Chapter 96: April 25th (Continued)

This tough man knelt before his four thousand comrades and said, “I, Liu Yongfu, have little more to say. Everything now depends on you all!”
He gazed at the ever-flowing Red River. “Our Black Flag Army, no matter which battalion or who leads us, has survived thanks to this river.”
“We come from different places, but it is this Red River that sustains us. Now the French want to drive us away from the river, from Baosheng, from the place where we live!”
“We may be displaced, but our Black Flag Army still has thousands of dependents and hundreds of orphans. We may have to endure hardships, but we must fight for them!”
Liu Yongfu’s voice became hoarse. “Black Flag Army, follow me and fight!”
“Fight!”
One after another, the shouts converged into one word: “Fight!”
“Fight!”
April 25, 1883. Huaide Prefecture.
Though called a prefecture, this place was merely the size of an ordinary inland town. Here, Shen Sheng stared intently at the Red River.
Huaide Prefecture would be the entry point for the Black Flag Army, while his independent company and the 100 guards of the Flower Between Sect were here to protect the supplies that had been stockpiled in advance.
Two thousand bushels of military grain, two hundred bushels of horse fodder, and a large amount of other supplies had been accumulated here. With the help of the Black Flag Bank, these supplies were obtained through the use of Black Flag banknotes. It was these reserves that allowed the entire Black Flag Army to set out for Baosheng with minimal burden.
Yet now he had to be wary of Li Weiyeh suddenly attacking from Hanoi. If that happened, he wouldn’t even be able to cry.
Although there were over 230 troops gathered in Huaide Prefecture, he had little confidence in the Flower Between Sect’s guards. Only half of them were equipped with Snider rifles with breech-loading mechanisms, while the rest still used various types of front-loading foreign rifles.
But this was already the strongest military force of the Flower Between Sect. Shen Sheng knew that all his actions in Huaide depended on their support.
His independent company was equally fragile. Though it had 120 soldiers, all equipped with breech-loading rifles, the true core force consisted of just one platoon. The rest were newly recruited soldiers who, despite three months of military training, lacked combat experience.
With these 230 men stationed so close to Hanoi, Li Weiyeh could use his ships to attack Huaide Prefecture at any time. Then Shen Sheng would have no choice but to retreat in tears, losing all the stockpiled supplies.
He had encountered many such failures when leading the Tiandihui.
On the other side, Sister Teresa, full of determination, also gazed at the surging Red River and said loudly to her troops, “Don’t worry! Li Weiyeh won’t come out! At least not until we’ve dealt him a heavy blow.”
She understood well the mentality of a senior colonel like Li Weiyeh. Such Frenchmen were proud yet fragile—they would easily break their own principles, but only before their fragile hearts were struck.

Li Weiyeh was still very proud. He clearly knew that just a short distance from Hanoi lay a combined force of the Black Flag Army and the Flower Between Sect, but he had resolved to hold out in Hanoi for reinforcements. He would defend Hanoi at all costs and would never launch an attack even if a great opportunity lay before him. Teresa had seen many such stubborn Frenchmen; what concerned her more was her own fate. She had originally been a princess of heaven, but from the moment she betrayed Catholicism, she knew her fate would be in her own hands. Whether it was Liu Yu, the Xiliu Camp, or Luo Yanqiu and the Flower Between Sect, they all provided her with a platform to take control of her destiny. Behind her stood four thousand elite soldiers—a fate from which there was no turning back. She said to the river, “The only thing I must do is defeat the French!” On the same day, outside Shanxi City, a large army of several thousand people marching in was a sight of great visual beauty; from above, it resembled long serpents. Each battalion of the Black Flag Army now displayed its flags as it headed toward Hanoi. Every soldier and officer was full of enthusiasm and confidence in victory. Among all the infantry battalions, the most prominent were those of the Xiliu Infantry Regiment. When people heard those three famous names, they would talk even more about them. “Xiliu!” “Crows!” “Vast Sea!” These were the three strongest infantry battalions of the Black Flag Army. Their uniforms, demeanor, and equipment were all unique. Even Liu Yongfu’s personal guards had to make way for them. “Look at their uniforms—so great, so cool!” “Don’t even think about it. Our battalion officers aren’t as handsome as them, but these uniforms aren’t bad either!” They were wearing the new uniforms given to them by the Xiliu Camp, but the soldiers had already decided, “It’s a shame we can only wear them for one day. Such nice clothes—wasting them otherwise would be a shame!” “They get four uniforms a year—how great!” “Stop it. Let’s just follow our battalion officer Yang. At least he’s a military graduate; he should know how to lead troops!” “What’s the use of a military graduate? One battalion of the Xiliu Regiment is equal to two of ours, and one battalion of their rapid-fire guns is equal to five of ours…” “Enough! I know they have more rapid-fire guns, but we also have matchlock guns. They’re powerful—one shot can fire dozens of bullets.” The “matchlock guns” they referred to were the powerful weapons relied on by Yang Zhenen and many Qing officials. These guns were essentially an upgraded version of bird guns, requiring two or even three people to operate. During battle, they were loaded with lots of gunpowder, allowing one shot to fire dozens of bullets, though their range was only slightly greater than that of bird guns. The Yang Zhenen battalion’s firearms were the weakest among the Black Flag Army’s battalions, so he could only rely on these powerful muzzle-loading rifles to boost firepower. Yet even within his own battalion, everyone knew these guns weren’t very effective: “Enough! No matter how good these guns are, what’s the use?” “The gunpowder seems plenty and looks powerful, but it’s not very useful. There’s too much of it, and it’s too messy. It can’t kill people. Beyond a hundred meters, it’s unlikely even to hit them at all!”

