The stalemate of the battle made Liu Yongfu very annoyed, and organized two charges, but in the face of the dense volley of guns fired by the French, they incurred a lot of casualties.

At this time, there is still half a battalion of troops in the city, but with the small troops guarding the gunboats, it can also make up a battalion, and if it comes with artillery to reinforce, it is also a powerful force.

They were counting on reinforcements from the army in the city, but the fierce cannon sound in the city broke the dream of the French, and Chen Dongbu of the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Association, which arrived in time from Fu'an, completed a beautiful surprise attack, first besieging the scattered small French troops in the city, and with the support of mortars, quickly routed the scattered French troops in the city.

The mortars they brought with them became the last nightmare of the French, and in the face of the roar of the god of war, Li Weiye could only order the soldiers to break through, and in the end, the French used the help of the woods to break through a position of the Black Flag Army and escape into the rainforest.

However, the French paid a high price for this, and under the full resistance and continuous pursuit of the Black Flag Army, they lost nearly 7 percent of their troops, even Li Weiye, the commander of the expeditionary force, was also shot and killed! The remaining soldiers rushed to the river, trying to use the support of gunboats to defend, but unexpectedly found that the gunboats anchored by the river to shell Hanoi were actually besieged by five or six gunboats of the Qing army......

The remaining troops on the gunboats were insufficient, and more than 1,000 people wanted to occupy Hanoi, leaving only a few gunners and pilots, and at this time they were obviously unprepared in the face of the siege of the Qing gunboats, and after losing three ships, they hurried down the river with the remaining remnants.

The French came and ran fast, this battle across the Red River, Yuan Shikai, who was stationed on the other side of the Red River, observed the whole process, and the perfect multi-point flowering battle of the army on the opposite side, the sudden attack into Hanoi, the assault of the gunboats on the bank of the river, the French completely lost the ability to counterattack......

In order to see the battle situation on the front line clearly, he rushed to the high ground by the river with a team of personal soldiers, but at this distance, it was still not clear to see the situation of the besieging army on the opposite side, but the Great Qing Dragon Banner hanging on those small steam gunboats was clear, and he was a little puzzled, when did the Great Qing Kingdom have such a strong army?

The Yue army and the Gui army are all lying on their stomachs licking their scars behind the Qingzi camp! And the Qianjun didn't drive anywhere south of Lang Son at all, and he immediately thought of the Black Flag Army that had been stationed in Shanxi and had been incorporated by the Vietnamese Protector Army! However, I heard that the combat power of the Black Flag Army is not bad, but how could these five or six small gunboats appear all at once? Obviously, this is the true strength of the Protector Army!

He immediately quickly sent the news to Wu Changqing, Jian yì immediately sent troops to cross the river, the Qingzi army was also fully prepared during this time, in the small river bay next to it, there were more than 30 wooden boats that were requisitioned on the pontoon bridge at that time, the previous river was full of French gunboats, Yuan Shikai did not plan to go to the river to die, this time the shape is very good, how can he miss the opportunity, he immediately made a decision, climbed onto the boat with a battalion of men and horses, and rushed to the opposite bank with all his might......

Wu Changqing, as the actual core of the Qing army on the front line, didn't sleep well all night yesterday, and yesterday's defeat on the river almost made him gray overnight, but fortunately, the fort built by Yuan Weiting on the river beach finally did not let the Yue army and the Gui army all be wiped out, but he escaped this little bit, and the responsibility is not small.

The death of the Yue army and the Gui army is a trivial matter, and now Hanoi was lost, but it is a big thing, he naturally knows that Lord Zhongtang is negotiating with the French, which makes it an important weight for him to accumulate troops in Bac Ninh to support Hanoi, he didn't want to fight the French to start a surprise attack, and the speed is so fast, what is even more unexpected is that the Yue army and the Gui army on the other side of the river actually fled when they heard the wind, thinking of this, he almost had the urge to rush out and behead the officers in charge of the two armies!

