Chapter 128: Thuan Hoa

This was clearly a way to show off Liu Yongfu’s achievements through his system in front of Liu Yu, but Liu Yu’s reaction was extremely indifferent: “I was a bit careless about this.”
He was waiting for the outcome of another matter—the outcome of the war didn’t depend on the battlefield at Hoi Duc.
Liu Yongfu, on the other hand, was highly enthusiastic. He knew clearly that he had a slight advantage in this internal struggle within the Black Flag Army, especially since his new battalions were performing well. He asked loudly, “When will the rear battalion set off?”
Seizing the opportunity, the Black Flag Army wanted to use this victory over the French to take control of all government institutions in the northern regions. They had already placed their Tiger Battalion under Ye Mengyan’s command, and Liu Yongfu intended to deploy Liu Chengliang’s rear battalion as well, bringing the entire upper Red River region under his control.
Liu Yongfu was determined now; he saw this as a great opportunity: “The French left over a thousand corpses near Hoi Duc, suffering a crushing defeat. Thus, our army has the chance to handle things calmly. From Lao Cai to Taiyuan, everything should belong to our Black Flag Army. I hope the Xiliu Battalions won’t miss this opportunity either and should send another battalion to fight.”
Tang Jingsong was very eager to establish a Vietnamese king in Vietnam and have him seek annexation. Although Liu Yu had declined on the grounds that “some things cannot be spoken of,” he remained enthusiastic: “If the Xiliu Battalion sends just one more battalion, all the provinces along the Red River will be under our control.”
Under such pressure, Liu Yu glanced at Tang Jingsong. He knew his position wasn’t yet secure, so it was time to compromise: “Alright! I’ll send the Paper Bridge Battalion.”
His thoughts were similar to Liu Yongfu’s—the French had suffered such heavy losses near Hoi Duc that they wouldn’t be able to launch another large-scale attack in the short term.
But he underestimated the French’ ability to reinforce and recover, as well as Bo Hua’s determination for revenge.
……
Standing on the bridge, watching the continuous fortifications near the mouth of the Thu An River, He Luoheng simply handed the battle report sent from Tokyo to Major General Guoba: “What a shameful chapter. What has that madman, Major General Bo Hua, done? An army of 4,500 men was defeated by those Black Flag bandits—this is truly his second Sedan.”
He Luoheng said meaningfully, “He doesn’t have much time left in Annam, because…”
“As long as we conquer this place, everyone will know how easy it is to conquer Annam.”
The Thu An River mouth ahead was Thuan Hoa’s last maritime defense line and a key stronghold of the Vietnamese Nguyen Dynasty. Behind it lay the royal capital, Thuan Hoa.
The Thu An fortress complex had consumed a large portion of the dynasty’s military budget, equipped with numerous cannons—from old-fashioned 16th-century guns to bronze cannons from the first half of the 19th century. Yet these fortresses lacked sufficient soldiers to defend them.
The French merely issued a protest, forcing the Nguyen Dynasty to disperse most of the 10,000 troops gathered near Thuan Hoa to avoid foreign criticism. Now, the French fleet had arrived here.

Throughout history, whenever foreigners attacked from the sea, the Vietnamese would drive wooden stakes into the Bach Dang River, using them to sink countless enemy ships. But in this era, any such stakes would be shattered by warships. In the Far East, this was almost the most powerful fleet ever assembled, including the state-of-the-art ironclads “Triumphant” and “Victorious.” These newly built warships were practically indestructible by any artillery, weighing over 4,500 tons each, equipped with six 239mm main guns, one 193mm gun, and six 140mm auxiliary guns. Just one of these ironclads far exceeded the total tonnage of the small fleet that had fought against the Tet Bon Hoang forces; their synchronized gunfire could shake the earth. There were also numerous cruisers and gunboats, armed with various guns ranging from 37mm autocannons to 140mm and 193mm guns. They appeared on the coast like towering mountains, their dark gun barrels aimed at Hue. The fortresses built of mud and wood seemed like naked women in their eyes. “We can begin!” the chief commissioner issued his first order to the rear admiral. “Order… fire!” The massive gun barrels retracted violently, and flames erupted from their muzzles. No matter how far away, everyone’s heart trembled at the sound of the gunfire—it was as if the end of the world had arrived. What the Vietnamese considered impregnable fortifications were as fragile as blank paper in the face of the falling shells. A single 239mm shell would blow apart an entire fortress, reducing them to rubble. This was the power of steel. Rear Admiral Go Bo said meaningfully, “We only need to continue this bombardment, then send a battalion of infantry to attack, and we can wait for the Vietnamese to surrender.” … Such bombardment also filled the people of Hue with terror. Hue had always been the heart of the Nguyen dynasty’s rule. The dynasty was established here because it was far from the north, allowing it to defend itself—true to the saying, “The mountains here will provide shelter for generations.” But in the face of the technological revolution, coastal Hue had become easy prey for the French. All the people of Hue could only wait for fate to decide their destiny. Tran Thu Tam was one of them. Though he held power far beyond that of ordinary people and had made repeated efforts, at this moment he could only brew a pot of tea and watch from afar the scene at Son An Harbor. The sea and sky merged into one, with clouds and hues of color, but this magnificent view no longer seemed to belong to the South Vietnamese. He couldn’t help but sigh deeply. The surname Tran indicated that he was a member of the royal family. Today, Tran Thu Tam was the most powerful man in Vietnam, even surpassing the emperor. He and Nguyen Van Tuyen controlled the government, wielding immense power—even deposing or enthroning an emperor was as easy as flipping a hand. But in the face of these thunderous gunshots, he didn’t know what to do. He had once been a famous general from the north, having fought in many battles and being the most influential military figure in all of Vietnam. Now that all the troops and generals inside and outside Hue were under his command, he witnessed the destruction of his empire with his own eyes.

