole fleets of transports were engaged.

One was constrained more and more to admire the organization of the Japanese, and the perfect order which everywhere prevailed. In a country so strictly policed, the police need never be called on to quell a disturbance, and the force itself constituted another military reserve, drilled and disciplined for any service. So complete was their network of armed watchmen, that a sparrow could hardly cross the road without its name and destination being recorded in the archives of the prefecture. Everything about every individual, whether foreign or native, was known to this intelligent government. Every foreigner’s house was frequented by spies, in the guise of peddlers or servants, who reported minutely to their official employers. It was the same abroad. Japanese spies had examined every Chinese ship and fort, had measured the fighting power of every Chinese regiment. Japan knew the rottenness of Chinese naval and military administration better perhaps than the Chinese themselves. Japan was, in short, one great intelligence department, and it began to prove in a most unexpected way that “knowledge is power.”

Coming fresh from Japan to Tien-tsin, the port of Peking, whence the direction of the war was to be carried on, one would be astounded at the aspect of China. The Celestial Empire in war times contrasted so completely with its hostile neighbor that one might imagine oneself in another planet. The silent, stolid action of the one country and the confused bustle of the other were the strongly evident contrasts. Coming from war ministries, marine ministries, finance ministries, an executive as elaborate and perfect as the machinery of a gun factory, every individual knowing and doing his duty without hurry and without friction, into China where there were none of these things at all, one would be puzzled to conceive how any war could be carried on between these countries except one of ultimate subjugation. China was in a sense full of troops, mostly disbanded without pay, but in such loose fashion as to enable them even to carry off the honors of war, in the shape of their rifles and accoutrements. Some of these had sought and found an honest living, but many had gone to swell the ranks of brigandage. The troops in active service belonged to the great system of sham in which China revelled. The levies on paper and on pay rolls bore no direct correspondence with either the men or the arms. Neither the army nor the navy was a fighting service, but a means of living; and while generals, colonels and captains practically absorbed the naval and military expenditure, the custom of the country permitted the ranks to be robbed and starved, while those officials grew rich.

Vast as were the numbers of the fighting men of China on paper, they were but a very small proportion to the huge population of that empire. The old Chinese army in its three divisions of Manchoo, Mongol, and native Chinese did not exceed the nominal strength of one million, and all the efforts of military reformers have been devoted to increasing the efficiency and not the size of that force. The Green Flag, or Luh-ying corps, still represented the bulk of the army, furnishing on paper a total of six hundred and fifty thousand men scattered through the nineteen provinces, excluding the new province of Manchooria. It has been controlled by the local viceroys and governors who may in some instances have attempted to improve its efficiency, but as a general rule the force has had little or no military value.

When the Tai-Ping rebellion was finally crushed, the Ever Victorious army was disbanded, and the Viceroy Li Hung Chang, took into his pay a considerable number of these disciplined and experienced soldiers who had taken their part in a succession of remarkable achievements. When he was transferred to Pechili he took with him these men as a sort of personal bodyguard, and with the avowed intention of organizing an army that would bear comparison with European troops. He was engaged on this task for nearly twenty-five years. At the commencement this force numbered about eighteen thousand men. In 1872 the viceroy took into his service several German officers, who devoted themselves with untiring energy to the conversion of what was not unpromising material into a regular army of the highest standard. The training of this force was carried on with the greatest possible secrecy, and no European officers except those serving with it had any opportunity of forming an opinion. But it was known at the beginning of the war that the Black Flag army, as it was called, numbered about fifty thousand men.

After Li Hung Chang’s army, and scarcely inferior to it in strength and importance, came the two branches of the old Tartar army, both of which were recently subjected to some military training, and more or less equipped with modern weapons. These were the old Banner army, and the army of Manchooria, the total strength of the former being some three hundred thousand. Up to a comparatively recent time nothing had been done to make this force efficient. Many of the troops were armed with nothing but bows and arrows, and a kind of iron flail. In the last fifteen years, however, part of the Banner army, called the Peking Field force, was organized by the late Prince Chun, father of the reigning emperor and raised to a fair degree of efficiency. The second Tartar force, the army of Manchooria, contained some eighty thousand men who had received training and approximately modern weapons. Out of these, thirty thousand men, all armed with rifles, have made their headquarters at Mukden, the old capital of the Manchoos.

