Field History of Sino-French War

How to evaluate the Sino-French war?

Author: yolfilm

The entire modern history of China in the 20th century was almost started by this war.

The following text can be called "a few people in the Sino-French war"

1. Let's talk about "Sun Wen" first

When Sun Wen was a little kid in his hometown, he made him really look down on him. He forced him to go to Hawaii for a few years. Later, when he got older, he had to study seriously and sent him back to China. It turned out that Sun Wen Yixin only intended to apply for the Mawei Shipbuilding Academy. It was the Sino-French War that the French navy attacked Mawei, ruined the port and ruined the shipping bureau. By the way, it also blasted the "shipping school" into ruins. Yes, it was this war that made Sun Wen's dream of "serving the army and serving the country". Disillusioned, life trajectory changed.

Later, when the Sino-French War ended, the French fleet turned to Hong Kong to seek British repairs. The Chinese workers at the Hong Kong pier went on strike and refused to give labor to the defeated French army. Sun Wen was already studying medicine in Hong Kong at that time. He was shocked to see the scene of port workers' demonstrations and believed that "the people's heart is usable". (According to Sun Wen's private prosecution, it was this colonial strike that made him believe in the patriotism of the people and it was possible to overthrow the Manchu dynasty.)

Of course, the Sino-French war was inexplicably fought, and the Qing court "even though victory was still defeated," also made Sun Wen determined to overthrow the Manchu.

2. Let's talk about "Tang Jingsong"

In the Qing dynasty’s official department, the subordinates set up a department, and the department set up a principal. Tang Jingsong was an alternate principal, equivalent to a small bureau-level cadre. This small official heard that the French were making trouble in Vietnam, but he was a lobbyist by himself. Go to "Liu Yongfu" and raise troops.

There are multiple versions of records in the history books, but it is generally accepted that "Tang Jingsong under Annan" is his own "misconduct". Without the permission of any chief. The most interesting thing is that Liu Yongfu, who Tang Jingsong went to persuade him to raise money, is still a "chaotic people."

This "Liu Yongfu" was a revolutionary Hakka, and the remaining party of the Tiandihui was one of the most wanted criminals in the Qing Dynasty. He failed in the revolution and ran out of the country, making the Vietnamese government unable to control and beating him. He sealed a bird officer. However, Tang Jingsong persuaded him that the two cooperated closely. Tang Jingsong has been following Liu Yongfu on the "Western Front", losing several battles and never backing down.

(The Vietnam battlefield in the Sino-French war was divided into east and west: Feng Zicai on the east and Liu Yongfu on the west).

When the Sino-French war really started, "Zhang Zhidong", who led the entire battle, even allocated funds to this small cadre to form his own army (Jing Jun). Although he was defeated and fought again and again, he kept on holding on to the Western Front and dragged the law. The army had a lot of strength and finally survived until the end of the war.

The fun is:

Tang Jingsong later came to Taiwan, took over as Taiwan’s chief ambassador, and was later promoted to governor. He was told that he was defeated in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and Taiwan was ceded to Taiwan by the Shimonoseki Treaty. , Established a "Taiwan Democracy" (the first democratic country in Asia, some people say it was the second, the first was the "Lanfang Republic" established by the Hakka on Kalimantan Island in Borneo), and also " "Liu Yongfu" asked to go to Taiwan and fight the Japanese....

(The younger brother "Prince Shiratori" of the Emperor of Japan was beaten to death on the island of Taiwan and buried in the current "Grand Hotel".)

Although after the Japanese army landed, the world said that Tang Jingsong (abandoning the country) had absconded with money, but I always felt that Tang Jingsong was not such a villain. His actions in the Sino-French war proved his blood. At that time, Taiwan Island was in chaos, and it was difficult for the lone minister to return to the sky. After this monarch fled back to the mainland, he did not resign. I think there is some kind of "satisfaction".

"Lao Tzu has put it together like this, you patriots who just talk, what do you want me to do?"

