Chapter 184: Breakthrough (Part 2)

“The enemy is just two kilometers ahead. Commander, let’s pause our advance…”
The battle continued, but after dealing with the remnants of Erminga and Biser, the Black Flag Army finally had some time to turn their attention to Hanoi.
The soldiers, who had been fighting for days and nights, had no time to organize their troops—they simply slept for a few hours before rushing toward Hanoi.
However, the situation varied across different units. Although Liu Yu’s unit consisted of seven companies, their combined strength was less than half that of a infantry battalion.
“Commander, there are still hundreds of enemy remnants ahead, and about a battalion of enemies inside the city trying to rescue them. Our units are in disarray, and we don’t have time to organize ourselves. Please pause the advance!”
Liu Yu was highly motivated, but he also understood that this was a battle of wills. He simply asked, “How many men are left in your company?”
“We’ve formed a combat platoon—eighteen men left!”
“How many were there before the battle?”
“117!”
Realizing that this infantry company now had less than 20% of its original strength, he asked, “What about the other units?”
“Similar situation—severe losses. Key units have been scattered, and many soldiers are unreachable. But everyone has voluntarily joined the ranks, so morale is fine!”
Despite such heavy losses, these units of the Black Flag Army, whether new or old, maintained astonishing morale in the face of unprecedented victories.
“Do you have the confidence to take Hanoi?”
“Absolutely!”
Liu Yu nodded and looked into the distance.
Beyond the morning mist, Hanoi was just a faint silhouette—he couldn’t see it clearly—but he knew full well that this would be the last major battle against the French.
After assessing his troops, he hesitated for a moment. He felt that continuing the pursuit might exhaust them too much and lead to losses, especially since they had already achieved enough victories.
The captured French weapons alone were enough to arm several infantry divisions, not to mention the loot and supplies. But he quickly realized something important:
For a powerful nation that could lose three hundred thousand people without its morale suffering, the only way to defeat it was to inflict pain it would never forget.
Killing a hundred Frenchmen made them barbarians from the Far East; killing a thousand made them formidable enemies. If you killed ten thousand, many French historians would condemn you with their writings. But if you killed a hundred thousand, they would spend a thousand years praising or attacking you.
“Don’t fear casualties. No matter how many you lose, I’ll replenish you afterward!” Liu Yu was determined. He said to the company commander reporting to him, “With no fear of sacrifice, we can achieve anything!”
In the minds of Liu Suiyun and many staff officers, it seemed impossible for the Black Flag Army to accomplish all this. But under Liu Yu’s will and through the spontaneous efforts of its lower-ranking officers and soldiers, the Black Flag Army continued its eastward advance with little rest.

Any enemy in their path, as the French missionaries estimated, was immediately swallowed up by this torrential force—whether it was an independent stronghold with dozens of soldiers or a religious village with hundreds of armed followers. As soon as the Black Flag Army spotted the enemy, they would engage in battle immediately. They were an unstoppable force; every unit had gone mad from days and nights of fighting. Although a few small groups managed to hold off the Black Flag Army’s initial assault at a heavy cost, they soon found themselves trapped in the tide. “Advance toward the sound of gunfire!” This had always been the Black Flag Army’s motto—whenever gunshots were heard, neighboring units would immediately join the fight. Often, an attack started with a small group of thirty to forty men, but within a few hours, thousands of Black Flag Army soldiers would be involved. What worried the French even more were the various armed groups that appeared from all directions. Over the past few years, they had shifted allegiance among the Qing forces, French forces, Vietnamese forces, and the Black Flag Army, mostly acting as opportunists. Many of these groups had interactions with the French, and it was only after the French had pacified all of Vietnam that they began to deal with them. But now, they were all on the side of the French opponents. Some self-defense groups that had cooperated well with the French were intercepting retreating French units everywhere, acting as pioneers for the Black Flag Army. Whenever a Black Flag Army soldier arrived, they prepared all necessary supplies as if welcoming an elite force. “The Black Flag Army will deal with you next!” Although every French officer was furious and knew such irregular forces had no combat capability, their betrayal dealt another blow to the French: “We need reinforcements!” With such irregular forces, the French could use a single infantry platoon to disperse a thousand of them; they usually didn’t pay much attention to them. But when they betrayed them, the French felt a deep pain. In some areas, groups of dozens of Black Flag Army infantry served as the core, leading hundreds of irregular fighters to attack the French. The French, unaware of the situation, suffered heavy losses many times—lured out of their positions by the irregular forces and then crushed by the Black Flag Army, after which those irregular forces joined in the pursuit. The entire Hanoi area was filled with gunsmoke, and the French grew increasingly panicked as their own casualties mounted, while the Black Flag Army seemed inexhaustible. They had already dealt with Elminga and Bissel’s forces without significant losses, yet now even a single infantry battalion leaving the city would be severely beaten by the superior enemy forces. “Reinforcement battalions are arriving!” Amidst the fierce fighting, the Black Flag Army finally got a breather. Two battalions of reinforcements rushed in from Shanxi, allowing each infantry company to temporarily replenish its ranks. Although many companies still lacked half their full strength, there were no longer companies with only ten or twenty men. Some of the wounded who had been treated also returned to their units, along with those who had lost contact during the battle and now rejoined. As a result, the strength of the Black Flag Army units around Hanoi increased. “How many more reinforcement battalions? Send them all here!” Liu Yu said to Liu Suiyun, “We control half of North Vietnam anyway—there’s no need to worry about insufficient troops!”

Thanks to its modernized mobilization system, the Black Flag Army could assemble more than ten battalions of reinforcements at any time, which was the main reason why Liu Yu wasn’t worried about heavy losses in battles.
Liu Suiyun agreed with him: “A battalion of reinforcements has already been sent from Xuan Guang, and each province has also dispatched one battalion. They should arrive in Hanoi in two or three days. But what will we do next?”