Chapter 105: The Silent War

A faint smile appeared on Tang Jingsong’s face. He added, “Once Hanoi is taken, my front camp can be divided into a main camp and an auxiliary camp. If we can add a right camp as well, it would be perfect—just like Commander Liu, organizing three camps into one regiment. Excellent!”
His words raised the most sensitive issue among the Black Flag Army: who would command the right camp after Yang Zhen’en’s death? Whether it was Liu Yu, Wu Fengdian, Liu Chengliang, or Huang Shouzhong, everyone was eyeing the left camp—the weakest unit in the Black Flag Army.
The right camp had a short history, little resources, and the weakest combat strength among all Black Flag camps. Many of its soldiers had been lost in the Battle of Zhiqiao, but still, it was a fully formed camp with a long history within the Black Flag Army. Though its strength was low, it couldn’t be compared to other miscellaneous troops. More importantly, although the right camp suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Zhiqiao, it also captured a large amount of loot—even more than the front camp.
Huang Shouzhong had long wanted to take control of it, but he knew well that the right camp was closest to Wu Fengdian’s left camp, so his chances were slim. Yet Tang Jingsong’s words reignited his enthusiasm.
If Liu Yu, who commanded the front line, could unite three camps into a powerful infantry regiment, then Huang Shouzhong, commanding the rear, should also create a unit similar to the Xiliu Infantry Regiment. Though he didn’t fully understand the advantages of an infantry regiment system, after Tang Jingsong’s words, he felt he should form three camps as well.
He knew Liu Yu’s three camps were well-coordinated under unified command, but he believed he could do the same. If the right camp joined them, they could expand to a strength of 500 men per camp, including the main and auxiliary camps—something he could afford. “What does the general think?”
On this issue, Liu Yongfu was the biggest obstacle. Tang Jingsong narrowed his eyes and said, “I’ll go advise Liu Yongfu right away. In this attack on Hanoi, the camp that achieves the greatest success will be given the right camp. My humble servant, work harder!”
The battle hadn’t even begun yet, but tensions were already rising. Yet Liu Qing carried even more hostility than Huang Shouzhong.
“Everyone, work faster!”
Beside Liu Qing was the Black Flag Army’s mobile bank. Dozens of clerks stared intently at the dozen mules carrying their entire fortune. Loaded on them were various types of banknotes—francs, Black Flag currency, and even some British pounds as foreign exchange. Surrounding the convoy was Shen Sheng’s independent company for protection, along with Sister Teresa leading the Flower Sect followers to assist in this public robbery.
Hanoi was the most important city in Tonkin. For centuries, it had been the political and economic center of the region, amassing vast wealth. The French had burned down part of it, but Liu Qing’s eyes were fixed on the city.
Apart from the French-controlled concessions, the entire city was open to Liu Qing. He knew exactly where all the wealth was hidden. His Black Flag Bank needed all the gold, silver, copper coins, lead coins…
Although Li Weiyeh had robbed them once, Liu Qing believed he could do it more efficiently. Moreover, the dozen loads of banknotes he brought gave the robbery a semblance of fair trade.

