When the middle of October came, the two armies were still facing each other on the banks of the Yalu. The Chinese had not yet fired a shot but kept at work night and day improving the natural advantages of their position. On the Japanese side there was no desire unduly to hurry the fighting, Marshal Yamagata choosing to wait for his heavier artillery and supplies before attacking. Spies kept him admirably informed as to the movements of the enemy, their defenses, and their artillery. They estimated the total strength of the Chinese massed along the north bank of the Yalu as between twenty-five and thirty thousand.
While the two armies are thus facing one another across the Yalu River, the Chinese having been driven from their last foothold in Corea, let us turn to the condition of affairs in the capitals of the two nations. The enemies of Li Hung Chang in Peking were busy in their efforts to cast disgrace upon him. Sheng, the taotai or chief magistrate of Tien-tsin, fell into disgrace and it was immediately alleged that he was a nephew of Li Hung Chang’s and that the latter was probably a sharer in the results of his dishonesty. Just before the war broke out Sheng was commissioned to purchase arms and ammunition for the imperial troops, to be distributed to them as they arrived from the interior on the way to Corea. Rifles and cartridges were duly purchased, and nearly all were served out to the troops. As soon as they were put to the test of actual service they were found to be almost worthless, and strong complaints were sent to Peking and Tien-tsin. Li Hung Chang himself conducted an inquiry, and learned therefrom that Sheng bought from German agents three hundred thousand rifles of obsolete pattern, part of the discarded weapons, in fact, of more than one European army. The contract price of these rifles as between Sheng and the German sellers was two taels each, but the price charged by Sheng to the imperial treasury was nine taels each. The cartridges were of very inferior quality and of various pattern, and Sheng made a large profit on them also. After Sheng’s guilt was proven upon him by the viceroy, he retired to his palace and for a time was seen no more in public. It was stated semi-officially that he applied for and was granted leave of absence on the ground of ill health. But a few days later it was reported that he was again enjoying the authority of his office, having been sustained against Li’s wishes by some of the viceroy’s enemies. Li’s enemies became bolder and bolder. Placards denouncing him as the cause of China’s troubles were posted on the walls of Tien-tsin and children in the streets sang doggerel songs ridiculing and insulting the great viceroy.
The foreigners resident in Peking and Tien-tsin became very restless under the impending invasion of China by the Japanese. Assaults on foreigners in Peking and its environs, which have been of constant occurrence during the last ten years, increased in frequency and gravity. Several English and American families withdrew to Shanghai because of the prevalence of street rowdyism. Tien-tsin was full of troops from the interior, but nearly all of them were the merest rabble, wretchedly clad, mutinous through lack of pay and insufficient rations, and useless for real war because of their antiquated weapons. Their continued presence in Tien-tsin was a distinct danger alike to Chinese and Europeans. An imperial edict published in Peking assumed full responsibility for the protection of foreign residents, denounced rowdyism, and ordered the punishment of certain culprits who had assaulted travelers. It assured the strangers the protection of their persons and their property, and was especially favorable to missionaries. The whole tone of the edict was considered highly satisfactory, and yet the government had failed to punish those who were responsible for the assaults and had taken no cognizance of the murder of a missionary, except to permit the governor of the province where the crime was committed to retain his high position.
A rebellion broke out in the district of Jeho, in the province of Chihli early in October, consequent on the rumored invasion of the Japanese. The imperial summer residence was in this city. Another Chinese rebellion broke out in the province of Hoopih about one hundred miles from Hankow. The local authorities attempted to quell the first rising but failed. Some of their soldiers were killed and others joined the rebels. Two mandarins lost their lives. In consequence of the urgent demands of the imperial authorities the province had been quite denuded of troops and there was practically no means at the command of the authorities to keep them in check. The Europeans at Hankow were seriously alarmed and many of them withdrew to Shanghai.
The emperor of China, early in October, began to take the initiative, attempting to infuse new energy into the national defense. It was indeed reported that he had disguised himself, and in person visited Tien-tsin, accompanied only by a few trusted servants, in order to see for himself what was going on, and particularly to learn the truth as to the alleged incapacity of Li Hung Chang to carry on the arrangements for the war. It was not, however, the emperor who made the journey in disguise, but his former tutor and trusted adviser Weng Toung Ho, the President of the Board of Revenue, or Finance Department. He also went to Port Arthur, Wei-hai-wei, and other places, and thoroughly informed himself of the state of affairs, civil, naval, and military. On returning to Peking he made an exhaustive report to the emperor, upon which the latter immediately began to take more interest in public affairs. He declined to sign documents until they had been previously read and explained to him, and called for special reports from the naval and military commanders. His next act was to summon to Peking the viceroys and governors of provinces, to receive from them accounts of the steps taken to comply with the demands of the imperial government, and to obtain from them their views as to the state of affairs. It was believed however by foreigners most able to judge that throughout all these actions the dowager empress of China was the active power in control. It was also believed that she was really a friend to Li Hung Chang, and that he would not suffer ultimate destruction unless she turned against him.
CONSTANTINE VON HANNECKEN.
Another important action taken by the emperor was to confer the highest grade of the Order of the Double Dragon upon Captain Von Hannecken for his services at the naval battle of the Yalu River and to place him under practically sole control of the naval forces of China.
Constantine von Hannecken, the German officer who was put in supreme control of what was left of the Chinese navy, had already seen a great deal of service in the war with Japan before his promotion to that post. He was on board the Kow-shing when she was overhauled and sunk by the Japanese cruiser Naniwa-Kan, with a loss of more than a thousand Chinese soldiers. Von Hannecken was left struggling in the water when the Kow-shing sank, but had the rare good fortune to be picked up by a boat. Still more recently he was high in command of the Chinese fleet at the disastrous battle of the Yalu River. He was slightly wounded but was soon ready for action again. This brave man was born in Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1854, and was a son of the late Lieutenant-General von Hannecken. He served the usual term in the German army, and in 1879 went to China, where he was soon high in favor with Li Hung Chang. He mastered the Chinese language in a single year. His technical military knowledge, amiability, and tact, gained for him the position of personal adjutant to Li Hung Chang, with a large salary. He devoted much of his time to the construction of bridges and forts, and the fortifications at Port Arthur and Wei-hai-wei were built under his personal direction. He was rapidly promoted to the highest military places within the gift of Li Hung Chang and the government, and received buttons, feathers, and jackets galore.
About a year before the outbreak of the war, having grown rich in the service of the dragon throne, he resigned from the Chinese army and returned to his home in Germany. After a stay of a few months he sailed again for China with the intention of settling his affairs there and retiring to Germany. The war with Japan changed this plan, and he promptly reëntered the service of China.