Russia, however, concluded a secret agreement with the Qing and obtained leases for the cities of Lushun and Dalian at the southern tip of the Liaodong peninsula which Japan was forced to return, and proceeded to expand its presence in Manchuria constructing a naval base in Lushun for the First Pacific Fleet (Lushun Fleet).
ところがロシアは露清密約を結び、日本が手放した遼東半島の南端に位置する旅順・大連市を1898年に租借し、旅順に旅順艦隊（第一太平洋艦隊）を配置するなど、満洲への進出を押し進めていった。