Previously, with the hot screening of the first and second parts of the movie "Wolf Warrior", it can be said that a wave of "special forces" has been set off in China.
Because of the particularity of its arms, special forces have high requirements for personal ability, loyalty and bravery, and decisiveness, and have gradually become the spokesmen for the "positive energy" of the current society. Because the special forces shoulder the national mission, it also adds a bit of mystery. So, what about the special forces in ancient times? Let's take a look at the special forces of the Qing Dynasty in jingxi, the Flying Tiger Jianrui Battalion, and see how strong they are!
The purpose of the Jianrui Battalion in the early days was to quell the rebellion of the ethnic minorities in the southwest, so it was stationed at the foot of the West Mountain in Beijing for many years. In the twelfth year of Qianlong, the Tusi rebellion in Jinchuan, Sichuan, due to the special terrain of the local area, there were many towers, so the ordinary Qing army could not attack for a long time. After that, the Qianlong Emperor transferred elite personnel from various troops and formed the "Cloud Ladder" unit, practicing attacking the Diaolou and winning the battle.
To this end, this unit is named after the "Flying Tiger Jianrui Battalion" and is stationed at the foot of the West Mountain all year round.
In fact, the duty of the Jianrui Battalion is not only to resist the enemy externally.
From the Kangxi Dynasty onwards, the "Three Mountains and Five Gardens" began to be established on a large scale in the western Jingxi region, and at the same time, three special forces guarding the Three Mountains and Five Gardens were also rising, collectively known as the "Three Battalions outside the West of Beijing". The three battalions outside the west of Beijing are composed of three battalions: the Yuanmingyuan Guard Battalion, the Outer Firearms Battalion, and the Jianrui Battalion. Therefore, as a special force, the Jianrui Battalion's duty is not only to fight, but also to defend the royal garden.
The Jianrui battalion was distributed in the Xiangshan area according to the eight flags, and was divided into two sides along the Xiangshan, namely: the left wing was divided into four flags: the positive yellow flag, the positive red flag, the box red flag, and the blue flag, and the right wing was divided into four flags, the yellow flag, the white flag, the white flag, and the blue flag. With the increasing number of campers in the Qing Dynasty Jianrui Camp, the number of people in its heyday reached 4,000.
The skill values of special forces are very high, and in ancient times, they paid attention to a "special" word, which means very special. For the Jianrui Camp, the cloud ladder siege is their special training project on weekdays. On the 4th and 9th, the team will train the cloud ladder to attack the city; every 37th, they will conduct strength training: sumo wrestling, horse crossing, horse deception, and whip and knife archery; every June 1st, they will train equestrianism, riding and shooting, and firing guns.
From the fifteenth year of Qianlong, the emperor also ordered them to practice water warfare at Kunming Lake, and specially asked for guidance from the Tianjin and Fujian water divisions to train the soldiers of the Jianrui battalion. Musket shooting is a training program that existed when the Jianrui Battalion was established, the training was aimed at shooting accuracy, the early shooting training used the earthen gun, and after 1900, the battalions were equipped with new firearms such as platoon guns and carbines.
Riding archery was a military skill that the Manchus attached great importance to, including horseback archery and gun shooting, and during training, soldiers rode from the east side of Tuancheng into the martial arts field and shot at the bullseye in the south of the city. Equestrian training is a number of horse skills, such as: horseback handstanding, stirrup hiding, left and right straddling horses, etc., these techniques are considered to be able to show proficiency in equestrianism and have always been valued by the Eight Flags Army. It can be seen that the soldiers of the Jianrui Battalion are all proficient in eighteen martial arts, and each of them is extraordinary.
In the Qing Dynasty Xu Yang's "Jianrui Camp Performing Martial Arts", it depicts the scene of eight flags lined up on the martial arts field, the military flag flying, and the Jianrui battalion, under the command of the general, conducting drills and accepting the emperor's review.
When it comes to the "emperor's military parade", it is a perfectly normal thing, and the emperors also want to see their own military strength. It is said that Jianruiying was inspected by the emperor a total of twenty-eight times, and also participated in the "Nanyuan Parade" once every three years in the history of the Qing Dynasty. The Qianlong Emperor, seeing that their strength was very strong, was also very happy in his heart, so he immediately wrote a poem:
Shi Hunt is from WuBei Xiu;
Special Lin Nanyuan Su Qi.
Long Junxuan will be quite pastoral;
Heavenly Donkey Is The Only One.
Group practice light student remnant snow reflection;
The flag is floating in the shadows.
Chengping dares to forget things;
The nation should know that there is a great regent.
In the nineteenth year of Qianlong, cheling, cheling Ubashi, and cheling mengke, chiefs of the Durbert tribe of the Erut Mongol tribe, could not stand the bullying of the Dzungar department Dawazi and asked the central government of the Qing Dynasty for internal migration. At that time, the Qianling Emperor was receiving the upper echelons of The Durbert Department at the summer resort, and gave them a reward one by one, and also asked them to watch the equestrian performance brought by the Jianrui camp together.
It is said that the significance of this equestrian performance can be called a large-scale military parade and a demonstration of the national strength of the Great Qing Dynasty. I saw the soldiers of the Jianrui Battalion show super high equestrian skills, sometimes accompanied by the military flag display, while galloping horses; sometimes galloping horses, and also performing some extremely difficult actions on horseback, such as: galloping, riding and shooting, horse handstanding, etc.
It can be said that this equestrian performance was undoubtedly a success, making the grandeur of the royal special forces jump and agile, and also making the tribal leader appreciate by the emperor. Later, in order to commemorate this historical moment, Qianlong specially ordered the Western painter Lang Shining to paint for this scene, which was properly preserved by the world, and also allowed us to see this exquisite "Jianrui Camp Equestrian Map" today.
The Jianrui battalion showed great strength in battle, and when the first time jinchuan and jungar were pacified, the emperor ordered people to record the two battles on the imperial stone tablet. The Qianlong Emperor commented on them this way: When the war encountered dangerous situations, "in the midst of dozens of strong and sharp soldiers, they stood like a strong city and advanced in an orderly manner." So he slashed the flag and used it as a special achievement", and in the end, the danger of the war was reversed by the soldiers of the Jianrui Battalion.
In addition, Qianlong once compared the Jianrui battalion with the well-known Solon soldiers: "Although the Gaisolun soldiers and horses are fine, they are suddenly attacking with them, and it is better to take advantage of the victory and break the line, but the zhifang shoujie is ultimately inferior to my Manchurian servants, whose heart is fixed and his spirit is strong." The Manchurian servants here are the soldiers of the Jianrui Battalion, and "its heart is determined, its qi is victorious" is the highest praise for this special force.
However, the world is unpredictable, in 1912, the Xinhai Revolution broke out, the Qing Emperor abdicated, according to the provisions of the "Preferential Conditions for the Qing Dynasty": the Eight Banners Janissaries were reorganized by the Republic of China government. However, this clause was not implemented in the end, so that the children of Jianrui Camp sold their real estate to make a living.
Eventually, the Jianrui Battalion disappeared completely as a military unit.
Resources:
["Special Soldiers" in Ancient China", "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, Volume XI, Gaozong Benji", "The Battle to Quell the Rebellion of Dzungar"]