On the evening of February 27, the remaining troops wiped out a black army that intended to advance toward Xilong and captured more than 80 black soldiers.
At noon on February 28, more than 500 French African colonial soldiers, including the blacks captured in the suburbs of Ha Long, were all sentenced to death for war crimes after trial and were immediately executed.
On March 1, the Nanyang Army dispatched superior forces to surround Hanoi City. At the same time, Mui Dongxing, in the name of the governor of Quang Ninh and Lang Son provinces, submitted a letter to the Annan government, suggesting that while the French colonial army suffered a disastrous defeat, the main force was defeated by Nanyang. The legion was besieged in several isolated strongholds such as Hanoi and Haiphong. It took the opportunity to summon the main forces in the northern region to regain the land occupied by the French and cut off their invasion tentacles extending to the northern Annam region.
The good news of the Nanyang Army reached Hue, and the main officials of the Annan government were greatly encouraged. On March 5, the Hue court issued a commendation document, appointing Mui Dongxing as the second-rank propaganda and support envoy, conferring a title on the loyal and brave man, and a reward of 15,000 silver Two, taking charge of the defense of Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Bac Giang and Bac Ninh provinces.......
All officers of the Nanyang Army at the school level and above received promotions and silver rewards from the Annan government. However, regarding Mei Dongxing's suggestion, the Annan government took it seriously and delayed the response to the discussion.
As time went by, the impact of the Annan War quickly spread to other parts of the world.
On the mainland, when they first heard the news that Li Weiye had led the French army to conquer Hanoi, a bachelor's degree scholar from the Hanlin Academy proposed to send a special military officer to control the three provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan.
Defense Force.
The Manchu Qing government considered the opinions put forward by its ministers and issued an order to the ministers along the border and coastal areas on February 28, proposing the idea that "it is important for me to protect the subordinate states and secure the borders." It also sent Li Hongzhang, Ding You, to return home. He went to control and supervise the military affairs of the three provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan, because "this matter must be controlled urgently and must be dealt with accordingly."
To respond to the situation, it is urgent to have prestige and know-how, and through the ministers who are responsible for the incident to go and make arrangements, the army can be invigorated and the overall situation can be considered, and the advance of the defense armies of the three provinces can also be endowed."
In order to prevent Annan from being invaded and occupied by France, the Qing government was forced to make some bluff arrangements and adopt a tough attitude towards France.
However, in the face of the Manchu and Qing government's urgent orders, Li Hongzhang, who took the matter personally, made successive reports to express his disapproval of the Qing government's above-mentioned decisions.
Ce raised different opinions. On March 3, Li Hongzhang presented a "Secret Report on Vietnam's Border Defense Matters", pointing out that Vietnam's current disaster stemmed from the 1874 treaty with France that it secretly signed, thus becoming a protectorate of France. Severing the long-standing traditional vassal relationship with China. Therefore, China's desire to "protect its vassal state" is inconsistent with both reason and situation. It advocates that China stand aside and let Vietnam suffer its own consequences.
On March 5, he wrote to the Prime Minister's Office, reaffirming the above proposition: Vietnam is "in danger of itself and has no way to rescue it." Accordingly, Li Hongzhang advocated that China abandon the policy of "protecting dependent states". As for the decision to "secure the border", Li Hongzhang agreed, but he believed that the geographical environment of Beiqi was complex, with "rugged roads, poisonous water and winds, and smog that persisted all year round." In addition, there were remnants of the Taiping Army entrenched in the north, leading the Chinese army to resist the French there. It would not be so easy to annex Beiqi and disturb the borders of Yunnan and Guangxi. Therefore, as long as we continue to implement the original deployment and send troops from Yunnan and Guangxi provinces to deter the borders, he also emphasized that based on the military strength and strength of the Manchu Qing government at that time, Due to the national financial situation, the Manchu Qing Dynasty should not go to war with France to help Vietnam.
"The coastal defense troops in each province are poorly paid, and the navy has not yet been trained. It is impossible to talk about war with the European powers. I want to be in the light of the master. I hope that the balance is within grasp, and do not let superficial rumors lead to disaster and misunderstand the overall situation. This is actually
Very lucky."
Li Hongzhang's suggestion coincided with the real thoughts of the Manchu nobles. On March 6, the Qing government adopted Li Hongzhang's opinion, canceled his appointment to supervise the military affairs of the three provinces, and ordered him to return to the Beiyang minister's post immediately. This meant that the Qing government
The government essentially retreated from the position of "helping Vietnam resist the law and protecting dependent states."
On March 9, after learning that the Nanyang Army had completely annihilated the French colonial army in northern Annam and surrounded the French white army,
Uncharacteristically, the Manchu and Qing government
On the one hand, because they were worried that the actions of the Nanyang Legion would anger the French and make the French government angry and send a large army to invade the mainland, they ordered Zhang Zhaodong, Liu Xianzhang and other officials in the southern coastal areas to strengthen coastal defense construction to prevent attacks by French warships.
On the other hand, the Annan government was reprimanded and must not allow the remnants of the Taiping Army to provoke the French in the Beiban area, otherwise the Manchu Qing court would no longer endorse Annan's safe status.
Unlike the Manchu and Qing government's approach of forbearing and retreating, when news of Annan's defeat reached the mainland, the French Parliament unanimously approved a proposal to send additional reinforcements to rescue the besieged French army.
The Franco-Prussian War that took place in 1871 caused the French to lose face in Europe. In order to restore the country's image, the French were like a gambler who lost their sights. They ignored the explanations of the Chinese diplomats who came to negotiate and viciously
He replied, "The current situation is not that of 1871. The Han government must immediately evacuate your troops in northern Annan and stop the shameful sneak attacks and hostilities against the French army..."
On March 12, 1881, French Foreign Minister Shamelaku instructed diplomats who were negotiating with Han in South America: "The combat effectiveness of the Han army exceeded our expectations. Previously obtained information about the low combat effectiveness of the Han army in the Annan region
, is completely inconsistent with reality. You should use multiple channels to obtain information on the true combat effectiveness of the Han army as soon as possible to provide reference for the central government to formulate policies towards the Han."
In order to cater to the arrogance and arrogance of the French Parliament who despised the Han State and was overjoyed with great achievements, the French diplomats stationed in South America replied: "The so-called combat effectiveness of the Han State army is ten thousand.
It is exaggerated to say that the combat effectiveness of their local regular army is at most the same as that of France's second-rate colonial army.
Moreover, the Han Army troops are mainly concentrated on the mainland. The number of troops stationed in Annan is limited. Their supplies rely on ocean transportation and do not have long-term combat capabilities. If the Republic’s army can dispatch two to three thousand local regular troops to support the Governor-General of Cochin China, Han Nanyang
The legion’s false myth of combat effectiveness will be exposed.”
A report by an official of the French embassy abroad strongly belittled Han's military strength, saying: "The gap in land and sea strength between China and France was strangely exaggerated by my predecessor. If we take strong action in Annan, we will
We will surely see the Chinese bandits retreat before us. If we decide to conduct a naval diversionary operation, we will cause the Chinese troops to suffer the most serious damage."