Writer 1879: Solitary Journey in France

Chapter 391 Red River Bank and Black Flag Army!
Northern Greece, this humid and hot land in the Red River Delta, is also swallowing up France's ambitions for expansion in the Far East.

In July 1881, the Red River basin was sweltering like a steamer, with dense tropical rainforests forming an endless green wall that squeezed the winding riverbed.

The surveying team, led by Lieutenant Engineer Dupont, was trekking about 30 kilometers upstream from Hanoi, and sweat had already soaked the stiff collar of his blue military uniform.

The heat and humidity slowed everyone's movements, and the military uniforms clung tightly to their bodies, like a damp, cold shroud.

He led twelve soldiers and four Vietnamese porters on a mission to survey the hydrology and topography of this section of the Red River and to create maps for subsequent military operations.

However, this land is rife with hostility.

A sergeant holding a compass reported impatiently, "Lieutenant, the compass is malfunctioning again!"

The iron-rich rock formations here often disrupt the magnetic field.

DuPont spat: "Keep moving, but be on guard!"

The soldiers, rifles at their sides, vigilantly scanned the dense jungle on either side.

Here, vines entwine and tree canopies block out the sun, severely obstructing the view, so even the slightest breeze or movement makes one's heart pound.

The porters followed silently behind, their eyes downcast, revealing no emotion.

Suddenly, a short cry of alarm came from ahead, followed by a muffled thud as a person fell to the ground.

DuPont demanded sharply, "What's going on?" and then charged forward, pistol in hand.

The vanguard at the very front lay dead by the roadside, a rough bamboo arrow lodged in his throat, its fletching still trembling slightly.

He didn't even have time to shout.

"Enemy attack! Take cover!"

Almost at the same time that DuPont's center-back issued the warning, gunshots rang out like popping beans from the reeds on the river and from the depths of the dense forest on the bank.

Bullets whizzed by, hitting tree trunks and the ground with a thud.

"Bang! Bang!"

A soldier hiding behind a tree had just peeked out to try to fight back when a burst of blood erupted from his forehead, and he fell backward without a sound.

An old soldier cried out in terror, "The Black Flag Army! It's the Black Flag Army!"

He lay face down in the mud, not daring to lift his head, let alone fire back.

Lieutenant DuPont's heart pounded. He couldn't see a single enemy, only wisps of white smoke from gun barrels and a fleeting figure in the dense forest.

He tried to organize a counterattack, but the soldiers were pinned down in a small area and unable to aim effectively.

DuPont realized that staying there would only make them easy targets: "Retreat! Move towards the river!"

The surviving soldiers fired wildly into the jungle as they scrambled back towards the riverbank.

Another soldier was shot in the back while running and collapsed on the bank of the murky river.

When they finally retreated to a relatively open area on the riverbank and took a headcount, DuPont's heart sank to the bottom.

Of the twelve soldiers, four died and two were wounded, one of whom was seriously injured.

The four Vietnamese porters, along with their surveying equipment and supplies, have long since disappeared.

The attackers did not pursue, and the gunfire stopped abruptly, just as it had begun.

The jungle fell silent again, with only the sound of the flowing Red River and the groans of the wounded bearing witness to what had just happened.

Lieutenant DuPont looked at his comrade's corpse on the ground and felt a wave of dizziness and shame.

They couldn't even make out the enemy's appearance; like a pack of clumsy wild beasts, they had fallen into a carefully laid trap.

This surveying mission was a complete failure.

------

Similar reports continue to come from various parts of northern Taiwan.

French patrols and surveying teams could be attacked without warning if they strayed too far from their main strongholds.

With the tacit approval of the Vietnamese government, the Black Flag Army roamed the Red River Delta like ghosts. They knew every inch of the land and every jungle, and the local people provided them with information and cover.

The military was forced to order a halt to further inland exploration, reducing its activity to areas with fewer data points.

However, shrinking the defenses did not bring security.

The Black Flag Army and the local Vietnamese militia gradually expanded their operations to the transportation lines on which the French army depended for survival.

The Red River waterway, connecting Hanoi and Haiphong ports, and its adjacent land routes became a new battlefield.

On an August evening, three transport ships, escorted by the shallow-draft gunboat "Arnhem," were slowly sailing along the Red River waterway from Haiphong to Hanoi.

Suddenly, several large, protruding logs appeared at a bend in the river ahead, half-submerged and half-floating, blocking part of the waterway.

The gunboat captain immediately ordered, "Slow down! Watch out for obstacles!"

Just as the sailors were preparing to clear the obstacles, dozens of tongues of fire suddenly spewed out from the jungles and reeds on both banks.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Bullets rained down on the fleet like hail.

Most of the bullets were aimed at the lead ship, the "Arnhem," striking its steel hull with a clanging sound and sending sparks flying.

Some bullets were also fired at the unarmored transport ship.

The gunboat captain's shout came through the megaphone: "Enemy attack! All personnel in position! Open fire!"

The small-caliber rapid-fire guns on the sides of the HMS Arnhem and the machine guns on the deck began to roar, firing fiercely at suspicious positions on both banks.

The shells exploded, sending up towering columns of water and debris, while machine gun bullets swept across, snapping branches and leaves that fell like rain.

But the attackers were extremely cunning; they were scattered across a wide area and quickly changed positions after firing a few shots.

Although the French army had fierce firepower, it was difficult to effectively kill the enemy.

The helmsman of a transport ship was hit by a stray bullet, and the ship lost control, slowly running aground on the shallows near the shore.

The soldiers on the ship frantically returned fire towards the shore, but sniper fire from the dense forest kept taking them down.

The battle lasted for about twenty minutes, after which the attackers' gunfire gradually subsided and eventually disappeared completely.

The Black Flag Army did not seem to be seeking to eliminate the French, but rather to harass and sabotage them, so they withdrew after damaging a transport ship.

Ultimately, the battle resulted in the grounding of a French transport ship, killing seven people and injuring fifteen, including several sailors in key positions.

Although most of the supplies were preserved, the delivery time was greatly delayed, and morale was severely damaged.

Similar attacks occurred frequently between July and August.

French transport convoys and reconnaissance teams marching along the riverbanks were frequently targeted.

The Red River, once considered the golden waterway to southwest China, has now become a nightmare corridor for the French army.

The Black Flag Army's banner, like a ghostly curse, fluttered over the Delta, while France's "Tokyo Plan" struggled to make progress.

Newly appointed General Li Weiye, in his headquarters in Cochinchina, frowned as he faced a series of loss reports and requests for assistance.

His initial ambitions have been overshadowed by a thick layer of shadow.

------

The air in the council chamber of Bourbon Palace was so heavy it seemed like you could wring water out of it.

The giant chandelier cast a cold light, illuminating faces that were serious, angry, or anxious.

Jules Ferry stood on the podium, his back slowly soaked with sweat; before him stood the menacing members of parliament.

He cleared his throat, his voice echoing in the spacious hall:

"Gentlemen, citizens, based on the latest developments in North Africa, in order to safeguard France's legitimate interests in Tunisia and ensure the implementation of the Bardo Treaty, I urge Parliament to consider and pass a supplementary budget for military expenditures to support our necessary military operations and subsequent governance in the region."

"The additional amount is twenty million francs..."

(End of this chapter)