Chapter 194: The War Ends

Lin Shili was precisely such a typical minor figure.
At forty-seven, he could be said to have achieved nothing despite being nearly half a century old. On the surface, he had already attained fame and success—though he had once followed Miao Peilin, he soon returned to the right path and earned significant military merits during the suppression of the Nian rebels. Later, he fought in battles across the north and south, achieving more victories.
When Xu Yanxu entered Yue, he led some troops scattered outside the pass and became a nominal deputy general, though in reality he served as a battalion officer in charge of 300 soldiers. Yet under Governor Xu, he remained an unimportant figure.
He felt that fate had wronged him—such an outstanding person, nearly fifty years old, yet with no achievements and no family wealth to show for it.
When the Beining army collapsed, he was left adrift, almost without a place to stand. Fortunately, several squad leaders and officers from the Black Flag Army had already contacted him and prevented him from falling further.
This should have been a good thing, but he felt deeply disappointed—all the benefits went to his former subordinates, either by becoming wealthy or remaining company commanders. A company had far more troops than a squad, so what was his status then?
Tang Jingsong did not keep him in his original position, as the role of battalion officer in the Black Flag Army was extremely important, usually reserved for highly trusted officers. Even the position of company commander would not have been so easy to obtain if it weren’t for the collapse of the Beining army.
But Lin Shili was not satisfied. He felt he had only ended up as a platoon leader or a minor deputy company commander. It was the Black Flag Army that had wronged him, not the other way around—he still saw his future with the Qing dynasty.
His platoon was part of two small battalions in Beining, so he and Wang Debang hit it off immediately.
“Please rest assured, Governor Wang. With just your word, I am willing to lead all the soldiers in the battalion back to the Qing dynasty!”
He truly intended to join Wang Debang’s side.
Pan Dingxin smiled slightly. “Is that all Wang Debang has in terms of strategy?”
Su Yuanchun also laughed. “An old general from Hunan—nothing more than that…”
Although he too was from Hunan, he was originally from Guangxi, so he was naturally more critical of Wang Debang, who wasn’t from the same background. Pan Dingxin’s thoughts were more complex: “Anyway, this must be done. Sooner or later, we’ll have to turn against the Black Flag Army. If someone else doesn’t do it, it’s actually a good thing!”
Su Yuanchun, however, was a bit resentful. “It’s a shame that Wang Debang gets all the credit for this.”
“What’s there to be sorry about?” Pan Dingxin continued, “Today, Yang Yukē has brought troops to reinforce us. Now everything is ready—only the east wind is missing!”
Yang Yukē was also an experienced general. By now, the Qing dynasty had gathered as many troops as possible under Pan Dingxin’s command—all of them among the best forces in the dynasty. Yet the Huai Army, the backbone of the Qing’s defense, had not sent a single soldier yet. Su Yuanchun casually added, “It’s said that Liu Mingchuan will step in this time. If he can lead his troops, that would truly be wonderful!”

