Chapter 146: The Dying Days of the Yellow Flag Army

Liu Yongfu was overjoyed at having completely defeated his old rival, the Yellow Flag Army. He had gone to the battlefield to see for himself—indeed, the Yellow Flag Army had been utterly crushed. The entire village was piled with hundreds of their corpses, along with numerous captives, and several of their commanders had been killed or captured. This filled him with great delight.

Yet if he were to see the Yellow Flag Army’s current state, he might feel some sympathy for them. A few hundred soldiers sat dejected on the ground, utterly demoralized, unwilling to speak even a word. No one could imagine that these were the once-famous Yellow Flag Army troops. The battles in Huaidé Prefecture had already broken half of their morale, and the death of their second-in-command, Qiao Erchi, further shattered what remained. After these battles and escapes, the Yellow Flag Army, which once numbered a thousand, was now down to just over four hundred men, with their commander, George, also killed.

The situation was so dire that these soldiers could only muster some energy when drinking thin porridge. The weather was gloomy, and when a few figures finally appeared, the officers showed signs of hope: “Brother Zhao, Brother Zhao! Any news?”

The man called Brother Zhao gave a bitter smile: “No reinforcements have arrived, no pay has been given, and no rifles have been replenished. We only got three hundred bullets and five bags of rice.”

The officers were displeased and cursed the French: “If Old Qiao were still here, we wouldn’t have to suffer like this.”

“That’s right! We’ve been drinking porridge for three days already. If this continues, we’ll starve to death even before the Black Flag Army can deal with us.”

“Enough! Enough!” Brother Zhao’s expression grew even more bitter. “Do we really need the Black Flag Army to deal with us? Look at what kind of scum is left of us.”

Indeed, the Yellow Flag Army now, from top to bottom, couldn’t compare to its former self. Of these four hundred men, over three hundred had never fought or received any training. They were simply new recruits who stayed behind during the battle when the Yellow Flag Army was defeated and now formed the core of the army.

At the thought of this, everyone’s face darkened. Brother Zhao said, “Sigh… If Old Qiao and George were still here, things might be the same. Have you heard? After Admiral Gobat took office, he targeted us first.”

“We wouldn’t need them to target us—we’d collapse on our own!”

“That’s right! If we want to survive, we must retreat to Hanoi first and rest for a month, replenishing our troops and weapons before returning.”

In the area around Danfeng, aside from Major Bissell’s garrison troops, there was also this cannon fodder of the Yellow Flag Army. But everyone knew that, aside from providing cover for Major Bissell on the periphery, the Yellow Flag Army was useless.

“Brother Zhao, please think of a way! Over four hundred of us depend on you for survival!” One of the leaders couldn’t come up with any solution. “It’s hopeless. We should take our troops outside.”

