African Nationhood

Chapter 121 Black Flag Army (Part )
  (Thanks to the book friend Bu Bu Buka for the tip, thank you puppet!)

The Black Flag Army was originally a peasant uprising army that operated on the border between Guangdong and Guangxi during the Taiping Revolution. Its leader was Liu Yongfu.

In 1851, Liu Yongfu participated in the Guangxi Peasant Uprising. In 1865, he led his troops to join the Tiandihui uprising army headed by Wu Yazhong.

His army held a flag-sacrifice ceremony in front of the Ande Beidi Temple in Guishun Prefecture (today's Jingxi County) and used the seven-star black flag as the military flag, so it was called the Black Flag Army.

Because the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement was wiped out, the Qing army was freed up, and Liu Yongfu had no place in the Qing territory.

In 1867, Liu Yongfu led more than Black Flag Army soldiers to move from Daling in Guishun Prefecture to Vietnam to ensure victory and establish a base here.

Liu Yongfu was loyal and generous, and loved his subordinates, so his team grew rapidly and soon expanded to more than 2,000 people.

After entering the guaranteed victory, the Black Flag Army suppressed the surrounding bandit bullies, and Liu Yongfu and the Black Flag Army suddenly became famous.

The Vietnamese Nguyen family court has always been in awe of the Chinese and did not dare to expel the Black Flag Army.

Later, the French pressed hard on the Nguyen family court, and the Nguyen family court had no choice but to ask for help from the Black Flag Army.

Liu Yongfu attacked and killed the French general, which made the Nguyen emperor very happy, so he named Liu Yongfu the governor of Sanxuan.

If a French general is killed, the French will naturally not give up.

Last year (1882), they directly sent troops to conquer Tokyo (Hanoi), the Nguyen family's court, and forced the Vietnamese Nguyen Dynasty to surrender.

While Vietnam was perfunctory with France, it asked for help from the Qing Dynasty. In the end, the Qing Dynasty and France signed a draft treaty in Tianjin.

However, the signed content could not be recognized by the leaders of both parties, so the Tianjin Draft Treaty became invalid.

According to historical trends, the French are now preparing a new attack.

It will be two months later, that is, in August that they will break through Hue, the capital of the Nguyen family, and capture the Vietnamese Emperor Nguyen Phuc Thang.

The French's intention was obviously to force Vietnam to surrender and become a French colony.

However, Vietnamese court officials refused to acknowledge the French's arrogant demands. On the one hand, they planned to establish a new emperor, and on the other hand, they once again asked the Qing Dynasty for help.

Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty immediately ordered the formation of an army to aid Vietnam, but neither this army nor the Black Flag Army defeated the French army, so France and the Qing Dynasty negotiated again on the Vietnam issue.

It must be said here that the Manchu and Qing high-level officials seriously misjudged the international situation. The result of Li Hongzhang's hard work was denounced by Cixi as betraying Vietnam and would not be recognized.

The French cabinet also felt that the retention of the Qing's suzerainty in the signed contract was a hidden danger, so the top leaders of both countries did not recognize the agreed contract.

(1884) War broke out again, and this time the French offensive was very fierce. The French navy directly destroyed the Qing Dynasty's Fujian Navy and Mawei Fortress, then invaded Taiwan and blocked the Taiwan Strait.

(1885) The French army landed on the Penghu Islands again. If French naval commander Guba had not died unexpectedly, Taiwan might have completely fallen.

On land, the Qing court recruited Liu Yongfu and asked him to lead the Black Flag Army and Zhennan Pass guard Feng Zicai to attack from both sides. They defeated the arrogant French army and saved some face for the Qing Dynasty.

In the end, the Qing and France sat at the negotiation table again. This time, Vietnam completely became a French colony, and the Qing also permanently lost its suzerainty over Vietnam.

……

Ye Shilong and Wang Zhongyi did not know the future history, but this did not prevent them from despising the Black Flag Army.

