Chapter 215: The Yangtze River (Part 1)

The Black Flag Army did not have a sophisticated intelligence network to gather all information about global political developments, but their limited overseas intelligence sources managed to obtain some information through various channels.
The British garrison in Hong Kong had grown beyond what was necessary for defense, and some Chinese individuals sympathetic to the Black Flag Army reported that the British might send troops to Guangdong. They also brought news that this intervention might not be limited to Britain alone but could involve one of its allies.
The Black Flag Army was unclear whether this ally referred to Japan; they assumed it might be one of the European powers—Austria-Hungary, Belgium, or Germany. However, they believed that the British ally’s forces would likely be limited to a single brigade at most.
This was still enough to prompt the Black Flag Army’s forces in Guangdong to take it seriously. Especially after receiving a message from the British governor of Hong Kong: “Given the special interests of the British Empire in Guangzhou, we request the Black Flag Army to protect these interests and ensure they do not enter Guangzhou city or its surroundings. In return, the Hong Kong government can offer certain conveniences…”
Channels for obtaining weapons in Hong Kong had also been completely shut down. Demons Trading Company received a warning from the British: “Stop, or face the gallows!”
All of this indicated that the British army might carry out a significant military intervention in Guangdong. Although the scale was unknown, it was certainly not less than two British brigades. The Black Flag Army’s rear headquarters in Guangxi even made a rather pessimistic estimate: “Given the worsening situation, British and allied forces in Guangdong could reach the strength of an entire British division…”
However, none of the intelligence suggested that the Japanese would risk everything on the Chinese battlefield, nor that some established empires would take the opportunity to profit from the chaos.
This incident forced the Black Flag Army to halt large-scale offensives in Guangdong and focus instead on consolidating the half of Guangdong they had already occupied.
Initially, the Black Flag Army sent four incomplete infantry brigades into Guangdong. After more than a month of fighting and reinforcements, all four brigades were fully manned. The number of combat units increased from 110 to 170. In addition, using the Black Flag Army’s experienced officers and some units as a foundation, they expanded local forces by 34 units and incorporated and reorganized about 40 irregular armed groups.
Dozens of counties also rose in rebellion and accepted the Black Flag Army’s leadership, bringing several thousand troops. Especially after the Black Flag Army pacified southern Hunan and advanced toward Changsha, some forces, represented by Zhang Butcher from Shaoguan, fully accepted the Black Flag Army’s reorganization and agreed to let their officers reform their units.
Their willingness to hand over their forces to the Black Flag Army was not out of conscience but due to the good example set by Tian Deming, the former governor of Hengyang. Zhang Butcher now sought to rise through the ranks by leveraging the Black Flag Army’s support.
While slowing down their advance, the Black Flag Army made every effort to eliminate various scattered Qing forces and irregular armed groups in their control areas.

The progress in this regard has been most smooth in Guangxi. As the former governor of Guangxi, Pan Dingxin had a natural advantage in this area. Leading troops composed of thousands of Black Flag Army soldiers combined with various other forces, he achieved six victories in six battles within a month and subsequently pacified more than a dozen bandit groups. Many members of the Black Flag Army were from Guangxi Province, giving them a significant advantage. As a result, Guangxi has now become a solid stronghold for the Black Flag Army, with all county towns under their control. There are no longer any openly loyalist forces opposing the Black Flag Army; instead, there are mostly bandits, vagrants, and local warlords. However, even these mixed forces are in a precarious situation. Aside from a few diehards, most are willing to submit to the Black Flag Army’s control. The situation in Guangdong is much worse, with a considerable number of large militia groups and defected soldiers united under the banner of “killing Black Flag bandits and protecting the Qing Dynasty.” These local forces are often led by local tyrants. Relying on their superior combat capabilities, the Black Flag Army has repeatedly used tactics of dividing forces to attack, wiping out most of them. Yet, thousands still remain in the controlled areas, posing a serious threat to the Black Flag Army’s next move to attack Guangzhou and fight against foreign intervention forces. As for the other mixed forces outside the Black Flag Army, their numbers are even more astonishing. Many of them are secret society militias organized by ambitious individuals under the guise of opposing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty. They often compete with the Black Flag Army for resources and sometimes even clash with them. The Black Flag Army has now resolved to eliminate these mixed forces as soon as possible before attacking Guangzhou, destroying any force that dares to resist their integration. There are tens of thousands of such forces, their total number even exceeding that of the Black Flag Army. But what the world lacks most is determination. When the Black Flag Army declared, “From now on, any force that does not obey us is our enemy…,” these secret society militias immediately collapsed. Many simply led their troops to surrender, saying, “I have a thousand men here; just give me a company commander, or at least a platoon leader…” It must be said that the combat strength of these secret society militias is very weak. Although a few of them tried to gather together for a decisive battle against the Black Flag Army, as soon as artillery fire started—without even the need for heavy machine guns—they would collapse amidst the chaos. Then, with bayonets, the Black Flag Army could capture hundreds or even thousands of them at once. In the campaign to suppress these secret society militias, Zhang Tuhu from Shaoguan showed exceptional bravery once he officially joined the reorganized forces. Within four days, he fought three battles and wiped out most of the mixed forces near Shaoguan. He was anxious because he had heard that the Black Flag Army was about to attack Changsha Prefecture. If he did not perform well, his dream of becoming the ruler of that region through the Black Flag Army would be shattered. He was unaware of the major changes occurring internationally at the time; he only knew that if he did not seize the opportunity, someone else would surpass him. Inside the Black Flag Army, preparations were already underway for potential battles with foreign intervention forces. Four infantry brigades each selected a top-tier veteran regiment and strengthened their forces with mountain guns, heavy machine guns, and mortars, bringing the total number of combatants to over 230 as a reserve force for future use.

Anticipating victory in advance, these four companies were deployed at key positions along the Black Flag Army’s retreat route. The Black Flag Army had prepared for the scenario where they might not win the battle in Guangzhou, assigning these four companies to cover the retreat of the entire force, for which they even constructed reinforced concrete positions. Meanwhile, to the north of Changsha Prefecture, Liu Yu also received news that Britain might intervene.