“This thing is no better than Remington, not even as good as Spencer from Xiliuying, and not even as good as Snider—it’s useless…”
April 25, 1883. Qiongshan.
The highest official currently stationed in Vietnam is Xu Yanzhu. Over a year ago, when Liu Yu met him, this man, reputed to be the most knowledgeable about Vietnam, was merely a daoyuan. Now, he has risen rapidly to become the governor of Guangxi.
The governor, equivalent to a modern provincial governor, is the second-in-command under the provincial governor-general. It was extremely rare in the hundreds of years of the Qing Dynasty for someone to be promoted from daoyuan to governor of Guangxi within a year.
This was also due to the Qing Dynasty’s emphasis on military affairs in Vietnam. Since Li Weiyeh captured Hanoi, the Qing had been indecisive about Vietnam—unable to decide whether to go to war or not. Everyone had their own opinions, but someone needed to be in charge of Vietnam. In the end, the reformists agreed that Xu Yanzhu understood Vietnam best and could be trusted with the task.
Although he had the support of the reformists, Lu Chuanlin was his brother-in-law. Thus, this scholar-like Xu Yanzhu rose swiftly to take charge of Vietnam affairs and was stationed in Qiongshan.
Now, this man in his sixties asked with a smile, “Commander Zhao, I heard that the Black Flag Army is sending troops to Huaidefu?”
“Tang Jingsong has sent a letter. Through his persuasion, more than four thousand soldiers from the Black Flag Army will be sent to Huaidefu to threaten Hanoi. This will be a serious threat to us.”
What Zhao Wo considered a serious threat was not Li Weiyeh in Hanoi, but the Black Flag Army itself. “The Black Flag Army can be used, but they are too powerful. Especially those from Xiliuying, who have ulterior motives—perfect candidates for a thorough punishment.”
Xu Yanzhu was a scholar, but he was no weaker than these military officers from Hunan and Anhui when it came to political tactics. Now that he was the governor, and thus the superior of Huang Guilan and Zhao Wo, he naturally used some stratagems.
There were seventeen battalions in the defense forces outside the Great Wall. Currently, Huang Guilan commanded twelve battalions, while Zhao Wo commanded five. They were not under each other’s command. According to Xu Yanzhu’s report, this was meant to ensure that both generals would exert their best efforts.
But it was obvious to everyone that this was a trick to maintain control. More importantly, since Zhao Wo was weaker than Huang Guilan, Xu Yanzhu aimed to suppress Huang Guilan and win over Zhao Wo. “Commander Zhao, your words are excellent! The Black Flag Army is too powerful and uncontrollable—truly a serious threat to me. Once they are locked in a fierce battle, my seventeen battalions can march straight into Hanoi and achieve great success.”
Zhao Wo mentioned one thing: “Tang Jingsong wrote in his letter that the Black Flag Army lacks troops and weapons and wants us to provide reinforcements.”
Xu Yanzhu sneered. “With only these weapons and troops, how can we give them any more? By the way, Commander Zhao, I’m a civil official. I wonder if you have any strategies to defeat the enemy?”
Zhao Wo replied with a smile, “Of course I do. After much effort, I finally borrowed five hundred rifles from the eastern province. Together with those in our army, we now have a thousand rifles. That will be a decisive advantage.”
“What’s so special about those rifles from the eastern province?” Xu Yanzhu, being a typical scholar, had little experience in military affairs despite having accompanied the army several times. He could only talk big: “Tell me more.”

