By 15 May, the French had finally taken control of the south bank of the Chi Poor River, but Pourier's 1st Brigade had also paid the price of nearly 500 dead and wounded, or more than 10 percent of the casualties.

This ratio is really too high for Pourier to bear. Moreover, the ferries in the river have all been dragged to the opposite shore by the Chinese, and if they want to force the Qiqi River to cross the river next, Porier fears that the casualties will definitely be greater.

Therefore, despite Frey's repeated urgings, Pourier ordered a halt to the attack, reporting to the rear for more artillery support, and ordering the search for local natives and the condition of the river.

Although the inhabitants of the Lang Son area had been cleared by the Chinese army, most of them had been moved to the mountains to the north. But there are still some people who are reluctant to keep the bottles and cans at home, and they refuse to leave. The French searched for a day and finally found a few, and it was under the guidance of these men that Pourier had a general idea of the situation in the Chi Poor River.

The width and depth of the Qiqi River vary greatly from section to section, but the river is 150 meters wide and the water is so deep that it is so fast that it cannot be crossed without a boat.

But a few kilometers up the river, there is a small village by the river, because there are many bats, it was originally called Bat Village, and later it was changed to Bianfu Village. There is a sand dune below the river here, and the water depth is more than one meter, and people can stand on it, only to the height of their chest and abdomen, and the current is soothing, so they can walk through.

Upon receiving this news, Porrière was glad that he had been cautious, and if he attacked the Chi Poor River, it was estimated that the whole river would be filled with the corpses of the French.

Pourier made a careful plan, he pretended to force the crossing of the Qiqiao River, ordered his subordinates to go down to the nearby mountains to cut down a large number of bamboos, and use these bamboos to build a lot of bamboo rafts, lined up on the south bank of the river, posing as an illusion.

On the other hand, he secretly transferred the two newly reinforced artillery squadrons and the two main regiments to the vicinity of Bian Fu Village.

When everything was ready, on May 18, the French army launched a battle to cross the river.

On the front of the Qiqi River, more than 1,000 French soldiers pushed the bamboo raft to the river, and at the same time the heavy artillery also began to fire a salvo on the opposite bank, and the Chinese army on the opposite side did not show weakness, all kinds of firepower returned fire together, and the two sides of the Qiqiao River seemed to have a feast of fireworks, which shook the world and was not lively.

Under the cover of such a momentum, a few kilometers away in the village of Bianfu, the French army also began artillery preparations. The newly transferred 80mm cannon fired at the opposite bank without stopping, and at the same time the entire regiment of French troops poured out of the hidden woods and began to cross the river, and it was still the brave Zuaf soldiers who rushed to the forefront.

These fierce foreign soldiers were arguably the most fierce light infantry of the nineteenth century, and they were quite invincible when they charged into battle. During the Crimean War, the Russians, known for their bravery, also called these people "messengers of Satan", and their outstanding qualities can be seen.

In fact, Feng Zicai also attaches great importance to this area, and has long sent Yang Yuke to lead a regiment to guard here, but the French cannon's artillery fire is really powerful, and the defensive position is a mess, and Yang Yuke himself was scratched by a piece of shrapnel. In particular, bewildered by the sound of the French army, Yang Yuke did not get enough artillery, and in this case, it was difficult for the troops to effectively suppress the enemy's onslaught.

The smoke of the artillery fire had not yet completely dissipated, and the Zuaf soldiers had already quickly crossed the river and rushed to the positions of the defenders, and the two sides engaged in a fierce exchange.

With the follow-up French army, more and more poured over, and the Chinese began to be unable to support it. Although Yang Yuke is brave and tenacious, but

I also know that it will be difficult to hold on any longer. If you don't retreat now, and wait for the morale to collapse and lose order, then it will not be a retreat, but a scattered rout.

Yang Yuke held his injured shoulder while directing the troops to retreat to Kuma Mountain.

The French army that crossed the Qiqiao River did not pursue Yang Yuke's department, except for leaving a battalion to guard the ferry, the remaining 2,000 people followed the river and began to attack the positions on the north bank of the river.