His power was so insignificant even among the French that it wasn’t worth mentioning. He considered withdrawing from Hue, but soon gave up on the idea. Withdrawing from Hue meant giving up most of his powers; perhaps before he left Hue, someone would invite back the one from Yude Hall… Alas, at this point, even the subjects in the south couldn’t unite. He could only smile bitterly as he drank his tea. But upon reflection, he bore great responsibility for this mistake. It all started with Emperor Yizong, who had no sons, so he adopted three nephews as his own: the eldest was Yude, the second was Zhengmeng, and the third was Yangshan. On his deathbed, Emperor Sidde left a will stating that given Yude’s character, he was not fit to be emperor; he intended to appoint Yangshan instead. But since Yangshan was still young and the country needed an older emperor, he decided to choose the eldest son and appoint him emperor, with himself and Nguyen Van Tuan as regents. Logically, it was wise to choose the eldest in times of crisis—this was Emperor Sidde’s wisdom. Yet, leaving such a will gave the regents room to act as they saw fit. After Yude became emperor, he tried to seize power, but the two regents forced him to abdicate after just three days and replaced him with Sidde’s brother, the Duke of Langguo, as emperor. The court was shocked, and no one dared speak out except the censor Pan Tingfeng, who was powerless to change things. This was the current Emperor Xiehe. But all power lay in the hands of the two regents. The royal family, claiming control over the military, naturally didn’t want to give up power. As a result, Emperor Xiehe tried to use the French to drive out the royal family and Nguyen Van Tuan. With the court in turmoil and people’s hearts uncertain, faced with the approaching ironclad fleet, they were leaderless and had no plan at all. The royal family was also powerless and could only vent their anger through the young Vietnamese emperor. Historically, the royal family continued to engage in depositions. In July 1883, they deposed King Yude and installed King Xiehe. King Xiehe reigned for three months before being overthrown by the royal family and Nguyen Van Tuan, who then made Yangshan Emperor Jianfu. But Emperor Jianfu died after just six months, and they installed Yangshan’s younger brother as Emperor Xianyi. In one year, there were four changes of emperor. Yet, facing French warships, he felt terrified. He was suspicious, violent, and hot-tempered, but in the face of absolute military force, he turned out to be a coward. Feeling helpless, he sighed, “I am not a traitor who brings ruin to the country; you are the one who does.” Alas, at this point, he had no choice but to reconcile with the French. As long as it didn’t threaten his power, he was willing to do anything… “You are not the one who brings ruin to the country; I am the traitor.” During his lifetime, Emperor Sidde loved to recite these last words of Emperor Chongzhen. He thought that even if he couldn’t revive the country, he could at least preserve it. But fate did not grant him wise ministers like Zhang Liang or Liu Bowen, leading to the country’s troubles. Now, in the palace, there were a group of stunning concubines kneeling there, all with red, swollen eyes from crying. These plain-clothed concubines were his palace wives—extremely young, of noble birth, with beautiful, delicate features—yet they would have to spend their youth in this cold palace under the autumn moon.