The Japanese reproached the Chinese with having no commissariat. Neither had they telegraphs, ambulance, or hospital services. Their habit was to live on the country in which they happened to be, and make it a desert. The Corean campaign was expected to form no exception to this rule, and the plains in the northwest, in the region first occupied by the Chinese after the abandonment of Asan, were early deserted by their inhabitants. Yet there were exceptions to this method of procedure. The force that was sent under General Yeh to Asan to quell the insurrection there, treated the natives with kindness and were consequently much liked. The general had funds entrusted to him, to distribute among the poor people who were suffering from want, and miraculous to say he did not steal the money, but spent all, and even, it is said, some of his own, in benevolence to the Coreans.

At the opening of the war the functions of a war ministry, marine ministry, finance ministry, with their staff of experts, were in China discharged by one old man, without any staff, who had stood for thirty years between the living and the dead. The emperor issued edicts without providing the means of carrying them out; all the rest, whether in gross or in detail, devolved on Li Hung Chang, who like another Atlas was bearing the whole rotten fabric of Chinese administration on his shoulders.

The supreme command of the Corean expeditions was first offered to Liu Ming-Chuan, who defended Formosa in 1884, but that astute old soldier declined on the ostensible ground of age and defective sight, but really because, as he said, peace would be made before he could reach Tien-tsin. The command was next offered to Liu Kin-tang, the real conqueror of Kashgar, for which the Governor-General Tso obtained the credit. He also declined, but was overruled by the emperor, and started from his home in the interior. His journey in the height of the summer heat was too much to endure, and he died in his boat before reaching the coast. The command was then entrusted to a civilian, Wu Ta-cheng, who distinguished himself in closing a great breach on the Yellow River some years ago, and who has lately been governor of Hu-nan. This promising official was therefore chosen to go to Corea as imperial commissioner to command the generals, no one of whom had been in authority over another.

[Illustration:

FIGHTING AT FOO-CHOW. Japanese Drawing. ]

It was natural to expect that complications would arise between the belligerent nations and the European and American nations having commercial interests in the orient. Japan and China had not been long enough acquainted with the rules of international comity and international war to be familiar with the exactions that would be made by the other nations which might be affected. The diplomatic representatives from the west lost no time in stipulating the neutrality of the more important treaty ports where foreigners were settled, and in arranging that certain branches of commerce should not be interfered with. Trade, however, was seriously affected and the price of coal doubled at one leap. China prohibited the export of rice from its own ports whence large quantities are usually shipped to Japan. Chinese lighthouses were darkened, and pilots were specifically warned not to assist Japanese vessels.

The term contraband was found to apply to many articles the transport of which in time of peace gave employment to many steamers, mainly coal, rice, and materials for building and repairing ships. The British government published a declaration that rice would not be recognized as contraband, and the prices of grain and rates for freight and insurance ruled high. The whole trade was, therefore, dislocated, for the Yang-tsze is the chief granary for the far east.

The British steamer Chungking suffered an aggression from the Chinese that drew upon them a severe rebuke and punishment. The vessel was at anchor in the harbor of Tongku, and among its passengers were sixty Japanese, many of them women and children, who were leaving China to return to Japan for safety during the impending troubles. While the vessel lay in the harbor a large number of Chinese soldiers forced their way on board with hostile intent. They began chasing the Japanese with threats of punishment, and the women and children fled to hide themselves. Many were found and were dragged from their places of concealment with violence. When they were found, their feet were tightly fastened together and their hands were tied behind their backs. They were then thrown upon the wharf, where they lay helpless, and several of them fainted under the severe treatment. As soon as the report of the outrage reached the superior officer commanding the district, he commanded the release of the victims, and the ship moved on to Shanghai where it arrived August 7. Viceroy Li Hung Chang tendered a most humble apology to the British consul for the aggression, the soldiers who committed the outrage were severely punished, and the officers who were responsible for it were degraded and sent into the interior.

The Japanese who were living in various Chinese treaty ports, engaged in business or connected with the various foreign concessions, took pains during the early period of the war to keep themselves as much as possible sequestered from Chinese view, to avoid giving offense to the people. Many of them had for years worn Chinese dress, and others now adopted the same costume, thinking thus to lessen the danger to which they were undoubtedly exposed. The Chinese authorities of Shanghai became convinced that the Japanese remaining there, under the protection of various foreign flags, constituted so many menaces to the national security. The precaution which the Japanese took in adopting Chinese costume, was made the pretext for a demand upon the consuls for the arrest of all who had resorted to it, but in each instance the demand was refused.

