Chapter 210: Surrendering Troops

Compared to the uneventful battles in Hunan, the deployment and fighting on the Guangdong front could be described as magnificent. Four infantry brigades—almost the largest force the Black Flag Army could muster in a single unit—provided an overwhelming advantage in every aspect. No matter which direction the Qing forces attacked, they were met with severe blows from the Black Flag Army.

Zhang Zhidong, the governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi, adopted a defensive strategy of retreating, but he greatly underestimated the combat strength of the Black Flag Army. Within just three days of fighting began, he had already lost seven entire counties. The Black Flag Army’s offensive was like a tidal wave, leaving not even a single grain of sand behind.

In terms of combat strength alone, a single infantry company of the Black Flag Army far surpassed an ordinary Qing infantry battalion. Even their amateur-level engineering and supply units were confident in wiping out a Qing infantry battalion. Thus, with 110 combat companies, equivalent to 110 Qing infantry battalions—so many that even killing Zhang Zhidong wouldn’t generate that many battalions. As a result, nearly all of Zhang Zhidong’s troops deployed at the front line were annihilated.

There were a few fierce battles along the way, but the Black Flag Army would bring in artillery and machine guns to suppress the enemy, resolving the battles in less than half an hour.

What followed was a decisive battle between the Black Flag Army and the Qing forces. Zhang Zhidong hadn’t expected the Black Flag Army to arrive so quickly. As soon as his 20-plus fresh battalions entered position, the Black Flag Army’s artillery opened fire.

The decisive battle took place near Lianjiang, where the Qing forces had built fortifications over two months and gathered nearly half of the province’s elite troops—ranging from the Wuyi Army and Guangsheng Army to the old Hunan Army. Zhang Zhidong had left most of his elite troops defending Guangzhou, while the rest were concentrated at the front line. Together with provincial land forces and local militia, the total strength approached 15,000 men.

As the commander of this army, Li Yuandu could only smile bitterly: “Gentlemen, with the situation today… how am I supposed to handle this?”

He had been asked for help by his old friend Peng Yulin, but he never expected to encounter such a huge problem. “There are over 30,000 Black Flag rebels—twice as many troops and ten times as many firearms as we have. All we can do is do our best!”

Li Yuandu was no ordinary man; he was also a veteran of the Hunan Army. His seniority was rare even in modern times. He had fought in numerous battles across the north and south, earning countless merits and even saving Zeng Guofan’s life several times, earning Zeng’s deep gratitude. Yet all his efforts were ruined by three words.

This is an interesting anecdote from the late Qing period. Once, Zeng Guofan casually came up with a three-character couplet in his camp: “Rufuren” (Like a lady). Li Yuandu, acting on impulse, immediately replied, “Tongjinshi” (Same as a scholar).

Zeng Guofan, who was always known for remaining calm in the face of honor or disgrace, changed his expression upon hearing those three words and never showed any kindness toward Li Yuandu again. By the Tongzhi era, when Li Yuandu suffered a military defeat, Zeng Guofan submitted several memorials insisting that this former savior should be punished. Since the matter of being granted the title of “Tong Jinshi” was something Zeng Guofan hated deeply, few scholars in late Qing Dynasty could accept it easily. For example, Zuo Jigao, upon arriving in Shaanxi, would often ask people, “Which is better, a xiucai or a juren? Naturally, a xiucai is better!” Yet in his later years, he repeatedly submitted memorials claiming to want to take the imperial examinations, and eventually the authorities relented and granted him the title of Tong Jinshi. Back then, when Zeng Guofan submitted the memorials, Li Hongzhang, who wrote them for him, refused to continue and kept staging strikes. Even though Li Hongzhang managed to avoid the Taiping Army’s attacks by using these strikes as an excuse, Li Yuandu was still captured and dismissed, forced to return to his hometown. From then on, Li Yuandu experienced the full ups and downs of an official career—reappointed several times and dismissed again. He never expected that helping a friend would lead to such a dire situation. This year, when the two armies first clashed, the Black Flag Army struck hard from the start. Two battalions of infantry, known as the strong Chao Yong troops, along with local volunteers and militia, totaling over 1,400 men, were all defeated within less than two hours of engaging in battle. The Black Flag Army deployed less than 500 men, but their intense firepower, with guns and cannons firing simultaneously, forced these infantry troops to surrender without even being able to touch the Black Flag Army forces. What was even more alarming was that the Black Flag Army fought in a completely Western-style manner—using coordinated infantry and artillery fire to suppress the enemy before engaging in close combat. It was said that even the French had been defeated by them several times. In today’s battle, out of over 1,400 men who went out, less than 300 were rescued. That night, the Black Flag Army launched another night attack, costing another 200 men. Continuing like this, Li Yuandu felt a major crisis was imminent. “Flee?” He considered this option in his heart but quickly dismissed it. His troops couldn’t even hold their positions; if they tried to retreat, it would lead to immediate collapse, and he had no confidence they could escape the Black Flag Army. “Fight?” Currently, they still had sufficient food, ammunition, and supplies, and a relatively large number of troops, but compared to the Black Flag Army, they were like a drop in the ocean. Holding their ground would surely mean certain death. “Enough!” Having gone through many ups and downs in his official career, Li Yuandu’s desire for fame and fortune had diminished greatly. “Since I’m helping a friend, I’ll see it through to the end…” … Hong Kong. Normal arms trade continued, but Sir Pauley became restless. “General Grey, I want to know exactly when the reinforcements will arrive in Hong Kong?” He was more familiar with the situation in Guangdong Province than the Qing officials in Guangzhou. He knew clearly that although the battles near Lianjiang were still ongoing, according to military observers, it was only a matter of time before the Black Flag Army achieved a decisive victory. “If the Black Flag Army secures a decisive victory near Lianjiang, then we must defend Guangzhou ourselves…” According to the British, the Black Flag Army this time deployed four complete infantry divisions. Although their quality was low, they were all equipped with modern European-style weapons, which largely compensated for their shortcomings.

