Lang Son is the key to the north of Vietnam since ancient times, in front of a piece of lofty mountains, after Lang Son is a horse flat river, there is no danger to defend. Since ancient times, the feudal dynasty of the Central Plains crusaded against Jiaozhi, here is the place that must pass, as long as you capture here, the Red River Plain behind can be passed on, the so-called "Lang Mountain, Vietnam descends", it is said that this is the meaning.

Lang Son City spans both sides of the Qiqiao River, the north bank is Kuma Mountain, and the south bank is more than 1,000 meters south of Bawai Mountain.

Since the French conquered Bac Ninh last year, the French forward troops have advanced to the area of Bawai Mountain and built defensive barriers on the ridge. The Chinese army, on the other hand, built a large number of bunkers, trenches, tunnels and other fortifications on both sides of the Qiqi River and on Kuoma Mountain.

The two sides faced off less than two kilometers apart, with guns and artillery at first, and there were constant skirmishes and clashes. But as time went on, both sides got used to it.

After a few months, there was a gradual silence between the trenches of both sides.

On the evening of April 19, the sky was drizzling, and the spring seemed to stretch out a gentle hand to caress the earth, facing the fine rain, the commander of the French army, Lieutenant General Miller, with a group of accompanying officers, climbed the Bawai Mountain. He looked down at the whole city of Lang Son, which was already lit up and twinkling, and from this side, it seemed like a dim starlight.

Although the lights have been in place for a long time, after the two sides have been facing off for months and there has been no war, some of the controls have naturally been relaxed.

Mi Le carefully observed the surroundings with a telescope, turned back to his entourage and said: "Look at these cunning Chinese, on the other side of the Qiqi River, it looks dense, and a lot of fortifications and trenches are arranged, but in fact there are not many troops, but the main force is gathered on the north bank and the Kuma Mountain, presumably the artillery is also placed on the north bank. And the fortifications on the south bank were purely to delay the attack, to drag our troops on the south bank, and then to kill and wound us with artillery fire. It's a very careful arrangement, making perfect use of the terrain, enough to be put in the textbook of defensive warfare. ＂

The staff officers in the back all nodded frequently when they listened.

Miller paused, just about to continue his analysis, when suddenly, a historic accident happened.

On the south bank of the Qiqiao River, in a trench at the forefront of the Chinese army's position, several Chinese soldiers were lurking.

These people are all from the Independent Regiment of the Guards Army commanded by Zhang Gaoyuan. Their uniforms were indistinguishable from those of other training soldiers, the only sign being that they were holding a brand new Model 1871 Mauser breech rifle!

This high-performance, well-made rifle, including its modifications, had a significant impact on future military history.

It was the first bullet in human history to use a metal cartridge case, and its locking and firing parts were extremely cleverly made, stable and reliable, and most of the future rifle designs were copied and copied.

Compared with the Schneider rifle of the trained soldiers, the Mauser is not only more powerful, but also has a longer range. The farthest can hit 1600 yards, which is close to 1500 meters, which is twice as far as the Schneider gun!

The Guards Regiment is stationed on Kuma Mountain, but regularly sends some men to the front of the position to participate in patrols and guards. And today, in the direction of Bawai Mountain, there is a small group of Guards soldiers patrolling.

They carefully bent their waists, took off their hats, and stuck their heads out of the trench only a little, just enough to see the front of the trench and observe the enemy's position.

During the march, a soldier suddenly said "Huh", and the squad leader asked, "What's the matter?" ＂

"Look at the top of the hill on the left. ＂

The squad leader carefully observed the top of the mountain opposite with a telescope, and sure enough, he found that it was unusual, there were a bunch of people talking to each other, and they were mainly surrounding one of them, this person was wearing an overcoat, and that jiashi was obviously not quite the same as an ordinary French soldier.

The squad leader felt that this was very likely to be a high-ranking officer, he thought for a while, and said to a soldier next to him: "Wang Hui, look, is this distance enough?" ＂

This Wang Hui is none other than the guy from southern Zhejiang who took the girl's name and escaped by luck in the Battle of Lanshan in Bac Ninh. Later, he captured alive an officer of the French army, and exchanged this officer for the regimental commander Weygand, who had been captured by the French.

Because of this achievement, Wang Hui was transferred to the Independent Regiment of the Guards, and he soon showed a talent for using the Mauser rifle, and his marksmanship was extremely accurate.

Perhaps, he was born a sniper, but the Schneider rifle he used was unstable and failed to play at his due level, but once he had a good gun in his hand, he immediately showed his extraordinary talent.

Hearing the squad leader's question, Wang Hui shrugged her delicate eyebrows, pursed her thin lips, and silently estimated in her heart, then nodded lightly and said two words simply: "Sancheng." ＂

The squad leader knows that he has always been extremely taciturn, and he really can't hit a fart with eight shots, but the marksmanship is nothing to say, such a long distance is already the limit of the range of the Mauser gun, and it is impossible to hit someone else. However, Wang Hui's marksmanship he has seen with his own eyes many times, and he still has some hope, Wang Hui said that he was only 30% sure, but in his heart maybe more than 30%.