“Stop talking nonsense! The heads hanging outside still haven’t taught you a lesson—this is exactly how Xiao Liu ended up.” It wasn’t until they withdrew from the nameless village that the Yellow Flag Army realized they had entered an even deeper hell from one. All the promises made by Admiral Bo Hua turned into empty words once the new general took office. They were in a completely subservient position; even before Bo Hua left, the French had executed some fleeing Yellow Flag Army officers on the battlefield. At the thought of being trapped between the French and the Black Flag Army on the riverbank, none of them could feel happy. The French had promised high salaries from the very beginning of the Yellow Flag Army, but like the large-scale native infantry, these colonial troops never received their full pay due to financial constraints. The Yellow Flag Army could only get half of what was promised, and worse, they now couldn’t even get that half. Due to a lack of food, the entire army had been eating plain porridge for three days. In Danfeng Village, the Yellow Flag Army, suffering heavy losses, had fewer than half of its original strength, with only over four hundred men left. Logically, they should have withdrawn to Hanoi first to regroup, but the French had no such intention—they simply treated the Yellow Flag Army as cheap cannon fodder. This was just one of the many things the Yellow Flag Army hated at the moment. A few days ago, a Yellow Flag Army soldier complained, and as punishment, he was beheaded by the French and his head was hung in front of the Great Buddha Temple. So, the news Zhao Ge received from Hanoi didn’t satisfy anyone. The five bags of rice he got wasn’t even enough for a day’s rations. At that moment, everyone erupted in anger. “Brother Zhao, we really need to find a solution. If this continues, the Yellow Flag Army is doomed.” “It’s already doomed. Even if Old Qiao were here, he probably couldn’t do anything. Before, we had FatherRuan’s support, but now FatherRuan Youming has gone to work for the church and controls its own militia.” “When the birds are gone, the bow is put away. That’s exactly our situation—there’s no way out, just wait to die!” “Wait to die? Go ahead and wait! I have a wife and children at home. Zhao Fuxing, you’re the top leader of the Yellow Flag Army now—find us a way out!” “Tch! Let’s just take our troops and join the Black Flag Army!” Zhao Fuxing was also at a loss as to what to do. He knew full well that he didn’t have enough status in the Yellow Flag Army, nor did he possess Qiao Erchi’s ability and prestige, let alone George’s advantages as a foreigner. He was just a fickle opportunist. He had believed in Bo Hua’s promises, so after the battle, he led a company of Yellow Flag Army troops back under heavy fire from the Black Flag Army, and afterward became the de facto leader of the remaining troops. Tch, he was also the first to suffer—even an ordinary French lieutenant could command the entire Yellow Flag Army, and sometimes even a regular French sergeant would give orders to them. With no food, no reinforcements, no pay, and no way out, not even Sun Wukong could help. So Zhao Fuxing could only say, “Wait a little longer. There must be some solution!” “There’s always a way out. We have to find one!”

“Boss Zhao, we’ll all follow your lead. Wherever you go, we’ll go with you!”
“We do have nearly six hundred rifles, and we’ve stored forty thousand rounds of ammunition in advance. Let’s lead the troops out and take action on our own!”
But Zhao Fuxing was well aware that in the current situation, the Yellow Flag Army was the weakest force—anyone could easily defeat them.
He gritted his teeth and finally spoke up, “Everyone, calm down. I heard some news in Hanoi.”
“What news?”
“We Yellow Flag Army also have some friends, especially within the church—quite a few, in fact.” Zhao Fuxing’s face showed deep distress. “They told me that the chief commissioner and the new admiral of the navy are very dissatisfied with us. They think we only cause trouble for the people and are not capable of achieving anything, so they want to disband us!”
“Tch! What did they say three months ago? I curse the ancestors of the French for eighteen generations!”
“Lao Yu, speak softly! Don’t let outsiders hear!”
“This matters too much. How can I not care? I curse their ancestors again—three months ago, they treated us like ancestors, but now they treat us like servants.”
Three months earlier, the French suffered heavy defeats in Hanoi and Zhiqiao and considered retreating from Hanoi temporarily. But now, though they’ve faced setbacks, they continue to receive reinforcements.
Compared to the Yellow Flag Army, which was mostly made up of Chinese, they trusted the indigenous infantry more and allocated all resources to them. Moreover, the Yellow Flag Army had many problems of its own.
Not to mention that some officers privately exaggerated the losses, leaving enough rifles to arm an entire infantry company. Now they had only a little over four hundred people, yet six hundred rifles, along with tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition in stock. Each officer also had a considerable supply.
Still, they clung to a final hope: “Lord Zhao, is there any hope left?”
“Aren’t there French friends? Use money to influence them. We must keep our troops.”
“What will we do if the troops are disbanded? What else can we do besides fighting?”
“General Bo Hua promised us personally! We need some kind of explanation. He agreed to turn our Yellow Flag Army into two brigades, along with many local troops.”
Zhao Fuxing sighed before continuing, “It seems there’s no way. The Yellow Flag Army is far away and not as trusted as the indigenous infantry. Besides, the indigenous infantry are better fighters than us. I’ve spent a lot of money in Hanoi, but those French friends said the chances are slim. It all depends on the admiral and the chief commissioner’s decisions.”
“They also said that thousands of French soldiers will be sent from Toulon soon. They won’t need us anymore. They want us to join their civilian militias—just soldiers, not officers, and scattered, not organized.”
“Ah… how pitiful!” One member of the Yellow Flag Army said. “We’ve gotten nothing. Look, who did I meet last time in Danfeng?”
“Who?”
“That bastard Li Qiu!”
“Li Qiu? Didn’t he turn against us in Hanoi and surrender to the Black Flag Army?”

