Chapter 70: Quick Victory

Two willow leaves.
At the sight of this flag, Lu Zhiping felt dizzy. He wasn’t some clueless otaku; he knew quite a lot about the troops in Beiqi.
The Xiliu Camp was renowned for its black flags and its use of breech-loading rifles by all its soldiers. He was skeptical about such legends, but it was an undeniable fact that the Xiliu Camp, which had risen in Shanxi, had excellent weapons. Many troops preferred to avoid them rather than engage in a direct fight.
Thinking of this, he realized that Ye Chenglin’s Black Bird Camp’s Remington rifles might also be formidable: “Prepare to seize their rifles!”
In fact, without needing to be told, Lu Zhiping’s men had already seen clearly—among the two enemy teams, though not all might have breech-loading rifles, most certainly did. But as experienced soldiers, they remained calm: “Bomb them!”
Dozens of cannons were already in position. These old Civil War cannons could now be put to use. No matter how good their rifles were, could they compare to cannons? A single shell would knock down a dozen men.
Moreover, their own front-loading rifles were also top-notch, at least in terms of range. A few had already fired: “Bang! Bang! Bang!”
“The cannon positions are ready!” As soon as Lu Zhiping said this, cries came from the artillery positions.
“I’ve been hit! Save me!”
One artilleryman was struck by a bullet from afar. He rolled on the ground in pain, and more bullets flew toward the artillery positions. In no time, the entire artillery position turned into a sea of blood.
It was still Remington rifle bullets. The exposed artillery positions became perfect targets for snipers. They aimed their rifles to cover their own troops’ advance while also targeting the enemy artillerymen.
The artillery unit was Lu Zhiping’s greatest reliance, but now he saw his own artillerymen being killed inexplicably. After five or six casualties, the remaining artillerymen could no longer hold on and retreated.
Such battles severely damaged morale. The allies could only estimate the positions of the enemy riflemen based on gunfire, but beyond the faint white smoke, nothing was visible.
Another artilleryman was hit and fell. Without even touching the enemy, they had already suffered heavy losses. Worse still, with a feast prepared, two enemy forces arrived unexpectedly. Many people grew anxious: “Today’s battle won’t be easy!”
But they were veterans. No matter how many bullets came, they would stand firm and fight: “Fight bravely!”
Yet Lu Zhiping noticed another enemy team, roughly the same size as the first two. But these over a hundred enemies were beyond his forces’ capacity to handle: “Go all out! Bring out everything we have!”
Fighting had already begun. At 300 meters, muskets weren’t lethal, but muzzle-loading rifles were different. After a round of firing, the enemy also suffered light casualties, though the shots weren’t very accurate as the enemy moved in scattered lines.
“Closer!”