Among them were many ambitious and remarkable women, but in the face of worldly affairs, they could do nothing and would achieve nothing. Although they had wasted their youth in vain, at least during the reign of Emperor Tự Đức, they still had some power and hope. They had many ideas regarding state affairs as recorded in memorials and were skilled in handling documents, yet they lamented having no power to realize their ambitions.
“If only I could become a man, I could achieve heroic deeds in an instant.”
One palace consort couldn’t help but recall these two lines from Hu Chunxiang’s poem and recited them unconsciously. Another consort beside her, who had also assisted Emperor Tự Đức in dealing with many memorials, heard these words and tears welled up in her heart. Recalling past events, she unintentionally spoke up: “I am not a traitor to the nation; you are the one who brought about its downfall!”
……
“Trấn Hải has fallen; the defending soldiers and officers have either died in battle or committed suicide by drowning…”
After three days of bombardment, France finally achieved its desired outcome. The fortress of Thuận An was destroyed, and a small number of French infantry who had landed drove away thousands of temporarily recruited troops, securing a perfect victory.
The Emperor’s eyes shone with excitement. He considered such news to be the best possible. He could use this victory to challenge the ruling elite, saying, “The dynasty has been plagued by troubles ever since. I think we should send envoys to negotiate with the French and plan things carefully.”
The elite were impatient and wanted to take immediate action, but they couldn’t come up with any arguments. When they asked the other officials in court, everyone was disheartened. All they could say was, “Your Majesty… sigh.”
They too were at a loss for words, but the Emperor had many different ideas: “Our Nguyễn dynasty has been established for decades. Even though we lost the country once, Emperor Thế Tổ managed to restore it after traveling abroad. So as long as the imperial throne is passed down, everything can be negotiated.”
He didn’t mind having more French emperors above him—after all, there were already two such emperors, and a few more wouldn’t matter as long as he could retain power.
His words provoked a reaction from the elite: “Who is spreading such slander before Your Majesty? Their hearts deserve punishment! They must be killed, killed, killed!”
He was violent and suspicious, and everyone feared him. But as the ruler of the country, the Emperor still showed some magnanimity: “To assist in governance, recklessness is the worst approach. I will decide this alone. Even during Emperor Thế Tông’s reign of restoration, there was the story of crocodiles crossing the river. How much more so for us, unworthy descendants? As long as the Nguyễn dynasty’s throne is passed down, everything can be discussed.”
He was referring to the story of Nguyễn Phúc Ánh, the ruler who restored the Nguyễn dynasty. In his early years, he was often defeated by the Tây Sơn forces and forced to flee, sometimes going to Phú Quốc to become a guerrilla leader, and sometimes even to Thailand to establish a government in exile. According to Vietnamese official history, in 1783, Nguyễn Phúc Ánh was defeated in battle in February and retreated to Tam Bố, then suffered another defeat in April and fled along the Sông Sấu. The Tây Sơn forces pursued him. When they reached the Sông Cam, there were many crocodiles, so they couldn’t cross on foot. Instead, they rode water buffaloes. When they reached the middle of the river, the current was strong and the buffaloes drowned, but the crocodiles protected them all the way to Mỹ Tho.

This story may be exaggerated, but Nguyen Phuc Anh was indeed tenacious. In 1777, when the Tây Sơn forces captured Saigon, 15-year-old Nguyen Phuc Anh fled alongside his uncle, Emperor Le Loi. Eventually, Emperor Le Loi was caught and killed by the Tây Sơn forces, while Nguyen Phuc Anh “escaped by boat alone.” He then became the legitimate ruler of the Nguyễn dynasty. Even the year before the incident with the crocodile, the Tây Sơn forces defeated Nguyen Phuc Anh’s army and took advantage of the situation to capture Saigon. Nguyen Phuc Anh retreated to Phu Quoc Island, waiting for reinforcements to retake Saigon. After escaping on a crocodile, he first went to Phu Quoc Island and then to Con Lan Island in June. He was as quick as a loach, fleeing alone without notifying any members of the royal family or nobles, resulting in them all being killed by the invaders. In July, he was forced by the Tây Sơn forces to flee from Con Lan Island to Phu Quoc Island.

Emperor Gia Long brought up this story to say that as long as the Nguyễn dynasty did not lose its country, even becoming a French colony would not be a problem. Emperor Dinh Tien Hoang strongly opposed this idea, but Emperor Gia Long said, “All matters in the world shall be handled by me alone.” He had no choice but to remain silent, and no one in the court dared to speak up again; it seemed the matter was settled.

Just when it seemed everything was settled, someone rushed in to report, “The enemy forces have reached the gates of Hue!”
“Good!” Emperor Gia Long was eager to seize power. “Send messengers immediately to negotiate with them and ask them to stop fighting outside the city!”
But the messengers looked very worried. “The invaders are not French but bandits from the North.”