The anti-Japanese struggle in Yunlin County, central Taiwan

Japan's colonial rule in Taiwan lasted for half a century, a dark era in Taiwan's history. Japan's ambitions and desires and the viciousness of its policy tactics were far greater than those of the Dutch colonists of yesteryear. Although its methods of rule are sometimes different, either by force, or by political precaution, or by economic exploitation, or by cultural foolishness, the aim is to turn Taiwan into a base for the implementation of its colonial policies. Although the Japanese have made some achievements in Taiwan's modernization construction, they are not for the sake of the Taiwan people, but are centered on the interests of Japan. Japan is engaged in the modernization of the colonies in order to plunder Taiwan more effectively; to suck up Taiwan's essence to nourish the Japanese mainland, to squeeze Taiwan's manpower and material resources, to enslave Taiwan, and to make Taiwan better serve Japan; and to take advantage of Taiwan's favorable position as a base for southern invasion.

The Japanese army and navy admirals believe that Taiwan is their trophy and should become a forbidden area for maintaining military interests and an outpost for future military expansion. In the minds of the military leaders, Taiwan's military importance occupies the primary position, and only military rule can ensure Taiwan's security; only military rule, the interests of Japanese civilian industry, commerce, agriculture, forestry, and mining can be developed in the entire military system; and the interests of the taiwanese people must be controlled to conform to Japan's military interests.

The organ of Japanese rule over Taiwan is the Governor's Office. The first governor of Taiwan was the Admiral, Count Shiki Birchyama, who came from a prominent family in Kyushu. In 1873, Heki Birchyama visited Taiwan as a businessman. In 1884, he was transferred from the Army to the Navy, later became Minister of the Navy, and served as chief of staff during the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War. On June 7, 1895, he held the "Inaugural Ceremony" at the former Inspector Fu Yamen in Taipei. Since then, the Governor-General's Office of Taiwan has represented the Japanese government and ruled Taiwan for half a century.

The Governor-General was the military and administrative head of colonial rule in Taiwan and the dictator of Taiwan. The Governor-General has great powers, may promulgate orders in lieu of laws, has the power to issue decrees of the Governor's Office, has the power to direct military and military operations, and has the power to deal with special administrative matters such as customs duties, railways, communications, monopolies, prisons and State finances.

The brutal crimes of the Japanese invading forces in torturing and surrendering soldiers, indiscriminately killing innocents, raping women, and burning down people's houses after occupying Taiwan have deepened the hatred of the Taiwan compatriots. In order to defend their homes and defend the taiwan, the righteous people in various places rose up one after another in the armed struggle against Japan. The Japanese army could only occupy cities and a number of street markets in western Taiwan, and most of the villages were controlled by the righteous people, and there were many anti-Japanese incidents of the righteous people throughout the island of Taiwan. Among them, the anti-Japanese struggle in central Taiwan was the first to promote the anti-Japanese armed struggle in Yunlin Tieguoshan.

To the east of Yunlin County in central Taiwan, there is a large mountain called Dapingding, which is a natural fortress. The Ke clan lives here and reclaims the land for a living. The parent Ke Qian had two sons, the eldest son Ke Tie and the second son Ke He. Ke Tie's arm is superior, he is good at fighting, and people call ke Tiehu. Ke Tiehu is a good warrior, likes to fight and hug, and there are disputes near and far, which are more relied upon to resolve. When the Japanese army invaded Taiwan, the righteous people of Yunlin County took Jian Jingjing as the leader and Dapingding as the anti-Japanese base, and this place was renamed Tieguo Mountain, which means a place as strong as steel and no one can conquer.

