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In 1955, the Soviet leader Khrushchev took the initiative to return China's Lushun Port to China. More than half a century has passed since Lushun returned to the jurisdiction of the Chinese government again.
What kind of hardships has it experienced in history, a rare good harbor in the Far East? What efforts did our leaders make for their return to make the Soviets willing to return the port to us?
Lushunkou is located at the southernmost point of Liaodong Peninsula . In ancient times, this place was called the throat portal of the Beijing-Tianjin area. Because the outlet is narrow and the inside is wide, it will not be silted all year round. Moreover, because there is a warm current passing through here and the latitude is not high, it will not freeze all year round.
So the conditions for building a port here in Lushunkou can be said to be unique. Except for the other side facing the sea, the other three sides are hilly and hillsides. Moreover, the forest coverage rate is very high. It not only hides the port, but also facilitates the arrangement of defensive facilities, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, so it is very suitable to be a military port.
, and it is located in the north of Bohai Strait, and is located in the south of , the two ports of , Weihai and , Yantai , , Yantai , in the south, echoing the north and south, it can be said that it has strangled the throat of Bohai . For China, where the capital is in Beijing, Lushun Port is an important node in defending the capital's first maritime route.
When the Qing Dynasty was , although the Qing court chose to close the country, in order to defend the capital, in 1714, a naval camp established in Lushunkou, where more than 30 warships were deployed to defend Bohai Bay . When was in the late Qing Dynasty, when Li Hongzhang was going to establish Beiyang Navy , he considered the two places of Lushun and Weihaiwei as the bases of the Beiyang Navy.
After many inspections, Li Hongzhang personally went to Lushunkou in October 1881 and finally determined that it was the naval base of the Beiyang Navy. And the construction here has already started a year ago.
In the winter of 1880, the Golden Mountain Fort was built here first, and then a year later, the mine camp, torpedo camp and related warehouses began to be arranged here, and the harbor began to dig deep into it. Originally, the construction of the Beiyang Navy in Westernization Movement was not in a hurry, but in 1885, the Sino-French War of broke out, and in Mawei Navy in , the Fujian Navy suffered heavy losses, and the Qing court accelerated the construction progress.
In order to speed up the progress and catch up with the development pace of other naval powers, the Qing Dynasty specially found a foreign professional team for construction. Compared to China at that time, it was not the current infrastructure maniac, so it still depends on foreign countries to speed up the construction progress.
Under the construction of a foreign team, the large dock of Lushun Military Port was completed and put into use. At this time, the Lushun Military Port had become a complete modern naval base. By the time the war broke out, more than 10,000 Qing troops had been stationed in Lushun Military Port, and there were also various artillery and warships, which looked indestructible.
However, in 1894, after the outbreak of Sino-Japanese War of 1895, due to government corruption, the Lushun defense war lasted for five days, and Lushunkou was invaded by the Japanese army. With the signing of the humiliating Treaty of Shimonoseki the following year, China was forced to ced territories such as the Liaodong Peninsula, including Lushun.
At this time, Japan occupied the Liaodong Peninsula, and the gates of the capital were opened, which was a huge threat to our country. At the same time, this also made many powerful powers who covet our territory at that time very dissatisfied.
In other words, a group of great powers wanted to divide the cake of China, but after Japan took too much, the other great powers were unwilling to do so. They thought, if you have finished all the cakes, what should we eat?
So Tsarist Russia , Germany and France join forces to put pressure on Japan. Japan was unwilling to return the Port of Lushun at the beginning, after all, it was a popular item that he had finally obtained.
However, as an emerging power, Japan did not have the strength to work hard with Tsarist Russia, Germany, France and others. So after the Japanese initially insisted, they chose to give up the Liaodong Peninsula.
But the Japanese would not give up this large piece of land and military port in vain, so Japan and the Qing court signed the Treaty of Southern Liao. In the treaty, although Japan returned the Liaodong Peninsula, the Qing government required 30 million yuan in compensation. In December 1895, the Qing government took back Lushun and Liaodong Peninsula.
However, at this time, Tsarist Russia jumped out again, changing his generous speech to the Qing court not long ago, and becoming aggressive. The purpose of Tsarist Russia is to just return to China's Lushun Port.
After Sino-Japanese War in 1894-1895, Lushun Tong was temporarily occupied by the Japanese for a while. However, because the Western powers were moved, the Qing court compensated 30 million taels of silver and returned it to China.
Originally, the Qing court thought that this matter had just passed, but who knew that the evil wolf had just driven away and the tiger came again. Tsarist Russia quickly found an opportunity to contact the Qing government. Their purpose was very simple, which was to want Lushun Port.