Of course, regarding those traitors who colluded with the French, Liu Qing had already, through the Huajian Sect and Su Sui, issued hefty fines to none of them sparingly. The fines weren’t just a means but also an end in themselves. Over there, Su Sui asked Liu Qing gently, “Liu Da Ban, should we use one or two flags as sacrifices?” “Of course!” Although Liu Qing had planned to make those traitors obey him and hand over their money obediently, he was also well aware that a few of them had fled to the concessions, and there were those who valued money above everything. The most effective way was to show them by killing a chicken to scare the monkeys. “Have Shen Sheng catch a few of those untrustworthy ones and kill them!” Liu Qing then asked about another matter: “We need to transport the supplies in this city as soon as possible!” Besides wealth, Liu Yu was even more interested in the abundant supplies in Hanoi—whether it was steel, bronze, rice, lard, or the military materials urgently needed by the Xiliu Camp. He had already asked Liu Qing to bring over a dozen loads of banknotes to conduct a thorough purchase. With a clear division of labor now in place, Liu Qing was in charge of operations, Shen Sheng handled military matters—his independent company with over a hundred rifles was no joke—and the Huajian Sect acted as assistants, responsible for mobilizing two hundred large animals and a thousand transporters in the Hanoi area. Of course, everyone would get their share, and no one would suffer losses. Liu Yu would naturally take the biggest cut, but both Shen Sheng and the Huajian Sect could also reap a large sum. Su Sui was quite satisfied with this task—it required little risk, and every believer who participated in the transportation would receive some money afterward. Moreover, the Hanoi parish’s funds for two years could be obtained this way. However, when she glanced at that young nun wearing a nun’s robe and holding two revolvers, she felt uneasy. Although both of them had defected from Catholicism, Sister Teresa’s status within the Huajian Sect had risen rapidly. More importantly, she controlled Hanoi, the most important parish, and even two-thirds of the Huajian Sect’s firearms. Sister Teresa could very well threaten her position as the second-in-command. Although Su Sui, the former nun, thought to herself, “Didn’t she follow a man?” she also knew that although she controlled the Hanoi parish, she wasn’t good at it. Sister Teresa was the most suitable candidate. She would better find a way to transport these supplies back to the main headquarters in Shanxi. As a professional team, they started working before dawn. By around nine o’clock, with the help of Shen Sheng and various units of the Black Flag Army, they had distributed banknotes worth over a hundred thousand Black Flag tickets—both francs and Black Flag tickets—set at very low values, just enough to allow a slight profit, thus enabling them to acquire large amounts of gold, silver, and strategic materials. This had been planned by Liu Yu long ago. Whether this siege succeeded or not, he wanted to empty Hanoi of its resources. Bags of banknotes were opened and distributed everywhere under the protection of bayonets. Whether they were Europeans, Vietnamese, or Chinese merchants, they all obediently took the banknotes and bonds from Liu Qing’s hands. Those bonds stated: “Hereby, loyal and righteous individuals donate ×× yuan in Black Flag tickets as military supplies, with a repayment period of five years, an annual interest rate of one percent, and timely repayment guaranteed.”

Liu Qing also signed these large bonds in person, while Su Sui helped prepare the list. Everyone knew that if the Black Flag Army failed, these bonds would become worthless paper. But even if they managed to hold on, it would be five years later—yet who could predict what would happen in five years?
At least it left them something to hold onto. Even if they suffered losses now, they wouldn’t be severe, and they might even break even. Their only hope was that the Black Flag Army could successfully defeat the French, allowing them to make a huge profit in five years.
Liu Qing even said with a smile, “Great! You have such sincere intentions. Our Black Flag Army will never forget that. If you can procure the supplies we need, that would be even better!”
These people were all quite wealthy, including many rich merchants. Yet the Xiliu Camp offered them conditions they couldn’t refuse: “We’ll pay immediately once the goods reach us, at favorable prices, with no delays!”
A month earlier, the Xiliu Camp had used trickery to deceive European merchants in the coastal areas, causing more than half of the French firms to fail. Even Li Weiyeh found it difficult to purchase supplies. Now, the Black Flag Bank was using the same tactics again, but many were tempted.
Things were different now—it was a time of war, and the Xiliu Camp needed massive amounts of strategic supplies. Just that day, they had collected countless gold coins, silver, and copper coins from Hanoi. With such financial strength and despite being under French blockade, they likely would conduct business fairly and legally.
Their only concern was deciding what kind of supplies to transport to Shanxi to help the Xiliu Camp continue the war. But when they thought of their own Black Flag bonds, they felt this action served both sides’ interests, and they could indeed obtain many supplies.
Many eager people began discussing details with smuggler Deng Cunyu as soon as they received money and bonds. Under the open sky, bundles of banknotes sat in large bags, demonstrating the Black Flag Army’s considerable wealth.
Su Sui loved this feeling. She had a strong passion for money. Her hands rubbed against stacks of francs and Black Flag bonds as they flowed through her fingers. She knew clearly that even if she didn’t move a finger, money would still flow through her fingers. But after handling so much money, her expression became somewhat strange.
It was time for meals! The merchants whose supplies had been seized could only wait outside, hoping the Black Flag Bank’s break would end soon. But Su Sui was concerned about something else.
Carrying her rice bowl, she quietly approached Liu Qing and asked in a low voice, “The francs distributed today…”
As a little money lover, she was very familiar with francs. But today, she noticed that the francs distributed seemed somewhat abnormal. In other words, it was easy to deceive ordinary people, but she sensed there was a serious problem with these bills.
Liu Qing always ate sumptuously. Even in such a hurried situation, he ate four dishes and a soup by himself. He looked up at Su Sui and said sternly, “Those are real francs! 100% real francs!”

