Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 356 The situation escalates

On the evening of February 2, the remaining troops wiped out a black army that intended to advance towards Xialong and captured more than 27 black soldiers.

At noon on February 2, a total of more than 28 French African colonial soldiers, including blacks captured in the suburbs of Halong, were tried and sentenced to death for war crimes and were immediately executed.

On March 3, the Nanyang Army dispatched superior forces to besiege Hanoi. At the same time, Mei Dongxing, in the name of the governors-general of Quang Ninh and Lang Son provinces, wrote to the Annam government, suggesting that while the French colonial army suffered a disastrous defeat and its main forces were besieged by the Nanyang Army in several isolated strongholds such as Hanoi and Haiphong, the main forces in the northern region should be summoned to recover the land occupied by the French and cut off their aggressive tentacles reaching into northern Annam.

When the news of the victory of the Nanyang Army reached Hue, the main officials of the Annan government were greatly encouraged. On March 3, the Hue court issued a commendation document, appointing Mei Dongxing as a second-rank envoy, giving him the title of loyal and brave man, and rewarding him with 5 taels of silver, and also in charge of the defense of the four provinces of Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Bac Giang, and Bac Ninh. …………

All officers above the rank of colonel in the Nanyang Army received promotions and silver rewards from the Annan government. However, in response to Mei Dongxing's suggestion, the Annan government delayed its reply, saying that the matter was too serious and would be discussed later.

As time went on, the impact of the Annan War quickly spread to other parts of the world.

On the mainland, when the news first came that Li Weiye had led the French army to capture Hanoi, a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy submitted a memorial to the emperor, requesting that an official with knowledge of the military be dispatched to control the defense forces of Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan provinces.

The Qing government considered the opinions of its ministers and issued an edict to ministers along the border and the coast on February 2, proposing the idea that "protecting our vassal states and defending our borders are both important." It also sent Li Hongzhang, who had returned home after being exempted from military service, to control and supervise the military affairs of Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan provinces, because "this matter is urgent and must be dealt with in a timely manner. It is urgent to have a minister with prestige and experience in the incident to go and make preparations, so as to boost the military's prestige and take the overall situation into consideration, and the advance and retreat of the defense forces of the three provinces can also be reported to."

In order to prevent Annan from being invaded and occupied by France, the Qing government was forced to make some bluffing deployments and adopt a tough attitude towards France.

However, in the face of the urgent orders of the Qing government, Li Hongzhang, who was in charge of the matter, made a series of memorials, expressing his different opinions on the above decisions of the Qing government. On March 3, Li Hongzhang submitted a memorial entitled "Secretly Reporting on Vietnam's Border Defense Affairs", pointing out that Vietnam's current troubles stemmed from the fact that it secretly signed the 3 treaty with France, thus becoming a French protectorate, and invisibly severing the traditional vassal relationship with China that had existed for a long time. Therefore, it was not appropriate for China to "protect its vassal states" in terms of both reason and situation, and it was advocated that China should stand aside and let Vietnam suffer the consequences.

On March 3, he wrote to the Zongli Yamen again, reiterating the above proposition: Vietnam "brought its own destruction and could not be rescued". Based on this, Li Hongzhang advocated that China abandon the policy of "protecting its vassal states". Li Hongzhang agreed with the decision of "holding the border", but he believed that the geographical environment of Tonkin was complex, "the roads were rugged, the water was poisonous and the wind was bad, and the smoke and miasma did not dissolve all year round". In addition, the remnants of the Taiping Army were entrenched in the north, leading the Chinese army to resist the French there. The French army would not be so easy to annex Tonkin and disturb the Yunnan and Guangxi borders. Therefore, as long as the original deployment was continued and the troops from Yunnan and Guangxi provinces were sent to deter the border, he also emphasized that according to the military strength and national financial situation of the Qing government at that time, the Qing government should not go to war with France to help Vietnam.

"The coastal defense troops of each province are few and short of money, and the navy is not yet trained. We cannot talk about war lightly with the European powers. We must be in the light of the sun. I hope that the wise will not be sensitive to superficial discussions and stir up trouble, which will lead to the overall situation. This is fortunate." Li Hongzhang's suggestion coincided with the real thoughts of the Manchu nobles. On March 3, the Qing government adopted Li Hongzhang's opinion, cancelled his appointment as the commander-in-chief of the military affairs of the three provinces, and ordered him to return to his post as the Minister of Beiyang. This meant that the Qing government had essentially retreated from the position of "helping Vietnam to resist France and protecting its vassal states."

On March 3, after learning that the Nanyang Army had completely wiped out the French colonial army in northern Annam and surrounded the French white army,

The Qing government acted contrary to its usual practice.
On the one hand, because they were worried that the Nanyang Corps' actions would anger the French, causing the French government to become angry and send a large army to invade the mainland, they ordered Zhang Zhaodong, Liu Bingzhang and other officials in the southern coastal areas to strengthen coastal defense construction to prevent attacks from French warships.

On the other hand, the Annan government was reprimanded for not allowing the remnants of the Taiping Army to provoke the French in the Beiban area, otherwise the Qing court would no longer endorse Annan's security status.

Unlike the Qing government's approach of tolerance and retreat, when the news of the defeat in Annan reached the mainland, the French Parliament unanimously passed a proposal to send reinforcements to rescue the besieged French troops.

The Franco-Prussian War in 1871 made the French lose face in Europe. In order to restore the national image, the French were like a gambler who had lost all his money. Regardless of the explanation of the Han diplomats who came to negotiate, they replied viciously, "The current situation is not 1871. The Han government must immediately withdraw your troops in northern Annam and stop the shameful sneak attacks and hostile actions against the French army..."

On March 1881, 3, French Foreign Minister Chamelacourt instructed diplomats who were negotiating with the Han Dynasty in South America: "The combat effectiveness of the Han army is beyond our expectations. The previous intelligence about the low combat effectiveness of the Han army in the Annan region is completely inconsistent with the reality. You should use multiple channels to obtain intelligence on the real combat effectiveness of the Han army as soon as possible, so as to provide reference for the central government to formulate policies towards the Han country."

In order to cater to the French Parliament's arrogance and contempt for the Han Dynasty, the French diplomats stationed in South America replied: "The so-called combat effectiveness of the Han army is very exaggerated. The combat effectiveness of their local regular army is at most on par with the combat effectiveness of the second-rate French colonial army.
Moreover, the Han army is mainly concentrated in the mainland. The number of troops stationed in Annan is limited, and their supplies rely on ocean transportation. They do not have the ability to sustain combat. If the Republic Army can send two to three thousand regular troops from the mainland to support the Governor-General's Office of Cochinchina, the myth of the Han Nanyang Corps' false combat effectiveness will be punctured. "

The report of the French embassy officials abroad strongly belittled the military strength of the Han Dynasty, saying: "The difference in strength between the Han and French land and sea forces has been strangely exaggerated by my predecessor. If we take strong action in Annan, we will see the Chinese bandits retreat in front of us. If we decide to make a naval containment operation, we will be able to inflict the most serious damage on the Chinese army."

(End of this chapter)