From 1858 to 1862, France waged war, ceded the three southern provinces of Annam, and forced the Annam court to sign a treaty of commerce, which divided nearly half of the territory of Annam into the French sphere of influence.

After the defeat of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, a large number of remnants of the forces entered the northern region of Annam through the Guangxi border, and because the main forces of the Annam government suffered heavy losses in the war with the French, in the face of the Han armed forces pouring into the northern border, the Annam government chose to recruit An, and placed them in various border towns as an independent armed force with tacit approval.

There are nearly 100 large and small Chinese forces in the north of Annan, and conflicts often break out between them in order to seize territory, among which Liu Yongfu entered Annan in 1865, through the battle against the surrounding Han forces, seized Gaoping as a base, and continued to expand the sphere of influence in the surrounding areas, Liu Yongfu entered Annan relatively late, and his troops frequently annexed the territory of other forces caused dissatisfaction among the forces, in early 1869, Huang Chongying, who occupied the Baosheng area, gathered other Tiandihui armed forces, ready to unite to attack Gaoping, Completely eliminate Liu Yongfu's forces.

After Sun Bin got the news, he was worried that the situation in northern Annan would deteriorate and get out of control, so he couldn't wait to rush to Annan.

Five days later, Sun Bin and his entourage, who were sailing at full speed, arrived at the southern and northern port of Halong.

Ha Long is an excellent port in the northern part of Annam, and the proximity to the Guangxi region, where a large number of Han Chinese and ethnic minorities in Guangxi have migrate, contributed to the prosperity of Ha Long's maritime trade.

Leaving more than 30 people to guard the ship, Sun Bin took the remaining 70 people into an inn in the port.

"Master, are you eating or staying in a hotel?"

More than seventy people came ashore in a majestic manner, attracting the attention of the innkeeper, who walked directly outside to greet Sun Bin and the others.

"Rest in your shop, bother the shopkeeper to prepare a few meals, we have to hurry and deliver them as soon as possible."

Sun Bin said as he gave away a few silver ingots.

"Sir, wait a minute, I'll send it to you later."

The shopkeeper took the silver, flattered him, and walked back to the store quickly and shouted: "Seventy-three guests, eight tables of good wine and food, prepare food immediately!" ”

Sun Bin made a generous move, not only the innkeeper had a smile on his face, but the other people resting in the inn also looked at Sun Bin and the others with a look of surprise and envy.

Ignoring the eyes of the surrounding pedestrians, Sun Bin whispered a few words to one of his subordinates, and the other party quickly left after hearing it, while Sun Bin and the others sat in the inn to rest.

After about a quarter of an hour, the man who went out came back with two men who were stealing pigtails.

"Sir, the person you want to see is here."

"Well, you go down first." Sun Bin gave an order to his subordinates and looked at the two men: "How is Leader Ye lately?" ”

"Thanks to all the heroes, Brother Ye is all right." The pigtailed man said politely and asked directly: "What is the so-called matter that Mr. came to me and waited?" ”

Sun Bin's group of more than 70 people was vigorous, sitting neatly and quietly in the inn, and he knew at a glance that it was not a good type, so he was vigilant in his heart and asked this question.

"This brother doesn't have to be nervous, I have some friendship with Leader Ye, and I came here today to visit Leader Ye, and there is no malice."

The two pigtailed men glanced at each other, recalling that the joint code sent by Sun Bin was indeed the slogan of the disciples of the Heaven and Earth Society, and immediately suppressed the doubts in his heart, and arched his hand: "Everyone wait at the inn, I will go back and report the news to Brother Ye first." ”

"In this way, we won't leave two more brothers, come here, give each of the two brothers ten taels of silver, let's come all the way to visit, we can't let the two brothers run in vain." Sun Bin opened his mouth and gave the silver to his free hands.

"Sir is polite, the villain must have brought the news early." The two of them took the silver with a smile, and after a compliment, they immediately walked out.

After sending off the two messengers, the food had already begun to be served in the inn, and Sun Bin said: "Everyone hurry up and eat, take a break after eating, and we will continue to hurry." As the words fell, the other tables picked up their chopsticks to eat.

In the afternoon, the group of people who had eaten a full meal were led by two men who came back to greet them to a village five miles away.

Although it looks like a village from the outside, when you go inside, you can see that there are all kinds of simple fortifications such as watchtowers and defensive fences, except for the dozens of children running around the house, this should be a small military camp.

Sun Bin observed the location of the village as he walked, and when he came to a row of wooden houses, he was greeted by more than a dozen young men.