The first complication of American diplomatic interests with those of China came in this connection. On the morning of August 18, two Japanese who were walking within the limits of the French concession were pounced upon by Chinese guards and carried off to prison, charged with being spies in the service of the Japanese government. The accused were young men of good position and repute, and it seemed without the opportunity of spying, even if they were prepared to take the risk. They were placed in prison, however, pending, it was explained, the appointment of a proper tribunal to try them, and it was alleged by the Chinese authorities that there were found concealed about their clothes, plans of Chinese fortifications and cipher notes on Chinese movements. The following day the Japanese residing in Shanghai moved from the Chinese quarters into the American concession, where they placed themselves formally under the protection of the United States. The two who were arrested were immediately handed over to the American consul-general at his demand, he agreeing to keep them until charges should be formulated and presented.

After a careful examination of the merits of the case, the consul, Mr. Jernigan, and the United States minister to China, Mr. Denby, became convinced that the charges were groundless, and that the young men were innocent of any guilt or evil intent. They were mere boys, students at the schools maintained in the American and French concessions, where they had resided for many years. The fact that they were dressed in Chinese costume proved nothing, inasmuch as they had worn that costume for many years. The charges that plans and notes had been found upon them, were also discredited by the American representatives. Americans in private life in Shanghai, as well as Europeans, both in official and private position, united to sustain the position taken by the American representatives. These representations were submitted to the state department at Washington, where Secretary Gresham gave them careful and painstaking review. He lost no time in deciding that the opinions of the diplomatic representatives of the United States, who were on the ground and able to make a personal investigation of the merits of the case, were worthless, and that the allegations of the Chinese officials were those which were to be accepted in their entirety.

The result was that the United States consul-general at Shanghai was commanded by the state department at Washington to surrender to the Chinese officials these students, without delay. He did, however, delay sufficiently to make a strenuous protest against this action, offering further explanations why it should not be done, and in all he was sustained by the other diplomats in Shanghai. He declared that the surrender of these young men to China would be the signal for the torture, and that the only true wisdom and kindness would be to send them back to Japan. His protests were unavailing, and he was again instructed to deliver them at once, only exacted from the Chinese a promise that they should have fair trial and kind treatment.

To the distress of every friend of civilization in China, these two students were therefore surrendered to the Chinese, and two days later, after a trial which would be considered a mockery among ourselves, without the semblance of judicial fairness, they were condemned to death. The sentence was executed by means of the most shocking tortures which Chinese fiendish barbarity has been able to devise, to the horror of all foreigners living in that dark empire. The blot thus placed on American state-craft as exemplified in its first test during this war, can never be eradicated from the minds of those familiar with the circumstances of the sad case.

The surrender of the two Japanese to the Chinese officials, by the United States consul-general, threw the Japanese of Shanghai into a state of the greatest consternation, as they had hitherto believed themselves to be perfectly secure under the protection of the American government. Their dismay was doubled a month later, when on October 8, the two students were tortured to death, in spite of the promise which had been made to Secretary Gresham by the Chinese minister at Washington, that they should be properly treated. The pledge given by the Chinese government was that these students should be treated as prisoners of war, and tried by a competent court, after the manner of civilized countries; and that their trial would be postponed until Colonel Denby, the United States minister, could be present. Information furnished to the American state department at Washington, its representative in China, the American minister and the American consul-general at Shanghai, was to the effect that the young men were not spies, but were students in a commercial school established in Tokio with a branch at Shanghai, the chief object of which was to impart a knowledge of the commerce of China and Japan, and promote the trade relations between the two countries. Under date of September 1, Colonel Denby wrote to the secretary of state as follows:

“To give up these boys unconditionally is generally believed to be to give them up to death. The viceroy of Nanking has, I am informed, already demanded of the taotai of Shanghai why the heads of the two spies have not been sent to him. They are judged and condemned in advance. The governor of Formosa has posted a proclamation offering prizes for Japanese heads. In a country where such a thing is possible, it is needless to inquire what chance a Japanese accused as a spy would have for his life. This case has attracted much attention in Japan. The American minister at Tokio telegraphed this legation that these men were innocent. Should any harm befall them, retaliation is inevitable. These young men have the fullest sympathy of all foreigners in China, and the advice of the high officials of all nationalities has been not to give them up without conditions.”

[Illustration: CAPTURE OF PING-YANG, SEPTEMBER 16TH.]

Mr. Jernigan, the United States consul-general at Shanghai, wrote as follows:

“Had it been known to the Chinese authorities that the limits of my power as a protector of Japanese interests extended only to an inquiry after arrest, all the students, fifty, would have been summarily arrested, and it is believed here, as summarily dealt with as were their two fellow students. I do not hesitate to conclude that the delay caused by the course of this consulate general in the case of the two Japanese students, prevented the arrest of as many as two hundred Japanese upon mere suspicion, and has probably saved many from being executed and others from being held for ransom.”

