Chapter 97: Luring the Enemy

Hanoi.
This city, called “Tokyo” by the French, was the political center of all of Tonkin. Within the French concession along the Red River, it brought great joy and sorrow to all French people.
When Li Weiyeh suddenly appeared and captured Tokyo, he became an unparalleled hero. With the support of 400 native infantrymen and after taking control of the Nam Dinh Fortress, he turned into a second Napoleon. In the eyes of the French, the entire Tokyo region had become France’s backyard.
It took a naval colonel thirty years to become a hero, but only a month to become a criminal. Now, Li Weiyeh was blamed by everyone: “That coward! A better commander should have been sent!”
He had simply made the right choice. Upon discovering that the main forces of the Black Flag Army were advancing toward Huế, he tightened his defenses, focusing on the French concession to defend Hanoi thoroughly while waiting for reinforcements.
While those greedy adventurers thought it would take only a month to conquer Vietnam, Colonel Li Weiyeh told them, “As soon as the reinforcements arrive, I will launch an attack immediately.”
But they couldn’t accept such cautious action. Every French merchant in Hanoi believed Colonel Li Weiyeh should launch a swift attack, defeat the Black Flag Army in Huế, and then take control of the entire Tokyo region. “Don’t worry about parliamentary approval—those are all bureaucrats. It takes a year to review a proposal. Brother, as long as you achieve results, Paris will make you a general.”
They knew well that waiting for reinforcements would harm their business. Now, the Black Flag Army even sent infantry to inspect every ship from Hanoi to Haiphong. They collected taxes in small boats on the Red River. When Li Weiyeh’s ships headed downstream, they disappeared without a trace.
The next day, they would reappear to impose heavy war taxes. Any ship attempting to evade them would face fierce attacks from rifles and smoothbore cannons. As a result, many sailors refused to sail along this dangerous route. Moreover, they understood Paris’s politics better than Li Weiyeh did.
Paris’s parliament was an institution where it was nearly impossible to find a majority. The Republicans could be divided into moderates and radicals, while the imperialists included various factions—from the Bourbon dynasty to Napoleon III, even the July Monarchy had many representatives. Even within the Bourbon dynasty, there were two opposing factions. It would be a very long time before these people could reach an agreement and send enough reinforcements.
Since Captain An Ye was killed in 1873, only Li Weiyeh’s decisive actions had led to a significant number of reinforcements. They believed his strength was more than enough. Raising their glasses, they advised Li Weiyeh, “Colonel, what are you waiting for? It’s time to act. You have enough strength.”
Li Weiyeh remained silent. The series of small-scale attacks that began in May hadn’t caused much damage to his troops, but they had greatly disrupted the French merchants’ business. Especially when their funds became stuck, the pressure on him increased even more.

The damned Liu family bandits seized fifteen ships on the very day they declared war. Li Weiyeh suspected that if they controlled the sea exits, they could easily seize fifty ships. What was worse was the huge debts owed. Now, Liu Yu and the Black Flag Bank had become the biggest fraudsters in the entire colony and the Far East. Many foreign firms agreed: “This is a crime that France must never tolerate—it’s a declaration of war against the entire Western world. I hope we can launch an expedition to Shanxi just as we did to Beijing in the 1860s.” The once-prosperous port of Haiphong suddenly became depressed. By the day after the news spread, three French firms had closed, followed by half of the French firms shutting down. Some French even committed suicide, and the port’s throughput dropped by two-thirds. “If this continues, in three more months, the streets of Haiphong will be overgrown with grass! You need to take action!” The speaker was filled with anger. “We need to act. According to your plan, as long as we take action and Cochinchina sends enough reinforcements, we won’t need support from Paris—our own strength will be enough.” This was the most affected party: Craig, the manager of the Oriental Bank of Commerce’s branch in Haiphong, along with the senior manager from its Saigon branch. “We need to see your actions!” After hearing the terrible news, Manager Craig was on the verge of collapse, but moments later, he managed to pull himself together. He saw a lifeline: the collateral. Over the years, by lending money to Xiliuying, he had accumulated a fortune of 200,000 francs. He needed time to transfer his assets and prepare to flee, but his first step was to recover the collateral for the Oriental Bank of Commerce. The Saigon branch also had to side with him, as they realized both branches had suffered huge losses from Xiliuying. As a major colonial bank, the Oriental Bank of Commerce had a total capital of 8 million francs, but 5 million of that was loaned to Xiliuying—essentially all of it were non-performing loans that could not be recovered. Yet there was still a lifeline: the collateral. Every loan given to Xiliuying came with collateral—gold mines, silver mines, coal mines, iron mines, houses… And the credit officers had confirmed that each piece of collateral was worth several times more than the loan itself. If these mines could be recovered, it would not only cover the huge losses but also generate huge profits. The only problem was that over 90% of these mines were located upstream of the Red River. So Craig untied his tie. “I hope the French army will take decisive action.” His call was met with widespread approval. “Those cowardly bandits need decisive action, not passively enduring attacks!” Just then, a loud cannon blast was heard outside. Whistling shells flew over the French concession. Manager Craig untied his tie and took off his suit. “If you don’t take decisive action and watch as bandits desecrate our flag, I’ll duel you!”

