Chapter Nineteen: Aftermath!

Haiphong was different from any city in North Vietnam. This city, called “Tay Ky” by the Vietnamese, had been completely Europeanized, thoroughly Frenchized.
It was built by French colonists from a small fishing village, controlling the mouth of the Red River. The customs office there could collect a huge tax of 300,000 taels of silver each year.
But for Nguyen Huu Minh, what mattered most were the French consul here, as well as the small fleet and marine corps of Cochinchina.
Just half a company of marine troops and one river warship would be enough to wipe out the bandits in Hai Duong City.
It only took a few hours to travel from Haiphong to Hai Duong, enough time to eliminate those pagans who harmed French interests.
Seeing those European-style Catholic churches, Nguyen Huu Minh was so excited under the twilight sky that he almost cried out in joy.
That was France! That was the tricolor flag! That was his homeland!
Lord, punish those pagans!
Nguyen Huu Minh, beaten until he looked like a panda, felt pain all over, but he could hardly wait to jump into the water to express his excitement!
Homeland, I’m here!
What’s that? Nguyen Huu Minh became even more excited.
He saw a steamship anchored in the port, along with soldiers on board—an entire company!
France, France, I love you.
This is how we should retaliate harshly against those pagans. How fast they reacted!
The group of missionaries on the small boat were crying and shouting, as if they saw the days when they could once again enjoy the scenery of Hai Duong.
“Long live France!”
The troop transport ship across also shouted, “Long live France!”
The missionaries on the small boat cried, “To serve France!”
They received the same reply, “To serve France!”
Nguyen Huu Minh hopped around and shouted with the missionaries, “Go to Hai Duong and wipe out those pagans.”
There was a moment of silence, then the troop transport ship replied, “We’re going to Hanoi.”
“There are Chinese bandits in Hai Duong; you should go and eliminate them.”
“We’re ordered by the governor to go to Hanoi.”
Nguyen Huu Minh was about to curse—why go to Hanoi instead of Hai Duong, when Hai Duong was right on this route and could be easily taken by just one infantry platoon?
Surely the governor didn’t understand the situation!
As soon as the ship stopped, Nguyen Huu Minh, ignoring the pain, shouted loudly, “I want to see the consul! I want to report this situation to the governor of Cochinchina.”
The French consul in Haiphong was an old friend of Nguyen Huu Minh’s. As soon as they met, he prepared a cup of black tea for the priest. “Dear priest, it seems you’ve suffered a lot.”
“Dear consul, Hai Duong is bleeding—don’t you know?”
The consul smiled. “I know. I just received news, but it’s just some Vietnamese believers. Calm down.”
“Your Excellency, I must correct your statement,” Nguyen Huu Minh said, pointing to his battered body. “I’ve suffered greatly. I hope a force can be sent immediately—just one infantry platoon will be enough to deal with them.”
The consul still spoke in an official tone, “No troops will be sent to Hai Duong in the short term. As for you and the respected missionaries, you will receive compensation from the authorities for your injuries.”

Nguyen Huu Minh stretched out his injured hands and pointed at his body covered in wounds: “When did France forget its people? They are a bunch of vile bandits; we must retaliate immediately.”
“That’s how it usually is,” said the consul in his official tone. He pulled back the curtain and pointed at the warship docked in the port, loading coal. “But right now, I can only send this Marine company to Hanoi—it’s reinforcements sent there by the governor-general.”
“They only need to stay in Hai Duong for a day. Even if they have tasks to carry out, Haiphong can assign some soldiers from the Marines to Hai Duong.”
“No!” the consul replied firmly. “I’ve ordered that all leave be suspended. At a time when the fate of the colony is at stake, I won’t allow any accidents.”
“Hai Duong has already fallen. I don’t want any accidents in Haiphong or Hanoi. I’ll send a telegram to Hanoi now to ask if they still need reinforcements. If so, I can immediately send half of the men from here to Hanoi.”
Nguyen Huu Minh realized something had changed, explaining why Hai Duong had been captured by bandits and why such shameful things as attacks on French missionaries and Catholics could be tolerated: “Your Excellency, what happened?”
The consul spread his hands, showing sympathy for Nguyen Huu Minh: “I offer my deepest sympathy to you and all the clergy, as well as to the victims among the Catholics. I feel just as you do—I also want the Marines to go and eliminate those bandits right away.”
“But reason prevents me from doing that. Let’s sit down and talk.”
“I understand. France’s interests come first.”
The consul sat in front of the tricolor flag, leaning over his desk with his fists resting on his head. “This is a critical time. Hanoi needs our reinforcements—can’t we delay even for a moment?”
“Have the Vietnamese been defeated?”
In northern Vietnam, the French had two Marine companies in total—one in Hanoi and one in Haiphong, each with a hundred men. What Nguyen Huu Minh had just seen was the third Marine company sent to northern Vietnam.
But whether it was two hundred or three hundred men, it was quite difficult to control the entire northern region, as there were eighteen provinces there—almost one person per province. Whenever major problems arose, there was a severe shortage of troops. The consul continued, “No, it’s much worse than that. A Chinese general, a high-ranking Chinese officer, has crossed the border.”
“Chineses? Those barbarians! They often violate our right to protect Vietnam. Detestable.”
What Nguyen Huu Minh didn’t say outright was that the Chinese army’s crossing of the border was the result of strenuous efforts by the Vietnamese authorities and was completely legal.
The consul shook his head. “It’s much worse. This general has declared himself the emperor of Vietnam.”
“Good heavens! Did the Chinese instigate him?”
“That’s exactly the severity of the problem. He has no official authorization. He simply claims to be a descendant of an ancient Vietnamese dynasty. He wants to reclaim his ancestral lands, rule Vietnam on behalf of the Chinese, and drive us out.”
“That’s rebellion!”
“Yes! Exactly. We must take action.”

Ruan Youming agreed, asking only one question: “What is the name of this rebel?”
The consul pronounced the name in imperfect Mandarin: “Li——Yang——Cai!”
Note: The Indochina Flotilla was a fleet established by the French in Indochina, and the governor referred to the governor-general of Indochina based in South Vietnam.