Jian Jingjing is a native of Meizaikeng in Yunlin County, an old genus of Liu Yongfu, and has a good reputation in the local area. When the Japanese Guards Division invaded the south, Jian Jingjing had joined chen Wenhuang in the west, Liao Jingchen in xiluo, and Huang Ugly in the fog, each recruiting hundreds of righteous people, fighting fiercely with the Japanese army outside the Douliu Gate, and dispersing after defeat. In order to continue to resist Japan, Jian Jingjing expressed his willingness to cooperate with Ke Tiehu and others. Among those who defected to Ke Tiehu were Zhang Luchi, Zhang Dayu, Huang Cai, Lai Fulai, and more than a dozen other people, or Nengwen or Nengwu, and there were many talents. Everyone promoted Jian Jingjing as the leader, calling him nine thousand years old, more than 20 generals under Ke Tiehu, and more than a thousand righteous people.

On June 14, 1896, the Tieguo Mountain Assembly was held to prepare sacrifices and sacrifices to heaven and earth, calling the first year of "heavenly fortune". Flying all over the north and south, the call for response, the momentum was greatly enhanced. Among the heroes of the crowd was Liu Deyu, the former taitung general, who, after the fall of Taitung, crossed the high mountains and mountains and came to Tieguo Mountain to participate in the anti-Japanese resistance, and everyone respected him as a military division.

On June 15, Tie Guoshan led 700 men to besiege Nantou Street and cut off telecommunications and telephone lines. The Japanese army in Nantou Street selected two daredevils to sneak across the encirclement of the anti-Japanese army for help, and was hunted and killed by the local anti-Japanese army at the grass shoe pier. The Japanese army in Nantou also sent one infantry and one gendarme each to cross the mountain in the dark night and arrive in Taichung via Changhua for help. The Japanese army in Taichung was tightly defended, and could only send two small teams of infantry and two mountain artillery pieces to cross the mountain through Changhua and rush to the outside of Nantou Street in the early morning of July 3 to bombard the anti-Japanese positions from a high place. The besieged Japanese army launched a counterattack, and the anti-Japanese army could not resist the power of the mountain artillery, and on July 3, it withdrew from the siege and returned to Tieguo Mountain.

On June 30, when the anti-Japanese army was encircling Nantou, Jian Jingjing led more than 600 people to suddenly descend the mountain and storm Yunlin County with lightning speed. The Yunlin defender Sato Shōsakura was at a loss. On July 1, the anti-Japanese army increased to more than 2,000 people, encircling Yunlin County and gradually approaching the city streets. Sato saw that he could not defend and hastily retreated to Dapulin. The anti-Japanese army's recovery of Yunlin was the most glorious battle in the history of Taiwan's anti-Japanese war. When the good news came out, the anti-Japanese troops in various places rejoiced and bravely killed the enemy; the righteous people in various places revolted one after another, killing countless gendarmes and policemen.

At that time, the Japanese army stationed in Lukang had a garrison of more than 500 people, and because of the frequent alarms in Changhua and other places, they did not move and did not dare to rescue Yunlin. Lukang is the hometown of Gu Xianrong, a traitor who led the Japanese army into Taipei City. He saw that the anti-Japanese army in various places was huge, so he recruited nearly a thousand Zhuang Ding in Lukang and organized them into the Japanese Einsatzgruppen. On July 8, 300 anti-Japanese troops led by Liu Shi and Yang Sheng, under the command of Jian Jingjing, infiltrated Lukang Street in the midst of thunder and lightning and heavy rain, and burned down the Japanese defense facilities. The anti-Japanese army also captured Fanbozhuang, not far from Changhua. As soon as the Zhuang Ding led by Gu Xianrong encountered the anti-Japanese army, he was excited by the national consciousness and counterattacked the Japanese army.

The anti-Japanese army saw that the Japanese brigade was concentrated in Yunlin, and knowing that it was powerless to hold on for a long time, it withdrew from Yunlin on July 13, and the anti-Japanese troops of all sides slowly retreated to Tieguo Mountain.