“What can that bastard achieve? He’s just a scumbag. In the native infantry, he’s nothing more than a non-commissioned officer, not even able to rise to the rank of second lieutenant. At least I managed to become a second lieutenant.”
The officer from the Yellow Flag Army spread his arms and said, “That bastard has made it big! He’s beaten us badly. Didn’t you notice? Among the three battalions that attacked last time, one of them was led by that scumbag, Li Qiu.”
“Ah? It’s that bastard. He didn’t even show any mercy. After all, we used to be acquaintances. Damn it, the shells were falling like hail—no idea how many of our men were killed or injured. That guy is a murderer.”
But upon hearing this news, everyone started to think. They knew Li Qiu well. He was shameless, but he had done better than them before, serving as a minor leader in the Annamite native infantry with a non-commissioned officer title, though no one took him seriously. Later, it was said that during the defense of Hanoi, this fool couldn’t hold out, not only defected to the Black Flag Army but also led his troops out of Hanoi. After that, no news of him was heard.
To everyone’s surprise, he soon became a battalion commander in the Black Flag Army, leading hundreds of soldiers into such a major battle.
“It must be from the Xiliu Battalion, right? Their battalion commander, according to the French, should be a regimental commander, a colonel!”
“Damn it! That bastard is too lucky.”
Though they spoke so, no one believed Li Qiu could be that lucky—rising from a minor leader to a battalion officer in just three months. Only those who knew him personally had heard him give orders on the battlefield, confirming the news.
“He shouted, introduced himself, saying, ‘Brothers of the Yellow Flag Army, I’m Old Li. We used to be friends. Put down your guns, and nothing will happen…’”
With such a clear example right before their eyes, everyone became eager.
“We still have over four hundred men in the Yellow Flag Army, six hundred Remington rifles, more than twenty revolvers, and almost a hundred thousand rounds of ammunition. If we join the Xiliu Battalion, could we possibly become a regimental commander?” The one who said this was Zhao Fuxing, the top figure in the Yellow Flag Army now. “If we can become a regimental commander, then we could be on par with Huang Shouzhong and Liu Yongfu.”
But one of the officers from the Yellow Flag Army said, “These gifts are generous, but I guess they’re not enough to get us a regimental commander. We still need to offer some sort of pledge!”
“What pledge?”
……
Compared to the Yellow Flag Army, the Songzi Battalion’s fate could be described as fortunate. This Qing army unit from Binh Ninh didn’t fire a single shot, and the battle was over immediately. The only thing they did was form several small teams that ran back and forth within the French army’s range, making the French think that a large number of reinforcements had arrived for the Black Flag Army. This was also one of the reasons why Bo Hua finally decided to retreat. Apart from that, they didn’t fire a single shot. Their muskets posed no real threat to the French, but things were different afterward. After the battle, Tang Jingsong immediately sent over fifteen rapid-fire rifles, all nearly new Remington rifles, claiming they were captured from the Yellow Flag Army by the Xiliu Battalion.