With this sort of a warning before them, the remaining Japanese residents in Shanghai, who numbered about seven hundred persons, consequently determined to quit the place at the earliest possible moment. The Yokohama Specie bank transferred its business for the time to a French bank and closed its doors. The Japanese storekeepers sold off their stocks with all speed, and prepared to leave in the first steamer for their native country.

Let us turn now to the hostile operations in Corea involving the rival forces. In the last chapter the operations were related up to July 30, on which date the Japanese drove the Chinese troops out of their intrenched position at Asan. Five days later, on the 4th of August, the conquerors re-entered Seoul in triumph, leaving the retreating Chinese to make their way to their friends far to the northward. Barbarous as it might have been in the Chinese to have no commissariat, they had in such an encounter the advantage in marching, and were able to make a retreat so successfully as to win the admiration of those who can recognize even that sort of merit.

To understand the movements of forces from this period of the war, it must be remembered that we have to do with a single Japanese force, landing at Chemulpo and commanding and occupying Seoul, from which center the movements were carried on. There were, however, two Chinese forces, the original garrison of Asan, a port forty miles south of Seoul, and a large force advancing by the road which enters Corea at its northwest corner at Wi-ju. China anxious to meet and annihilate at one blow if possible her despised foe, threw the latter body of troops, drawn largely from the Manchoo garrisons, into the Corean peninsula, where they advanced about one hundred and seventy miles inside the border to the banks of the Tatong River at Ping-Yang. The Japanese were awaiting the shock a little to the north of Seoul, and such was the strength of their position that the Chinese, instead of advancing upon them, halted at the capital city of the province, Ping-Yang, assuming the defensive there and strongly fortifying it. One week after the capture of Asan and the beginning of the retreat of the Chinese, the van of the victorious army started from Seoul, marching towards Ping-Yang, one hundred and forty miles distant, whence they were destined five weeks later to be once more victorious in expelling the Chinese.

General Yeh, with his four thousand Chinese, made, as has been said, a masterly retreat. Accompanied by many Coreans who joined his standard when he was compelled to abandon his untenable position, he struck northeastward and after twenty-five days effected a junction with the Chinese main body at Ping-Yang, August 23. His column kept to the mountains, where travel was difficult, and it was harassed by the enemy all along the route. Nevertheless, the troops marched three hundred and fifty miles through this almost impassable country, breaking through the Japanese lines at Chong-ju, and reaching their friends at last.

The Japanese army, advancing on Ping-Yang at the same time, was approaching that position by a course parallel with that of the Chinese, but to the westward of it. The opposing forces were near enough to one another that detached bodies frequently met in conflict, and the skirmishes resulting were reported by whichever band happened to be victorious, as a brilliant victory for the army. Because of this condition of affairs, many battles were reported from one side or the other that were scarcely mentioned by the opponents, whichever force it might be, and the war spirit was thus constantly fed in China and Japan without anything of considerable importance really happening.

About the middle of August the Japanese scouts pressing forward from Pongsan came across an advance guard of the Chinese, who had seized the telegraph line. A brisk skirmish ensued and the scouts fell back. A few days later the Chinese advance guard, numbering five thousand men, encountered the Japanese troops guarding the Ping-Yang passes, and drove them out. Two days later an advance was made on the Japanese skirmish lines, and the Japanese were again defeated, this time being turned back as far as Chung-hwa, some twenty miles south of Ping-Yang.

[Illustration: FIRST SIGHT OF PING-YANG.]

When the Japanese troops started from Chemulpo and Seoul to advance on Ping-Yang, a force of thirteen transports, protected by a strong convoy of war vessels, also started for Ping-Yang, carrying some six thousand troops who were intended to co-operate with the forces advancing by land. On the 18th of August these troops were landed in Ping-Yang inlet, and they immediately began their march up the cultivated valley of the Tatong River in the direction of the city. When the force had proceeded some distance, it was suddenly attacked by one thousand Chinese cavalry, who succeeded in dividing the column into two parts. The Chinese artillery at the same time caused great havoc among the Japanese. The latter were thrown into complete disorder, and considerably reduced in numbers they fled to the seashore, pursued by the cavalry who cut down many of the fugitives. As they reached the coast the Japanese came within the shelter of the guns of their war vessels, and the Chinese were consequently compelled to desist from further pursuit.

