In the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the Beiyang Marine Division was completely destroyed, and this defeat marked the bankruptcy of the foreign affairs movement.
It can be said that although the Beiyang Marine Division was defeated, there are too many touching people and things in this period of history, among which, the tragedy of many stories cannot be felt without being there. Before and after the heroic martyrdom of Ding Ruchang, the admiral of the Beiyang Marine Division, the army launched a tragic counterattack that is rarely known in history. However, the army that participated in the counterattack was not the Beiyang Navy at that time, but Ding Ruchang's "pro-soldiers".
At that time, they were all "elders" from Ding Ruchang's hometown of Anhui, following the old admiral in the southern conquest of the northern war. In the ranks of the Beiyang Marine Division, it even played the role of "Marine Corps" and "Gendarmerie".
It is said that at the last moment when the Beiyang Marine Division was about to be destroyed, these last soldiers of the Huai Army, without warships, boarded small boats and bravely rowed to the Longmiaozui Fort occupied by the Japanese army at that time, and launched a magnificent "suicide charge" with their own flesh.
In 1895, the Japanese published "Records of the Sino-Japanese War", it also recorded in detail the scene of the small army of nearly two hundred people, and finally the magnificent battle scene. Although the small stormtroopers, with only two hundred men, at the critical juncture of the charge, they beat the Japanese army into a mess, and with the hatred of the family and the country in their hearts, they scattered and disrupted the Japanese army for a time, so that they were gradually defeated in the chaos.
Although the weapons in their hands were extremely backward, the heroism of the Chinese soldiers was far beyond the imagination of Japanese officers and soldiers. Among them, a Chinese soldier actually rushed into the command post of the division headquarters of the Japanese army and heroically killed the enemy. Because the number of people involved in the war was really pitiful, even if it was ten, it would not be able to defeat the thousands of troops and horses of the Japanese army.
Eventually, the Marine Corps gradually lost its combat effectiveness, and after that, the remnants of the personnel were suppressed to the seashore, and many soldiers, knowing that they could not be spared, chose to jump into the sea and commit suicide. Until the end, in this stormtrooper battle, none of these soldiers were spared, and all of them were killed on the battlefield.
After the reform and opening up, when Weihai City vigorously developed the Dragon Temple Mouth during the period of real estate construction, the construction personnel found a large number of human bones and rusty combat weapons on the beach. The battles of the past and the heroic sacrifices of Chinese soldiers at that time have been proved in front of modern people at the turn of the century, even if it is only a remain, the magnificent scene on the battlefield of that year can still make the world feel immersed through the remains.
At the beginning, such a group of Chinese soldiers went out of the mountains to follow Ding Ruchang and joined the national army. According to the moral concept at that time, when the Beiyang Marine Division was in danger, they could choose to leave, because, in the end, they were not the army hand-picked by the imperial court. However, as Ding Ruchang's cronies, the benefactor had difficulties, and even if he was crushed to pieces, they were duty-bound.
In the end, they chose to share the suffering with their benefactor, and this heart is really sad and weeping. In fact, in this battle, in addition to the pro-soldier-like figures at that time, who chose to share the hardships with the benefactor, there was also a group of people who seemed insignificant to the battlefield, and also made incredible moves in order to follow their "benefactors".
These people are the wives of the officers and men of Beiyang.
When their husbands were killed in battle and the coffin was sent back to their hometown, the wives of these warriors made the same choice as the wives of the old Huai Army, that is, suicide martyrdom.
Fuzhou once had the reputation of "the cradle of modern naval officers", and the hometown of the famous writer Bingxin was located in Fuzhou, where Bingxin lived as a child. However, Fuzhou was also a place that made the Bingxin family extremely afraid, because there, Bingxin's mother was almost martyred, and the trajectory of Bingxin's fate was almost rewritten there.
Although Fuzhou was thousands of miles away from the main battlefield of the Beiyang Marine Division at that time, after the end of the Sino-Japanese War, a large number of naval officers were killed on the battlefield, which also led to most of Fuzhou's military dependents becoming martyrs. When the remains of the martyrs were sent back to their hometowns, the entire city of Fuzhou was covered with filial piety and wept fiercely.
Although he did not receive the news of her husband's death, Bingxin's family was horrified to find that Bingxin's mother had hidden a piece of opium on her body, and she had already made up her mind that once she heard the news of her husband's death, she would immediately commit suicide without hesitation.
At that time, Bingxin's father served as the first mate of the Armored Cruiser Laiyuan of the Beiyang Marine Division, named Xie Baozhang. At the time of defeat, Xie Baozhang was lucky to survive, so Bingxin's mother did not have a martyr, otherwise, the writer Bingxin's life trajectory would only be rewritten in childhood.
In countless historical facts, martyred Chinese women have told the world with their actions: under the seemingly weak appearance, in fact, they have an incomparably firm heart. Therefore, if these people have made up their minds, no one can stop their decision. Among the wives of the martyrs of the Beiyang Marine Division who chose to commit suicide and martyrdom, the most touching and profound was Lady Wei, the wife of Admiral Ding Ruchang.
At that time, Lady Wei was only 45 years old, and to this day, the joint tomb of Ding Ruchang and his wife can still be found in yanqiao town in Wuwei County, Anhui Province. In the eyes of many modern people, the practice of martyrdom is the most outdated bad habit in the Chinese tradition and should be completely eliminated, but the practice of martyrdom also has a touching and profound other side.
Even in traditional Chinese society, where ritualism prevailed, it was rare for wives to choose to die as martyrs. When the husband of an ordinary family dies, the wife will stay behind to support the elderly in-laws and raise the young children. However, after the old Huai army of the Beiyang Marine Division died in battle, most of their wives did not choose to do so.
In fact, in the late Qing Dynasty, the social status of soldiers was still very humble, and joining the army was not a glorious thing. At that time, Anhui was a poor place, so the two Huai disciples who went out from there also had the same qualities as the ancient Qin soldiers who were resistant to hard fighting and not afraid of death. It is this kind of quality that has enabled the Beiyang Marine Division to have a batch of elite soldiers and strong generals.
Although they were finally defeated, the tragic battlefield historical facts of this scene are all true portrayals of the two Huai disciples defending their families and defending the country. Among them, there is also a deep reason, that is, most of the two Huai disciples chose to join the army, in order to make a living for the family, they had to embark on this road of no return. Because, at that time, the treatment of officers and men by the Beiyang Marine Division was relatively good.
Therefore, many officers and soldiers' homes are because one person joins the army, so that the whole family can live a well-off life, and even benefit the township. Because of this contribution, the social status of the local navy family members is far higher than that of ordinary people. In the tradition of the old Huai Army, it is even more proud that officers and soldiers died on the battlefield, and is regarded as a fortunate thing for Guangzong Yaozu. However, all this is exchanged for the lives of husbands.
In this context, the wives of lao Huaijun have unique and incomparably deep feelings for their husbands. The choice of martyrdom is naturally also a way for loyal wives to express their incomparable longing and lofty admiration for their dead husbands.
Resources:
["Naval Historical Materials of the Late Qing Dynasty", "Blood and Fire Examination Hall: The Original Of Jia Wu", "History of the Japanese-Qing War"]