Chapter 134: The Hidden Arsenal

When gunshots rang out far behind the positions of the Xiliu Camp, all the French breathed a sigh of relief—the brutal battle was finally over.
It had been since Sedan that they had encountered such fierce resistance. Coupled with the losses from their reconnaissance units and vanguard companies, their total casualties now exceeded 200, and despite firing hundreds of shells, they still relied on attacks from behind to resolve the battle.
“It’s over!” Gobat said, putting down his telescope. “This battle is over!”
A group of officers nodded in agreement. The battle was over, but how would they deal with the enemy forces in Thanh Hóa? If one company was already so difficult to handle, what of the enemy’s main forces? An ordinary officer who had fought in the battles of Chi Lang and Hanoi said in an expert’s tone, “The Black Flag Army I’ve seen has never been this elite. This must be the best company in the Xiliu Camp.”
His estimate was fairly accurate. But in the next moment, the rear admiral jumped up. “It’s Spencer rifles!”
He could tell that besides the 1878-style rifles, there was also a sharp firing sound—that of the Spencer rifles, which they feared the most.
“It’s enemy reinforcements!”
Meanwhile, the soldiers of the Xiliu Camp cheered. They hadn’t expected reinforcements to arrive so quickly, which greatly demoralized the French forces.
Repeated failed attacks and being bombarded by their own artillery had already caused them great pain. The arrival of enemy reinforcements made it clear that this battle couldn’t be resolved in a short time.
The gunfire intensified for a while. Liu Pengcheng waited for the reinforcements he needed but saw only six or seven soldiers carrying ammunition tubes, dressed in grass-green uniforms, sweating profusely. “We’re here!”
Even just one person would help!
A smile appeared on Liu Pengcheng’s face. “We’ve been waiting for you for a long time!”
Behind them, the gunfire continued. A squad from the Black Flag Army, using the terrain, had engaged a French company and now stood in a standoff.
If it were a standard French infantry company, they could quickly defeat half of the Black Flag Army’s platoon. But what was fighting was the vanguard company that had initially launched three attacks only to be repelled by Liu Pengcheng’s reinforced platoon.
Gobat, aware that this company had suffered heavy losses after three failed attacks, had not sent them into a frontal assault but instead tasked them with flanking from behind. As a result, this company, already down to over 40 casualties and exhausted, executed a large-scale flanking maneuver, circling around to the rear of the Xiliu Camp positions to launch an attack from behind.
Even the remaining forces of Liu Pengcheng’s platoon couldn’t stop such an attack. But the problem was that half a platoon sent by Liu Suiyun as reinforcements had appeared behind them.
“It’s the enemy!”
They saw the Frenchmen’s red breeches, followed by their silhouettes. A burst of fire from the Spencer rifles sent the French reeling, killing and wounding over twenty of them at once. By the time the French forces reacted, both sides were in a standoff.