We all know that in order to find a naval outlet, Tsarist Russia can be said to be fighting south and north, east and west, and has forcibly captured such a large territory of Russia now. Even in Russia today, there are not many good ports that are not frozen all year round, so Tsarist Russia has taken a fancy to China's Lushun Port.
Once the navy is stationed here, Tsarist Russia's maritime power can better participate in the competition for the interests of Far East . In May 1896, at the coronation ceremony of Tsar Nicholas II, Li Hongzhang, the special envoy of the Qing court, was taken away by several important officials of the Tsar government. They said that they helped the Qing court get back Liaodong and were of great contribution, so they wanted to rent Lushun Port.
Under the coercion of Tsarist Russia and the temptation to Li Hongzhang and his accompanying team, the Sino-Russian Secret Agreement was signed in early June of that year. In this treaty, it is only allowed Tsarist Russian warships to sail into all Chinese ports in war situations.
However, in 1898, the Tsarist Russian Navy used the excuse of the German Navy in Jiaozhou Bay to threaten Tsarist Russia's interests in the Far East, and went south from Vladivostok to occupy Dalian Lushun, and took the "Secret Sino-Russia Agreement" of that year and forcibly signed the "Lushun Dalian Lease Treaty" with the Qing government. The Port of Lushun was rented out, with a lease period of up to 25 years.
But just a few years later, due to uneven imperialism, Japan and Russia fought in the northeastern region of China. Russo-Japanese War ended with Japan's victory, and the post-war " Portsmouth Peace Treaty " gave the right to rent in Lushun, Dalian and surrounding waters to Japan without excluding the Qing government.
soon after, World War broke out, and the October Revolution broke out in Russia, establishing the Bolshevik regime. In the early days, in order to resolve foreign aggression against it and build itself, Russia had no energy to compete for the interests of the Far East.
Moreover, in Lenin's view, the Tsarist Russian reactionary government's aggression against China was unjust and immoral. The Russo-Japanese War was an imperialist war. So Japan has always occupied Lushun Port until the World War II period.
Although the Soviet Union was in the early days, he did not think about competing for Port Lushun again. But with the strength of the Soviet Union, they once again thought about one problem, that is, to create a good port without freezing.
The outbreak of World War II allowed Stalin to defeat Japan and then regain the Far East rights lost by Tsarist Russia in the war decades ago. So at the Yalta conference , when Britain and the United States persuaded Stalin to fight against the sun, Stalin kept using the neutral agreement as a guise until Britain and the United States promised that the Soviet Union could rent Port Lushun as a naval base.
And Stalin's explanation was that if the Soviet Union could not get benefits from Japan, they would not be able to explain to the Soviet people why they wanted to go to war against Japan. Britain and the United States naturally agreed readily, after all, it was not their own land.
In order to get the Soviet Union to join the war as soon as possible, Britain and the United States approached Chiang Kai-shek, continuously put diplomatic pressure on him, and painted a big pie to persuade him. In the end, the Chinese National Government accepted the relevant requirements of the Sino-Soviet Republic of Yalta's secret agreement and agreed to regard Lushun Port as a common naval base between China and the Soviet Union.
After getting the promise, the Soviet Union rushed south in August 1945 to launch an attack on the Japanese army in the northeast. The explanation given by Stalin after the war was to wash away the humiliation of the Russo-Japanese War that year, and on this basis, he entered Lushun Port openly.
Although the Soviet Union sent troops to give the Japanese invaders a heavy blow. However, the Yalta secret agreement seriously damaged our country's territory and sovereignty integrity.
After the founding of New China, most of the remnants left by the various powers during the colonial period were cleared. However, Lushun Port is still controlled by the Soviet Union.
Finally got the Soviets in Lushun Port, and under what circumstances were they willing to take the initiative to return it to China?
At the beginning of 1949, although the New China had not yet been established, the War of Liberation had basically come to an end, and the Kuomintang's reactionary regime's rule in the mainland was about to be destroyed.
So considering the future Sino-Soviet relations, Stalin sent Migoyang to Xibaipo for a secret visit.
In Xibaipo, Migoyang had a detailed conversation with the Party Central Committee headed by Chairman Mao, and the issue of the inability to escape the Port of Lushun. Although he was reluctant to return Lushun, once the founding of New China, the two countries of China and the Soviet Union will be in the socialist camp of . Therefore, Stalin proposed that as long as the peace treaty with Japan was signed, the United States withdrew its troops from Japan, the Soviet Union would withdraw from Lushun.
After the founding of New China, Chairman Mao visited the Soviet Union at the end of 1949, with the main purpose of signing a new Sino-Soviet Alliance Treaty. Because the old treaty was signed by the Kuomintang government to harm China's interests in order to get the Soviet Union to participate in the war, now that China's regime has changed, the treaty left by the reactionary government naturally has no legality, so our country wants to sign the contract again.