3. Say "Liu Yongfu" again

The world knows "Huang Feihong", but most people don't know that the main reason why "Huang Feihong" was respected in the late Qing Dynasty is mainly because of his identity. He is the chief instructor of Liu Yongfu's "Black Flag Army."

Liu Yongfu was the remnant of the Tiandihui. He was defeated in the war and fled to Vietnam. At that time, the French began to intend to steal Vietnam. The Vietnamese king sent a plague god into the country. He was uneasy about what he expected. Unexpectedly, Liu Yongfu fought one after another. In the two battles, "An Ye" was first killed, and then "Li Weiye" was killed, and two senior French officers were given the first battlefield.

When I wrote the book on the Sino-French War, I entrusted a person to the French Naval Museum (Toulon) to verify and I did see the relevant information. Some domestic historians said that Liu Yongfu was bragging. The two wars can only be called "Conflict" is not a "battle", but "An Ye" is the mayor of Embankment, and "Li Weiye" is a colonel. On a battlefield like the Indochina Peninsula, he is not a small person in any way...

What’s more worth mentioning is that, according to the records of the official history and the unofficial history, Liu Yongfu fought the two battles, using chapters to return to the novel. The first one was to post an invitation to war on the French territory. The French army fired a defense, set up an ambush and killed it. The latter one was to attack the Catholic church opened by the French, and to use the method of "encircling the spot and fighting aid" was also set up to kill.

Without Liu Yongfu having won two battles beautifully (in succession), no one can guarantee that "Tang Jingsong" would have the courage to persuade him thousands of miles away.

And Liu Yongfu, who had "zero points in politics," even though he hated the Qing court, but in the current national crisis, he even agreed without saying a word...

A treason Liu Yongfu, in the face of national justice, is more patriotic than anyone.

Four or four talks about "Feng Zicai"

Feng Zicai had always been a villain for the first half of his life. As for him, he started as a soldier and earned his earliest fame. He was a peasant who fought "problems and revolutions." Overdo it.

Fighting Man Qing, encountering a serious army, was unable to fight, and surrendered, and called Man Qing to be reorganized again.... Go back to fight the farmers.

The face of the villain absolutely right.

Later, this man continued his military merits in the battle of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He went up one level after another, and finally became the admiral of Guangxi. The most diligent thing he did during his tenure was to cross the border and go to Vietnam to fight his previous (天地地). Will) subordinates. Until he retired.

However, after the outbreak of the Sino-French War, Zhang Zhidong was in charge of Guangdong and Guangxi. He had no available soldiers, so he had to hire a 68-year-old veteran Feng Zicai. It comes from the fact that the main force of the Kuomintang government's "Northern Expedition" was also the Guangxi soldiers of the Guangxi family). This was how he drove the ducks to the shelves, and Feng Zicai set off toward Zhennanguan, conscripting and training all the way.

(Please note that at the time, Feng Zicai's four prefectures were part of the land boundary, which was still in Guangdong in the old days, but all of them are based on "contemporary geography". After all, the people who read the article are modern people.)

I have seen a bunch of unconventional histories, saying that when Feng Zicai threw a hundred copper coins into the sky as an oath, the result was all positive, and the whole army was cheered. It was funny when I saw it, and I never believed it. It was because of the story of the Song Dynasty. Di Qing used it, Japan's Oda Nobunaga used it, and Feng Zicai used it again, which seemed to be a drop in price.

Therefore, in the book I compiled, I wrote that Feng Zicai took his son to the battlefield (this is a historical fact), carried three coffins (this is my compilation), used the funeral flag as the banner (I made it), and put the coffin inside. Full of silver taels, recruit troops and horses along the way (this is also made up by me).......

The funny thing is that historical facts are sometimes more interesting than man-made plays.

Later, during the Battle of Langsan, Feng Zicai used a very short period of time to build several walls that echoed back and forth on the hillside. It tastes like the "Sumata One Night City" by Tokoshiro Kinoshita (Hideyoshi Toyotomi). The main materials are bamboo and Mud, but it does have a major bearing on winning this decisive battle (forcing the French army to attack).

