Chapter 45: Bayonets

Without orders, as soon as they were loaded, each Spencer rifle immediately opened fire on the crowd ahead. It was utterly cruel—the Yellow Flag Army’s wave of soldiers crashed against a massive reef-like obstacle and came to a halt instantly. The intense barrage killed or wounded twenty or thirty of them. But the Yellow Flag Army had nowhere to retreat. They knew that to turn back, they would have to cross that mud wall again, with others pushing them from behind. All they could do now was charge forward: “We can’t retreat! Charge upward!”

More Yellow Flag soldiers were climbing over the mud wall, seeing victory within reach. In the darkness, the Spencer rifles couldn’t maintain a high accuracy rate. They could feel bullets whizzing past their heads, and as the soldiers behind them struggled to climb over the wall, those in front had to keep charging forward or risk being trampled into mud by the surging crowd. “We can’t retreat! Charge upward!”

They were only about ten meters away from the breast wall defended by the Xiliu Camp. Apart from charging headfirst into the gunmets, they had no more courageous option. The hail of metal bullets continued to slaughter the Yellow Flag soldiers below. Zhang Biao was furious—he heard the chaos on his side and saw an old subordinate shot in the head and fall instantly.

The firing from the Spencer rifles ceased, leaving only the distinctive sound of Remington rifles. The Yellow Flag soldiers about ten meters away cheered like waves, charging forward with various weapons and a barrage of bullets. More casualties appeared behind the breast wall. Apart from the Remington rifles, the Spencers couldn’t be reloaded in such a short time.

Once hand-to-hand combat began, the Xiliu Camp would collapse immediately. With victory so close at hand, they trampled over their comrades’ bodies, pushing aside those in front with extreme fanaticism. Zhang Biao’s feet were covered in shell casings. He couldn’t believe the Yellow Flag Army could be so insane, but to win, he had to be more confident than the enemy.

Two Yellow Flag soldiers, covered in blood, appeared in the terrifying light of the fire. Zhang Biao threw down his Spencer rifle and, gripping a revolver, aimed at an enemy who had crashed into the breast wall. He pulled the trigger—this gunshot reminded the Yellow Flag soldiers, still drunk with victory, that the battle was still ongoing. One Yellow Flag soldier collapsed under the breast wall, bloodied, while the others mercilessly trampled his body, ready to slash at their opponents above with their long knives.

All the Spencer rifles had stopped firing, leaving only the Remingtons and Zhang Biao’s revolver firing. “Bang!” Another bullet, then another. As an experienced bandit, Zhang Biao’s revolver was almost flawless—six shots hit four Yellow Flag soldiers—but his efforts seemed futile. The fallen were trampled by their fanatical successors, and now enemies were already scaling the wall. There were only over twenty Black Flag soldiers defending the wall. It would take them a long time to reload, and their rifles and carbines hardly had bayonets attached.

