Chapter 137: The Decisive Battle

Northern Annam.
The mountains and fields here are extremely beautiful, but behind that beauty lies endless desolation. The rebellion led by Li Yangcai a few years ago turned the villages in this area into ruins. Li Yangcai, the Vietnamese imperial troops, and the Qing forces passed through here time and again. After countless battles, these villages became uninhabited, with at most one or two apathetic elders left.

Now, Ye Mengran was walking along such a mountain path. His attendants led the mule for him while saying, “My lord! We’ll arrive in another day.”

Ye Mengyan had covered a distance that would normally take a lifetime to traverse in just a few days. Their army was quite large—besides his entourage, they also had a strong military backing. The Black Flag Army’s rear camps, the Tiger Battalion, the Paper Bridge Battalion, plus a battalion from the Ten Continents, a platoon of personal guards assigned to him from the Xiliu Battalion, and the Black Flag Army’s garrisons scattered throughout enabled him to carry out this difficult mission.

However, taking control of Taiyuan Province seemed like an extremely challenging task. There were many Qing troops stationed there, the Catholic Church held significant influence, and there were also bandits roaming the area. More importantly, the Vietnamese civil and military officials in Taiyuan Province did not have a good opinion of the Black Flag Army.

Thus, he led this large army through the mountains, aiming to seize Taiyuan Province by force and bring this pacification mission to a perfect conclusion.

Still seated on the mule, he pondered the details of the success or failure of this mission. With five companies of troops, it would be no problem to deal with the Vietnamese defenders in Taiyuan, but beyond that, many challenges lay ahead. What if the Vietnamese officials resorted to guerrilla warfare? What if the Qing troops stationed near Taiyuan interfered? These were all problems he had to address.

A heavy rain halted the army’s progress. Ye Mengyan turned to a Black Flag Army officer beside him and asked, “There are Qing troops in Taiyuan. Do you have confidence?”

Indeed, it was the Qing troops, but the Black Flag Army officers showed disdain, saying, “Not to mention those weak troops newly attached to Taiyuan, even the seasoned forces of the two defense lines won’t scare us.”

After several major battles against the French, these Black Flag Army soldiers were full of confidence and feared neither the Qing troops experienced in foreign battles, let alone being better equipped than them.

This gave Ye Mengyan some confidence. He replayed in his mind the scenario of this pacification mission—everything had gone smoothly from south to north, from east to west. With a large force of five or six Black Flag Army battalions as backing, everything seemed so simple.

The anticipated armed resistance did not occur. The Vietnamese officials wanted to negotiate, seeking their own interests, hoping to gain more benefits within the new power structure. They were not particularly concerned about the rise and fall of the Nguyen dynasty. Even those officials from Central Annam were only concerned about their own small group’s interests. Only the Vietnamese officials in Taiyuan were particularly insistent, sending letters demanding that Ye Mengyan not set foot in Taiyuan.

