In June 1840, the maritime hegemon Britain used the "strong ship cannon" to launch the Opium War, forcing the fallen late Qing government to sign an unequal treaty, which greatly facilitated the export of goods from the great powers. In October 1856, the British and French bandits once again knocked on the door of the Qing Dynasty and launched a war of aggression, and the Qing government once again asked for peace. In this context, the masses of the people rose up one after another to make revolutions, trying to overthrow the rule of the Qing Dynasty and resist the invasion of the great powers. The largest of these uprisings was the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, which swept across the north and south of the great river. In such a chaotic world, the people's lives are ruined, but it has also created opportunities for many people to seek development. No, a poor and depressed young man in Qinzhou, Guangdong (today's Guangxi), who is nearly 30 years old and has not yet married, lives in a thatched hut every day. In order to change his fate, he participated in the Tiandihui Uprising at the age of 27 and prepared to go north to participate in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, but before he could leave the Xiang Army, he invaded Tianjing and destroyed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. To this end, he had to turn to the border, fight against France, which is known as the world's second largest power, and won many victories, becoming a national hero.
Speaking of Liu Yongfu, perhaps everyone's impression only stays on participating in the Sino-French war. In fact, his life is very legendary, a hero in a chaotic world, but also a national hero. When Liu Yongfu was 8 years old, his family went bankrupt, and he changed from a poor peasant family to an "extremely poor family", struggling on the death line and living an extremely difficult life. In order to change his fate and improve his living conditions, Liu Yongfu went out early to do hard work and earn a little money to subsidize the family. At the age of 20, his parents and uncle died of illness one after another, and Liu Yongfu became an orphan, not even having a place to live, becoming a so-called "tramp". How can a 20-year-old who is prosperous and prosperous live his life like this, how can he succumb to fate? Liu Yongfu made a decision again, to participate in the armed uprising of the Heaven and Earth Society, and to go north to participate in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement to overthrow the corrupt and declining Qing government together. Unfortunately, Liu Yongfu's superior Wu Lingyun was not the material for doing big things, and he became the king after capturing a small county town, but he was destroyed by the Qing army and his plan to go north went bankrupt.
Without Wu Lingyun, this guy is not the material for doing big things, and he has nothing to do, it is better to pull the team by himself and start his own business. Liu Yongfu dragged his subordinates and continued to fight guerrillas in Guangxi, and the scale suddenly expanded to 3,000 people (all elite, not counting those who temporarily joined), and the achievements were not small. In July 1864, the Ninth Marshal Zeng Guoquan "Jizi Camp" attacked Tianjing and destroyed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and Liu Yongfu once again lost his goal and became a "wandering child". This is not a matter of urgency, the national hero Feng Zicai (Guangxi Viceroy, from Yipin), who is also a fellow countryman, led a large army into Guangxi to suppress the "thieves". Feng and Liu, the two great heroes of Qinzhou, were still opponents at this time, each as its master, and fought happily. Obviously, Feng Zicai has a strong capital, leans back on daqing, and beats Liu Yongfu. Seeing that his hometown was threatening, Liu Yongfu ran to the Sino-Vietnamese border to develop, and reorganized the army and named it the "Black Flag Army". Of course, Feng Zicai was not easy to mess with, and continued to pursue Liu Yongfu, and he had to run to Yuebei to mix.
Just when Feng Zicai and Liu Yongfu were fighting happily, France, known as the second in the world, had recently been beaten by Germany to surrender on its knees and beg for forgiveness, and france sent troops to Vietnam to brush up on its sense of existence. Vietnam, five generations ago, was an inseparable part of the Central Plains Dynasty, and the Song Dynasty was independent, but the relationship between the two sides was there. In this regard, the Qing Dynasty could not fail to make a statement, otherwise this vassal state would be gone. However, the Qing Dynasty was afraid of the great powers, and naturally did not dare to directly send troops to participate in the battle, and at most it could only garrison northern Yuebei to prevent the French from invading Guangxi and Yunnan. In this way, the Vietnamese king could not stand it, and the Nguyen Dynasty army was vulnerable and lost consecutive battles. At this time, the Vietnamese king thought of Liu Yongfu and asked him to fight the French army. In 1873, the French shelled Hanoi, Liu Yongfu personally led 2,000 elites over the mountains, raided the French rear guard, killed 150 French troops, and the main general An Ye was killed. In 1882, Liu Yongfu set up an ambush at the Paper Bridge in Hanoi, destroyed hundreds of French troops, and won a great victory. In recognition of his military exploits, the King of Vietnam conferred on Liu Yongfu the post of Viceroy of San Xuan, the title of Baron of the First Class.