In mid-June, the Japanese sent Lieutenant Nakamura to lead more than 20 people to reconnoiter the terrain of the Iron Country. Ke Tiehu led the crowd to intercept and annihilate them, except for two or three people who escaped. The Japanese then sent Sato's brigade to besiege Mount Tetsuguchi. The Anti-Japanese Army on Tieguo Mountain held the fortress and did not fight, and it was difficult for the Japanese army to attack. Taichung garrison Yi tian zhongzao, led a company of infantry into Douliu Street, massacred in various parts of Yunlin County for 5 days, robbed a number of villages, more than 4,900 families were victimized, and nearly 30,000 Taiwan compatriots were brutally killed. Among them, dou liu jie and other places where the victims were the most serious were killed, both men, women, old and young. The heinous crimes of the Japanese Kou are heinous.

On June 29, in the Jiji area, which had close ties with Tieguo Mountain, more than 600 anti-Japanese rebels revolted and attacked the Japanese Kou gendarmerie bunkers. The gendarmes were set up in the temple, the anti-Japanese troops climbed on the roof and shot downwards, the gendarmes opened the door and took the road to choose their lives, and all the 15 gendarmes were annihilated by the anti-Japanese rebels who surrounded the temple, except for 1 who slipped through the net.

In view of the fierce massacre of Yunlin in June, which led to the radical change in the hearts of the people and the conquest of Yunlin County by the anti-Japanese army, the Japanese army switched to the Huairou policy, and the Governor's Office sent the Minister of Internal Affairs of Guzhuang to Yunlin to recruit, alleviate poverty, investigate the household registration, set up a temporary Baoliang Relief Center at Guangfu Temple, and let the traitors Gu Xianrong and Chen Shaonian participate to assist the Japanese army in recruitment work. The leader of the Tieguo Mountain, Jian Jingjing, under the persuasion of Gu Xianrong and Chen Shaonian, went down the mountain alone on October 5 to surrender.

After Jian Jingjing defected, Liu Deyu, Huang Cai, Zhang Luchi, Lai Fulai and other leaders jointly appointed Ke Tiehu as the president of Tieguoshan and reigned as the overlord. Ke Tiehu was resolute in resisting Japan, brave and decisive, and the hearts of the people were satisfied and convinced, and they regarded life and death as the same, and would never lower the sun. The generals were responsible for preparing for the war separately, and the salaries and grain of the troops were all taken from the people and harvested by several. One out of ten. Protect local security and worry about the people. On October 25, the Anti-Japanese Army issued anti-Japanese documents to Douliu Street and various places.

There were thousands of anti-Japanese troops in Tieguo Mountain, and the anti-Japanese leaders were all heroes and heroes, who were both wise and courageous, and were good at fighting. In addition, the terrain of the Iron Country is steep, the cliffs are jagged, the sheep intestine trail, the road is rugged, the thorns are overgrown, and it is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Such an iron country mountain, the will of the people, the threat of the enemy. Seeing the great momentum of Mount Tieguo, the governor of Birch Hill, ordered the organization of a large-scale crusade, and captain Ota went to conquest. Ota was strictly ordered by Birch Mountain to make the greatest determination and sacrifice at all costs. On December 12, 1896, Ota led thousands of troops, police, and xian to the Iron Country Mountain. On the 13th, the anti-Japanese army surrounded the Japanese reconnaissance team at Houtouzai Mountain, annihilating more than half of the enemy. On the 14th, the Japanese army was intercepted at Hangjingzhuang and Erpingzaizhuang, and after fierce fighting, they finally repelled the enemy who had attacked. On the 15th, the Japanese army set up two cannons on the high ground south of Erpingzaizhuang to cover the advance of various soldiers and horses. The anti-Japanese army ambushed on the way and killed many Japanese troops. The Japanese risked their lives to reconnoiter the path into the mountain. On the 24th, the Japanese army ventured to attack Erpingzaizhuang. The Japanese army launched a general attack on tieguo mountain, and Erpingzaizhuang was a necessary place to enter tieguo mountain, but unfortunately it was captured by the Japanese army. The first and second lines of defense of the anti-Japanese army were lost one after another, and they stubbornly held the last top line and resisted fiercely. Japanese reinforcements came from a steady stream and concentrated their firepower to shell the iron country mountain home base. Ke Tiehu saw that the enemy was too fierce, knew that it was difficult to defend, and in order to avoid unnecessary sacrifices, he broke into pieces, scattered and retreated into the mountains, and waited for the opportunity to rise again. The glorious Iron Country Mountain was occupied by the Japanese army.

