On the way to retreat to Beiguang, Leng Yifei sent a letter to Lin Xiong, ordering him to lead the 5th Regiment to immediately go out of Taiyuan and block the French army in the area of Xiaoling. After Leng Yifei led the troops to Beiguang, it was already dusk. Immediately after the troops had eaten, they made defensive preparations. The preparation was how to evade the French artillery fire and avoid fearless casualties. At midnight, Khalid came in tired and reported: "Report to the brigade commander, all preparations have been completed, and according to the report of the reconnaissance unit, the French army is estimated to reach the North Light in the early morning." ”

Leng Yifei looked at his watch and said: "Order the troops to take a break quickly, tomorrow we will teach the French army a hard lesson and combat their arrogance." In order to confuse the French army, not a single soldier was allowed to appear on the city walls. At dawn, Colonel Sabel led 1,500 French troops to the city of Beiguang. Buried in the pot to cook, the French army will not attack hungry. After eating and drinking, Colonel Sabel commanded the artillery to enter the position.

"Report to the Colonel, there doesn't seem to be anyone on the walls." A subordinate reported. Sabel held up a telescope and carefully observed that the walls did not squeak. After a long time, he pulled out his command knife and shouted: "A round of artillery fire is ready, the forward team is ready to attack!" With the voice spoken, the cannon began to fire. At this time, Leng Yifei stood at a high point a stone's throw away from the city wall, observing the enemy's situation. Seeing that the French stopped firing after a burst of artillery fire, he knew that this was a test.

Sure enough, the French troops in front of them attacked in formation. After all, the observation posts on the city walls were experiencing combat for the first time, and they were very nervous. When the French troops reached a distance of 100 meters, individual observation posts blew their whistles. Someone blew the whistle and naturally formed a chain reaction, and the soldiers under the inner city walls quickly attacked. Khalid climbed the city wall and saw that the French army was still a hundred meters away, and the rifles in the hands of the soldiers began to fire violently.

The soldiers, despite their few weapons, were very nervous in their first battle. But after all, after the harsh training, the French soldiers were knocked to the ground. The experienced French soldiers quickly fell down and fought back, and not only that, but they also leaped forward as they fought back. After all, they had too few rifles and no heavy weapons in their hands, and the French soldiers quickly rushed up. "Grenades ready, listen to my command and start throwing." With the sound of the password, dense grenades flew out.

The French soldiers did not know what it was and had no idea of hiding at all. Some soldiers even thought it was a stone thrown by the defenders, trying to pick it up to see what it was. Then there were explosions one after another, and the French army was turned on their backs, and the battlefield was suddenly shrouded in smoke. "The defenders have artillery!" Sabel was in a hurry and immediately ordered the attacking troops to stop the attack.

After a while, the attacking French soldiers withdrew, and many of them were blown up to a bloody pulp, and there were howls of pain. Sabel ordered artillery bombardment, and the rapid-fire guns and machine guns of the French army also participated in the chorus. The soldiers on the city wall quickly retreated under the inner city wall to avoid artillery fire, and their movements were slowly bombarded by artillery fire, and casualties were inevitable. Leng Yifei saw this scene in his eyes, and couldn't help but sigh, the lord was right, the cannon is really the god of war, and it seems that the positional battle with the French army has not been successful.

The French artillery roared, and Colonel Sabel checked that the attacking troops in the forward line suffered hundreds of casualties. Sabel was shocked to see the shrapnel that the medic had taken out of the wounded soldier. There is no need to guess that this is an explosive bomb thrown by the opposing soldiers, and it is extremely lethal. With hundreds of casualties in just one round, Sabel didn't dare to continue his attack.

Inside the military tent, a group of French officers were silent as they looked at the bloodshot shrapnel removed from the wounded soldiers' bodies. An officer broke the silence and said, "Colonel, you can see that the defenders on the opposite side are well-trained and use their tactics very reasonably. They had limited rifles, so they used the bombs to defend themselves effectively. On the other side is not the Annan Army or the Black Flag Army, it may be the Qing Army. At this time, another officer analyzed: "They use bomb throwing, it is impossible to throw it very far, and it is safe to be 100 meters away." ”

Sabel nodded and said: "Stop the shelling, the 2nd team continues to attack, and the attacking troops stop advancing when they reach a hundred meters, and use intensive firepower." At the same time, rapid-fire guns and machine guns are ready to bombard at any time. Sure enough, the French attacking force stopped advancing a hundred meters away, and the soldiers lay on the ground and fired at the walls. Khalid led his soldiers to climb the city wall, and suddenly the French artillery fire began to fire, and he immediately felt fooled and decisively ordered the city wall to be removed. There is no way, and losses are inevitable.

Since the French army did not dare to advance, Leng Yifei ordered the defending soldiers to simply hide under the city wall and not move. Seeing that there was no longer a figure on the city wall, Sabel knew that the other party would not be fooled again, so he had to order the troops to be withdrawn. At dusk, at the headquarters of the Beiguang City Brigade, Khalid walked in with a body of gunsmoke. "! The French army is nothing more than that, doesn't it just rely on artillery fire?" Do you want to rely on artillery fire? I ask you how many casualties? "55 people were killed, including one company commander and three platoon commanders, 65 wounded, for a total of 120 casualties." Khalid's voice became quieter.

Leng Yifei said with a tiger face: "Do you think that the French army in front of you is vulnerable, now see the power of their artillery fire!" Take advantage of the darkness of the night to order! "Strike now,! I'm going to a guy hard. "Not a sortie, but an immediate retreat!" "Retreat?" "We have no advantage in positional warfare, and the French artillery fire is fierce, and more than 200 people in the city have been killed and wounded. I ordered the immediate withdrawal of Beiguang and the fortification of the area around Xiaolianggang. "Yes! Execute the command! Khalid was a little depressed.

