Chapter 117: Another Battle

“Who do you want to recommend?”
Li Hongzhang’s voice was gentle, yet it made Zhang Peilun admire his cunning. This old man possessed political skills unmatched by others.
Li Hongzhang was well aware that Zhang Peilun’s recommendation was rather bold—he immediately proposed replacing the governor of Guangxi with Xu Yanxu, who was said to have the best understanding of Vietnam.
Li knew Xu Yanxu was related to Lu Chuanlin through marriage, and it was thanks to this connection that Xu had risen from a local official to governor of Guangxi. Now, Zhang Peilun was paving the way for Xu to become governor outright.
A governor-general, governor, and provincial administrator were not the same—they were true high-ranking officials who controlled all affairs in a province, from military and political matters to finance.
Even among the talented officers of the Huai Army, who had made great contributions to suppressing rebellions, only a few, like Zhang Shusheng, the governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi, had ever reached such a position. This was partly due to the suppression by the imperial court and Li Hongzhang’s reluctance to let subordinates act independently, but it also showed just how significant the powers of a governor were.
Yet this young Zhang Peilun casually talked about replacing the governor of Guangxi with someone of his choice. If Xu Yanxu really succeeded, it would set a record for rapid promotion in the Qing Dynasty—rising from a local official to governor within a year, even during the Hong Xiang Rebellion, such rapid promotions had never been recorded. Even in a remote province like Guangxi, it seemed impossible.
But Zhang Peilun mentioned it so easily, as if it were trivial. This made Li Hongzhang feel how outdated he was as an old man.
After suppressing the Hong Xiang Rebellion, he rarely supported his subordinates in seizing territories or power, only twice, both times ending in failure. Once, he sent Pan Dingxin’s troops to Shandong to take control from Ding Baozhen, but Pan’s forces were completely defeated. Another time, Liu Mingchuan went to Shaanxi, and his troops were nearly wiped out by Zuo Zongtang. Thanks to Li’s strategic planning, those troops were pulled back to Jiangnan, but Zhang Shusheng still reaped the benefits.
Yet Zhang Peilun spoke so casually about replacing a governor. Li knew clearly that Zhang’s greatest strength was his support—with it, Zhang even dared to recommend someone for the position of governor-general of Jiangsu and Jiangxi.
But why was it so difficult for him to seize even a small territory? This old man, who liked to deceive himself, felt troubled. Still, he asked the key question: “Who do you want to recommend?”
Zhang Peilun smiled slightly, his youthful demeanor filling the old man in the armchair with emotion. “There are many candidates…”
Just as one wouldn’t recommend just one person in a single memorial, Zhang Peilun’s first recommendation was Xu Yanxu, but the list included dozens of others—all of whom would remember Zhang Peilun’s kindness.

There would also be no shortage of civil and military officials to be recommended for removal. As for the reasons, the Sino-French war and the events in Annam were the best explanations—these officials were no longer suitable for this war, so he had no choice but to step aside.
“The first one is Feng Cuiting, the governor of Guangxi.”
Zhang Peilun named the person he wanted to recommend, speaking in a relaxed tone: “Although this official has experience defending Zhenjiang and fighting in Guangdong and Guangxi, he is now old and ignorant of military affairs. He should be replaced. Huang Guilan, the commander of the left-wing defense forces in Guangxi, is capable of taking on this role as governor.”
His youth gave Li Hongzhang a sense of fascination. He had once felt the same way—years ago, when he sought honors from afar, he was full of ambition. But now he was old.
He could only consider the pros and cons. He didn’t have a close relationship with Feng Zicai, but back when the Huai Army was stationed in Shanghai, it had paid 30,000 taels of military salary to Zhenjiang every month. He also knew something about Feng Zicai—originally from the Fa-Nian rebels, he later surrendered to the imperial court and fought under Zhang Guoliang in the south. After the Huai Army’s camps were twice defeated by the Taiping rebels, Feng Zicai was driven from near Zijin Mountain all the way to near Zhenjiang. During the suppression of the Taiping rebels, he was considered a second-rate general, not as skilled as first-rate heroes like Bao Chao, Cheng Xueqi, or Li Yucheng, who were often completely defeated by the Taiping forces. Yet he was quite adept at defense.
