On February 27, 1881, the main force of the Nanyang Army arrived in Bac Ninh Province, and the vanguard marched to Shang Thanh Fang, less than 20 kilometers away from Hanoi City.

"Your Excellency, our soldiers have spotted scouts of the Chinese army outside the city, and they must have been recruited by the Annam government to support reinforcements from Hanoi Province."

In the barracks outside the city, the commander of the Marine Corps, Major Kogaladek, reported to Li Weiye the latest military information.

"How many troops do they have?"

"The vanguard numbered about two hundred men, most of them armed with arquebuses, and only forty or so armed with old-fashioned Dresser rifles."

But Galadek added: "My subordinates guessed that this force should be the main force of the Chinese army, and in the Annam area, the ordinary Annam army and the Chinese armed forces do not have such a high proportion of breech rifle armament." ”

"Your Excellency the Governor sent a telegram yesterday that more than 3,000 armed men from Quang Ninh and Lang Son provinces were dispatched to support the defenders of Hanoi, and that the provinces of Ha Sai and Hung Yen in the northern part of Annam, which are close to Hanoi, were also sent to Hanoi under the orders of the central government of Annam, and that our alert troops left outside the city had exchanged fire with seven local armed forces in Annam, but none of these seven local armed forces in Annam were no match for the soldiers of the Republic, and I only sent sixty soldiers and eliminated 400 of them, The Annamite people, who survived, did not dare to continue the fight against the army of the Republic and had already withdrawn from Hanoi province. ”

Since marching into northern Annam, Li Weiye has led less than 500 white soldiers and more than 1,000 indigenous soldiers in Annam, but he regards the 40,000 or 50,000 Annan officers and soldiers as grass and trees.

On the way to Hanoi, whenever he encountered the obstruction of the Annam army, there was no example of defeat, every battle was sure to be won, every city must be conquered, the military quality was mediocre, relying on the dual factors of being able to work on his qualifications step by step, and other French naval officers did not look down on the post of commander of the naval detachment in Jiaochinchina, Li Weiye was able to take up the post of the supreme military commander of France in northern Annam, because in the early battle with the local army of Annam, the French army easily won the victory, which made the military quality inherent

Li Weiye, who was not very high, gradually developed a feeling of pride and contempt for the enemy, and soon abandoned the cautious approach he had taken when he first marched into the northern region.

He believed that the information about the Chinese army's bravery and good fighting did not correspond to the facts, and that the Nanyang Legion had been stationed in Quang Ninh and Lang Son provinces for 10 years, during which there had been no case of fighting with the French white army, and according to Li Weiye's speculation, if the overall combat effectiveness of the Nanyang Legion was really as powerful as the French intelligence officers boasted, how could they endure and retreat under the pressure of the Republican army, which was not at all in line with common sense.

Indulging in the self-confidence he had built up in the victory of Annam's army, Li Weiye was not worried that the reinforcements of the Chinese army would hinder military operations into northern Annam.

"Gentlemen, I am very disappointed with the intelligence work of the Republic in the Annam region, the republican government allocates a large amount of money every year to invest in the intelligence investigation of Cochinchina, but you see, what kind of intelligence agents are recruited by the Governor's Office of Cochinchina, those natives of Annam, Chinese refugees who can be recruited for a few francs, they do not understand anything, but based on the rumors they heard halfway, they report to the Governor of Cochinchina that the Chinese army has advanced rifles and artillery, and their fighting spirit is very tenacious. is a powerful armed force, and the colonial government should not provoke them easily............

But in reality?

According to what we really observed during the march, those Annam troops and Chinese outcasts who were similar in appearance to the garrisons of Quang Ninh and Lang Son had only a few or dozens of old arquebuses and rusty iron cannons, and they were just a rabble of ruffians and hooligans, not an army at all! ”

"Yes, Your Excellency Commander, I think that the Chinese army actually has dozens of smooth cannons that stay at the level of eighteenth-century casting technology, seven or eight hundred old-fashioned Dresser rifles secretly purchased from overseas, their artillery and rifles are all purchased from overseas, and the lack of artillery shells and rifle bullets is impossible to support the ammunition consumption of a modern war, as proud soldiers of the French Republic, there is no need for us to worry too much about the threat of a backward refugee army."

Kolagadek stayed in Annam longer than Li Weiye, and his three-year service experience in the Annam region made him even more contemptuous of the combat effectiveness of the armies of the Eastern countries than Li Weiye.

"Your Excellency, Commander, give the order, I am willing to lead 300 brave French young men to advance in the direction of Bac Ninh Province and destroy the Chinese army supporting Hanoi City!"

"Major, wait patiently for a while, and when we occupy Hanoi City, there will be a chance to engage the Chinese army."

Li Weiye did not agree with the other party's suggestion, explaining that "although the Chinese army is not as powerful as the exaggerated outside, but the South American Han State can occupy the La Plata area, then the second-rate Chinese army they control in the north of Annam should be stronger in combat than the Annam government army."

The total number of Chinese troops supporting Hanoi Province was more than 3,000 people, and they only fought against them with 300 marines, and if they won, they would probably lose dozens of brave French boys. The price we paid for this has exceeded the reward of defeating the Chinese army. It's not worth the risk. ”…………

After appeasing Major Kolagadek, who was also ambitious and wanted to make a meritorious service in Annam, Li Weiye was about to return to his room to rest, recuperating himself and waiting for the final reply from Hanoi City tomorrow, when his soldiers reported to him an important piece of information.

"Report to Your Excellency, Commander, Father Edmont wants to see you."

"Father Priest, please." ……

"Mr. Colonel, the barbaric Annamites are capturing faithful believers in Hanoi City, please save those poor believers by God's grace!"

"Haven't the citizens of the French Republic been evacuated to churches outside the city? Could it be that there are still people in Hanoi who have not been notified to evacuate? ”

"No, the citizens of the republic have been evacuated to the church, but the baptized Annam believers remain in the city, and it is they who have been persecuted by the Annam army!"

"Sorry, priest, they are not citizens of the republic, and our army is not obliged to provide them with protection."

"Those are also the people of the Lord, who have contributed so much to the cause of the French Republic in Annam, and the army of the Republic should not stand by and watch the tragedy unfold at a time when their lives are threatened."

The priest said eagerly, "To protect them is to protect the interests of France in Annam, and some believers who have escaped have told me that the governor of Hanoi has made up his mind to reject Your Excellency's ultimatum, and that the Annam army in the city is searching for and arresting intelligence agents who work for the republic, and you should not be deceived by the cunning of the Annamite people and waste a precious day outside the city of Hanoi in vain!" ”

"Are you sure you have a reliable source for what you just said?"

"Yes, I personally performed the baptism ceremony for the believer who reported the news, and he has been secretly providing information to the Governor's Office of Cochinchina."

"Father Edmond, I believe your words, in an hour, the army of the Republic will launch an attack on the city of Hanoi on time, before that, please contact the believers who are stranded in the city, and ask them to cooperate with our attack when the army of the Republic is attacking the city."

"God forbid, I will definitely relay the Colonel's words to them."