Feeling that the flank of the defenders was in danger of being attacked, in order to avoid a large number of casualties, Feng Zicai ordered all the troops on the north bank of the river to be withdrawn to Kuma Mountain, preparing to rely on the condescending terrain advantage to continue to deal with the French army.

After a night's rest, on 19 May, Pourier began an attempt to attack the Kumayama line.

The defense line of Kuoma Mountain is composed of more than a dozen hilltop positions of different sizes, the fortifications are both bright and dark, and in the ring barrier of the hill, there are a large number of caves and hidden forts camouflaged with trees and grass, and the hill and the hill cover each other to form a tight crossfire network.

After a few attempts, Pourier had to abandon the attack. The defensive positions of the Chinese were simply impregnable, and they were numerous and well prepared, and there were no gaps in the entire defense line. No matter which hill the French climbed, they would be attacked by fire from the nearby hill. Moreover, all the hills were carefully arranged, with all kinds of sharpened bamboo rows, wooden stakes, and tree barriers all over the mountainside, and the French army attacking the mountain had to pay a price for every step forward.

By the time the 1st Brigade had suffered heavy losses, Pourier reported to Frey that the 1st Brigade alone could not do anything in the face of such a strong defense.

On May 22, Frey personally came to the front line and convened a military meeting, and after some study, Zuihou came up with a plan that against the multiple hills on the front, it was necessary to launch an attack at the same time with strong forces, forcing the defenders to be exhausted and unable to support each other, so as to avoid the defenders' crossfire to the greatest extent, and in order to achieve this goal, at least two brigades should be committed at the same time.

Frey placed the 5th Brigade under the command of Porier, and from 24 May onwards the 1st and 5th French Brigades simultaneously attacked the three adjacent hills.

The first was the use of a large number of artillery pieces to prepare for fire on these hills, which lasted all morning. The storm of steel almost cut off a layer of the hill. Pourier believed that under such a heavy bombardment, no living creature should be able to survive and that when the infantry attacked, they would easily occupy their positions.

Such a way of using firepower naturally consumes a huge amount of shells. This puts a heavier burden on the supply of logistics, who is responsible for logistics

of officers caricatured such an offensive as "the amount of ammunition in the poriers".

Subsequently, more than 2,000 infantry began to attack the three hills at the same time. The tactics of the French army were effective, and each hill was trapped in its own battle, unable to cooperate, and in the face of the onslaught of superior forces, it appeared that it was difficult to parry.

By dusk, after killing and wounding hundreds of French soldiers, the three hills had fallen one after another, and the remaining Chinese defenders had fled from the back hills.

After a night's rest, the French continued to do the same, and then attacked several other hills. Seeing that the hills were falling one by one, Feng Zicai ordered the troops to avoid losses as much as possible, and when the French army approached the hills, they withdrew from the battle early and retreated to the rear. In this way, the French attack was more convenient, and by the 27th, most of the hill had fallen into the hands of the French, and the defense line became fragmented.

Feng Zicai thought that there was no need to hold on any longer, and ordered on the night of the 27th that all troops abandon the remaining positions and withdraw north. After counting, there were nearly 2,000 dead and wounded, but the main force still existed, Feng Zicai believed that the strategic goal had been achieved, and the next step was to make every effort to defend and defend Zhennanguan!

On the French side, 600 men were killed and 900 wounded, nearly half of them seriously, and after paying a heavy price, it was finally confirmed on the 29th that the whole of Lang Son had been captured.

Unlike his predecessor, Commander Miller, who was low-key, Frey's penchant for showcasing his personality and accomplishments to the fullest, made him a darling of the media. At this point, a large number of reporters who accompanied the army praised it, because here in Frey, there is always a lot of reporting material, and there is no need to worry about the layout task.

Just like now, Frey is standing proudly on Kuma Mountain, posing as a victor, and asking reporters to take pictures of themselves, of course, in the background of Lang Son City, which is still smoking everywhere at the bottom of the mountain. Under the flashing lights of the reporters, Frey began to talk about his strategy and tactics, all kinds of forethought, and how he racked his brains and strategized to show the reporters the gray hair that had just increased on the back of his head.

The result, of course, was another murder of a large pile of film and a wave of praise.