On "Unbeaten and Defeated" in the Sino-French War

The Sino-French War from 1883 to 1885 was unknown to most people in China except some people who studied history. Historical researchers all think that this war was "unbeaten and defeated" in the Qing Dynasty, but is this really the case?

? First of all, we must know what the strategic goal of France is. The reason why France launched the Sino-French War was essentially to seize control of Vietnam. In ancient China, Vietnam was a part of China's vassal system. It can be said that its imitation of China was comparable to that of North Korea. With 1840, Britain opened the door to China with artillery, and the vassal system of the Qing Dynasty completely collapsed. Western forces such as Britain and France began to actively infiltrate the former vassal States of the Qing Dynasty. This is the difference between North Korea and Vietnam. North Korea has always been loyal to China because the Ming Dynasty treated Lee Korea well. Although Daming was replaced by Qing, his kindness was still there, and North Korea was still loyal to China's younger brother. But Vietnam is different. There have been disputes between China and Viet Nam since the Qin Dynasty. Later, in the Han Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty and even the Song Dynasty, the weakest chickens all got their hands on Vietnam. This also makes Viet Nam have an inexplicable hatred for China. Geographically speaking, North Korea is located in Northeast Asia, and it is difficult for countries such as Britain and France to get their hands on it. On the contrary, Japan across the sea and Russia in the north are eyeing each other. Speaking of France's covet for Vietnam, France has long been weakened by the Napoleonic Wars and the Franco-Prussian War, and has no time to take care of overseas colonies. When Paris finally turned its attention to the East, it found that Britain had taken control of India and the Middle East had entered a "big game". So Paris is targeting Southeast Asia. At this time, Siam, the small overlord of Southeast Asia, had declined, and France successfully spread its culture to Vietnam through Catholicism. After the Second Opium War, France officially launched a war of aggression against southern Vietnam. Vietnamese king Ruan Fushi turned to the Black Flag Army for help, and the Sino-French war started.

? Strictly speaking, the two governments have not declared war at this time, and the Black Flag Army is just a rebel in China. Liu Yongfu, the general of the Black Flag Army, shot the French general Anye. Afterwards, both China and Vietnam played up the matter. This is a joke in itself, because the army led by An Ye is only a few hundred people, which is similar to the number of an expedition, so this team is more similar to a military expedition. I won't elaborate on the following process here. To sum up, the achievements of the Westernization Movement were completely defeated by the isolated Far East Fleet in Mawei. Finally, he died of dysentery in Taiwan Province province. The hot weather made it impossible for the French army to completely occupy Taiwan Province province. And as I said before, France's strategic goal is Vietnam. For the French, Taiwan Province Province can be better, but it has not caused any serious impact. Next, let's explain the biggest joke of this Sino-French war-Zhennan Victory.

? Here, I want to explain once again that western countries have always had the strategy of sending military advance teams. As early as16th century in Spain, when fighting against the aborigines, it was to expel hundreds of teams and then unite with other local Indian tribes to resist the rule of the Inca Empire. It is the first in the west to use a small group of troops to survey the terrain and contact the enemy opposition at the same time. In this way, the casualties of our personnel can be minimized. The French army led by nigri is such an army. He, like Mr. An's troops, has only a few hundred people. Therefore, there are two purposes for nigri to go north, one is to conduct military reconnaissance as I mentioned above, and the other is to gamble militarily and win Nanguan Town with a small army of several hundred people. But at this time, the era of mechanized warfare has not yet arrived, and the "blitzkrieg" offensive cannot be realized with flesh and blood. However, it may be that seeing the performance of the Qing army, nigri decided to take another gamble and let his military career reach its peak.

? Everyone knows what happened afterwards. First of all, Pan Dingxin retreated without a fight, while nigri pursued. It is estimated that nigri has decided to win Nanguan Town at this time, and there is no problem. As a result, veteran Feng Zicai firmly held the pass, and nigri's troops were only a few hundred. Cannons are few, the French firepower advantage can't play, nigri can only retreat. However, although this campaign had little influence on the whole war, it mobilized French nationalism. How could my great French army be defeated by the "sick man of East Asia"? So Rufyiri's cabinet fell. This matter has been exaggerated by our country. First of all, as I said before, this campaign had no decisive factor in the Sino-French war, and nigri just made a military gamble. Just as solitary pulling is the same for Taiwan Province Province, you can have it or not. And these occupied territories will eventually become chips at the negotiating table. First, because France has just experienced the Franco-Prussian War, its strength has been greatly weakened and it is unable to wage war again. Secondly, because these places belonged to China a long time ago and have a strong sense of national identity, France is different from Japan and Russia, and all it needs is markets and raw materials. Although Taiwan Province Province is rich in geographical resources, the local aborigines are fierce and the management cost is high. For those financial capitalists in Paris, such a deal is too uneconomical. Therefore, the French need to make use of Taiwan Province Province and Zhennan Gate to get more economic benefits from the Qing government. In the last century, it was not the French people who lost much interest that led to the collapse of Ruferri's cabinet. It was French nationalism that was mobilized because of this battle, just like the white left in the United States during the Vietnam War. China, on the other hand, made a big fuss, mainly to show that China people were not defeated in modern times, and the western colonists were not invincible. This is true in itself, but is the corrupt Qing government really capable of fighting France, which ranked third in the world at that time? This is also my main point of view in this chapter. This war is just a lie of China nationalism.

? Finally, the treaty signed by China and France not only opened the trading ports as usual, but also recognized France's right to protect Vietnam. Since then, Vietnam has become a part of French Indian zhina, and it didn't leave France until 1950s. However, as a result of the Westernization Movement in Qing Dynasty, the Nanyang Navy was completely annihilated, and the bourgeois reformists began to gain ground. The cabinet of Ruferri collapsed, but it gained the opening of the southwest of China and the Vietnamese colony, and its power expanded rapidly. The war ended with the strategic victory of France and the loss of Vietnam, a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty.

? This paper mainly refutes the result of "unbeaten and defeated" in the Sino-French war. History is always complicated and uncertain. Although the French won strategically, the cabinet of Rufyiri, the main battle, fell. Although the Qing Dynasty lost its vassal state, the bankruptcy of the Westernization Movement accelerated the centralization of Cixi. As a new writer, I hope to praise and comment more. See you next time.

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