"Leader Ye hasn't seen you for a long time."

"I haven't seen you for a few years, but I didn't expect Mr. Sun to pull up another team, which is really admirable."

The man in the middle of the crowd recognized Sun Bin and exclaimed repeatedly.

"Ye Leader Miao praised, he is now doing things for other people, and they are sent by the proprietor to defend him."

"Oh, Mr. Sun didn't go to America by boat, didn't he meet a noble person there?"

"It's a long story, so let's go inside and talk about it slowly." ……

Entering the house, Sun Bin motioned for the others to retreat outside, and the man also sent out irrelevant ones when he saw this.

"Now that there are no outsiders, Mr. Sun has something to say, right?"

"This matter is closely related, so we can't be careless." Sun Bin observed that there was no one else in the room, and said: "The situation in the south and north is chaotic, the former comrades and brothers of the various departments are attacking and fighting each other, and Leader Ye is in the whirlpool, can you think about how to deal with yourself?" ”

Sun Bin didn't explain his intentions, but directly asked the other party's situation, which also hit the man's sore spot.

"There is no place for us in the country, and the other forces do not want to unite to protect themselves, but attack each other for the sake of a little small profit in front of them, and in the long run, the future of the Han forces in the Annam region is worrying."

"Recently, it has been rumored that Huang Chongying united forces from all sides to attack Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army, has Brother Ye heard of it?"

"A few days ago, Huang Chongying sent someone to invite me to Baosheng to form an alliance, but as a member of the Heaven and Earth Society, it is difficult for me to refuse openly, so I can only shirk and not be able to go, so that I can end up in peace for a few days."

"The various forces in the Annam region are mixed like a piece of scattered sand, if there is a strong person to consolidate the various forces, we and other Han people will also have a lot to do here, but although there is no shortage of heroes and heroes in the Annam area, there is no one who can command the existence of the various forces, from this point of view, the various forces are not convinced by each other, and mutual conquest and melee are inevitable."

Sun Bin analyzed the reasons for the melee of the Han people in Annam as an outsider, but it was a different idea in the ears of the other party.

The man drank a bowl of bad wine, looked at Sun Bin carefully, and said: "Mr. Sun used to be Liu Yongfu's military advisor, and Your Excellency thought that Liu Yongfu could unify the forces of various forces in Annan, so he came to recruit me on his behalf." ”

Li Mingyuan sent Sun Bin to contact Liu Yongfu, but it did not mean that he was raised as the largest Han force in Annan, Sun Bin felt that the other party had a misunderstanding, and explained with a smile: "Leader Ye misunderstood, he is not a lobbyist of Leader Liu, and his visit to Leader Ye today is really for Leader Ye's kindness in the past." ”

"It's not for Liu Yongfu to be a lobbyist, everything is easy to say."

The man didn't want to wade into the troubled waters between Liu Yongfu and other Han forces, so his mood stabilized.

The man opposite Sun Bin is named Ye Chenglin, who is the leader of a faction in the north of Annan, during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, Ye Chenglin led some members of the Heaven and Earth Society to join the Taiping Army, and during the period when Ye Chenglin moved to the southwest with the Taiping Army, Sun Bin and him had a period of common combat experience, and after the failure of the Heavenly Kingdom Movement, Ye Chenglin absconded to the Annan region in disguise, and continued to engage in anti-Qing actions as the Heaven and Earth Society.

Ye Chenglin, Deng Shichang and others were all born in Annan's anti-Qing forces, and later the whole territory of Annam fell, Ye Chenglin and other generals were recruited by the Manchu government and became famous generals under the command of the Black Flag Army.

Ye Chenglin showed the qualities of a brave general during his time in the Taiping Army, so Sun Bin first contacted him when he arrived in Annam, hoping to draw him into the Wehrmacht.

Ye Chenglin's mood was stable, and Sun Bin began to persuade: "The French forces have penetrated the whole country of Annam step by step, and the intention of annexing Annam is clearly revealed.

Annam became a French colony, and the Ye chieftain and other forces would inevitably become the target of the French eradication, and the northern part of Annam was a Manchu ruled area, and the Manchu government would also be happy to see the rebel forces exterminated by the French. ”

"Current affairs are difficult, only to take one step at a time, as for the step that Mr. said, only to resign to fate."

The role that hundreds of thousands of Han people in the Annan region can play in the face of the general trend of history is very small, and Ye Chenglin does not dare to imagine the scene where what Sun Bin said becomes a fact, so he deliberately omitted to mention it, and his mood became depressed.