Chapter Thirteen: A Choice! Down!

Seeing Liu Yu’s fury, with veins bulging on his hands, Ning Xue gently hooked his fingers under the table. Sima Tai asked seriously, “Commander, what’s going on?”
“See for yourself!”
“I don’t know many characters.”
Not only Sima Tai, but few people in Liu Yu’s camp could read or write. More than half of those in the room were illiterate.
In his past life, Liu Yu had studied late Qing history and could read stone-printed versions of “Imperially Approved Strategies for Suppressing the Nian Rebellions.” Reading this letter wasn’t a problem for him; even if he encountered unreadable parts, he could guess the meaning by recognizing the characters.
“Wicked Liu family bandits: Since you committed unforgivable crimes—attacking the Lord’s followers repeatedly, assaulting the independent Vietnamese government, and severely threatening France’s interests—the day of reckoning has come. Now, France and Vietnam have joined forces and sent ten thousand troops to suppress you…”
“…Your death is imminent. After death, you will surely go to hell. Haiyang is a land protected by France, a place under the Lord’s glory—there is no place left for you to hide…”
“…Even if you try to flee at the first sign of trouble, France’s honor, renowned throughout the world, will pursue you far and wide…”
“…The only hope lies in you disarming yourselves, surrendering, and asking the Lord for forgiveness…”
The entire text was clearly dictated by Father Nguyen Youfu, then transcribed into Chinese by believers skilled in the language. It was filled with references, and Father Nguyen Youming emphasized further, “Haiyang and Annam are divinely granted territories of the Lord and France. Even if you flee from here, you cannot escape divine punishment!”
Liu Suiyun remained calm: “He wants to wipe us out completely. Even if we leave Haiyang, he’ll still try every means to hunt us down!”
Sima Tai spat and said, “Dream on! Let’s retreat first to Qiongshan or Gaoping to avoid trouble. Once the storm passes, we can return. With twenty foreign rifles, we can go anywhere in the world!”
Sima Tai’s plan was supported by Jing Shiyi, who opposed it: “Where can we retreat to? The French’ influence in Annam grows stronger by the day. Qiongshan and Gaoping aren’t utopias either—foreign religions have strong influence there!”
Although this was purely out of opposition, Liu Yu had to admit that what he said was close to historical facts. These Chinese forces that entered Vietnam were almost completely driven out by the French within less than a decade.
Sima Tai had had a poor relationship with Jing Shiyi lately: “So you’re suggesting we fight against the Vietnamese army? That army has troops from two provinces, ten thousand soldiers, and even war elephants. Even with foreign rifles, how can we compete?”
Liu Suiyun agreed with him: “The Vietnamese army is numerous and well-supplied. We can’t match them. That’s why I agree with Sima’s view!”
Everyone admitted that the Vietnamese army was a bunch of incompetents, but ten thousand pigs, even if poorly organized, still had some fighting strength.
Although Liu Yu’s camp had many experienced soldiers and had recently acquired twenty foreign rifles, boosting their combat power, no one had the confidence to think they could defeat ten thousand soldiers—especially since winning such a battle would be more troublesome than losing. Vietnam had the advantage of home ground and could keep sending more troops, even summoning Qing forces to help suppress them.

History has proven this with bloody lessons—just look at Lu Yazhong and Huang Chongying; once great figures, they were utterly destroyed under the joint attack of Qing and Yue. Since fighting is now out of the question, the only option is to leave. Even Jing Shiyi can no longer insist on his original plan. He was the first to suggest, “Then what? Go to Gaoping and join Lu Zhiping?”
“That’s not even as good as going to Shanxi and joining Liu Yongfu of the Black Flag Army! I heard he even incorporated Huang Chongying’s troops!”
“Liu Yongfu? He’s been recruited by Vietnam—he’s an official soldier! Huang Chongying has many troops and generals—what do we have? They might even attack us from behind right away!”
Jing Shiyi and Sima Tai argued fiercely. Though young, he was very eloquent and knew quite a lot.
Ji Xinghui then offered another idea: “If we want to go somewhere remote, why not go to Shizhou and join Ye Chenglin? The French will never find us there.”
No one liked this idea: “Ye Chenglin? Shizhou? Who would go there? In such a remote place, we’ll surely starve to death.”
But no one could come up with a better solution, and the future remained uncertain.
The threat of ten thousand Vietnamese soldiers weighed heavily on Liu Yu’s mind for a long time. After finally obtaining a few foreign guns and taking control of Liu’s army, he planned to continue exploiting the situation. But the French attacked directly, ruining all his plans.
Should he take a chance? The odds were slim!
It was truly agonizing!
Frustrated, he unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his fair chest. Jiang Ningxue couldn’t take her eyes off him as he shouted, “What’s there to fear? We’re barefoot—unlike you guys in shoes!”
I don’t know if we’ll succeed or fail!
But this world at least gives me a chance—a chance to take a bold leap!
Ten thousand years is too long; we must seize the present moment.
Since fate won’t give me an opportunity, I’m destined to fight for it.
He buttoned his shirt again, becoming the humble Liu Yu once more. He adjusted his clothes and bowed deeply to Sima Tai: “Mr. Sima, your generosity is beyond our gratitude. But I still have one more request and would like to trouble you further.”
With such high praise, Sima Tai was at a loss: “Commander, please speak. There’s no need for such formality!”
He knew Liu Yu must be asking him to take on a very difficult task, but he loved such challenges.
Yet as Sima Tai rejoiced, Jing Shiyi gritted his teeth—Sima Tai always stole the spotlight. But he also understood the gravity of the situation and knew that unity was essential in times of crisis.
This time, Liu Yu firmly held Jiang Ningxue’s hand: “Ningxue and I thank you together!”
The couple bowed deeply to Sima Tai, giving him full respect before Liu Yu spoke: “For this campaign to Haiyang, I ask you to lead the rear guard.”
Sima Tai paled at the news: “You want to attack Haiyang?”
Though Liu Yu had buttoned his shirt now, he seemed even more ferocious than before: “If no one attacks me, I won’t attack them. But if they attack me, I’ll fight back. This is self-defense!”