At the end of May, after Tang Jingsong returned to Guangxi from Vietnam, he immediately sent a report to the court. After receiving the news of the Paper Bridge victory, Guangxu immediately ordered Tang Jingsong to go north and report the details to Beijing. In mid-June, Tang Jingsong, who had been struggling all the way, finally stepped into Beijing.

In Chongzheng Hall, six auxiliary ministers, including Li Hongzhang, remained there, and the ministers of various ministries and several ministers of the kings were also there. Emperor Guangxu was asking about Tang Jingsong who had just returned to the capital.

"You mean, if you don't consider the soldiers who were shot by French gunboats later, the number of people killed and injured in the Black Flag Army in this battle is actually less than that of the French?"

It’s not for Guangxu’s repeated inquiries. The result of this battle was too unexpected. Even Zaitian, who knew that this battle might be able to win, did not expect that it would be such a result.

"Return to the emperor. This is indeed the case. I must not deceive you!"

Knowing that everyone did not believe it, Tang Jingsong further explained: "At that time, Chen and Li Zhongtang's subordinates Ding Yiwei and Li Jiyun were watching the battle from a distance at the same time. The Black Flag Army used a very strange tactic. The soldiers did not rush forward in a swarm, nor did they use the Hunan Army, Huai Army and other training arrays to meet the enemy, but scattered and retreated, using the distance to offset the French army's firearm advantage, gradually dragged down the French army's attack, and then the ambush came out of the flank and defeated the French army in one fell swoop."

"Oh? The Black Flag Army actually used tactics?"

"That's right, and as I see, these soldiers have very accurate shooting skills, almost every ten rounds of guns and bullets can kill a French army. At the same time, they pay great attention to protecting themselves during the attack, and when replacing guns and bullets, they hide in cover or lie on the ground. If the French shoot too heavily, they will lie on the ground and wait until the guns stopped, and immediately get up to attack. Therefore, the Black Flag Army itself will suffer much less casualties."

What Tang Jingsong said was unheard of by the ministers in the hall. When they were not convinced, Tang Jingsong said something with a nose and eyes, and it didn't seem to be made up. It was the first time Tang Jingsong left the capital and couldn't even compile it. What's more, there were a group of Qing army officers watching it at that time, and they couldn't hide it.

"There is such a strange tactic. How did they train? Did they hire a foreign coach? Are they Germans or Americans?"

Hearing Li Hongzhang's question, Tang Jingsong answered a little embarrassedly: "This, according to Liu Yongfu and their generals, this tactic was figured out by Liu Yongfu's young master. They had achieved this effect after practicing for less than a year."

"What?" the ministers were even more surprised. "How could Liu Yongfu's young master understand these things? How old is he? Have he stayed abroad? Have he led soldiers?"

Another series of problems.

Knowing that this answer would attract many questions, Tang Jingsong seemed embarrassed, but what surprised others even more was still behind.

"No. Liu Yongfu's young master is only thirteen years old!"

Dong, Dong, Dong, Dong

All the ministers fell all over the ground.

"This is impossible! Tang Jingsong, you must know that the crime of deceiving the king is to be beheaded!"

Prince Zheng was the first to question.

"Your Majesty, you lords, I didn't believe it at first, and even ridiculed Liu Yongfu's son, and almost turned against Liu Yongfu for this. But in the end, I had to believe it, and it was indeed the case. Even Ding and Li were very impressed. I have left the two in the Black Flag Army, hoping to get this kind of training method."

After confirmation, the Qing officials not only did not accept the reality, but instead plunged into the nest of flies, buzzing, all questioning Tang Jingsong's deception of the emperor, pretending to be military merits, and making a fool of himself.

The only calmness is Emperor Guangxu.

Seeing the quarrels below, all the princes and ministers who were immediately pushing Tang Jingsong out of the Fa-rectification, the little emperor frowned and left the seat.

Seeing the emperor stand up, the ministers gradually stopped.

"Don't suspect it here. What Tang Qing's family is talking about is not. Don't rush to confirm it now. I will know the difference when Ding and Li come back in the future." The emperor set the tone and then said to Tang Jingsong: "You did a good job this time. Go back and have some rest first, and then you will have some errands."

After getting the emperor's approval, Tang Jingsong knelt down and settled down.

Looking at the departure of Tang Jingsong, Zaitian's mind quickly turned a few thoughts. "My dear friends, I think that no matter what the Tang Qing family said, this great victory in Paper Bridge is impossible to be wrong."

Indeed, with the news obtained by the Qing court, the French had already responded, so it was naturally impossible to fake.

"So, the most urgent task is how to further support Liu Yongfu and continue to hold back the French. At the same time, how to deal with the revenge at sea that the French may come."

When it comes to serious matters, these ministers who were in vain immediately became silent and no longer had to talk nonsense like they had just attacked Tang Jingsong.