The French army was pressing forward step by step, and the Qing Dynasty could only harden its scalp, sending the governor of Yungui, Cen Yuying, to guard baima pass, and The inspector of Guangxi, Xu Yanxu, to garrison northern Yuebei to defend the frontier. As the saying goes: "The enemy of the enemy is the friend", "There is no eternal opponent, only eternal interests", since it is ready to go to war, Liu Yongfu's "Black Flag Army" naturally wants to win over. In early March 1883, Tang Jingsong, a young man from Guanyang in Guilin, Guangxi (who later became a hardcore brother with Liu), came to Liu Yongfu's camp, one speaking Guiliu dialect and the other speaking vernacular, which pulled up the old nostalgia. Then, Tang Jingsong said his reason, not to surrender, but to appease; he hoped that General Liu could put the nation first, join the Qing army, and resist France together. Tang Jingsong brought the Qing Dynasty promise: "The Heavenly Dynasty is lenient, and all my Descendants of China, but those who can insult foreign countries and defend the frontiers of the country, are all good people of the Qing Dynasty." In this way, Liu Yongfu decided to join the Qing army and resist the European powers together. In August 1884, the Qing Dynasty declared war on France, incorporated the "Black Flag Army", and awarded Liu Yongfu the title of Titular Viceroy, who assisted the Qing army in killing the French army.
After joining the Qing army, Liu Yongfu fought the first battle at the Paper Bridge in Hanoi, defeating the French army again, killing more than 200 people. In March 1885, Liu Yongfu led the main force of the "Black Flag Army" to assist Cen Yuying in besieging Xuanguang, attracting the French Western Route Army, and making great achievements for Feng Zicai to win the great victory of Zhennanguan. Once upon a time, Feng and Liu still tore at each other, and now that the country is in trouble, they can also fight together, and they are really heroes. Unfortunately, Li Hongzhang, known as the "Bismarck of the East," decided to "take advantage of the victory and reap the rewards" and negotiate peace with France, and Feng Zicai and Liu Yongfu could only withdraw their troops and return to China, and cut off the troops to reduce expenditures. In July 1894, Liu Yongfu led the "Black Flag Army" across the strait to meet the Japanese army and strive to ensure the safety of the motherland's treasure island. In May 1895, Liu Yongfu opposed the cession of Taiwan, united with the rebels to fight the Japanese army, killing and wounding more than 30,000 enemy troops, of which 4,800 were killed, and the first prince of Japan was killed. Unfortunately, the Qing Dynasty blockaded the coastal areas and did not allow the army and the people to go to reinforcements, Liu Yongfu fought alone, and in the end he was invincible, so he had to cross inward and shouted: "The princes of the interior have misled me, I have misled the people of Taiwan", and his mood can be imagined.
All in all, Liu Yongfu was forced by life to lead his troops to participate in the Tiandihui Uprising in an attempt to overthrow the decadent Qing Dynasty. After hearing of the defeat of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Liu Yongfu turned to the border, formed the "Black Flag Army", and entered Vietnam to resist France and seek development. Later, when the Sino-French War broke out, Liu Yongfu proceeded from the national righteousness, accepted the court's solicitation, and killed the invaders together. After the defeat of jiawu, Liu Yongfu insisted on holding on to treasure island, and united with the rebels to fight against the Japanese army, killing 4800 people and killing a prince. Such a person can be called a hero, a national hero.
References: History of the Sino-French War, Guangxi Local History