Chapter 191: Desperate Delivery

Watching the French forces retreat gradually in the distance, Wang Debang was filled with pride. “See? What can the French do? They still end up giving up their territory like the Black Flag Army…”
Those around him replied respectfully, “My lord is wise and mighty; all those bandits are helpless!”
This was the third day since Wang Debang entered Beining. As he had expected, although he hadn’t taken control of the provincial capital, he had seized many strategic locations. Soon, many loyal Vietnamese people came to seek his help, complaining about the crimes of the Black Flag Army while asking for protection.
Among them were many Catholics, as well as those whose interests had been harmed by the Black Flag Army’s arrival in Beining. In any case, Wang Debang had managed to establish a firm foothold there.
Now he controlled one-fourth of Beining. Though it wasn’t enough to support more than a dozen Qing army units, the French had already sent him 100,000 silver dollars, plus rewards from Pan Dingxin, which would suffice to cover his expenses for a while.
“Once we take control of the provincial capital, we’ll have a good time, just as we did in Jiangnan…”
He spoke ambiguously, but his soldiers understood exactly what he meant—one of their greatest goals in military service: city slaughter, a lawful act of massacre.
Both the Hunan Army and the Huai Army excelled at massacring cities, often indulging in plunder and rape for three days after capturing a city, allowing their soldiers to amass wealth and women.
The soldiers had thought they wouldn’t find much profit in the Vietnamese mountains, but after entering Beining, they discovered it to be wealthy and full of opportunities, so they had long wanted to carry out massacres for profit.
Now that Wang Debang had made it explicit, their morale soared. “Thank you, commander! Thank you!”
Wang Debang was also very pleased. He asked, “Any movements from the Black Flag bandits?”
“None yet. We only heard that Tang Jingsong has led a battalion of veterans back to Taiyuan to discuss territory division with us!”
“Hmph! What territory division? A mere sixth-rank official thinking he’s someone special. Give him some face—tell him to hand over Taiyuan to our army right away. If he does, we won’t pursue his crime of colluding with bandits. Otherwise, we’ll execute his entire family!”
His contempt for the Black Flag Army extended to Tang Jingsong as well. He felt no respect for this insignificant court official. “Just a sixth-rank official? I’m the governor of Guangxi—ten times more noble than you!”
But just mentioning Tang Jingsong’s name made him want to vent his anger. “The Black Flag Army claims to be borrowing a path, but Beining and Taiyuan were originally under our Qing army’s control. It was only because the French entered that our Qing army stepped back to maintain Sino-French friendship. Now that we want to reclaim these areas, the Black Flag Army must withdraw. How dare they use the pretext of borrowing a path to carry out evil deeds!”
The initial success only made Wang Debang more arrogant. He used to be a veteran of the Hunan Army and wouldn’t have been so reckless otherwise. But he had always had poor relations with his superiors. Back under Zuo Zongtang’s command, he had frequently clashed with Zuo Jigao, who believed “Hunan couldn’t do without Zuo Zongtang.” He was also extremely arrogant, thinking the French would keep yielding, even offering numerous gifts to prevent war on their side.

