Chapter 127: Achievements in the Torrents

The soldiers of Wu Wei Battalion listened silently to Huang Shouzhong’s orders, saying nothing, though tears welled in their eyes. Soon, the raindrops mixed with those tears. Having been soaked in the rain for so long, they longed to move to higher ground to rest, change into dry clothes, and drink some hot soup. Even without Huang Shouzhong’s orders, they felt there was no hope left at Si Zhu Temple.
The embankment by the river was already flooding; perhaps a single cannonball could collapse it entirely. But as they left, more tears streamed from their eyes. They had been stationed here for nearly a month. Every artillery position and fortress here was built by their own hands. They had shed sweat and blood here. Many new recruits from Wu Wei Battalion died here, and even more were wounded.
“Begin the retreat!” Under Huang Shouzhong’s command, the entire battalion began to withdraw in an orderly manner. No one could tell this was a newly formed unit. They took all their equipment, even the wounded and dead.
In history, their retreat was hasty, leaving several wounded behind on the battlefield. They fell into the hands of the French forces, who, out of frustration, had Colonel Bi Shuo execute them all. But in this timeline, they had already terrified the French troops.
The river continued to surge, with huge waves crashing against the shore. Si Zhu Temple was on the verge of collapsing at any moment.
…
Meanwhile, General Bo Hua’s defeated troops had retreated to Hanoi City. All of them were covered in mud, making it impossible to tell who was an officer and who was a soldier. The line of wounded stretched long, with continuous moans.
Due to a lack of stretchers, many severely injured soldiers could only support each other as they slowly moved forward in the rain. But what Bo Hua hated even more was the attitude of Hanoi City.
For this defeated army, only the Catholic Church provided a small number of laborers to assist. The entire city was eerily silent amid the storm, seemingly losing faith in the French victory.
“General, we need many medicines and doctors!” Major Biseil spoke up from the side. “There are too many wounded. We must arrange boats to send them to Haiphong for treatment.”
He added, “There are simply too many wounded—even one boat wouldn’t be enough.”
General Bo Hua glanced at him and asked, “Why are everyone else so indifferent to our victory except for us French?”
Major Biseil had been the commander during the Black Flag Army’s siege of Hanoi three months earlier. His outstanding performance in that battle had promoted him from captain to colonel. He was also General Bo Hua’s key advisor. “It’s not indifference—it’s hostility.”
“Why?”
Major Biseil could only smile bitterly. “General, you led two columns to break through the Black Flag Army’s encirclement and successfully retreat. But some others have already returned.”
“Deserers?”

Major Bisselle helplessly spread his arms: “A French soldier, who returned one and a half hours earlier than General Beaux, was shouting on the streets that General Boisgelin’s troops had been completely annihilated by the Black Flag Army, and that he was one of the few who escaped.”
The accusations of this French soldier, his muddy uniform, and his disheveled appearance gave everyone, including Europeans and even many French people, a general idea of General Boisgelin’s actions—whether it was a complete annihilation or not, it was a shameful defeat.
“Damnous deserter!” Boisgelin had to defend himself: “You’re wrong. We achieved a glorious victory.”
“Today, we were attacked by 50,000 soldiers of the Black Flag Army near Neicun and Wangcun. They had 200 breech-loading steel cannons, over 30,000 rapid-fire rifles, and 100 machine guns.”
“We fought against an enemy fifteen times larger with a very small force for ten hours, killing at least 2,500 soldiers of the Black Flag Army, with over 7,000 more wounded.”
“Our losses were minimal—only 40 dead and 130 wounded.” Major Boisgelin was not just a simple soldier; he knew how to report things in a way that would reassure the bureaucrats in Paris: “We lost not a single piece of advanced weaponry.”
He was right—the French army indeed lost no cannons. But their losses in rifles, especially Remington rifles, meant the Black Flag Army would have no shortage of weapons for a long time to come. After all, the Remington rifle was one of the Black Flag Army’s main and most advanced rifles, and they didn’t have to worry much about ammunition sources, as they had already mastered the technique of reloading these rifle bullets, and the Shanxi armory could even produce a certain amount of original Remington rifle bullets.
But General Boisgelin shifted the topic to another direction: “Damnous deserter! Hundreds of French lives were wasted because of him. Send him to military court immediately.”
Obviously, repeated failures had made everyone lose faith in the French victory, especially after seeing 4,500 French soldiers go off bravely and return in such a disastrous state.
Now the French were in big trouble. It was extremely difficult for them to requisition supplies by force, the franc’s credibility was severely weakened, and the costs of maintaining their troops were much higher than normal. General Boisgelin had asked Paris to increase military funding and reinforcements.
But Boisgelin was more concerned that his failures would give those two damned men an excuse. So he knew he had to act quickly: “A French battalion will arrive from the homeland next week. To restore the Annamites’ confidence in us, we need to launch a decisive operation as soon as possible. Major, will you assist me?”
Major Bisselle saluted him: “I am willing to avenge my fallen comrades.”
For Boisgelin and his officers, it was a night they couldn’t afford to waste. They had to complete many tasks before dawn. All their free time was spent getting dry clothes on, not even enough for a bath.