Xiaoling is about 50 kilometers from Nguyen and about 70 kilometers from Hanoi. Lin Xiong led the 5th Regiment to a fierce battle with the French army in Xiaoling, and after two days of fierce fighting, the French army finally came to its senses. On the third day, the French army changed its tactics and adopted a frontal feint, and the tactics of outflanking the two flanks immediately worked. With only a little over 300 old rifles in the regiment, and all of them concentrated on the front, the French attacked on two flanks, and the crisis immediately became apparent.

In the regimental headquarters, Lin Xiong, who was covered in gunsmoke, was full of spirits, it was really a hearty blocking operation, and the French army was blocked in front and could not be crossed, Lin Xiong was a little dizzy. At this time, the whole regiment had suffered more than 300 casualties, and the combat staff officer asked for a retreat several times, but Lin Xiong did not agree. "Report to the regimental commander, the enemy has been found on both flanks." "Damn, what are you afraid of, let them taste the grenade." Lin Xiong seems to be confident.

An operational staff officer said: "The situation is already very critical, the two wings will not be able to withstand the French army at all, and if we do not retreat, there is a danger that the whole army will be annihilated." ", the French army was blown up, what is there to worry about, Hugh has to make noise." "Commander, please look at this!" The combat staff officer pulled out a note from his bosom. Lin Xiong took it and looked at it suspiciously, only to see that it was written: "Commander Lin, when the situation is critical, the operational staff officer has the right to decide, and his signature is Leng Yifei."

Lin Xiong hesitated for a moment, and had no choice but to order a retreat. Ten minutes after the troops withdrew from their defensive positions, both flanks were occupied by the French. Lin Xiong gasped when he saw this scene, and began to respect the combat staff officer. Lin Xiong led his troops to retreat to Taiyuan, where they held out for two days before retreating to Xuanhua in the northwest. This way, the French army stopped advancing after occupying Taiyuan.

After leading his troops to capture an empty city, Sabel continued his march north. This guy was hit and became very careful. Leng Yifei led his troops to stop the French army in Xiaolianggang for three days, and then they disappeared and disappeared. Leng Yifei withdrew to Xialong according to Deng Zixuan's instructions and received the cargo ship from Guangzhou for reloading. Colonel Sabel led his troops to Liangshan, where he suffered a loss in Beiguang, and he was more cautious. After setting up the formation, he found that the defenders of Liangshan appeared densely on the city wall, and he was stunned again.

"Report to the Colonel, there may be dummies on the walls," one of his subordinates analyzed. "Use artillery fire for reconnaissance, and don't act rashly." Sabel Road. Liangshan was guarded by two battalions of the Dian army, with a strength of about 1,200 men. When the generals of the Dian army saw the formation of the French army, they were psychologically frightened. Suddenly, dense artillery fire rang out from the opposite side, and rapid-fire guns and machine guns were like thunder and lightning. The Dian army had never experienced such artillery fire, and it was in chaos from time to time.

Seeing the soldiers guarding the city wall, constantly being thrown into the air by artillery fire, the psychological defense line of the generals suddenly collapsed. The supreme commander of the Liangshan Dian Army was the first to flee, not to mention the soldiers. Escaping is their forte. The French artillery fire did not stop, and there was no longer a figure on the city walls. And the gate of the northern city wall of Liangshan was neighing and the officers and soldiers were rushing to run, all of which Colonel Sabel did not know at all.

The artillery fire stopped, and there were no figures on the walls. Sabel did the same, ordering his soldiers to launch a tentative attack. The French soldiers cautiously reached a hundred meters and then stopped advancing. There was still no one on the wall, and after an hour of holding on, Sabel had no choice but to order the attack to stop. That night, the city of Liangshan was as silent as death, and all the people in the city ran away. The next day, Sabel looked at the quiet Liangshan City and ordered a small number of soldiers to go to reconnoitre. To his surprise, it turned out to be an empty city.

Entering the empty city, Sabel completed the task, and his duty was to occupy Liangshan. Because the north of Liangshan is a mountainous area, it is impossible to take any action in the current state. Sabel was apprehensive about the easy occupation of Liangshan for several days, and he thought it was an empty city plan deliberately played by the other party. The key is where is the mysterious army that stubbornly intercepted in Beiguang and Xiaolianggang? The opponent suddenly disappeared, which is the most terrifying.

He Meng led the 6th Regiment to Xialong smoothly, and soon a freighter from Guangzhou docked. You don't have to guess how to shave and change military uniforms, and you're a busy mess. "Deputy Brigade Commander, this military uniform is so beautiful, it is really handsome and mighty," Regiment Commander Lu, who was wearing a brand new military uniform, gave a thumbs up. "Each other, each other! Are you also mighty! He Meng laughed. report, after inspection, 1,200 rifles are not a lot," a combat staff officer reported. He Mengwen heard and walked to the grass-green box.

He pulled out his dagger and skilfully pried open the box, revealing a new, painted, brightly opened rifle. He pulled out a rifle and took a closer look at it. "Deputy brigade commander, the sound is crisp, and it looks like a good gun. The lord is too great, this is a rifle of our own production," Lu Changlin also took out a rifle and sighed. He Meng didn't squeak, he suppressed his excitement, and then opened a bullet box.

In front of everyone's eyes, He Meng pressed 5 bullets into the chamber of the gun, and then pulled the bolt ・・・・・・. After five days of adapting to the new equipment, He Meng led his troops south and went straight to Haiphong along the coastline.