Affected by the great victory in Hanoi, the remnants of the French army in Haiphong, Nam Dinh and other areas withdrew by boat, and the French forces in the northern area of Annam were empty.

On April 11, the Nanyang Corps successfully took over Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces, and the forward troops arrived in Taiyuan, Haiphong and other areas.

"Governor Mei, the government of Annam sent a letter asking our army to withdraw from the three provinces of Hanoi, Haiphong and Nguyen, and hand over the areas controlled by the three provinces to Huang Yanzuo's department to take over."

"Send people to reply to the court of Annam, the threat of Fayi in the northern provinces is still there, and the rebel forces are swarming everywhere, and our soldiers will temporarily govern the provinces of Hanoi, Haiphong, and Nguyen until the situation is stabilized.

The area to which it belongs will be immediately transferred to the Huang Juma Department. ”

"It's the third time that the Annan Imperial Court has sent someone to urge, will such a reply cause them to be dissatisfied?"

Tang Jingsong asked.

"The French reinforcements are coming in October, and our army has lost a lot of weapons, ammunition, and logistics materials in the battle of Hanoi, so if you don't take advantage of the opportunity of the French to evacuate, you will snatch the wealth of the French and the forces that depend on them, and what will you reward those meritorious soldiers?"

Mei Dongxing said directly, "The outcome of Annam's survival is unknown, the news of the defeat in Hanoi is transmitted back to Europe, it is likely to cause retaliation from the French, the 2,500-man expeditionary force may only be the first batch of support troops, if the French are determined to fight a decisive battle with us in Annam, then the next batch of reinforced French troops cannot be just two or three thousand people, so we must be prepared for the worst, on the one hand, to deal with the threat of the next batch of reinforcements from the French, on the other hand, to do our best to scatter the Chinese immigrants scattered all over Kitasaka, The young and strong forces gathered in Quang Ninh, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, and Hai Phong in order to evacuate the Annam area as quickly as possible if the situation deteriorated. ”

"The Nanyang Army has more than 10,000 troops, and if the overall mobilization plan is implemented, the number of young and strong troops can be more than 50,000, so the force is enough to divide the northern part of Annam, if it is easily abandoned, wouldn't it be cheaper for the French?"

Tang Jingsong was very puzzled. He had only been joining the Nanyang Legion for more than a month, but he was greatly surprised by the combat effectiveness and weaponry comparable to that of the French army during the Nanyang Legion's war against France.

More than 5,500 regular troops of the Nanyang Legion were equipped with breech rifles at a rate of more than 70 percent, equipped with 21 locally imitated Gatling hand-cranked machine guns, 12 75-millimeter howitzers, and more than 30 small mountain guns.

More than 5,500 regular main forces, more than 3,000 garrison troops, plus 5,000 regularly trained militia troops,

Tang Jingsong didn't understand why the Nanyang Army, which had nearly 15,000 troops, was ready to evacuate before fighting the French army a second time?

"Annam is indeed a good place, if the situation allows, occupy all of Annam's Xutu development, strengthen the power, there is no chance to wave troops north, recover the Central Plains, but now is different from the past, our army relies on the base of Lang Son and Quang Ninh provinces and the newly controlled Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Hanoi, Haiphong and other places, the area is less than 100,000 square kilometers, resting on the mainland, at most only a state land,

In the Annam area, the northern part of the area controlled by our army is facing the threat of the Manchu army, the external French troops are pressing the border, and the internal Annam government is increasingly guarding against our army, and if we are not careful, our army will face the siege of the Manchus, France, and the Annam government from three sides.

On the contrary, the Battle of Hanoi exposed the true strength of our army, and the Manchu government saw that our army could completely annihilate nearly 1,000 French white troops, and I am afraid that it is even more suspicious than before, and when our army fights the French army in the future, it will not only face a frontal attack by the French army with naval superiority, but also face a sneak attack from behind the back of the Manchu government and the Annam government. ”

"Is there no remedy? I think that His Majesty started with hundreds of old and weak laborers, crisscrossing thousands of miles in South America, and now the Nanyang Legion has no shortage of military strength, weapons and equipment, why can't he open up the situation in Annam like His Majesty? ”

Tang Jingsong was nearly forty years old, and in the first half of his life, he was mediocre and unused in the Manchu court, and it was precisely because he was unwilling to waste what he had learned that he was willing to take the risk and defect to the Nanyang Army with his family.

But what Mei Dongxing said just now poured cold water on his fiery heart.

"A remedy is not impossible, but it is very unrealistic, unless the French abandon their ambition to establish a colonial empire in the Far East, they will not sit idly by and watch the Nanyang Army occupy northern Annam for a long time."

Liang Xing, the head of intelligence in the Nanyang region, saw Tang Jingsong's disappointed expression on his face and explained, "The plan of the Nanyang Army to prepare to evacuate Annam is not because of the gap in combat effectiveness with the French colonial army and the Manchu army, but because of the difference in the comprehensive strength that the two sides can exert in the Annam region.

The sea distance from Han to Annam is farther than that of France, and the military war materials reserved by the Nanyang Legion can only last for one year, and Nanyang is far away from the mainland, if the French send a part of the main naval force to reinforce the Annam area, then the communication channel from the mainland to Annam will be like during the Argentine War. It was cut off and blocked by the other party.

At that time, there was no imported supply of weapons and ammunition from the local side, and the soldiers of the Nanyang Legion, even if they had a strong will to fight, could not withstand the military attack from three sides. ”

"God didn't fulfill people's wishes, I thought that I could do something in Annan, but I didn't expect that in the end it would still end up in a dismal end."

Tang Jingsong said dejectedly, "Tang is close to the age of confusion, busy for half his life, and has not had the opportunity to feel comfortable. “

"Ladies and gentlemen."

Tang Jingsong's expression changed suddenly, and he said firmly, "If the Nanyang Legion withdraws in the future, please forgive me for not being able to go to South America with you to visit Your Majesty, Tang would rather stay in Annan and fight to the death with Fayi, rather than let Fayi succeed easily, and please fulfill it!" ”

Tang Jingsong's violent reaction surprised Mei Dongxing, Liang Xing and others.

If it weren't for the fact that his family had already arrived in Annan, Liang Xing really thought that Tang Jingsong was a spy and spy sent by the Manchu government.

"The evacuation of Annan is the worst-case scenario, and whether it will be implemented depends on the development of the situation in the Annan region and the results of negotiations between the two sides.

After confirming again that Tang Jingsong's expression did not seem to be fake, Liang Xing decided to reveal more information to him.

"Brother Tang should have heard of Songkhla and Lanfang, although the population of the two places is slightly less than that of our army in the northern control area of Annam, but the area is larger than Lang Son and Quang Ninh provinces, and Songkhla and Lanfang are mainly Chinese, and in the areas under the jurisdiction of the two places, there are instructors and consultants sent by the local side to help master local affairs, if our army is evacuated from northern Annam in the future, Brother Tang will also make great achievements in Songkhla and Lanfang, so why do you have to be limited to Annam?"

The Han forces have infiltrated all over the South Seas, but as for the strength of the Han side in various places, the external forces can only see a small part of what is exposed, and cannot know all of them.

Under Liang Xing's few words, Tang Jingsong gradually regained his composure, although he did not immediately agree to follow the Nanyang Army to other regions, but he did not say anything more about insisting on staying in the Annan area.