Chapter 187: An Accident (Part 1)

Saigon.
For a long time, serving in Saigon was not a pleasant endeavor. Though one could act tyrannically among the natives, the tropical climate of Saigon claimed many French lives compared to the more comfortable regions back home. After twenty years of effort and the establishment of a relatively decent sanitation system, many elites from the home regions began to serve in this colony, attracting more newcomers.

Yet this positive cycle had been completely shattered. Now, boat tickets from Saigon to anywhere else had tripled in price, while tickets from the home regions to Saigon were hardly sought after. Aside from batches of grim-faced soldiers, no ordinary Frenchman wanted to come to this dangerous yet beautiful city.

The initial group of volunteers also backed out. After their initial enthusiasm faded, they became even more cautious than ordinary people. Some even took ordinary soldiers assigned to serve in the colony back home—in other words, they became deserters.

But no one could blame them. Standing on the streets of Saigon, one could hear the constant howling sounds—sharp and prolonged—caused by the Black Flag Army firing 82-mm mortars at the outskirts of Saigon. Sometimes these attacks were in retaliation against the French forces, other times they were mere meaningless threats. But regardless, every shell posed a serious threat to the French living in the city.

A few shells even landed inside the city, causing casualties among the French population, making it clear to everyone that war was right at their doorstep.

Another long, piercing howl echoed through the air. The residents of Saigon had grown accustomed to it, but this was not the sound of a clock signaling time—it was a clear sign of grave danger.

Such artillery sounds could be heard every day, even every hour. The Black Flag Army might not be economically advantageous, but they had a profound impact on the entire Indochina colony.

“Gentlemen, we must withdraw…”
A plump French merchant shouted, “Given the situation, we must take action to protect the lives and property of French citizens. The government ignores our demands, sending large expeditionary forces to Tokyo and Huế while neglecting the safety of the colony. We demand that the government send more troops to the colony and withdraw those from Tokyo and Huế!”

He spoke with great emotion, drawing applause from the crowd. “Huế and Tokyo are not closely tied to French interests, but Indochina is different. We have fought on this land for over twenty years, and if we include the missionaries’ contributions, it’s been three hundred years. Thousands of Frenchmen have shed their blood and sweat here!”

“Therefore, our slogan is: Please, Paris, do not abandon your orphans—our Indochina…”

It was the same merchant, yet a year earlier he spoke in a completely different tone: “We must conquer all of Vietnam. The Kingdom of Annam is a gift from God to France. Before launching a war of revenge against the Germans, we must strengthen our nation’s strength, and conquering Annam is the easiest way to do that!”
“If Paris is unable to conquer Annam, without a single soldier or a franc of military expenditure, we can hire Du Bois and his former men to deliver a decisive campaign as a gift to the Republic!”
But massive losses changed the minds of all the French in the colony. They saw no possibility of victory in the war in the north, while their own losses grew ever larger, to an unbearable extent.
Their plantations, mines, and farms in Indochina fell into the hands of the Black Flag Army, and thus they remembered one man’s name.
It was Liu Yu, and it was his Black Flag Army. Every Frenchman hated him fiercely. They wished to send this demon who had truly degraded their standards straight to hell.
But so far, this demon remained healthy, while it was the law-abiding French citizens who suffered huge losses. Many lost half or even two-thirds of their wealth compared to before the war began.
Even those few Frenchmen whose property wasn’t directly affected by the war still suffered significant losses. Thus, this merchant represented everyone’s sentiment: “We hope Paris will make a wise choice!”
For profit, they were willing to ally with demons. Anyone who could protect their interests became their savior, even Liu Yu, the real demon, began to seem likable.
They were willing to negotiate directly with Liu Yu—any condition could be discussed as long as the Black Flag Army withdrew from Indochina. Otherwise, their losses would continue to mount. As a result, in the newspapers in Paris, Liu Yu’s image had changed from Satan to a hateful yet admirable Saladin.
Such undercurrents also affected the colonial elite.
The governor was painfully writing a report to Paris: “I must report to the cabinet that the Black Flag Army’s siege of Hanoi has lasted fourteen days. We have temporarily cut off all contact with Hanoi except through water routes…”
“Hanoi is under siege by the Black Flag Army. Tens of thousands of their troops attack the city day and night. We are not aware of the exact situation, but from the reports of the defending forces, our losses are enormous, with hundreds of casualties every day…”
Last year at this time, the Black Flag Army also besieged Hanoi. But back then, the governor of Indochina was full of confidence and quickly sent thousands of soldiers to reinforce Hanoi.
But now he could barely protect himself. He only sent one reinforced company to Hanoi, while the defenders of Hue barely managed to send two companies, a battery, and an engineering platoon—adding up to just one reinforced battalion.
Together with another battalion sent from Haiphong, this was the only support the defenders of Hanoi received in over ten days.

But for the Governor of Indochina, it was the perfect description of misfortune upon misfortune: “I must report even worse news—a severe infectious disease has emerged in Hue, infecting thousands of soldiers, many of whom have died from it…”
This outbreak occurred earlier than in historical records, when it caused an astonishing number of deaths among the French forces—thirty thousand soldiers died from the epidemic in China and Vietnam. As a result, the French Parliament seriously considered abandoning the plan to take control of Tonkin, and the proposal was rejected by just one vote.