It was drizzling at night, and the sound of the rain seemed to be a soft cry, whether it was a prayer to the dead or an outpouring of savage slaughter. On the city wall, the soldiers of the Black Flag Army wore changing clothes and stuck to their posts, and the entire city of Hanoi was dark. The French positions on the opposite side were brightly lit, and even their arrogant laughter and noise could be heard. The chaos of the two sides competing at the same level shows the mentality of both sides.

During the day, the French artillery fire was very fierce, and the French attacking troops did not attack the city with all their might, but stopped firing when they reached the firing range, and their purpose was to kill and injure Liliang and play a deterrent role. The commander of the French army, Riveley, had rich combat experience, and the fortified and positional warfare that his side was good at were used vividly. On the other hand, the Black Flag Army, don't look at the foreign guns, but they don't know how to fight positional warfare at all, and they don't know anything about defensive operations with hot weapons.

In the past few years, the Black Flag Army fought against the French army, using hand-to-hand combat, relying on the tactics of fighting for one life and one life, and it was able to play to its strengths and avoid its weaknesses. However, this time, the Black Flag Army was unable to exert its strength, and was completely in a passive position of being beaten. Moreover, this time it was the French expeditionary force that was the most capable of recruiting and fighting well, and its combat effectiveness and battlefield experience were much stronger than the previous second- and third-rate colonial troops. In half a month, the French army suffered more than 200 casualties, while the Black Flag Army suffered nearly 3,000 casualties and 2,000 casualties. The high mortality rate was mainly due to the death of wounded soldiers who were not effectively treated for wound infection, while the battlefield ambulance of the French army was relatively perfect.

After all, the Black Flag Army was born as a grasshopper, and there was no concept of battlefield ambulance at all, and once a soldier was seriously injured, he was almost declared dead. Traditional Chinese medicine has no problem treating knife wounds, but it is almost helpless for gunshot and shell wounds. Frankly speaking, when the hot weapons began to exert their power, the level of battlefield ambulance within the Shijie range was generally low, and after a battle, the two sides almost shed blood, like a battlefield in the era of cold weapons. In the face of such a situation, Western countries began to pay attention to and gradually improve rescue measures, but the battlefield rescue of the Qing Dynasty was almost zero.

A courtyard house has become a temporary ambulance for the sick and wounded, and there are howls and moans one after another. In the dim light, several gray-bearded Chinese medicine doctors were busy. They deal with the wounded by sprinkling anti-inflammatory powder on the wound and treating it simply. There are almost no tricks for bullets and shrapnel in the flesh of the wounded, you must know that the vast majority of gun bullets and shrapnel in this era are lead bullets, and lead is poisonous.

There were too many wounded, and the place was cramped. Quite a few of the wounded sat directly against the wall and sat on the ground. Several soldiers walked back and forth, and when they found that they were dying, they carried them out. The shouting of the wounded in the courtyard was terrifying and terrifying. The atmosphere in the city defense headquarters was equally heavy, and Liu Yongfu was still silent in the lobby in the atmosphere of his good brother dying in battle. At this time, the military advisor Tang Jingsong had been persuaded for a long time, trying to persuade Liu Yongfu to retreat to preserve his strength.

However, Liu Yongfu seems to have been trapped in grief by his brother's death in battle, which affected his correct judgment of the bad situation. "You don't have to make any more noise, my good brother died in battle, I can't let the brothers chill, I want to live and die with the city of Hanoi." "General, the French army did not attack the city fiercely, the purpose is to consume your liliang. How long can you consume this play, and now is the wisest way to take the opportunity to retreat. In fact, Liu Yongfu didn't want to retreat, but he had patted his chest in front of King Annan, and he also swore in front of the soldiers.

In particular, Huang Shouzhong was killed in battle, and the front camp was almost disabled, which inspired his blood. In order to show his confidence, he said loudly: "Quickly adjust the reinforcements of the Leng Yifei Division, and I will fight the French army in Hanoi, even if I fight to the death, I will not compromise." Lord Tang, the following officers and soldiers have helped, do you want the officers and soldiers to come to reinforce as well? Tang Jingsong was puzzled: "General, the official army defends the first line of Liangshan, if the French army launches an attack on Liangshan, the official army can participate in the battle, otherwise the imperial court will not agree." ”

"Damn, doesn't the court mean to let us die in front? It's nice to say, resist foreign insults, unite as one, it's all fucking deception, Lao Tzu doesn't believe these nonsense at all. There were no officers and soldiers to see if Lao Tzu's Black Flag Army could block the attack of the French army. After Liu Yongfu finished speaking, he flicked his sleeves and left. Tang Jingsong shook his head helplessly in embarrassment, there was no way, he had to look forward to Leng Yifei's coming to solve the dilemma now.

