Hue in the Han Dynasty was once the jurisdiction of Jiaozhou Ri Nan County, the ancient name of Lu Rong County, after the Eastern Jin Dynasty was no longer owned by China, was taken by the southern state of Linyi, that is, later the state of Zhancheng. In the 14th century, the King of Champa offered Hue as a dowry to the Emperor of the Tran Dynasty, known as "Da Viet", and the Tran Dynasty renamed it Shunzhou and Hoa Chau. At the beginning of the 15th century, the Ming Dynasty occupied Vietnam and merged Thuan and Hoa Chau into Hue Province, which was subordinate to the Cochin Cloth Administration, which is the origin of Hue's name.

As the largest city in the central part of the Indochina Peninsula, Hue Province was designated as the capital by the Nguyen court that occupied the south during the decades of civil strife in Annam, and it was also the political, economic, and cultural center of the entire South Vietnamese region. The city was less than 20 miles from the coast, and the Hai Han militia, intent on a quick victory, naturally made Hue Province the first target of the extermination of the South Vietnamese regime.

Of course, Hue Province is not completely defenseless, as the capital of the small southern court, there are nearly 30,000 garrisons stationed inside and outside Hue City. On the surface of the Xiang River, which originates in the Truong Son Mountains and flows north into the sea from the south of Hue City, also retains the last formed unit of the South Vietnamese Naval Army. Although this naval force basically does not have the ability to go to sea to fight, it can still play a certain deterrent role in the early warning of coastal and inland river patrols.

Wu Sen, who is now 34 years old in Chinese New Year's Eve, is a staff general of this water army, and although his position is not low, he can currently directly command less than 100 combat personnel. This is because the South Vietnamese naval corps suffered heavy losses in last year's engagement, and has not been able to recover until now, although the strength of this force has shrunk by at least three or four times compared with its heyday, the original military attache posts have not been reduced because of this, and the ten officers and staff officers who were originally stationed in the four harbor cities are now forced to divide the command of this part of the naval army on the Xiang River like beggars.

Wu Sen had been stationed in Hoi An Harbor before that, and when the Hai Han militia attacked Hoi An in late last summer, he lost seventy percent of his men and almost all of his ships on the Thu Bon River. Although Wu Sen was not demoted because of the defeat after the war, it was difficult to restore the glory of the past, and for the time being, he could only be the head of the army patrolling the river on the Xiangjiang River, and in the past, this kind of thing was the responsibility of a junior officer such as the general, and there was no need for the general to do it himself.

Of course, the officers hoped that the military department could restore the establishment of the navy as much as possible, after all, Annam was a country bordering the sea, and if the long coastline was not guarded by the navy, it would be no different from opening the door to thieves. Moreover, the South Vietnamese naval army had suffered repeated setbacks in the previous year's confrontation with the Haihan militia, which made the officers hold back a fire in their hearts, hoping that they would rebuild the navy as much as possible before separating themselves from the hated Haihan.

However, although the wish is good, the reality is very cruel, Dong Hai and Hoi An shipyards are the manufacture of South Vietnamese naval warships, both were destroyed last year under the offensive of the Hai Han militia, Hoi An City has even become a ruined city, and some shipbuilders have also been taken captive by the Hai Han militia. It would take at least a year to rebuild the shipyard, and with the Portuguese who had promised to help go back on their word by the end of last year, and the deteriorating economic situation under South Vietnamese rule, the Army's plan to rebuild the navy was already in the distant distance.

There is no ambition but no way to serve the country, this is Wu Sen's biggest feeling at present. At present, there are only about fifty or sixty ships belonging to the navy on the Xiangjiang River, and more than half of them are inland river flat-bottomed cargo ships that cannot go to sea. For example, Wu Sen's current ship is a river cargo ship that was fortunately preserved after the Battle of Hoi An, and the owner of the ship saw that the situation was not good and sailed the ship to the upper reaches of the Thu Bon River early, which escaped. However, after the war, the Ministry of War ordered the recruitment of civilian ships to rebuild the sailors, and the ship was naturally requisitioned by the authorities.

