In December 1883, the Sino-French War broke out.
At that time, the number of Qing troops involved in the battle was not small, such as 7 battalions stationed in Shanxi and 40 battalions stationed in Beining. However, the Qing generals were incompetent, the soldiers had no fighting spirit, and they were vulnerable to the French offensive and were gradually defeated.
Only the Black Flag Army led by Liu Yongfu was able to persist in fighting the French army and win victories in local areas.
Liu Yongfu (Chinese: 刘永福; pinyin: Ríng Fāng Fīng Fīng Yìn Đạng Đại Đạng Liu Yongfu's family was poor since childhood, so he joined the Heaven and Earth Society. Later, he called a pair of men and horses he led the "Black Flag Army".
In 1867, the Black Flag Army led by Liu Yongfu was attacked by The Governor of Guangxi, Feng Zicai, and was forced to move to Vietnam. After arriving in Vietnam, it coincided with the French invasion. Liu Yongfu helped the Nguyen Dynasty of Vietnam defeat the French army several times and was made the Viceroy of San Xuan and a first-class baron.
On the eve of the outbreak of the Sino-French War, Tang Jingsong, the chief of the bureaucracy, came to Vietnam on behalf of the imperial court and recruited the Black Flag Army. The Black Flag Army was reorganized into the Qing Army and joined the sequence of resistance against the French army. At the end of 1884, Liu Yongfu led the Black Flag Army to cooperate with the Qing army on the western front and besieged the French army occupying Xuanguang City for 3 months, and the French army in the city was almost exhausted. If it were not for the arrival of French reinforcements, the French army in the city would have been annihilated.
At that time, from Empress Dowager Cixi to ordinary people, as well as the Military Aircraft Department and prime minister Yamen, they all believed that the Black Flag Army was becoming the mainstay of the Qing army's resistance to the French army. In time, it can play a greater role. Therefore, the whole Qing Dynasty demanded the protection of Liu Yongfu. Of the 4 secret edicts that Empress Dowager Cixi instructed Li Hongzhang to negotiate peace with france, the last one was specifically for the purpose of defending Liu Yongfu.
Of course, as a hero of the Qing Dynasty, the Black Flag Army will naturally become the object of hatred of the French army. The French repeatedly demanded that the Qing Dynasty not regard the Black Flag Army as an official army. In this way, they could use the Black Flag Army as a "bandit" after the Qing army withdrew from northern Vietnam.
Strangely, Li Hongzhang also regarded the Black Flag Army as a thorn in his eye and deeply resented it. Why?
It turned out that Li Hongzhang had always maintained a sovereign and peaceful attitude in the Sino-French war, unwilling and afraid to engage the French army, and even disobeyed the order of the imperial court to send him to Guangdong to direct the battle. On May 11, 1884, Li Hongzhang was ordered to negotiate peace with the French representative Fluno and reached the Li Fu Agreement in Tianjin.
According to this agreement, all Qing troops were to withdraw from northern Vietnam. However, the Black Flag Army was not as obedient as other Qing troops, and they must resist the French army to the end. In this way, the war cannot be stopped. As a result, the Black Flag Army became a troublemaker in Li Hongzhang's mind. In Li Hongzhang's view, the resistance to France is small militarily, and the destruction and deliberation are large.
Li Hongzhang was full of contempt for the Black Flag Army, and did not believe that they could resist the French army at all, "The law is self-assured, will it be hindered by Liu in the end?" "Go to Dongke Shanxi, the Black Flag elite has been injured a lot, and has been seriously injured." This spring, Liu Yongfu raised 4,000 people to aid Beining, but he also collapsed without a fight, and his great enemy He Timid, the Chinese monopolized on making false noises, and they wanted to rely on the law, and the legal person was well aware of his incompetence. ”
Not only that, Li Hongzhang also sent a message to the imperial court, hoping to solve Liu Yongfu and avoid affecting the peace treaty: "At present, the peace talks have been concluded, the legal persons will not be repeated, the French troops will be gradually reduced, and the border defense armies of Yunnan and Guizhou should also be effectively rectified as soon as possible. Hearing about Liu Yongfu's troops, redundant harassment, and revenge with the Yue people, it is actually a border trouble. It is proposed to ask the governors of Yunnan and Guangxi to strictly restrain them, increase or subtract as appropriate, and make proper arrangements for pre-arrangement, so that there is no nuisance to the troubles, and there will be many conservators. ”
Liu Yongfu led the Black Flag Army to fight a bloody battle with the French army, and was actually used by Li Hongzhang as a victim of peace? When the news came out, there was a big uproar and accusations against Li Hongzhang one after another. Even Empress Dowager Cixi found Li Hongzhang's proposal too absurd and ordered him not to have prejudices against the Black Flag Army.
The Black Flag Army escaped the fate.
[References: "Black Flag Army", "Sino-French War", etc.]