Chapter 102: Preparation

“Order Shen Shengzhi’s independent company to rush here immediately to prepare for the siege battle…”
Liu Yu remembered that infantry battalion of three companies being mobilized, but after consideration, he decided to leave the newly established infantry battalion in place for now—whether to deploy it or not remained undecided.
Just thinking of that infantry battalion made him sigh lightly. If the battalion commander had arrived by the scheduled time, the battalion would have already been fully mobilized.
The designated commander was Lian Jincheng. Finding a qualified infantry battalion commander was quite difficult. Although Lian Jincheng had his flaws, considering his hard work in recent years, Liu Yu still assigned him the position.
However, although Lian Jincheng had completed his procurement tasks in Hong Kong, he still had some follow-up work to finish, so he remained in Hong Kong to settle things.
If the infantry battalion had been fully mobilized, there would be no need to feel such a severe shortage of troops, to the point where even the independent company and Sister Teresa’s forces from the Flower Sect would have to be brought in.
As he was thinking this, Liu Yongfu arrived from Huai De Mansion. He said to everyone he met, “Thank you all for helping me, Liu Er, regain some face!”
Before long, Liu Yongfu arrived with a group of battalion and company officers. “Commander Liu, this victory owes much to your Xiliu Infantry Regiment!”
It was obvious that without the Xiliu Regiment’s strong force attacking the Guandi Temple position, the Black Flag Army might still have succeeded in defeating the enemy, but they would not have been able to annihilate Li Weiyeh.
In another timeline, this Battle of Zhiqiao would have been Li Weiyeh’s first major clash, mobilizing over 400 French troops and 1,600 Black Flag Army soldiers. The Black Flag Army’s 200 Remington rifles dealt heavy blows to the French but failed to destroy them.
According to the French army’s official post-battle statistics, aside from the devastated indigenous infantry, five officers—including Colonel Li Weiyeh and Major Wei—were killed, 28 French soldiers died, six officers were wounded, and 45 soldiers were injured (several of whom died later in hospitals due to their injuries). In total, 33 died and 51 were wounded (including several who died from their injuries). However, this figure of 86 casualties did not include the nearly wiped-out indigenous infantry.
In historical records, the Black Flag Army lost one battalion officer and two sentry officers, one battalion officer was wounded by artillery, 47 soldiers died, and 55 were wounded—totaling 106 casualties, not including the indigenous infantry, which was slightly higher than the French casualties.
Now, the Black Flag Army had three times as many rifles as in history, so Li Weiyeh retreated earlier than in history. Historically, Li Weiyeh held his ground for an hour before retreating, and Liu Yu had made arrangements based on that assumption. But he didn’t expect Li Weiyeh to hold out only half an hour before retreating, causing the attack to be too slow and allowing a few French soldiers to escape.
Regardless, Li Weiyeh’s once-mighty forces were now nothing but a memory. More importantly, thanks to the Xiliu Infantry Regiment’s attack, the Black Flag Army gained countless spoils of war.