In other words, Feng Zicai has at least three faces. First of all, he is very smart and meets the wind and sails. Like a chameleon, he struggles to survive on the battlefield. Secondly, there are a large number of him. When he arrives in Vietnam, he and Liu Yongfu (he has hunted down) people like Liu Yongfu can abandon their predecessors and work together for the country.

Furthermore, he is a wise general and a brave general. When the battle of Lang Son was most critical, the dead old man took off his clothes and stood at the front line with a big gun. This text description is clearly recorded in the history of the French war...

After the Sino-French war, everyone thought that Feng Zicai should go home for retirement. Unexpectedly, he went out again and again and insisted on fighting on the battlefield until he was 86 years old. To be honest, there are many great heroes in the Sino-French war, and Feng Zicai is definitely the top three. Without his fighting, the Sino-French war would be unpredictable.

5. Let's talk about "Liu Ming Chuan"

The really great hero of the Sino-French war was Liu Mingchuan, who ranked first.

He is probably the only "ancient man" most beloved by Taiwanese. This gentleman has been a hooligan since he was a child. When he was young, he was bullied in the village, but he was so angry that he took a knife to block people on the road. The other party was riding a horse and saw him joke, "The hair is not full, what do you want to do with the knife?" Liu Mingchuan didn't say a word, jumped up and chopped off the other's head.

Liu Mingchuan’s temper was very dry. Later, when the good time came, the bandit leader was incorporated into the Huai Army (Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang). It is recorded in the history books that Li Hongzhang met him for the first time and his three subordinates sat in the hall for a long time. Li Hongzhang deliberately couldn't escape, watching the reactions of the three behind the screen, two pretending to be calm, but Liu Mingchuan and the other scolding his mother desperately.

It is also this kind of personality that can only emerge in troubled times. Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang both value him very much and give him an exclusive "Mingzi Camp" (later called "Mingjun"). With his own army, Liu Mingchuan began his military career. The most famous thing in his leadership process was the Twisting Army. He was stationed in a farmhouse in Shaanxi. In the middle of the night, he heard the sound of "weapon struck" and raised his sword to grab it. The guest, unexpectedly found the precious historical relic "Bao Jizi Baipan" in the horse ring (the war horse grazes in the middle of the night, the iron bit hits the ignorant peasant, the bronze ware used as a food bucket).

This thing escaped the harassment of "Weng Tonghe" (Teacher Guangxu), escaped the Japanese, escaped the Kuomintang, until Liu Mingchuan's fourth-generation grandson was dug out from the ground and dedicated to the country (1949).

When talking about these border histories, I mainly talk about the personality of "Liu Ming Chuan" and what kind of personality is there to make Liu Ming Chuan's achievements.

Say one of the simplest.

During the Sino-French War, Liu Mingchuan had two practical problems. The control over the Taiwan Strait was not in the hands of the Qing court, and large troops could not cross the sea. Secondly, all Taiwan ports were under British control and weapons were difficult to land. He went to Taiwan almost alone. Before leaving, he went to see Cixi (at that time Guangxu was not in power, and Guangxu was officially taken over before the Sino-Japanese War of Jiawu). The treasury was empty. According to historical data, Cixi gave Liu Mingchuan his private money and called He "organizes arms as planned."

Liu Mingchuan couldn't think about it. He just wanted to go to the Shanghai concession to buy weapons with foreign businessmen, and then he thought of smuggling to Taiwan. (Buying weapons with foreigners to beat foreigners is so sad that).

There is a very exciting section in the wild history. The French in Shanghai heard the news of Liu Mingchuan’s departure from Shanghai and conducted raids in the port. Liu Mingchuan hid in the boiler room, opened the furnace door, and hid in the dark, using the soldiers’ eyes to "see the light but not the dark" "The weaknesses, escaped the search.