Before them were hundreds of fanatical Yellow Flag troops, most of whom carried melee weapons, ready for close combat. There were also many rifles with both front and rear barrels in their ranks. They were eager to eliminate this Black Flag army and put an end to these gloomy days.
The battle had reached its most critical moment.
Under the light of fire, Zhang Biao’s resolute face could be seen.
“Xiliu Camp! White Army, charge!”
……
As the leader of the vanguard, Cai Yunan bore even greater responsibilities. He was tasked with search, reconnaissance, combat, and many other duties—missions that weighed heavily on his shoulders. That’s why he personally went down to strengthen the vanguard squad. He had to rescue Zhang Biao’s platoon, which was part of the same unit. As time passed, his feelings for Xiliu Camp grew deeper than his loyalty to the Heaven and Earth Society. He had once been the leader of the Heaven and Earth Society in Haiyang, but back then things were not as prosperous as now, nor were relationships with various groups as harmonious. The Heaven and Earth Society remained a disorganized group without a unified leader, never managing to achieve anything significant. Liu Yu asked him to contact the Heaven and Earth Society in Northern Vietnam, and he ended up meeting Shen Sheng. Yet this leader of the Heaven and Earth Society was shortsighted, failing to see the full potential of Xiliu Camp. After much effort, he managed to secure a promise to reassess the training results in three months. But when that time came, even strong figures like Liu Yongfu praised Xiliu Camp’s soldiers, yet Shen Sheng, the top leader of the Heaven and Earth Society, continued to procrastinate and waver, never making a decision—until yesterday when he sent a message saying he was ready to cooperate.
A group as spirited and full of promise as Xiliu Camp was truly worlds apart!
It was precisely because of this mindset that Cai Yunan felt his responsibilities were especially heavy. This was the most demanding mission he had ever undertaken alone since Xiliu Camp was formed: “Be vigilant in searching, pay attention to intelligence!”
The main force could march along the main road at ease, but Cai Yunan’s vanguard platoon had to clear all obstacles near the road, even climbing the highest mountains just in case. At the same time, they had to gather as much information as possible about the enemy ahead, but they received very little intelligence, only some scattered details from passersby. The vanguard even didn’t use torches, relying on the faint light of the moon and stars to move forward. Cai Yunan was grateful that he had learned how to read maps during this period, while his deputy possessed another skill: using stars and a compass to determine direction. They had traveled this route several times during training camp, and thanks to these advantages, their operations went relatively smoothly. However, after joining forces with the soldier sentry who fired fireworks, they obtained more information, but the task became even more difficult.
Under normal circumstances, Vietnamese villages were pitch dark at night, with only night watchmen carrying dim lanterns to alert the sleeping people. But today was different. From Cai Yunan’s position, he could clearly see that several villages in the distance were brightly lit, many of them located along the path Xiliu Camp had to take.

By the light of the temporarily lit candles, Cai Yunan glanced at the map and checked their direction: “Get ready for battle. Be ready to strike the enemy at any moment.”
The villages with lit candles were all Christian villages, and he knew this meant trouble.
Further ahead, Cai Yunan’s advance slowed down significantly. They heard the sound of gongs and drums, followed by the familiar sound of musket fire from the flanks.
The gunshots were far away and posed no threat, but they served as a signal. Soon, gunshots came from all sides, even from behind.
As for the noisy gongs, they never stopped.
Cai Yunan was forced to spread his vanguard in a fan shape, ready for battle at any time. Three squads formed a triangular formation to eliminate any enemies that appeared ahead.
Further ahead, direct fire was aimed at his vanguard—“Bang!” “Bang!”
The gunshots came one after another. Although they were outside the effective range of muskets, the bullets from all directions made Cai Yunan frown.
The vanguard reported even worse news.
“Report! We’ve found the enemy’s main defensive position. It seems their fortifications are extremely strong.”
As a seventh-rank official, Ye Mengyan was the Vietnamese official most concerned about the Xiliu Camp.
His residence in Shanxi City was a clean and dust-free house. In the darkness of the night, Ye Mengyan was still reading several documents related to the Xiliu Camp.
Liu Yu had specifically assigned him to handle the recruitment efforts for the Xiliu Camp: “We will not agree to anyone other than Lord Ye.”
That single sentence multiplied his value by a hundred. But as a middleman, he usually sought to benefit from both sides. By stirring up chaos, he ensured that the actual recruitment process remained stalled.
He also knew that just Shanxi province alone might not be able to afford the Xiliu Camp’s salaries. This time, Lord Huang Zuoyan offered four Mexican silver coins per person per month to the Black Flag Army to suppress Li Yangcai.
So he had to take advantage of the situation. He hoped to find something in these documents, but suddenly, things changed dramatically.
After hurried footsteps, two colleagues rushed over urgently: “Mengyan, good news for you!”
“What good news?”
“The governor wants to see you!” One of the colleagues was sweating: “This time, the Xiliu Camp is in big trouble. What else could be good news for you?”
“Explain further,” Ye Mengyan said with a smile. “If they suffer losses, their remaining forces might send me to recruit them.”
The first thing the Xiliu Camp did when it arrived in Shanxi was to defeat the elite troops of Shanxi, whom Huang Zuoyan relied on, on the riverbank. As a result, relations between the two sides remained icy, and the officials of Shanxi province only wished the Black Flag Army would suffer.
“The Black Flag Army has offended the Christian church. This time, the church has brought three to four thousand Yellow Flag Army troops, who are now fighting the Xiliu Camp by the Red River. The Xiliu Camp has sent all its troops except twenty left to guard their base.”
Ye Mengyan was overjoyed: “Great! This is a heaven-sent opportunity! I’ll go see the governor right away!”
As a competent middleman, he had to know how to offer help in times of need, how to take advantage of chaos, and how to stir up more trouble.