At the headquarters of the 2nd Brigade in Taiyuan, Leng Yifei received Liu Yongfu's request for help, and immediately ordered He Meng to return to Beiguang, led the 5th Regiment to wait for orders in Beiguang, and lured the enemy deep into Jihua, and at the same time ordered Lin Xiong's 6th Regiment to transfer to Taiyuan to stand by, and then he personally led the 4th Regiment and the officer training team to quickly reinforce Hanoi. In the evening of the next day, Leng Yifei led the 4th Regiment to Hanoi. Leng Yifei asked the troops to stay outside the city, and he and a guard entered the city to meet Liu Yongfu.

"Brother, brother is ashamed! We need your help! Liu Yongfu saw Leng Yifei as if he had seen a savior, stepped forward and grabbed Leng Yifei's hand, with a sad expression on his face. At this time, Tang Jingsong secretly looked at Leng Yifei and was a little surprised, the person in front of him was not only very strong, but also seemed to have been on the battlefield for a long time, and that kind of calm charm made people confident. "My lord, it's too late for my brother to sin, what is the situation now, I want to know the real situation." Then Liu Yongfu depressedly recounted the defensive situation and losses.

After listening to Liu Yongfu's painful narration, Leng Yifei muttered a half-truth and said: "My lord, I rushed here after receiving the order, but fortunately, my lord is still safe and sound." My vanguard of a thousand men has arrived, and the follow-up troops are coming! "Vanguard, how many soldiers and horses do you have?" Tang Jingsong suddenly interjected and asked. Leng Yifei glanced at it and said, "My lord, this is," without waiting for Liu Yongfu to answer Tang Jingsong, he said: "The contemptible person is called Tang Jingsong, and he was sent by the imperial court to assist General Liu in the battle." Leng Yifei hugged his fists and said, "It's Lord Tang!" My subordinates are polite, and I don't hide it, I have 3,000 soldiers and horses. ”

Tang Jingsong was overjoyed and said, "General Leng, great, I suggest that your department immediately launch an attack on the French army." "Attack? ! Leng Yifei glanced at the other party and turned to Liu Yongfu and said: "My lord, as the old saying goes, if you lose your land, you will lose your land." If you save people and lose land, you will keep all of them. We can't blindly fight with the French army to attrition, and we are not afraid of running out of firewood. The soldiers and horses of the adults have been fighting hard for more than 20 days, and more than half of them have suffered casualties. I decided to take over the defense of Hanoi and cover the retreat of the adults. Leng Yifei didn't pay attention to Tang Jingsong at all.

"No, I have made up my mind to live and die with Hanoi and never leave Hanoi City." Liu Yongfu seems stubborn. Leng Yifei glanced at Wu Fengdian, the commander of the left battalion, and this guy understood and shouted: "Someone, please leave Hanoi quickly." As the voice came in, several soldiers picked up Liu Yongfu and left. Bastards, you're going to rebel, let me go! Liu Yongfu was carried away in the midst of struggle and roaring. Then Leng Yifei decisively ordered the troops to enter the city to take over the city defense of the Black Flag Army.

Although Tang Jingsong was snubbed, he was very shocked in his heart. The strong characters that appeared in front of him seemed to make him unwilling, and he completely guessed that Leng Yifei's mind was that he would give up Hanoi at any time. "General Leng, I know your intentions, are you going to take King Annan away?" "What do I take him for, what does King Annan have to do with me." Leng Yifei walked out a little arrogantly after speaking, and Tang Jingsong realized that even if he was an official of the imperial court, he was almost penniless in the eyes of others.