The Tieguo Mountain fell, and the anti-Japanese army that avoided the deep mountains did not stop fighting. They disguised themselves and scattered down the mountain, infiltrated into various places, gathered anti-Japanese comrades, and constantly went on guerrilla attacks to gendarmerie posts and police stations. In 1897, the anti-Japanese guerrilla warfare that took place in central Taiwan was innumerable.

In November 1897, Ke Tiehu gathered more than 500 anti-Japanese rebels and occupied The Tentacle Mountain as a base. On December 11, the Japanese army concentrated on the garrisons of Yunlin, Taitung, and Chiayi, plus artillery teams, and stormed The Touch Pass Mountain. The anti-Japanese army rose up to the battle, killing 12 people, wounding 56 people, and capturing 25 people in the fierce battle. Ke Tiehu was wounded and retreated into the mountains. The Japanese army paid a heavy price with heavy artillery fire to occupy the tentacle mountain.

In January 1898, Ke Tiehu, Liu Deyu, Lin Fa and others gathered more than 700 anti-Japanese troops to defend Da'anzhuang. In mid-February, the Japanese army, with the commander of the 4th Garrison Infantry Regiment as the commander of the crusade, sent 74 officers below the rank of gendarmerie general to participate, and formed into large, medium and small teams. On March 9, they assembled at Lam Pu pu, and on the 11th, they surrounded the attack from three sides: east, west, and north. The Great Saddle Village is located on the cliff face and the terrain is dangerous. The anti-Japanese army made full use of the terrain to strike the enemy up and down, fighting fiercely for several days and killing dozens of enemy people. However, due to insufficient firepower, he retreated into the mountains again. The Japanese did not dare to pursue. Ke Tiehu often led his men down the mountain and frequently waged guerrilla warfare against the Japanese troops in Linpupu, Nantou, Dongshijiao, and other places.

In May 1898, Kodama Gentaro was appointed governor of Taiwan, and Goto Shinpei was appointed governor of taiwan. After taking office, he reviewed the past and decided that the use of force to deal with the anti-Japanese army was laborious and fruitless, and decided to adopt a policy of appeasement. In order to achieve the goal of eliminating the anti-Japanese army, they did not hesitate to persuade and deceive. The Japanese ordered the traitor Gu Xianrong to join hands with Chiayi Lin Wuchen to investigate Ke Tiehu's movements, and even used Wu Keming, Zheng Xiangxiang, and others on Douliu Street to persuade Ke Tiehu to surrender and allow him to offer favorable conditions. On December 9, the Japanese "indignantly accepted" the "peace agreement" proposed by Ke Tiehu as a victor in order to implement his deceptive policy. There are three conditions for the "peace talks": "In Yunlin, Douliu, and their vicinity, a separate bureau for the administration of the people will be set up, which will be presided over by the Taiwanese people"; "Returning Dapingdingshan to Ke Tie" will allow Ke Tie and others to "adjust their own military affairs and protect the people"; "The September 1st tax will still be allowed to be collected"; "in Yunlin Territory, the people's families are allowed to use ordnance to prevent themselves from thieves at night", and so on. After the "surrender ceremony" was held, the Japanese side blindly monitored the actions of Ke Tie and others, did not fulfill the sincerity of the "peace talks," and the conspiracy to persecute Ke Tie and others became increasingly obvious. Under the pretext that Ke Tie and others had a plot to rebel, the Japanese army gathered troops in the open and covert to surround the residence of Ke Tie and others. Ke Qian was forced to rebel against Japan again, helplessly dispersing personnel, sparsely deployed, and increasingly dangerous. So in October 1899, he left Kuling Foot Village and moved to the grotto of Damao Dongdingbao Ganzhen Village. On February 9, 1900, he fell seriously ill and died. The Japanese army was overjoyed to hear that Ke Tie was dead. Immediately, a gendarme expedition team was dispatched to visit everywhere, and although the cave where Ke Tie lived was found, the place where Ke Tie was buried was never found. Later, Ke Tie was friendly for dozens of people before his death, and gathered in front of his brother Ke He's house to mourn his patriotic and chivalrous behavior during his lifetime. When the Japanese army heard the news, the comrades immediately confronted the battle, Ke Tie's father Ke Qian was killed, and the other comrades retreated into Longan Mountain.

