In the early years of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, the Qing government was engaged in a bitter dispute with Japan over the status issue of Ryukyu Kingdom. At first, the Qing government was indifferent to Ryukyuan affairs, prompting Japan to take bolder steps towards annexing the island kingdom. After the situation flared up, the Qing government did not take active and effective measures to change the extremely unfavorable and passive circumstances it had been plunged into. Among the three strategic moves proposed by He Ruzh...
