Chapter 4: Spoils of War (Part 1)

“What detouring troops?”
The small leader clutched his head, trembling uncontrollably—far from resembling a soldier. He merely replied, “There are no such detouring troops… absolutely none!”
By now, the entire Liu Army had taken control of the battlefield. The young commander casually struck him with the butt of his gun: “You started with seventy or eighty men, and now more than twenty are missing. Where did those people go?”
He raised his voice further, “Don’t talk, or I’ll blow your head off!”
Only then did the small leader snap out of it. He understood Chinese and cursed angrily, “Those cowardly bastards ran away as soon as they heard gunshots!”
He finally realized who his opponents were—only twenty men in total, including women, children, and wounded. He sighed, “If I had known there were so few of you, I would have fought harder.”
Liu Yu also thought these Vietnamese soldiers were even weaker than they had imagined, easily defeated by just twenty of their men. But hearing this guy talk back, he struck him again with the butt of his gun: “Be honest. You can try again, but first take this shot.”
The small leader forced another smile, though it looked even uglier than crying: “You all are noble men from the Tang Dynasty. Why make things difficult for us from a lesser country…”
“The Tang Dynasty?” It took Liu Yu a while to understand. “Since you know we’re from China, why not tell the truth?”
Though the Tang Dynasty had fallen thousands of years ago, people from other lands still referred to China as the “Tang Dynasty” out of respect.
Though the Han and Tang dynasties were gone, their glory endured forever.
The Qing Dynasty still existed, yet its regrets lasted through the ages.
This was still the darkest era in history.
Dawn had broken.
His homeland remained in chaos.
He sighed deeply and obtained details from the small leader: “During the battle just now, as soon as your troops fired a shot, thirty percent of our soldiers deserted. After that, more casualties occurred. The soldiers lost their fighting spirit. When General Guan Qi’s troops were hit, he led the retreat first. Then the enemy army charged in, resulting in the current situation…”
Just thinking about how weak these Vietnamese soldiers were left the young commander speechless.
According to his original plan, the Sino-French War would happen in a few years. For this war of apparent victory but actual defeat, he had long resolved to turn things around. He could unite with Vietnam to fight against the French. But after seeing today’s performance of these Vietnamese troops, he understood.
It’s not enemies as fierce as tigers that are scary—it’s teammates as weak as pigs.
And these weren’t even just weak teammates; they were downright pathetic. He sighed, “The Green Standard Army and Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty were already in disarray. I didn’t expect the soldiers of Annam to be even worse.”
To his surprise, the small leader had some insight: “Great generals like Feng Zicai, Li Yangcai, and Liu Yongfu from your country are like Zhou Yafu and Huo Qubing. They also have modern guns and weapons—how can they be compared to the troops of a lesser country?”
“Besides, even if a group of fifty soldiers from our country has only five muskets, with only fifteen fighting at a time, and only six shots per year allowed—this is far less than what the Tang Dynasty had.”
What he said was true. Victory was a good thing, but Liu Yu wasn’t as excited as he had expected.
The Liu Army fought twenty against eighty, capturing over thirty enemies and seizing twenty muskets. This was something worth boasting about throughout Vietnam and even Guangxi.

What’s truly shameful is the outcome of the gunfight between the two sides. After all, they gathered forty shotguns and fired in nearly three rounds—what could be considered a barrage of bullets—but with over a hundred rounds fired, the actual casualties were astonishingly low. On Liu Yu’s side, only one person suffered minor scratches; fortunately, it wasn’t Jiang Ningxue, otherwise he would have been heartbroken. Yet the marksmanship of Liu Yu’s troops was also terrible. Five people were injured and one was killed—the one killed was the Vietnamese commander, and it was Liu Yu himself who killed him. Upon seeing someone killed, the commander Guan Qi’s troops fled immediately, and the Vietnamese also retreated. Just thinking about the accuracy rate is truly dismal, especially considering they were using Sima Tai’s Western-style gunpowder. Still, it was thanks to Sima Tai. Liu Yu glanced over at him—Sima Tai was showing off his gun while using a bayonet to interrogate prisoners. The bayonet was gleaming, capable of inflicting a deep wound at any moment, but it was unique; other guns couldn’t be equipped with bayonets. That Mini rifle was truly useful—it could fire far and accurately, and for every shot he fired, it could fire two. One-third of the six victories went to it. Without that Mini rifle, he might have lost. Thinking of this, Liu Yu felt a bit disheartened. If only he had an Type 81 automatic rifle for himself—press the trigger, and dozens of bullets would be fired in an instant. But all he had was that old shotgun. You should know that during the Sino-French War, the French used the latest 1874 and 1877 breech-loading rifles, which were fast, accurate, and had long range. Sima Tai’s one Mini rifle was equivalent to five shotguns, while an 1873 rifle was equivalent to three Mini rifles. But now, someone was hugging his chest, stopping him from thinking. Without turning around, Liu Yu knew it was Jiang Ningxue’s tenderness. She was much taller than him, so she deliberately bent down: “I’m behind you…” It was clear that though she was more mature than Liu Yu, she still centered her life around him as her husband. She no longer had the valiant demeanor from the battlefield; instead, she was afraid Liu Yu would blame her for acting on her own: “It’s either because of Sui Yun and the others, or because I’m worried about you, afraid something might happen to you…” She didn’t need to explain so much. It was all for Liu Yu. So the young man simply enjoyed the girl’s tenderness in silence. In another world, such a good girl no longer existed. Regarding his fiancée, who was three years older than him, Liu Yu had only one thought: “Through all ages, I will never leave you!” He let the girl hug his chest, thinking of her bravery at that moment: “From now on, always stand behind me. Let men handle shooting bullets.” “Mm…” The girl murmured softly, her face turning red. But she would still do what needed to be done. Just as the two were enjoying their affection, they heard Sima Tai cry out in pain: “My reputation!”

When Liu Yu turned his gaze toward Sima Tai, the latter had already placed his precious Mini rifle on the ground and said to Liu Yu with reluctance, “Brother Liu! I’m sorry for letting you down and causing you trouble.”
The young leader bowed and said, “Brave Sima, what’s going on? Today’s victory is entirely thanks to you. If there are any mistakes, we shouldn’t act rashly!”
Sima Tai continued to shout, “I made a mistake! I deserve to die! What about my reputation? I’m sorry to you all from the Liu clan!”