Chapter 30: Resentment Fills the Southern Lands! Part 2!

The Vietnamese geographical concept of “Tokyo” had three different interpretations in the eyes of the French. Most often, it referred to the entire North Vietnam region, equivalent to what the Chinese called “Bắc Kỳ.” In some cases, it meant Hanoi Province in North Vietnam, and often enough, it simply referred to the city of Hanoi itself.
Hanoi, also known as Thăng Long, was a city with a long history but slow to respond to changes. Nothing truly exciting ever happened there; any upheaval only caused minor ripples in this city. Decades ago, when the Tây Sơn Dynasty made it its capital, the Tây Sơn emperors openly admitted in letters to Qianlong that “this place has long lacked imperial aura.”
Thus, when the flag of Huang Zuoyan, the commander in charge of military affairs in Bắc Kỳ, appeared in Hanoi, it caused no stir. The people of Hanoi merely glanced at the flag before turning away indifferently.
Huang Zuoyan’s residence was located on Phan Xích Long Street, with Cen Gong Alley behind it. Instead of going straight to his residence, he turned to his subordinates and said, “Go to Cen Gong Temple.”
Cen Gong Temple had a storied history. During the Qianlong era, the “Ten-Perfect Warrior” tried to conquer Annam but was defeated by the Tây Sơn forces. Tianzhou’s governor, Cen Yidong, was besieged by the Vietnamese army and died by drowning. Later, overseas Chinese in Hanoi built a temple in Cen Gong Alley to honor him. Now, Huang Zuoyan said with interest, “It’s truly a pity we can’t build a temple for this hero this time.”
He had received two pieces of good news earlier, so he was in high spirits. But his subordinates were confused: “If Tang Guo’s Dang Minxuan was defeated, how is that a good thing?”
Dang Minxuan was a subordinate of Feng Zicai. He was good at flattery, but he suffered a crushing defeat in battle against Li Yangcai, losing hundreds of soldiers. Yet Huang Zuoyan wasn’t worried at all. “The Black Flag Army has won the battle and defeated Li Yangcai, thus stabilizing the situation for our dynasty.”
Still, the officials remained concerned. Li Yangcai had a powerful force and was constantly conquering lands in North Vietnam. Although he now had the support of over ten battalions from the Black Flag Army and the Qing forces, the outcome was still uncertain. Was the commander being too optimistic?
Huang Zuoyan, however, said cheerfully, “The overall situation is now settled. Why worry about Li Yangcai? I only hope that the troops of Tang Guo won’t repeat the mistakes of Sun Shiyi in the past. That’s why I’ve come to Cen Gong Temple to offer incense.”
Sun Shiyi was the commander who led the Qing forces into Vietnam. Qianlong claimed to have achieved ten perfect military feats, but his campaigns everywhere ended in failure. It took him over a decade to conquer the thousands-strong Jinchuan tribe, and many of his so-called “perfect feats” were actually embarrassing. Sun Shiyi’s invasion of Vietnam ended in a complete defeat, with as many as seven thousand of his soldiers killed, allowing Vietnam to regain control of the land.
Among the officials in North Vietnam, Huang Zuoyan was quite intelligent and skilled in politics. He picked up three sticks of incense and, as he offered it, said, “Li Yangcai’s defeat is inevitable. I only hope General Feng can deal with this scoundrel soon.”
“He’s an invading army, and attacking our southern lands is already a disadvantage for him. He has no support, while our dynasty has a steady stream of reinforcements. My only concern is the Black Flag Army’s indecision and the Qing Empire’s indifference. Now that Liu Er has sent troops, I’m completely at ease.”
“He declared himself king too early, set his goals too soon. The Qing Empire can’t tolerate that, so he’s doomed to failure. His victories over Zhao Wo and defeats of Dang Minxuan only lead to certain death.”

The Qing Dynasty always valued face greatly when it came to vassal states. Had it not been for the interference of people like Sun Shiyi, it would never have retreated. This time was especially humiliating—a second-rank official leading troops to cause chaos in Vietnam would utterly destroy the Qing Dynasty’s reputation.