But since Liu Pengcheng’s unit was still fighting, reinforcements sent half a platoon of soldiers to bolster their forces. With these six or seven additional soldiers, everyone’s confidence soared.
……
Liu Suiyun’s expression, however, was grim. The enemy fled at the sight of our troops, and we were unable to pursue them. So far, despite several searches, we hadn’t achieved any significant results. The half platoon sent earlier had also produced no progress, so he dispatched another reinforced platoon into battle. With less than five hundred men left, they had to control the hundreds of thousands in Thanh Hóa City. He couldn’t afford any mistakes—he knew he had to take control of the city as quickly as possible, and with no reinforcements or supplies, everything depended on him.
Therefore, the Xi Liu Camp didn’t disperse but instead gathered several large units to search the city for any important figures: “Find a prince—he’s one of Tự Đức’s uncles.”
But after thorough investigation, Liu Suiyun gave up the idea of supporting him to take power. Princes like this were abundant in Vietnam. Since Gia Long’s time, the royal family had grown excessively large, allowing the French to easily find the young Emperor Đồng Khánh. But Liu Suiyun didn’t have such advantages. Emperor Hiệp Hòa and ministers like Tôn Thất Thuyết and Nguyễn Văn Tường, who had fled the city, could return at any time. They carried the imperial seals and had the recognition of the entire country, enabling them to form a government in exile, while his side had to face the French’s fierce attacks.
According to the original plan, it was necessary to capture important figures like Emperor Hiệp Hòa or Tôn Thất Thuyết and force them to leave Thanh Hóa, then engage the French in a prolonged struggle. But now that plan had failed.
So he had to find a powerful and respected figure to use in establishing a Vietnamese government and fighting the French for a long time. He couldn’t allow officials in the North to side with the French. He shouted, “Go to Yude Hall!”
Tự Đức had three nephews whom he adopted as his own sons. Yude was the eldest. On his deathbed, Tự Đức left a decree stating that, given Yude’s character, he wasn’t fit to be emperor. He intended to appoint Dưỡng Thiện instead, but since Dưỡng Thiện was still young and the country needed an older emperor, Yude was made emperor.
However, due to conflicts over power with Tôn Thất Thuyết and Nguyễn Văn Tường, he only reigned for three days before being deposed, and Emperor Hiệp Hòa was installed instead. He was then imprisoned in Yude Hall.
Now he was Liu Suiyun’s greatest hope. He personally led a platoon of soldiers to Yude Hall, where Yude was imprisoned, urging them along the way, “Hurry! Hurry!”
The soldiers in their grass-green uniforms charged forward with fierce determination. Along the roads they passed, a few residents fled. Liu Suiyun grew increasingly anxious: “We must hurry!”
Soon, he heard someone shout, “We’ve taken control of Yude Hall.”
Looking up, he saw one of his platoon leaders who had already reached Yude Hall first. He felt relieved, but then heard the man say, “Platoon leader, Yude committed suicide by poisoning himself.”
This was the last order given by Tôn Thất Thuyết and Nguyễn Văn Tường before leaving Thanh Hóa. Poisoning a deposed emperor wasn’t a big deal for them. Later, in Yude Hall, they also poisoned Emperor Hiệp Hòa.

Liu Suiyun’s heart turned icy cold. He knew he must maintain a strong force; otherwise, from thousands of miles away, he would be completely devoured by the enemy. He turned around and said, “Go and search quickly! You must find valuable people.” After half an hour of searching, Liu Suiyun grew increasingly anxious. Although he had planned emergency responses in advance, his lack of familiarity with the situation in Zhongqi meant that so far he had only found two or three third-rate individuals. Though far better than the weaklings before, they were still not good enough to take on such a perilous task. With just these people, it was impossible to succeed, and the two or three of them cried, insisting on sacrificing themselves rather than undertaking such a life-threatening mission. Thus, Liu Suiyun needed to find a second-rate figure with some prestige. The people he found now either lacked status or had been away from officialdom for a long time. They could serve as supporting roles at best, never as main characters. But how could he find such a person in the vast city of Shunhua? He felt that by occupying Shunhua, he had taken on too many burdens. Now he had to concentrate his forces to rescue Liu Pengcheng’s platoon, yet even if he devoted all his troops to Shunhua, they would still be severely insufficient. He could only order, “Search the palace again. As long as we can find someone useful, it’s fine—even if they’re not princes or ministers.” More than twenty minutes passed with no results. The royal family said they had fled too quickly, leaving nothing behind for Liu Suiyun. Anxiously waiting for news, and with gunfire still ongoing, he gritted his teeth and sent another half platoon as reinforcements—almost his maximum effort. The weather was unbearably hot! A company commander rushed over excitedly and said, “We found them! We found them! Finally, someone is willing to come forward.” Liu Suiyun was overjoyed and repeated, “Where? Where? Take me there quickly!” His steps were light as those of a lynx, almost running. “Tell them we’re willing to accept any conditions.” The company commander also said cheerfully, “I told them too—any conditions are acceptable as long as they’re willing to help.” But once he saw the actual person, the excitement in Liu Suiyun’s heart vanished instantly. The stunning concubine in front of him seemed to disappear from his sight. “A woman?” Indeed, it was a woman standing across from him to negotiate terms—a very young woman, breathtakingly beautiful. With porcelain skin and delicate features, of average height and build, dressed in plain clothes, she looked like one of Emperor Thieu’s concubines. “Ruan Menglian greets the general,” she said. Liu Suiyun had no fondness for women. He simply said, “Why are women causing trouble?” Ruan Menglian possessed a classical beauty. She remained calm, unshaken by Liu Suiyun’s words. “I heard from this general that anything can be discussed as long as we’re willing to help, and no conditions are a problem.” “But you’re a woman!” Liu Suiyun said bluntly. “I’m looking for members of the royal family, emperors, and military or civil officials.” “Menglian was the former emperor’s concubine!” Ruan Menglian remained composed. “I can’t help the general, but there are some things he might want to know.”

