Chapter 42: Hidden Currents (Part 2)

Red River Outpost.
Not long after Zhang Biao received the news, sporadic gunshots rang out. The sentries on the watchtower had already sounded the alarm: “Enemy detected! About fifteen or sixteen men, in the left front, about half a mile away.”
“A small group of enemies spotted in the north, about six or seven!”
“The two groups of enemies have joined forces.”
“Preparing! Preparing!”
Several engineers hurriedly used shovels to reinforce the fortifications, while the kitchen quickly lit a fire to prepare dinner before the battle.
A few soldiers skillfully carried water in buckets, filling the water jars and gourds quickly. Zhang Biao ordered loudly, “Have the kitchen prepare more fried rice! And bury two jars of water underground.”
All these arrangements had been planned in advance. Don’t underestimate them—sometimes it’s these decisions that determine the outcome of a battle.
Soon, the enemy group appeared, observing the outpost at Xiliu Camp. They numbered only about twenty, dressed unevenly, carrying shotguns. They timidly stared at the willow-leaf flag adorned with the Big Dipper, then fired two shots at the outpost from a distance.
The gunshots were faint, but the outpost remained completely still. At that distance, even a Remington rifle would struggle to hit a target, let alone those shotguns.
Zhang Biao checked his pocket watch—it was 4:24 p.m. He nodded and said, “Send the signal a bit later. Have the rafts and bottles been lowered?”
Just then, two simple bamboo rafts drifted down the river. Several red ropes were tied to them as a prearranged signal. Along with them were several bottles containing rescue messages written in pencil, along with rewards for those who found them and reported to Xiliu Camp.
In history, the French army, besieged by the Black Flag Army and Yunnan troops in Xuan Guang, had used the same method to send rescue messages downstream as they neared destruction.
The enemy troops surrounding the outpost didn’t make any significant changes; they only raised a yellow flag. They continued to fire sporadically without launching any aggressive actions. They showed no reaction to the group of farmers with shotguns—whose marksmanship and morale were far inferior. They didn’t even dare approach the outpost.
What a juicy target.
Zhang Biao remained unmoved. His order was, “All troops, hold your positions, keep observing, and prepare!”
Under normal circumstances, he would have rushed in to fight immediately. But before setting out, he and Liu Yu and other officers had analyzed the situation repeatedly on a map. Several of his attempts to attack had been repelled by Liu Yu, teaching him that “holding the position is the greatest victory.”
After painful defeats in simulations, he was mentally prepared for a defensive strategy. With thirty-seven soldiers on his side, even if the enemy sent two or three hundred men to attack, he could still inflict heavy casualties on them.
He glanced at the flat rice fields in front of the outpost, feeling quite confident.
The sun was about to set.
Zhang Biao still showed no sign of taking action, causing even the Yellow Flag Army troops tasked with luring the enemy to relax.

They saw that the soldiers of Xiliu Camp had completed all preparations, eaten their meals, and their bellies seemed to have rounded out. Standing behind the mud walls, they looked down on their own side, with some even making faces at them. Yet the flat paddy fields ahead were by no means an easy path—the enemy was fully equipped with rear-mounted guns. If their twenty-odd men charged forward, it wouldn’t be a strategy to lure the enemy; it would be like sending sheep into the tiger’s den. He wasn’t even bothered enough to fire a shot. Li Yangcai’s face also showed embarrassment as he said to Qiao Erchi, “This won’t be easy to handle.” Two hours had passed, and the sun was visibly setting. They tried to intercept those two small rafts but failed. Everyone knew it was only a matter of time before the main force of Xiliu Camp received the news. An enemy army equipped with rear-mounted guns would emerge from behind at a single signal—just thinking about it made them shudder. Qiao Erchi made up his mind: “Push them forward!” Li Yangcai glanced at him and said, “I’ll be responsible for sniping at Xiliu Camp’s reinforcements! You take care of pushing them forward.” After much thought, he felt more comfortable focusing on defense. Most of the armies in late Qing preferred to adopt a defensive strategy, engaging in protracted battles. The tradition of the Hunan-Huai Army was to march no more than thirty li a day, spending the rest of the time strengthening fortifications, turning the battlefield into an impregnable turtle shell that the opponent couldn’t break through. They were skilled at defense, but when it came to attacking, they could only rely on wearing down the enemy. For famous cities like Anqing and Nanjing, the Hunan Army would extend their camps and use bunker tactics to exhaust the defending forces. Li Yangcai and his men belonged to this type as well; they had great expertise in building defensive camps. He said to Qiao Erchi, “Don’t worry. I won’t let Xiliu Camp break through. But once we open the line, the rear-mounted guns will cover half of them.” Qiao Erchi had been worried about finding someone to take on this most difficult task, so when he heard Li Yangcai volunteer, he said, “Great! With your troops blocking them, I’m sure Xiliu Camp won’t be able to get through.” Then he thought of something else: “There are six or seven missionary villages nearby, all with loyal and brave believers, numbering in the hundreds with guns. I’ll send someone there to contact them—this will surely double the effectiveness of your defense.” To be honest, all the food and supplies for these over a thousand people gathered upstream of the Red River to besiege Xiliu Camp were provided by missionaries. Otherwise, with Qiao Erchi’s meager funds, they would have run out long ago. Hearing that there would be missionary assistance, Li Yangcai became even more confident: “Good! When the time comes, ask the loyal and brave believers from various places to launch attacks from all sides. If those Liu bandits send reinforcements, at least a third of them will be occupied dealing with the harassment. With three hundred soldiers, I can easily hold off those two groups of bandits.” He was quite confident in his troops’ defensive capabilities—strong in defense and having several rear-mounted guns to back them up. Even if Liu Yu sent two rows of infantry, it would be impossible for them to break through his lines. Meanwhile, Qiao Erchi’s current problem was how to eliminate Zhang Biao’s forces. He gathered again the dozen or so leaders of the Yellow Flag Army and said, “Li Yangcai will take care of the tough part. Now it’s up to us to see how we can devour this piece of fat.” The leaders looked at the flat paddy fields and felt somewhat troubled. But Qiao Erchi was determined: “What’s there to fear from a few rear-mounted guns? Don’t you also have cannons? Bring them out and fire a few shots at them.”

“As for the backdoor gun, the French friend also gave us some clever ways to deal with it.”
The bosses immediately stared intently at Qiao Erchi: “Old Qiao, tell us! What did the French friend say?”