They leaped dozens of meters further, while their side held the fortifications, ready to launch a second round of gunfire. Lu Zhiping recognized the enemy: “They really underestimate us!”
After all, they were one of the top teams in Northern Vietnam. With just fifty or sixty men, they wanted to take over the position defended by seven hundred of his men. “Fight back fiercely!”
Shrapnel flew everywhere. The enemy mainly used a small number of Remington rifles to counterfire. Their firepower was still superior. Just as Lu Zhiping thought about this, the enemy opened fire.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Such intense gunfire shocked Lu Zhiping and his old subordinates. He never expected the enemy’s firepower to be so strong, almost like rain.
At this range, muskets had little killing power, but with that torrential barrage of bullets, all the muskets fired involuntarily. Lu Zhiping felt he had encountered the greatest shock of his life. In just that instant, the enemy must have fired countless bullets.
A thousand? Two thousand? He didn’t know. All he knew was that their five or six hundred firearms were completely overwhelmed.
The enemy lay on the ground, firing wildly at them, making his heart pound. Although their side had simple fortifications, the enemy’s firepower was too intense. People kept falling wounded from time to time, yet the enemy suffered few casualties.
Nine-barreled guns! Lu Zhiping, who knew something about the enemy’s weapons, came up with this term. He saw that after firing a round, the enemy replaced the barrel and fired again. He couldn’t imagine when Ye Chenglin had acquired such powerful weapons.
The entire force of Lu Zhiping was under pressure. They had only one row of soldiers, one-tenth of the defending force, but only one-quarter of the defenders could fire their rifles. The rest didn’t even have the courage to lift their heads.
The enemy’s firepower was too fierce. Even the most experienced Lu Zhiping couldn’t imagine such a scene in battle.
“Bang!” Another wave of bullets came from the flanks, bringing even more damage than the enemy in front. Their side fire was deadly, knocking down twenty or thirty people at once. Only then did Lu Zhiping realize that the enemies on both sides had already taken positions.
It was a sea of blood around him. His old subordinates kept getting shot. He didn’t know where Lu Zhiping got so many rapid-fire guns. Bullets kept flying, and their side was completely overwhelmed, without even the strength to fight back.
Someone noticed: “More enemies are coming from behind!”
Before hearing this, Lu Zhiping still had the courage to resist. But after hearing those words, he could only shout loudly, “Charge out! Break through!”
The enemy had set a trap to lure them in. Ye Chenglin was too cruel and shameless. He led dozens of his men to charge out desperately. Lu Zhiping’s old subordinates were also encouraged by them: “Charge! Charge!”
At that time, the Xiliu Camp hadn’t formed a siege yet. So although the rapid-fire guns had killed many people, Lu Zhiping moved swiftly. Before the siege closed in, he led many men to break through.
“A gentleman can take revenge after ten years…”
As soon as he said this and looked at the dozen or so men around him, tears welled up uncontrollably. “Ye Chenglin, I’ll never let this go!”

Everything was shattered—ten years of effort and accumulation, all undone by Ye Chenglin. He watched in horror as his main forces were trapped in the encirclement. Tears streamed down uncontrollably, and deep in his heart, he regretted, “I wish I had just fought against the Qing troops instead!” Inside the encirclement, hundreds of soldiers became like a herd of driven sheep. They rushed west only to be repelled by intense gunfire; they tried heading east, only to face more gunfire. Finally, Ye Chenglin shouted, “Surrender your weapons, and you’ll live!” The soldiers, lacking the courage to resist, sat on the ground crying. Some knelt among the corpses, holding their heads. The main forces of the Xiliu Camp also surrounded them, ordering, “Check the corpses! Sweep them all!” Ye Chenglin shouted, “I am Ye Chenglin from the Crow Camp. I have some acquaintance with your leader Lu. Though he isn’t loyal, I will honor our friendship!” Showing friendship after defeating someone was the most heartless thing in the world. Lu Zhiping’s men were shot down from the battlefield in groups. Crying, they pleaded, “Lord Ye, it’s our fault this time. Please spare our lives!” Ye Chenglin didn’t dare to make a decision and asked Liu Yu, “Commander, what do you think?” Liu Yu replied casually, “Follow the old rules of the Yellow Flag Army and Li Yangcai’s forces.” Meanwhile, Zhang Biao rushed over excitedly to report good news, “Commander, there are many British rifles! Those that can be used to modify the Snider rifles.” Not long after encountering them, he discovered that Lu Zhiping used Enfield 1853 muzzle-loading rifles. Lu Zhiping had over two hundred such rifles, most of which were muzzle-loaders. Now, nearly two hundred more lay abandoned or captured on the battlefield. Being practical yet meticulous, he ordered, “Carefully collect all the British and breech-loading rifles. Not a single one may be lost!” To modify a Snider rifle, the Xiliu Camp first needed to obtain an Enfield 1853 rifle, then use modification kits to alter it. Currently, one Snider rifle could be produced every three days, though it was said that with practice, it could be done in two days. The problem was that Liu Yu didn’t have many Enfield 1853 rifles in stock. Just as they were worried, Lu Zhiping delivered more rifles, saying, “Commander! We won’t lack rifles anymore—it’s just that production is slow!” Producing one rapid-fire rifle every two or three days was indeed slow, but Liu Yu said, “Once they get proficient, one could be produced per day. What about casualties?” After all, Lu Zhiping had a force of seven hundred men, including many veterans. Ye Chenglin and Zhang Biao quickly counted and reported, “In total, nineteen are injured, five are dead, and two are missing.” As for Lu Zhiping’s losses, there were over a hundred corpses and wounded on the battlefield, plus more than three hundred captured. Liu Yu said meaningfully to Ye Chenglin and Zhang Biao, “That’s the equivalent of two companies’ strength.” Both Zhang Biao and Ye Chenglin knew that, following the usual practice of dealing with the Yellow Flag Army and Li Yangcai’s captives, these three hundred captives would be dispersed—the old and weak sent away, while the elite were retained for retraining. Liu Yu added, “Send people to recruit new recruits later. Use the trained recruits to strengthen your own forces.”