After realizing the huge losses he had caused, Craig’s mind became utterly clear—he knew exactly what actions would be most beneficial. He had thrown away his white gloves: “Come on, Colonel Li Weiye!”
France in that era still retained the tradition of duels, though it was no longer widespread. Li Weiye turned to the window and carefully observed the effects of the bombardment.
There was absolutely no effect—this was the only conclusion he could draw. Since early May, the Black Flag Army, which had taken control of the White House, had been firing small cast-iron smoothbore cannons from all directions at Hanoi.
These small cast-iron cannons were not very powerful or had a limited range, but they exerted great pressure on the European residents in the city. Li Weiye remained determined to hold his ground, and so far, the only result of these bombardments had been one local Tonkin infantryman being seriously injured.
On the other hand, their modified gunboats had achieved greater success in attacks from the Red River. They converted a steam freighter into a gunboat, equipped it with over a dozen smoothbore cannons, and attacked infantry troops who were on exercise when the enemy was unprepared. One local Annamite infantryman was killed, while two local Tonkin infantrymen were lightly injured.
Yet this harassment tactic only strengthened Li Weiye’s resolve to hold out for reinforcements. It also gave Manager Craig, who had thrown his white gloves on the ground, an excuse: “They’re bombing the French concession. They do this every day—won’t you take action?”
Li Weiye replied, “I need reinforcements.”
“What are you waiting for? If you need reinforcements, we have nearly two thousand soldiers in the Tonkin region right now, and near Hanoi as well. Don’t you have a thousand soldiers? If you need reinforcements, I clearly remember that there are four local infantry companies stationed in Nam Dinh—those are the most loyal and reliable Annamite infantrymen.”
Even among colonial troops recruited from the same country, the French would use tactics to create division. Now there were two different colonial forces: the Vietnamese colonial army, established in Cochinchina and with a longer history and greater combat strength, known as the Annamite infantrymen; and the newly recruited colonial army in northern Vietnam, known as the Tonkin infantrymen.
Craig suggested to Li Weiye, “Nam Dinh doesn’t need that many troops—just one company will suffice. We should strengthen our forces in the Hanoi area.”
Li Weiye replied calmly, “I’ll consider your suggestion. Do you know that?”
Craig spread his hands and asked, “Know what? They’re just a bunch of bandits. We easily defeated them at Ba Li Bridge.”
Li Weiye’s eyes flashed with anger. “Liu Yongfu sent me, and the consul general, letters challenging us, full of personal attacks and provocations. But I will never pay attention to such challenges.”
Like a combative soldier, he said, “Today is May 9th. I am now requesting support from Admiral Mei Yi of the Chinese Navy. His reinforcements will arrive within five days. Once I receive them, I will take action.”
“But even if Major General Mei Yi’s reinforcements arrive, I will still decide to hold out for help.”
He ignored Craig’s challenge.
Paper Bridge. This was an old battlefield, where the Black Flag Army had once slain An Ye here.

