Chapter 172: The Final Bottom Line

“And I have some fresh good news for you.”
But the officers’ applause was not enthusiastic—everyone was already aware of this “fresh good news.”
General Gobat’s troops had successfully defeated tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers near Bắc Ninh and captured the city triumphantly. This could be considered the most glorious victory for the French in Vietnam since the Battle of Paper Bridge.
Yet this meant little— the main forces of the Black Flag Army had not suffered any damage, and even though they had suffered severe setbacks in the Tonkin region, it still had no significant impact on the overall war situation in Indochina.
Now, large numbers of troops were going missing every day. Although four infantry battalions, two artillery companies, and numerous auxiliary troops were sent to rescue them, these 2,000 soldiers were not enough to restore their confidence.
The entire prosperous Indochina had now become a source of recruits, food, and wealth for the enemy—both sides shared this colony.
They didn’t know exactly how many enemy troops they were facing; all they could see on the map were waves of enemy forces. An French officer instinctively offered his suggestion to the governor: “I believe our most important responsibility is to protect Saigon.”
The governor was surprised by his subordinate’s lack of confidence: “To our north, thousands of comrades are waiting for us to save them, and millions of people need our help. We must never abandon them.”
Yet even he was considering the safety of Saigon—after all, it symbolized the complete fall of the colony.
After angrily criticizing these timid officers, the governor broke into cold sweat: “Inform the Prime Minister and the Navy Department—Saigon is under attack by the enemy. This is no exaggeration. The colony needs support, massive military support.”
He felt that with just his twenty infantry battalions, it was impossible to defend the colony—he and his officers still had no idea how many troops the Black Flag Army had deployed.
Huế.
“The Indochina colony has been attacked by the Black Flag bandits, suffering heavy losses…” The commander of the garrison said loudly. “This is also a great opportunity for us to earn glory. Based on what we’ve learned…”
He pointed north: “Most of the enemy’s forces in Annam have moved south. What remains in Huế are just some local troops. We’ll gather all our forces and defeat them in one strike…”
The area he pointed to matched the location where Liu Yongfu’s Black Flag Army was assembled, signaling that a bloody battle was about to begin.
March 4, 1884, would be remembered by Liu Yongfu.
That morning, he stood on a high vantage point, overlooking the terrain—steep mountains, forests like oceans, with constant rustling sounds.
It wasn’t ideal terrain for large-scale battles, but he asked an officer, “Are the French coming?”
“Coming?”
“Then fine, let’s wait there!”
Gunfire could already be heard in the distance.
…

On this early morning, Liu Yu also began to deal with official documents. He picked up a file and asked, “What does the Staff Department think of Liu Yongfu’s suggestion?”
The old Yellow Flag Army was organized into an oversized camp. Liu Suiyun did not change his original suggestion: “Beining has fallen, and Tang Jingsong is there, locked in a stalemate with the French. The war situation has not improved, so it seems it can be used in Beining.”
Indeed, the French had occupied Beining, and their offensive did not seem to have required much effort. Yet the war did not end there but entered a new phase.
The French’s capture of Beining also meant that the Black Flag Army could enter Beining freely without having to worry about the French’s reaction—in fact, even before the French took Beining, Tang Jingsong had already begun launching flanking attacks.
The mountainous areas of Beining were also unsuitable for large-scale military operations. Liu Yu was not sure whether the French had the courage to deploy 10,000 troops there, but one thing was clear.
“The loss of Beining is not crucial to the overall situation,” Liu Yu said solemnly. “My suggestion is that the Xingzi Camp should head south to support Cochinchina. We have already won this war.”
“But if the French defeat our troops in Taiyuan, Shanxi will be under great threat,” Liu Suiyun argued from a military perspective. “We must consider this factor.”
“God bless France. We already have enough collateral.”
In the imperialist wars against China, one term appeared frequently: collateral.
In the eyes of the imperialists, to force China to submit, they needed sufficient collateral. They often preferred to cut off the Yangtze River and disrupt grain transport, forcing Beijing to face starvation in order to make the Qing Dynasty yield.
In Liu Yu’s view, Cochinchina was such collateral. To make the French cede territory and pay reparations, one first needed enough collateral in hand—by occupying several provinces in Cochinchina, the French would naturally submit.
“I actually think we can send a few more battalions south…”
…In Paris that day, too, there was turmoil.
The good news of the capture of Beining had not yet reached Paris, but the news of Cochinchina’s extreme danger was shaking the cabinet.
Prime Minister Ferry, a opportunist, could no longer sit still. “How many troops do we need to stabilize the situation in Cochinchina?”
The Minister of the Navy avoided his sharp gaze. “The Navy believes that, given that about 20,000 troops from the Black Flag Army have been sent to attack Cochinchina, we need at least two brigades there.”
Ferry felt extremely pressured. He leaned on his desk and glanced at the French tricolor flag.
His current cabinet was under pressure from both within and outside. An economic crisis was raging in France, which originally had nothing to do with the war against Annam. Yet now every member of parliament and every citizen was blaming the government.
“If it weren’t for this damned war, we wouldn’t be unemployed…”
This had nothing to do with the war. Although the cost of this war was much higher than expected, it was still just a local conflict that wouldn’t undermine France’s state structure.

