Leng Yifei led the 4th Regiment to the foot of Liangshan City, and the soldiers of the 8th Battalion of the Green Battalion Gui Army, who were guarding Liangshan, were shocked when they saw an army on the city wall that had never been Yujian appear with their eyelids down. The defending soldiers rioted for a while and regained their calm, "May I ask what part of you are from, and what are you doing here?" There was a trembling cry of inquiry from the walls. We are the people's army, arrive in Liangshan to assist in the defense, please let us in! Leng Yifei instructed his subordinates to reply.

People's Army! I haven't heard of it, what is this army going to do when it suddenly comes here? The commander of the 8th Battalion of the Gui Army did not dare to make his own decisions, so he had to send someone back to Zhennanguan to report to Feng Zicai. At the same time, let Leng Yifei's department temporarily camp outside the city and wait. Liangshan is a watershed between plains and mountains, and its strategic value is very important.

"Damn, we don't appreciate it when we come to help the guards, if the French army comes with a cannon, these turtle grandsons will immediately fart." Khalid was furious. "Ordering the whole army to camp and bury pots to cook food is to paralyze the other side. You immediately set out to form a commando team, climb up the cliff on the right side at midnight, and take Liangshan City in one fell swoop before dawn. "Yes! Subordinates obey orders! Khalid was overjoyed when he heard this. There was no suspense, and the sneak attack went very smoothly that night. After dawn the next day, Leng Yifei rode a high-headed horse into the city.

Liangshan is 130 kilometers away from Hanoi in the south and 18 kilometers away from the nearest point of the Sino-Vietnamese border in the north. Therefore, as soon as there was wind and grass in Liangshan, Zhennanguan immediately caught a cold. In the camp of the Qing army in Zhennan Guan, Feng Zicai heard the report of the stragglers who fled back from Liangshan. The French inexplicably withdrew, and then a strangely dressed civilian army arrived. And this people's army captured Liangshan overnight.

During this time, news kept coming from the territory of Annam, saying that the French army was destroyed by a fierce civilian army, and some people said that it was destroyed by the Black Flag Army. No matter who killed him, Feng Zicai would never believe it. But there is no wind and no waves, and now Liangshan has changed hands almost without a battle breaking out overnight, is this fierce army the Black Flag Army or the so-called People's Army? After thinking about it, Feng Zicai decided that he couldn't delay and must figure out the ins and outs. Therefore, Feng Zicai led 3,000 Chinese soldiers and horses to kill Liangshan.

At about noon, Leng Yifei and the captured Gui Jun were sitting in the house and talking nonsense. Leng Yifei said how he fought with the French army, how he fought the French army in a mess, Zuihou captured the French commander River, and captured the French army and imprisoned the officers and soldiers in Hanoi. Leng Yifei lied and said that this time he came on the orders of General Liu to welcome the little emperor of Annan back to the dynasty. This commander of the Gui army completely believed it, especially the strange military uniform and strong armament of the other party, he couldn't help but believe it, this commander was stupid.

"Report to the brigade commander, Feng Zicai led the brigade to the city!" Khalid came in to report. "Let's go! Let's go meet General Feng! Leng Yifei stood up in high spirits. The gate of this kung fu city was wide open, and Leng Yifei and the others went out of the city gate and came to Feng Zicai's Chinese army camp. "Old General Feng, Leng Yifei came to pay a visit!" "Aren't you Liu Yongfu's subordinate Leng Yifei? Strangling Yang Guangcai made a miraculous feat back then! Feng Zicai was taken aback. It's down again! "General Leng, I want to know the real situation of the French army!" Looking at Leng Yifei, who was dressed in a mighty military uniform, Feng Zicai was a little impatient. He didn't need to ask Leng Yifei's identity anymore, the lice on his bald head were obvious.

Leng Yifei vividly described how to fight the French army, how to block Hanoi, how to lure the enemy deeper, and how to close the door and beat the dog. He omitted Deng Zixuan's name and omitted landing in Thanh Hoa. Leng Yifei put all the credit on Liu Yongfu, saying that Liu Yongfu commanded well and wiped out the 5,000 French troops who invaded the north in one fell swoop, and said that the general could go to Hanoi to check on the French prisoners if he didn't believe it.

Feng Zicai was shocked when he saw that Leng Yifei's equipment was so advanced, how could he not believe it. Unable to hesitate any longer, Feng Zicai immediately wrote a recital and quickly sent someone to Nanning. Eight hundred miles of urgent report, it is estimated that within 5 days, the court will know about the victory of Annan. Then he went to Hanoi to inspect and congratulate Liu Yongfu in person.

Two days later, Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Liangguang, received the news of the great victory in Annam, and he did not dare to slack off and immediately sent a telegram directly to Tianjin via Shanghai. “haha！ Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army was so good that it actually wiped out 5,000 French troops in one fell swoop, do you tell me if this news is true? Zhang Zhidong asked suspiciously. A subordinate said: "There is a way to destroy the French army, but there is a suspicion of falsely reporting the results of the battle!" ”

"Lord Zhang, we have a general understanding of Liu Yongfu's shili, and this matter is indeed unconvincing." Another subordinate clamored. Zhang Zhidong stroked his beard and said, "Feng Zicai will not lie about the military situation. According to him, Liu Yongfu has recruited troops and horses in recent years, purchased a large number of foreign guns and cannons, especially the king of Annan attaches great importance to him, maybe he has really become a climate. Don't forget that a few years ago, Liu Yongfu assisted Feng Zicai to strangle the rebels, and Feng Zicai repeatedly played the imperial court's attention to the Black Flag Army, which shows that this news is true. ”

In the palace of the governor of Tianjin Zhili, Li Hongzhang was taken aback when he received the telegram and hurried to the capital. Everyone in the court was silent after listening to Li Hongzhang's report on Annan's victory, and many ministers seemed to be stuck in their throats. Although there was a great victory in Annan, it was not the credit of the official army, but the credit of the Black Flag Army. Especially for Liu Yongfu, a local bandit who has achieved such a brilliant record, the Manchu Dynasty civil and military forces don't know how to evaluate this matter.