After Zhang Guoliang’s death, he gathered the scattered troops, reduced the camp size while increasing the salary, and relied on financial support from Shanghai to keep the Taiping forces at bay and defend Zhenjiang. Later, he fought in Guangxi and achieved many accomplishments.
However, this man didn’t belong to either the Hunan faction or the Huai faction; instead, he was closer to a small group of Manchu nobles from the Eight Banners and Green Standard Army. Back when he was under Zeng Guofan’s command, Zeng wanted to eliminate this group and even established the Huaiyang Navy to seize salt taxes from the Huai region. But the imperial court immediately protested: “The Huaiyang Navy may be established, but not a single penny of the Huai region’s salt taxes may be taken.”
After arriving in Guangxi, he formed his own faction around his relatives and old allies. But it wasn’t difficult for Li Hongzhang to deal with him.
Zhang Peilun mentioning Huang Guilan brought those memories back to mind. Huang Guilan was also part of the old Huai Army, having made significant contributions in the past, especially in suppressing the Fa-Nian rebels. He was skilled at building fortresses and camps, making him a rare talent. Later, because he was too close to Zhang Shusheng, he was pushed out of the main Huai Army faction. But in any case, he still carried the label of the Huai faction. If he could become the governor of Guangxi, it would likely give the Huai Army more military control over another province.
In just a moment, he had thought it through thoroughly and said calmly, “You really have boldness, Youqiao. In the past, my teacher also wanted to test Feng Cuiting and keep me as the salt transport commissioner for the Huai region, in charge of the Huaiyang Navy. But unexpectedly, the imperial court protected him and only promoted Huang Yisheng to commander of the Huaiyang forces. I still haven’t been given that position. If you want to avenge me, that’s great!”
With that, he stretched out his hand: “Bring the documents over. I once worked as a clerk for my teacher’s staff. Today, I’ll act as his deputy and help you review them.”
Realizing things were settled, Zhang Peilun stood there in the wind and said, “Thank you, uncle.”
……
Late June 1883. Hanoi.

“George! I’m glad you’re leading the Yellow Flag Army!”
It was a French general in his fifties who spoke, shaking the adventurer’s hand. “I know that only you, my old friend, can bring this army to its fullest fighting strength.”
He was Boisdeffre, a fifty-year-old French major general and the supreme commander of all of North Vietnam.
His face bore many signs of experience; he had vast military experience. Unlike Li Weiye, he was no poet or dreamer. He graduated from an army academy, fought in Senegal for eight years, and had considerable expertise in suppressing indigenous uprisings. During the Franco-Prussian War, he was captured at Sedan with the emperor, but soon joined the battles against the Paris Commune. After that, he became a lieutenant colonel and served in Indochina.
He was later transferred to the Guiana military region as a colonel, and last year was promoted to major general—a position that was nearly the pinnacle for French officers.
Compared to Colonel Li Weiye, Boisdeffre, who came from an army background, had rich colonial experience, received the most modern military education, and had spent time in Indochina, which had conditions similar to those in Tokyo. All these factors gave him great confidence.
But the situation in Tokyo was worse than he had imagined. Since taking command in Haiphong on June 6th and assuming control from Major General Maye, he had found that Haiphong itself was under attack by anti-French forces.
He seemed to be doing well. Faced with attacks by the Black Flag Army and the Flower and Sword Sect, he conscripted thousands of laborers to build a wall around Hanoi, encircling most of the city. Thankfully, the enemy could no longer easily attack patrols inside Hanoi.
The losses, greater than any in history, greatly angered the French. Parliament passed a resolution to send troops, dispatching a much larger force than ever before. They also began recruiting large numbers of indigenous infantry in the Tokyo region ahead of time. Now, with a large number of French troops stationed in Hanoi, the Catholics had much more confidence in the French.