Li Yangcai had overly ambitious goals. Within less than a month of his arrival in Vietnam, Zhao Wo had already led troops out of the border, followed soon by Dang Minxuan, who also left under Feng Zicai’s orders. Li Yangcai’s defeats against Zhao Wo and Dang Minxuan only drew even greater attention from the Qing Dynasty.

“Now that Dang Minxuan has been defeated, Marshal Feng will surely send troops out. Feng Cuiting has commanded troops for thirty years and oversees dozens of battalions. How can Li Yangcai possibly hold his ground?”

Feng Zicai was stationed in Liuzhou. If he sent troops out, it would mean deploying the main forces of the Western Province’s defense army. If the war dragged on, additional troops from the Eastern Province could also be called in.

In such a situation, Li Yangcai might achieve a few small victories, but he would still have to face the combined forces of the Vietnamese army, the Black Flag Army, and the Qing army—a formidable opponent. With his limited strength, how could he possibly turn the tide?

At this thought, Huang Zuo Yan felt extremely proud and recited a quatrain by Hu Chunxiang: “I gaze afar at the plaque hanging high, atop the mountain stands the governor’s shrine.”

As for the last two lines, he didn’t need to say them. But just as he was basking in his pride, he heard someone rushing over: “Governor, there’s an emergency in Shanxi.”

Shanxi could be considered the rear route for Beining. Huang Zuo Yan was panicked and kept asking, “What happened? What happened?”

After asking in detail, Huang Zuo Yan finally learned the full situation, still uneasy: “It’s the Liu Regiment! They’re too bold—after defeating our forces in Haiyang, they even dare to come to Shanxi and kill our soldiers. I truly hate them…”

It should be noted that those who died or were injured in this battle were all soldiers whom Huang Zuo Yan valued highly. It was as if one of his fingers had been severed. Others urged, “Quickly order the governor of Shanxi and Huang Shouzhong to send troops to quell them. We must not let a threat fester! But the Liu Regiment has many foreign rifles, so we must be careful.”

“No!” Huang Zuo Yan thought for a moment and weighed his options. “The empire is currently using troops to suppress Li Yangcai. No accidents are allowed. Inform the governor of Shanxi to send two fat cattle, four large pigs, and fifty bushels of rice to the Liu Regiment as a gesture of goodwill to resolve the misunderstanding and show appreciation!”

He took a deep breath and then resolved firmly, “Once I’ve suppressed Li Yangcai, I’ll make the Liu Regiment pay—no one will be spared!”

Everyone praised Huang Zuo Yan for his brilliant strategy. Upon reflection, the Liu Regiment had already defeated Haiyang and captured Guangping. It was said to have a hundred rapid-fire rifles with advanced equipment—far beyond the capabilities of ordinary government troops. At a critical moment in the battle against Li Yangcai, how could they allow their rear route in Shanxi to fall? The governor’s plan was indeed more reliable.

Huang Zuo Yan added, “Since the Liu Regiment wants to target the Black Flag Army, I’ll give Liu Er a headache. Who’s currently guarding Shanxi? Huang Er?”

“Huang Er usually defends Heyang. Right now, it’s Wu Fengdian who’s guarding Shanxi.”

“Wu Fengdian? Good! Among the Black Flag Army, Wu Fengdian is the most trusted by Liu Er. I’ll hand over the entire defense area of Shanxi to the Liu Regiment and see how Liu Er reacts.”

“Genius! Genius! Let them fight among themselves.”

Yet, to deal with a mere Liu Regiment of a few hundred men roaming northern Vietnam, Huang Zuo Yan, who was in charge of military affairs in northern regions, could only rely on political tactics and couldn’t engage in a direct battle. It was just like the two lines of Hu Chunxiang’s quatrain that he hadn’t recited: “If only I could become a true man! Heroic deeds could be achieved in an instant.”

In the south, there were no true men left.