At midnight, Leng Yifei was looking at the map, and several combat staff officers were also nervously drawing signs on the map according to the current military situation of the enemy and us. "Report to the brigade commander, my subordinates have come to report to you!" Khaled, the commander of the 4th regiment, walked in, and could tell that the kid looked excited. "How's it going?" Leng Yifei's eyes were still aimed at the map. "Brigadier Commander! Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army and the wounded have all been evacuated, and our regiment has taken over the defensive position. Is it hard for you to really stop the French here? Khalid asked.

"Tomorrow we'll hold off for a day and see what kind of freaks the French are. If you don't enter the tiger's den, you can get a tiger, and how can you understand each other if you don't compete with the French army. I already know the defense of the Black Flag Army, and the French are playing smart. The front battalion of the Black Flag Army suffered heavy losses in the east of the river, which was a serious light on the enemy and stupid command. And the defensive wall is even more inflexible. You now order your troops to make a large number of dummies to place on the walls and confuse the French army. Tomorrow, only observation posts will be left on the city wall, and the large army will hide in the hidden caves on the inner side of the city wall to avoid artillery fire. Remember, there was no command against anyone going up the walls. ”

"Yes! Subordinates understand! Hadley turned and walked away. A subordinate of this kung fu came in and reported: "Report to the brigade commander, the Annan army sent someone to ask, what is the mess on our side, what happened?" Leng Yifei groaned for a moment and said: "Tell them that the wounded are being transported outside the city, so that they don't panic, the city is impregnable." "Brigadier Commander! You don't plan to tell the truth about King Annam? An operations staff officer asked. Just keep him in the dark, or King Annam will collapse. ”

The sky was bright, and after sleeping for less than two hours, Leng Yifei got up. When he came to the defensive area of the city wall, he saw the soldiers sleeping soundly under the inner city wall, Leng Yifei asked the sentry, and after a while, Khalid ran over with sleepy eyes and said: "Brigade commander, there is no movement in the French army, why don't you sleep for a while?" "Follow me up to the city wall and see the dignity of the army!"

The two climbed the city wall, and Leng Yifei took out a monocular to observe the French position opposite. I saw the colorful military flags of the French army position, and the dense tents formed many triangular arrangements, except for a small number of sentries swimming in the French barracks, it seemed quiet, and it was obvious that the French soldiers were sleeping. "Damn, the French are really going to enjoy it, it's so blind!" Khalid scolded.

Leng Yifei put down the binoculars and said: "The French army relies on powerful artillery fire to grasp the initiative on the battlefield. How are you prepared to cope? "Brigadier Commander! After the French shelling, I pulled the troops up again. I now have more than 300 rifles in my hands and 10 squads to block the French attack. If the French carried out a group charge, they were dealt with grenades. ”

"Do your operational staff think it's feasible?" "They thought it was feasible!" "Remember that saving ourselves and destroying the enemy is our tactical requirement, and this must be kept in mind. In addition, battlefield ambulance cannot be negligent, and you have to personally supervise this aspect. There was a noise in the French barracks, and curling green smoke rose. Leng Yifei and Khalid raised the telescope again.

In the morning, the commander of the French army, Riveley, was sitting in a military tent and was eating, with a plate of bread, a sausage, and an aperitif on the table. At this time, Riverley's face was flushed, and it was clear that he had slept well last night. After more than 20 days of fierce fighting here, he has lost less than 100 people under his command, do you think he can be in a bad mood.

If the Black Flag Army is annihilated in one fell swoop under the city of Hanoi, there will be no opponent in the entire northern part of Annam, and when the time comes, Chen Bing's Sino-Vietnamese border will be completed. Commander Rivery knew that after continuous fierce battles, the Black Flag Army was already at the end of its power, as evidenced by the sparse shooting of the Black Flag Army yesterday. Not only did the Black Flag Army suffer heavy losses, but they also ran out of ammunition. Frankly, Riverley is now very worried about the Black Flag Army's escape, so he uses stop-and-go tactics to confuse the Black Flag Army.

"Report to the commander, good news from the right detachment!" Riverley took the letterhead and examined it. “haha！ The right detachment, with the cooperation of the battleships, had already occupied the coastal defense. At present, the right detachment has advanced from the east to Hanoi, and I order that the offensive be halted today. "Commander! Are you worried about the Black Flag Army escaping? "Yes, I want to destroy the Black Flag Army completely, and after the right detachment reaches Hanoi, it will go straight to the north of Hanoi and block the retreat of the Black Flag Army."