During the battles against the Taiping Army in southern Jiangsu, Liu Mingchuan and Pan Dingxin were on the same side, and their cooperation was fairly good. However, Liu Mingchuan had a natural tendency to ask for leave whenever something came up and threaten his superiors, leaving Pan Dingxin to sigh in frustration many times over this issue.
“I’m afraid that even after all these years, Mingchuan still won’t change his old habits of taking leave to go home at the slightest provocation. He’s always done this before, and I really don’t know what to do!”
Indeed, Liu Mingchuan liked to take leave. At critical moments, he would act on his own whims and head home. During the crucial period of suppressing the Nian rebels, he took leave to go home, and later, when he led dozens of battalions of the Ming Army into Shaanxi, it led to a farce.
At that time, Li Hongzhang sent Liu Mingchuan to seize control of the military forces in Shaanxi. It was only twice in his life that Li Hongzhang supported a general to establish his own domain. Li Hongzhang even expanded the Ming Army to the largest size among all armies, hoping that Liu Mingchuan would achieve something significant. But Liu Mingchuan wasn’t good at handling delicate matters. He had only been in Shaanxi for two months before clashing violently with Zuo Zongtang.
Once things turned bad, he resorted to his old trick—claiming illness to take leave—leaving dozens of battalions of the Huai Army under Zuo Zongtang’s control, which even led to mutiny. A few years earlier, Pan Dingxin’s seventeen battalions of the Ding Army were completely wiped out in a similar manner, with not a single battalion left. Li Hongzhang was also afraid that his own troops would be destroyed by Zuo Zongtang, so he went to great lengths to bring the Ming Army back to Jiangnan. But this gave Zhang Shusheng an opportunity to seize leverage.
Within the Ming Army, there were already Zhang Shusheng’s former troops, the Fifth Battalion of the Shu Army, now known as the Wu Yi Right Army. At that time, Zhang Shusheng was serving in Jiangsu and managed to bring his former troops back under his control.
Thinking of these past events, Pan Dingxin could only smile and say, “Mingchuan has too strong a personality; it’s probably not easy to get along with him!”
This was all he could say to Su Yuanchun, while the real reasons remained hidden.
All these years of waiting had long made Liu Mingchuan’s habit of taking leave at the slightest problem fade away. But the problem wasn’t with Liu Mingchuan—it was with Li Hongzhang.
As Li Hongzhang grew older over the years, his suspicion of his generals grew even stronger. Although Liu Mingchuan was a military man from a rough background, he had dozens of battalions of his own troops and the strength to establish his own domain. Li Hongzhang was afraid that one day Liu Mingchuan might take those troops to oppose the Huai Army.
Therefore, despite repeated requests from various factions in the court for Liu Mingchuan to step forward, Li Hongzhang personally refused on his behalf. Even if Liu Mingchuan were to emerge, it was unlikely he could borrow even one or two battalions from the Huai Army.
History proved the same. After Liu Mingchuan took charge of Taiwan, he was unable to seize any military power from the Huai Army and had to bring his own troops to Taiwan. There, he found that his subordinates were all former troops of Bao Chaoting’s army, who had once been his mortal enemies.
“The Huai Army is a vital force for national security and must not be lightly disturbed. Besides, the strong military forces from the southern provinces of the Qing Dynasty will soon gather there. With my hidden strategies in place, I will have a complete advantage!”

For Pan Dingxin as well, he was concerned about his own secret moves. In his eyes, those few traitorous generals of the Black Flag Army couldn’t affect the overall situation—compared to the impact his own secret moves could have on the war.
……
Shanghai.
“What? Three thousand Frenchmen killed on their way to reinforce Hanoi? My God…”
A week later, in a salon, these top figures in Shanghai were shocked again by the news: “Three thousand…”
Three thousand wasn’t just a number; it represented a defeat for the French. Everyone imagined what a powerful army might look like.
“Perhaps we could contact the Black Flag Army and negotiate a loan for them!”
For such high-risk military loans, even these Shanghai elites were reluctant to proceed under company or personal names; instead, they decided to contact Demons privately.
They had already agreed to favorable terms, but only after the Black Flag Army achieved a major victory would they grant them the loan.
Yet one German laughed, “Why grant such a small loan so easily? If they can defeat the French, I’m willing to provide more!”
As France’s arch-rivals, the Germans were always eager to hinder the French in any way. Now, Liu Yu had become a hero in the eyes of the French!
A great hero in the eyes of a German—a man who could make the French suffer hundreds of thousands of casualties—shouldn’t be satisfied with just half a million pounds in military loans. He deserved more.
“What do you suggest then?”
“Restart negotiations. We should treat the Black Flag Army like we treat the Qing government!”
“I agree!”
Everyone agreed with this view.
Although it was unclear to what extent the Black Flag Army could grow, most understood that in this world, no nation’s army could defeat the French army—but the Black Flag Army had done just that.
Over the past week, they had learned more about the Black Flag Army and realized that Demons’ assessments had been too conservative.
The Black Flag Army was indeed an incredibly powerful armed group capable of creating more miracles. Though skilled in business, they always failed to secure direct business loans.
Investing in this military group when it fully rose to prominence would surely yield enormous returns.
“We believe that for every pound we lend them, we’ll receive ten times as much in return!”
……
“Military loans? Hoping for a victory? Haven’t we already won victories before?”
Liu Yu smiled as he looked at the neatly arranged battle reports on the table.
These reports, gathered from Cochinchina to Hanoi, showed the successive victories achieved by the Black Flag Army.
“Perhaps we’ve besieged Hanoi for too long, causing some Westerners to doubt our combat strength?”
His words made Jiang Ningxue smile, and the officers present also laughed.

