Chapter 184: Breakthrough (Part 2)

The Black Flag Army fired only five or six mortar shells before ceasing fire due to suppression by the city’s artillery, but this marked a new phase in the war.
“Send a battalion to drive away their mortars—don’t let it affect the situation in Hanoi!”
Amidst the artillery fire, Guoba remained clear-headed: “We must win over the hearts of the people!”
Since yesterday, boat fares from Hanoi to Haiphong had already risen by 50%. Europeans in the city were speculating that the French had suffered another defeat.
But what kind of defeat it was, they still didn’t understand. Before they could grasp it, Guoba had many tasks to carry out: “We must continue to impose full military control over Hanoi. A curfew will take effect immediately, and all boats must be under our control…”
His plans were flawless, yet they came at the wrong time.
The Black Flag Army fired dozens of shells intermittently, using 82-mm and 60-mm mortars. They weren’t aiming to kill but to create a psychological impact.
Over the past nine months, Hanoi had not suffered any artillery attacks. But when the guns fired, everyone—whether Eastern or Western—realized that last year’s siege of Hanoi would repeat itself.
Along with the mortars came countless Catholics and missionaries, who understood the situation even earlier than the French. When Alminha was defeated, it marked the beginning of the collapse of Catholicism in Vietnam.
Numerous Hua Jian Church followers suddenly appeared, but before they could do so, Catholic priests had already led large groups of militias and believers into Hanoi.
Within just one day, 10,000 Catholics had flocked to Hanoi, and more would follow as time passed.
Initially, the French thought this would provide an endless supply of troops—after all, these Catholic militias were loyal to French interests and could replenish the indigenous infantry lost in the battle. But that night, the French realized these allies were nothing but trouble—more troublesome than the Black Flag Army.
They refused any task involving confrontation with the Black Flag Army, repeating only, “Please speak to our priest. We are French citizens.”
Even as French citizens, they couldn’t override military orders. Yet every French priest declared sternly, “I want to take them to Haiphong for refuge!”
They refused any defensive measures, knowing full well what awaited them if they stayed in the city: “We must go to Haiphong! They are all God’s people!”
The sound of the Black Flag Army’s mortars heightened their sense of urgency: “Will you just stand by and watch tens of thousands of God’s people suffer?”
Staying in Hanoi was a dead end, but the Catholics under their control were a valuable asset. Even if Haiphong fell, they could retreat to Cochinchina.

During the period of division between North and South Vietnam in history, French priests led millions of Catholics to retreat to South Vietnam, where they re-established a Catholic government. Thus, they knew well that it was time to withdraw. Although there have been many martyred saints throughout Catholic history, the struggles against the Huajian Sect in recent years made them realize that the best way to deal with them was not to leave them anything, otherwise they would devour the entire church organization, from its leadership to its grassroots members. As for France’s failures in the Tokyo region, these were entirely due to military issues and had nothing to do with the church. The church had already done its utmost and was on the verge of despair. If it were China or another Eastern country, perhaps they still would have had the courage, but facing a powerful opponent like the Black Flag Army, these missionaries even gave up any plans to become saints. “We need food! We need ships!” After several hours of arguing, the missionaries finally changed their demands: “We need ships! We need food!” Other than these two things, they were unwilling to assume any obligations. To supply them with food, the French even had to use a large portion of their reserves. As for their negative impact on defense arrangements, any French officer would point out: “Without them, Hanoi could be defended…” Outside Hanoi, Shen Sheng was directing an 82-mm cannon to fire several shells into the city before immediately moving the position. “Hurry! Hurry!” His independent regiment was the first to reach the outskirts of Hanoi, but most of its units were used to deal with the remnants of Elminga. Now, he only had two reinforced companies at his disposal, so he did not dare to launch a frontal attack but instead used his artillery for harassment. The French also sent troops repeatedly to drive Shen Sheng’s forces away. But as an experienced commander, Shen Sheng performed quite well in the clashes, suffering no losses, and as time passed, more reinforcements arrived for him. “We’ve got another reinforced platoon! It can be used for covering operations in the south!” Due to Elminga’s defeat, the French army’s morale was low, and their attacks were weak, making this small force of the Black Flag Army particularly active. “Hurry up, the Huajian Sect! They promised to send 300 warrior defenders. We need to take advantage of this before the main force arrives!” Although the French were gathering troops from various strongholds, thanks to their communication network, Shen Sheng knew that while these small units were retreating to Hanoi, he could definitely take advantage of the situation. However, the French forces in Hanoi were numerous. So far, he had only assembled one reinforced infantry battalion, which was sufficient for defense, but it was far from enough to divert forces to eliminate the retreating French troops. As for the main force of the Black Flag Army, they were still fighting in the west, aiming to resolve the battle completely within the next day or two before turning their attention to attacking Hanoi without rest. In fact, if the French had sufficient morale, they could have broken through Shen Sheng’s battalion and rescued some of the remnants left behind by Elminga. But Elminga’s defeat made them give up any attempt at a counterattack.

Both brigades were completely annihilated by the Black Flag Army. What kind of results could their hastily assembled force of two or three thousand men achieve?
Now, the French forces in Hanoi had only one thought: “Hold on, then flee…”
As for reinforcements, although everyone held out such hopes, it was clear to everyone that even if reinforcements were urgently dispatched, it would take at least a month to reach the Tokyo area under the current circumstances.