But after obtaining the consent of the Black Flag Army, Ye Mengyan immediately led five complete regiments toward Taiyuan Province. In case of emergencies, two more regiments would be sent to reinforce them. Even the Vietnamese troops from various provinces were willing to join the battle. Though their combat effectiveness was low, they could still be quite useful in such a low-level conflict. The biggest dispute between Ye Mengyan and the various provinces was over how many troops each province could retain. According to Liu Yu’s prior instructions, no province could retain a large force of 15,000 troops; instead, they had to be reorganized under the command of the Black Flag Army—two battalions for larger provinces and one battalion for smaller ones. However, the provinces found this condition too harsh. Indeed, although there were many vacant positions, the nominal strength of 5,000 troops per province actually amounted to only a few thousand, at most two thousand. Yet they still hoped to double this number. For this reason, they wanted to prove their value through a battle. But after some thought, Ye Mengyan said, “If anything happens in Taiyuan, let the provinces send troops. The number of troops they send and the achievements they make will determine how many troops they can retain.” Still, the first battle had to be fought by these five regiments of the Black Flag Army. Currently, there were over 2,000 Vietnamese troops mobilized in Taiyuan Province, along with two battalions of Qing troops, which made him somewhat uncertain and led to his earlier questions to the Black Flag Army officers. But one of the officers from the Black Flag Army was originally from Liu Chengliang’s camp, yet he clearly sided with Liu Yu: “Lord Ye, in the past, we only had reverence for the Qing troops. But with Lord Liu in charge, our confidence has soared—we’re no longer afraid of them. Since Taiyuan is meant to become our territory, we need to be decisive.” The five regiments were fully armed and ready for battle, even carrying 100 kilograms of explosives to blow down city walls, which gave Ye Mengyan a slightly better outlook on the outcome of the conflict. But the figures appearing ahead suddenly made him nervous: “Are they the enemy?” “Be careful!” The soldiers immediately loaded their guns, ready for combat. But soon, news came: “They are envoys sent from Taiyuan.” “Ignore them and keep moving forward!” Ye Mengyan’s confidence seemed to surge: “Tell the governor of Taiyuan that I, the Black Flag Army, have come by the emperor’s order to pacify the region. If he refuses to meet us, I will respond with bayonets.” Now that Si De had died and Emperor Yu De had been deposed after just three days, with Emperor Xie He ascending the throne, this inevitably affected the political landscape in Tonkin. Amidst the court intrigues, the Black Flag Army and the Xiliu Camp already had a foothold in Tonkin, and with French invasions, unlike Prince Yunping’s views, all Vietnamese officials wanted to find a way out. They didn’t care which dynasty they served; they only cared about their own status, and the Xiliu Camp was an excellent choice. Since the officials of Taiyuan Province were so oblivious to the situation—especially after the Black Flag Army had achieved three complete victories over the French—they still dared to use their poorly trained troops to resist them. Ye Mengyan had no choice but to be ruthless and deal with them directly.

The soldier who brought the news said, “It’s good news! Great good news!”
“What happened?” Ye Mengyan became extremely excited. “Did they agree to let us enter Taiyuan?”
“The local volunteers rose up, eliminated all the corrupt officials who colluded with the French, and drove the Qing troops out of the province. Since the Qing troops refused to leave, they’re now asking us to go there for support.”
The so-called “volunteers” actually referred to several mid-level commanders of the Taiyuan rebel forces. Upon learning that the Black Flag Army was coming to take control while the Taiyuan governor intended to keep them out and ordered them to prepare for defense, they immediately hatched a plan.
They realized there was little chance of winning against the Black Flag Army. Moreover, this time the approach was different from previous ones—usually, the Black Flag Army would disband all the existing rebel forces and turn the officials into redundant personnel. But this time, despite bringing a large number of troops, they offered much lower conditions. Each province could retain one or two battalions of rebel troops as usual, and according to the reports, if they cooperated wholeheartedly with the Black Flag Army, three battalions might even be allowed. This was roughly equivalent to the normal military strength of Taiyuan Province. Additionally, Ye Mengyan, who was sent to pacify the region, was an old acquaintance of theirs with a history of mutual relations.
As locals of Taiyuan, these military men had no future under the current Vietnamese regime. Even if they were brave and achieved many military successes, they would end up like Li Guang, unable to receive official recognition, or like Feng Tang, growing old without success.
Thus, these mid-level officers united and quickly took advantage of the Black Flag Army’s advance northward to stage a coup in Taiyuan City. They then declared their allegiance to the Black Flag Army and demanded that the several hundred Qing troops entering the province leave.
Of course, the Qing troops refused, and the two sides are still in confrontation. But this act served as their pledge of loyalty to the Black Flag Army.
All the civil and military officials in Taiyuan, except those who joined them, were killed, which greatly simplified things for the Black Flag Army in handling the aftermath. Driving out the Qing troops also avoided complications for them.
After learning all this, Ye Mengyan ordered loudly, “Let’s go quickly!”
He added, “Tell them to be more forceful in their negotiations with the Qing troops. Of course, they can’t openly say it’s us doing it.”
This was the first clash between the Black Flag Army and the Qing troops in Vietnam.
……
Liu Yu stood in front of a large-scale map, pointing at Thuận Hóa in the south. “Where is the reinforcement unit?”
One of the staff officers immediately replied, “They should have entered Cochinchina by now.”
Without radio communication, it was extremely difficult to track the whereabouts of a troop unit in that era. So Liu Yu had no idea about the battle situation near Thuận Hóa involving Liu Suiyun.
He could only follow the pre-planned battle strategy by sending a reinforcement unit. This unit would travel hundreds of miles south into Cochinchina and wait at the designated meeting point for Liu Suiyun’s unit to arrive.
Behind the reinforcement unit, there were two additional platoons controlling key withdrawal points. Although their numbers were small, as long as they didn’t encounter French forces, they could easily deal with any Vietnamese troops they encountered.

