Chapter 15: Haiyang (Part 2)

On the walls of Haiyang City, several veterans from the Liu Army swiftly cut down the old flag and raised the new “Liu” flag, prompting cheers from the crowd.
Yet no one dared be careless. Everyone shouted, “Commander, where shall we attack?”
Distant gunshots could already be heard a few hundred meters away—clearly, the eager vanguard had clashed with the government troops. But they didn’t know whether to rush to reinforce or defend against a counterattack.
Liu Yu was also confused. After pondering for a long time, he still hadn’t made a decision.
It was the government troops’ excellent maneuverability that had baffled Liu Yu.
Even the most optimistic would never expect that there were hundreds of defenders on the city walls, along with several bronze cannons, making a fierce battle likely. Moreover, the government troops had reinforcements coming.
For this reason, Liu Yu had prepared various siege tools such as ladders, door planks, earth tanks, and barrels of explosives. He even enlisted insiders from the Tiandi Society. But to his dismay, none of these were needed—they had already climbed over the city gates.
This was true defeat at the first sign of trouble.
They only let the four Remington rifles fire two rounds of volleys. By the time the main infantry force was nearly a hundred meters away from the city gates, there wasn’t a single person left on the walls.
The over a hundred defenders fired just a dozen shots from their muskets before wisely deciding to retreat. Their retreat immediately confused the Liu Army.
Was it a decoy strategy? Everyone paused. Then Ji Xinghui let out a loud roar and charged into the city with his bayonet.
Their movements were as swift as the wind, leaving our troops unable to catch up. On the city walls, aside from two corpses, not a single government soldier was in sight—they had truly fled.
Their actions clearly threw the Liu Army into chaos. Ji Xinghui led a dozen men into the city, while Liu Yu’s main force still waited on the walls for the government troops’ counterattack.
Distant gunshots continued sporadically, but there was still no sign of a government counterattack.
Everyone felt lost, waiting for Liu Yu’s orders.
It was like a heavy punch, built up with great force, ready to deliver a head-on strike—only to hit nothing but cotton. Though this would become a common occurrence later as France swept through Vietnam, how could over a hundred Vietnamese soldiers not flee when faced with enemies equipped with far more advanced firearms?
Now, Liu Yu was also hesitating—what to do?
Only after reaching the walls of Haiyang City did he realize that this large city, with tens of thousands of residents and thousands of defenders, was even bigger than he had imagined. With just two hundred men, it seemed impossible to take control of the entire city.
What to do?
“March toward the gunshots!”
It wasn’t Liu Yu who gave the order, but Jiang Ningxue, who had remained silent until now: “March toward the gunshots!”
Everyone still hesitated.
Ji Xinghui’s vanguard had already engaged the government troops.
“Listen to me! I follow Liu Yu—come with me!”
Before Jiang Ningxue could act, Liu Yu already charged out with his Spencer rifle: “March toward the gunshots! Ningxue, hold the walls—don’t go to the front line!”
“Listen to me! I follow Liu Yu!”

All the soldiers suddenly found motivation. Armed with various firearms, they followed closely behind Liu Yu.
“March forward toward the sound of gunfire!”

Inside the governor’s office, bad news kept coming one after another.
“There are many soldiers from the Liu Yu Camp. Our army has only eighty men on the southern city walls. The enemy has thousands of men, along with hundreds of foreign rifles and dozens of cannons. We’re no match for them—we’ve been defeated. Please, sir, make a quick decision!”
“Sir, the enemy is attacking in groups of a hundred, along with several foreign rifles. A battle is already underway.”
“Please send reinforcements at once.”

Fan Fushu was originally a scholar. As a literati in charge of the army, he naturally lacked the decisive courage needed in battle. He couldn’t even make a decision and could only scold his generals frantically, “Can’t you come up with a plan?”

These commanders were supposed to return to their units and lead their troops in a counterattack, but after the governor’s outburst, they were also at a loss, unable to come up with any strategy.

They were experienced soldiers and knew it seemed unlikely that the Liu Yu Camp had thousands of men. Clearly, the eighty soldiers on the city walls had retreated because they couldn’t withstand the enemy’s onslaught. But now, the enemy must have at least a thousand men, maybe even more. Moreover, they somehow obtained foreign rifles.

At this point, if only one brave soldier stepped forward, they could turn the tide of battle. But everyone was thinking selfishly.

Whoever went first to launch a counterattack would surely face certain death against those thousands of bandits and foreign rifles. Who would want to take the lead?

There were only 3,200 soldiers in the city, and considering vacancies, it was likely even less than 3,000. Fighting against over a thousand fierce bandits didn’t seem promising either.

As they hesitated, Ruan Youming chimed in, “Sir, the bandits are too strong. Why not retreat to the cathedral in the west of the city for shelter?”

He said confidently, “There, the French tricolor flag hangs high, and it’s protected by crosses. It’s a sacred place. In the name of France and God, I guarantee your safety the moment you step into the cathedral.”

It would have been fine if he hadn’t mentioned it, but now all the officials in the governor’s office imagined a terrifying scene and thought about the advantages of retreating to the cathedral.

A cathedral with crosses and a tricolor flag was virtually inviolable during war—who would dare oppose France?

As long as they retreated to the cathedral, even the bravest bandits couldn’t enter, ensuring their safety.

Ruan Youming took the opportunity to promote it vigorously, “Gentlemen, once inside the cathedral, after being baptized, you’ll become believers of my faith and will be under absolute protection…”

Fortunately, Fan Fushu was sensible. He quickly regained his composure. “Father Ruan, let’s not talk about that for now. What should we do?”

Just as they were hesitating, someone reported, “Sir, Deputy Commander Zheng Song has gathered 200 soldiers and is charging at the bandits!”

Hearing this, Governor Fan breathed a sigh of relief. At least someone had stepped forward.

Zheng Song had always been his trusted right-hand man. On the battlefield, Governor Fan relied entirely on him. He had 150 elite soldiers, whose combat strength far exceeded that of the other units, and they were also equipped with foreign rifles. In essence, they were Fan Fushu’s personal guard.

Now that he led his troops into battle, Governor Fan’s mind was finally at peace. But just as he settled down, gunshots began to ring out densely, like beans being fried. Governor Fan’s heart became anxious again.