He pointed to the direction of the top of the mountain and said to Wang Hui: "Attention, the tall man in the middle of the mountain, wearing an overcoat, is surrounded by a bunch of people, listening to his nonsense, it is estimated that he is not a small officer, or even a general, if you can defeat him, it will be a great achievement!" ＂

Wang Hui lay on the slope of the trench, picked up the rifle in his hand, felt the direction and force of the wind, and aimed at the direction of the top of the mountain.

The rain hit the barrel of the gun, making a slight splash, and behind the splash squinted a bright and determined eye.

At this time, Wang Hui, who was still delicate and small just now, suddenly looked heroic, like a mediocre and boring swordsman who hid in the city, but when he showed his sword, the whole person became radiant.

He estimated the distance in his heart, thinking that the bullet might not fly a little short, so he raised the muzzle of the gun slightly.

But this adjustment is extremely subtle, so subtle that no one else can feel it, or even no adjustment at all, it is just Wang Hui's mental activity.

He took the gun and aimed, constantly looking for the feeling in his heart, slowly realized, it seemed to be just a moment, and it seemed to be a long time, and then his heart suddenly moved, this is the point, he immediately pulled the trigger, "bang", the bullet came out of the chamber, and roared away. Wang Hui even had an illusion, as if he had seen a bullet rushing out of the muzzle of the gun with his own eyes, and flew away like an arrow from the string.

Everyone next to them widened their eyes and stared at the top of the mountain, and those pairs of eyes were eager to follow the bullets and fly to the top of the mountain together.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment, and the group of people on the top of the mountain seemed to have changed at all, and the squad leader thought to himself: "Didn't hit?" It's a pity. ＂

Just as he was thinking, the man in the coat seemed to try to look back at his back, and then staggered and fell to the side. The people next to him immediately exploded, screamed, and several people hurriedly carried the injured down.

The head of the class was overjoyed and patted Wang Hui on the shoulder: "Good boy, there are yours!" It's really hit, and it's a great achievement! ＂

Wang Hui was caught off guard and was patted off-guard, his face was slightly red, but the squad leader didn't notice it, picked up the binoculars and looked at the top of the mountain carefully, and was still muttering to himself: "I don't know if I was killed?" ＂

Wang Hui didn't know that the one who was hit by him was Lieutenant General Miller, the commander of the French army.

According to past experience, the Chinese's rifles can't hit so far, which also makes Mile and the others a little relaxed, just such a moment of effort, just to observe, will be hit by a cold gun.

After careful examination, the French military doctor found that the injuries were very serious, a 11mm metal bullet with a round head of black powder penetrated Miller's body from the side ribs, broke two ribs, and also abrased the left lung lobe.

That day, Miller underwent surgery in the field hospital, and doctors found a deformed warhead in the left chest near the collarbone.

But Miller's condition was not optimistic, with a constant cough, bleeding from the wound, and symptoms of tetanus, and the military doctors had to rush him to Saigon, where the medical conditions were better.

This news is a new blow to the distant French government, but as Prime Minister Gambida, it seems to be a matter of pros and cons. Miller's shrewd and wise command ability is obvious to all, and he also enjoys high prestige in the troops. But his stubborn temper and his views are very different from those of the cabinet, which are very headaches for Gambida, and the current result is not necessarily a good thing for the cabinet.

Lieutenant General Frey, the commander of the Army's 57th Division, who was to arrive in Vietnam at the end of the month, would become the new commander of the French Army in Vietnam, and that Major General Nigri would act as commander until he arrived.

This accident was temporarily blocked, and the Chinese side did not know that the French army had already had to change its commander, not even just a change of commander, but a change of strategy, and Wang Hui knew nothing about it.

At the end of the Western Front, on the Sino-Vietnamese border, the original Black Flag Army garrison of Bao Thanh (later Lao Cai) had become a huge and tightly sealed military station.

Ding Baozhen, director of the Logistics Department and governor of Guangxi, has already rushed here to personally preside over the logistics work, and soon there will be an army of more than 40,000 people secretly assembled here, and it is a huge burden for so many people to eat, drink, and laze every day, not to mention the absolute secrecy and blockade.

At this time, most of the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, which runs through the north and south of China, has been built, and although the whole line has not yet been unblocked, many cities have already been opened to traffic, which has brought great convenience to the mobilization of troops. By mid-April, all the troops had been assembled at the mouth of the river on the border of Guangxi, just across the Red River from Baosheng, with a total of three divisions and one brigade.

On the other hand, Ding Yuntong was worried that the troops in Zhennanguan were not enough, so he issued an order to let the Fifth Division of Song Qing stationed in Mawei Port transfer a brigade, led by brigade commander Ding Huai, to Zhennanguan for reinforcements.

The preparations for the decisive battle are in full swing, at this time in Dong Dang City, the Vietnamese Nguyen Dynasty heir Emperor De, but his heart is gloomy, panicked, he does not know China's strategy, he only knows that the French army is attacking the city one by one, and is very worried that he will never have the opportunity to return to the palace of Hue, and even be forced to go to China to be an exiled emperor, which he is unwilling.

You must know that he has no respect for China, otherwise he would not dare to be the emperor, and if he goes to China to send people under the fence, it is estimated that life will be very difficult. He couldn't help but regret leaving Hue, knowing that he was dependent on the French, maybe he could survive and become a puppet emperor. But now he is surrounded by pro-Chinese ministers, all of whom are holding back to China to be officials, and there are Chinese eyeliner everywhere, and it is impossible to contact the French, so he can only cry with the queen every day.