Chapter 42: Hidden Currents (Part 2)

Before coming to Shanxi, Qiao Erchi had specifically consulted the officers of the Coastal Marine Corps—now was the time to carry out this crazy plan.
He pointed at the Spencer rifle in one of the leaders’ hands and said, “The French friend said that the main firearms of the Liuying Army are these Spencer repeating rifles. These rifles have a high firing rate but fatal weaknesses.”
“How so?”
“Each unit of the Liuying Army is equipped with twelve Spencer rifles and two Remingtons. After checking, out of these thirty-seven men, there are only two Remingtons—everything else is Spencer rifles. That’s when the French friend’s advice comes in handy.”
Qiao Erchi continued, “Firstly, these guns use pistol bullets, so they can’t shoot far, and their power is weak. A single shot might not even kill someone.”
He spoke casually, but the Yellow Flag Army members knew it would cost many lives.
A rough estimate showed that with thirty-seven rear-loading guns in the Liuying Army, each carrying fifty bullets, that totaled 1,850 bullets—how many lives would that cost?
Qiao Erchi went on, “Secondly, these guns can’t be fitted with bayonets. Up close, they’re not even as good as a firewood stick.”
But to get close, they’d have to advance anyway. In front of the outpost was a rice field nearly a hundred meters wide—any movement would be clearly visible to the defenders. To break through, they would have to charge headfirst.
Qiao Erchi spread his hands wide. “And there’s another major problem with these guns: although they can fire seven shots in a row, it takes a long time to reload after firing all seven.”
Hearing this, the leaders of the Yellow Flag Army stood up and stared at the Spencer rifles. “Is that really the case?”
Qiao Erchi demonstrated how to load, fire, and eject the shells—his movements were smooth. But after firing the seven shots, it took him a long time to reload them one by one.
A well-trained Spencer rifleman could fire seven shots in about ten seconds, but reloading them took even longer.
With limited bullets, no bayonets, and slow reloading, plus the fact that these leaders of the Yellow Flag Army were survivors of dozens of battles in Tonkin, they also saw another advantage: the Liuying Army had no artillery, while they had brought three front-loading cannons. The solid projectiles fired by those cannons would surely cause heavy casualties.
It would cost many lives!
They had eight hundred men, while the enemy had only thirty-seven—even if they piled up their numbers, they’d still be defeated.
All the Yellow Flag Army members watched Qiao Erchi solemnly. He took off his hat and threw it hard onto the ground. “Brothers of the Yellow Flag Army, I know some of you look down on me, saying I’ve defected to the French and forgotten my ancestors. But in this world, if you want glory and wealth, is there any other way but to ally with foreigners?”
“What I hate is that I didn’t defect thoroughly or early enough, so I couldn’t turn things around and force my brothers to live in exile in the mountains. Brothers of the Yellow Flag Army, once we take down this Black Flag Army, FatherNguyen Van Minh and the Archdiocese of Hanoi will fully support us. Then the Yellow Flag Army will once again be a formidable force!”

“And let everyone know that as long as we eliminate this Black Flag Army, those attacking Heyang will surely be drawn back! Then we’ll return to Heyang, to our old stronghold!”
Qiao Erchi was filled with enthusiasm; it seemed as if he had returned to the era when the Yellow Flags swept through Northern Vietnam, when he was the commander of those vast armies under the Yellow Flags.
To achieve their goal, they would use corpses to pave the way to victory.
Red River Outpost.
Xiliu Camp remained motionless, but their lazy opponents, who didn’t even bother to shoot, suddenly moved.
“So many! Countless!” The soldiers on the watchtower didn’t have time to estimate the actual number and gave only a rough estimate: “They also have cannons.”
Zhang Biao acted quickly, rushing up to the lookout post. First, he saw many yellow flags, and beneath them, varying numbers of soldiers.
So many! Truly countless. Zhang Biao couldn’t determine exactly how many enemies there were, but it was definitely several hundred.
Fortunately, they hadn’t launched an attack first. Zhang Biao took a deep breath.
But when he saw the Yellow Flag Army pushing several cannons forward, he took another breath.
“Remingtons! Remingtons!”
At various distant intersections, all kinds of yellow flags appeared. More and more Yellow Flag soldiers came, armed with various weapons, but the most eye-catching were the three dark cannons among them.
“Remingtons! Take out their gunners.”
Each cannon was operated by a dozen Yellow Flag soldiers, with ammunition boxes ready behind them, as they charged toward the outpost. “Remingtons! Be ready!”
The four Remington riflemen, following their prearranged plan, ran toward the mud wall in front of the outpost. They too saw the Yellow Flag Army’s cannons.
They immediately lay down on the mud wall, raised their rifles, and prepared to fire.
In Xiliu Camp, although the Remington wasn’t the main weapon, it was a symbol of status. In each infantry platoon, only those with the best marksmanship were allowed to use Remington rifles.
These powerful single-shot rifles, capable of bayonet use, had an effective range of up to 900 meters. Though accuracy dropped at such distances, it still allowed for sniper shots.
The four Remington rifles almost simultaneously searched for targets, setting their sights and preparing for precise firing. They were the elite among riflemen, the soul of each infantry company.
They were also the only ordinary soldiers who had undergone two rounds of infantry training, advancing from 200 meters to 100 meters while achieving excellent results. Now, though their target was farther away, they were confident.
“Bang!” Almost at the same time, the four skilled marksmen fired their first shots.
The Yellow Flag Army continued to surge toward them, but Zhang Biao calmed down. “Just a few hundred Yellow Flag soldiers? Thirty shots per person will be enough to take care of them!”
The soldiers of Xiliu Camp had already loaded their guns with bullets. Experienced soldiers would even load an extra bullet, so that pressing the trigger would fire eight shots in total.
The remaining two Remington gunners stood on higher ground, carefully watching all directions, ready to snipe any enemy who appeared.

The Yellow Flag troops were also glad that launching an attack at this moment was the best choice. It was just before dark, a time of poor visibility, which would greatly limit the enemy’s firepower. The artillerymen struggled desperately to push the cannons upward, with several bullets whizzing overhead, causing them to cry out in alarm. One of the Yellow Flag leaders took a look at the distance, quickly took off his shirt, and jumped down to help the soldiers push the cannon: “What’s there to fear? We can shoot from such a distance! Hurry up and get back up!” On the mud wall across from them, four Remington gunners had already reloaded and aimed their sights at the artillerymen, pulling the triggers again.