Chapter 159: Strategy

Dawn was approaching. The soldiers of the Black Flag Army, who had fought for 72 hours straight, were full of energy. In their eyes, there were supplies left behind by the French everywhere—artillery, military uniforms, flags, rifles, shells, and even a lone cannon… After a night of fighting, the French had been left almost bare, having discarded even their underwear and socks.

However, after pursuing them for over ten kilometers, resistance suddenly intensified. It was the Besel garrison coming to support the isolated expeditionary force. With their strong fortifications, it became increasingly difficult for the Black Flag Army to advance.

This was thanks to the quick decisions made by the French commanders. If they hadn’t decided to retreat the previous afternoon, even at the cost of abandoning supplies and some artillery, their entire expedition might have been annihilated by the Black Flag Army.

Now, though in disarray with many wounded, a large number of troops managed to escape back near Danfeng and barely organized a resistance line to hold off the enemy.

The Black Flag Army didn’t have the strength to break through this line either. They turned around and, despite their exhaustion, began to deal with the remaining enemy forces.

Gunfire continued, and captives were constantly being taken off the battlefield. Liu Yu and the temporarily formed guard unit inspected the battlefield with enthusiasm. Liu Suiyun picked up a captured French flag and waved it vigorously. Liu Yu ordered loudly, “Preserve all the captured French flags carefully—don’t lose them. We’ll use them during parades and celebrations of victory.”

Beneath his feet lay piles of French corpses and many spoils of war. Liu Yu bent down and saw a dead French soldier lying there. After searching him, he found a fair amount of loot, including a diary. “Preserve their diaries and letters carefully,” he said.

Over there, Cai Yunnan, covered in blood, rushed over excitedly, “Sir, we’ve captured a major!”

“A major?” Liu Yu was also very pleased. This was the highest-ranking prisoner captured by the Black Flag Army so far. “This is a big catch. If we use him wisely, we can end this war.”

He had both pessimistic and optimistic views about the future of the war, but regardless, such a victory was enough to wake the French leaders up, making them realize that even if they won this war, they would suffer heavy losses.

How many French soldiers had been lost here? Ten thousand? Nine thousand? It was just a numerical issue, but it was also a major military problem. “Order the troops to clean up the battlefield while preparing for rest. In half a month, we’ll launch a full-scale counterattack.”

Before this battle, no matter how great the victories the Black Flag Army achieved, the initiative in attack always remained in the hands of the French. But after this battle, the initiative was completely in the hands of the Black Flag Army and Liu Yu.

Even if the French launched a total war mobilization, they wouldn’t be able to recover from such heavy losses in half a month, let alone with Germany as their formidable enemy.

A few soldiers were leading a disheveled French officer over: “Hurry! Hurry! Our commander wants to see you.” The French officer couldn’t understand their Mandarin, so an interpreter quickly translated it into French: “Sir, our commander will receive you.” He was tightly bound, so as soon as he spoke, he began complaining: “Are you the commander of the Black Flag Army? I am here to lodge the strongest protest on behalf of the French Republic. I demand treatment befitting my status.” “I am Liu Yu, the commander of the Black Flag Army. Let me make it clear—you are the loser and must unconditionally obey our orders.” The interpreter swiftly translated Liu Yu’s words into French: “To save more lives, I order you to have all French soldiers in the war zone lay down their arms and surrender immediately and unconditionally.” “I demand to lay down my arms with dignity and to be repatriated.” “You have only one choice: to lay down your arms immediately and unconditionally, surrender to us, and accept all our arrangements.” The French officer grew angry: “You are too barbaric! Without any sense of gentlemanly conduct or civilized manners, as a soldier, one must maintain an aristocratic demeanor. Your soldiers shoot prisoners at will and mistreat our soldiers. I lodge a stern protest.” “This is war—you started it,” Liu Yu replied bluntly. “When the flames of war reach you, you claim it’s too cruel.” “It was you who invaded my territory, attacked our Black Flag Army, and tried to conquer an ancient nation. Now this is your reward.” “I order you now to immediately order your troops to stop resisting and lay down their arms.” Seeing Liu Yu’s fierce expression, the major paled slightly and finally said weakly, “I accept your order, but I demand treatment befitting my status.” Liu Yu smiled: “Give Major Sir a box of wine from the loot, along with two guards.” …… That morning, the captured wine was a taste the Black Flag Army would never forget. After fighting all night and battling for 72 hours, many had not eaten for 12 hours or even longer. In the war zone, to stay light, they hadn’t even brought water bottles or rations. As they enjoyed the joy of victory, they realized their stomachs were also empty. There was nothing trustworthy or drinkable on the battlefield—even the river water was contaminated by corpses and unusable. But among the French army’s supplies, the Black Flag Army soldiers were overjoyed to find boxes and boxes of wine. They sipped this “water of victory,” and even the bitterest liquid became the most delicious thing to them at that moment. What could be more fitting for soldiers who valued fine wine than victory? Looking at the hundreds of prisoners, each one had a smile on their face. Liu Yu waved to his soldiers with the same joy, knowing exactly what he had done. He had completely changed history. And every officer was inspecting his troops—Liu Yongfu, Huang Shouzhong…

