The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty in Chinese history, and the fall of the Qing Dynasty can be said to be a sign of the end of the feudal monarchy and the beginning of democracy. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, the situation was gradually chaotic, coups d'état broke out everywhere, and the rule of the Qing Empire was crumbling in the wind and rain. After the defeat of the Sino-Japanese War, the desire of the great powers to divide China became more and more obvious, and under such double pressure at home and abroad, the bad news that Weihaiwei in Shandong had become a British leasehold was heard.
Britain's ambitions at this time are not small, the outbreak of the second industrial revolution promoted the process of British colonization, at this time the British colonies have expanded to all parts of the world, due to the shortage of soldiers, they directly began to recruit soldiers in Shandong, the treatment is excellent, and because of this, the recruitment requirements are very high. According to some data, the average height of the British soldiers recruited in Shandong at that time with high salaries was one meter and seven meters. You know, at the end of the Qing Dynasty, the average height of men was only 162.5 centimeters, and one meter seven can be said to be "tall". This army was sent by the British to fight all over the world, with remarkable achievements, and the British even awarded medals and rewards many times, and were called "the best soldiers" by the British, which was a very powerful "Chinese army" that appeared in the ranks of the Eight-Power Alliance - Hua Yong Battalion.
The Chinese army of the Eight-Power Alliance
In 1900, the Boxer Rebellion broke out, and the British fang ordered the Hua Yong battalion to suppress the rebels, so it was called the "Han traitor army" by the Chinese people. But to say that "traitors" actually wronged the soldiers of the Huayong battalion. As a British mercenary army, they are all from the poor people in Shandong, because their homeland has fallen, and they have never had a day of eating and not eating, survival is the only thing they consider, as for what "the righteousness of the country" and "patriotic feelings", no one has taught them at all, and naturally it is not as important as eating in their hearts.
Later, the Outbreak of the Eight-Nation Alliance's Invasion of China was actually the "Nine-Nation Alliance", and the Huayong Battalion was the ninth, perhaps out of the shame of its own family fighting its own family, and this paragraph was not mentioned in the textbook, but the Huayong Battalion was really the vanguard of the Eight-Nation Alliance and participated in the plundering activities in the capital. So, as a "traitorous army", what was their fate after Cixi returned to Beijing?
The British did not cross the river to tear down the bridge
Although these soldiers are to fill their stomachs and live, in the eyes of the Chinese people, as a Chinese, helping foreigners invade their motherland, such behavior is unacceptable to the world, after all, as a backbone Chinese, how can you abandon the country and abandon your backbone because of material conditions!
Therefore, such an army was not only disliked by the Qing government, but also met with resistance from the common people. Although the British were well trained, praised and valued by the British, and even reused later, the machine is a machine, for the British side, the Huayong camp has always been an "outsider", in the capitalist country where interests are paramount, although you have been brave and good at war, how much merit you have made, but once you lose the use value, it is the time to be abandoned, there is no friendship to speak of.
So later, the situation in Europe was turbulent, and In order to safeguard their interests in China and the Korean Peninsula, Britain and Japan jointly signed the Anglo-Japanese Alliance Treaty. In 1906, in order to maintain the strength of the base camp, britain needed to reduce military expenditure in China, so naturally there was no need for excess troops, so in June, the Huayong battalion was dissolved. Because of helping foreign enemies invade their own countries and killing compatriots, after the Huayong battalion returned to Shandong, it was strongly resisted by the people, because without the protection of the British, a big backer, most of the soldiers of the Huayong battalion were killed, and they had to ask the British for help.
The British also arranged the remaining members to South Africa, Hong Kong and other places in the previous merits, under british colonial rule. Those who did not want to leave their hometowns any longer had to hide their names and live in remote mountainous areas, and their later years were very miserable.
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