Liu Yu was well aware that the two sides would clash again on this old battlefield. He led all his officers to re-examine the battlefield before asking Liu Suiyun, “Is Li Weiyeh still showing no signs of activity?”
Liu Suiyun replied, “Still nothing. Should we attack directly?”
To date, the Xiliu Infantry Regiment and some accompanying smaller units, totaling 2,500 troops, had not participated in any battles. It was always Liu Yongfu’s Black Flag Army that launched attacks on the enemy. Liu Yongfu even sent a harsh challenge letter in the name of the Three Proclamations Commander, but Li Weiyeh did not respond.
He remained holed up inside Hanoi City, showing no signs of moving. His retreat inside the city was not good news for the Xiliu Camp. After all, thousands of troops had been in battle for over ten days without firing a single shot. Yet Liu Yu was firmly confident: “He will come out!”
He said to Liu Suiyun and all the officers, “Our Xiliu Camp will forever determine the outcome of this war.”
“From now on, every officer must personally draw a topographic map of the area near the paper bridge. I will check them myself!”
More than ten minutes later, Sima Tai also encouraged his officers, “Have you heard? Battalion Commander Ye said his battalion is the Crow Battalion—enemies will be terrified at the sight of it. Battalion Commander Cai Yunnan said he doesn’t want anything else but to be called the Hanoi Battalion. But what about us?”
Among the three battalion commanders, Sima Tai was the most famous. “But what kind of unit are we? We’re the Xiliu Camp!”
At the mention of Xiliu Camp, his voice grew louder. “The real Xiliu Camp—just look at our company commanders, Liu Haohao and Liu Suiyun, and you’ll understand.”
This was a fact known to everyone. In the Xiliu Infantry Regiment, this battalion was Liu Yu’s most fundamental unit and also the one he trusted the most. “No need for any title. I, Sima Tai, ask everyone to work harder. I want Li Weiyeh’s head. No matter how many troops he sends, I’ll take them all. None of them should think about returning.”
He almost shouted the two words: “Annihilate them!”
Compared to him, Wu Fengdian was full of fanciful thoughts. He had also returned to this old battlefield, but today the focus was no longer on him.
Gazing at the old battlefield where battles had taken place in the past, he was filled with emotions. “I once defeated An Ye in battle. I wonder if I can achieve another great feat today.”
Defeating An Ye back then was indeed a remarkable achievement, but it had been quite easy.
An Ye captured Hanoi and seized four provinces within a month, yet he only had a little over a hundred troops. Moreover, because he occupied too much territory, his forces were spread out.
When the Black Flag Army fought at Paper Bridge, it happened to coincide with French holidays. As a result, An Ye temporarily gathered only 25 French soldiers, along with some Catholics and mercenaries, and brought one cannon out of Hanoi to confront hundreds of Black Flag Army troops. He thought that just a couple of cannon shots would cause the Black Flag Army to collapse like the Vietnamese government forces, and indeed, he was utterly defeated.

At that time, the Black Flag Army was also very cautious, thinking that An Ye could never be so bold as to dare engage them with such forces—there must be a backup plan. As a result, they hesitated to pursue, allowing most of the French troops to escape. In the end, Captain An Ye and Lieutenant Barney were killed, five French soldiers were killed, and fifteen more were wounded, but they managed to retreat. As for the mercenaries and Catholic militia they brought with them, they were almost completely wiped out. It was a minor battle compared to the several major fights Wu Fengdian had experienced, but it was his most glorious battle—he personally killed Captain An Ye. Just thinking about it filled Wu Fengdian with pride. “Today, our Black Flag Army will surely achieve a great victory!” Night of May 15th. On the banks of the Beining River, raging fires lifted Li Weiyeh’s spirits: “Well done, Major Wei Yi.” Li Weiyeh received the reinforcements he wanted—General Mei Yi, commander of the China Sea and Japan Sea fleets, sent him three companies of reinforcements, consisting of the marines and some sailors from the ironclad ship Victorieuse, the cruiser Villars, and the cruiser Hamilin! These were organized into three landing companies sent to Hanoi. The marines and sailors on these large warships were not professional soldiers, and each company was insufficient, but it still provided Li Weiyeh with enough support, allowing him to boldly send three companies to search the north bank of the Beining River. Under Li Weiyeh’s orders, Major Wei Yi did not leave the range of the ship’s guns. They searched a village suspected of being used as an artillery position by the Black Flag Army but found nothing, with even the villagers having fled. Yet Major Wei Yi simply set the entire village on fire, without stopping for several hours. This boosted morale in the concession, and even Craig, who had been constantly challenging Li Weiyeh, disappeared. Li Weiyeh then ordered, “Tomorrow, continue crossing the Beining River and search along the Beining Highway for those enemies who fire at us night after night. I will send warships to support your operations.” “Yes, sir!” Major Wei Yi replied, “I will continue to burn any village that might support the Black Flag Army!” “No!” Li Weiyeh, under pressure, lost control: “Burning them isn’t enough. We must further strengthen our presence. To deal with Asians, force is the best means of existence.” The young Major Wei Yi understood and decided to do even better than expected. That night, four French companies, led by Major Wei Yi, crossed the Beining River again. This time they conducted a more thorough search, bringing two 65-mm cannons and one cannon taken from a warship, still under the cover of the warships behind them. The villages along the way watched in fear as these men in blue uniforms and red breeches rushed in and set every village on fire.

