Since the small court of Annam fled to Hanoi to settle down, it has played the Manchu court several times. hoped that the imperial court would send troops to drive out the French, but the Manchu court had been prevaricating for various reasons, and only symbolically sent Qing troops to enter the country in the name of suppressing bandits. Due to Leng Yifei, Liu Yongfu's shili is expanding day by day, and Liu Yongfu's soldiers and horses have expanded from 5,000 people.

Disillusioned, Emperor Annam began to pay more attention to Liu Yongfu, not only inviting Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army to Hanoi to appoint the commander of the city defense, but also granting him the right to arrange troops. Liu Yongfu seemed to have become a lifesaver for Emperor Ruan's life, and for Liu Yongfu, who had no culture and could not read a single word, his sense of achievement was simply incomparable.

As Leng Yifei's shili gradually grew bigger, Liu Yongfu felt threatened. But for this terrifying Liliang, Liu Yongfu had no choice, so he had to be on guard every day. Since Leng Yifei stabilized, he either set up a manor or engaged in trade, and he didn't seem to have the ambition to dominate. In particular, Leng Yifei did not buy foreign guns for hunting clothes, but sold them to himself, which made Liu Yongfu feel at ease. After the bad situation in Annam, the imperial court paid more and more attention to Liu Yongfu's Han army.

As a result, the imperial court sent a military advisor called Tang Jingsong. As soon as the military advisor came, he swore and said: "The Heavenly Empire is lenient, and all my Chinese descendants, but who can resist foreign insults and defend the country, are all good people of the Qing Dynasty." "The first time he received the approval of the Qing court, Liu Yongfu was simply overjoyed. After the French army invaded the north, Tang Jingsong began to contact the internal situation of Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army.

Soon Leng Yifei surfaced. "General Liu, what is the origin of this militia group, listening to the generals' discussions, their combat effectiveness is very strong. I didn't expect you to have such an armed force under your command? Tang Jingsong was puzzled. Liu Yongfu said with a smile: "That year, Yang Guangcai rebelled, and Leng Yifei led more than 200 people's regiments to suddenly appear, and went all out to strangle the rebels. Later, I learned that they accepted the leadership of a lord called him, and I haven't seen who this lord is?"

Lord? Private Army! There are many private armies in the Qing Dynasty, and it seems that it is another gimmick of a master with a lot of money, Tang Jingsong said with relief: "I heard that Leng Yifei's department is equipped with a lot of foreign guns and strong combat power, and it has developed to thousands of people. At present, the situation of the French army in the north is critical, why not let them participate in the defense of Hanoi? ”“haha！ Adults are worried! At present, the Annam army has tens of thousands of people, plus my Black Flag Army, which is fully capable of defending Hanoi, and the rear also needs to be guarded. ”

Who is Tang Jingsong? , who has been an official for many years, immediately realized that Liu Yongfu was using Leng Yifei to prevent the officers and soldiers from taking the back road. Although Liu Yongfu has this mind, the main reason is that he is worried that Leng Yifei will enter Hanoi and divide the territory in the future. He knew very well in his heart that Leng Yifei was not under his control. But Tang Jinsong misunderstood his calculations.

Liu Yongfu doesn't know a few big characters, but his ability cannot be ignored. Being able to integrate a group of ruffians, hooligans, bandits, and stragglers together, and make them obedient, shows that he is not amazing in appearance and short in stature, and he has extraordinary skills. Li Hongzhang once commented that Liu Yongfu was a "trick of the local bandits". If there had been no Sino-French war, Liu Yongfu might have left himself to fend for himself in Annam. The benevolent see the benevolent and the wise see the wise, perhaps the trend of history itself will make Liu Yongfu famous.

After the French army easily occupied Fugu, the flames of war immediately approached Hanoi. On this day, in the city defense headquarters, Liu Yongfu was sitting with his pouch, and Tang Jingsong, the military advisor, was standing in his right hand. On either side stood the generals of the three battalions under his command. Although Liu Yongfu's scale has expanded, their command system has not changed, and they are still divided into the left battalion, the right battalion, and the front battalion. The front battalion is the core force, with a total strength of 2,500 people. The strength of the left and right battalions is 1,500 respectively. Hanoi was defended by the Annam Army on the east side. The south side and the west side were defended by Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army.

The commander of the front battalion was called Huang Shouzhong, the commander of the left battalion Wu Fengdian, and the commander of the right battalion Yang Zhuen, all three of whom were brave and loyal to Liu Yongfu. The front battalion is a descendant unit, with the largest number of soldiers and the most advanced weapons. At this time, the atmosphere of the battle was very severe, and Liu Yongfu's front battalion was deployed in the outer fortress east of the river. "Huang Shouzhong!" "Subordinates listen to orders!" A yellow-faced man in his 40s, with a waist saber and a revolver, stepped forward and clenched his fist at Liu Yongfu.

"Your troops are holding on to the east of the river, and the main points here are very important. Be sure to keep it for me. As long as we resist the strong offensive of the French army, the French will not be able to attack for a long time, and they will naturally exhaust and retreat. "My lord, my subordinates are determined to be full of liver and brain, if you lose Hedong, I will come to see you with my head." Then Liu Yongfu instructed Wu Fengdian to lead the left battalion to support the battle at any time, and the right battalion to hold the Hanoi city wall.