The land skirmishes of which mention has been made, involved none except the extreme van of the Japanese forces and the outposts of the Chinese. The main body of the Japanese troops, some fifteen thousand strong, found that the daily rate of progress northward did not exceed six miles, so broken was the road by mountains and streams, the passage of which presented great obstacles. This being the rate of advance, the army had pushed some ninety miles from Seoul, when it was decided that a change of military plan must be made. The Chinese assembling in such great force at Ping-Yang, by the union of the two armies, threatened Gensan, on the east coast of Corea. At Gensan there was an important Japanese colony, and from there a trunk road led southward to Seoul. The destruction of the colony, a flanking movement against the Japanese army, and an irruption of Chinese troops into the Corean capital, might have been the result of not including Gensan in the Japanese program of operations. A force of ten thousand men was accordingly transported to Gensan by sea, with instructions to move westward against Ping-Yang, timing its advance and attack with those of the army from Seoul, whose progress northward was suspended to allow time for the passage and disembarkation of this column, and of the column which had been sent from Chemulpo into the Ping-Yang inlet.

[Illustration: BATTLE OF THE YALU—SINKING OF THE CHIH-YUEN.]

While these land operations were going on, there were also some naval movements under way, but the latter brought no very definite results. A fleet of Japanese vessels, including a few iron clads and some merchant steamships transformed into cruisers, made a reconnoissance of Wei-hai-wei and Port Arthur about the 10th of August. A few shots were exchanged at long range between the vessels and the forts at each of these places, and the fleet then withdrew. The operations were of little more importance than a mere ruse to draw fire and ascertain the position and strength of the enemy’s guns. No submarine mines were exploded, or torpedoes launched. At the request of the British admiral, Sir Edmund Fremantle, the Japanese promised not to renew the attack upon Wei-hai-wei or to bombard Chefoo without giving forty-eight hours’ notice to him, so that measures might be taken to protect the lives of foreign residents.

The emperor of China, taking personal interest in affairs to greater extent than had been his custom, insisted on a full daily report of the warlike operations and plans. He studied special official reports of the naval attack, and then wanted to know why his commanders allowed the enemy’s vessels to escape. All this time the Japanese fleet was patrolling the China sea, the Gulf of Pechili and the Corean Bay, trying to reach a conflict with the enemy, and to prevent the tribute of rice from going north. Torpedoes were placed in the entrance to Tokio Bay and Nagasaki harbor, to guard against an attack by Chinese war vessels. The war spirit in Japan lost none of its warmth. The detachments sent across the straits into Corea in August numbered nearly fifty thousand men, and early in September the total number of Japanese troops available for activity in the peninsula was nearly one hundred thousand. A war loan of $50,000,000 was desired by the government, and so anxious were Japanese capitalists to subscribe for it that foreign subscriptions were refused and more than $80,000,000 were offered.

Chinese efforts continued also in great degree, but the results were scarcely as happy. Troops to the same number could not be sent into Corea. A very long land march was required before the forces could reach the seat of war by way of Manchooria and it was useless to attempt transporting them by water, so carefully did the Japanese cruisers patrol the sea routes.

[Illustration: BRINGING IN THE WOUNDED.]

Just at this time, when the lines were drawing closer and closer for a decisive battle, the relations between Japan and Corea were more closely defined by a formal treaty of alliance signed at Seoul on August 26. The preamble of the treaty declared it to be the desire of the emperor of Japan and the king of Corea to determine definitely the mutual relations of Japan and Corea, and to elucidate the relations between Japan and China with respect to the peninsula. The body of the treaty consisted of three articles:

“The object of the alliance is the strengthening and perpetuation of the independence of Corea as an autonomous state, and the promotion of the mutual interests of Corea and Japan, by compelling the Chinese forces to withdraw from Corea, and by obliging China to abandon her claims to the right to dominate the affairs of Corea.

“Japan is to carry on warlike operations against China both offensive and defensive; and the Corean government is bound to afford every possible facility to the Japanese forces in their movements, and to furnish supplies of provisions to them at a fair remuneration, so far as such supplies may be needed.

“The treaty shall terminate when a treaty of peace is concluded by Japan with China.”

