Chapter 119: A Scorching Victory

General Bo Hua was far more cautious than Li Weiyeh. If he had ever harbored any arrogant plans, the severe damage inflicted by the Lightning Ship dealt him a heavy blow, forcing him to wake up. His opponent was a powerful enemy with tens of thousands of troops; they had defeated Colonel Li Weiyeh’s detachment and possessed formidable combat skills. It wasn’t until now that Bo Hua realized exactly how many men he had lost in the previous battle at Hanoi—six hundred seventy-two French soldiers alone, not to mention the large number of wounded or dead Annamite infantrymen. The troops at Bo Hua’s disposal were not much stronger than Li Weiyeh’s, and the enemy forces continued to grow stronger, facing attacks from Shen Sheng’s Independent Battalion and the Flower Sect every day. Yet his caution was not well-received.

Haiphong Port.
“Dear Major General, General Bo Hua should take decisive action to capture Shanxi and Bắc Ninh. I’m well aware that those Black Flag bandits are no match for us.”
Admiral Guoba agreed with this view: “Major General Bo Hua is too cautious. A few hundred Black Flag bandits have scared him half to death; he even lost our Lightning Ship.” Admiral Guoba was also one of the few at the top of the French military hierarchy, as only a handful of people could be promoted to lieutenant general—the highest rank in the French army of that era. Since the restoration of the Republic, imperial ranks were no longer recognized; those titles could only be used privately, with lieutenant general becoming the highest rank in this new era. Every major general aspired to become a distinguished lieutenant general, and Admiral Guoba was no exception. “We only need a few hundred soldiers to capture the Phuoc Tu fortress, and another few hundred to take control of Shanxi and Bắc Ninh.”

Standing across from him was He Luoheng, a true adventurer. He had once served as an officer under Captain An Ye in the expedition to the Tokyo region, and now he returned there filled with hatred toward the Black Flag forces. His status could be described as noble—he was the special envoy stationed in Tokyo, independent of the Governor-General of Cochinchina, or, using an imperial term, a “imperial envoy.” He was responsible for all civil affairs in the Tokyo region and could command all French land and naval forces there. He was, in effect, the emperor-emeritus to Major General Bo Hua. But the problem was that this emperor-emeritus felt extremely frustrated in the face of reality.

Major General Bo Hua had imposed military control in Nanning, Haiphong, and Hanoi. His officers held all the power, leaving this future emperor-emeritus completely sidelined. He Luoheng must reclaim the power that rightfully belonged to him from Bo Hua’s grasp. Admiral Guoba shared He Luoheng’s frustration. As the new commander of the fleet in the Tokyo region, he should have been the supreme commander of all French land and naval forces there, but Bo Hua held even greater power. “The problem lies in Phuoc Tu!” Even regarding the direction of the war, Guoba had a completely different opinion: “We must conquer Phuoc Tu.”