Li Hongzhang looked around and saw that no one responded, so he had to stand up and said, "Before returning to Beijing, I had talked with the new French ambassador Delhigu several times. In my opinion, I should take this opportunity to continue negotiating with the legal person. As for the coastal defense, our navy is weak compared to France and cannot be defended at the port. If the legal person really fails to make peace with me, I may have endless troubles. The French army has more than 40 ironclad ships and hundreds of fast ships. My navy is originally small and has not been through the battle formation, so we cannot compete with the sea."

Although Li Hongzhang is a peacemaker, what he said is indeed true. But what Zai Tianxu wants to hear is not the problem he is facing now, but the solution to the problem.

It seemed that the little emperor was displeased, and he was not in the way with Li Hongzhang. As soon as Li Hongzhang finished speaking, Weng Tonghe next to him said, "Mr. Li, don't be too ambitious to others. Although our navy is weak, we are many and few on the land, and we are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are in charge of the enemy may not be able to fight. Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army has only a few thousand people, so he can defeat him. Could it be that the hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Qing Dynasty will not surrender?"

After hearing this, Li Hongzhang immediately said to the point: "Mr. Weng's words are bad. Although our Lu Master is better than legal persons, it may not be defeated for a while; the victory of a place may not be defeated everywhere. If you cannot win in battle, you will be more passive in the future. Moreover, if other countries follow suit, will you leave endless troubles?"

Seeing that the two of them were arguing again, Zaitian became a little impatient.

"Zeng Jize called, the French navy had already traveled to East Asia. Even if peace talks, would the French go back home? I remember that I read a story back then, which was a 'wolf' written by Pu Songling. The Frenchman was like a wolf, and what he wanted was not only Vietnamese meat, but also the Qing Dynasty. Wolf is greedy, how could he let it go? If I don't show it, how could it retreat? It would be better to use Vietnam as bait and use military weapons to make it a fishing hook, which may lead to unexpected benefits."

"The key now is coastal defense. As long as the sea can be defended, and Liu Tuan's victory in Vietnam, we will have a great chance of winning. If we negotiate at that time, we will have confidence."

As he said that, Zaitian turned his gaze to Zuo Zongtang. "Zuo Qing, you have served in Nanyang for many years. If a legal person attacks from the sea, Nanyang will be the first to be affected. What do you think?"

Zuo Zongtang has always been a pro-war faction, so he naturally hopes to exchange the smallest price for the greatest benefit. It’s just about coastal defense. After all, the gap is too big, so Lord Zuo has no good idea.

Even Zuo Zongtang, who was known for his good fighting and knowledge of military affairs, had no good plans. Zaitian didn't expect any other princes and princes who were just a corpse and Qingliu, who only knew how to talk about military affairs on paper.

Although everyone could not come up with any good ideas for the time being, because of the great victory in Paper Bridge, the opinions of the pro-war faction still had the upper hand. Zai Tian immediately issued an imperial edict: "A telegram instructed Zeng Guoquan, Cen Yuying, and Ni Wenwei to join the strong team nearby. Xu Yanxu and Huang Guilan were ordered to defend Beining. As for Liu Yongfu's weapons and ammunition, the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau will be prepared quickly and taken to Vietnam. No excuses should be used to delay and shirk responsibility!"

On the same day, he discussed the measures for Prince Chun Yihuan's meeting. On the matter of Vietnam, Li Hongzhang returned to the position of governor of Zhili and was also the Minister of Beiyang. He continued to contact the French minister and did not make the negotiations stop. Zhang Shusheng was transferred to Lianghu, and Zuo Zongtang was appointed as the Minister of the South China Sea, and supervised the military defense of the South China Sea and supported Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi and Vietnam.

Chapter 10, Huaide's victory

On August 15, just as Courbet was busy preparing for the attack on Hue, the commander-in-chief of the Tokyo Expeditionary Force, Bo Wa, mobilized more than 2,000 gunboats, including the army and the Navy Tokyo detachment, to advance along the water and land, preparing to launch a large-scale retaliatory attack on the Black Flag Army.

In the combat room, Boshe was arranging the offensive route.

"In terms of land, it is divided into three columns, left, middle and right. The column on the right is commanded by Colonel Bishuo, the command of the column on the left is Lieutenant Colonel Reveyron, and the central column is commanded by Chief of Staff Major Corporal Coronna. I myself lead the military police, the reserve army and the Vietnamese mercenaries follow the left wing column."

With the arrangement of wave slip, the officers involved received the order together.

"In terms of waterways, the Tokyo detachment sent six gunboats and the motorboat "Haid Defense" to cooperate in combat. The goal this time is the Black Flag Army camp in the north. To achieve this goal, we need to occupy Huaide Mansion first."

Speaking of this, Wave slid up and pointed to the map.

