Chapter 177: Ways to Celebrate Victory

In any country, people admire the outstanding graduates of military academies, and the French are no exception. They celebrated the arrival of Colonel Elminga with champagne.
“I am here to end this long war, comrades. I believe we can fulfill this glorious mission.”
Elminga came to Vietnam with the heavy trust of the entire cabinet and the prime minister. He was tasked with turning the situation around, and the prime minister even ordered that he be promoted to a distinguished French colonel.
He brought three fully equipped and combat-ready French battalions, and the Bissel garrison would also fall under his command. “We will jointly shoulder the responsibility entrusted to us by history.”
He was well qualified to say this—Colonel Elminga had a flawless record. He graduated from the École Militaire de Saint-Cyr, just as Major General Goubert graduated from another prestigious school that inspired all French people: the École Polytechnique.
The young Colonel Elminga was the top graduate of his class and of Saint-Cyr. He excelled throughout his military career. As the commander of a light infantry battalion in Africa, he achieved many remarkable feats. As a result, the military widely believed that, barring any accidents, he would become a general.
In this timeline, since graduates of École Polytechnique kept suffering defeats in Vietnam, the top graduate of Saint-Cyr had to come and save the world. “I believe we can end the war within a year. This isn’t just my word—it’s the conclusion I reached after careful study on the ship. The enemy is highly combative, but we have already made significant reforms.”
He brought not only reinforcements but also hundreds of light mortars, completely modeled after those of the Black Flag Army, even copying some of their flawed designs. The propellants were replaced with nitrocellulose and picric acid explosives.
This was the result of Goubert’s repeated requests. In addition, he brought a batch of picric acid explosives and grenades. “In the past, the Black Flag Army used their mortars, bomb packs, and grenades to attack. Now it’s their turn to suffer.”
The French could have improved these weapons using their own technology, but repeated failures made the French forces in Vietnam desperate. “We won’t accept any new equipment other than those used by the Black Flag Army.”
Everything was modeled after the Black Flag Army’s designs—caliber and ammunition alike. But this relieved both the French and the local forces, as they no longer felt helpless facing the Black Flag Army’s new weapons.
Goubert also raised his glass and said, “Colonel, your arrival hurts the hearts of the Black Flag bandits more than our capture of Bắc Ninh.”
“Let’s drink to that, Major General. I hope our next gathering will take place in Shanxi.”
Everyone was overjoyed by the arrival of Colonel Elminga. They could see that this young colonel was a true military expert—he understood the art of war, knew the realities of Vietnam, treated his soldiers like fathers, and got along well with everyone.
“Elminga?”
Liu Yu heard this name among a bunch of beautiful legs. “What an interesting name.”

This lieutenant colonel had originally been one of the most outstanding French officers during the later stages of the Sino-French War. The impression he left on Liu Yu surpassed that of generals like Gobat and Nigri—entirely due to his exceptional contributions.
“A Yu, you can get up now…”
The entire large bed was covered with traces of yesterday’s frenzied revelry. Liu Yu had been truly heroic the previous day, overcoming numerous obstacles, and his exploits were countless. What pleased him even more was that after Liu Yu explained things in detail, the former empresses unanimously agreed that his decision was correct. With shining eyes, they repeated what Liu Yu had said: “As long as one holds power, there is nothing to fear in this world.”
The air still carried a strong scent of desire, while Liu Yu’s gaze lingered on the beautiful women in bed—after all, this was one of the most wonderful things in the world.
Yet the former empresses had to remind Liu Yu, “It’s time to get up. Lieutenant Colonel Ailmenja from France has arrived in Hanoi with a large amount of weapons and French troops and has completed his deployment. With Binh Dinh falling, it’s now the French’s turn to attack…”
But Liu Yu preferred to keep his eyes fixed on those swaying white hair, those untamed black strands, and that delicate, tempting body…
He suddenly pounced on them again!
…
After another bout of revelry, Liu Yu was late for the first time in history. The female officials were also in low spirits, some even asking for leave.
But Liu Suiyun couldn’t care less. He repeated the latest intelligence: “The enemy has formed a new infantry brigade, the Ailmenja Brigade, their most elite infantry brigade. The Nigri Brigade in the Binh Dinh area seems to be preparing to take action as well.”
He even said in an accusatory tone, “We must take decisive action.”
The Ailmenja Infantry Brigade consisted of a regiment of French troops he brought, remnants of the Bissell garrison, plus several local infantry battalions, totaling around seven thousand men—making it the largest infantry brigade currently present in Vietnam.
“A Yu, you’re too…”
Liu Suiyun’s words of reproach never came out, but Liu Yu was disheveled that day, still carrying women’s hair and perfume on him. Yet Liu Yu had never been so confident as he was today: “Just three infantry battalions? We can handle them… How’s the situation in Cochinchina?”
Cochinchina and Central Vietnam did not have a complete communication network like North Vietnam, so intelligence often arrived late. Still, Liu Suiyun explained in detail: “The situation there is very good. But Central Vietnam is in trouble. Liu Yongfu has been attacked by the French and refuses to send more troops south…”
“We’ve already destroyed at least eight enemy infantry battalions in Cochinchina. Reports from scouts say that with enough reinforcements, even twenty infantry battalions wouldn’t be a problem, but he still needs reinforcements.”
“Liu Yongfu suggests sending the Old Yellow Flag Army to Cochinchina. Personally, I think we need to keep enough reinforcements in Tonkin to deal with the arrival of the Ailmenja Brigade.”

