Li Hongzhang refused to close his eyes before he died until his servant said "a word".

Li Hongzhang, a famous minister in the late Qing Dynasty, is an important figure who often appears in history textbooks. Fight against Taiping Army, Westernization Movement, Sino-French War, Sino-Japanese War, etc. Throughout his life, he also established the Western Navy Beiyang Navy for the Qing Dynasty. On behalf of the Qing government, he signed more than 30 treaties with foreign powers, among which treaty of shimonoseki and the Treaty of Sorrow and Ugliness can be said to be two major stains in his controversial life. He vomited blood until he died.

Li Hongzhang was born in 1823. When I was young, I studied under Zeng Guofan, who made great contributions to suppressing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Later, Zeng Guofan and others launched the Westernization Movement and established the Beiyang Navy. However, as long as people mention him, they will think of more than 30 treaties he signed, including the Xin Chou Treaty and treaty of shimonoseki.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, with the acquiescence of Cixi, the Boxer Rebellion went to Beijing under the slogan of "helping the Qing Dynasty to destroy the foreign countries" and besieged consulates of various countries. Cixi hated foreigners and declared war on foreign powers. Then, countries immediately formed Eight-Nation Alliance, all the way to Beijing. But Beijing was unable to resist, so Cixi fled to the west with Emperor Guangxu and ordered Li Hongzhang, governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, to rush to Beijing to negotiate with the great powers on behalf of the Qing government. However, Li Hongzhang was in poor health in his later years and had symptoms of hemoptysis. Li Hongzhang's family strongly opposed his acceptance of Cixi's appointment and tried every means to dissuade him from refusing the task. However, despite the opposition and advice of his family, Li Hongzhang insisted on rushing to Beijing.

The journey is tiring, and the psychological burden brought by mediating with foreigners is too heavy. Li Hongzhang fell ill. He dragged his sick body, fought hard and argued with the powers. Even though he vomited blood several times during the negotiations, he still insisted on minimizing the losses of the Qing government. Finally, the foreigners reduced 654.38+000 million taels of silver to 450 million taels. Li Hongzhang had no choice but to sign the humiliating "Xin Chou Treaty" with the consent of Cixi.

190 1 year, Li signed the famous "Xin Chou Treaty" in history. Li Hongzhang vomited a lot of blood because of a ruptured stomach blood vessel. Finally, he tried to sign the contract before he died, but when he got home, he didn't get up and lay in bed waiting for death. In the afternoon, Zhou Fu received the news that Li Hongzhang was critically ill and hurried to visit him. Li Hongzhang was terminally ill at that time, dressed in mourning and silently waiting for death. At this time, Zhou Fu cried and said to him, "Why don't you feel at ease and can't bear to leave?" We can handle the unfinished business of CCBA, so don't worry! At this time, Li Hongzhang's mouth moved, leaving two lines of tears. On his deathbed, he was 78 years old.