And the Qing court had already signed a treaty with France; China and France coexisted peacefully in Vietnam without invading each other. He could only direct his attacks at the Black Flag Army.
Look at them! The comfort gifts they brought were so meager—not even worth a fraction of what the French offered. Drunk, he revealed his true intentions: “Brothers, once we take Taiyuan and Hanoi, I’ll give each of you a real official position. But for now, work hard for me and prove yourselves!”
In the past, whenever the Taiping Rebellion was quelled, everyone who achieved military merits would be promoted—hundreds at a time—each receiving a high-ranking position. Even Zuo Zongtang’s personal guards had reached the third or fourth rank. But only after the Taiping Rebellion was suppressed did people realize that these titles were worthless; what truly mattered were actual positions.
This time, Wang Debang heard that the imperial court had promised several real positions. Some even advised the Empress Dowager that with dozens of battalions in the Black Flag Army, if not controlled, they might become another Hong Xiuquan, so precautions were needed.
One person even suggested, “Why not follow the rewards given for capturing Nanjing by the late emperor…”
Though just a rumor, it tempted Wang Debang. It was said that when the Hong Xiuquan rebellion started, Emperor Xianfeng promised that those who defeated them would be made kings. After capturing Tianjing, he regretted this and split the king title among several people. Zeng Guofan, being the most meritorious, was made a marquis.
Wang Debang naturally longed for such honors, so he saw this as the perfect opportunity to deal with the Black Flag Army.
The Black Flag Army wasn’t united—half of their forces were south of Thanh Hóa. Of the 40 battalions in northern Vietnam, over 20 were fighting the French near Hanoi, while only 6 or 7 weak battalions were in Bắc Ninh and Taiyuan, making their total strength around 8 or 9 battalions.
Yet reinforcements kept arriving. The troops led by Pan Dingxin already numbered over 30 battalions, and it was said that once all reinforcements arrived, there would be 40 to 50 battalions.
Attacking the Black Flag Army with such a superior force would surely lead to a complete victory. After defeating the enemies in Bắc Ninh and Taiyuan, he could even march straight on Hanoi and claim his marquis title.
It was with this mindset that he bluntly said, “Brothers, send someone to tell the Black Flag Army that this land in Bắc Ninh belongs to the Qing Dynasty. Tell them to withdraw immediately, or I, Wang Debang, won’t be polite!”
……
“You have two days to leave Bắc Ninh. Otherwise, you’ll bear all the consequences!”
When Tang Jingsong saw this order, he wasn’t as furious as expected. “Tell the two infantry battalions in Bắc Ninh to retreat a bit and give up half of the territory!”
Bắc Ninh was such an important place—even if Tang Jingsong were willing to give it all up, the Black Flag Army would never agree.
Besides, the Black Flag Army had already made huge sacrifices for this land. The Qing army could take Bắc Ninh, but they had to do it with their own strength, not just empty words.
Tang Jingsong had another plan in mind: “Once we capture Hanoi, you’ll see what happens to you…”
……
“What? French supply ships? All made up of fast gunboats?”

As the battles progressed, the Black Flag Army’s communication network became increasingly sophisticated, even surpassing that of the French army. In fact, after a rare victory, the French commanders stared at the captured Black Flag Army communication equipment with greed, to the point of being unable to sleep at night. By now, less than half an hour after the French transport fleet set sail from Haiphong, Liu Yu already had complete information—except that the intelligence underestimated the scale of the French troops being transported. “The enemy is sending about three battalions of French troops to Hanoi? We can’t let them enter Hanoi!” In defensive battles, three infantry battalions could often determine the outcome: “We must eliminate them all during transportation!” What he didn’t know was that the orders from Paris and Saigon were for five battalions, but just before departure, the Governor-General of Indochina in Saigon added another battalion of indigenous infantry from a West African colony. Mason couldn’t understand this at all; in his eyes, those indigenous West African infantry were nothing but useless, combatless troops—sending them to the battlefield in Hanoi made no sense. Yet he still had no choice but to load these distant blacks onto the gunboats, only to painfully discover that they caused more trouble than the Black Flag Army did. Liu Yu’s orders were also conveyed to every Black Flag Army unit near the Red River: “Eliminate them completely…” Dozens of Black Flag Army soldiers held their breath, watching the quiet river. But no matter how quiet it was, one thing was undeniable: the river was often stained red with blood, and corpses could be seen floating from time to time. This was the result of fierce battles upstream, but every time the French passed by here, they had to pay a price at these simple fortifications. The river was quiet yet tense; all soldiers watched intently ahead, ready for battle. Over time, they had set up ambushes repeatedly in this area, using very simple weapons to deal significant blows to the French. Time passed silently under the scorching sun, but no one became careless. They knew well that at the speed of motorboats, it would take only a short time for them to pose a deadly threat. “Huh…” First, there was a faint sound, followed by a sharp engine noise. Everyone’s spirits lifted as their commander grabbed binoculars, trying to spot the transport ships in the enemy fleet. These bulky and slow transport ships would be perfect targets for the Black Flag Army’s attack, but he was soon disappointed—the enemy fleet consisted entirely of fast combat vessels. The two leading armed motorboats were already speeding toward them, only two or three minutes away. “Prepare the cannons—destroy them!” Armed motorboats posed a huge threat in waterways, but after prolonged battles, the Black Flag Army had developed a complete set of tactics to deal with them. Although these small units only had some old-fashioned bronze cannons, a hit from them was enough to be fatal.