At this very time, however, the feeling of the Corean people against the Japanese was very intense and they were everywhere welcoming the Chinese as their friends. Except the strongly guarded positions in the provinces of Seoul and Hwanghai and the country around the treaty ports which were under Japanese influence, the peninsula was in the possession of armed Coreans and Chinese. The Japanese Marquis Saionji landed at Chemulpo, August 28, to congratulate the Corean monarch on his declaration of independence, and the king showed every disposition to co-operate with the Japanese in their efforts to introduce reforms into his country. His Majesty appointed a commissioner to visit Japan and thank the mikado for his promises to restore peace, and to establish a stable government in Corea. He further issued a decree introducing several reforms, including religious freedom, the establishment of a diplomatic service, the abolition of slavery, economies in the public service, the abrogation of the law whereby the whole family of a criminal is punished, and the granting of permission to widows to marry again.

Early in September the mikado established headquarters in Hiroshima with the ministers of war and marines and the general staff, deciding to direct the war operations from that city in the future. This had already been the place of assembly and embarkation for the troops ordered to the seat of war. At the same time Field Marshal Count Yamagata left for Corea to assume sole command of the Japanese army, which had now been augmented till its numbers were approximately one hundred thousand. Lines were drawing about the Chinese forces nearer and nearer. The indecisive battle which they had fought with the Japanese on August 16 had availed them nothing, and all their available troops were now massed together in Hwang-ju and Sing-chuen.

As the three advancing columns of Japanese drew nearer to the lines of the enemy, engagements multiplied and scarcely a day passed without some sort of a skirmish. The three divisions struck the Chinese simultaneously on September 5 and 6. The troops from Chemulpo struck the Chinese center at Chung-Hwa; those from Gensan came up with their enemies at Sing-chuen, where the left flank of the Chinese was strongly intrenched; and the detachment from the mouth of the Tatong struck the right flank of the Chinese at Hwang-ju. The results from all of these engagements were favorable to the Japanese, and the Chinese were forced back in confusion upon Ping-Yang where they united to give final battle. In the retreat, the column advancing from the Tatong again caught up with the Chinese on the 7th and another stubborn engagement was fought. The Chinese did not give way until they were in danger of being surrounded, when they fled in redoubled haste towards Ping-Yang.

[Illustration: THE MIKADO REVIEWING THE ARMY.]

With the Chinese forces in Corea thus surrounded by the Japanese, after the sharp campaign; and the Chinese fleet of warships in perfect fighting trim collected at Wei-hai-wei, the time was now at hand for the two important conflicts, one on land and one at sea, which resulted in mid-September in the entire victory of the Japanese.

THE FIRST GREAT BATTLES OF THE WAR.

--------------

Concentration of Japanese Troops to Threaten Ping-Yang—Plan of Attack—Poor Defenses in the Rear of the Chinese Position—Night advance on the Enemy—Swift and Effective Victory—Chinese Commander Killed—Thousands of Prisoners Taken—Rejoicings in Japan—Honors for the Dead Chinese Commander—Second Great Conflict in a Week—The Naval Battle of the Yalu River—Another Victory for the Japanese Fleet—Many War Ships Destroyed—Hundreds of Sailors Drowned in Sinking Vessels—Carnage and Destruction—Elation of the Japanese over two Successive Victories—Depression in the Chinese Capital and Criticism of the Chinese Viceroy, Li Hung Chang.

[Illustration: COREAN POLICE AGENT.]

The first serious engagement between the Chinese and the Japanese forces in Corea resulted, as competent judges foresaw all along, in the complete victory of the latter. The great battle was fought and won. The Chinese were utterly routed. The strong position of Ping-Yang lying just north of the Tatong river, on the road from Seoul to the frontier at the mouth of the Yalu river, was carried by assault in the small hours of Sunday morning, September 16. The Chinese troops who held it were utterly defeated, with a loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners, estimated at nearly four-fifths of their entire force.

On Thursday morning, September 13, began the attacks which resulted two days later in the brilliant victory. Three columns of Japanese troops had been centering for this attack for some weeks. The first of these came from Gensan, threatening a flank attack. The column marched from this port on the Sea of Japan almost directly west, approaching Ping-Yang by way of the mountain passes. The center column came from Pongsan almost directly south of Ping-Yang. The third column landed at Hwang-ju near the mouth of the Tatong river, and occupied a position to the westward of Ping-Yang on the right flank of the Chinese troops.

[Illustration: JAPANESE KITCHEN IN CAMP.]

