Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 177 Preparing for War
Chen Shangfa led his troops to capture Ding Fugui who had returned secretly, and found 40 taels of silver on him. Ding Fugui was penniless before he took refuge in Xialong, but now he was carrying a large sum of silver, which further confirmed the correctness of the information said by Wang Gousheng.

After being caught with all the evidence and being beaten up on the spot, Ding Fugui immediately confessed and admitted to being a traitor to the Annan officials.

In a large tent, Chen Shangfa pulled the bruised and swollen Ding Fugui over with one hand, looked at Sun Bin and said, "This guy sold out more than 10,000 of us for a few dozen taels of silver. What should we do now? Mr. Sun, give us some advice!"

Chen Shangfa was a reckless person and was used to speaking his mind. Sun Bin did not respond to him but turned to look at Ye Chenglin.

"Did the brothers who went out to investigate get any news?"

"Sir, a large number of Annan troops are gathering in the direction of Haiphong Province south of Halong, and all roads from Halong to other areas are under martial law."

"How many enemy troops are there? How well-equipped are the troops?"

"The time for investigation is tight, so I and my brother did not get too close to investigate. However, the Annan army camp stretches for dozens of miles, and a rough estimate is that the number of troops exceeds 10,000.

According to observation, most of the Annan troops on the periphery are equipped with old-style muzzle-loading rifles, and some are equipped with cold weapons such as swords, guns, bows and arrows. As for the troops equipped with breech-loading rifles, they have not been found for the time being due to lack of in-depth investigation. "

"The French intend to annex Annan and restrict European countries from selling advanced weapons to Annan. According to the intelligence of the Haiphong Province army collected during normal times, the troops equipped with breech-loading rifles under the governor of Haiphong will not exceed 500 people." Sun Bin analyzed the true strength of the Annan army based on the intelligence provided by various parties: "The governor of Haiphong, Li Yu, controls the two provinces of Haiphong and Quang Yen. The total number of regular troops in the two provinces is about 10,000. There is no sign of the army being dispatched in Haiyang Province, which shows that the action of the Annan military uniform was not the will of the Hue court, but the action of the governor of Haiphong alone.

Haiphong Province was an important trading port in northern Annan. Li Yu's finances were more affluent than those of inland provinces by extracting commercial taxes from the port. However, the bulk of the commercial profits were taken away by the French. After deducting the amount submitted to the Hue court and the salaries paid to officials at all levels from the fiscal revenue, not much of Li Yu's money was spent on the army.

Some time ago, Li Yu led the coastal defense forces to encircle and suppress Wu Yazhong's armed forces. In the end, not only did he fail to wipe out Wu Yazhong, but his troops also lost thousands of troops. From this point of view, the combat effectiveness of Li Yu's troops is not as good as that of the peasant army with the same strength. In the Halong area, excluding the 300 people stationed on Natuna Island, our troops have a total of 1,200 young and strong soldiers, 1,000 Dreiser breech-loading rifles, 500 old-style muskets, and 2,700 young and strong men who can be mobilized in an emergency, so the total force that can be mobilized is nearly 4,000. Four thousand people against ten thousand Annan officers and soldiers with weak fighting will, the chances of victory are on our side. "

Before the battle, morale should be boosted rather than let down. When analyzing the strength comparison between the enemy and us, Sun Bin deliberately highlighted the advantages of his own troops and the disadvantages of the Annan troops, while deliberately ignoring and not mentioning the advantages of the Annan troops fighting at home.

"The troops of Haiphong Province have been mobilized near Halong. Their hinterland must be empty. Our army should take advantage of the fact that the Annan troops are unaware that we have learned of their intentions in advance. Instead of confronting the Annan main force head-on, our army should rush into the hinterland of Haiphong Province and wipe out their lair in one fell swoop."

Fleeting warfare was a common tactic used by the peasant army. Not long after Sun Bin finished speaking, Wu Fengdian proposed his own combat plan.