The troops supporting them were roughly on par with Liu Suiyun’s detachment, and nearly six hundred soldiers left the front lines. Although they weren’t drawn from the same old units as Liu Suiyun’s detachment, the entire Hanhai Battalion set out immediately after the Huaidé battle after hastily replenishing with new recruits, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of troops in the Xiliu Battalion at the front.

The only truly veteran units were Xiliu Battalion and Wuya Battalion, along with two newly established battalions. Although the four infantry battalions were not much weaker in terms of strength compared to before, there was a significant difference in quality.

“We only have four infantry battalions. After the Black Flag Army withdrew its battalions, they too have only six battalions,” said a staff officer nearby. “And four of these ten battalions are new.”

Liu Yu remained optimistic: “I believe Liu Suiyun’s detachment and Hanhai Battalion will return safely. Besides, our military mobilization record has always been excellent.”

Indeed, even though they were new units, the two new battalions mobilized by Xiliu Battalion, along with Hanhai Battalion and Menghu Battalion, were all reliable and strong troops. More new battalions were also being mobilized in the rear.

One of the staff officers casually handed over a mobilization plan: “My lord, I believe it too, but we must be wary of sudden attacks by the enemy!”

He flipped through the plan: “As we envisioned, we can make proper use of the resources of the former Vietnamese army. Each province can form an additional battalion under our direct control.”

Xiliu Battalion already had several plans for reforming the Vietnamese army. The idea of forming an extra battalion was simple: after training them with the Black Flag Army’s methods and assigning a sufficient number of officers, the Vietnamese troops would be reorganized into smaller battalions to fight at the front lines.

Liu Yu thought for a moment and said, “The French suffered such a heavy blow at Huaidé Prefecture that they’re unlikely to launch another attack in the short term. But just to be safe, let the sergeant training teams and the camp schools start immediately to recruit Vietnamese officers and soldiers for training. However, we must not retain their original structure—we need to send in officers and key personnel.”

Unbeknownst to him, Bo Hua was already preparing for another major attack. After receiving substantial reinforcements and recruiting many local soldiers, he had largely restored his strength to that before the Huaidé battle.

He wouldn’t act recklessly like before but would instead launch an attack with a strategic approach. Meanwhile, the Black Flag Army’s forces at the front line consisted of only ten infantry battalions, nearly half of which were new recruits.

……

“Platoon Leader Liu Pengcheng has sacrificed himself…”

Liu Yingu had heard such news many times. He didn’t expect the French to suddenly intensify their attacks in the afternoon. Their overwhelming assault caused heavy losses to the Black Flag Army.

It seemed the previous battles had been mere reconnaissance. After more than ten minutes of artillery fire, the French launched an attack with four infantry companies. Their assault was almost unstoppable.