To date, France has invested 240 million francs in this war, with the highest monthly expenditure reaching 70 million francs. Yet for such a powerful republic, this should not be enough to weaken it significantly.
The real threat lies in Parliament, with those who constantly try to overthrow the government, directing all their vicious attacks at the Prime Minister—and now Fery is suffering from this.
“Monsieur the Minister, your predecessor told me that to conquer the Tokyo region, we only needed 3,000 soldiers and less than 10 million francs,” Fery said, expressing distrust toward the Minister of the Navy. “But so far, we have deployed no less than 30,000 troops across the entire Kingdom of Vietnam, yet victory remains out of reach…”
“And now Indochina is under attack. Though I firmly believe we haven’t made the wrong choice, the legislators and citizens are against me, forcing me to reconsider this war.”
The Minister of the Navy was equally distressed: “It is said that the situation in Indochina is extremely bad, beyond our imagination—large numbers of colonial troops have been wiped out by countless enemy forces…”
“We must prioritize the interests of the French,” Fery interrupted him. “The French interests in this land.”
The French who manage this colony are the strongest supporters of this war, yet now it is they who suffer the greatest losses from it: “I believe the news will be published in the newspapers tomorrow, and then the entire cabinet will be in danger.”
Fery’s cabinet was already considered long-lived in the history of the Third French Republic, but the entire political history of the Third French Republic was marked by government overthrows—no cabinet could escape such fate.
“So today, I hope to resolve the issues in the Kingdom of Annam as best as possible,” the Prime Minister set the tone for the meeting. “I believe sending reinforcements to the Indochina colony serves the interests of every Frenchman, but given the current situation, we cannot provide too many.”
“A infantry brigade?”
Fery said reluctantly, “We can send one more brigade to Indochina. Are there financial difficulties?”
The Minister of Finance expressed hesitation: “It will cause a huge fiscal deficit—just one infantry brigade.”
The Minister of the Army offered another suggestion: “Could we send an infantry brigade to both Tokyo and Huế?”
“That would get me executed by Parliament. There isn’t much more this government can do. I hope to reach an agreement with the Black Flag Army…”
“What kind of agreement?”
All cabinet members were concerned about the Prime Minister’s decision: “I hope to exchange Bắc Ninh and Hanoi for peace in Indochina.”
The Minister of the Navy was the strongest opponent of this idea: “That means we’ll have to withdraw from the Tokyo region.”
“Yes, Napoleon also bravely withdrew from Moscow. If forced, we can also withdraw from Huế, but Indochina must be held at all costs.”

This is his bottom line. Even if this cabinet fails to capture new colonies, it must at least hold onto the existing frontlines: “Well, based on the Army Minister’s advice and my own, I think it’s feasible to secure more collateral and send one or two brigades to Annam in the short term, but I don’t want the war to scale up too much.”
“What do you mean by ‘short term’?” The Army Minister wanted clear authorization: “It will take at least a year to take action in those two regions, not including the time needed to transport troops.”
“We don’t have that much time—maximum four and a half months, including the time the troops spend at sea. We no longer have high hopes of achieving a perfect victory; we can only hope for a perfect victory at the negotiating table.”
This was his expectation for the French land and naval forces: “Our bottom line is…”
“No territorial concessions, no reparations.”