Chapter 78: Steel Tubes

Victory assured.
With Liu Yu absent, Liu Yongfu felt full of energy, as if he had returned to the fierce determination of his youth. Below him sat the officers and sentries of the Black Flag Army, all eagerly awaiting his first words—now he seemed once again a great leader. “My friends, I’ve gathered you all here to share some good news.”

Even Liu Yongfu’s closest confidants like Wu Fengdian and Liu Chengliang didn’t know the reason for this meeting, let alone Huang Chongying, Yang Zhenen, and the representatives from the Xiliu Camp. But everyone knew it must be good news.

Liu Yongfu’s borrowing of a large sum from the Black Flag Bank couldn’t be hidden from those who paid attention. Everyone understood that with such money, he would surely treat his men well.

Scanning the eager officers, Liu Yongfu began, “I have good news for everyone—I’ve obtained passports from that old man Huang Zuoyan.” He then solemnly produced a passport written in Chinese, which read: “For the purpose of suppressing rebels, the Black Flag Army shall purchase 200 Remington rifles and 20 revolvers, each with 50 rounds of ammunition…”

“Great!” Not only Wu Fengdian and Liu Chengliang but even Yang Zhenen gave thumbs up. “That’s excellent news!”

In history, the Black Flag Army’s equipment wasn’t so luxurious. It wasn’t until the Sino-French War that they managed to gather 200 Remington rifles and a small number of French-made rifles. After the war began, they only had a few rifles supplied by the Qing government, with most acquired from the French army.

In this timeline, they already had 200 breech-loading rifles, and another 200 Remington rifles would further enhance their firepower. Liu Yongfu also had more good news: “I’ve ordered more Mauser rifles from the Xiliu Camp, and everyone will get one.”

With more than double the number of breech-loading rifles compared to history, and the Black Flag Army’s strength reduced as Ye Chenglin joined Liu Yu’s forces, their equipment had improved significantly. “Each battalion will be equipped with breech-loading rifles.”

Of course, Liu Chengliang and Wu Fengdian’s battalions, being his direct subordinates, would receive the best Remington rifles, while those like Huang Chongying of the front battalion and Yang Zhenen of the left battalion, as subordinate leaders, would mainly get Mauser rifles.

But everyone was too excited to worry about Liu Yongfu’s financial troubles for now. Huang Chongying asked anxiously, “How will we pay for these rifles?”

Everyone knew that in the past, the cost of rifles had to be deducted from each battalion’s salary. But this time, Liu Yongfu was unusually generous: “Just use it. I, Liu, will cover the cost!”

More praise followed. These men came from humble backgrounds and valued tangible benefits above all. They immediately hailed Liu Yongfu as a rare hero in the world. Seizing the opportunity, Liu Yongfu continued, “There’s more good news—I’ve borrowed some money from the Black Flag Bank. After all these years of hard work, my men deserve to enjoy themselves a bit. It’s only fair to give them hope…”

As soon as he spoke, the room fell silent, all eyes fixed on his next words.

The Black Flag Army was indeed very poor, so poor that it was somewhat embarrassing. Liu Yongfu’s personal guards couldn’t even afford shoes and had to walk barefoot, which meant the army’s discipline wasn’t particularly good, with frequent instances of plundering—something inevitable, as the saying goes, “A kind person shouldn’t command troops.” However, since Xi Liu Camp took charge of distributing salaries, this situation had greatly improved. At least salaries were no longer delayed, and everyone could barely make ends meet with them. Now, Liu Yongfu wanted to improve the lives of his soldiers and officers to win their loyalty.

“Well! Let me start by saying that after ten years in Vietnam, we have over a thousand family members and more than two hundred dependents who have been living a hard life alongside us in the Black Flag Army. So I’ve decided to give each family member five Black Flag coupons, and each dependent fifteen, so they can also get a chance to breathe easier.”

Liu Yongfu spoke in a solemn tone. Everyone knew that even the soldiers themselves were living hard lives, let alone their families. The most pitiable were the dependents. Immediately, Wu Fengdian stood up and said, “This is excellent. Please issue the funds promptly to comfort them.”

Efforts were needed to comfort both family members and dependents. “I happen to have their lists here. I’ll distribute the money tomorrow. To be honest with you, whoever dares to embezzle this money, I’ll stab them three times!”

Huang Chongying immediately said, “Those who do such heartless things will surely be punished by heaven!”

These people were all from peasant backgrounds and feared curses the most. As a result, several camp officers swore by heaven, “If I steal even a single coin from this money, may nails fall from the sky and red knives pierce my heart…”

After taking these oaths, the real discussion began: “Next, I’ll talk about each brother’s share. There’s no rush to distribute this money. First, I want to tell everyone not to compete with family members and dependents for resources, nor to put too much pressure on Liu Qing’s side.”