When he arrived in Taiwan, Liu Mingchuan immediately used his incomparable commander-in-chief talents. At that time, all the corrupted "Hunan Army" guarding Taiwan, and Liu Mingchuan's "Ming Army" (Huai Army), could not urinate at all. But it was such a third-rate force that came into the hands of Liu Mingchuan and severely defeated the French army on the island of Taiwan. (During the war, the British merchants on Taiwan Island were always the guide for the French troops)

There is a chance to travel to Taiwan. On the way from Taipei to Tamsui, there is still a "French Cemetery" where the fallen soldiers of the French army are buried.

Going back to the "Sino-French War", most people think that the war is only in Vietnam. In fact, the French have a double calculation. On the one hand, they want to eat Vietnam and on the other hand they want to take Taiwan, especially Keelung. At that time, they produced some high-quality products in Southeast Asia. Anthracite coal is an important strategic material. But it gave Liu Mingchuan the first opportunity.

Who can imagine that the French are making trouble in Vietnam, but they want to eat Taiwan? This kind of "predictability" was really rare among the many officials of the Qing court, and only Liu Mingchuan had such a high degree.

It was Liu Mingchuan who rescued Taiwan island alone. If it is taken by a legal person, I am afraid that before the Shimonoseki Treaty, the Sino-French war is over, the Taiwanese will have to speak French... Similarly, it was Liu Mingchuan who guarded Taiwan and built Taipei City (the last city built in the history of the Chinese nation). It was Liu Ming's legend that convinced the Qing court to establish Taiwan Province. It was also that he built a power plant in Taiwan and lit the street lights. , The telegraph line was connected, and the first officially operated railway in the Chinese nation, Taiwan under Liu Mingchuan’s rule was the first to climb to the world’s first place. At that time, the camphor oil produced in Taiwan occupied the world's leading position of similar products ( Until the Germans replaced it with chemical synthesis, the world's number one disappeared).

When I wrote the biography of Liu Ming, I never understood what he was doing so desperately.

I guess he must be sick, and it is a disease that has troubled him for a long time. Because he feels life is precious, he sacrificed his life to protect the country. Later, I went to investigate and found that he was hit by a bullet in the left head when he was fighting in the early years , The bullet could not be taken out, so very early, very early, his left ear was deaf.

When he arrived in Taiwan, he crossed the Central Mountain Range and ran to the eastern part of Taiwan (where the birthplaces are) to inspect. He fell ill on the way, and then he couldn't walk. Most people read history. Who knows that Liu Mingchuan was in a wheelchair when he was governor of Taiwan. ?

Such a hero was later impeached, saying that he was colluding with outsiders (British), that he was corrupt, and his officials were removed. Liu Mingchuan stepped down sadly and returned to his hometown in Anhui. This man did not change his temper and did two more things.

First, he built an arsenal in his hometown and made weapons, thinking that one day he must fight for Taiwan. (Later, Taiwan was ceded by the Shimonoseki Treaty. He really asked himself to go to Taiwan to assist in defense, but the Qing court did not allow him. He ran on the mainland to raise funds for the Taiwan defenders...

Second, in order to educate his children, he dug a large pool at the door of his house, with a small island in the middle. Every day he rowed his children to the island to study and then took them out by boat after class. It is estimated that no one now knows that there is a "lake" at the door of Liu Mingchuan's home. There are two small islands in the lake. Liu Mingchuan took the name. The big island is called "Taiwan." The small island is his arsenal and it still exists.

By the way, I forgot to say more, Liu Mingchuan’s master is the grandfather of "Qiu Jin"... (History is so big and so small).

Liu Mingchuan is a great man.

In the eyes of us Taiwanese, who is Liu Mingchuan from Anhui? He is a Zhenger 800, a true Taiwanese from Hong Kong.

6. Let's talk about "Zhang Zhidong"

To see the greatness of "Zhang Zhidong" (in my mind, he is the second major contributor to the "Sino-French War"), you can use the "timetable" to talk about things. In December 1883, Liu Yongfu and France The army began to work. In May 1884, Zhang Zhidong took over as the "Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi". In April 1885, the Sino-French war was over.