The large number of wounded filled up the entire Hanoi hospital; many had to lie in the rain. French soldiers were treated first, and over a hundred were transported by water to Haiphong.

Reorganizing the troops was an even more complicated task, as they had to worry about the Black Flag Army launching another attack on Hanoi. Both Liu Yu and Liu Yongfu faced severe disruptions from the floods; many troops were forced to retreat to higher ground, and in some areas, the battlefield hadn’t even been cleared yet when the water reached their knees. That night, many battlefields were completely submerged. Anzhai Village, which had been held by the central column, was entirely flooded, and all troops were busy evacuating.

French naval vessels were also busy all night. The floods washed away several boats, but fortunately, no serious incidents occurred. Near the Sizhu Temple, Colonel Bi Shuo resumed his persistent efforts at dawn: “Order the artillery to fire forty shells at Sizhu Temple and request support from naval vessels.”

The bombardment lasted for nearly half an hour. The already damaged dikes began to leak even more severely. After the intense bombardment, French infantry was forced to launch another attack. They advanced cautiously under cover of heavy machine gun fire, unaware that the Black Flag Army had already withdrawn completely. Their retreat the previous night had been flawless—Sizhu Temple was now empty, and they found no valuable loot. In the original timeline, the Black Flag Army had left behind a few wounded, forcing Colonel Bi Shuo to execute them in frustration. But now, the French found nothing in the rain.

Dark clouds covered the sky, and the soldiers shivered from the cold. Yet Colonel Bi Shuo remained determined to move forward: “Seize the fort! We’ve achieved a perfect victory!” His pride was greatly satisfied—he had successfully taken control of the well-fortified Sizhu Temple position. Yet his smile looked even uglier than crying.

Against the Black Flag Army, which had inferior troops and firepower, his attack failed completely, and the enemy even withdrew unnoticed. It was a total defeat. Yet in front of everyone, Colonel Bi Shuo declared great satisfaction: “We’ve achieved a perfect victory! Applaud for us!”

The naval ships also breathed a sigh of relief. After continuous fighting, they could finally rest. With such strong currents, they feared that even a single 65-mm shell could capsize them. But seeing the floods and recalling the disastrous fate of the Sizhu Temple fort, they immediately sent a signal to the ground troops: “Troops, prepare to rest in place and stop advancing for now.”

Although Colonel Bi Shuo was a proud Gallic rooster, he knew clearly that with such floods, he couldn’t force his soldiers to chase the enemy into the waters. He also understood that his easy victory must have other reasons. Communication with Hanoi had been cut off, and he wasn’t aware that General Bo Hua had retreated to Hanoi. Relying on his instincts, he ordered, “All units, hold firm at Sizhu Temple.”

This saved his troops from utter destruction, but the torrential rain refused to spare them. The rain had lasted for forty-eight hours—two full days and nights—with the river level rising steadily. Even Bi Shuo, who was not familiar with the area, sensed that something serious was happening. They kept reinforcing the dikes near the Four Pillars Temple to prevent it from collapsing completely. But at 7 p.m., the nightmare finally struck. Although there was no breach, the river level had exceeded the height of the dikes, and the water surged over them, flooding the lowest courtyards. Within two hours, the rapid floodwaters rushed into the Four Pillars Temple, and in less than ten minutes, the water reached waist height. Huang Shouzhong’s order to retreat was absolutely correct—the French forces were now in extreme danger. Colonel Bi Shuo refused to give up his honor: “This is the fruit of our victory. How can we give it up?” He personally picked up a shovel and, along with all the infantry under the command of the engineer company leader, went into the lowest courtyard to dig another large gap in the dike, thereby draining a considerable amount of floodwater. The water level in the temple finally dropped from over a meter to just above the height of shoes. The watercraft waiting nearby took the opportunity to dock quickly, lowering small boats: “Retreat quickly! Retreat now!” Standing at the entrance of the Four Pillars Temple, Colonel Bi Shuo shouted at the water troops, “I will never! Never retreat! This is our victory.” Even in the midst of the flood, he couldn’t change his prideful nature. But nearly a thousand troops no longer dared stay in the water, and Colonel Bi Shuo couldn’t suppress the officers’ opposition. In the end, he had to compromise: “I will never give up the victory we earned at the cost of sacrifice. So you may retreat. I’ll stay here with two companies.” The small boats struggled carefully through the floodwaters, while Colonel Bi Shuo addressed his soldiers from the shore: “When you grow old, remember today—this is the most glorious day of your lives.” Before he could finish speaking, a huge wave came from the river, causing everyone to cry out in shock. “The Leopard!” “It’s the Leopard!” In the midst of the flood, the gunboat “The Leopard” suddenly tilted to the right. The strong currents sent out a deafening roar as the ship, carrying 71 sailors, capsized. “God!” The gunboat had been severely damaged in yesterday’s battle by two 65-mm shells fired by the Black Flag Army. After damage control and minor repairs, it had rejoined the battles near the Four Pillars Temple. Just when everyone thought it would be safe, it sank due to water ingress in the strong currents, leading to its capsizing. This made everyone realize once again the power of 65-mm shells. On board, in addition to nearly sixty sailors, there was also about one company of infantry who had been taken aboard. Now, they were all shouting for help in the floodwaters: “Save us! Help us!” As for the main gunboat of this Chinese fleet, it had disappeared into the floodwaters, with only dozens of heads floating on the surface, struggling to survive.