Everyone was waiting for this. They knew that if Liu Yongfu ate meat, they would at least get some soup. “It will be distributed together with next month’s salary—ten Black Flag coupons per person!”

Currently, 2,500 people in the Black Flag Army relied on salaries. With simple calculations, it was clear that Liu Yongfu was spending another 25,000 yuan on this—a huge amount.

For individuals, these ten Black Flag coupons were still a significant help. Normally, the monthly salary for a soldier was four piastres in silver, converted to Black Flag coupons, which was roughly seven piastres. In other words, Liu Yongfu was essentially giving an additional two months’ salary, allowing everyone to receive three months’ worth at once—a real treat.

Huang Chongying was very satisfied. “Yuan Ting, this is truly a great idea!”

But Liu Yongfu had more to say: “My loyal subject, it’s not just this. Listen to me continue!”

“Each outpost in my Black Flag Army will receive 100 yuan in additional funds, with the outpost leader getting an extra 50 yuan for expenses. Each camp will get 500 yuan in additional funds, with camp officers getting an extra 200 yuan…” He glanced at Huang Chongying. “Of course, the front camp is different from the others. I’ll give you 1,000 yuan in additional funds and 500 yuan for expenses.”

Logically, the front camp had a thousand people, while the other camps had only 300, so triple the amount should have been given to maintain proportion. But Huang Chongying was already very satisfied. He clapped his hands repeatedly, praising, “Great! Great! Excellent! Excellent!”

He was so satisfied; not to mention Liu Chengliang, Wu Fengdian, and Yang Zhenen, who all clapped their hands repeatedly with smiles on their faces.
The public funds were for the use of the battalion and outposts, an area where the Black Flag Army had almost no funds at all. The expenses, on the other hand, were special funds for the battalion and outpost officers, which they could spend however they wished—without any problem even if they had to cover it all out of their own pockets.
This time, Liu Yongfu really spent a lot—seven or eight thousand Black Flag banknotes were given away.
Wu Fengdian remained calm: “We can separate these public funds from the rewards money to avoid trouble later.”
Liu Yongfu already had his own plan: “Fenglou, there’s no need for such complications. I’ve already prepared a passbook; we can just go to the Black Flag Bank to withdraw the money when the time comes.”
Huang Chongying, Liu Chengliang, and Yang Zhenen were all very satisfied. By now, the Black Flag Bank had opened as many as six branches, with outlets scattered throughout the relatively small region of Bac Ninh—so one could find a Black Flag Bank branch anywhere to withdraw money.
More importantly, the Black Flag Bank was even willing to provide military banking services. Liu Qing had said, “No matter where you need to spend the money, as long as Lord Liu gives the order, we’ll deliver it even to Thanh Hóa.”
Thus, the Black Flag Army and the Black Flag Bank had become inseparable. Without the Black Flag Bank, the army could not function at all—so much so that they might not even be able to pay soldiers’ salaries. Therefore, every battalion officer paid close attention to protecting the interests of the Black Flag Bank.
Any business that dared to refuse to accept Black Flag banknotes would face the bayonets of the Black Flag Army immediately. Liu Yongfu also understood what Wu Fengdian meant: “When everyone comes to withdraw money, let’s not crowd too much!”
“Of course!”
These three sums of money had to be distributed in three batches, not all at once, so as not to overwhelm the Black Flag Bank and cause trouble for them as well. Meanwhile, Wu Fengdian had another point to make: “Sima, I heard that your Xiliu Battalion has now set up a military court?”
Sima Tai was the representative sent by the Xiliu Battalion, but this time he only came to listen. As for matters like compensation, public funds, or additional pay, the Xiliu Battalion was already extremely wealthy—spending such money on them would be a waste.
Of course, for transparency among all battalions, Liu Yongfu didn’t dare to keep the share meant for the Xiliu Battalion for himself. As usual, he would issue an IOU to Sima Tai to resolve the issue.
Sima Tai finally spoke up: “A military court has been established. Any officers or soldiers who violate discipline will be dealt with by this court.”
Wu Fengdian was very calm but decisive: “In the past, we lacked food and pay, so military discipline was looser. Now that we have food and pay, for the long term, I think it’s better for us to enforce discipline too and set up a military court like theirs in Xiliu Battalion.”
Liu Yongfu was also very reasonable. He knew that in the past, due to insufficient food and pay, they had to be lenient with the soldiers. Now that times had changed, military discipline needed to be strengthened.
“Hmm! I like what Yalou says. Let’s use real money to bring joy to our men. We’re not sending them to be bandits—it’s time to bring order.”
He couldn’t help but recall an old conversation with Liu Yu about establishing the Black Flag Bank. Liu Yu had said it was better to use Black Flag banknotes for purchases rather than plundering. Thinking about it now, it was indeed a very sensible idea.