In other words, Zhang Zhidong not only has to arrange personnel (rebel Liu Yongfu, small official Tang Jingsong, retired old man Feng Zicai, three freaks for one play.), but also coordinate Liu Mingchuan who is thousands of kilometers away (for Taiwan 20,000 yuan Two, 1,400 foreign guns, 520,000 ammunition, 600 barrels of gunpowder, but unfortunately they couldn’t be delivered to the Taiwan Strait). What’s more terrifying is that in the shortest period of time, he got large loans from several countries, and he borrowed them from foreign banks. "Five million taels of war funding.

Using online algorithms, one tael of silver in the Qing Dynasty is equivalent to the current 750 yuan, and five million taels of silver is equivalent to the current 3.7 billion yuan. In less than a year and a half, I borrowed this money from foreigners to fight foreigners...

For whom, who has this ability?

someone said,The Sino-French war was won, and China also lost the suzerainty of Vietnam. In fact, from the standpoint of the Qing court, the choice is really simple. Just look at the numbers and it's clear. A casual example is as follows: in the first Opium War, the Qing court paid a total of 17.52 million taels of silver; the second Opium War paid 16 million taels of silver; the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty was 5 million taels.

Of course, there are a bunch of terrible figures behind, such as Maguan, indemnities 200 million taels... But in 1885, the Sino-French War won, really nothing to be proud of. It was purely economical to win the Sino-French War. The military expenditure of the Qing court was as high as 5 million taels.

What can you do if you are Zhang Zhidong?

(The most terrifying politics lies in this question: "What if you are Tsai Ing-wen?" "What if you are Ma Ying-jeou?")

"Lafayette, don't be afraid, let's go down and call France to pay us compensation!" Maybe not?

Zhang Zhidong would probably be drowned by hundreds of civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty if he wanted to say this at a court meeting.

In the war of that era, the focus was on "overwhelming victory." Only when someone really "victorious" would beg for mercy.

No one pays the bill, and for the sake of the false name of a Vietnamese suzerain country, the money, life and national fortune are burned together?

Wouldn't officials of the Qing court settle accounts?

However, I believe that seeing this, there is already a group of patriotic teenagers who are eager to try, and are ready to scold "wash the ground" in the comment area.

Yes, Zhang Zhidong is a traitor. It's best to dig the tombs of his husband and wife and whip the corpses as they did during the Cultural Revolution.

Seven, say "Cixi" again

As mentioned earlier, most of the funds Liu Mingchuan received in Taiwan came from Cixi's private money. Many patriotic teenagers will be upset when they see this place. Wouldn't Cixi only embezzle the military expenses of the Beiyang Navy? Can she ask her to pay for herself? Wash the floor!

Actually, you put Cixi in that position (with the curtain hanging down to listen to politics). For the sake of the national crisis, Cixi used the internal treasury and used his own private money. There are more historical records. In the second Opium War, the Qing court fled Rehe. Cixi’s private money was buried in the ground and was not found by the coalition forces. After she returned to the capital, the sentence that she was fortunate to weep was also clearly written in the Qing history manuscript.

What did she use the hidden "private money" for?

During the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, historical data clearly recorded that Cixi had already returned to Guangxu at that time. In order to support the war, she dug out three million taels (billions of yuan) from her private money to support the military. This is all historical materials, not my nonsense.

Someone wants to ask, where did the private money of the queens of the Qing Dynasty come from? Isn't it the corruption?

Wrong.

Most of the savings of the concubines of the Qing court came from the usual "sales (I don’t know if it’s called this name?)" surplus, and the emperor’s rewards during the festivals. It is also the source of private money accumulation.

I am sure that I have the memory of "Liu Ming's Spending of Cixi's Private Money", but it is a pity that after many years, I have forgotten which ghost place it came from (historical data), so I can't prove it anymore.

In particular, why did Cixi desperately fight this "suzerain state" battle?

My personal understanding is that I was frightened by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom originated in Guangxi, and Guangxi is close to Vietnam. If Vietnam fell into the hands of the great powers, it would make people from Guangxi rise up and make a revolution all day long. The ending is terrible.