After Ke Tie's death, his old department often haunted near Beidou Street and Xihu Street, and attacked the gendarmerie station and the police station when there was a gap. In August, Zhang Dayu and Zhang Luchi, the former anti-Japanese department of Tieguo Mountain, gathered more than 200 anti-Japanese righteous people at the top of The Touch Kou Mountain and prepared to attack the Douliu Office. The Japanese army formed a police and constitutional mixed team to attack, and the anti-Japanese army retreated into the mountains.

In February 1901, zhan ari, Lai Alai, Zhuang Lu, and Ji Ajin led more than 300 anti-Japanese rebels to gather in deer belly pits, bamboo pits, and monkey cave pits, planning to attack Dadun. On February 1, Zhan Arui and others took a dangerous road in the mountains, bypassing the enemy fortification points and directly approaching Dadun Street in Taichung. At 9 o'clock in the evening, the Japanese army was not prepared, and divided into three roads, one attacking the garrison, one attacking the North Gate Artillery, and the other attacking the northern end of Dadun Street. The enemy was out of the way, and the streets were empty. The policemen who stayed behind were often killed. The streets were on fire and order was chaotic. When the Japanese army went out, they saw the fire of the big pier soaring into the sky, knew that there was a change in the street, and immediately withdrew to the rescue. The anti-Japanese army moved in time, and the Japanese army pounced again, not knowing where the anti-Japanese army retreated.

On August 15, 1901, the three brothers Zhang Lü (grass + thorn), Zhang Lüchi and Zhang Luliang, the former anti-Japanese leaders of Tieguo Mountain, led more than 100 anti-Japanese righteous people to attack the Shahecang Branch of the Beidou Office. Although the number of police officers in the branch offices is small, they are well armed with ammunition and stick to the portals. The anti-Japanese army fought bravely and was difficult to break through for a while. The enemy garrisons in Changhua and Taichung came to support them again, and the anti-Japanese army finally retreated into the mountains due to unfavorable conditions.

In 1902, the Governor's Office saw that the anti-Japanese flames in various places were extinguished one after another, and there was no end to the day, so it used tricks to lure and surrender. Kodama and Goto used all kinds of means to destroy the anti-Japanese guerrillas, and in addition to suppressing them by force, they also implemented a policy of "sugar and whip", using both soft and fraudulent. They offered generous conditions, drove the royal gentlemen, spoke sweetly, and persuaded the anti-Japanese leaders everywhere to surrender. When the righteous are deceived, they will be killed in one fell swoop. A typical example is the Massacre of 1902.

The Japanese pioneered the imperial gentry to persuade Zhang Dayu, Zhang Luliang, Liu Rong, Chen Ti, Zhang Yong, Zhang Jinhuan, Chung You, and hundreds of other nominal people to surrender. On May 25, the "Surrender Ceremony" will be held at Lin Qipu, Douliu, (Shan + Kan) Toutso, Xiluo, Taliwu and Lin toucuo respectively. The Japanese Kou set a poison plan and ambushed the machine gun teams around the various venues in advance. The ceremony began, and after a brief speech by the Japanese official, he hurriedly left the scene. Then, the Japanese armed police officer loudly declared: Returning to the evil intentions of hiding evil, smuggling weapons into the market, trying to resist the government, I was ordered to shoot and kill. As soon as the words fell silent, the machine gun team immediately approached the venue and fired from all sides. Hundreds of anti-Japanese righteous people, bare-handed, drank and hated to be killed in the inability to resist, and none of them survived. The suffering Taiwan compatriots will never forget this bloody and deep vengeance.