At the same time, Major General Boisdeffre imposed military control in Hanoi, Nam Dinh, and Haiphong. Several French officers were appointed as administrative officials to handle all affairs, greatly facilitating his undeclared war.
But none of this was as important as the decision before him. George before him looked proudly at the yellow flag and said, “General, my troops will bring you a surprise.”
Beside him stood Qiao Erchi, the second-in-command of the Yellow Flag Army. “Our Yellow Flag Army always adheres to its oath to France.”
Boisdeffre’s colonial experience taught him clearly how to use colonists to eliminate other colonists—a practice the Chinese called “using the Chinese to control the Chinese.”
What stood before him now was such a force meant for exploitation. They carried the French tricolor and yellow battle flags, determined to fight to the death against the Black Flag Army.
The Yellow Flag Army now had 800 soldiers in ten companies, with 80 soldiers per company—all Chinese. A large portion were former members of the Yellow Flag Army who had wandered into the mountains, but there were also newly recruited Catholics. Qiao Erchi was particularly diligent; he even went to Guangxi personally to recruit over a hundred Catholics.

They were equipped with Remington rifles purchased from Hong Kong, putting them on par with, or even slightly better than, the Black Flag Army in terms of equipment, and their combat strength also surpassed that of ordinary native Tokyo infantry. Their commander was equally outstanding—a Greek named Colonel George who had served as the leader of a mercenary unit in the Dobu-Yi Red River exploration expedition and participated in Captain An Ye’s conquest of Tokyo; a true Western adventurer. His deputy, Qiao Erchi, was also a devout Catholic loyal to France; he had served as a water guide in Haiphong, and the Archdiocese of Hanoi consistently praised his bravery and loyalty. More importantly, Qiao Erchi had once led over a thousand soldiers from the Yellow Flag Army to annihilate an infantry company of the Xiliu Infantry Regiment—the only setback the once invincible Xiliu Infantry Battalion had suffered in the Tokyo region. These eight hundred soldiers could join the battle with almost no training at all, and their involvement posed a serious threat to Shen Sheng’s independent battalion and the Holy Defense Samurai of the Flower Sect, forcing Teresa to temporarily withdraw near Hanoi in preparation for a more deadly attack. But for Boshua, this was a great victory—the Black Flag Army had given up harassing Hanoi, allowing him to arrange tasks at ease. He had brought in a large number of small motorboats from Cochinchina, each equipped with just one cannon and a few infantrymen, enabling him to block, encircle, and sweep through the flooded areas of Tokyo. New reinforcements were continuously arriving by water, and the weaker native Tokyo infantry also got another chance to train—everything was improving. Holding Colonel George’s hand, he said, “George, conquering Tokyo requires your help.” Qiao Erchi interjected, “Your Excellency, I must point out that the Yellow Flag Army needs you to pay them full salaries.” What he said was true, but it put Boshua in a difficult position. Although he had promised high salaries to the Yellow Flag Army, he didn’t have enough piastres to pay them. The financial situation in the Tokyo region was in complete disarray. Many Vietnamese optimists had believed that it would be possible to conquer the entire Tokyo region without spending a single franc from the treasury, by using local taxes instead. But this turned out to be a fantasy—the credibility of the franc was severely challenged, especially since the Black Flag bandits had issued many low-quality francs. Many Catholics loyal to France possessed these francs, and the Oriental Bank of Haiphong could only provide drafts, not any cash. Colonel Li Weiye had once accumulated a reserve of 200,000 silver coins, but almost all of them were spent within the past month. Even if francs were brought in, their credibility was poor due to fake francs, and transporting silver coins was a disastrous undertaking. Nevertheless, he still requested that Saigon send a large amount of Mexican silver coins. Qiao Erchi didn’t understand this—he simply demanded salaries for the interests of his Yellow Flag Army. But Boshua smiled and said, “We can take action now! Qiao, if we launch an attack on the Black Flag Army in July, can your Yellow Flag Army mobilize?” “As long as there are enough salaries.” In late June, the Black Flag Army was in a state of uneasy coordination.

