File:Cannons in the Eternal Golden Castle.jpg

English: The castle only experienced two minor military incidents. The first was when cannons were fired to ward off the French during the Sino-French war of 1884, which was ironic, considering a Frenchman had been the architect of the castle.

The second occurred 11 years later to warn the Japanese not to try their luck. Taiwan was ceded to the Japanese the same year, but no blood was shed in the castle or in Tainan.

It is important to note that the Chinese did not go to war. They chose another path. They instead chose to cede land to the saber-rattling aggressors: the Japanese, British, Portuguese, and others who came knocking on their doors.