Chapter 86: Teaching Lessons

Although the position of district magistrate seemed lowly, it was actually a highly lucrative one—enabling one to handle county affairs with authority while also freely moving about in the streets and alleys in casual clothes. Wang, the district magistrate, was such a carefree person who could intervene in anything without restraint. He must have made a fortune just from birthday celebrations alone. With experience in this role, he also possessed great insight.

As a district magistrate, he was in charge of criminal affairs, essentially acting like both a secretary of the political and legal committee and a police chief. He had seen all kinds of people, but when he met Liu Yongfu, he was delighted: “This fellow truly lives up to his reputation—he’s an extraordinary man.”

Liu Yongfu was amused by his words, though he knew Wang had been sent to test him. The two spent several days in pleasant conversation, during which Liu shared honest details about the Black Flag Army, the Vietnamese forces, and the French army.

A veteran like Wang could always strike at the core of the issue: “Having been in Vietnam for so long, have you ever met the Vietnamese king?”

Liu Yongfu told the truth: “No. The king is old and has no sons. He has an 18-year-old nephew whom he loves dearly and intends to make his heir. If the French arrive, they will surely use the king as a pawn to control the lords. I believe they will send the king’s nephew abroad to inspect the troops as a means of rallying support.”

Wang asked further, “What about taxes, corvée labor, and the military in Vietnam?”

Liu Yongfu replied immediately, “Taxes and grain levies in Vietnam are quite low, as are customs duties. However, corvée labor is extremely heavy. Local people must bear the costs of transporting officials, soldiers, and supplies—living conditions are unbearable for them. For example, Huang Zuoyan’s army of tens of thousands consists of one in three able-bodied men from the local population. They train only when needed for warfare or for farming; otherwise, they remain idle. While they are effective in suppressing bandits, they may not be able to withstand a full-scale battle against the French.”

It was clear Liu Yongfu had little hope for the Vietnamese army. Wang remained calm but showed sincere interest: “How is the situation with the French invading Vietnam? Are you confident?”

Liu Yongfu sighed slightly. If he were completely confident, he wouldn’t have had to return to his country for reinforcements: “During the Xianfeng era, the French took control of six provinces in Southern Vietnam, and later occupied provinces like Fuchun, Hanoi, and Haiyang. Most of the taxes go to them. In Northern Vietnam, the customs duties in Haiyang and Zuojin are collected by the French, amounting to about 300,000 taels of silver per year. It is said that the Shunhua area has already fallen under French control, with the king trapped among his own supporters, acting like a besieged governor. Haiyang and Hanoi are entirely under French control. In Northern Vietnam alone, nearly half of the population has converted to Christianity, and the pressure is increasing day by day.”

Wang saw through everything clearly but remained composed: “In Baosheng, how much tax do you collect each year, and what is it used for?”

This was Liu Yongfu’s concern: “I collect taxes in Baosheng, amounting to about 50,000 taels per year. About 30,000 taels are spent on providing rations for my troops and purchasing military uniforms and winter clothing. In recent years, with the establishment of new camps, I can earn an additional 20,000 to 30,000 taels per year. With all these efforts, I might be able to raise 100,000 taels.”

Wang nodded repeatedly but then asked what he really wanted to know: “With such meager funds, if the French launch a large-scale invasion from the north, how can your troops resist them? Do you have any effective strategies to defeat them?”

Liu Yongfu told the truth: “My forces of fifty thousand are all elite troops from Guangdong and Guangxi. Though brave and fierce in battle, their numbers are too small to defend multiple areas. As for the Vietnamese militia, they would collapse at the first sign of trouble and cannot be relied upon. If Your Majesty would bestow grace by ordering Guangxi, Guangdong, and Yunnan to send twenty thousand brave soldiers to reinforce our forces and boost our prestige, I would request that these troops be stationed wherever cities need to be recovered. I am even willing to take on the role of vanguard to face the enemy alone.”

What he was asking for was troops—a hopeful scenario. If the Qing Dynasty sent twenty thousand soldiers, everything would be easier. Wang Dianshi had a pleasant conversation with him and even asked him to deliver a letter to the governors of Guangdong and Guangxi to express his intentions.