Cai Yunan was somewhat displeased. Seeing Liu Yu’s excellent mood, he remarked, “From now on, Liu Yongfu will have two regiments, plus Huang Shouzhong’s regiment—his force isn’t much weaker than ours…”
In the Xiliuying system, he could be considered an outsider who joined later, so his words were quite appropriate. Liu Suiyun immediately lowered his voice and said, “We need to make arrangements early.”
Liu Yu replied calmly, “Is it just Liu Yongfu? Compared to others, his strength is obvious. I’ve already made appropriate plans for him.”
Yet Cai Yunan couldn’t figure out Liu Yu’s intentions. Liu Yongfu’s two fully organized infantry regiments were formidable forces wherever they went, and Huang Shouzhong’s regiment was also quite strong, on par with Liu Yongfu’s.
But Liu Yu couldn’t reveal too much about his own status. Liu Yu continued, “Yuan Ting is, after all, my nominal foster father. The Black Flag Army I took from him surely can’t be treated poorly—I should give him a chance to establish his own territory.”
Cai Yunan’s eyes lit up. “Shunhua?”
“Mm. We already have a solid foundation near Shunhua. The troops you and Liu Suiyun left behind have grown into a main force regiment, with over twenty independent companies and more than two thousand men. I intend to send someone there to manage it properly.”
Liu Suiyun asked, “Send troops?”
If Liu Yongfu took his two infantry regiments to Central Vietnam, the entire region would fall under his control. Liu Yu nodded. “Yes, let him take both regiments.”
“Liu Yinggong lacks experience!” Liu Suiyun was worried. “I’m afraid there might be conflicts later, and they won’t dare to speak up.”
He was concerned about his old subordinates’ futures. Liu Yongfu was already a very powerful figure, and this time he was bringing two full infantry regiments south.
Although Liu Yinggong nominally had a main force regiment and over twenty local companies, the main force regiment only had five companies, and the local troops were newly formed, with poor quality. All together, they numbered only two thousand, far too few to compete with Liu Yongfu.
“At least for this counteroffensive, Liu Yongfu must lead a force. Right now is a great opportunity to expand troops in Central Vietnam—the Vietnamese rule has completely collapsed, and the French have insufficient troops, confined to Shunhua.”
Liu Suiyun had already tried to buy time for his old subordinates. “I suggest sending a skeleton infantry battalion, three hundred local officials, plus an old infantry company…”
Liu Yu didn’t lack these resources. A skeleton infantry battalion only needed to be staffed with officers—each squad could have a squad leader and a deputy. As for local officials, after taking over the local governments in North Vietnam, there were many surplus officials who, after basic training, could become part of the Black Flag Army.
An old infantry company wasn’t a problem either; it could easily be expanded into an infantry battalion near Shunhua. All of this was done to strengthen the Black Flag Army’s strength before Liu Yongfu moved south, without Liu Yu having to invest much.
Liu Yu said casually, “Let them take twelve 60-mm mortars and one steel cannon. They can also bring three hundred more rifles—there are plenty of weapons to capture right now.”

Unnoticed, they had already determined the deployment for Central Cochinchina.
“Central Cochinchina is wealthy and far stronger than Northern Cochinchina. Yin Gong keeps asking for cadres, saying that Central Cochinchina can support 100,000 soldiers. He doesn’t lack troops or food—only cadres and weapons. This is perfect.”
Liu Yu casually said, “Go back and tell Yin Gong that we must ensure the quality of the troops. I can provide him with cadres, but if the troops are poor, we’ll have to start over.”
History would prove that this was a perfect plan.