Liu Suiyun thought carefully: “If you can be of great help to our Xiliu Camp, as I’ve said, anything can be discussed.”
Ruan Menglian spoke softly, “I am from Qinghua in the North. I’ve long heard of your army’s fame. I wonder whether your army aims to overthrow the current regime or use the emperor to control the lords?”
Liu Suiyun replied firmly, “We are here to aid the emperor.”
Ruan Menglian sneered, yet even her sneer was beautiful, with a hint of mockery on her lips: “It’s a pity that Emperor Xiehe has fled to Hengshan in the north, and the French troops are at Shunhua’s gates. Your plans won’t succeed.”
“A great chaos is about to erupt in our southern country. Everything is decided by strength. Even if there are powerful figures willing to step in, they’ll be useless!” Over the years, Ruan Menglian had handled documents for Emperor Tự Đức and was highly insightful: “Your army consists of just a thousand men, who crossed mountains and rivers—like trees without roots or water without a source. No matter how famous you may be in battle, you can’t turn the situation around.”
Liu Suiyun grew angry. He wasn’t here to listen to nonsense from women: “Speak plainly!”
Ruan Menglian was direct: “How many days can your army hold off the French?”
Liu Suiyun was stuck. Ruan Menglian continued mercilessly, “The French have endless reinforcements. It would already be a miracle if your army could hold out in Shunhua for seven days.”
Liu Suiyun remained silent, implying he agreed with her words: “Unless we can mobilize the manpower and resources of Shunhua, but that’s like a dream or an illusion. With the country in such disarray, those men are no better than us women. Us sisters wish to offer the general a generous gift.”
“What kind of gift?” Liu Suiyun knew they were getting to the point: “What conditions do you want? I, Liu Suiyun, and the Xiliu Camp always keep our word. Please rest assured, Miss Ruan.”
“Although we sisters were sent to the cold palace early on and married into the emperor’s family, we feel powerless to change things,” Ruan Menglian said with growing passion. “We don’t ask for anything else. We’ve heard that General Liu is an extraordinary hero. Since the Ruan dynasty has lost its virtue, if your army accepts this generous gift of support, you’ll surely be able to take its place.”
“What do you want?”
Ruan Menglian turned around, revealing a group of stunningly beautiful women, all dressed in plain clothes, about five or six of them, who rushed forward at once: “Since the Ruan dynasty has lost its virtue, the Xiliu Camp must seize power. We are willing to follow Marshal Liu Yu and restore the imperial dynasty.”
As they spoke, one of the concubines took out an edict prepared for Liu Yu, naming him Supreme Commander of all troops in the country, in charge of all military affairs and civil administration. But Liu Suiyun frowned.
Liu Yu was a womanizer, and these women would be a heavy burden for him on his return to the North. Besides, they seemed unable to offer much help.
As he pondered, he heard Ruan Menglian ask, “General, have you heard of the imperial treasury?”
“That’s the gift we’re talking about.”
“The imperial treasury?” Liu Suiyun was astonished. “There’s an imperial treasury?”
Having been in Vietnam for so many years, he was quite familiar with the country’s financial situation.
Since being defeated by Britain and France and losing South Vietnam, Vietnam had faced internal strife and external threats, and its financial condition had been deteriorating day by day.