Zhao Wo loved the shoulder-mounted gun, and there was a historical reason for this. During the late Qing Dynasty, the use of shoulder-mounted guns was a popular trend, with Zeng Guofan being the founder of this school. Faced with the superiority of Western firearms, Zeng Guofan chose to ignore it, pretending not to see it, and instead heavily promoted his own developed weapons like the Pishan Cannon and shoulder-mounted gun. He even said to his brother Zeng Guoquan, “Yuan, foreign guns are useless; our Pishan Cannon is the best. I’ve recently developed a new type that can fire sixty projectiles at a time—extremely powerful. You must use it properly and not treat it as an ordinary weapon.”

Yet Zeng Guofan couldn’t stop foreign guns from becoming popular among the Hunan Army. He always insisted on the superiority of shoulder-mounted guns and Pishan Cannons, first using Bao Chao as an example and later Chen Guorui. It wasn’t until he saw the infantry trained by Zhang Shusheng of the Huai Army that he finally woke up to reality.

But within this school, someone surpassed even their master—none other than Zuo Zongtang. Zuo Zongtang spared no effort in promoting shoulder-mounted guns and never realized his mistake throughout his life. He preferred to use advanced Western rifles to improve the already outdated shoulder-mounted guns.

This mindset had a wide influence. Even during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, some still claimed that shoulder-mounted guns were the best weapons and demanded more supplies. It wasn’t until around 1900 that foreigners visiting the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau discovered a large number of the world’s most advanced machinery being used to produce completely useless shoulder-mounted guns.

Zhao Wo, coming from the Chu Army and being a direct disciple of Zuo Zongtang, further developed Zuo’s theories: “Sir, don’t underestimate these shoulder-mounted guns. Though they are domestically made, one of them is better than a hundred foreign guns. In the past, when I followed Lord Zuo Zongtang in battles in the south, it was thanks to the shoulder-mounted guns and Pishan Cannons that we were able to suppress the rebel forces.”

“Can shoulder-mounted guns really be that effective?” Xu Yanxu, though not an expert in military affairs, knew that foreign guns were the best weapons. “Better than foreign guns?”

Zhao Wo smiled and said, “Of course. Once, Bao Chunting fought against the Four-Eyed Dog. The Four-Eyed Soldiers were the best among the rebels, with the most foreign guns. But Bao Chunting, relying on his strength and skill in using shoulder-mounted guns, defeated them time and again.”

The Four-Eyed Dog he referred to was Chen Yucheng, a key figure in the rebellion. But Zhao Wo not only had real examples but also a well-developed theory: “You see, no matter how fast foreign guns are, they can fire only a dozen shots per minute at most.”

“While my shoulder-mounted gun may seem to require two people to operate, it can fire seventy or eighty projectiles at once. So, one of my guns is equivalent to several or even a dozen foreign guns.” Zhao Wo’s combat experience mainly came from suppressing the Taiping Rebellion. “These eastern shoulder-mounted guns are renowned as powerful weapons. After many modifications, they have become lighter and more agile.”

This was still Zuo Zongtang’s mindset. Unlike Zeng Guofan, who chose to ignore the problem, Zuo didn’t want to rely entirely on foreign guns either. Instead, he tried to make minor improvements to traditional Chinese weapons by adding some Western elements, then boasted about his remarkable achievements.

Although Zhao Wo’s Guangxi-style shoulder-mounted gun had undergone repeated modifications, its inherent flaws—short range and weak power—remained unchanged. It had long been discarded by Westerners as an ineffective weapon.

During the Sino-French War, the French forces were repeatedly bombarded by these muskets. Bullets rained down from all directions, leaving the French troops in a state of panic. Yet their side remained unharmed. Afterwards, the French were relieved, thinking that if the Qing forces had used any type of rifled or breech-loading gun, they would have been completely annihilated. But these utterly ineffective muskets were completely useless against a Western army. They were clearly outdated weapons meant only for suppressing domestic rebels. Yet Zhao Wo’s boasts convinced Xu Yanxu: “Good! If that’s the case, I’m 90% confident now.” Zhao Wo asked further, “Lord Governor, one more thing: although we’ve agreed to let the Black Flag troops and the French fight to the death while we watch, what should we do if Tang Jingsong comes to our camp and begs for help?” Xu Yanxu sneered, “If he wants 500 soldiers, I’ll give him five of my personal guards. If he wants 500 muskets, I’ll give him five.”