The Black Flag Army quickly lost several key positions. Liu Pengcheng personally led his soldiers in a counterattack, forcing the French to retreat slightly. But Liu Yingu also lost his old friend, comrade, and family member.

“Damn it!” But he didn’t even have time to say more—he lifted the lid and threw a grenade forcefully toward the enemy: “We need more courage.”
The Black Flag Army had fought admirably so far; even under the full assault of four French infantry companies, they managed to hold their ground after an initial collapse.
1,600 shells failed to make them yield. Though each soldier was hit by ten shells, they stood firm like men of steel, forcing the French to retreat time and again.
Their withdrawal wasn’t due to defeat but because their troops at the positions were exhausted, forcing them to retreat.
Liu Yinguang received only one reinforcement—thirty newly trained recruits and five or six veterans—but he immediately led them in a counterattack, driving back half a platoon of advancing French troops.
It was just such an ordinary village that made the French struggle hard for two days without achieving much.
“Keep attacking! Keep attacking!” The French could only fight with sheer willpower. They knew the enemy was at its last stand, but they had no extra fighting spirit left.
Major Guoba gritted his teeth: “Send another company in!”
2,000 shells, over 200 casualties, yet still unable to defeat this unit of the Black Flag Army.
“They’ve already committed more than two battalions—over two-thirds of the entire Black Flag Army force. With one more push, we can secure total victory!”
Under the setting sun, the Black Flag Army also emerged from Shunhua City with the same confidence. Everyone thought Liu Suiyun was insane, even he himself was amazed by his boldness.
His mixed force consisted of 350 veterans and 50 recruits, who had only received a few hours of training. If they still had fighting spirit in defensive battles under the leadership of the veterans, they could hardly fight effectively in open battles.
Inside the city, there were only 60 veterans, a few dozen wounded soldiers, and less than 100 recruits. They had to endure the longest night, waiting for the battle to end.
Their strength was so weak that if the remaining Vietnamese troops in the city rebelled, unpredictable consequences might arise. Moreover, they had given up almost all key positions except for the palace.
Liu Suiyun had bet everything on this. He knew that if this counterattack failed, he would leave with the gold and avoid further delay.
400 fully armed soldiers marched briskly down the road, carrying ammunition. The gunfire ahead told them the battle was still ongoing.
Their comrades had been resisting over a thousand French troops for a day and a night. So Liu Suiyun took the lead, walking at the front of the column with his revolver.
With smoke billowing ahead, the Xiliu Camp circled around from the flank, and soon they could see the battle from the hills on the side.

Liu Yinguanlian was still putting up final resistance. Hundreds of French troops surrounded the entire position, launching attacks time and again, but they were soon forced to retreat. More than twenty cannons, located about a kilometer away, kept firing at the Black Flag Army. On either side of the artillery positions were forces equivalent to about two French companies, while further back seemed to be the French reserve force, roughly one company. The number of troops in sight was already twice that of the Xiliu Camp. As soon as Liu Suiyun reached the top of the hill, he immediately ordered the follow-up troops: “Order the mortars to speed up! Prepare for bombardment, then launch a bayonet charge!” The orders were passed along the ranks: “Order the mortars to speed up! Launch a bayonet charge after bombardment!” “Speed up! Launch a bayonet charge during bombardment!” “Order… to launch a bayonet charge!” While Liu Suiyun waited for the mortars to arrive, several soldiers loudly repeated his orders: “Order, bayonet charge!” “Bayonet charge!” As they repeated the orders, they rushed downhill: “Those without bayonets, grab shovels!” Their charge drew more people downward toward the hills. Liu Suiyun hadn’t anticipated such a scenario, but at this point he had no other choice. He grabbed the battle flag from the standard-bearer and shouted, “Xiliu Camp, advance toward the sound of gunfire!” The massive crowd, guided by bayonets, led by the battle flag, and inspired by courage, charged at the French troops without hesitation.