From the perspective of Ye Shilong, a veteran in military training, the Black Flag Army soldiers in Baosheng City did not have the demeanor of a strong military.

There is no comparison with the soldiers in the advance battalion of Nanhua Company. The soldiers in the advance battalion emphasized that they should sit and stand in a disciplined manner and follow orders in all their actions.

The soldiers of the Black Flag Army here are loose and lazy, with no luster in their eyes and lack of vitality. They are still far away from a strong front-line army.

I don’t know why Mr. Shi came to make friends with these people, even if he wanted to immigrate. This place is too far from the seaport, which is not conducive to the transportation of immigrants at all!
  Soon we arrived in front of the largest pavilion building in the city. The plaque above said "Baoshengfu Yamen".

Ye Shilong and Wang Zhongyi were shocked. They finally arrived, and the guards they brought with them were also blocked.

Ye Shilong still wanted to fight for it, but the Black Flag Army guards guarding the gate responded with indifference.

……

The two were taken into the lobby of the pavilion and saw several men sitting in the hall.

The rough faces of these people are similar to those of Ye Shilong. Compared with the gentle and naive Wang Zhongyi, the two are too conspicuous.

Several leaders of the Black Flag Army looked at each other with suspicion in their hearts. Didn't they say they were British? Why were there two yellow-skinned ones?
  The thin and dark Liu Yongfu coughed, "Are you from the Qing Dynasty?"

Ye Shilong looked at Liu Yongfu and found that the man who asked the question was old and thin. He should be over fifty years old.

There were some doubts in my heart. According to the information given by Mr. Shi, Liu Yongfu was only in his forties. If it was really him, his appearance would be too old.

"We are not from the Qing Dynasty. We are now employees of the Royal British Chartered Nanhua Company and are British."

Hearing the other party speaking Chinese, many military leaders breathed a sigh of relief, but there was a look of disdain on their faces.

The meaning is obvious. People like you who have abandoned your motherland are not worthy of respect. It is better for us, the anti-Qing soldiers, to know how to respect ourselves.

Ye Shilong also understood the expressions of the people opposite him. He didn't care about it at all at the moment. He had already thought clearly when he was in the Qing Dynasty and was on the verge of death. He would never be a Qing citizen again in this life.

He held a high position and held great power in the Nanhua Company, and he was also looked up to by everyone in Borneo.

After spending a long time with people with broad visions like Mr. Shi, his vision naturally broadened.

No matter how much these people despise and hate themselves, what can they do to themselves?

Now I am here to pull these frogs in the well away. Only when they arrive in Southwest Africa will they understand what real life is and what it means to be a real human being.

“We are here this time to tell Leader Liu that General Manager Shi of our company values ​​your army’s manliness in resisting the Qing Dynasty and fighting against the bandits.

I have been specially appointed to contact you, hoping that you can move to our southwest Africa, where you can live and work in peace and contentment, or you can join the army and stay away from the chaos of the Qing Dynasty. "

After listening to Ye Shilong's words, many military leaders were a little curious. What qualifications do you have to recruit us?
  Liu Yongfu was a little confused. What on earth was this person talking about? Why could I understand what he said but not what he meant?
  However, he kept his wife's words in mind, and when there was a problem, he should first find out the whole story before making a decision.

"Well, I'm a little unclear about that. Where is the Southwest Africa you mentioned? How many people are you under your rule? Why do you have to recruit us?"

Ye Shilong directly talked about the situation in Southwest Africa. Many military leaders were a little excited when they heard that Southwest Africa has a vast territory, sparse population, suitable climate, and fertile land.

But they finally managed to secure the foundation in Baosheng, and the brothers have settled down.

Once you go overseas, you will be on someone else's territory, and you have to rely on others to handle everything, so you should forget about relocation.

Liu Yongfu himself also meant the same thing, so he declined directly and politely said: "The general manager of your company has good intentions, and Liu understands it well. The brothers who followed me here have already settled down, and it is not appropriate to act rashly."

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  (End of this chapter)