Ding Ruchang
Introduction: The Sino-Japanese War is a very famous war in China's history, and most people who mention this battle will first think of the "Maguan Treaty" signed because of the defeat. But in fact, the most direct connection with the Sino-Japanese War was its commander at the time, Ding Ruchang, the admiral of the Beiyang Navy.
In the final stage of the Sino-Japanese War, the Battle of Weihaiwei, Ding Ruchang ended his life. Some people say that he committed suicide in fear of sin, some people say that he was martyred with his body, and a person is carrying 2 kinds of contrasting evaluations, which is really worth our investigation.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > like duckweed, was drawn into a peasant uprising and became a soldier</h1>
The fate of the individual is closely related to the times, and the undependent people seem to be more closely related to the fate of the times, because they are like duckweed, often floating around with the current. Although Ding Ruchang is known as a famous general in the late Qing Dynasty, he was once one of the "thousands of duckweeds".
The reason why Ding Ruchang became a "duckweed" is mainly because of a natural disaster. In 1851, a serious famine occurred in the area where Ding Ruchang was located, and the 15-year-old Ding Ruchang lost both parents. His family had always been poor, and his parents had not been able to leave him any money, so Ding Ruchang became a person with no one to rely on.
But fortunately, because of his family's financial situation, Ding Ruchang began to work to subsidize the family at the age of 10, so he could still rely on some small skills, such as helping people herd cattle, and barely survive. Although dropping out of school to work was not a good experience, in that era, perhaps for a poor child, mastering some survival skills early on was more helpful to him resist risks than reading.
But those small skills are only barely helping Ding Ruchang to live, he has almost no right to choose the life he wants, still floating in the waters of the times. Three years after the death of his parents, he ushered in the torrent of the times.
Ding Ruchang lived in the late Qing Dynasty, and the long-simmering contradictions had already broken out in 1951. In 1954, the vigorous Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement had a small climate and occupied Luzhou, where Ding Ruchang was at the time. After the Taiping Army was stationed, there was a very important thing that was conscription.
At that time, Ding Ruchang was in his youth, flesh and blood, strong and lonely, which was a good choice for the Taiping Army. For Ding Ruchang, if he wanted to get rid of the torture brought to him by his miserable life, joining the Taiping Army was his only choice at that time.
The reason why duckweed is more closely related to the times is because they often have no choice, so they are more likely to be affected by the changes of the times, and even participate in it. But joining the Taiping Army can be said to be an important step in Ding Ruchang's life.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > has made many military achievements and contributed a lot to the country</h1>
Ding Ruchang became a soldier, but he was not recognized by the Qing government at that time, and even the target of strong blows from the Qing government. But it has to be said that he is also one step closer to the Qing government army.
After joining the Taiping Army, Cheng Xueqi became Ding Ruchang's direct superior, and this incident can be said to determine his life to a certain extent. At that time, Ding Ruchang followed the troops all the way to Anqing and then stationed there. In 1861, zeng Guoquan, a general of the Xiang Army, led troops to besiege the Taiping Army, and the situation of the Taiping Army was very difficult.
Cheng Xueqi
Cheng Xueqi saw that the situation was not good, and immediately decided to do something. In order to protect the lives of himself and his subordinates, he decided to surrender to the Qing army, so on the first night of the Qing army's arrival in Anqing, Cheng Xueqi and hundreds of his subordinates escaped over the wall and arrived at the Qing garrison.
Although Cheng Xueqi's attitude of surrender was very firm, Zeng Guoquan, a general of the Qing army at that time, was worried that Cheng Xueqi and others would "pretend to surrender", but if they refused to accept it, they also felt that it was a loss. When he was in a dilemma, some subordinates thought of a good strategy for him, that is, to let Cheng Xueqi and others take the lead in attacking, and the Qing army followed behind.
Zeng Guoquan
The next morning, Cheng Xueqi, Ding Ruchang and others took the lead in launching an attack on the Taiping Army, and after they had already achieved results, Zeng Guoquan led his troops to go, and the last 10,000 or so Taiping troops were all annihilated. After that, Cheng Xueqi and Ding Ruchang were commended for their military merits. In this way, Ding Ruchang smoothly became a member of the Qing army, and it can be said that if it were not for Cheng Xueqi's "defection", Ding Ruchang would most likely have died, let alone added officials to the knighthood.