But this is obviously not his right to responsibility, he is just in the middle of the dispatch, and this time it is Allah who is the newly appointed political envoy of Guangxi Xu Yanxu of Guijun, and this old man is still in Langshan, I heard that because of poor health, he is preparing to go to Guilin to recuperate!

After a night of reversal, Wu Changqing felt very tired in the morning, and when he was sleeping in the barracks for a while, he suddenly received news from Yuan Weiting, an outpost position, that there was a large-scale counterattack by the Qing army in Hanoi on the other side, and the French seemed to be about to collapse, and he had led his army across the river to participate in the battle! ,

This news is obviously too unexpected and incredible, the French, who were still imposing yesterday, were defeated today, which made Wu Changqing, who was good at military affairs, also feel a little confused, but he still immediately beat the drum and raised the account!

When Yuan Shikai was still swaying in the river with his soldiers and horses, he did not observe the battle of the gunboats on the opposite riverbank, five gunboats with the dragon flag of the Qing Dynasty had already beaten away the French warships, and were besieging the two French ships that were on fire and had not yet sunk.

He was secretly surprised that the guns on these gunboats had a very fast rate of fire, and he had exchanged fire with the French artillery on the battery yesterday, and those Armstrong's field guns were completely no match for the artillery on the French gunboats.

These gunboats were naturally reinforced by the Zhiling Fortress, and the French soldiers were divided into two routes, Li Weiye fought smoothly on his side, sweeping and looting all the way, making a fortune, and the two battalions led by Lieutenant Colonel Xia Niu went up the Taiping River in Haiphong, preparing to insert themselves into Bac Ninh for outflanking behind, but it was a road of no return.

When Lieutenant Colonel Xia Nyu passed by Chi Ling, he was surprised to find that there was a fortress on this side, and there were military camps and ports in the distance, which surprised him very much, this information had never been heard of before the war, and the Vietnamese could build such a thing in the key point of this river without a prophet!

The first idea, Lieutenant Colonel Xia New, decided to send a force to land, from the rear of the fortress to attack, the result was a big surprise, the troops who had just landed, were fired at by the dense Makqin machine guns in the two bunkers, and when trying to use the gunboat artillery to support, the other side actually came out of another place A few curved guns, the speed of the cannon was so fast that the officers on the gunboat were taken aback, and after leaving more than 20 corpses, they fled back with a crawl.

Lieutenant Colonel Xia Niu is also angry about the incompetence of his subordinates, but he also has 5 gunboats on his side, and the artillery fire is also fierce, so let's break through head-on! Outcome...... This time the losses were even more heavy, in addition to rapid-fire guns, the opponent's fortress was equipped with large-caliber heavy artillery, and the two gunboats were directly destroyed by the fragments of the recently lost shells on the waterline deck, and then sank without suspense.

Seeing that the situation was not good, on the way to turn around and retreat, two more ships were hit by rapid-fire guns, caught fire and burned, and the most surprising thing happened to him again, from the side actually protruded a few small steam gunboats of the other side, after a pursuit, Lieutenant Colonel Xia New abandoned all the troops, and fought hard to rush into the Qiu River to prepare to go south, and meet Li Weiye who went to Hanoi.

It's just that the other party has already done something in the river, and Lieutenant Colonel Xia New's gunboat has inexplicably struck a mine in the river, and the French, relying on their excellent personal ability, got the broken boat to the river, went ashore and escaped......

After Zhou Ruidong defeated the enemy army on this road, he immediately caught the action of the French from the mouth of the captive, and all immediately led the army to help, rushed to the combat position before dawn, and took advantage of the dawn to launch an attack on the French gunboats anchored on the river bank, and won the victory in one fell swoop.

He smiled at this time and looked at the Qingzi army that was desperately rowing in the distance, he was a little surprised by the Qingzi army that ran out in time to attack, but he immediately thought of some important things, and immediately gave an order, except for one boat to capture prisoners, the other gunboats quickly headed towards the Qingzi army that was crossing the river upstream.

Yuan Shikai naturally saw the gunboat below approaching quickly, and he couldn't help but play a small drum in his heart, what he did today was a clear grab, of course, the big head of the other family must have been taken away, and he would have earned some meritorious service for the Qingzi Army, otherwise, Lord Wu's face would have been lost......