Wang Dianshi immediately returned to Nanning and reported everything to Zhou Xingyu, the governor of Zuojiang. Zhou Xingyu, also an experienced official, said with a smile, “Old Wang, this time you’ve had to endure a lot.”

“It’s my duty to assist the governor.”

Zhou Xingyu pondered for a moment before asking, “Old Wang, what do you think of Liu Yongfu and the Black Flag Army?”

Wang Dianshi, who had already investigated the Black Flag Army, replied, “Liu Yongfu is bold and ambitious, extremely capable, and experienced in military affairs after years of service in the cavalry. When it comes to dealing with the French, he speaks with anger, but…”

His voice softened significantly: “He relies too much on bravery and lacks strategy. He underestimates the enemy and may lack perseverance.”

He added, “His advisors are all from Shangsi and lack long-term vision. They distrust each other, and he hasn’t yet found reliable people around him. With a major enemy at hand, his forces may not be able to handle the situation alone. Moreover, Vietnam’s soldiers are mixed among farmers and untrained, so they may not be able to resist foreign forces.”

Zhou Xingyu nodded. As an experienced politician, he sent Wang Dianshi away and immediately took pen to paper to report to Zhang Shusheng, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi: “I have investigated and found that Liu Yongfu operates in a weak country, in a precarious situation. He has only five thousand soldiers, with annual funding of only seventy to eighty thousand, at most a hundred thousand taels. His previous success in killing the French general An Ye was merely luck. Complacent with small victories, he tends to make grand claims. The French fear him so much, yet Vietnam relies solely on him.”

After thinking for a while, he added, “Vietnam depends entirely on Liu Yongfu, but he cannot be relied on fully. Their supplies, funds, and artillery are inferior to those of the French.”

Writing this, he remembered that the Black Flag Army had only five thousand soldiers and limited funding, and sighed, “Liu Yongfu cannot be relied on fully, nor can he handle things alone.”

“He cannot handle things alone!” He concluded regarding Liu Yongfu: “He is not trustworthy.”

…

Northern Tonkin. Shanxi.

Since Liu Yongfu returned to the country, the Xiliu Camp had become completely independent. They left their rear unguarded and focused their forces on Hanoi.

When Liu Yongfu was in charge, he could still stir up some action, but now with Wu Fengdian temporarily in charge, not even a ripple could be created. Ye Chenglin even dared to guarantee that just the troops he stationed in Xuan Guang were enough to hold off the Black Flag Army.

Wu Fengdian, as the interim leader, was in a difficult position. Only after taking office did he realize how tough it was, especially since the commanders of the front and rear forces were too strong and could ignore him completely. Fortunately, Huang Shouzhong and Liu Yu showed him some respect, but it was absolutely impossible for him to direct those forces.

Not even Liu Chengliang’s entire battalion could he mobilize; currently, the forces he could command were just two complete battalions plus some scattered troops, totaling only eight or nine hundred men—far too weak in strength.

Liu Yu, confident in this, focused his troops on Hanoi. The French forces in Hanoi consisted of two infantry companies, so he deployed twice as many troops for live drills along the border. Not only were real guns and ammunition used, but sometimes the infantry from Xiliu Battalion could even see the city of Hanoi directly.

Of course, he wasn’t doing this in vain—it carried deep significance. These areas would later become battlegrounds for fierce clashes between the Black Flag Army and the French forces, especially places like Zhiqiao and Danfeng. All officers had to inspect these battlefields, and Liu Yu would personally conduct spot checks afterward.

In addition, he had to draw high-precision military maps with contour lines himself. Over the years, Xiliu Battalion had cultivated quite a number of talented individuals, especially now that Liu Yu had temporarily formed two new companies: one for officer training and another for non-commissioned officer training. Both were composed of the core fighters from Xiliu Battalion, and Liu Yu had already briefed all the officers.

Although these two companies were formed temporarily, their core structure would be preserved. One-third of the officers would undergo training each cycle—officers every three months, and non-commissioned officers every one and a half months—with the goal of training all core members within a year.