But such a three-foot-long and seven-foot-long cargo ship is now one of the largest ships on the Xiangjiang River. Wu Sen looked at the surrounding river, most of them were small fishing boats about two zhang long, and they also needed to be paddled by manpower, this kind of boat was okay for patrolling, and it was a joke to compete with the huge hull and powerful Haihan warship. Wu Sen couldn't help but think of the scene when the warships of the Haihan People's Regiment crushed their own warships on the Qiupen River last year, and couldn't help but close his eyes in pain.

In the last month or so, not a single big ship that had previously gone out in the waters near the Xiangjiang River has returned, and it seems that most of them have been more than lucky, and they have been intercepted by Haihan warships in the open sea. Recently, the sailor boats responsible for patrolling outside the mouth of the Xiangjiang River have discovered the traces of Haihan warships one after another, which makes Wu Sen have an ominous premonition in his heart.

As a naval general, Wu Sen knew very well how far away Hue Province was from Qiongzhou Island, where the Haihan people were located, and that a long-term naval blockade by Haihan warships at the mouth of the Xiangjiang River would inevitably require a large number of warships, which meant that they might have more ships stationed in nearby waters than is known now, and to achieve such a blockade effect, it was impossible to rely entirely on the real-time supply of Qiongzhou Island. As for why the Haihan people went to great lengths to blockade the sea off Hue Province, Vu Sen only thought of one possibility, that is, to pave the way for the next large-scale attack on Hue Province. After all, the mouth of the Xiangjiang River is only a dozen miles away from Hue City, and if you go upriver by water, the voyage is only about 30 miles, and the Haihan people must have enough ability to attack Hue City from the sea, but the existing South Vietnamese naval forces do not have enough combat power to prevent the Haihan people from launching such an offensive.

Wu Sen dutifully wrote down his judgments and speculations to his superiors, but it didn't help. This is not because the chief soldier in charge of the water defense of the Xiangjiang River does not pay enough attention to the possible crisis, but that there is no feasible solution at all in the current situation.

Knowing that the enemy was on the sea not far from Hue City, the South Vietnamese military did not drive the Haihan warships away from this sea area, and even the small boats sent to monitor the other side had to be kept at a relatively safe distance, so as not to be destroyed by the enemy. As for setting up a defensive line on the Xiang River, there is no need to have extravagant hopes, if these existing small boats can prevent the Haihan people from penetrating deep into the Xiang River, then officers like Vu Sen will not have to worry about the danger facing Hue City.

What the South Vietnamese military department can do now is to mobilize as many troops as possible in the area under its jurisdiction to strengthen the city defenses near Hue City, and as for the relatively weak water defenses, they can basically only resign themselves to fate. This arrangement made Wu Sen and his colleagues fall into a deep sense of powerlessness, as soldiers they are not afraid to fight for the country, even die on the battlefield, but if the resistance has become completely useless, then is there really any point in dying like this?

"Lord Qiqi, the patrol ship outside the mouth of the river has issued an early warning signal, and it is suspected that an enemy ship is coming!"

The urgent military situation reported by his subordinates woke Vu Sen from his sorrow, and he immediately gave an order: "Send ships to revisit! Raise the banner and put all the troops into battle readiness! In addition, immediately send someone to send the news back to Hue City!"

The soldier hoisted a red flag on the mast of the ship to warn his companions on the surrounding river. Half an hour later, further news finally came back - two fleets of more than ten ships had appeared in the sea near the mouth of the Xiangjiang River, each with a lineup of more than ten ships, coming from the north and south directions. Although neither fleet has flagged the flag, some people have already identified it as the Haihan Naval Division that attacked Hoi An Fortress in August last year, but the size of the fleet is much larger than last year's attack.

"This day has finally come!" Wu Sen of course understood that the Haihan people had not sent so many warships to show off their might to the imperial court, and since the envoy sent to Shengli Harbor for peace talks last year brought back the ultimatum of the Haihan Executive Committee, both the government and the opposition had understood that it would inevitably lead to a war with the Haihan people in the end. Although the Hai Han did not immediately launch a military attack on South Vietnam after the 30-day time limit, everyone knew that the day was only a matter of time, and that since the Hai Han had already destroyed Hoi An City, there was no reason to spare any other place.