“Military discipline must be enforced, but we won’t let our men go hungry!” He pondered for a while before adding, “We’ll provide an allowance for each battalion and post every quarter. If anyone needs anything, they can use the vouchers to purchase it in the village. As for the amount, we’ll discuss it later.”
This meeting was very productive. Liu Yongfu regained his authority within the Black Flag Army, and the good news discussed at the meeting spread among the soldiers, boosting their morale significantly.
Even Qiao Erchi became aware of this: “What… this is a great opportunity!”
This time, he had made thorough preparations to disrupt the financial order of the Black Flag Bank. He infiltrated Baosheng once again to oversee the sabotage.
The Catholic Church harbored deep hostility toward the Black Flag Army. Ruan Youming had thought the maximum he could obtain would be 12,000 Black Flag notes, but unexpectedly, he managed to get 18,000.
Various churches were now encouraging their followers to donate Black Flag notes to them. The 18,000 notes had already been brought to Baosheng by Qiao Erchi. The next step was figuring out how to release this amount into the market.
Prices in Baosheng had already risen slightly. The reason was simple: Liu Yongfu had distributed compensation to his family members and dependents, issuing over 7,000 in paper money, which had already affected prices to some extent.
And on the seventh day of the next month, another batch of paper money would be introduced into the market. Just the rewards for the soldiers would amount to 25,000, plus this month’s salaries, bringing a total of 40,000 in paper money into the market.
At the thought of this amount, Qiao Erchi licked his lips. That was almost 30,000 taels of silver—more money than he had ever seen in his life. With such funds, he could immediately recruit troops for the Yellow Flag Army.
Though he thought this way, he glanced back at the room. Although he was responsible for bringing the paper money to Baosheng, he wasn’t in charge of storing it.
Two nuns from the churches were guarding the two large suitcases full of paper money. One spoke in a gentle manner, while the other was fierce, carrying two lightweight revolvers. It was unclear why a nun would need guns.
But Qiao Erchi knew very well who was the real leader of this mission. Although these two nuns were Vietnamese, they had been trained by the Catholic Church for over a decade, knew the Bible by heart, and were pledged to chastity to the church.
They were sent there because foreign missionaries couldn’t enter Baosheng at all. Foreigners could only reach Xuan Guang, which was under the control of the Black Flag Army. As for Baosheng, only Du Bu Yi had ever entered it, but after An Ye was killed, that route was blocked.
They disguised themselves as two ordinary Vietnamese women. The one who spoke gently was okay—though beautiful, she still resembled an ordinary Vietnamese woman.
But the other one, with her two revolvers, was a disaster. She was unbearably beautiful, her looks stunning—she certainly didn’t resemble a nun.
Yet he didn’t dare voice any objections. After all, she was the supervisor, while he was just a poor subordinate, even having to take huge risks by appearing openly in Baosheng.

The Yellow Flag Army and the Black Flag Army had been bitter rivals throughout history, and many from the Yellow Flag Army had joined the Black Flag Army. Thus, Qiao Erchi’s appearance was quite distinctive, making it easy for him to be recognized at any time. Even after disguising himself, he still felt uneasy. He must not give away any clues! Yet, thinking of the rewards after the mission, his heart burned with excitement. He realized that the Liu family’s warehouse wasn’t very strong—once 18,000 Black Flag coins were demanded, they would surely collapse. As he was pondering this, the door opened, and Sister Su Sui, who spoke in a gentle voice, stood there and said, “Brother Qiao Erchi, please come in.” “Sister Su Sui, what instructions do you have…” Sister Su Sui was undeniably delicate in appearance and fit the image of a nun—her breasts were quite full, but still not as striking as those of the woman who played with pistols. Qiao Erchi could only turn his head slightly; he knew the nun was fiddling with the silver revolver in her hand and was aware of the visual impact of her full breasts. She seemed to enjoy this feeling, liking to overwhelm her opponent from the start. “Brother Qiao Erchi, what have you found out?” Qiao Erchi unconsciously gave in. “I’ve gathered all the information. On the first day of next month, the Black Flag Army will distribute three months’ worth of pay—about 40,000 Black Flag coins.” “I know!” She raised her pistols. …… Liu Yu was still in Hong Kong. Although he had spent most of his francs on authorization, he found himself still lacking the capability to counter French artillery. The French artillery was one of the best in that era, at least among field artillery. Though the famous “Miss 75” hadn’t yet entered service, it was their powerful and precise artillery that enabled them to defeat the Black Flag Army in the Sino-French War. This was a lesson from the Franco-Prussian War. Before that war, the French had boasted about their excellent infantry, especially their rifles, which they claimed could drive the Prussians off the battlefield. In reality, their rifles were a whole generation ahead of those of the Prussians, yet it was the French army that was driven from the battlefield. It was the Prussians who used their powerful field artillery to crush the French, turning their rifles and machine guns to pieces. As a result, the French reflected deeply and invested heavily in field artillery, eventually developing the highly effective M1897 field gun, affectionately known as “Miss 75,” which was used in China until the Korean War. To counter the enemy’s artillery, Liu Yu still hoped to find a weapon strong enough to suppress them, but he was quite disappointed. In that era, there were hardly any guns superior to those of the French. Even the renowned Krupp was on par with the French, and the French could easily assemble more and better artillery. Most arms dealers, apparently instructed by French consuls, were unwilling to sell overly advanced guns to Liu Yu. Instead, they recommended the outdated 12-pound mountain howitzer: “This is the most suitable weapon for your army!” He considered acquiring some seamless steel tubes to try and manufacture mortars in Shanxi himself; he had even chosen a model.