The French fleet was getting closer. It didn’t resemble an escort fleet but rather a well-organized patrol force, a serious threat to the Black Flag Army’s defensive forces. Yet the commanders of the Black Flag Army quickly realized something was amiss.
“Something’s wrong… so many soldiers!”
They could clearly see that there were far too many armed soldiers on top of the gunboats and warships—far more than usual. A considerable number of French infantry could be seen on the decks, dressed in blue uniforms and red breeches, their targets standing out sharply.
“Boom…” The Black Flag Army’s crude bronze cannons began firing. An explosive shell exploded on the left side of the gunboat, sending up countless white waves.
Soon after, rifle fire joined in. The rimmington rifles produced a symphony of bullets hitting steel, with cries of pain occasionally heard.
But unlike before, the French usually halted the entire fleet to suppress the Black Flag Army’s fire before moving forward. This time, however, they continued upstream under the guidance of the vanguard gunboats.
Although the Black Flag Army had gathered dozens of rapid-fire rifles and even some old-fashioned cannons, these were not a fatal threat to them. Bullets caused some casualties among the fleet, turning the decks red once again, but the fleet’s commanders ignored these losses and continued upward.
It took them only a few minutes to pass this forward position, but even so, they paid a heavy price.
“Bang!” “Bang!”
Amidst the gunfire, several officers directing operations on the decks were shot down by rifle bullets. They didn’t even have time to react; some even fell straight into the river.
At first, the French thought it was just luck, but soon someone realized, “It’s the Chinese marksmen! Marksmen!”
In any navy, snipers are not considered a threat, but now the French were forced to face this reality. There were many snipers ahead of them, and each of their shots could be fatal.
Yet such losses were often just numbers.
“Nine dead, twenty-nine wounded… This is an acceptable number—more than half less than usual!”
A French fleet commander had realized that such rapid advances could indeed reduce casualties. “There are many more such positions ahead. All we can do now is charge forward with courage!”
“Remember, ahead of us are stronger fortifications, more powerful firepower, and more troops. But I will take you to Hanoi! Soldiers of France!”
Yet as he said this, there was a hint of desolation in the naval officer’s eyes.
These were the best young men, writing their stories with their youth, but France could not offer them much in return.

These young soldiers still had an innocent look on their faces, and it was unknown how many of them would eventually return to their hometowns. But the truth was too cruel, forcing the naval officers to muster as much courage as possible. All the warships sounded their horns; the dead officers and soldiers were not placed in body bags but thrown directly into the icy waters. Ahead of them lay the multi-sided fortifications of the Black Flag Army. “Two kilometers ahead, there’s about one battalion of enemy infantry, equipped with two 40-mm guns, six mortars, and many other artillery pieces. All the warships…” “Once the battle begins, do not linger in combat or try to rescue fellow ships. Move forward at full speed immediately, following closely behind the flagship. If the flagship is destroyed, use the lead ship as the new flagship!” Signal flags were raised on the warships: “Good luck!” Ahead lay a dense hail of bullets, but the French fleet hesitated not at all and charged straight into this sea of fire.