"The main force of our army is out, and there are no troops left in the camp. What should the old and young who are left in the camp do?"

Chen Zongbai retorted.

"All the old and young in the camp should retreat to the mountains, and the Halong camp will be left to the Annan troops. After our main force successfully raids the rear of Haiphong, we can gather the old and young and choose a new place to set up the camp."

"Captain Wu's idea is good, but abandoning the Halong camp and sending nearly 10,000 people, young and old, fleeing into the mountains is too costly."

Sun Bin spoke up to stop the two from arguing, saying, "Our army is a regular field force, and we cannot choose to fight without a rear base when we encounter the enemy as we did in the past.

Our army has been based in Annam for more than a month, training soldiers and defending the land of Ha Long. We have not expanded our influence outward not because we are really afraid of the Annam troops in Haiphong and Quang Yen provinces, but to rescue as many Chinese compatriots as possible who are stranded in various parts of Annam.

The Governor of Haifang is now hostile to our army for no reason and wants to wipe us out. Under such circumstances, there is no possibility of reconciliation between the two sides. Therefore, I decided that since the Annan troops are unkind, we should not blame us for being unjust. If the Annan troops want to fight, we should make a big move, eliminate the Annan troops under Li Yu, and take Guang'an and Haining provinces from the Annan people as our territory. "

"Mr. Sun, you are so straightforward. We brothers have long wanted to stop staying in this small place called Halong. If you give the order, we will attack the damn Annan bastards right away!" "No hurry. Our army is small in number. If we forcefully attack the Annan camp, we will suffer heavy losses. Let's wait for two more days. We will fight the Annan troops in front of the Halong camp with our entire army!"

"Yes, sir!" All the officers in the tent immediately stood up and saluted, waiting for Sun Bin's specific orders.

"Chen Shangfa!"

"I'm here." Chen Shangfa stepped forward and bowed.

"The mountain battalion will defend the high ground west of the camp. When the main force counterattacks, the mountain battalion will cooperate with the troops to attack the flank of the Annan troops. The mountain battalion will rest for half a day and will set off at noon today with three days of dry food for each person."

"Chen Shangfa obeys the order!"

"Chen Zongbai, Wu Fengdian, you two lead your troops to build a defense line in front of the camp immediately!"

"As ordered!"

"Ye Chenglin, gather all the young and strong men in the camp. The old muskets in stock should be distributed to those with combat experience first. The young and strong men without weapons should cut down trees, cut them into long sticks, and tie up their weapons with hatchets and iron spearheads.

The First Battalion and the assembled young men will form a reserve force, ready to fight at any time! "

"I obey your orders!"...

The order to prepare for war was issued, and all the young and old in the camp were mobilized to dig trenches and strengthen the camp's defenses. On the other hand, Li Yu, the governor of Annan's coastal defense, also received news from Ding Fugui.

"Tang Shang Sun Bin will go out to sea immediately today. May God help me to wipe out the rebels!"

Li Yu was in a good mood after scanning the contents of the letter. He immediately ordered: "Tran Wu Yuan, listen to my orders! In two days, the entire army will attack and wipe out the rebellion in Ha Long in one battle!"

"Sir, only half of the militia from Haiphong and Guang'an provinces have arrived, and the rest are still on the way. Do you think you should wait a little longer?"

"They are just a few militias. They are here just to follow the soldiers and generals and reap the credit!"

Inside the government office, a fat general said proudly, "Don't worry, Governor. A mere thousand refugees and bandits can be crushed in no time by an army of ten thousand!"

"Good! The country needs a strong and brave general like General Chen. After this battle, I will recommend General Chen for merit and ask His Majesty to appoint General Chen as the governor of a province!"

"Thank you, Governor, for the promotion." The fat general looked happy and said a few nice words. Then he hurried to the military camp to arrange all preparations before the battle.

(End of this chapter)