That was the famous American-made 60mm mortar. The Japanese had always been proud of their grenade launchers, but the emergence of this mortar completely overshadowed them. The troops stationed in India and those on expeditions praised this American-made mortar time and again during battles against the Japanese. During the Liberation War, the 60mm mortar became a symbol of American-equipped forces, with even many domestically produced forces equipping themselves with 60mm mortars as well. In the famous Dehui battle, the People’s Liberation Army launched attacks using nearly a hundred cannons, while the defending forces relied primarily on these 60mm mortars. The defenders frequently changed their mortar positions, firing with great precision and causing heavy casualties to the PLA, to the point where nearly a hundred cannons were unable to capture Dehui. The PLA also had a large number of 60mm mortars. After the founding of the country, the entire PLA shifted to Soviet-style equipment, and the 60mm mortar was temporarily phased out. However, its impact was too profound, and soon the PLA reintroduced it based on lessons from actual combat. In the 1960s and 1970s, when most equipment was Soviet-style, this was almost the only American-made weapon. This mortar was very light, easily carried by infantry platoons or even squads, and had considerable lethality. As long as there was seamless steel pipe, although it was impossible to produce such a lightweight mortar itself, it should be possible to replicate a “heavier” version. Of course, due to the use of black powder, its effectiveness and range would likely be greatly limited, even weaker than historical 60mm mortars, but that would still be sufficient. Although it couldn’t compete with the French artillery, it seemed adequate to support its own infantry. More importantly, even though it couldn’t suppress the French artillery, thanks to the mortar’s portability—despite increased weight due to manufacturing limitations of the era—it could still be easily moved, allowing for tactics of firing from one position and then moving to another. In the later stages of the War of Resistance against Japan, Su Yu brought a large number of lightweight mortars south to Jiangsu and Zhejiang. These were made from seamless steel pipes purchased in Shanghai, processed by the local Party organizations there, and then transported back to the base for further fabrication. These lightweight mortars even completely overwhelmed the so-called British-equipped assault teams in battle. Even so, Liu Yu felt that even if the mortars were successfully processed, manufacturing shells—especially reliable fuses—remained a major challenge. As in many time-travel novels, the main issue with mortars was often the shells rather than the mortar itself. Especially with the use of black powder in this era, it was likely that the barrel would need to be cleaned after just a few shots. Nevertheless, the 60mm mortar should be able to significantly weaken the French artillery’s advantage and provide adequate fire support for one’s own forces. Given this, Liu Yu also planned to purchase seamless steel pipes in Hong Kong for processing and then transport them back to Shanxi, but he was clearly disappointed. The widespread use of seamless steel pipes only became possible after the French brothers Messin invented the process of directly producing seamless steel pipes from bar steel in 1885. It was still 1881, and at that time, finding seamless steel pipes was extremely difficult. As for how to produce shells, Liu Yu was at a loss for the time being. He only vaguely remembered something related to it, but his immediate priority was to find suitable gun barrels.

By then, the 60-mm guns produced would likely weigh as much as the American 81-mm guns, but only have the firepower of the Soviet 50-mm guns. Still, they would probably still be considered epoch-defining weapons.
While he was searching everywhere for seamless steel pipes, Jiang Ningxue smiled and said, “Ayu, why don’t we manufacture the steel pipes ourselves? Don’t we have a steel plant?”
“The technical level isn’t high enough,” Liu Yu shook his head. “The requirements are too high; our steel plant can’t produce them!”
It should be noted that seamless steel pipes in this era were definitely part of cutting-edge technology, and producing them was extremely difficult. Widespread use didn’t occur until after 1885.
But then he suddenly thought of something.