Prisoners didn’t need pay or uniforms; just food was sufficient. Ye Chenglin was determined to train them well: “Leave that to us!”
Enfeierde from the battlefield was also brought back. In this battle, the Xiliu Camp captured seven breech-loading rifles, two revolvers, 167 Enfeierde muzzle-loading guns, over 30 other types of muzzle-loading guns, more than 300 shotguns, and 12 muzzle-loading cannons. There were also many bullets and other loot.
All of Lu Zhiping’s ten years of effort came to this.
Seeing this, Ye Chenglin felt that joining the Xiliu Camp had been an absolutely wise decision. Lu Zhiping had built a strong army in northern Vietnam, but today, in this battle, they were utterly worthless, a force that would collapse at the slightest touch.
On one hand, their own firepower was strong, and snipers suppressed the enemy from the start. On the other hand, it was the result of regular training and effective tactics—bullying Lu Zhiping was as easy as cutting tofu.
Many large pits had been dug on the battlefield. Under supervision, the prisoners buried the corpses there. As for their own wounded, their situation was dire. After the Liu Yu’s medical unit was deployed, they could only take care of their own wounded and had no capacity to help the enemy’s, so they were left to fend for themselves in the wild.
The prisoners considered this outcome quite good. At that moment, the enemy’s wounded were simply shot again; being able to fend for themselves was already a great fortune. Liu Yu then released over thirty elderly people in their fifties and sixties from among the prisoners: “I’m leaving some food for you. Please take good care of these people.”
What a great gift! The prisoners were deeply moved. The Xiliu Camp not only didn’t punish or scold them but also took care of their own corpses, preventing them from being left in the wild. They even sent some prisoners to take care of the enemy’s wounded. One prisoner then shouted, “Commander, I have important information to report.”
“What is it?”
The prisoner said loudly, “I am one of Lu Zhiping’s confidants. Deeply moved by your righteousness, I am willing to reveal Lu Zhiping’s hidden treasure location to you.”
As soon as he spoke, some prisoners loudly condemned him: “Traitor…”
“You wretch!”
“Disgraceful!”
“You’ve forgotten all of Lu Zhiping’s kindnesses.”
They really didn’t expect this man to turn against them in just a few minutes. But he was still stubborn enough to continue seriously, “Please agree to a few requests of mine.”
“Speak then!”
He spoke in an organized manner: “Please don’t abandon our wounded in the wild. Do whatever you can to help them.”
This request wasn’t excessive, and the prisoners nodded in agreement. He then said, “I hope you can provide food. We don’t need to be full, just not starve!”
Liu Yu nodded. With a wave of his hand, Zhang Biao rushed over: “Take two medics and go over there. Save as many people as you can.”
This time, the medical unit sent two doctors, eight medics, and sixteen stretcher bearers. In addition, each infantry battalion had one part-time medic, so sending two medics wouldn’t affect overall operations.
Dozens of lightly wounded were rescued from the piles of corpses. Liu Yu left some medicine for them and then sent people to find the so-called hidden treasure location of Lu Zhiping.

