Chen Shangfa led his troops to capture Ding Fugui, who had secretly returned, and found forty taels of silver from him. Ding Fugui was impoverished before taking refuge in Halong, and now he carries a large sum of money with him, which further confirms the accuracy of Wang Goucheng's information.
After being beaten up on the spot, Ding Fugui immediately confessed and admitted that he had acted as an internal agent for Annan officials.
In a large tent, Chen Shangfa pulled Ding Fugui, who had been beaten with a black nose and swollen eyes, and looked at Sun Bin and said: "This guy sold all of us, more than 10,000 people, for dozens of taels of silver. What should we do now, Mr. Sun?"
You have an idea!"
Chen Shangfa had a reckless temper and was used to speaking outspokenly. Sun Bin did not reply to his words after hearing this, and turned to look at Ye Chenglin.
"Did the brother detective who went out to investigate hear anything?"
"Sir, a large number of Annan troops have gathered south of Halong in the direction of Haiphong Province, and all roads leading from Halong to other areas are under martial law."
"How many people are there in the enemy army? How are the troops equipped?"
"The investigation time is tight, and my subordinates and brothers did not get too close to investigate. However, the Annan army camp stretches for dozens of miles, and it is roughly estimated that the number of troops exceeds 10,000.
According to observations, most of the Annan troops on the periphery are equipped with old-fashioned muzzle-loading guns, and some troops are equipped with cold weapons such as swords, guns, bows and arrows. As for the troops equipped with breech-loading guns, they have not been discovered 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 military intelligence of the Coast Defense Province that is usually investigated, the number of troops equipped with breech-loading guns under the Governor of Coast Defense will not exceed 500." Sun Bin based on information provided by all parties.
The intelligence provided analyzed the true strength of Annan's troops: "The Governor of Haiphong, Le Yu, controls Haiphong and Quang An provinces. The total number of regular troops in the two provinces is about 10,000. There is no sign of troops dispatched by Hai Duong Province, indicating that Annan's military uniforms
The action was not the will of the Hue court, but the independent action of the Governor of Coastal Defense.
Haiphong Province is an important trading port in the north of Annam. By extracting port commercial tax revenue, Le Thuy is better off than the mainland provinces. However, most of the commercial interests were taken away by the French. The fiscal revenue obtained by Le Thuy was deducted and handed over to the Hue court and distributed
Not much of the salaries given to officials at all levels will be spent on the military.
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 Wu Yazhong fail to be wiped out, but his troops also lost thousands of troops. From this point of view, the combat effectiveness of Li Yu's troops was not as good as that of the peasant army of the same strength.
In addition to the 300 people stationed on Natuna Island in the Halong area, our unit has a total of 1,200 young and strong soldiers, 1,000 Dreiser breech-loading rifles, and 500 old-fashioned muskets. In addition, in the state of emergency, we can
With the 2,700 young men recruited, the total force that can be mobilized is nearly 4,000. With 4,000 men against 10,000 Annan officers and soldiers who are weak in fighting will, the chance of victory is on our side."
Before the battle, morale could not be lowered. While analyzing the strength comparison between the enemy and ourselves, Sun Bin deliberately highlighted the advantages of his own troops and the disadvantages of Annan's troops, but deliberately ignored and did not mention the advantages of Annan's troops fighting at home.
"As Haiphong Province's troops are mobilized near Ha Long, their hinterland will inevitably be empty. It is better for our army to take advantage of the fact that Annan's troops do not know that our army has learned their intentions in advance, and instead of confronting Annan's main force head-on, the whole army rushes into the hinterland of Haiphong Province.
, destroyed their nest in one fell swoop.”
Wandering combat is a common combat method used by the peasant army. Shortly 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 will happen to the old and young people who are left in the camp?"
Chen Zongbai retorted.
"All the old and young in the camp retreated into the mountains, and the Ha Long camp was left to the Annan army. After our main force successfully raided the rear of the coastal defense, we would have to gather the old and young to choose a new place to build the camp."
"Camp Commander Wu has a good idea, but the cost of abandoning the Halong camp and causing nearly ten thousand people, old and young, to flee into the mountains and forests would be too high."
Sun Bin stopped the argument between the two and said: "Our army is a regular field force and cannot choose to flee without a rear when encountering the enemy like in the past.
Our army has been based in Annam for more than a month, training soldiers, and guarding the land of Ha Long without expanding outward. The force is not really afraid of the Annan troops in Haiphong and Quang'an provinces, but to rescue as many Chinese compatriots living in Annam as possible.
.
At present, the Governor of Coastal Defense is an enemy of our army for no reason and wants to kill us all. In this case, there is no possibility of reconciliation between the two parties. Therefore, I decided that since the Annan army is unkind, don't blame us for being unjust. The Annan army wants to fight, and we
Let’s expand the battlefield, wipe out the Annan troops under Le Yu, and seize Guang’an and Haining provinces from the Annan people as our territory.”
"Mr. Sun, please be happy. Brothers no longer want to stay in a small place like Ha Long. You give the order and we will attack the stubborn Annan turtle grandson right now!"
"Don't worry, our army is not large in number, and we will suffer a lot of losses by forcibly attacking the Annan army camp. Wait two days, and the whole army will fight against the Annan army in front of the Halong camp!"
"Yes!" All the officers in the tent immediately stood up and saluted, waiting for Sun Bin's specific order.
"Chen Shangfa!"
"I'm here." Chen Shangfa took a step forward and said, cupping his hands.
"The mountain camp defends the high ground to the west of the camp. When the main force counterattacks, it will cooperate with the troops to attack the flanks of the Annan army. The mountain camp will rest for half a day. Each person will set off at noon today with three days of dry food."
"Chen Shangfa takes the order!"
"Chen Zongbai, Wu Fengdian, you two will lead your troops and immediately build a defense line in front of the camp!"
"As you command!"
"Ye Chenglin summoned all the young men in the camp and gave priority to the old muskets in stock to those with combat experience. The young men without weapons collectively cut down trees, cut them into long sticks, tied them with hatchets, and made weapons with iron gun heads.
The first battalion and the young men gathered formed a reserve team, ready to go into battle at any time!"
“Take orders!”…
The war preparation order was issued, and all the young and old in the camp were mobilized to dig trenches and strengthen the defense of the camp. On the other hand, Annan Coast Defense Governor Li Yu also received the news from Ding Fugui.
"Sun Bin, Shang of the Tang Dynasty, will immediately descend to the sea today. God bless me to destroy the traitors!"
After scanning the contents on the letter, Li Yu was in a good mood and immediately ordered: "Tran Moo Yuan listens to the order! The entire army will attack in two days and wipe out the Ha Long rebellion in one battle!"
"Sir, only half of the militia groups from Haiphong and Guang'an provinces have arrived. The other militia troops are still on the way. Do you want to wait a little longer?"
"It's just a few armed militia groups. They come here just to follow the generals and take the credit!"
In the official office, a fat military general said proudly: "Don't worry, Lord Governor, there are just over a thousand refugees and bandits, and an army of ten thousand will be crushed in the blink of an eye!"
"Okay! The country is in need of strong generals like General Chen. After this battle, I will ask for merit for Admiral Chen and ask the Holy Lord to appoint General Chen as the Admiral of a province!"
"Thank you, Lord Governor, for the promotion." The fat general looked happy, said a few more good words, and then hurried to the military camp to arrange various preparations before the battle.