"The left and middle columns rushed straight from land to Huaide Mansion, responsible for capturing Huaide Mansion. With the cooperation of the Tokyo detachment's gunboats, the right columns rose up along the Red River and attacked the Black Flag Army's Four-Pillar Temple stronghold on the banks of the Red River."

After saying that, he looked at the officers present. "Do you have any questions?"

"No!"

"Okay, prepare to set out. Gentlemen, let's see you in Shanxi."

Shortly before the coastal defense meeting, the Tokyo Expeditionary Force under Boska had already begun to attack the Vietnamese troops that harassed the French-occupied area.

Since the Black Flag Army severely damaged the French army on the Paper Bridge and killed Li Weiye, the official troops from all over Vietnam have also been mobilized, like the Black Flag Army, harassing the cities occupied by the French army and strengthening their fortifications.

However, the combat effectiveness of the Vietnamese army is incomparable to that of the Black Flag Army. The Vietnamese army, which lacks equipment, training and tactics, and has a low morale, was completely beaten when they encountered the elite French troops brought by Boska. On July 19, the French commander of Nanding, Badang, led his troops out of the city to attack outside the city for a few days. After a few hours of fighting, the French army killed more than 1,000 Vietnamese officers and soldiers at the cost of killing one French soldier and two Vietnamese mercenaries, and completely occupied and demolished the Vietnamese army's base.

Such a huge difference in battle not only strengthened Bohua's confidence, but also established a belief in winning for all French officers and soldiers. But because of this, the French army gradually began to breed the idea of ​​underestimating the enemy and advancing. Bohua was even more eager to achieve a comparable military merit before Courbet conquered Hue.

That can only be to eliminate or at least severely damage the Black Flag Army that frequently brings shame to France, so that Bohua can feel at ease.

The next morning, except for the "Leopard" ships fell behind due to mechanical failure, all arrived near the Sizhu Temple and immediately fired fiercely at the artillery fortress of the Black Flag Army. Then, the right-wing column of the Tokyo Expeditionary Force, who was ordered to capture the Sizhu Temple, launched an attack.

At this time, the two elite camps of the Huai Army, Ding and Li, who had originally followed Tang Jingsong, were stationed in Sizhu Temple.

After occupying Hanoi, Tang Jingsong wanted to incite the Black Flag Army to capture Nanding and defend the coastal defense. However, Liu Yongfu refused on the grounds that the French gunboats were sharp. Tang Jingsong had no choice but to return to Guangxi by land and report to the Qing court the results of the trip to Vietnam first, and ask for food, pay, guns and people. The two camps of Ding and Li who were left were stationed in Hanoi with the Black Flag Army and received new training.

It is said that the elite Huai Army is still very strong. After only one month of training, they have initially mastered the basic movements of modern tactics. As the Black Flag Army voluntarily withdrew from Hanoi, the two battalions were arranged to be stationed in the Four Pillar Temple.

‘Boom ~’, ‘Boom ~’.

Amid the continuous sound of cannons, Li Jiyun ran to Ding Yiwei in dishevelled clothes and said anxiously: "My Lord Ding, if you continue like this, my camp will be explained. The French gunboats are too powerful, and the brothers can't raise their heads at all. I think it's better to give up the frontier position and retreat directly to the No. 3 Formation, so we can still rely on the fortress to restrain the enemy."

Ding Yiwei also knew that it was not a solution to continue like this. The French army was on the river surface, and his infantry could not defeat others at all, and resisting was a dead end. Ding Yiwei immediately agreed with Li Jiyun's opinion, and then the two ordered the soldiers to give up the river bank position and retreat to the fort.

Relying on the fort, Ding and Li immediately injured the French army.

The Qing army's artillery skills were far inferior to the French navy that fought in various colonies all year round, but the fort was condescending and its strong defense could bring more protection to the Qing army. In terms of geographical advantages, the Qing army was probably the advantage.

On the other hand, although the Qing army had only one 120MM breech gun and several honest 12-pound bronze guns at the Four Pillar Temple, the five gunboats that the French army came by were only four 120mm guns and a 160mm naval gun. The advantage was indeed on the French side, but the Qing army was not powerless to fight back.

The Tokyo detachment "Hurricane" gunboat on the Red River hit two rounds, and the coal compartment was penetrated, causing the warship to enter water; the artillery shield at the head of the "Lightning" was penetrated, and two gunners were injured.

At a distance of nearly close forces, small gunboats with weak protection are very dangerous. Lieutenant Colonel Moreboy, the commander of the navy, immediately sent a signal to the army on the shore, asking them to attack the enemy's shore turret immediately and attract enemy firepower.

Immediately, the French right-wing column, which was responsible for occupying the fortifications of the Qing army in the river bank, launched a fierce attack on the Qing army's fortifications in Sizhu Temple under the command of Colonel Bishuo.
Chapter completed!