There are also 500 bullets. Tang Jingsong further expressed his intention to recruit him: “Official Chen, although I am just a minor official in the Ministry of Personnel with a low rank, I still have connections in the court. Now I am ordered to go to Vietnam to assist fully in matters related to Vietnam, second only to Governor Xu and Commander Huang. If I succeed in these tasks, I will surely be given my own fiefdom, and I will definitely take my trusted men with me then.”
“In our dynasty, when one is given a fiefdom, not only does one bring their personal troops, but the local military commanders are also replaced with new people. This is a great opportunity…”
Tang Jingsong made his intentions clear, and Chen Tiansong was willing to take a chance on him. He knew very well that this Tang was extremely popular at the moment but lacked troops. He only had one newly formed personal guard battalion, which, like the Song Battalion, was a small unit of just 200 men. Yet he understood this man’s capabilities well enough to know that forming a battalion of 300 or 400 men wouldn’t be a problem for him.
As for firearms, he had also visited the personal guard battalion, and its equipment was indeed extremely strong—far surpassing that of any other battalion in Beining. But according to Tang Jingsong, even such equipment was still considered inferior.
So what did high-quality equipment look like? Tang Jingsong only mentioned one name: “The Xiliu Battalion.”
Anyway, for those who defected like them, by convention, they were incorporated during wartime and disbanded after the war. But if they defected to this Tang, it seemed they had a bright future ahead.
“Tiansong… I’ve brought you food. I got 30 dan of rice from Commander Liu, plus two fat pigs, and a month’s worth of military pay.”
“Lord Tang, there’s no need for so much. The comfort goods sent these past few days are already enough. Tiansong has made up his mind—he will work for you from now on and strive for a better future.”
“Hmm, you may be older, but great achievements can come late! Who knows, you might even surpass me in the future.”
But Chen Tiansong was sensible: “Under our dynasty’s system, military officers can only reach the rank of commander. Since we entered the pass, only two or three people have ever been given their own fiefdoms.”
“Don’t talk about the system. What we’re doing now has nothing to do with established rules. Since the Xianfeng and Tongzhi reigns, all those rules are just old news… From when our dynasty entered the pass until Xianfeng, there were only thirteen Batulus, all Manchu military officers. It wasn’t until the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns that Han people appeared, and it wasn’t until Xianfeng that civil officials appeared. But now, Batulus are everywhere. When Zuo Jigao recovered Xinjiang, there were already dozens of them.”
“Do your job well, and I’ll ensure you get your own fiefdom someday.”
Tang Jingsong was reckless and prone to making grand promises: “Do your job well, and I’ll guarantee your future.”
…
Meanwhile, Guangzhou also received news about this battle.
Although quite some time had passed since the battle, Zhang Shusheng got the news from French newspapers.
“The Black Flag Army fought a major battle against the French in Danfeng Prefecture? The French won?”
“Yes, Your Excellency! This is the latest news. I had it translated and brought it to you right away.”
“Sigh… Another problem for me. These days, dealing with that hypocrite surnamed Peng is enough of a hassle, and now there are conflicts in Vietnam too. It’s difficult…”
As the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, both Guangxi and Vietnam fell under Zhang Shusheng’s jurisdiction. Right now, the most troublesome issue for him was Vietnam.

Jiangxi Province and Southern Regions were only nominally under Zhang Shusheng’s jurisdiction; the officials there continued to act on their own, with Zhang Shusheng having at most the power to offer suggestions. Moreover, he had had some unpleasant encounters in Guangzhou during this period.
Vietnam should be the top priority for East Province, but it had no authority to intervene. If something went wrong there, it could lead to serious consequences.
“Are there any reports from Beining?”
“There should be reports on their way to Beining, but the roads in the north are narrow and winding. It will likely take some time before they reach Guangzhou.”
“Sigh, we really need telegraph lines! Right now, we don’t know anything about the news from Vietnam, while the newspapers in Hong Kong get to know it first. We don’t even know whether the Black Flag Army has truly been defeated or not.”
“Even if they have been defeated, the French will suffer heavy losses and are likely unable to launch another attack within a month or two. That’s good news.”
Zhang Shusheng examined the translation carefully and showed a hint of satisfaction. “Not bad, not bad! According to the French’s own accounts, their losses are indeed severe.”
He asked further, “Is there any letter from Huang Tizhen? I last asked him about how to deal with the Xiliu Battalion and am still waiting for his opinion.”