No one doubted that the Black Flag Army would take Vietnam, except for Wang Debang and Pan Dingxin: “Tang Jingsong has sent the latest news—his situation isn’t good at all!”
“Idiot!” Jing Shi Yi bluntly criticized Tang Jingsong privately: “He has no military talent!”
The others didn’t offer further comments. Huang Shouzhong, who had always been on good terms with Tang Jingsong, also had nothing to say now.
After all, in Beining and Taiyuan, although the Black Flag Army had few troops and they weren’t very strong, there hadn’t even been any direct battles yet, yet Tang Jingsong had sent seven urgent reports in a day, which was truly astonishing.
“One of our deputy company commanders, Lin Jiali, defected to the Qing forces. It seems some foolish guys followed him, which led to this predicament.”
Anyway, Tang Jingsong was a member of the council and part of the Black Flag Army’s highest governing body, so Liu Yu had to speak up to uphold his reputation.
“Of course, the situation isn’t ideal! But the real problem isn’t that—it’s that the French have also moved!”
“The French have moved?”
“That’s right!” Liu Suiyun interjected: “The French troops in Beining sent 500 men to attack us alongside Wang Debang. As a result, our two small battalions were attacked from both sides, and with some men losing morale, we had to withdraw from Beining and head to Taiyuan…”
“Beining was lost that easily?” It was Ye Chenglin who spoke: “We should have held on for a few days at least!”
“Wang Debang has already pursued them to Taiyuan. But I don’t think there’s a major problem in Taiyuan—the troops have already gathered there!”
“There are ten battalions in Taiyuan now. Though their combat strength is weak, they should be able to hold out for a month!”
“I think it’s better to send a few battalions to Taiyuan. Tang Jingsong can’t be trusted!”
“Even if Tang Jingsong is trustworthy, there are definitely many like Lin Jiali!”
“That’s right! Commander, you’d better order reinforcements for Taiyuan!”
Everyone discussed the battle situation loudly, waiting for Liu Yu’s orders.
But Liu Yu’s thoughts were different from theirs: “Why send reinforcements to Taiyuan? Just abandon the enemy in Hanoi?”
Everyone immediately understood Liu Yu’s view: “We’re not continuing?”
That’s right. On the battlefield of Hanoi, the Black Flag Army had had enough fighting and had exhausted the French forces. They weren’t planning to play games with the French any longer—they wanted to settle things once and for all.
“That’s right! This is the final battle, and it’s the one that will force the Ferri cabinet to step down. I have only one requirement: a complete victory!”
“A complete victory!”
For these core forces of the Black Flag Army, over the past month or so, they hadn’t participated in many battles. Instead, they used this time to engage in small-scale skirmishes while conducting thorough reorganization. The entire army was now highly motivated and ready to plunge into the final battle at any moment.
“This is the final battle against the French!”
……
“The Chinese and the Black Flag Army have fought—this is our best chance!”
When the Governor-General of Indochina heard this news, tears streamed down uncontrollably.
He felt incredibly lucky—after staying in the eighteenth circle of hell for an entire eleven months, an angel had finally arrived.

This “angel” is the Chinese army led by Lord Pan Dingxin. After discovering the true nature of the Black Flag Army, they voluntarily abandoned this former ally and launched a decisive attack on the enemy. Although specific details of the battle have not yet arrived, the mere news of the outbreak of war is worth ten million francs—Indochina is saved! France lives forever! “France lives forever!” he exclaimed involuntarily, and everyone in the governor’s office was filled with excitement. “Tell Craig that if Pan Dingxin needs anything, I will provide him with all necessary supplies and financial support. He will enjoy the eternal friendship of the French government and the colonies!” … “According to news from Saigon, the Chinese army engaged in combat with the Black Flag Army five days ago, forcing them to retreat to Taiyuan…” “This is the best news I’ve heard since I became prime minister!” Prime Minister Fery had aged greatly. This opportunist had made significant contributions to France during his few years in office, but he was under immense pressure: “But that doesn’t change the fact that I must resign. I have already submitted my resignation!” “Your Excellency, the Prime Minister!” “I’m already a former prime minister!” Fery seemed relieved. “I’m the public enemy of entire France; the whole country is mercilessly condemning me!” His tone was full of helplessness: “The war has nothing to do with me anymore!” Although he had wanted to create a unified Indochina colony under his rule and later end the war himself, all these became mere illusions. The war hadn’t ended; what was once thought to be a minor police operation turned into a devastating war, costing tens of thousands of French youths their lives. Someone had to take responsibility. Fery had sent an army to Vietnam as his last hope to resolve the war, but soon realized it was unfeasible. Any plan to solve the Vietnam problem turned out to be unworkable. In fact, he found that his plan for a complete withdrawal from Vietnam was feasible, but reality dealt him a heavy blow. When he proposed expanding the war, the whole of France condemned him; but when he declared defeat and prepared to withdraw from Vietnam, even more intense criticism aimed at him. In such a situation, he couldn’t solve any problems—other than leading his cabinet to resign, he couldn’t do anything else. “I had many dreams, but sadly I can’t fulfill them…” He gazed at the sky, his heart utterly empty. “The war can end…” An old friend beside him asked, “Won’t the new cabinet continue the war?” “Yes, they will continue it, but they don’t have the ability!” He believed that any successor would adopt even tougher policies than his own before eventually softening them faster. Such was the charming French politics—illusory yet realistic. All he could think was, “No matter how many storms come, from now on, I am just a French citizen, a good patriotic citizen…” … “Can such suffering end?”