This is not my blind reasoning, but what Cixi really said.

(Cixi Yizhi) "It is unpredictable that the country (referring to Vietnam) has been weak for a long time. If it is allowed to invade, the barriers of Yunnan and Guangdong will be forced by other tribes, and the future troubles are beyond words." Did you see: "The Dian and Yue vassals are all persecuted by other tribes, and the future troubles are beyond words."

I said that Cixi used her private money, so there is no need to doubt it.

8. Let's talk about "Guba" and "Ruferi"

Originally, my seventh character planned to write "Zhang Peilun" (Zhang Ailing's grandfather, who led to the destruction of the Fujian Navy as a target) to curse "Li Hongzhang (Zhang Peilun's father-in-law)" for avoiding war and cowardly in the Sino-French war. War behavior, but then think about it, forget it.

I only intend to write about the bright figures of this war. I don't want to write about the depraved people in history.

When talking about the "Sino-French War", we should not just mention the Chinese side. According to the principle of balanced reporting, we should also say "the commander-in-chief of the French army", especially the commander-in-chief, whose body was buried in the playground of the Magong Primary School on Penghu Island. Aside. (How cool?)

There are many theories about the "death" of the "Guba" commander in chief.

According to the French, they died of illness, similar to malaria and heart disease. But according to the Chinese version, it was the commander-in-chief of a certain bank guarding the fort. He ignored the orders and fired his own gun. One shot broke the mast of the French flagship, and the mast fell, "just in time" crushing the commander-in-chief alive.

Of course, if you want to arouse patriotism, you are absolutely happy to be "crushed to death", but to be honest, more and more evidence shows that people died of illness, and there is too much evidence to support it, and the Chinese "fire interrupted "The mast" is just like a typical "boasting" lie.

Speaking of this, over the years, I have been wondering why I can’t be buried at sea alone? Must be buried on a small island in an enemy country?

Become a patriotic education material for the Chinese nation (if you have the opportunity to go to Penghu, you must look for this "tomb of the commander-in-chief").

In short, the end of the Sino-French war brought endless suffering, not only the Qing court, but also the French. Looking back at the war in the past in detail, the French can’t say that they underestimated the enemy, but they almost attacked with all their strength. Not to mention the dignified expeditionary fleet (with the new capital ship, the total displacement is far better than that of the Qing Fujian Navy at the time. In terms of land warfare, the landing battle in Taiwan was also well-fought, winning first before losing. Liu Mingchuan was panting. In the Battle of Lang Son in northern Vietnam, the main reason for the defeat of the French army was that the artillery troops lost their way. Because of the heavy fog, they could not find the assigned high ground, which caused the infantry to lack the firepower projection of heavy firearms...

In the final analysis, the fate was not given, and unfortunately on the battlefield, they ran into the Qing army united from top to bottom. It was by no means that the soldiers were lazy and missed work.

The failure of the "Sino-French War" was comprehensive. The French themselves saw it clearly (although they had picked up Vietnam and achieved their strategic goals), but the battlefield was lost and the commander-in-chief died. There was no important "reparation" from the Qing court. , Which led to the downfall of the then ruling government (the newly appointed Ruferi regime).

From the standpoint of the French, this war is definitely a tragedy. There are countless casualties, and the waste of the national treasury. These are still trivial matters. The most important problem is the loss of face as a world power.

Throughout the end of the nineteenth century, France went downhill until it was defeated in World War I and the country fell in World War II. The Sino-French War was probably the first death knell sounded. The death knell was heard by both the Qing Dynasty and France.

Both parties involved in the war were foreseen a tragic ending.

 

Ok, so far as I am writing, Lala is miscellaneous, it is considered that I dumped the Sino-French war in my memory.

To tell the truth, what is written above, except for a few years of checking, is all based on memory, wrong, please feel free to correct it.

Don't scold your mother.

Of course, I would also like to remind you not to see different points of view and just jump up and down.

This is not to clean the ground, nor is it to wash the ground for anyone.

In the face of history, it is better to be humble.