At this time, the Cold War has gradually begun. In order to have more benefits in the Far East, Stalin also wants to continue to rent Lushun Port. Therefore, in the face of Chairman Mao's request to re-sign the alliance treaty, Stalin opposed changing the legitimacy of the original Sino-Soviet Treaty, believing that the Soviet Union had to continue to lease Lushun Port for 30 years in form.
However, this issue of territorial sovereignty is the bottom line of principle and cannot be discussed. Therefore, Chairman Mao's attitude was very tough and he firmly demanded the signing of a new treaty.
In desperation, Stalin had no choice but to nod his head to agree. It also promised that within two or three years after the treaty came into effect, all Soviet troops stationed in Lushun in China would be withdrawn, and all powers in the leased port and nearby areas would be returned to China.
How many Soviet troops were stationed in Lushun and Dalian at that time? There are almost 300,000 people.
Originally, China and the Soviet Union had almost agreed. The Soviet Union said that it would withdraw its troops from 1950 and withdraw from the Lushun Naval Base at the latest by the end of 1952. However, in this year, the Korean War of broke out. With the United Nations Army entering North Korea for combat, our country had to organize the volunteer army to enter North Korea resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea .
The situation in the Far East suddenly became tense. In addition, the threat of the US Navy Fleet to China's coastal areas, as well as the peace meeting between San Francisco on Japan, the United States ruled out the New China and had a dispute with the Soviet Union because of the South Kuril Islands issue, so neither China nor the Soviet Union signed a peace treaty with Japan.
At this time, the Soviet Union stated that it was stationed in Lushun Port to avoid the invasion of Japan and the United States. Even if I withdraw my troops, it is based on the peace treaty with Japan. However, not only has the peace treaty not been signed, but the war situation is still so tense, and the US Navy may invade China's long coastline at any time.
In contrast, at that time, the young Chinese People's Navy not only had few warships, but also were old, and it was difficult for us to assume the important task of my country's coastal defense.In desperation, our country had to call Stalin and let the Soviet army continue to station in Lushun Port. Although this move delayed the time for our country to take back Lushun Port, the Soviet elder brother largely defended the security of our country's maritime borders.
And with Stalin's death and the end of the Korean War, the issue of the return of Lushun Port began to be put on the table. Although the Soviet Union defended my country's maritime border to a certain extent, its lease on my country's ports actually had an impact on my country's sovereignty.
So my country began to have the idea of taking back Lushun Port. Khrushchev, who came to power after a power struggle at that time, began to show goodwill to China in order to gain support from various countries within the socialist camp.
During the celebration of the fifth anniversary of the founding of New China, the Soviet Union sent a delegation to China. The Far East Department of the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs seized this opportunity and felt that the international situation and regional situation have changed, and the Soviet Union can withdraw its troops.
When the idea of the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs was spread to Kremlin , although many senior Soviet officials expressed opposition, especially Soviet Navy generals believed that this was unacceptable. However, Khrushchev believed that this was a good time to get along with China, and some people even believed that the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs was promoted by Khrushchev.
So in the face of doubts, Khrushchev suggested that the land of Lushun was originally China's own land, but was only occupied by Tsarist Russia, and this was completely robbed. Moreover, the Soviet Union should have withdrawn its troops in 1952, which has been extended for several years. The regional situation has changed now, so it is possible to continue to consolidate Sino-Soviet relations through withdrawal.
Khrushchev's attitude was extremely tough. Under his pressure, the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union unanimously passed the relevant documents. So after the fifth anniversary of National Day, Khrushchev made it easier for Mao Zedong to start formal talks.
At that time, our country was still worried about whether the sudden withdrawal of the Soviet Union would lead to an attack on the US military. Khrushchev said that in order to ensure safety, the Soviet Union would increase its troops to the Far East when it withdrew its troops.
At the same time, in order to show goodwill, Khrushchev also promised to leave all weapons and equipment to China for free when withdrawing troops. After consultation, China and the Soviet Union finally determined the withdrawal plan, and starting from May 25, 1955, 120,000 Soviet troops began to withdraw from the country.
With the departure of the last batch of Soviet troops, Lushun Port, which had been ruled by the Chinese government for more than half a century, finally returned to the embrace of the motherland.
With the development of the navy and air force in the past seventy years of New China, Lushun Port no longer has to worry about being forcibly occupied by foreign countries, and we no longer have to place the security of the motherland's maritime border on foreign troops.
Whether it is today's Dalian or Lushun, they have achieved rapid development under the siege of the People's Liberation Army. While prosperity, we cannot forget the humiliation we suffered here because of backwardness, because only by remembering history can we have a better future! ! !
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