The Empress Dowager Cixi sat behind the curtain and asked: "Ministers, although Liu Yongfu served as the king of Annan Sanxuan, he was my people of the Qing Dynasty after all, and it was a good thing for him to guard Annan, and he should be rewarded." The Minister of the Military Aircraft Foreman Yi said: "What the Queen Mother said is that it is a great thing that Liu Yongfu has achieved such a record. In order not to irritate the French, we should not preach. ”

A minister asked: "Is Liu Yongfu's record true or false, and not to mention him, I wonder if the French suffered such a big loss, and Weishenme did not have any protests?" Li Hongzhang said: "I received the news after the 5th, according to Feng Zicai, the French envoy in Saigon is currently mediating in Hanoi, if the French minister wants to get the real news, I am afraid that he will not be able to do it in a month." Therefore, Liu Yongfu's achievements cannot be doubted, and now we should think about how to deal with the French! ”

Li Hongzhang's suggestion was naturally approved by everyone, but the situation was not clear, and everyone adopted Li Hongzhang's statement that Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army was an Annan army and was not subject to the control of the Qing Dynasty, and this statement could deal with the French. After retreating from the court, the Empress Dowager Cixi left Li Hongzhang behind and said: "Lord Li, being able to kill 5,000 French troops means that Liu Yongfu's soldiers and horses have at least tens of thousands of horses, and I am worried that the southwest will be unstable in the future!" Li Hongzhang fully understood what the Empress Dowager Cixi meant: "After Annan is stabilized, I will weaken his strength, please rest assured that the Empress Dowager will do so." ”

Li Hongzhang walked out of the big green gate, and a small sedan chair was waiting outside the door. "Lord Li, the sixth prince is invited!" Li Hongzhang hesitated, got into the sedan chair, and went straight to the Six Kings' Mansion. At present, Cixi's rights are gradually stabilizing and growing, and Li Hongzhang is very taboo to get too close to the sixth prince, but the sixth prince personally greeted him in a small sedan chair, so he had to take a sedan chair to visit Prince Shuogong's mansion.

Aixin Jueluo Yi is the sixth son of Daoguang, and he lost the battle for the throne in Xianfeng. After Xianfeng's death, Cixi used Yi to launch a coup d'état in Xinchou and successfully seized the throne, and Yi was reused. After so many years, Yikong has ambitions but has achieved nothing, although he is still the military aircraft foreman, but his edges and corners have been smoothed and become mediocre. Since he agreed to kill Cixi's confidant An Dehai in the eighth year of Tongzhi, Cixi began to hate him, so Yi has been walking on thin ice and cautious for so many years.

Although Yi is a Westernist, due to insufficient power, foreigners do not trust him, and conservatives suppress him. Now that Annan has won a big victory, Yi finally ushered in the opportunity for the salted fish to turn over. Therefore, he secretly met with Li Hongzhang, which was to plot the matter of Annan. What to pay attention to, Li Hongzhang knows it.

Entering the palace, the subordinates directly introduced Li Hongzhang into the study, and when he met with important guests, he generally chose to meet in the study. "Prince Gong, come down and see you!" Li Hongzhang said politely as soon as he entered the room. "Lord Zhongtang is too polite, and it is inconvenient to communicate in the court, so I invite Lord Zhongtang to come to the palace to talk. Frankly speaking, I am not a quiet place here, but you can rest assured that outsiders will not know that you are here," Yi first let Li Hongzhang take a reassuring pill.

Since letting Zuo Zongtang enter the military aircraft department last year, Yi has felt that Cixi has become more and more repulsive to him, so he must do something to win Cixi's favor. After the dispersal of the dynasty, Cixi left Li Hongzhang, and Yi knew that Cixi had regarded Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army as a big trouble. Just think about the current army of the Great Qing Dynasty, the strongest Huai army and Hunan army may not kill 5,000 French troops at one time. What does this mean? This shows that the Black Flag Army is not only strong in combat, but also a standard foreign gun team, which is the most frightening. Although Yi and Cixi were at odds, they were unanimous in maintaining Manchu rule.

"Lord Wang, the Queen Mother is worried, worried that the Black Flag Army will do something in the future, and this is exactly what I was left behind!" Li Hongzhang can't play a gimmick in front of Yi, he must tell the truth. Yi smiled and said: "I guessed, but suppressing the Black Flag Army is not the goal, this strong army is the best choice for the imperial court." I propose to appoint Liu Yongfu as the envoy of the Annan Festival, and give the second grade to wear a flower feather. Li Hongzhang gasped when he heard this, and secretly thought: This Tukou general has changed into an almost equal to himself, and it seems that Yi wants to use the Black Flag Army to make a fuss.

"What the prince said is extremely true, now we must use the Black Flag Army to guard the border passes, even if the French know the truth, it is difficult to speak, but I think the matter of appointment should be delayed, and do not give the French the truth of war. It is the best policy that the imperial court can provide silver two subsidies. "I know I can't rush it, but I want Nakado-sama to mediate it." "Don't worry, I will do this beautifully and add color to the prince's face."

However, a few days later, there was a major change on the southwest coast, and the Manchu ministers of civil and military affairs fell into a panic.