The only way to avoid war was to abdicate the "puppet emperor" and dissolve the small court of Hue, as demanded by the Haihan, but this was an impossible compromise for those in power in Hue. Whether it's out of a thirst for power or an unrelenting pride, this battle must be fought to the end, and despite the formidable opponents, Hue does not see itself as having the slightest chance of winning.

Based on the situation of many battles, the South Vietnamese War Department could determine that the scale of the Hai Han militia was not large, and based on the information gathered through various channels at hand, it was inferred that the size of its combat force was only three or four thousand at best. The Ministry of War believes that the reason why the Haihan militia is so powerful is completely dependent on firearms with huge lethality. The South Vietnamese troops, who were still using a large number of cold weapons, could hardly have only one defeat and retreat in the field against the Hai Han militia with long-range weapons and high lethal efficiency, but if the battle was near Hue City and the defensive strategy of shrinking was implemented, the situation would have been different.

The South Vietnamese military department itself has also set up firearms troops, and they are very clear about the pros and cons of this new type of army, although its combat effectiveness is indeed much stronger than that of traditional troops, but its disadvantages are also very obvious, that is, the dependence on logistics baggage is very strict, and if the supply of ammunition cannot keep up, then the new army armed with burning sticks is even better than the traditional troops using cold weapons. However, the Hai Han people attacked Hue across the sea, and the material supply needed to be transferred from land to sea and then from sea to land, and the supplies needed for thousands of people to fight would undoubtedly be an important factor restricting their combat effectiveness, and the South Vietnamese military headquarters believed that as long as they could hold Hue City and drag on the war, the huge logistical pressure would be enough to directly affect the combat effectiveness of the Hai Han militia.

Another advantage of the South Vietnamese military headquarters was the defensive superiority of Hue itself. Hue City is located on the north bank of the Xiangjiang River, with a radius of 16 miles, this ancient city with a thousand-year history has been continuously repaired and operated for dozens of generations, and can be called one of the best fortified cities on the Indochina Peninsula, with a moat three zhang wide surrounding the whole city, and two moats inside and outside are built in the east, north and west directions. The city wall is more than two zhang high, the bluestone wall is solid and thick, all kinds of city defense facilities are readily available on the city wall, and a total of 24 fortress-type forts were built in various parts of the city wall with the help of the Portuguese in the first two years, which can be described as both offensive and defensive. Not only that, there is also an inner city in the city that imitates the Ming Imperial Palace, this inner city is five miles in circumference, the city wall regulation is exactly the same as the outer city, and there is even a slightly smaller moat around the city for a week, if necessary, the defending troops can completely abandon the outer city to stick to the inner city, in order to reduce the defense area. Compared with the Thang Long Mansion City in the north, Hue City is much better than the other side in terms of defensive conditions except for the slightly shorter city walls.

The southeast and southeast of Hue City are close to the Xiang River, and it is impossible to gather large forces on the narrow river beach outside the city, and it is impossible for the attackers to attack from these two directions, so the defenders can concentrate their defensive forces in the northwest and two directions. If the attacking side transported troops and supplies through the Guò Xiang River waterway, then the west side of Hue City would have to go around a large circle of more than ten miles longer than the north side, and as long as the attacking commander's brain was not broken, then choosing the north side of Hue City as the main attack direction would almost become the only choice.

The last substantial help that the Portuguese left to the Ministry of War before leaving Hue was to design a system of defensive positions outside the city for the Ministry of War. This defensive position, consisting of dense trenches, small forts, and prismatic defensive lines, would undoubtedly create no small problems for any invading army. The Portuguese had already anticipated before the evacuation of South Vietnam that Hai Han would sooner or later come to Hue with his troops, and this was certainly not a good idea - no matter who won or lost in this offensive and defensive battle, this defensive position would certainly greatly increase the attrition of both warring sides.

