Chapter 37: New Appearance (Part 2)

As soon as Liu Yongfu spoke, the room erupted in applause. “We really want to see what’s so special about the Xiliu Camp.”
All three officers were very interested in the Xiliu Camp. Wu Fengdian added, “If the Xiliu Camp truly joins our Black Flag Army, I wouldn’t mind giving them control over the entire defense area in Shanxi.”
Of course, he also assumed a prerequisite—that the Xiliu Camp was indeed a formidable force.
These three, along with Huang Shouzhong, could be considered the four most powerful figures in the Black Flag Army after Liu Yongfu, simply because they commanded over 80% of the army’s forces.
If Liu Suiyun passed their inspection, even if Liu Yongfu objected, the Xiliu Camp would become part of the Black Flag Army.
After reaching an agreement, they each took a few bodyguards and headed straight to the old camp of the Xiliu Camp, bypassing Shanxi City. Along the way, the main topic of conversation was still the Xiliu Camp.
Liu Yongfu took precautions: “Let’s say I was sent to establish contact with the Xiliu Camp. I want to see what kind of force this is.”
The Black Flag Army members all wore blue uniforms, with little distinction between officers and soldiers. The three camp officers replied, “Understood.”
Yang Zhenen raised a question he cared most about: “Cheng Liang, do you think the Xiliu Camp really has those rear-mounted guns? Hey, look—there’s a kid over there.”
He immediately spotted a patrol team from the Xiliu Camp in the distance, about six or seven people. The leader was extremely young, only fifteen or sixteen years old. The standard uniform, though cut shorter, was clearly too big for him, making him look rather comical.
Liu Yongfu and the three camp officers all glanced at the patrol led by Liu Suiyun and shook their heads. Too young!
The Black Flag Army consisted mostly of veterans who had survived countless battles. It was hard to find a soldier under thirty. Yet, of the seven soldiers in this patrol, none were over thirty, and most were under twenty. The leader was even more unusual—a mere teenager.
How could such young people have any authority in the camp? Moreover, their patrol route and formation differed from those of the regular troops, appearing disorganized. They didn’t even come to inspect their own side but instead exchanged some unclear gestures.
This would only delay them in battle!
They turned around as a scattered group. The young leader said little, only shouting, “Who’s there?”
Despite his youth, he carried a hint of ferocity. But seeing their formation, even the least experienced Yang Zhenen shook his head. Combat required concentrated firepower and synchronized firing. With such a scattered formation, how could they fight? Their actions also didn’t conform to the Black Flag Army’s rules at all.
It seemed hopeless. Liu Yongfu still held a sliver of hope: “I hope these are just the outer troops of the Xiliu Camp.”
They called out to each other from afar: “I’m sent by General Liu of the Black Flag Army to establish contact. Who are you?”
“The left patrol of the Xiliu Camp!”
Was this the elite left patrol of the Xiliu Camp? But then Yang Zhenen exclaimed in shock, “They all have rear-mounted guns.”

What concerned him wasn’t the use of breechloading guns, but rather the fact that Liu Suiyun, such a young boy, could wield one. It was utterly unjust! The Right Camp had 300 elite soldiers yet not a single breechloading gun, while the Xiliu Camp had even a child capable of using one. It was truly unfair.

Yang Zhenen unconsciously took two steps forward before realizing he was already in front of Liu Suiyun. The young man was remarkably composed, showing no fear under his gaze. “Please follow me,” he said. With a gesture, the patrol teams of the Xiliu Camp immediately spread out to protect Liu Yongfu and the others. Yet their kindness only made the veteran generals of the Black Flag Army shake their heads again. There was nothing extraordinary about it—just superior equipment and tactics.

But at the mention of “superior equipment and tactics,” the veterans could only force a bitter smile. After all, the Xiliu Camp had been lucky enough to somehow seize 300 breechloading guns by opening Haiyang City. They looked down on Liu Suiyun, who said little, merely guiding them toward the old camp. Along the way, the veteran generals of the Black Flag Army had little good to say about him, but they admired one thing: the Xiliu Camp had an enormous number of sentries. There were soldier sentries, mobile sentries, backup sentries, and lookout sentries. It was the first time they had seen so many different types, and they suspected there might even be hidden sentries they hadn’t noticed. The Xiliu Camp had turned the area around the old camp into a web-like defense system—no matter which direction or method the enemy used to attack, they would be detected before reaching the old camp.

They didn’t know that the Xiliu Camp now routinely sent infantry units on combat search drills, covering every mountain village in Shanxi Province. Such searches had forced the Vietnamese to stay neutral rather than approach the Xiliu Camp. As for the area near the old camp, it was entirely on the side of the Xiliu Camp. Any disturbance would immediately prompt villagers to send messengers to report it—making it an extremely reliable stronghold for the Xiliu Camp.

But Liu Yu was currently busy training his troops, and efforts to establish a solid base had not yet begun. Yet this alone already put pressure on the veteran generals of the Black Flag Army. No matter how disorganized they were, just looking at that web-like defense network, coupled with so many breechloading guns, made them realize that attacking would require a huge price.

As they got closer to the old camp, their nerves tightened further. Though the Xiliu Camp seemed like a ragtag group, their fortifications were incredibly thorough. What should have been an easily attackable but hard-to-defend place had been transformed into a series of fortifications from far to near—battlement walls, watchtowers, bunkers, gun emplacements, barbed wires, trenches… It was obvious that an attacker, unable to deploy in a wide formation, would be blocked by obstacles and subjected to repeated fire from the riflemen hidden in the fortifications.

Yang Zhenen had boasted that he could lead his entire battalion to attack the Xiliu Camp, but now he was sweating profusely. His Right Camp only had 300 muskets, and breaking through so many obstacles would likely take half an hour. The Xiliu Camp only needed to leave 100 or 180 men in the villages, relying on fortifications and obstacles, and a few rounds of synchronized firing could wipe out his Right Camp. Was the commander of the Xiliu Camp a turtle? Why build so many fortifications?

Over there, Liu Suiyun has already ordered the soldiers stationed at the wall to open the fortress gates: “This is a noble envoy sent by the Black Flag Army to establish contact.”