Once Phnom Penh was conquered, the French could then control the Vietnamese government and use it to exert pressure on the Black Flag Army, cutting off their supplies and attacking their rear. With that, the French would be sure of victory in the war. Conquering Phnom Penh required only a small army and a few warships. Gobat had many at his disposal, and he had even received support of two ironclad ships from the Second Naval Region, but the army was in Poilvet’s hands. Poilvet had an almost obsessive desire to control all forces and used a hundred excuses to reject the plan to conquer Phnom Penh. This was also intolerable to Gouraud, who had witnessed firsthand ten years earlier how weak the Vietnamese were—one Frenchman could defeat a hundred of them. Now that the Vietnamese emperor was critically ill, it was the perfect opportunity to strike while the iron was hot. By conquering Phnom Penh and capturing their emperor, the kingdom would belong to France. But Poilvet messed things up badly; he even allowed the French fleet’s best ship, Le Lightning, to be utterly defeated by the Black Flag Army’s rifles and smoothbore cannons, requiring at least three months to repair. “Is he still unwilling to send a battalion to support our attack on Phnom Penh?” Gobat replied angrily, “He won’t send even a company. All he thinks about is Tokyo. Yet he doesn’t realize that conquering Phnom Penh is the best way to take Tokyo.” The Resident General harbored extreme hatred toward the Black Flag Army, but he knew clearly that the shortest path to eliminating them was to go to Phnom Penh. They could go to Paris to explain Poilvet’s shortsightedness. There are no secrets in this world. Major General Poilvet soon received in Hanoi the report sent by the Resident General to Paris: “…I believe Major General Poilvet is not suitable for his current position. He is indecisive, weak-willed, and suffers from epilepsy in Thailand. Such a person is not fit to undertake the task of conquering Tokyo. My suggestion has been agreed upon by Rear Admiral Gobat…” This was already a personal attack, but Major General Poilvet decided to counter in another way. “Chief of Staff! Chief of Staff!” Major General Poilvet believed he was the true Napoleon-like commander: “We must carry out a powerful demonstration to show the Black Flag Army our strength.” The Chief of Staff disagreed with Poilvet’s idea: “Our native infantry isn’t fully trained yet, and we don’t have enough troops.” “It’s a powerful demonstration. We have 3,400 soldiers. It would be ridiculous if we couldn’t even carry out such a demonstration.” “The enemy has many troops, many rapid-fire rifles, and artillery. I suggest the force for the demonstration be large enough and not go too far from Hanoi.” Poilvet agreed with the Major Chief of Staff: “I agree. You take care of this! I trust you, my old friend. You’ll handle it perfectly and bring me back 200 heads of those Black Flag bandits!” This operation took place under the scorching sun, but due to the matter of the major general’s pride, the scale of the demonstration was greatly expanded.

An entire marine battalion, an artillery company, four 40-mm mountain guns, three companies of the Yellow Flag Army, one company of Annamese indigenous infantry, plus a French infantry company as the reserve force, brought the total strength to 1,000 men, who could also receive support from the defenders in Hanoi at any time.
The indigenous infantry from Tokyo once again took on the role of cannon fodder, deployed on the front lines. However, after some training, they would at least not flee immediately at the sound of gunfire but would fire a few shots under the command of their officers before retreating to the fortifications.
July 12th.
Naval Major Corona, the chief of staff of General Bohua, led his troops into battle with great pomp. The sun that day was so scorching that the ground seemed to smoke.
The heat, especially combined with humidity, made everyone feel uncomfortable, but as soldiers, they had to obey orders: “Sir, I’m looking forward to your good news!”
In Huaidu Mansion, Liu Yu also shook Ye Chenglin’s hand firmly: “I’m personally waiting for your good news!”
Both sides were highly enthusiastic about this clash of steel against steel, as their armies would engage in their first major battle after the Hanoi campaign.
It wasn’t the first time Liu Yu had experienced such a situation, yet he was still sweating. Jiang Ningxue brought him plum juice: “Have a few sips to cool down!”
Although not chilled, it was still quite refreshing. Liu Yu took a big gulp: “Sigh… I don’t know how this battle will go. We here already feel unbearably hot, let alone the soldiers on the front lines.”
It wasn’t his first summer in the Tokyo region, but this was the hottest summer he had ever experienced—he even wondered if people might die from the heat.
For this reason, he had prepared sufficient heat-relief supplies for the soldiers on the front lines, all purchased using drafts from the Oriental Bank of Commerce.
Jiang Ningxue knew he was worried about the situation on the front lines: “Colonel Ye is an experienced soldier. Even if they can’t win, they won’t suffer heavy losses. Besides, it’s only 9:30 yet—the real battle is still to come.”
“It’s only 9:30, and it’s already this hot. If the reserve forces have to be deployed, I wonder if there might be problems.”
After the infantry of both sides clashed, it was just a skirmish. It would be when Liu Yu sent in the reserve forces that the real fighting would begin.
Thus, Liu Yu had the reserve forces under control—three infantry battalions ready to engage at any time and deliver a fatal blow to the French forces.
“As long as gunfire is heard, the troops will advance there!”
This was the tradition of the Xiliu Camp left by Haiyang, and Liu Yu was also waiting for the sound of gunfire.
Jiang Ningxue was a good wife. She brought him many drinks and urged him to eat several times, but the gunfire Liu Yu was waiting for never came.
The telephone rang dozens of times, and the staff studied the maps several times, but they still couldn’t understand why the two sides had clashed. It wasn’t until evening that a staff member shouted, “The enemy has retreated. Our forces have no casualties, but over a dozen people have suffered heatstroke—nothing serious though.”
In Hanoi, the French forces withdrew in disgrace.