Currently, the Black Flag Army is led by a council of three, but day-to-day operations are handled by Liu Yu. A large number of new recruits have been enlisted and are undergoing intensive training. Using their existing supplies and production capacity from the past two months, the Xiliu Camp has armed all its units. However, after making up for the losses in the Battle of Zhiqiao River, the Black Flag Army realized that recruiting new soldiers was not an easy task. Huang Shouzhong still had no good plan for forming his third infantry battalion, while Liu Yu in Shanxi inquired with Ye Chenglin about reinforcements for the Crow Camp. “Have the losses been made up?” Ye Chenglin replied with a smile, “Including those discharged from the hospital, almost all have been replaced!” Liu Yu asked about another matter: “The Liu Suiyun detachment has been dispatched. With one old regiment missing, are you confident?” The veteran Ye Chenglin was full of confidence: “The Crow Camp has always been a scourge to the French. Just by deploying them, they’re terrified.” Liu Yu nodded: “There’s one more difficult task for you.” “Please give your orders, commander.” Liu Yu gestured for him to sit down: “You must have heard the rumors. Our Black Flag Army will soon have five regiments—two from the Xiliu Camp, one from Huang Shouzhong, and another to be formed by Liu Yongfu, whose candidates haven’t been decided yet.” Ye Chenglin immediately declared, “As long as we have one old regiment, the Crow Camp is ready to take on everything!” When forming new units, the Xiliu Camp drew units and core members from existing ones to ensure their combat effectiveness, though this inevitably affected the strength of the original units. Over the years, Liu Yu had mastered command of the Black Flag Army so well that even if he transferred Ye Chenglin from the Crow Camp to a new unit, Ye could only accept it unconditionally. But that wasn’t what Liu Yu wanted to discuss: “For the new regiments to be formed, I have an idea—use the Crow Camp as the core to build new regiments. The Tiger Camp has already been formed, and Yang Zhenen’s Right Camp will also be transferred to us, making three regiments in total.” Ye Chenglin was so excited he could barely sit still and quickly stood up: “Commander, I will never forget your kindness.” Liu Yu replied calmly: “The Xiliu and Crow Camps are already the two oldest units. Since the Xiliu Camp has become an independent regiment, the Crow Camp should follow suit. The Right Camp can be given a new name—suggest one.” After a brief thought, Ye Chenglin said, “How about calling it the Zhiqiao Camp? They fought very well at Zhiqiao!” Liu Yu agreed with him: “Since you’ll be the regiment commander, you need to establish a regimental structure. I’ll select the best officers from the officer training company for you. Also, make sure the men of the Zhiqiao Camp are taken care of properly—don’t let them suffer.” Although Ye Chenglin originated from a lower-class background, he had now fully entered Liu Yu’s inner circle of power. He immediately replied, “I’ll ensure the Zhiqiao Camp becomes part of our forces. I won’t send a battalion commander there, but I can transfer another old regiment from the Crow Camp to them.” Liu Yu had no objections; he was merely thinking about the next steps.

Since there are two infantry regiments, it seems possible to directly upgrade them to an infantry brigade. He can assign the Xiliu Regiment to Sima Tai, and Liu Yongfu’s force can also form an infantry brigade. The problem is that Huang Shouzhong can’t even assemble a complete infantry regiment right now.
Ye Chenglin had some ideas: “Commander, do we need to establish new camps next?”
“At least one in two months!” Liu Yu was decisive. “Our strength is inferior to the French, so we must rely on a larger army.”
Ye Chenglin was about to speak when the phone on the table rang.
Liu Yu picked up the phone casually. An urgent report came through the magnetic phone: “Commander, French warships have been spotted near Huaidefu. They came out of Hanoi.”
Ye Chenglin heard it clearly as well. Liu Yu immediately hung up the phone. “They’ve finally arrived. Chenglin, go back and get ready immediately. If they dare to advance further, don’t try to retreat!”