Chapter 176: The British Conspiracy (Part 1)

“The British?”
Liu Yu had to adopt a cautious attitude toward the British interfering in Vietnamese affairs. “What do they want?”
After the Battle of Shanxi, the French’s negotiating opponents were not only Li Hongzhang but also the Black Flag Army—over the past few years, the French had consistently refused to treat the Black Flag Army as an equal negotiating partner.
However, after just a few rounds of negotiations, the vast disparity in demands led to an immediate breakdown, without even a schedule for further discussions being set.
The conditions proposed by the French made the Black Flag Army’s leadership conclude, “It’s even worse than the Treaty of Nanjing, yet it’s we who won on the battlefield.”
Meanwhile, the Black Flag Army’s demands enraged the French: “This is France in 1871—you’re not Germany either.”
They considered the Black Flag Army’s demands even more excessive than ceding Alsace and Lorraine: “We are France in 1884.”
Under such circumstances, the strong intervention of the British seemed like good news for both sides, but Liu Yu felt there was a deeper meaning behind it.
Vietnam, this untamed and fertile land, had always been France’s backyard. The French had always exploited it thoroughly, leaving no scraps for other powers—they didn’t even allow consulates to be established, and any matters related to Vietnam had to be negotiated directly with the French Foreign Ministry.
But now it seemed they were ready to invite wolves into their home. If the situation hadn’t become so dire, he would never have adopted an open-door policy in Vietnam.
Liu Yu wasn’t particularly worried about a possible direct military intervention by Britain. The British were known for their shrewd calculations. After the French suffered heavy losses, they generally wouldn’t risk further trouble for them.
Although the British were hailed as the collectors of the peninsula, the Empire on which the sun never sets, the world’s foremost power of the era with an invincible navy and the best army in the world, they had inherent weaknesses when fighting in Vietnam.
At that time, the British army’s quality, training, and even combat skills were among the best in the world. Despite setbacks in places like Afghanistan and South Africa, their troops serving in colonies were indeed elite. Yet this excellence also came with a significant flaw: their total army strength was pitifully small. The army maintaining the entire Empire on which the sun never sets numbered only a few hundred thousand, and with troops stationed in colonies, very few were available for deployment.
At the beginning of World War I, these elite troops performed exceptionally well. In their first battles against the Germans, their accurate and intense rifle fire led the Germans to believe they were equipped with large numbers of machine guns, forcing the numerically superior Germans to pay three times the price. But after the initial few battles, the British army could no longer regain its former glory.
Most of their officers and soldiers were lost in those glorious victories. This small force was simply unprepared to handle the massive demands of a world war. The British had to rebuild their entire army from the ashes.

In this context, the issue becomes particularly serious: the British will have extremely limited troops deployed in Vietnam, while the Black Flag Army has already spread across three major strategic directions, boasting tens of thousands of elite soldiers, nearly 20,000 Western-style rapid-fire rifles, and hundreds of steel cannons and mortars. Therefore, Liu Yu did not consider this a fatal threat. He said to Nguyen Mong Lien, “We need to strengthen intelligence gathering from the British side… Well, aside from France being our primary enemy, Japan and Russia are our main potential adversaries.” He believed the greatest danger from British interference was the inability to import much-needed military supplies through Hong Kong. … He was unaware that the British were already ready to pull the trigger. “According to the intelligence we’ve gathered in China, the Black Flag Army has around 20 to 30 infantry battalions, which form the core of their combat strength. These battalions are organized into several infantry brigades and subordinate regiments.” “All of these infantry battalions, according to missionaries and military observers, are equipped with breech-loading rifles, though their weapons vary widely. Some battalions are equipped with mortars manufactured by the Black Flag Army themselves—these small artillery pieces pose a significant threat to the French forces. We have recommended replicating them and equipping our British-Indian troops with them.” “The Black Flag Army has about a dozen breech-loading steel cannons, most of which were captured from the French, along with a small number from Germany. In addition, they have around 100 mortars in total, which constitute their entire artillery force.” “The Black Flag Army has also reorganized some former Vietnamese government troops, but these local forces are poorly equipped and have weak combat capabilities.” “The main forces of the Black Flag Army are quite combat-effective. They have high morale and are skilled at using terrain to attack French forces. In particular, their fortifications are of top quality. Over the past few months, they have defeated French forces on multiple occasions, especially in the Shanxi campaign—one of the most humiliating defeats in Western colonial history.” “Liu Yu and his senior officers are skilled in the art of war. Although his forces are far behind those of European countries, we must admit that the Black Flag Army will affect peace throughout East Asia.” “The Black Flag Army’s base is not far from the Sino-Vietnamese border, allowing them to easily enter Guangdong Province. Under such circumstances, Hong Kong will be the first to be affected.” “Hong Kong is the brightest jewel of our presence in the Far East. Over the past few decades, the empire has invested vast amounts of money and manpower to develop it. We will not allow Hong Kong and the Guangdong region under our influence to be attacked or threatened by these bandits.” “Given this severe situation, the Far East garrison recommends that we adopt the policies used during the Taiping Rebellion—taking decisive action by sending sufficient reinforcements to Hong Kong first and increasing the number of artillery volunteers.” “With these reinforcements, the Hong Kong garrison will be able to take measured actions to ensure that Great Britain is not harmed. Additionally, our Japanese allies have assured us that, as long as we provide adequate logistical support, they can send about one infantry division as reinforcements to Guangdong. However, we cannot rely too much on such promises.”

“We have already negotiated with some officials in the Celestial Empire. To prevent a repeat of the Taiping tragedy, they not only agreed privately to facilitate our entry but also to provide us with some colonial troops.”
“However, the primary issue is that the Black Flag Army has purchased large quantities of weapons and military supplies in Hong Kong, which are being secretly transported out of the city. I hope the cabinet will make a wise decision as soon as possible to impose a complete embargo on these Black Flag bandits.”