In 1861, Tự Đức issued a decree allowing prisoners to atone for their crimes by paying money. In 1864, he issued another decree granting rewards such as titles of princes, princesses, officials, and even prime ministers to those who donated, and permitting the sale of abandoned lands as private property. In 1862, while ceding three provinces in Cochinchina, Vietnam was forced to pay France 4 million taels as compensation, to be repaid over ten years. In 1865, the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance and Personnel had to seize all the ritual vessels and silver bricks and ingots from the palaces, amassing a total of 72,000 taels, which was rounded up to 100,000 taels—still not enough to cover half of the annual compensation owed to France. Tự Đức could only send Trương Văn Viện to Cochinchina to inspect the warehouses in the remaining three provinces—Bình Long, An Giang, and Hà Tiên—where only 720 taels of gold, 2,220 taels of silver, and 10,500 yellow coins were found to make up the shortfall to France. As a result, the French took the opportunity to seize the remaining three provinces in Cochinchina. It was due to such dire financial conditions that the initial plans did not take this into account; after all, the royal treasury barely had any money. But upon hearingNguyen Mộng Liên’s words, Liễu Tuỳ Vân felt delighted. Could they obtain tens of thousands of taels of silver? Even if they returned empty-handed this time, that amount alone would be sufficient. He asked, “Where is the royal silver?” “We must follow Marshal Liễu to overthrow the old regime and achieve great feats!”Nguyen Mộng Liên and the beautiful palace concubines behind her became shrewd at that moment. “I have promised on behalf of our commander. Subject Liễu Tuỳ Vân greets the ladies!” Liễu Tuỳ Vân turned around and shouted, “Call all the company commanders here! I will swear an oath to heaven with them—if we break today’s vow, may thunder strike us!” With the help of the palace concubines, the operations of the Thin Willow Camp went much more smoothly. They quickly took control of the entire city and captured some important figures. Among the concubines, there were also wealthy merchants from Thanh Hóa, who were sent to their homes to maintain order and keep the city under control. Everyone knew that under the French onslaught, the Black Flag Army would eventually retreat, but as long as they held the city, they were its masters, and they had no intention of resisting this reality. Battles outside the city continued, with France deploying thousands of troops to launch repeated attacks, yet they struggled to hold their original lines against the small resistance of the Black Flag Army, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. Meanwhile, underNguyen Mộng Liên’s leadership, Liễu Tuỳ Vân headed toward the left side of the imperial palace, where the inner treasury was located. After passing through layers of palaces, they soon reached a row of plain buildings, where dozens of Vietnamese soldiers were still guarding with muskets and swords. Upon seeing someone approaching, they loudly shouted, “This is a royal area; outsiders are prohibited from entering. Those who enter without permission will be killed!” They clearly recognized that it was the Black Flag Army that had taken over the entire imperial palace, but they still stubbornly declared, “This is the land of the Nguyễn dynasty!” Just asNguyen Mộng Liên was about to go over, Liễu Tuỳ Vân fired a shot into the air: “Anyone who resists will be killed!”

The guards of the inner treasury were instantly scattered, with only a few leaders captured. “My ladies and generals, I’ve held this position for almost ten years, but I’ve never seen the cellar opened before. I truly don’t know how much silver is stored there, so please forgive me, my ladies and generals.”

One of the palace concubines surnamed Chen had seen some royal secret documents. “Come with me!”

The engineers immediately took action and quickly found a cellar. They then used half a kilogram of picric acid to blast open a hole. Dust filled the air; it seemed no one had entered here in decades. Liu Suiyun was the first to jump in—he wasn’t afraid of any traps.

In front of him were many silver ingots wrapped in paper, seemingly in large numbers. Liu Suiyun picked up one at random; it was an ingot weighing one tael, adorned with intricate double-dragon patterns, looking quite luxurious. It was quite light, and he smiled after handling it.

With these few thousand taels of silver, it could be considered a token of loyalty from these women. He looked around further and confirmed it was indeed the inner treasury. However, these silver ingots had been minted during the Shaozhi era, meaning they were forty to fifty years old.

He picked up another ingot, but this time he almost dropped it. Upon closer inspection, his expression changed drastically.

Chen Yuqin, who was behind him, was also shocked. After staring for a while, tears streamed down her face. “I am a subject of a fallen nation, and you are a ruler of a fallen nation!”