In the eyes of the Taiping Army, they were "traitors." In the eyes of the Qing army, they were smart people who "knew how to judge the hour and size up the situation". In my opinion, Ding Ruchang's behavior is indeed inappropriate, but it is also understandable. First of all, he simply obeyed the orders of his superiors. Secondly, although the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement was of progressive significance, after 1861, the leaders of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom not only forgot their own hearts, but also had a downward trend, and it was not impossible for "good birds to choose trees and perch".
After choosing to become a Qing army, Ding Ruchang did have many opportunities to show his fists. He was given the title of Qianzong for suppressing the Anqing Taiping Army, and the battalion he was in at the time was also used by Li Hongzhang to form the Huai Army.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > repeatedly made military achievements, but the Sino-Japanese War was defeated miserably, and he committed suicide by taking opium</h1>
Ding Ruchang naturally became acquainted with Li Hongzhang because of the formation of the Huai Army. The acquaintance with Li Hongzhang also greatly affected the trajectory of his life.
In the later time, Ding Ruchang made many immortal battle achievements. Internally, he made a great contribution to the Qing government's suppression of the peasant revolt. He assisted Liu Mingchuan in defeating the Taiping Army at the mouth of the Four Rivers, and also assisted Liu Mingchuan in repelling the Twister Army, and in 1868 suppressed the Eastern Twister Army. Externally, he successfully prevented Japan from launching a war against Korea.
Li
In one victory after another, Ding Ruchang's image of courage and strategy gradually penetrated the hearts of the people, and became the talent that many people wanted to strive for at that time, such as Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang and others.
However, due to his personal relationship with Li Hongzhang, he eventually joined the Beiyang Navy and was promoted all the way to the post of Admiral of the Beiyang Navy.
However, Ding Ruchang would not have thought that his life was about to change dramatically because of a war, and this war was the Sino-Japanese War. On the verge of defeat in the Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese representative Ito Yuheng repeatedly advised Ding Ruchang to surrender and save his life, but he refused, and he insisted on fighting to the end.
When the Qing army was no longer able to resist, Ito Yuheng was persuaded to surrender again, and Ding Ruchangning died unyieldingly and chose to commit suicide.
Tso
But Ding Ruchang would not have imagined that the innocence he had sworn so hard to fight for could be easily destroyed, and one of his subordinates had signed the surrender letter in his name. The Guangxu Emperor sent people to confiscate all his family's property, and did not allow anyone to bury him, and his family was forced to flee.
However, this is not the first time that Ding Ruchang has been treated in this way, in the course of the Battle of Jiawu, he has encountered many unfair treatments such as being held accountable, slandered as "treason", and dismissed from his post, but none of this has shaken Ding Ruchang's determination to defend the country to the death.
Ito Yuheng
In front of the battlefield there was fierce enemy fire, followed by the vicious words of the traitorous villain, but he survived to the last moment. After his death, he became a person who "committed suicide in fear of sin" because of the Qing government's "throwing the pot" behavior, and he bore a long-term infamy, and even now many people have misunderstood him.
But did the defeat in the Sino-Japanese War have anything to do with Ding Ruchang? On the surface, there really is. First, Ding Ruchang did not play a good leading role in the battlefield, resulting in the Qing army being "leaderless", and second, because he did not take the initiative to meet the enemy in order to protect the warship.
Guangxu
However, the Japanese command was not much better than Ding Ruchang, and they mainly won in advanced and sufficient equipment. As for "passively waiting for help," it is also carrying out the orders of "Li Hongzhang." But to take a step back, even if Ding Ruchang made these mistakes, they were only battlefield mistakes in the end, and they could not be equated with his "disloyalty" to the country.
Throughout Ding Ruchang's life, he once betrayed the "Taiping Army" and later chose the "Qing government", but he never changed his "patriotic heart", and he really should not have been saddled with the evaluation of "fear of crime and suicide".