【Deep in History】 When interpreting China's modern and contemporary military history, I would like to interpret with you the leaders of the "Wuyi Army", the Anhui Suppression of the Twist Army, the Suppression of the Rebellion in Shaanxi, the Resistance to the French in Taiwan, the Resistance to Japan in Korea, the Resistance against the Eight-Nation Alliance in Tianjin, and the ubiquitous Nie Shicheng.
Figure 1: Statue of Nie Shicheng
If you want to talk about the military of the late Qing Dynasty, there is one that cannot be bypassed - Nie Shicheng. Unlike Yuan Shikai, Nie Shicheng was not controversial and died in the defense of Tianjin against the Eight-Nation Alliance. However, his death is a topic that "modern historians" do not want to face. Behind them were the Boxers' arrest of their own family, the artillery fire of the Eight-Nation Alliance in front of them, and the accusations of the imperial court, and how indignant and desperate Nie Shicheng should have been before his death.
Like most of the generals in the Huai Army, Nie Shicheng was born near Hefei, Anhui Province, and li Hefei, the founder of the Huai Army, was a fellow countryman.
Nie Shicheng joined the Huai Army in 1862 when the Huai Army was formed at the end of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, but surrendered to Yuan Shikai's uncle Yuan Jia. It was not the main force of the Huai Army, so it was not in pacifying the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom but in suppressing the Twist Army. Soon, due to merit, he was promoted to general manager. In 1863, after Yuan Jiasan retired, he was later subordinated to Liu Mingchuan, a famous general of the Huai Army, and was continuously promoted due to his military merits. By 1870, Nie Shicheng was already adjutant and went to directly administer coastal defense.
Figure 2: Nie Shicheng's superior, Liu Mingchuan, a famous general of the Huai Army and a famous minister of the late Qing Dynasty
In 1873, Nie Shicheng transferred to the Wu Yi Army, which was crucial to him. The Wu Yi Army, as we have introduced earlier, was founded by Li Hongzhang's younger brother Li Zhaoqing when he was pacifying the Twist Army. When he first arrived at the Wuyi Army, Nie Shicheng served as the former camp pipe belt, subordinate to Luo Guozhong's department, and participated in the suppression of the Shaanxi Hui Rebellion.
In 1876, he returned to Liu Ming's army and accompanied the Ming army to handle the Dongming River work, and was commended for his meritorious service. In 1884, the Sino-French War broke out, and he accompanied Liu Mingchuan to Taiwan to resist France. In 1885, Taiwan was transferred back after the liberation of strict defense. In 1887, he served in Wu Changqing's army, serving as a steward of the New Left Battalion and participating in the construction of the Lushun Fortress. Yuan Shikai had also been in Wu Changqing's army before, but the two should not have intersected.
In 1891, he was transferred back to Haiphong, directly under the jurisdiction of Theo, and again served in the Lutai Defense Army (武毅軍), where he participated in the suppression of the Rehe Jindan Sect rebellion. In December, he officially succeeded Yang Yushu as the commander of the Lutai Defense Army (Wu Yi Army). In 1893, the Dongxue Party revolt broke out in Korea, and Nie Shicheng led the Lutai Defense Army (Wu Yi Army) into Korea. In 1894, after the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, Nie Shicheng accompanied the viceroy Ye Zhichao to aid the DPRK and garrisonEdan. After the fall of Pyongyang, Nie Shicheng participated in the Battle of the Yalu River Defense, held hushan mountain, severely damaged the Japanese army, and won one of the countless victories of the Qing army in the Sino-Japanese War. After that, he was promoted to directly subordinate to the Viceroy.
Figure 3: Portrait of Nie Shicheng
In 1895, Nie Shicheng led the Wu Yi army back to defend Jingu and presided over the coastal defense of Tianjin. Shortly thereafter, in Lutai, he was instructed to take the Wuyi Army and the Gongzi Battalion as the backbone, select and train the 30 battalions of the newly recruited horse infantry from the directly subordinate garrison huai training army, imitate the German battalion system, participate in the Western formation of the Wuyi Army, and establish the Kaiping Wubei Academy, with remarkable results. In 1899, Rong Lu founded the Wu Wei Army, and Nie Shicheng's Wu Yi Army was reorganized into the Wu Wei Qian Army, and Nie Shi Cheng was directly subordinate to the Viceroy and the President of the Wu Wei Qian Army, still stationed in Lutai and guarding the Beiyang Gateway.
In 1900, the Boxers spread to the territory of Zhili, and Nie Shicheng's WuYi Army clashed with the Boxers and suppressed the Boxers who had just arrived in Beijing to act recklessly. During the Boxer Rebellion, the Qing court declared war on the whole world, the Eight-Power Alliance invaded China, and on May 21, 1900, the Dagu Fort was lost. The imperial court ordered Nie Shicheng to take charge of the defense of Tianjin. From May to July 1900, Nie Shicheng fought with the Eight-Nation Alliance. However, because of the contradictions with the Boxers, they could not tolerate the diehards who supported the Boxers in the DPRK at this time, and they were repeatedly punished by the imperial court.
Figure 4: Nie Shicheng
In early July 1900, when Nie Shicheng led the army to engage the Eight-Nation Alliance, he did not want Nie Shicheng's mother, wife and daughter to be captured by the Boxers. Nie Shicheng could only send his men down to chase and rescue him, but some of his soldiers colluded with the Boxers, shouting that Nie Jun would rebel and shoot At Nie Jun, and Nie Shicheng was attacked on his back. On July 9, Nie Shicheng was killed in the artillery of Balitai, west of the city. After Nie Shicheng's death, the Boxers also wanted to kill Nie Shicheng's body, but fortunately the Eight-Nation Alliance pursued him and was spared. Later, the Germans asked the soldiers to return Nie Shicheng's body to the Qing army.
Figure 5: Tianjin Defense Battle
Nie Shicheng's words before his death, "The upper part does not forgive the imperial court, the lower see is forced by the boxers, and there is no way to explain oneself unless he dies", which finally ended in his death. After Nie Shicheng's death, the Wu Yi army basically collapsed due to the improper handling of the imperial court. After the Eight-Power Alliance occupied Tianjin, a horse pingchuan to Beijing, the Boxers on the road did not have effective resistance at all. It is really intolerable for the foolish people to reach such a point that the Great Qing will not perish.
Nie Shicheng can be said to be the last general to die for the Qing Dynasty. Thinking about it, Nie Shicheng's death also chilled the hearts of the Qing army. After that, the Qing government was not faced with a loyal general like Nie Shicheng. 【Deep in History】This issue of Nie Shicheng's introduction is here, welcome to pay attention!