The Portuguese military advisers even optimistically told the South Vietnamese military headquarters that if the military headquarters could build a defensive offensive of a corresponding scale outside the city in full accordance with the plan, even if it did not transfer troops from other areas to defend itself, the local garrison alone would have a great hope of keeping the Hai Han militia out. Therefore, after the evacuation of the Portuguese, the military department also held the mentality of a dead horse as a live horse doctor, and immediately mobilized tens of thousands of people to build a defensive position on the plain north of the city.

After more than three months of non-stop construction, a defensive position seven miles wide and three miles deep appeared in the north of the city. The position was filled with a dizzying array of ravines, masonry bunkers, horse pits, wooden walls, and a variety of permanent and movable barricades, and was staffed by 7,000 elite officers and soldiers loyal to the South Vietnamese court. Even if the Haihan militia has the advantage of weapons, if you want to sweep this area with weapons alone, it is not something that can be achieved overnight.

In addition, a large area of fortified fields was cleared in the northwest and northwest directions outside Hue, and all the residents within 10 miles of the city were relocated, even the houses were demolished cleanly, and all the wells were filled. Trees that were more than arm's length were cut down to prevent the enemy from using them to make siege equipment. At that time, if the enemy who arrives in this area wants to get supplies in this area, I am afraid that they can only dig up the roots of the grass and dig earthworms.

As for the actual state of Hue City, not only did the Haihan people not know, the North Vietnamese did not know, and even the Portuguese who proposed this reconstruction plan did not know - of course, even if they knew, they would not have kindly informed the Haihan about it, and the more these parties fought each other, the more it would be in their interests.

However, compared with the city defense system inside and outside Hue City, which was pinned on by the Ministry of War, the naval division troops deployed near the mouth of the Xiangjiang River were almost equivalent to cannon fodder. The main role of the military department in this place is to give early warning, that is, to create as much trouble as possible for the enemy attacking from the sea, and delay their time, so that Hue City can have more time to prepare for battle.

After a long wait, Wu Sen finally saw a hill-like Haihan warship appear on the water at the mouth of the Xiangjiang River. Compared with the Haihan warships with a length of nearly 20 zhang, these sailor boats on the river that are ready to fight are like toys. But Wu Sen did not retreat, he knew that he had no way to retreat, if he lost the Xiangjiang, he, the general of the sailor, would have no reason to continue to survive, so he was ready early in the morning to die with the hateful Haihan warship.

All the ships deployed here by the South Vietnamese Navy Division were equipped with dry firewood, tung oil and other ignitions, and all of them were equipped with large iron nails with a length of one foot on the bow, the purpose of which was to rush over and ignite the fire when the Haihan fleet attacked the Xiang River. Even if the Haihan warship has a strong artillery fire, it is not easy to deal with a small boat like a maggot attached to the bone in the inland river. Wu Sen didn't expect to defeat the powerful Haihan people with this kind of trick, but as long as he burned one or two Haihan warships, then the lives of himself and his sailors would be worth it.

Wu Sen stood at the bow of the boat, staring dead at the mouth of the Xiangjiang River a few miles away, and only waited for the Haihan warship to sail into the river, then he would raise the flag and lead the brothers to launch a suicidal charge. Today, God is also beautiful, the northeast wind is blowing, and the wind will help the fire, which will definitely make the Haihan people remember this unforgettable lesson...... But why did the Haihan warship not sail into the river, but stopped at the shore?

When Wu Sen was at a loss, he didn't know that on the Haihan warship in the distance, his opponent was watching his fleet with a high-powered military binocular.

"The formation is all lined up, it seems that they are planning to give us a Banzai charge!" Qiao Zhiya sneered disdainfully: "Do you want to wait for our ship to enter the river and then attack, when we are stupid?" "Banzai charge is a trick of little Japan, you don't want to wear it." Wang Tom smiled and corrected Qiao Zhiya's statement: "Their ship is small, and they don't have any other means of warfare, so they can probably only play with fireboats." "However, the wise lieutenant has already seen through it. Qiao Zhiya laughed and said, "These monkeys should be dumbfounded by now?"