A victory achieved through accident, not because the Black Flag Army fought brilliantly, but because of their frantic plundering of supplies. This French force was on the verge of collapse under the scorching heat.
“The weather is extremely hot. One of our lieutenants and four soldiers died from heatstroke. Seven out of eight lieutenants were affected, and fifty soldiers suffered from heatstroke, with twenty-one of them seriously injured.”
Without firing a single shot, the French were already defeated by the sun. In historical records, the French had also been defeated by the sun on this day, but with far fewer cases of heatstroke.
Now that the French had sent a larger force, nature became even more merciless. Worse still, they had severely insufficient supplies to prevent heatstroke.
The procurement efforts carried out by the Xiliu Camp before the war had depleted all the heatstroke prevention supplies in the Tokyo region, especially those available for coastal defense. They even purchased a large amount in Hong Kong, resulting in a severe shortage of such supplies across the Far East.
It should be noted that Liu Yu was able to acquire enough supplies for thirty thousand soldiers to use throughout the summer, while the French had an extreme shortage of heatstroke prevention medications. Only a small amount could be obtained in the Tokyo region, and some were bought at high prices in Hong Kong, yet it was still not enough for the soldiers.
Now, this French force was directly defeated by the humid and hot weather. Lacking sufficient medications, every member of their force, whether officers or soldiers, suffered from varying degrees of heatstroke.
Twenty-one soldiers were carried back on stretchers. Without further treatment, they might not even survive.
Major General Bohua never expected to encounter such an enemy in the tropics. Although he had served in Indochina before, he had never experienced such extreme heat.
“Treat them with all our might!”
It wasn’t a defeat at the hands of the Black Flag Army—otherwise, that wretch He Luoheng would have used it as a vicious attack. Major General Bohua resolved firmly: “We must prepare for active action. We must defeat the Black Flag Army!”
Just as he had this thought, another French lieutenant rushed over: “Report! Our native infantry company in southern Tokyo has been attacked!”
Native infantry in Tokyo? Major General Bohua immediately ordered, “Prepare heatstroke prevention supplies and send a company to rescue them.”
“No need for rescue!” The lieutenant delivered a devastating blow to Bohua’s hopes: “They’re already done for.”
That native infantry company was not far from the Hanoi outpost—just over a kilometer away, even within artillery range. If a fierce gunfight had taken place, it should have been clearly audible in Hanoi. But Bohua didn’t believe it: “That’s impossible. I sent a company there.”
“They’re all gone! A few who managed to escape confirmed it. Several of the native infantry were followers of the Heretical Flower Sect. They colluded with the enemy. The enemy sent in their main force—over a thousand men. The entire company fired just a few shots before being captured. All their rifles and supplies were taken, and more than ninety native infantry were captured.”
Bohua felt as though He Luoheng was mocking him. He had only one conviction: “We must eliminate these Black Flag bandits. Send a telegram to Paris and request another regiment of reinforcements! Algerians will do as well!”

On the other side of the front line, Theresa found the heat to be rather comforting.
“We’ve won! A great victory!”
Before him lay the firearms of an entire native infantry company—over a hundred rifles in total. It was the greatest haul the Flower Between Sect had ever achieved since its founding.
In the Battle of Hanoi, they had only captured seven rifles. On the other side, Shen Sheng was equally proud: “This time we’ve gained a lot. I bet that Bo Hua can’t even sleep well in Hanoi!”
This time, with just a hundred rounds of ammunition, they seized all the weapons of a native infantry company—106 Remington rifles, 7,000 rounds of ammunition, along with many other military supplies, plus nearly a hundred prisoners. All of this left them highly satisfied.
It took the Flower Between Sect over a year of effort to achieve this.