The speed of the steam gunboat on the opposite side is very fast, Yuan Shikai hasn't thought about what to say, and secretly complains in his heart, TMD, in case the other party really sinks his own small boats, it is really unclear to say, but at this moment, the other party's gunboats are close to the brain, and an officer shouted on the bow of the ship, "Which one is the other side of the army?" ”

Yuan Shikai observed the words, and saw that the other party didn't seem to have any malicious intentions, so he hurriedly ran out and gave a salute, shouting: "This is Yuan Shikai of the Huaijun Qingzi Battalion!" Across the street is the general! ”,

When the officer heard the reply, he went down to pass the word, and after a while, a young and heroic officer came up and shouted: "Zhou Ruidong, the commander of the Nanyang Navy Division and the Guangdong Propaganda Envoy, please come on board for a while!" ”

Yuan Shikai had no way to retreat at this time, but when he heard the name of the Nanyang Naval Division, he seemed to have thought of some variables, but he also came to the spirit and immediately leaned over the boat.

After the two entered the cabin, after a secret discussion, Yuan Shikai came out of it with a smile, with a smug look on his face, and broke up with Zhou Ruidong, so that several sentry commanders under him continued to follow Zhou Ruidong's gunboat across the river, and hurried back to report the news.

When he saw the other party's gunboat go away, Yuan Shikai's villainous appearance immediately disappeared, revealing a contemplative expression, this Nanyang sailor is not simple, this young officer named Zhou Ruidong doesn't seem to have any impression at all, but he talks freely and does not leak, he is a character.

It seems that this person is the commander-in-chief of this Protector Army's operation, he is young but quite capable, and the posture of the Protector Army has long been guarded against the attack of the French, otherwise it may have turned over the French overnight.

And what made him even more incomprehensible was that the officer named Zhou Ruidong actually took the initiative to talk about the unclear relationship between the Nanyang Navy Division and Lord Zhongtang as if he were his own family, as Wu Changqing's chief staff, he naturally knew the details of this Protector Army, which was the cannon fodder that Lord Zhongtang pulled for the Huai Army to fight in Vietnam......

And Zhou Ruidong took the initiative to propose that the two armies attack Hanoi City, which was empty at this time, as for the spoils of war, the two armies will each take half, and after the Protector Army completes the clearing of Hanoi, it will attack eastward in a big way, and regain the Vietnamese city occupied by the French along the Red River.

If people who don't know the details look like it, this is the Protector Army who eats soft and is afraid of hard, and slaps the sycophants of Lord Zhongtang! However, after Yuan Shikai met Zhou Ruidong, he was convinced that things were not so simple, and he also knew something about the relationship between Lord Zhongtang and Ding Richang...... He pondered all the way to the Qingzi Army camp and didn't come up with a way.

Hearing the news brought by Yuan Shikai, Wu Changqing, the commander of the Qingzi Battalion, was also a little confused, but the most important thing now was to recover Hanoi, so he immediately gathered his troops and horses and rushed straight to the opposite bank.

At nightfall, Hanoi is restored! However, the treasury of Hanoi was naturally empty for a long time, and of course this account was counted on the heads of the French, and Wu Changqing received a few carts of goods from the Protector Army the next day, and after a brief settlement, the two sides divided the number of prisoners, captured and destroyed the enemy, and each left camp.

And the Vietnamese officials in Hanoi have long since died and fled, and now the officials are all Vietnamese officials appointed by the Protector Army and pro-Prime Minister Song Xing, the Vietnamese indigenous army in the city has long since collapsed, and the defense was once again handed over by Wu Changqing to the two disabled Cantonese army and the Gui army, these two soldiers and horses did not find that the French had actually run away until they received the order, since the French ran away, then their own rout can be covered up in the name of fighting bravely to kill the enemy, and they hurriedly ran to make friends with Wu Changqing!