“My lord governor, this time in the battle between the Xiliu Camp and the Yellow Flag Army, our government will not interfere at all—no troops will be sent. Let them fight to the death. Well, I have another suggestion.”
Ye Mengran lowered his voice: “I heard that only over twenty men remain in the Xiliu Camp’s old garrison…”
……
Amidst the sound of muskets firing like beans being roasted, there was now also the distinctive sound of Spencer rifles. The vanguard scouts completed their mission again: “Reporting to the platoon leader, the enemy has about one battalion defending their main defensive position. To the left of that position is an enemy village with roughly thirty various types of firearms.”
As for the situation further ahead, the vanguard scouts brought bad news as well: “It seems that all the foreign missionary villages in this area are determined to oppose our camp. So far, we’ve counted no fewer than two hundred enemy soldiers.”
These armed men were much weaker in combat strength than the enemy troops at the main defensive position, but the problem was their constant harassment, forcing the small vanguard platoon of just over forty men to divert attention to deal with them.
They would fire a round of musket shots from afar, yet the vanguard platoon had to send at least one rifle squad to drive them away. They were like a bunch of annoying mosquitoes, ready to bite the vanguard platoon at any moment.
So far, the vanguard platoon had suffered no casualties, but after observing the enemy troops at the main defensive position from a distance, Cai Yunnan had to admit, “It’s a very sophisticated defensive setup. The enemy is certainly strong.”
Inside that fortress ahead, there were probably several hundred combat-ready enemy soldiers, fully equipped with breech-loading guns and artillery. It would take a considerable force to break through that fortress, and it might be impossible to open a path to rescue the Red River outpost.
To the left was a foreign missionary village, armed with dozens of guns. They would fire at anyone who dared approach, posing a significant obstacle to any attack. On both sides of the village, there were also many armed members of Catholic organizations. Any attack on the village would result in battles with them.
Although he hadn’t fully mapped out all the defenses and lacked military expertise, Cai Yunnan had astonishing courage. “Send messengers to report to the platoon leader! I’ve decided to launch an immediate attack to seize the enemy’s main defensive position.”
“The enemy ahead numbers over a thousand and has built strong fortifications. Our platoon consists of just over forty men!” Cai Yunnan explained to his soldiers, “We must cover the deployment of the entire battalion. We also need to send some troops to deal with the enemy at the main defensive position—there’s about one battalion there.”
“But I ask you, do you have the confidence?”
Cai Yunnan’s style clearly influenced the entire platoon. The Cai Yunnan Platoon was full of reckless yet brave men: “We have confidence! One squad can cover the flanks, while the other two squads will dare to open a path for the main force! Once the platoon leader leads the main force here, we’ll break through their positions in one go.”
It was an optimistic plan, but Cai Yunnan had such courage because he had the main force of the Xiliu Camp behind him.
He now believed that in Tonkin, no force dared to stop the Xiliu Camp’s advance.
However, before attacking, he needed to make some preparations.
“Squad One, Squad Two, and one Spencer rifle squad along with one Remington rifle squad will join the main attack.”