After the generals left, the military advisor Tang Jingsong praised: "General Liu! It is gratifying to congratulate the general's arrangement of troops can be described as easy and impregnable, and the general will be wise for all generations in this battle. "Haha, Lord Tang has won the award, my confidence is that my subordinates are fighting to the death, and the damn French are not three-headed and six-armed." Tang Jingsong understood what he meant, and the combat effectiveness of the Black Flag Army at the moment, except for Feng Zicai's 3,000 invincible army, the other Qing army's green battalions were far worse than them.

On the thirtieth day of the Chinese New Year's Eve, the French commander Riveley launched a very regular attack on the fortress position east of the river according to the infantry drill point. Fight the weak enemy first, and it is impossible for Riverley, as a general on the battlefield, not to understand the mystery. The Annam Army guarded the eastern side of Hanoi, and it stands to reason that he should first launch an offensive against the Annam Army. However, the eastern side of Hanoi is located in the Red River Delta, where there is a large network of rivers, which is not suitable for military operations. Especially artillery, as a result of which Rivery had to launch an offensive to the east of the river first.

The French soldiers approached the city, and the Black Flag Army did not have time to eat a decent New Year's dinner, so they immediately entered the position to defend. Huang Shouzhong, the commander of the former battalion, stood on the low city wall and observed the French army's formation. Long! Huang Shouzhong ordered: "Order the right side of the first mark to ambush in a roundabout way, and after the French artillery bombardment is completed, attack him, and give me a hard knock!" "The subordinate has to be ordered to leave.

If a face-to-face defensive battle with the French army was launched, the Black Flag Army did not succeed. Although they had foreign guns in their hands, they had limited ammunition. Moreover, the Black Flag Army is still stuck in the state of mind of cold weapon combat, and the tactics they are good at are hand-to-hand combat, rushing into the enemy formation and fighting fearlessly, which is their usual tactic. When the French artillery bombardment began, Huang Shouzhong hid in a beacon tower to watch the enemy and command the battle.

The walled fortress was built according to the era of cold weapons, and the soldiers of the Black Flag Army hid on the walls to endure artillery fire. From time to time, soldiers were thrown off the city walls by artillery fire, and the heavy French artillery fire made them helpless. Then a few old guns returned fire, not to mention that the range was too close to the French army, and the shells fired were solid bullets, which were not lethal at all.

At the battlement of a city wall, several soldiers of the Black Flag Army were lying on the city wall with their heads in their hands, and suddenly a cannonball exploded in the stomping, and the black smoke dispersed. A soldier fell to the ground on his back, black from top to bottom, blood gushing out. Seeing this, one soldier turned pale with fright and began to vomit.

After another explosion, one of the soldier's thighs was gone, and the broken flesh was blurred. The soldier held his broken leg and screamed as he stared at the gurgling blood. Two soldiers came up and carried the wounded soldier off the wall and left him alone, and after a while the soldier shouted weakly and cried for his life. In this era, there was almost no battlefield ambulance, so the battle damage rate was extremely high. If you are shot in the chest, even if you don't die at the time, you will die later without treatment for wound infection.

The French artillery finally stopped, and a counterattack was launched in accordance with the battle jihua, the first standard. With a shout, the first mark launched an attack, and the figure of the Black Flag Army suddenly appeared on the right side of the French army. In this situation, the Black Flag Army's heart was shaken. Huang Shouzhong ordered: When the first standard is killed into the enemy formation, the death squad will attack head-on. Seeing that the first target was approaching the enemy position, the situation suddenly changed drastically, and the figure of a French soldier suddenly appeared in front of the first target.

Obviously, the French army had been prepared for a long time, and they knew very well the operational characteristics of the Black Flag Army. A dense rain of bullets rained down on the Black Flag Army, followed by French machine guns. The Black Flag Army was defeated in pieces, but they still rushed forward to kill, looking at death as if they were home. Huang Shouzhong was anxious when he saw this scene, and it stands to reason that he should have withdrawn his troops, but he ordered the death squad to attack.

The French fought very orderly, shooting while retreating, just not letting the Black Flag Army approach. I couldn't bear to witness the soldiers of the Black Flag Army constantly being knocked down and constantly rushing up. Blood was sprinkled all over the charging road, and if the order for retreat was not given, I am afraid that the Black Flag Army that went up would be killed. After collecting the troops, after inspection, plus the French artillery bombardment, in this round of attacks, the Black Flag Army actually suffered more than 500 casualties, and the casualties of the French army were negligible.

The tactics of both sides were superior, and the French did not take advantage of the situation to attack, but made a feint and withdrew their troops, and the French did not seem to be in a hurry. The romantic Frenchman, under such a fierce battle, actually ate a decent lunch. The next day, the French army did the same, and three days later the French army suddenly strengthened the offens······ive, and 10 days later, Huang Shouzhong was killed by a French shell while commanding the operation. Liu Yongfu was forced to order the front and left battalions to retreat into Hanoi for defense.

It was very tragic, the defensive operation in Hedong, the front battalion paid the price of 1,500 casualties, the key is that Liu Yongfu's ammunition is getting less and less, and retreating into Hanoi is more dangerous.

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