The battle of Hanoi must be described as fierce, the two sides in the two days of fighting, the number of casualties reached an astonishing more than 10,000 people, the Qing army garrisoned by the Yue army, the Gui army was completely disabled, almost all the ordnance was lost, and the French fled from Hanoi back to Haiphong less than 20 percent, and in this battle of both sides, the greatest benefit was not the most meritorious national protector army, but the Qingzi army that did not understand the situation from beginning to end.

The news here was transmitted to the country, and it was necessary to rush back to Guilin by land through a large mountain road, and then send a telegram to Tianjin through Guò, while Zhou Ruidong went all the way down the river, this time the Protector Army only dispatched two battalions of the Black Flag Army Wuxie, and five gunboats accompanied the fire support, and the Qingzi Army sent Wu Changqing's nephew Wu Dong this time, with 4 battalions of men and horses to assist in the attack.

This way down the Red River, the French along the way all fled, and soon forced into Haiphong City, an important stronghold of the French in northern Vietnam! The troops of both sides are deployed along Haiphong City, and they are secretly accumulating strength to prepare for the final fatal blow! ――

In the Governor's Mansion of Tianjin Wei, Li Zhongtang was meeting with the British Minister Sir Wittoma, and he was still trying to find a diplomatic way to solve the war between China and France, and the sarcasm of the British about the defeat of France some time ago made him feel that it was possible to put some pressure on these ignorant French through the British! ,

At this time, Zhou Fu hurriedly walked in with a telegram, and he also knew that Li Zhongtang was meeting with distinguished guests, but this news was not trivial, it was an urgent telegram from Ding Richang, the governor of Fujian, so he immediately asked people to report it and walked in.

Seeing Zhou Fu's relaxed expression, Li Zhongtang naturally knew that it was not a bad thing, and asked with a smile: "Wushan, could it be the news from Vietnam?" ”

Sir Wittoma on the side naturally knew the news spread by the French two days ago, and he also pricked up his ears.

Zhou Fu looked at the British, since Lord Zhongtang did not avoid the British, he intended to let the British spread the good news, he smiled, "My lord, good news, Hanoi is a great victory!" Admiral Wu Changqing's Qingzi Army and Qin Kai's Protector Army surrounded the French Expeditionary Force in Hanoi, sank 4 French gunboats, captured 1, killed the French commander Li Weiye, and annihilated 1,000 enemies! Now the two armies are swinging their forces to regain the city occupied by the French along the river! ”

Li Zhongtang smiled slightly, this old Zhou is an understanding person, since Qin Kai was mentioned, this news must have come from Ding Richang, but Zhou Fu didn't mention it, but this victory came too suddenly, Wu Changqing didn't withstand the opponent's attack in the previous firefight with the French, and ...... Sink and capture the gunboats! Wu Changqing seems to only have a sampan, can that thing fight against gunboats?

But these are all details, the important thing is the result, he laughed, "Wushan, what a good news!" ”

He turned his head to look at Sir Wittoma, who was also confused, "Dear Sir Wittoma, you see, as I expected, the French army of 100,000 troops stationed in Vietnam by the Qing Dynasty and a few thousand people has no chance of winning, but I think that this war is a loss of no benefit for both sides, and I hope that Sir can mediate it!" ”

Wei Tuoma looked at Li Zhongtang, saw the other party's relaxed expression at this time, and looked at Zhou Fu's happy face, this news is extremely credible, the French army failed so quickly, obviously encountered strong military pressure, it seems that the evaluation of the military strength of this Far Eastern Empire should be further strengthened, but the British Empire is maintaining a chain of commercial interests, this matter is ......

He smiled slightly, and nodded his head forward, "Dear Lord Li, the British Empire supports the Qing Empire as always, and in this matter, we will consider proposing our proposal to the French government!" ”

The two exchanged some views on the question of Vietnam, and Sir Wittoma rose to take his leave.

After seeing Wei Tuma leave, Li Zhongtang smiled and turned around to ask Zhou Fu next to him, "Wushan, why hasn't Wu Changqing sent this news back?" I thought the situation in Vietnam would be out of control, but how could it turn around overnight!? ”