“The other two rifle teams in Team Three should provide cover for the main force while advancing separately. The assigned sergeants should strike from the enemy’s left flank to launch a feint attack.”
A infantry squad consists of fourteen men; one Remington rifle team has two members, and one Spencer rifle team has four. Adding Cai Yunnan himself, a total of thirty-five soldiers will participate in the frontal attack.
Facing them are over three hundred elite soldiers led by Li Yangcai, along with well-constructed fortifications.
……
Honghe Outpost.
“Close combat!”
At Zhang Biao’s command, the Xiliu Battalion revealed its most terrifying side. Their calloused hands set aside their Spencer rifles and picked up the entrenching shovels they usually used for building fortifications.
Although Spencer carbines couldn’t be equipped with bayonets, that didn’t mean the Xiliu Battalion lacked close combat skills. This platoon was equipped with most of the entrenching shovels produced by the Xiliu Battalion itself.
The Yellow Flag Army was living in a delusion of invincibility. They rushed toward the parapet, unaware of the brutal reality awaiting them.
These entrenching shovels were deadly weapons in close combat. A single swing could sever half a head, and if hit, it would create a bloody wound from which even gods couldn’t save the victim.
One soldier from the Yellow Flag Army was crawling up the wall, still holding a melee weapon. The entrenching shovel struck his forehead, sending him flying along with his brain matter.
“They’re using shovels!”
The infantrymen standing behind the parapet now had a huge advantage. With the Yellow Flag Army clustered in front of the parapet, the shovels could find targets in any direction.
Many Yellow Flag Army soldiers were killed or wounded in no time. Meanwhile, those behind kept pushing the soldiers in front toward the parapet, leaving them unable to stand steadily.
Just because the Yellow Flag Army had planned for close combat didn’t mean they were prepared for actual hand-to-hand fighting. Yet these veteran soldiers from the Yellow Flag Army were quite skilled. After initial shock, they managed to fight back.
But Liu Yu trained this unit according to the standards of the People’s Liberation Army. Although they lacked bayonets and had to rely on entrenching shovels, the 21st-century PLA was still one of the world’s most skilled forces in close combat.
It was a glorious tradition, tracing back to the Japanese assassination techniques returned by the Eighth Route Army to the Japanese during the War of Resistance, as well as countless close combat battles during the war. Though the Xiliu Battalion had only learned a semblance of these techniques, it was enough to shock the Yellow Flag Army.
Now, the Yellow Flag Army couldn’t bear the reality of their shattered dreams.
Zhang Biao swung his entrenching shovel left and right, killing three opponents on the parapet. He was now preparing to deliver a fatal blow to the fourth. The Yellow Flag Army soldiers couldn’t believe that these once weak men had turned into tigers, slaughtering them in close combat.
Loading complete!
The two Spencer rifle teams that had retreated had finished reloading and were now ready to show their strength.
Fifty-nine bullets were fired in quick succession. Their bullets were fired freely, combined with the kills inflicted by the Remington rifle teams and the brave soldiers wielding entrenching shovels. A large number of Yellow Flag Army soldiers fell, and then they dropped their yellow flags and retreated toward the mud wall.

They fled like retreating tide, and once the tide went out, the hundred-foot stretch between the mud walls and breastworks had turned into a slaughterhouse.
“Hahaha!” Zhang Biao was so triumphant he almost lost control. He picked up his Spencer, ready to load it with ammunition, but when he reached for his waist, his heart sank.
There were no bullets left.
All seventy rounds had been used up.
He couldn’t believe it.
Due to the limited firing rate, infantrymen of that era could fire only a few rounds per battle—perhaps a dozen for a musketeer. Yet Liu Yu had set the standard for the Xiliu Camp as thirty to forty rounds per rifle per battle. But in just a few hours, he had already used up all seventy rounds he had.
This certainly showed the Spencer’s firepower, but running out of bullets meant one thing: the Spencer riflemen had very few rounds left.
For the first time since the battle began, Zhang Biao felt such tension.
The soldiers of the Xiliu Camp also realized this, though they spoke in hushed voices: “Squad Leader Zhang, I only have one more round left.”
“I’m even worse—only four rounds in the barrel!”
“I’m okay, two rounds!”
The soldiers had between a dozen and just two or three rounds left, some even completely out of ammunition.
“Go collect bullets from the wounded and the fallen.”
Yet this search only yielded about a hundred rounds, and it revealed an even graver truth to Zhang Biao.
His infantry squad was nearly wiped out—thirty-seven men in total, including himself. Two were dead, six were too seriously injured to fight, five were able to shoot but not engage in close combat, and most of the rest were also wounded.
“Damn it!” Before Zhang Biao could react, news came from the Remington rifle team as well: “The bullets are almost gone.”
On the other side, the retreating Yellow Flag Army still held considerable strength. Crying, they regrouped, attempting to launch another attack.
Zhang Biao felt as if his rock had been shattered by the waves. He had never desired reinforcements so much.