Chapter 35: The Signing of the Pyongyang Treaty

  Ito Hirobumi and his entourage arrived at the Pyongniwon Pavilion on October 20, and negotiations between China and Japan began, instantly attracting the attention of countries around the world. Envoys, journalists, spies, assassins, and other people from all walks of life flocked to this place, turning the second-largest city in Korea into an exhibition hall for people from all over the world overnight. The citizens of Pyongyang had never seen so many foreigners in their lives as they did in recent days. Such a large influx of people also tested Li Hongzhang's scheduling skills.

  Li Hongzhang had Ye Zhicha divide the inner and outer cities of Pyongyang into different regions, assigning Huai Army troops to manage them. Ye Zhiwei's Tiger Guard was responsible for security in one area west of the city, fortunately he had Feng Guozhang and Wang Shizhen at his disposal, the two divided the Tiger Guard into three groups, patrolling day and night, anyone suspicious entering would be immediately stopped and questioned, if they couldn't confirm their identity then someone would be sent to keep an eye on them in case of any unexpected event, while Butcher Ye sent out thirteen hawks to patrol the whole city. Seeing that the three men were handling everything smoothly from start to finish without any panic, Ye Zhiwei put his mind at ease and focused on the negotiations.

  Pyongyang's place of peace is a famous Chinese restaurant in Pyongyang Castle called Rakujuku. The building is located on high ground, overlooking the surrounding area, and has a beautiful view. In the evening, you can see the sun setting slowly, hence the name Rakujuku. When Ito Hirobumi first heard this name, his face turned green, and he barely managed to swallow his breath. China's culture is too powerful, after all, it can't be helped that an originally harmless name has taken on a different meaning.

  October 21, 1894, at half past two in the afternoon, Ito Hirobumi and his party boarded the Kosho. On the Kosho, more than a dozen chairs were arranged around a square table. Li Hongzhang issued four orders for the negotiations: First, except for negotiation personnel, no one was allowed to enter the meeting place; Second, reports from various newspapers had to be reviewed before they could be printed; Third, except for security personnel at the meeting place, no one was allowed to carry any weapons. In addition, Li Hongzhang also announced that encrypted telegrams of the Japanese government's peace envoy could be sent, and private letters would not be inspected.

  The Chinese and Japanese delegations took their seats, with Li Hongzhang and Ito Hirobumi sitting at the head. The other negotiators from both countries sat on either side of a square table. Among them, Ye Zhiqi and Yamagata Aritomo sat opposite each other across the table, the two having heard of each other for a long time in Korea but only meeting in person today. Suddenly, sparks flew across the table, if looks could kill, Ye Zhiqi would have been sliced to pieces by Yamagata Aritomo.

  Little boy, return my gold, said Mountain County with a glance.

  Little guy, what else can you do, are you going to bite me? Ye Zhi Kui replied with his eyes.

  The two men had already exchanged several rounds of silent eye battles. Ye Zhikui was basically there to make up the numbers, but as the head of security for the venue, he symbolically wore a knife on his body. Yamagata Kōhei took a closer look and his face turned iron-gray. Before the meeting even started, he first challenged Ye Zhikui: "Mr. Ye! As a negotiating personnel, why are you carrying a deadly weapon?"

  The Chinese and Japanese negotiators looked at Ye Zhikui after hearing Yamagata's question, only to see him wearing a samurai sword. Li Hongzhang smiled slightly, knowing that Ye would not do so without reason, and this move must be intended to dampen the enemy's morale.

  Ye Zhi Kui swiftly and slowly unsheathed the knife on the table, ignoring Yamagata Aritomo, and directly spoke to Ito Hirobumi: "Ito, this knife is a Muramasa from Japan. Originally, I wanted to give it to you as a gift, but since Yamagata thinks it's a deadly weapon rather than a gift, I'll have no choice but to destroy it."

  Ye Zhi stood up and slammed the Muramasa on the ground, using his hands to smash it and his feet to trample it. Alas, the Muramasa was indeed a famous sword, not suffering even the slightest damage, but instead nearly injuring himself in the process.

  Ye Zhiqi's actions left the Chinese and Japanese negotiators aghast. The Japanese side was furious, while the Chinese side couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. Wu Tingfang pulled Ye Zhiqi back, stifling his laughter, and cautioned: "Young Master Yun, stop while you're ahead, beware of provoking the Japanese into a rage."

  Ye Zhi Kui looked at himself playing around for a while, then returned to his seat, but still stepped on Muramasa with his foot.

  Itō Hirobumi cleared his throat and drew the attention of everyone, saying: "In Asia, China and Japan are separated by a strip of water, using the same characters, how can they slaughter each other? The two countries should unite against outsiders and resist the invasion of Asian yellow people by European white people."

  Li Hongzhang also pretended to be polite, first tracing the long history of exchanges between China and Japan, then suddenly changed his tone and talked about this Sino-Japanese war, saying: "Mr. Ito, your country is responsible for starting this war, the Japanese army in Seoul should withdraw immediately, release the King of Korea and compensate our military expenses with 20 million silver dollars."