More importantly, Liu Yu now stipulated that, except in special cases, all officers seeking promotion must go through a training program; otherwise, they wouldn’t be eligible for promotion. This was aimed at improving the quality of officers, but Liu Yu also knew that in peacetime such measures could work, but in wartime, with high casualties, promotions would likely have to be made urgently. After all, there were painful lessons from history—during the War of Resistance, the Kuomintang army had a rule stating that ordinary soldiers had few opportunities for promotion. Under the normal promotion system, they could never become officers, as all officers were required to graduate from military academies. Without such a diploma, even the most capable soldiers could only remain ordinary troops, and if promoted, they would be “black officers” who couldn’t enjoy normal benefits.

The famous Wang Chuying joined the army at age 14 and immediately served as a platoon leader during the Battle of Shanghai. At 15, he became Huang Wei’s confidential advisor and head of the guard company. However, due to lacking a military academy diploma and only having attended a short training course, he had to re-enroll in the 17th class of the Whampoa Military Academy.

Most people didn’t have Wang Chuying’s luck. They would remain ordinary soldiers like Wang Keqin their entire lives, or even after more than a decade in the military, they would still be just ordinary soldiers. It should be noted that in the Kuomintang army, it was even harder for a soldier to be promoted to sergeant than for a low-ranking officer to become a general.

And those officers who graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy during the War of Resistance were not yet qualified commanders. Though they were strong in marching, good at defense, and skilled in holding positions, they lacked practical combat experience, especially in offensive battles, where they performed poorly.

For this reason, Liu Yu gave every soldier a chance to be promoted to general. Even if they couldn’t become generals, they would at least become excellent sergeants. These two companies could now be considered the most combat-effective units in Xiliu Battalion in the short term.

After all, every soldier in these two companies was drawn from other companies as key personnel; even company and platoon leaders served as ordinary soldiers, while those who performed well could be promoted directly. Yet even with such a system, Liu Yu deeply felt the severe shortage of officers. He now realized they were critically short of officers—so much so that the Engineer Battalion and the New Force Battalion were still being run by company commanders acting as battalion leaders. The Artillery Platoon and the Communications Platoon had been upgraded to companies, but these two companies required even more officers—not only technical ones but also commanders and combat experts in large numbers. Nearby, Liu Haohao said, “If the army keeps expanding like this, I doubt I can keep up.” His father-in-law, Jiang Linyang, agreed, “With such rapid expansion and the increase in units, it’s a hassle.” As insiders, they were naturally satisfied with the army’s growing strength, but they were more concerned that supporting infrastructure couldn’t keep up: “I heard our Xiliu Battalion is going to add more units—I don’t even know where the officers will come from.” Liu Yu smiled bitterly, “Despite all these units, only two battalions are truly combat-effective.” He was telling the truth—only the Xiliu Battalion and the Crow Battalion had combat capability. Units like the New Force Battalion and the Engineer Battalion could easily defeat the Vietnamese and had some confidence in fighting against the Black Flag Army, but facing the French would be a problem. These two battalions originally consisted of just one platoon each; after adjustments, they now had two combat-ready platoons, with the rest being mostly well-trained recruits lacking real combat experience. Liu Yu also smiled bitterly, “Not to mention officers, we’re even short of soldiers now.” Normally, they couldn’t afford to waste resources on maintaining troops as they would in wartime—they had to be frugal. The Engineer Battalion and the New Force Battalion currently had two companies each, and they planned to transition to three companies soon. Jiang Linyang echoed Liu Yu’s sentiment, “It takes three months to train a new recruit until they’re ready—yet everywhere, there’s a shortage of soldiers…” Many people wanted to join the Xiliu Battalion, both Chinese and Vietnamese, but after selection, half were eliminated. Liu Yu couldn’t enlist all those suitable for service at once and could only recruit them in batches. All of this restricted the Xiliu Battalion’s development, so Sima Tai also complained, “In the past, with a smaller scale, everything was easy to command. Now, with such a large scale, it’s hard to even direct operations.” Still, deep down, he was quite proud. So far, the total strength of the entire Xiliu Battalion had reached 1,700 men. According to the plan, excluding 600 men left to guard Shanxi, Xuan Guang, and Xinghua, 1,100 men could be sent toward Hanoi. In addition to the main force, there were also several auxiliary units from the Flower Sect, centered around 24 Guardian Guards equipped with breech-loading guns, along with about 200 part-time peripheral fighters armed with various types of front-loading foreign guns. It was said they were planning to double the size of the Guardian Guards. At the thought of this nearly 2,000-strong army, Sima Tai felt proud. Back when he was in Haiyang, he never imagined he would have such good days—now he was the second-in-command of this army.

