Abstract: In the first year of tongzhi, in order to resist the Taiping Army's attack on Shanghai, Li Hongzhang, a student of Zeng Guofan, was ordered to form the Huai Army. At this time, an army joined the Huai army, and the leader of this army was named Liu Mingchuan. This man fought bravely and fiercely, and soon became a famous general in the Huai Army, but he did not know that his fate was closely linked to Taiwan.
Liu Mingchuan, born in the sixteenth year of Daoguang, is a native of Xixiang, Hefei, Anhui. The family has been farming for generations, and he is the sixth oldest in the family. It is said that Liu Mingchuan had smallpox when he was young, and left hemp on his face, and people called him "Liu Mazi". Liu Mingchuan's parents are honest farmers, but Liu Mingchuan has been very bold since he was a child, his eyes are bright and bright, his voice is unusually loud, and people are very scared when they see it. Liu Mingchuan does not like to farm, is not interested in scientific expeditions, and has gathered a group of small partners since he was a child, and it is naturally common to make a fight.
At the age of eleven, Liu Mingchuan actually sold salt, and then started the business of robbing the house. At that time, a bully bullied into Liu Mingchuan's home, and Liu Mingchuan was angry, but he actually took a knife and killed the bully. Liu Mingchuan soon organized hundreds of poor young people in the township, and after the outbreak of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, Liu Mingchuan became the leader of the local regiment. In 1862, Li Hongzhang returned to his hometown to form the Huai Army, and Liu Mingchuan still joined in, and the army he led was called the "Mingzi Battalion".
In the process of suppressing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, Liu Mingchuan fought bravely and was highly valued by Li Hongzhang. He was soon promoted to viceroy and became a famous general in the Huai Army. After the destruction of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Liu Mingchuan followed Li Hongzhang to participate in the encirclement and suppression of the Twist army, and in the process of pursuing and suppressing the Twist Army, Liu Mingchuan had a conflict with the Xiang army general Bao Chao in order to seize the merit, which caused dissatisfaction among the Xiang army group, including Zeng Guofan, and finally Li Hongzhang intervened to mediate the matter. Subsequently, in the process of assisting Zuo Zongtang in quelling the Rebellion of the Huimin people in Shaanxi, he also formed a grudge against Zuo Zongtang, which made Liu Mingchuan's reputation among his colleagues very bad, and he has been idle at home for more than ten years.
In July of the 10th year of Guangxu (1884), France invaded Fujian and Taiwan, and Taiwan was in a hurry. The imperial court thought of Liu Mingchuan, who was idle at home, and appointed him as the inspector of Taiwan to supervise Taiwan's military affairs, and the following year, Taiwan was officially established as a province, so that Liu Mingchuan became the first inspector of Taiwan. After Liu Ming arrived in Taiwan, he inspected the local situation and made important arrangements for the local terrain. However, at that time, the main strength of Taiwan was the Xiang Army led by Liu Xuan, and Liu Mingchuan, as a general of the Huai Army, was not very good at overall planning, so Liu Mingchuan took the initiative to lower his posture and coordinate the contradictions with the generals of the Xiang Army.
Under the resistance of Liu Mingchuan, the French invaders returned without success, and Liu Mingchuan successfully defended Taiwan. Subsequently, As an inspector, Liu Mingchuan led the People of Taiwan to develop and build Taiwan in the economic, political, cultural and educational fields, laying an important foundation for Taiwan's modernization. Liu Mingchuan is thus known as the "father of Taiwan's modernization". In the seventeenth year of Guangxu (1891), Liu Mingchuan stepped down as the governor of Taiwan and left his beloved Taiwan.
In the 20th year of Guangxu (1894), Japan provoked the Sino-Japanese War, and the Qing government was finally defeated and signed the Treaty of Maguan, which humiliated the country. When he heard that the Qing government had ceded Taiwan to Japan, Liu Mingchuan was extremely sad and indignant, and he was silent all day, and his liver was depressed, which aggravated his condition. Half a year later, Liu Mingchuan, who was concerned about Taiwan, passed away with great regret.