On the other hand, when the Donghak Peasant Revolution began in Korea, he dispatched troops in opposition of the invasion of Qing; on July 23, he established a pro-Japanese regime after the occupation of the royal palace of Korea, and on July 25 began the Sino-Japanese War by the Battle of Toyo-shima Island, and succeeded in neutralization of England and Russia.
一方、同年5月に朝鮮で甲午農民戦争がはじまると清国の出兵に対抗して派兵、7月23日朝鮮王宮占拠による親日政権の樹立、25日には豊島沖海戦により日清戦争を開始、イギリス、ロシアの中立化にも成功した。