The "Special Forces" in the Battle of Yaksa: Tengpai Soldiers

The "Special Forces" in the Battle of Yaksa: Tengpai Soldiers

In addition to the Qing soldiers fighting on the battlefield in the Sino-Russian Battle of Yaksa, there was also a mysterious team called the "Tengpai Soldiers" "Soldiers" are equivalent to today's "Special Forces". This shield soldier made great contributions in the Battle of Yaksa. In the 24th year of Kangxi (AD 1685), the Qing government decided to mobilize 500 Fujian Tengpai soldiers, led by Taiwanese Governor He You to go to Yaksa.

"Volume 3 of the Strategies for Pinging Rakshasa" records: "In February of the 25th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign, we ordered rattan soldiers and artillery equipment to arrive in front of the Heilongjiang army." They captured the city of Yakesa and selected alternate officials. There were now 400 Fujian Tengpai soldiers in the Eight Banners Han Army, and ordered Hou Lin Xingzhu to lead them. "Part of the Tengpai soldiers in the navy were Taiwanese with ancestral home in the mainland, but the Tengpai soldiers were Taiwanese. Most of the military coaches, junior officers and main soldiers are Gaoshan people who are familiar with rattan.

The navy's rattan soldiers led by Lin Xingzhu went into the water naked, held their rattans on their heads, and attacked the enemy with flat knives. When the Cossacks saw it, they were horrified. They didn't know what kind of army this was, and shouted: "The Tatars are coming!" The heads were covered with shields, and although the Russian bullets were powerful, they could not penetrate them. When the enemy shoots, the shield soldiers use shields to protect their heads. When the enemy shoots, the shield soldiers rush to the enemy's raft.

As a result, the reinforcing Russian army not only failed to rescue the Cossacks in the city, but most of them were killed and wounded, and they had to flee. But none of Lin Xingzhu's men suffered any losses. This was a beautiful battle of annihilation on the water. Lin Xingzhu's navy made great achievements in recovering Yaksa.

The Tengpai soldiers led by Lin Xingzhu in the Battle of Yaksa were a special forces unit at the time. Although there were weapons like rattan in the mainland, and there were also rattan tactics, they never played a leading role in the war. The treasure island of Taiwan is located at the junction of tropical and subtropical areas. Wild vines grow everywhere on the island. The Gaoshan people who have lived on the island of Taiwan for generations have used the island's resources to make unique weapons.

This kind of shield has several advantages: first, it is lightweight and easier to carry than shields made of other materials; second, it does not get wet when entering water, and can protect against swords and arrows, and can also be used as a water crossing tool; third, Tough and invulnerable. After the bullets passed through the shield, they no longer had the power to hurt people. Taiwan's indigenous residents, the Gaoshan people, also created special tactics.

When attacking, everyone holds the shields, which is equivalent to having a moving Great Wall that can move forward; when the enemy comes to attack, they put the shields outward and form a circle, allowing the enemy to shoot. When the enemy runs out of bullets or arrows, they attack with a roar. The Cossack cavalry had never seen anything like this before, and they didn't know how to deal with it. They thought the shield was a sailor's hat, and shouted, "We were defeated by the hat soldier today."

After the Yaksa War, these sailors moved to Qiqihar and became the main force of the Qiqihar Naval Battalion. They were also one of the earliest immigrants in Qiqihar City. Wei Yulan said in "Old News of Longcheng": "The navy camp troops were all transferred from Fujian. The ancestors of the indigenous people near the present Taoist Department were all Fujianese. If the surname of Lin in Putian and the surname of Chen in Tong'an were originally from Fujian, they moved to Sai In the battle of Yakesa, Jianyihou Lin Xingzhuping Luosha was the ancestor of the Fujian people.

So the power of the navy at that time was not comparable to that of Manchuria. The Han people are particularly superior." According to "Dragon City Old News", because these sailors made great contributions in resisting Tsarist Russia, they received special treatment from the Qing government and had a high social status in Qiqihar. During the Qing Dynasty, Taiwan belonged to Fujian Province, so it was said that "all were transferred from Fujian." At that time, people used to refer to their places of origin, so they called them Putian and Tong'an. In fact, most of these people were born in Taiwan.

Those Gaoshan people who were born in Taiwan for generations also adopted Han surnames following the Han custom. Because they have lived in the north for a long time, the customs of Taiwan's Gaoshan people also followed the customs of the northern mainland.