  As a junior of the "Westernization Movement", Ito Hirobumi had to retort: "The reason for the outbreak of war has not been settled so far, and as for the Japanese troops stationed in Seoul, where did they go after our army withdrew? And compensation is also pending discussion. Our country has also suffered greatly since the outbreak of war, and your general Ye Zhiqi is like a robber who robbed our army."

  Li Hongzhang said: "It doesn't matter where you go, the two armies just need to draw a boundary line immediately. And compensation is necessary."

  The sun sets, and the two countries of China and Japan engage in a war of words. On one hand, Japan refuses to withdraw its troops from Korea, citing the Tianjin Convention as justification for simultaneous withdrawal; on the other hand, China disagrees with Japan's opinion, demanding that Japan abolish the Treaty of Shimonoseki, withdraw its troops from Korea, and acknowledge the suzerain relationship between China and Korea. Both sides refuse to back down, and negotiations reach an impasse. Eventually, it is agreed that talks will resume in three days.

  After the meeting, Li Hongzhang immediately sent a telegram to the Premier's Office, stating that Japan must recognize the suzerain relationship between China and Korea and withdraw its troops from Korea.

  Li Hongzhang knew that the Japanese had already cracked the Qing government's code before the war, and the telegrams exchanged between the Chinese delegation and the central government were all transparent to the Japanese. Ye Zhiqi was not a god either, and he didn't remember such a thing happening. By the time he figured out why the Japanese seemed to always be one step ahead of them in the negotiations, the treaty had already been signed. Therefore, during the negotiations, the Japanese side always knew the Chinese side's bottom line.

  Both sides scolded and cursed each other, and after several rounds of negotiations, there was little progress.

  At 5:20 pm on October 24, after the fifth round of Sino-Japanese negotiations ended, Itō Hirobumi walked out of the Ryūjōkan with a heavy heart and rode his horse back to the legation. Just as he was about to arrive at the legation, a Korean man suddenly jumped out from among the crowd and shot Itō in the left chest before anyone could react. Itō fell unconscious, bleeding onto his uniform. The assassin then fired four more shots at several Japanese men following Itō, causing chaos on the scene as people ran for cover in all directions. Taking advantage of the commotion, the assassin slipped into the crowd and escaped into a nearby shop.

  After the assassination incident, Ye Zhiwei reacted quickly and immediately dispatched the Thirteen Hawks to find the murderer.

  After interrogation, the man's name was Ahn Jung-geun, a Korean, 16 years old, already married with children. Ye Zhiqi was silent, historically Ahn Jung-geun had assassinated Ito Hirobumi, unexpectedly changing history. Ahn Jung-geun still came to assassinate Ito Hirobumi. After this incident, Ye Zhiqi only became more vigilant, preventing the Japanese from sending someone to kill Li Hongzhang. It's worth noting that not all Japanese people wanted an end to the war, many wanted him dead.

  The assassin An Chung-gun declared in his statement: "The assassination of Ito was not my personal act, but an act for the peace of East Asia. The Japanese Emperor claimed that invading Korea was to maintain the peace of East Asia and consolidate Korea's independence... This righteous act is part of Korea's independence, and I am a righteous soldier fighting against the enemy country, not an ordinary assassin, and should be treated as a prisoner of war captured by the enemy."

  After the assassination of Ito, Li Hongzhang was most worried that there would be evidence left in the hands of the powers, allowing the Western countries to intervene and reap the benefits. An Jung-geun's actions were no different from giving them a handle, and the Westerners didn't care whether you were Korean or Qing, they all thought it was done by China.

  A foreign minister being stabbed by a national of the country where he is stationed is indeed a scandal. International public opinion was shocked, and the Chinese government was extremely worried: if Ito Hirobumi used his injury as an excuse to return home immediately, thus suspending negotiations that were highly beneficial to China, it would be understandable, and Ito Hirobumi, as the chief envoy of the negotiations, suffered this unfortunate event, could gain sympathy from people around the world, especially several Western countries. If they also became dissatisfied with China, then this would become a major incident that cannot be ignored.

  Li Hongzhang yielded to the intervention of Western powers and retreated. He visited Ito Hirobumi's sickbed before, and the Queen of Korea issued a decree to severely punish the assassin afterwards. The Korean judiciary quickly sentenced the assassin Ahn Jung-geun to life imprisonment for "attempted murder". He was released after being imprisoned for several years.

  At 10:00 on November 5, 1895, the sixth round of Sino-Japanese negotiations began. At 11:40, when Li Hongzhang and Ito respectively signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki on behalf of their countries, both sides showed a satisfied smile on their faces.

  The main contents of the Pyongyang Joint Declaration include:

  The Japanese government recognized the Qing government as the "suzerain" of Korea;

  2. China and Japan shall simultaneously withdraw their troops from Korea; in case of any future disturbance or important event occurring in Korea, Japan shall first notify China before sending troops.

  Neither country will replace North Korea's military training.

  The treaty did not require Japan to pay reparations or abolish the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between Japan and Korea, which laid the groundwork for future Japanese invasions of Korea. However, it was at least an equal treaty signed by China.