Beside him, Ye Chenglin was also quite pleased: “Commander, should we take action sooner?”
At present, the Xiliu Camp was entirely focused on Hanoi, but Liu Yu’s next words shocked him: “If we can’t even take Xinghua, what’s the point of talking about Hanoi?”
Ye Chenglin understood that Liu Yu had ulterior motives—he was eyeing Xinghua’s territory as well. If they could take all three provinces and unite them, the Xiliu Camp would have more room to maneuver.
“Our strength is still too weak right now.”
Thinking of the French forces ahead, Liu Yu could only suppress the urge to invade Hanoi first. Though he didn’t have a strict notion of who should fire the first shot, he knew when to act.
When the French attacked Hanoi, it would be the time for the Xiliu Camp to rally in Xinghua. Those three provinces, equivalent to three counties in China, would at least serve as their own stronghold.
However, Sima Tai also had his concerns: “A larger territory is good, but splitting troops to guard it…”
Currently, the Xiliu Camp already needed five to six hundred soldiers to defend Shanxi, Xuan Guang, and part of Xinghua.
Especially since Shanxi was the foundation of the Xiliu Camp and couldn’t be lost, they needed to keep at least three hundred troops there. The larger the territory, the more troops were required.
Of course, Sima Tai knew this was an unsolvable problem. Without expanding their territory, they wouldn’t have the chance to recruit more soldiers and would eventually perish in hardship.
Ye Chenglin was straightforward: “The new recruit camp and the engineering camp each only have two platoons equipped with Snider rifles. If we go to war soon, we won’t be able to give every soldier a rifle.”
Although arms production was on track, even if they couldn’t provide a rifle for each soldier, they could still issue grenades for combat. But in any case, they should equip as many rifles as possible. Liu Yu also posed a difficult question to his officers.
“When do you think we’ll fight Hanoi?”
“Two or three months?” was Ye Chenglin’s answer.
Sima Tai said, “Anyway, before General Liu returns to Vietnam.”
Liu Haohao agreed: “The French will definitely come to Hanoi in the next few months.”
But Liu Yu smiled and said, “It will probably be at least another half year before the French take Hanoi and declare war officially on our Black Flag Army.”
He knew very well that fighting the French forces alone with just the Xiliu Camp would be the wisest choice. They needed to bring in Huang Shouzhong’s troops as well.
In fact, he had only one option: to use the entire Black Flag Army to confront the French forces.
“No! At least until 1882, we still have time for further development.”
This was based on historical knowledge, but he was also prepared for the possibility of war breaking out earlier.
However, he thought it was unlikely. In that year, he could improve mortar production, form new regiments, and accelerate the production of new weapons to prepare thoroughly for war.
He asked his subordinates a question: “If war breaks out, how many troops do we need to have a 90% chance of victory?”
Liu Yu emphasized one point: “I’m talking about our Xiliu Camp.”

“Three thousand men!” Sima Tai spoke first. “If we have three thousand men, we should have a 90% chance of winning, provided our military equipment is at about the same level as now.”
“That’s difficult!” Liu Haohao disagreed with him. “No matter how much our strength expands, it will still be around 2,500 men. Getting rifles will probably be a problem too.”
Jingshi Yi had some difficulties, so he estimated a higher number: “Even with the help of the Black Flag Army, our Xiliu Camp will be at the forefront of the battle. We need at least 3,500 men.”
Liu Yu laughed. “That’s too few!”
His expression suddenly became serious. “Order the officers to train the company cadres, as well as all cadres above the platoon level, to come here and attend the lecture.”
In Xiliu Camp, it was traditional for Liu Yu to give lectures, and everyone agreed that they benefited greatly from them. But today, Liu Yu’s expression was especially grave.
“Before starting the lecture, I must make it clear that today’s lesson is the highest secret of our Xiliu Camp.”
“No one is allowed to take notes. In other words, this lesson doesn’t even exist.”