“God!” The small boat originally tasked with transporting the troops from Tet Chau Temple immediately launched a rescue effort, but in the raging floodwaters, their efforts yielded little result. Even with all the warships joining the rescue, most people still disappeared into the flood. The rescue operation lasted an hour and was declared another perfect success, with over forty people saved. The surface ships then decided to transport the infantry troops from Tet Chau Temple away. Yet Colonel Bisso, who valued honor, stayed in the temple with a French company and an Annamese indigenous infantry company. But by early morning the next day, the water level rose even higher, bringing an even worse nightmare. The mud and water beside Tet Chau Temple were washed away by more than a hundred meters; breaches occurred everywhere, and the river water kept flooding in, creating countless whirlpools and suction zones. The situation became increasingly dangerous, and the surface troops issued a final warning: “Colonel, if you don’t board the ship now, we won’t risk taking you away.” Colonel Bisso was once again submerged in the floodwaters, but he refused to give up his hard-earned gains so easily. A soldier conveyed his decision to the surface troops: “I will never return to Hanoi. I will patrol my conquests on the water.” It wasn’t until 7 a.m. on May 17th that Colonel Bisso reluctantly boarded the gunboat, but he still insisted on defending his gains on board and refused to withdraw to Hanoi—this was his honor. Fortunately, the heavy rain finally stopped, the water level dropped slightly, and Colonel Bisso could continue to defend his gains on the ship. What made Colonel Bisso even prouder was that General Boisdeffre from Hanoi soon arrived personally by steamboat. After inspecting Tet Chau Temple, he said proudly, “Colonel, you are an excellent French soldier.” For him, despite losing the gunboat Le Panthère and many lives, this attack had yielded a victory, unlike the other two columns, which achieved nothing and fled back to Hanoi in disarray. “The capture of Tet Chau Temple was a great victory and the most significant turning point in our campaign to conquer Tokyo,” General Boisdeffre declared justly. “The Black Flag bandits were utterly defeated in this battle and gained nothing.” To honor Colonel Bisso’s achievements, his troops were ordered to withdraw to Hanoi for rest, and General Boisdeffre assigned another company to take over the defense for the second time. The Battle of Tet Chau Temple, which wrote a glorious chapter in French military history, officially came to an end, along with the disastrous Battle of Hoaid. Major General Boisdeffre reported the battle situation to Saigon and Paris once again: “…Apart from the battlefields at Wang Village and Nei Village, we also achieved a complete victory in the Tet Chau Temple area. Ten thousand Black Flag soldiers were defeated, many weapons were captured, and the French flag flies over Tet Chau Temple.” Because the Black Flag army kept retreating to higher ground due to the floods, many conscientious young historians uncovered the truth of history more than a hundred years later: “The claim that the Black Flag army won the Battle of Hoaid is the biggest lie in modern Chinese history. In fact, only forty French soldiers died, while tens of thousands of Black Flag soldiers were killed or wounded. This is yet another lie fabricated by the Black Flag bandits. We will restore the truth of history.”

They also presented many arguments and cited the memories of many Black Flag Army generals about how they had been trapped in fierce battles with heavy casualties. Yet now, both Liu Yu and Liu Yongfu seemed extremely relaxed. Especially Liu Yongfu, who was beaming with joy—Bo Hua had practically given him a huge gift, as he ended the battle with almost no significant losses. The troubles caused by the storms were far greater than those caused by Bo Hua, and in this battle, the Black Flag Army’s achievements clearly surpassed those of the Xiliu Camp at Nakamura and Anzhai villages, as evidenced by the number of rifles captured. He said to Tang Jingsong, “Lord Tang, this time the elite troops performed well, and the new troops did just as well.” Tang Jingsong was also very proud; he hadn’t expected the French to be so foolish as to charge into an ambush zone without even sending scouts. However, he had other plans and said regretfully to Liu Yu, “If we had Liu Suiyun’s detachment this time, we could have completely wiped out the enemy at Nakamura and Anzhai.”