Vietnam was a poor place, so Lu Zhiping naturally didn’t have much surplus food. His hidden treasure was in a small cave, containing some funds he planned to use to make a comeback. There was over a thousand taels of silver, several taels of gold, dozens of silver dollars, hundreds of strings of copper coins, a dozen barrels of black gunpowder, over twenty British breech-loading rifles, and some ammunition. But the most valuable thing was the stored food—over ten thousand jin. With such an abundance of food, it saved Liu Yu a great deal of money and effort in supplying his troops stationed far away.

Liu Yu also treated Lu Zhiping’s captives well. He released another group of old and weak captives, giving each one a silver dollar as travel money. Now, his army consisted of just over two hundred strong captives, all of whom had actually killed people and seen blood before.

While releasing them, he also gave Lu Zhiping’s wounded dozens of first-aid kits. These kits were made by the Xiliu Camp and had been prepared in quantity—120 kits for this campaign—so many remained after use, most of which had already been given away.

These first-aid kits contained bandages and other combat supplies along with simple herbal medicines. However, in actual combat, they proved far from sufficient. Even in ordinary battles, they caused serious problems, let alone in a major fight against the French.

It was time to stockpile medicinal materials! Liu Yu realized this. Penicillin, the greatest invention in human history, hadn’t yet been invented. This medicinal substance, known in old China as “penicillin,” could greatly reduce the death rate of wounded soldiers.

Quinine, iodine tincture… He needed to prepare more of these materials. The future Sino-French war wouldn’t be as easy as before. The French army was one of the best in the world, and it was normal to lose hundreds of soldiers in a single major battle.

He had to save up! The thought of saving made Liu Yu feel frustrated. He wondered how well Liu, the merchant, was doing with his loan fraud schemes in Shanxi. He still hoped to use francs to buy medicines, weapons, and military supplies…

However, there was good news: since defeating Lu Zhiping, the reputation of the Crow Camp had finally risen. Now, whenever the enemy saw the black bird on the flag, they immediately felt a sense of bad omens.

Without any further indication, just the appearance of the flags of the Xiliu Camp and the Crow Camp would calm the area instantly, and people would come to help gather food and arrange lodging.

It was such an easy way to defeat Lu Zhiping’s powerful army!

Lu Zhiping had ruled Gao Ping for over a decade and could handle even the Qing dynasty’s defense forces with ease. But now, he was defeated in just one day. It was said that the Xiliu Camp and the Crow Camp hadn’t encountered any obstacles. At first, some people were skeptical, but after seeing the neatly uniformed soldiers and their rear-mounted guns, everyone believed it.

Even the Qing dynasty’s defense forces didn’t have such standards. Looking at their formations, every officer could command the troops, and even every soldier could skillfully train the captives in formation—something that seemed impossible.

It should be noted that even in late Qing times, commanding drills was still a difficult task for defense and training forces. Most officers couldn’t do it. When Feng Yuxiang arrived at the new army, he found that most officers were illiterate, but every officer could command drills—which was truly astonishing.

The impact brought about by the Xiliu Camp now is similar to this. With such a powerful force, no one dares to offend them and can only strive to maintain good relations. However, the ones who benefit the most are not the Xiliu Camp, but the Huajian Sect, which appears as an ally of the Xiliu Camp. Their religious activities in these provinces have suddenly seen explosive growth; it’s almost certain that their membership will exceed seven thousand this year. Still, the Huajian Sect is also very dedicated to the Xiliu Camp. They are well aware that the powerful Xiliu Camp is the main reason behind the progress of their religious activities, so wherever the Xiliu Camp goes, they will provide support. Now, Liu Yu has received good news from them. “They want to join us? Tell me, what are their conditions?” This is no longer the era when Zhang Biao or Cai Yunnan would join forces, nor is it Ye Chenglin’s era. Even those who bring weapons to offer allegiance must first satisfy Liu Yu.