The infantry and artillery of the Japanese were in a high state of efficiency. The men themselves were hardy, active, brave and intelligent. Their drill and discipline had been carefully adapted from the best European models. Their arms were of the latest and most destructive patterns that science has been able to devise, and every detail in their equipment and accoutrements had been thoroughly thought out and carefully provided. The officers who had the skill and the energy to create such a force were of course worthy to lead it. All of them had made scientific study of their profession, and some of them had spent years in close investigation of the more famous European military systems, under the guidance of distinguished strategists. But while it was generally anticipated that such an army, so led, would have an easy task in defeating and dispersing any force which the Chinese were likely to assemble against it at short notice in Corea, it was by no means certain that the Japanese could force an engagement before the Corean winter made serious operations impracticable. The Japanese commander showed that he had mastered the great secret of modern warfare. He knew how to move his troops with rapidity and with decision, and doing so he succeeded in dealing a heavy blow to China with trifling loss to himself.

The position held by the Chinese was one of great natural strength. Doubtless on this account it was protected by old works, which the Chinese had supplemented by new defenses. True, however, to the extraordinary practice so often adopted by the Chinese armies, they neglected to secure their rear to any adequate degree. The Japanese, who had fought the Chinese before, foresaw that this would be the case, and planned their measures accordingly.

Thursday the Japanese column from Pongsan, the centre, made a reconnoissance in force, drawing the fire from the Chinese fort, and ascertaining accurately the location of the defenses and the disposition of the troops. This having been accomplished, the Japanese forces fell back in good order and with very little loss, none of the other troops having entered the engagement.

Friday was spent by the Japanese in taking up their final position, and by that evening all the Japanese forces were in position for the combined attack, the Pongsan column facing the Chinese centre to bear the brunt, as in the preliminary fighting, and the others arranged as heretofore described. The Hwang-ju column had been re-enforced the day before by marines and blue jackets from the fleet at the mouth of the Tatong river.

The battle opened Saturday morning at daybreak by a direct cannonade upon the Chinese works. This continued without cessation until the afternoon, the Chinese fighting their guns well and making good execution. At two o’clock in the afternoon a body of infantry was thrown forward, and these troops kept up a rifle fire upon the Chinese until dusk. The Japanese gained some advanced positions, but they mainly occupied the same ground as when the attack opened. Firing continued at intervals throughout the night.

[Illustration: JAPANESE SOLDIER SALUTING A FIELD CEMETERY.]

Neither of the flanking columns took any part in the heavy fighting during Saturday, and thus no opportunity was given to the Chinese of measuring the real number of the forces opposed to them or of ascertaining the real plans of the enemy. Throughout the day the Chinese held their own without much loss except to their defenses, and they retired to rest with the satisfied feeling of men who have not unsuccessfully opposed a formidable adversary.

They had a rude awakening. During the night the two flanking columns drew a cordon around the Chinese forces, and at three o’clock on Sunday morning the attack was delivered simultaneously and with admirable precision. The Gensan and Hwang-ju columns were the ones who devoted themselves to the rear of the Chinese position, and the entrenched troops suddenly found themselves exposed to attacks from the force they had fought during the day and from new forces of fresh troops of unknown numbers.

The Chinese lines which were so strong in front, were found comparatively weak in the rear. The unsuspicious soldiers, taken completely by surprise, fell into panic and were cut down by hundreds. They were surrounded and at every point where they sought safety in flight they met the foe. It was of course a disgrace to the Chinese leaders to be completely outmanœuvred and surprised, but it was no disgrace to the Chinese soldiers to flee with but slight resistance when the surprise had been accomplished by an enemy outnumbering them nearly three to one.

[Illustration: CROWD IN TOKIO LOOKING AT PICTURES OF THE WAR.]

[Illustration: JAPANESE AMBULANCE OFFICER.]

The greatest Manchoo general, and some of the troops disciplined under Li Hung Chang’s directions on the European system, fought stoutly, stood their ground to the last, and were cut down to a man. But their stand was useless. The Pongsan column, swarming over the damaged defenses in the front, completed the discomfiture of the Chinese. Half an hour after the night attack opened, the splendid position of Ping-Yang was in the possession of the Japanese.

The Japanese victory was brilliant and complete. They captured the whole of the immense quantities of stores, provisions, arms and ammunition in the camp, besides hundreds of battle flags. The Chinese loss was about two thousand seven hundred killed and more than fourteen thousand wounded and prisoners. Less than a fourth of the Chinese army succeeded in escaping. The Japanese loss was thirty killed and two hundred and sixty-nine wounded, including eleven officers.

Among the officers of the Chinese killed was General Tso-pao-kwei, Manchoorian commander-in-chief of the army, who fought desperately to the last and was wounded twice. In this battle also, General Wei Jink-woi, and General Sei Kinlin were captured and these practically comprise the effective Chinese staff.

