In China's modern history, there is such a national hero. Born into a poor peasant family, he joined the anti-Qing Heaven and Earth Society in his early years, and was suppressed by the imperial court to form the Black Flag Army. Because of its own lack of strength, the Black Flag Army moved to Vietnam, and became a hero in the fight against the French invasion in a foreign country. After the signing of the "Maguan Treaty", he led the Black Flag Army to defend Taiwan for more than five months and persisted until the last moment.
"Since Childhood, Yu has admired Our country's national hero Liu Yongfu", this sentence comes from Sun Yat-sen's praise, which is the protagonist of this article - Liu Yongfu. Born in 1837, he grew up in poverty, began to work as a sailor at the age of 13, and savored the hardships of life in the days when he was accompanied by ships. With the growth of experience, Liu Yongfu also learned a martial art, however, his life is still poor, after sending away his parents one after another, 20-year-old Liu Yongfu joined the Heaven and Earth Society.
At this time, the Heaven and Earth Society has long been not simply anti-Qing and restoration, but more reflects the poverty of the lower class. They organized peasant uprisings to resist the oppression of the feudal landlord class, and in the struggle against the Qing army, Liu Yongfu gradually accumulated military talent. In 1866, Liu Yongfu, who had moved to the Guishun area of Guangxi, saw a statue of a deity holding a black pennant in a temple, and was inspired by this to imitate the black flag as his own flag. Since then, this team has been fighting with a black flag for the "Black Flag Army".
As the Black Flag Army grew louder, the Qing government's encirclement and suppression became more brutal. Under the suppression of Feng Zicai, the viceroy of Guangxi, Liu Yongfu had to lead the remnants of the Black Flag Army to flee to Vietnam. Liu Yongfu, who came to Vietnam, opened up a new world. What is even more ironic is that the former sworn enemies Feng Zicai and Liu Yongfu will join forces nineteen years later, when they have a common enemy - France.
Liu Yongfu, who came to Vietnam, just in time for the chaotic world. The Nguyen dynasty was faced with internal and external troubles, and after Liu Yongfu was recruited by the Vietnamese authorities, he suppressed the peasant revolt internally and resisted the French invasion externally. Because of his outstanding performance, the Vietnamese government gave great convenience to the Black Flag Army. Liu Yongfu, who is in Vietnam, is in Cao Yingxin's heart in Han, wearing braids on weekdays, wearing the regular clothes of the Qing Dynasty, and only wearing Vietnamese official clothes on formal occasions.
If the suppression of the peasant uprising in Vietnam was driven by oneself; then leading the army to resist the French invasion added an extra layer of justice against the invasion. France invaded Vietnam from 1858 onwards and completely occupied southern Vietnam in 1866. In order to further colonize Vietnam and thus attack southwest China, at the end of November 1873, the French authorities sent An Ye to attack Hanoi.
This time, the French attacked the north of Vietnam and occupied Hanoi on the 20th, but they were in the north, met with stubborn resistance from vietnamese soldiers and civilians and the Black Flag Army. Liu Yongfu personally led 2,000 elite troops, crossed the lofty mountains and mountains, and rushed to the front line day and night. Defeated the French at paper bridge near Hanoi, killed the main general An Ye, and forced the French to withdraw from Hanoi. This battle was the first time that Liu Yongfu and the Black Flag Army fought against the French army and defended the southwest frontier of the motherland.
The brief victory failed to stop the covetousness of the great powers. In 1882, the French invaded Vietnam again, this time directly threatening Guangxi and Yunnan, and the Qing government sent Tang Jingsong to contact Liu Yongfu. Once an enemy, it is now a united front, and Liu Yongfu is recognized by the rulers of the Qing Dynasty. Liu Yongfu, who restored his nationality, was full of the will of "pingkou for Vietnam and a barrier for the motherland" and once again achieved great victories.
In 1884, the Sino-French War officially began, and Liu Yongfu and Feng Zicai joined hands to resist the enemy. Feng Zicai, who was already nearly old, galloped on a prancing horse and a whip, and the Qing army met the enemy in the area of Zhennanguan on the eastern front, while Liu Yongfu led the generals of the Black Flag Army to block the enemy in the Lintao area of the western front. They coordinated with each other, resisted the enemy together, and won the victory of Zhennanguan and Lintao. In the history of modern resistance to foreign aggression, it has left a strong mark.
The Drum broke through ten thousand people, the wall was pushed down by everyone, and the Qing court, which was full of holes, was not only unable to cope with the invasion of the Western powers, but even Japan in the East had to provoke. In the Sino-Japanese Naval Battle of 1894, the decadent Qing government lost to the thriving Meiji government, and the Beiyang Fleet, which the Westerners were proud of, was so vulnerable. Since the war was defeated, it was left to be slaughtered, and the Treaty of Maguan cut land, paid reparations, opened ports, and built factories, and Taiwan began a half-century of dark rule.
The Taiwan military and people who heard the news expressed one after another that they "wish everyone would die in battle and lose Taiwan, and would never give up to Taiwan." With the support of the lack of firearms and foreign aid, the Taiwanese military and people, who were not slaves to the country, put up stubborn resistance. Liu Yongfu, who had previously entered Beijing because of his military achievements, was sent by the Qing court to Taiwan to act as an acting defense as early as the war between the two countries. Liu Yongfu, who came to Taiwan, recruited new recruits in the local area, organized and trained the army, and the Black Flag Army was further expanded.
In order to force Taiwan to surrender, Japan sent a Guard Division led by Prince Nohisa Kita-Shirakawa to attack Taiwan in two ways. When he heard the news of the fall of Taipei, Liu Yongfu, who was far away in Tainan, was enthusiastic, and in order to defend the national territory, he "will not give up with death" and "even if there is a piece of land left and a line of delay, it should be hastily rushed and not killed." In order to defend Changhua, the Black Flag Army and the Taiwanese Rebel Army fought fiercely against the Japanese army in the Dajiaxi area.
The defense of Changhua was extremely fierce, and the Black Flag Army and the rebels in Taiwan engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese army at Bagua Mountain. Not only did it kill more than a thousand Japanese troops, but it also killed Major General Nobunari Yamane, and the Black Flag Army in the bloody battle also suffered heavy losses. With the loss of Changhua, Chiayi was also in a hurry, and eventually the entire Tainan fell. Liu Yongfu led the generals of the Black Flag Army, stubbornly resisted the elite of the Japanese army in Taiwan under difficult conditions, and finally retreated inland in a helpless lament.
After Taiwan's resistance to the enemy, Liu Yongfu saw the true face of the imperial court even more -- at the most fierce time, the Qing court not only refused Liu Yongfu's request for help, but also forcibly seized the funds for aiding Taiwan. Disheartened, Liu Yongfu was reluctant to give a speech, and when he returned to his hometown in Qinzhou, he was exposed to revolutionary ideas, from sympathizing with the revolution to participating in it. In his later years, Liu Yongfu also expressed strong dissatisfaction with Yuan Shikai's restoration. The general is old, and he can still fight!