Historically, due to a crushing defeat, the French army retained most of their wounded and weapons, so the Black Flag troops only captured twenty-one rifles and one horse. Now, their haul is almost ten times that of history, especially as Huang Shouzhong of the front camp also captured a 65-mm cannon.
“Jincheng, we really can’t do without you this time!” Tang Jingsong praised the front camp loudly. “Xiliu Regiment deserves the greatest credit—your front camp has performed admirably!”
Huang Shouzhong was also very pleased: “Our front camp did an excellent job this time—capturing fifty French rifles and one steel cannon. It’s a shame there aren’t enough bullets!”
During this attack, the French carried a hundred bullets each, most of which were used in battle. Hence, Huang Shouzhong estimated that each captured rifle had only ten to twenty bullets. Yet, just these fifty rifles alone would significantly boost the combat strength of his front camp.
Wu Fengdian stepped forward. He was lightly injured with a bandage on his hand but was extremely excited: “Our left camp also had a good harvest—forty rifles. Even Cheng Liang’s rear camp captured ten.”
Everyone appeared satisfied, though someone added, “The right camp captured sixty rifles. It’s a pity that Commander Yang and Sergeant Deng were killed.”
In reality, all these capture figures were somewhat inflated—several rifles were kept for the camp’s own use. But whenever the right camp was mentioned, everyone’s gaze turned to Liu Yongfu.
The right camp suffered the heaviest losses in this battle, losing its officers and its most skilled sergeant. Deciding how to handle this situation after the battle, especially who would take over as the camp’s commander, was a huge challenge.
Liu Yongfu avoided answering this question. He simply asked Liu Yu, “How many did your Xiliu Regiment capture?”
Liu Yu also reduced the number: “Two hundred rifles and two steel cannons, plus two thousand extra rifle bullets… still a decent haul!”
Those three thousand bullets were stored in Li Weiyeh’s supplies for use during battle, but none were fired before falling into the hands of the Xiliu Regiment.
As soon as this was heard, Huang Shouzhong exclaimed, “Ayu, how about I trade my steel cannon for bullets? Just give me one thousand five hundred bullets plus twenty rifles!”
He was worried about a lack of bullets, but Liu Yu had captured more rifles than him. Moreover, he couldn’t produce rifle bullets immediately—producing them successfully would take an hour, and even then, the output would be limited. So he shook his head slightly: “The disposal of our spoils still needs General’s approval.”
He valued Liu Yongfu’s authority, but Tang Jingsong didn’t regard Liu Yongfu highly. He spoke directly, “Commander Liu, the front camp lacks bullets and rifles. You captured two steel cannons but still need a good cannon. This is a win-win situation—no need for General Liu’s approval.”
Wu Fengdian added, “Right. Your Xiliu Regiment has plenty of rifles and bullets. I didn’t capture any steel cannons, but I did get some cannon bullets. We can exchange items that the other side might need.”

Liu Yu wanted the Hachis five-barreled mechanized gun, but it was quite difficult to operate. So far, no officer had mastered it. As for the 65-mm gun, after some initial attempts, the artillery unit successfully fired one shot, but they didn’t dare fire more. They were indeed short of 65-mm ammunition. For this sortie, Li Weiyeh had only 40 shells per gun. During the battle, the mechanized guns kept moving positions and failed to fire a single shot, while the 65-mm guns fired half of their shells, with some left behind during the movements. This type of direct-fire gun was exactly what Liu Yu needed, so he blurted out, “Great! I even want the used shells and gun cartridges!” “Good!” Liu Yongfu smiled. “Our artillery unit can also be brought in. We can launch a full-scale attack on Hanoi tonight. Though these are old guns, they are top-notch weapons for capturing cities.” Eliminating Li Weiyeh and immediately attacking Hanoi was part of the pre-agreed battle plan, and Liu Yu had no objections. “We need to act fast. Right now, Hanoi, including its traitors, only has five companies of troops available. But we just received news…” Everyone paid attention to the latest news Liu Yu had. Tang Jingsong quickly asked, “Has France sent reinforcements?” Liu Yu nodded. “I heard France will send a hundred real French soldiers from Haiphong, and they should arrive soon.” Liu Yongfu, an experienced battlefield general, understood what adding a hundred French soldiers meant for the defenders of Hanoi. But Tang Jingsong, who knew nothing about military affairs, said, “Even if there are a hundred more French soldiers, it doesn’t matter much. There are less than three hundred real French troops in Hanoi now. This is the perfect time to destroy them. Are we all becoming timid?” Huang Shouzhong immediately echoed his call. “Lord Tang’s words are excellent. In the battle of Zhiqiao, Xiliu ate the meat while we gnawed on the bones. Now it’s our turn to eat the meat in Hanoi.” He said boldly, “At that time, please let Commander Liu assess the combat strength of our front camp. But we still need the help of your Xiliu Camp’s artillery unit.” Assaulting a city was hard work. But during the last time their troops entered Hanoi, Huang Shouzhong had already learned well about the French forces. Although there were some bunkers and other fortifications, since Li Weiyeh had demolished all the city gates and walls in Hanoi, they could reach the French churches in the city area. These bunkers could be bombarded with the bronze cannons in the Black Flag Army’s possession, and with the use of ladders, fire attacks, and other siege methods, they should be able to take them. The French troops inside could be eliminated, and their equipment could be taken by the front camp. His plan was good, and Wu Fengdian and Liu Chengliang also agreed. “Tonight, let’s have a taste of victory, though we still need the help of your Xiliu Camp’s artillery unit.” But Liu Yu still felt the forces were too weak. Even including the damaged Right Camp, the Black Flag Army had less than two thousand troops available to attack Hanoi. Although he was determined to preserve the strength of Liu Suiyun’s unit at all costs, for the siege, they would concentrate their main forces to break through. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Our Xiliu Camp can’t just watch idly. The artillery unit should fully support our brothers. Besides, I’ll send the Hanhai Camp in!” “Good!” Liu Yongfu had already set the tone for the attack. “Let the Xiliu Regiment be supported by the Hanhai Camp! Although it’s a new unit, I don’t think it’s weaker than the front camp.”