Their opponents, for the most part, were equipped only with outdated Chinese flintlock guns; even though a small number of troops had better equipment, they couldn’t make use of it. Governor Zhang in Guangzhou formed new troops, but the most advanced weapons were used to arm the Eight Banners troops in Guangzhou, who, even at their strongest, could only handle policing tasks. All of this led Sir Paul to conclude that now was the best opportunity for the British to take action. With French assistance, there would be no difficulties, but due to France’s unprecedented failures in Vietnam, they were forced to retreat in the Far East. Even when civil war broke out between the Black Flag Army and the government forces, France still only sought greater interests in Vietnam. Facing 20,000 opponents with relatively poor quality but decent firearms, the colonial forces were sufficient for self-defense, but defeating them was not easy. Indeed, the British Army and Marine Corps had the most advanced weapons in the world, but intelligence indicated that the enemy’s weapons were only five to ten years behind those of the British Empire—a gap that was unacceptable. Even more unacceptable was the illegal arms trade smuggled into the Black Flag Army via Hong Kong. While deciding to engage in a decisive battle against them, the cabinet still wanted to maintain this channel of contact. Although the Black Flag Army could import some weapons and ammunition through the Red River, cutting off this route would cost them dearly—but cabinet officials clearly considered the possibility of failure in intervention. This contradictory attitude left Sir Paul with little choice but to keep arms smuggling within an acceptable range. Now, the Governor-General forced Demons to agree that no more than one infantry company’s worth of weapons should be smuggled to the Black Flag Army each month. General Gray, however, held a different view from the Governor-General: “Whether it’s to defend the colonies or to fight against the rebels, we have enough troops…” He lowered his voice and added, “In fact, I think there’s no need to involve Japanese troops at all—they’ll just waste food!” Sir Paul also had a different opinion on bringing in Japanese troops to replace France’s usual role in the Far East: “Although I need support, I also believe Japanese troops are not worth mentioning; at best, they’re on par with the Black Flag Army…” While the two were discussing, an intelligence officer rushed over and, upon seeing the Governor-General, said, “Sir… the Qing forces have achieved a great victory in Lianjiang…” “A victory?” Sir Paul was highly skeptical of such news. He was convinced that if Zhang Zhidong had committed all his forces, he might have achieved a somewhat successful victory. But with such divided efforts, it was impossible to achieve any kind of victory—after all, this was a battle between two vastly different forces. Moreover, according to the available intelligence, the Black Flag Army already had the upper hand and could not possibly lose. “Yes… our military observers believe that, based on current intelligence, this is a victory!”

“A victory that temporarily halted the Black Flag Army!”
It’s hard for outsiders to understand the definition given by military observers, but in fact, Li Yuandu’s final decision did cause considerable trouble for the Black Flag Army.
If there was any real trouble, it was accepting the surrender of thousands of Qing troops all at once.
Before surrendering, Li Yuandu led several thousand soldiers from the Wu Yi Army, Guang Sheng Army, and the Old Xiang Army to suddenly leave their positions and rush toward Guangzhou.
The Qing troops left behind, after initial resistance, found their carefully constructed fortifications easily breached and immediately rushed to surrender.