For the French in Haiphong, they felt that the end of suffering was imminent. The Black Flag Army had already clashed with the Chinese forces, and according to the latest reports, hundreds of Chinese infantry battalions might have been involved in this large-scale conflict—this was the best news possible. Although most were hostile toward the Chinese, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and they were willing to ally with anyone to defeat the Black Flag Army. Everyone believed that faced with such a challenge, the Black Flag Army would surely lift the siege from Hanoi and shift its main forces to Bắc Ninh and Taiyuan. This was their most logical strategy, allowing the French navy in Haiphong to organize its troops calmly without having to risk deadly missions for rapid transport. Though the French navy regarded such transports as an achievement, every officer and soldier involved harbored a tender sentiment deep in their hearts. They knew they were sending these young men to a battlefield of death; they didn’t know how many French youths would survive, but they were willing to do their best. “Thank God!” These officers and soldiers prayed that the young men could return home safely. “But after the Black Flag Army lifts the siege, how should we continue this war?” This question brought silence among the officers. Although there were plenty of warhawks, even the most aggressive officers now lacked the determination to continue the war. “Peace!” “Negotiations!” “It must be a glorious peace!” The officers felt they had made a wise choice. They had once thought Vietnam was a prosperous land, but when it came time to conquer it, they realized the cost was far too high. “I think using hundreds of thousands of soldiers’ lives and billions of francs to conquer such an Far Eastern country isn’t a profitable deal!” “The weather here isn’t for me!” “Yes, I agree. I prefer the sunshine and sea breeze of Europe!” The soldiers fell silent. Unlike the officers, they weren’t hypocritical, but they simply sensed that acting here carried too many dangers, with the risk of losing one’s life at any moment. “We just need a glorious peace!” When victory came, these French people showed extraordinary humility. In fact, this wasn’t humility but a natural result of being terrified. During the war, the French rarely reflected, but as the war neared its end, they thought of many scenes—scenes that would give them nightmares. “I just want to go home. I don’t want to stay in this damned place!” A young soldier spoke out for everyone’s feelings. What’s so good about Vietnam? We don’t need this colony. There are colonies ten times richer than this all over the world, and we don’t need to pay such a high price for it. By the time such thoughts emerged from the soldiers’ mouths, the officers could no longer stop them, as their own tension had also eased.

“Let the Chinese and the Black Flag Army fight over this land. This is not our war, nor is it France’s war. We should fight for Alsace and Lorraine!”
“That’s right! The German emperor is just a child in front of Liu Yu!”
“I want to go home. I want to return to my country now!”
Everyone had such dreams, but suddenly, the ports were filled with alarm bells and whistles.
The entire port fell into chaos, but few were willing to be brave. The warships set sail more than half an hour later than usual.
Everyone spread such terrifying news: “The war isn’t over. We must keep fighting!”
Everyone thought it was just a rumor, but two hours later, it turned into a cruel reality.
“The Black Flag Army is launching a full-scale attack on Hanoi. We must send reinforcements to Hanoi!”
“No! We want to go home! Back to our homeland!”
The warships didn’t leave the port, and fierce clashes broke out both on land and at sea. Some soldiers and even low-ranking officers refused to carry out such dangerous missions: “The war is over!”
Yes, for France, this war was over.
But the battles in Hanoi had just begun.