Cai Yunan’s Hanhai Camp was the newest camp and weaker than the other two older camps. Therefore, Huang Shouzhong always believed that although his front camp was not as good as the two older camps of the Xiliu Regiment, it was still stronger than Hanhai Camp. Yet this statement stirred his competitive spirit: “See you in Hanoi tomorrow!”
“See you in Hanoi tomorrow!”
“See you in Hanoi tomorrow!”
Captain Bissell in Hanoi was almost startled by the influx of people: “Start distributing food right away!”
All the Europeans in Hanoi flocked to the concession, and at least a few hundred Vietnamese Catholics also rushed in. This was entirely due to Li Weiyeh’s decision to demolish the city walls and gates, leaving no reliable defensive structures aside from the fortifications in the concession.
The concession didn’t have enough food, but for Captain Bissell, it also meant an advantage: “From now on, every citizen, whether European or colonial, must obey the orders of the supreme commander, Captain Bissell!”
There were still some weapons in the concession’s armory, and Captain Bissell used these firearms to rebuild Hanoi’s defending forces.
“A company made up of local soldiers returning from the battlefield, and another company made up of indigenous soldiers…”
Although a few soldiers were returning gradually, so far only fifty Frenchmen and thirty-four indigenous infantrymen had been recruited, including many seriously injured ones. Their units were in a chaotic state, but Captain Bissell couldn’t care less.
He directly conscripted soldiers from the French and Catholic groups in the concession to complete these two companies. In addition, eighty reinforcements from Haiphong also filled the ranks among the Europeans in the concession, though these naval soldiers served as Bissell’s final reserve force.
Soon after, the Catholic groups suffered further losses. They were forced to send fifty soldiers to form a Franco-Vietnamese mixed company with fifty French soldiers from different units. The gaps in the Catholic groups were filled by armed Catholic believers.
This clearly harmed the interests of Catholics in Hanoi, but it was carried out smoothly without the interference of missionaries. By 5 p.m., Captain Bissell now had four French infantry companies, two indigenous infantry companies, one Franco-Vietnamese mixed company, and two hundred members of the Catholic groups—a total of nine hundred armed soldiers.
However, this force was filled with many French recruits who had just received old breech-loading rifles and had only fired them a few times in their lives. As for the hastily formed Catholic groups, Bissell couldn’t think of a weaker force.
Even the French had to fight with muzzle-loading rifles, some of the indigenous infantry used captured Vietnamese weapons, while the main weapons of these newly formed Catholic groups were shotguns.
But Captain Bissell couldn’t worry about that anymore. He could only do so much, even if it meant offending the missionaries. What he needed to do was defend this important city.
Seven hundred soldiers who could barely fight were his last hope!
A few officers surrounded the captain: “Captain…”
“What is it?”
“We suggest burning down all the thatched houses near the concession for defensive purposes.”
“Do you know what you’re doing?”

A few officers showed no sign of yielding. They had chosen a lieutenant to speak: “This is the result of a vote by all officers!”
“A vote? Damn it!” Captain Bissell was annoyed. “Not now—no military democracy!”
“This is the result of a vote by all officers. If you refuse to carry it out!”
Captain Bissell understood what was implied. He said coldly, “Burn down the huts within 200 meters of the concession area to clear the firing line…”
But the next news only made his mood worse: “All the Catholic missionaries have withdrawn!”
What? How could he not have known about this?
The Catholic missionaries had fled! Had those priests not interfered when he disbanded the Catholic groups?
He felt this was not a good sign.