“There’s no need for that,” Liu Yu waved his hand and said, “If Liu Yongfu refuses to send troops, we’ll go! Send over the original Yellow Flag Army, and select two more from the newly formed battalions to form an infantry regiment and send it to the south. As long as we win in Cochinchina, the battles in the Tokyo region are nothing.”
“An infantry regiment?” Liu Suiyun immediately objected to this proposal, “We’ve already dispatched too many troops. We’re at a disadvantage in the Hanoi area now. If we send troops south, we won’t be able to deal with Elminga’s brigade at all.”
“I’ll handle Elminga. It’s been a long time since I’ve led troops in person,” Liu Yu said with confidence. “Wasn’t he the top graduate of the Saint-Cyr Military Academy?”
“Yes. He served as a captain of a light infantry battalion in Africa—a highly excellent French officer. We must be careful.”
Liu Suiyun glanced at Liu Yu and his maids with dissatisfaction. This was utterly unreasonable. Last night was one thing, but why such absurd behavior this morning as well?
Liu Yu brought up a more important issue: “Gather more intelligence and bring it to me! What’s the situation in Taiyuan?”
“No problems. The only issue is that we’ve taken in too many people.”
“How many? Five thousand?”
“Ten thousand,” Liu Suiyun replied with a shocking figure. “The Qing troops, their families, and merchants we’ve taken in now total over ten thousand.”
“Excluding some outdated equipment that can’t be used, we have about 3,500 rifles, 400,000 bullets, nine breech-loading steel cannons, and a large amount of military supplies. The best of the entire two-defense-force forces are now in our hands.”
It seemed as though Liu Yu was reliving the wonderful moment last night when the six beauties knelt together on the bed, waiting for his favor. Thinking of Elminga’s brigade arriving soon, he felt it would be a shame not to act absurdly once in a while.
“Very good! Very good! I believe even if Tang Jingsong is incompetent, he can hold Taiyuan—at least until my reinforcements arrive.”
“I agree. Besides, after dismissing the old and weak, we selected 3,000 men from the Qing troops for intensive training, ready to be incorporated into the army at any time.”
However, the operations in Taiyuan also consumed huge amounts of money. Right now, Tang Jingsong’s strength was second only to Liu Yu’s. So Liu Yu said to Liu Suiyun, “We can let Tang Jingsong return to Shanxi temporarily. If he commands military operations in Taiyuan, it will cause chaos.”
Both Liu Yu and Liu Suiyun held a completely negative view of his military capabilities. His role in Taiyuan was merely to negotiate surrenders and recruit defectors. Of course, as a reward for his efforts, Liu Yu could give him some rewards.
“Understood,” Liu Suiyun said, finally regaining the sharp-minded commander of the Xiliu Camp from before him. “The enemy might launch an attack. With so few troops in Shanxi, should we try a strategic deception?”
“No need,” Liu Yu said confidently. “I believe we can handle it. Although we’ve dispatched some battalions, with the Xiliu Camp here, I’m completely at ease.”

Liu Suiyun also had full confidence in these veteran commanders of the Black Flag Army: “I believe that too, but as the acting chief of staff, I must point out that our troop strength in the Hanoi area is at a disadvantage compared to the enemy.”
“But I’m here as your commander.”
Liu Yu turned to Ruan Menglian and said, “Prepare a large bed for me—one that can accommodate a dozen people.”
The female officers, including Ruan Menglian, blushed and lowered their heads. It was Chen Tingqin, who was usually quiet, who spoke up surprisingly: “Don’t we need something bigger?”
“No, a bed this large is sufficient in Hanoi.”
“Let’s enjoy the joy of victory in this way in Hanoi.”