The failure of the Sino-Japanese War was a complete failure of the Qing Dynasty. As far as the ordnance level at that time was concerned, the equipment level of the Qing army was even higher than that of the Japanese army.

There are several main reasons for the defeat in the Sino-Japanese War.

1, the national system, Japan is a modern country, consistent from top to bottom, and the Qing Dynasty is still a feudal country, fighting for power and profit internally, thinking that it is not to defeat Japan, but to take the opportunity to weaken Li Hongzhang. When the Japanese army landed in Shandong and besieged Liu Gongdao, they deliberately refused to send reinforcements and watched the Beiyang Navy fail.

Afterwards, Japan also said that Li Hongzhang's Huai clique was invincible to Japan in this war.

2. Military system. Japan has perfected its system of chiefs of staff, and its troops are well trained. Soldiers are well trained and brave in battle. The Qing army is still traditional, with insufficient training, outdated military thinking and no fighting spirit. In the battle of Pyongyang, the number and equipment of the Qing army were superior, and the result was still thousands of miles away.

3, intelligence, in order to plan the war against China, Japanese general Soroku Kawakami also visited China several times for reconnaissance, knowing everything about China like the back of his hand, and here he neither knows his friends nor knows him.

So is the navy. The Japanese have made a thorough study of this area.

4. Tactics and tactics. In the Dadonggou naval battle, the shaping of the Beiyang navy is still the same as that in the sail era, and the tactics of the Japanese guerrilla group have played their own advantages and have been unanimously recognized by all countries in the world.

Therefore, even if the quality of the shells was better at that time, at best, it would cost the Japanese navy more money, but it didn't help the general trend.