Within ten hours of the great battles of Ping-Yang, the engineers had completed the military field telegraph between that place and Pongsan, and had messages on the wires to Seoul. The number of troops engaged in the battle on the side of the Japanese was about sixty thousand, and of the Chinese about twenty thousand, which in a measure explains and justifies the result of the conquest.

The news of this battle was welcomed most enthusiastically in Japan, and rejoicings were held in Tokio and the other large cities. Bells were rung and salutes fired. Field Marshal Count Yamagata, in command of the Japanese troops, received congratulations by telegraph from the emperor of Japan.

[Illustration: CHINAMAN MUTILATING REMAINS OF JAPANESE SOLDIERS.]

The emperor of China had occasion to take different measures. An imperial edict was promulgated in which he expressed his profound regret at the death of General Tso, who was killed while gallantly leading the Chinese troops. The emperor ordered that posthumous orders should be paid to the deceased, befitting his rank as a provincial commander of the Chinese Empire. The edict bestowed imperial favors upon the sons and family of the late general. After he had been severely wounded in the shoulder by a bullet, General Tso persisted in remaining at the head of his troops, and it was while leading his men in an unsuccessful charge that he was struck by another bullet and killed.

Just one day after the rout of the Chinese from their defenses at Ping-Yang, another meeting between Japanese and Chinese took place not may miles from the same point, but the second battle was on sea instead of land, and its results were not as definitive as those of the battle of Ping-Yang. There remained room for each contestant to lay claim to certain phases of the victory. But the opinion of independent and impartial authorities, naval and military, has been that in the indirect results as well as the immediate lesson, Japan was well justified in claiming the contest to be hers.

[Illustration: THE PING-YUEN.]

Admiral Ting and his fleet were at Tien-tsin awaiting the orders of the Chinese war council which was sitting at that place. He was instructed to convoy a fleet of six transports to the Yalu river and protect them while landing troops, guns and stores at Wi-ju, from which base China intended to renew operations in Corea. The transports were ready Friday, September 14, and the following vessels escorted them to sea: Chen-Yuen and Ting-Yuen, speed fourteen knots, tonnage seven thousand four hundred and thirty; King-Yuen and Lai-Yuen, sixteen and one-half knots, two thousand eight hundred and fifty tons; Ping-Yuen, ten and one-half knots, two thousand eight hundred and fifty tons; Chih-Yuen and Ching-Yuen, eighteen knots, two thousand three hundred tons; Tsi-Yuen, fifteen knots, two thousand three hundred and fifty-five tons; Chao Yung and Yang Wei, sixteen and one-half knots, one thousand three hundred and fifty tons; Kwang Kai and Kwang Ting, sixteen and one-half knots, one thousand and thirty tons. The first five vessels named were armored battle ships, the first two built in 1881.2, the third and fourth in 1887, and the fifth in 1890. The seven following were cruisers with outside armor, all of them built since 1881 and some as late as 1890. There were also in the fleet six torpedo boats and two gun boats. It is evident that the fleet was of modern construction, and without going into details as to the armament it may be said that the guns were equally modern in pattern.

This splendid fleet arrived off the eastern entrance to the Yalu river on the afternoon of Sunday, September 16, and remained ten miles outside while the transports were to be unloaded. There were about seven thousand troops to be disembarked, composing the second Chinese army corps, which consisted almost entirely of Hunanese. The war council had realized that it was impossible to get the necessary re-enforcements to Corea with sufficient promptitude if they were marched overland, so the risk of sending them by transports was assumed.

The work of disembarking troops and discharging stores proceeded rapidly until about ten o’clock Monday morning, September 17. Very soon after that hour, the sight of a cloud of smoke upon the horizon indicated the approach of a large fleet. The enemy was at hand, and the battle was impending. Admiral Ting immediately weighed anchor and placed his ships in battle array. His position was a difficult one. If he remained near the shore, his movements were cramped. If he steamed out for sea room he ran the risk of a Japanese cruiser or torpedo boat running in amongst his transports. He chose the least of two evils and decided to remain near the shore.

By noon it was possible to distinguish twelve ships in the approaching Japanese squadron. The Chinese fleet steamed in the direction of the enemy and at a distance of five miles was able to distinguish the ships according to their types. Admiral Ting signalled his ships to clear for action and then brought them into a V-shaped formation, with the flagship at the apex of the angle. The Japanese had at first approached in double line, but when Admiral Ito saw the formation adopted by his opponent he changed his fleet into single line and so went into action.