In the Hanoi concession, it was clear to see villages lighting up the sky, but the Black Flag Army’s artillery units had withdrawn days earlier. In front of Major Wei, there were only weeping Vietnamese people. They had nothing to do with the Black Flag Army, but Major Wei thought of Li Weiyeh’s motto and shouted, “Fire! Fire! Kill these rebels! They are rebels!” “Bang! Bang! Bang!” The relentless hail of bullets continued, and Major Wei yelled, “Fire freely! Kill every bandit that appears before us! Eradicate them completely!” This was French justice and freedom. Major Wei commanded his troops to sweep through village after village—no resistance, only slaughter. Four hundred infantrymen fired wildly with their rifles, while behind them, artillery also fired at the fleeing Vietnamese. Old people, children, men, and women—Major Wei was determined to eliminate all Vietnamese in this area forever. “They are well-trained bandits!” By noon, the French troops, protected by their warships, had achieved a brilliant victory: “Over a hundred well-trained Black Flag Army soldiers were killed!” The only thing Major Wei was dissatisfied about was that he hadn’t captured any of the Black Flag Army’s artillery used to bombard the concession. So he said, “We captured four cast-iron cannons from the Black Flag Army and destroyed them on the spot!” All the French soldiers loved this hunting-style operation—no resistance, no casualties. All they had to do was pull the trigger. “Soldiers, I must praise your bravery!” “You fired twenty thousand bullets and sixty 65-mm shells!” The French were always skilled at dealing with Vietnamese civilians; they even used up half of their ammunition. “I, Major Wei, am proud of the achievements you’ve made!” After two days of searching, the Black Flag Army fled at the first sign of danger, which filled Major Wei with confidence. Compared to the Vietnamese army, these troops’ only advantage was their ability to run, but he couldn’t pursue further because he couldn’t leave the range of the ship’s artillery. As the sun set, as he led his troops back to the concession, he saw Colonel Li Weiyeh, whose expression was gloomy. He was angry, and Major Wei understood at once. “Colonel, we launched a brave pursuit, killing over a hundred Black Flag Army soldiers, capturing and destroying four cast-iron cannons, firing twenty thousand bullets and sixty shells, using up half of our ammunition, but with no casualties.” Li Weiyeh’s face remained grim as he said to Major Wei, “The Black Flag Army has arrived.” The next moment, he shouted, “They’ve reached Hanoi City! Just last night, not long after you left.” Last night, the Black Flag Army launched an attack on Hanoi, led by 200 soldiers under Huang Shouzhong, with Wu Fengdian and Yang Zhenen each leading 100 soldiers in the attack. Their ability to penetrate Hanoi City was entirely due to Li Weiyeh’s mistake—he had demolished the city gates and walls after capturing Hanoi, allowing the Black Flag Army to easily infiltrate the city.

Last night, these 400 Black Flag soldiers attacked a Catholic church and a row of French fortifications nearby, which served as the French’s eyes and ears. The Catholic church was well-prepared, with three layers of barriers in place, and hundreds of armed parishioners equipped with muzzle-loading guns joined the fight. Yet these ragtag troops were no match for the Black Flag soldiers.

Huang Shouzhong led his troops to break through all three layers of barriers. But with some French troops arriving to reinforce them, and since this was originally a feint, they turned their attack to the French fortifications. However, lacking siege equipment, their attempts failed, and they withdrew immediately.

The Catholic parishioners suffered heavy losses—over a dozen killed and dozens injured—just from Huang Shouzhong’s attempted attack, with only two seriously injured and a few lightly injured.

This was a slap in the face for Li Weiyeh, especially since he knew full well that it was he who had decided to demolish the city walls and gates. Realizing he had misjudged the direction of the Black Flag soldiers’ attack and sent Colonel Wei’s main forces across the Beining River, he became even angrier.

“To deal with the Chinese, force must be used!” he clenched his fists. “It’s May 16th. I plan to gather all our available forces on May 19th to deliver a fatal blow to these Black Flag bandits.”

Unbeknownst to him, on that very day, the French Parliament had approved a resolution to send reinforcements to the Tokyo region, and those reinforcements were already preparing to board ships.