The francs issued today are all inferior copies made by the Black Flag Bank over the years, vastly different from genuine francs. Even when compared to high-quality fake francs, everyone can immediately tell they are counterfeit.

But to Su Sui, Liu Qing’s words carried a different meaning: “They’re real francs!”

Sitting across from Liu Qing, she asked, “Our Huajian Sect can help with such real francs.”

Liu Qing glanced at Su Sui again. After the war began, undermining the credibility of the franc was a fixed principle of the Xiliu Camp. However, too many inferior fake francs had accumulated over the years, so even after bringing two loads here, there were still many left at the headquarters in Shanxi.

Introducing fake francs into circulation was a great advantage. After all, the French in Vietnam mainly had two means of payment: precious silver reserves, which required real money to cover war expenses; or the franc, which already enjoyed high credibility in Vietnam. This method was convenient to carry and only required issuing paper money from the homeland and Indochina. Historically, the Oriental Bank of Commerce had taken advantage of the Sino-French War to provide large loans to colonial and French forces, reaping huge profits.

But once this batch of francs was put into circulation, the credibility of the franc would likely drop by half. Even though these were paper bills that could be easily distinguished by the naked eye, people would have greater trust in the Black Flag currency.

Liu Yu’s forced issuance of war bonds was also aimed at strengthening the credibility of the Black Flag currency. Both Liu Yu and Liu Qing knew well that once the war started, the devaluation of the Black Flag currency was inevitable—expanding its circulation had long been the established strategy.

Under these circumstances, aside from having enough physical assets, Liu Yu and Liu Qing agreed to use this self-serving tactic: “Destroy the franc completely in Tonkin!”

Although the Black Flag currency was also depreciating, all they needed to do was depreciate faster than the franc. Since its depreciation rate was slower than that of the franc and copper coins, it would retain sufficient credibility.

Moreover, these fake francs could serve as a cover for their “real francs.” But Su Sui saw another opportunity: “Our Huajian Sect needs many real francs, which can serve as our funds…”

She said with a smile, “Real francs are a great asset!”

Unlike her and Liu Qing, who ate slowly, the soldiers of the Black Flag Army ate large amounts of meat at noon, with a small amount of alcohol allocated to them. They were fed to their satisfaction, enjoying a sumptuous meal, yet everyone remained silent, eating in quietness.

Everyone was acutely aware that this might be their last meal. They had already observed the defenses of the Hanoi concession in the morning. The defenses were formidable—just those tall bunkers were a headache, built of bricks and stones, appearing extremely sturdy. Even direct artillery bombardment would be difficult to break through, a real challenge.

There were not many defenders, only five hundred, but they had good firearms and many steel cannons. Although Li Weiyeh hadn’t made good use of the three cannons at Zhiqiao, everyone had experienced the power of these advanced weapons.

The fighting strength of the French, coupled with their defense behind fortifications, meant that our side could not simply use a numerical advantage to break through as in open combat. Yet all the soldiers just quietly ate their meals. They had experienced many wars—whether it was the brutal civil war in China, the decisive victories over the Vietnamese government forces, or the fierce battles against the Yellow Flag Army—they had survived, and they believed they would continue to survive. The sound of cannons roared; it was the Black Flag Army’s artillery testing its fire. At that moment, everyone stood up, not because of the shelling, but for some other reason. They had finished eating.