Chapter Thirty-Four: The Battle of New Paper Bridge

  Unlike Zhou Yu's comfort, the United States was in a mess. A warship disappeared without a trace, and all 250 crew members mysteriously vanished, which was a huge sensation in the US at that time.

  The Oval Office of the White House, a group of bigwigs gathered together, President Arthur, CIA Director, Navy Commander, Army Commander, Vice President and so on.

  Arthur's solemn face broke the overly quiet atmosphere, did the intelligence department have any news?

  The Director of Intelligence stood up and replied: There is no news, preliminary estimates may have run aground and sunk!

  While others were silent, their faces were serious and quiet.

  Even if it's shipwrecked, someone should have escaped, right? How come Kester and the others haven't appeared at all now? Arthur can't accept this explanation no matter what.

  No way, our country's eastern coastline is too weak, and we need to dispatch three more warships to reinforce the defense.

  In addition, our country's coastline is vast, but there are only twenty or so warships. Has everyone considered adding a few more modern warships to strengthen our country's coastal defense?

  The Vice President took over the topic, it is currently impossible, the parliament will not support it, your former boss Mr. Conkling also has a lot of opinions about you, which you know, he is very dissatisfied that you did not let him hold real power in the government.

  Your tariff reduction, anti-polygamy bill, prohibition of polygamists from holding public office and exercising the right to vote, "spoils system", etc., have greatly touched the interests of some people. You do not have a large number of supporters in both parties, so...

  Is that just it? How can these people prioritize personal gain over national interests? Arthur angrily asked his partner.

  His response was still suffocating silence.

  Well! Let's do it from the side then! Arthur said weakly;

  Shortly after this event was announced; the United States declared that, under the Monroe Doctrine, the Hawaiian Islands were part of the American system and American ships had the right to coal and repair in Hawaii.

  It also announced the signing of a treaty of amity and commerce with Korea, recognizing Korean independence, but giving the United States extraterritorial jurisdiction and most-favored-nation status.

  Simultaneously announced was also the signing of a reciprocal trade agreement between the United States and Mexico.

  Shortly after the United States government announced the above contents, the Queen of Hawaii also announced that Hawaii is a sovereign and independent kingdom, the United States has no right to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, and there is no relationship between the Hawaiian Islands and the United States.

  After the Hawaiian declaration was issued, six warships of the US Pacific Fleet with a total tonnage of 20,000 tons arrived in Hawaii at the end of February 83, but found that Hawaii's defense was strict, and many warships were patrolling the waters around the Hawaiian Islands. The US Pacific Fleet saw that military intimidation was hopeless, so they had to sail back in defeat.

  This situation further spurred on the shipbuilding plans of the Arthur Government.

  In May 1883, the Assembly passed Arthur's proposals for the construction of four modern warships (two cruisers and two gunboats), and the establishment of a factory for the manufacture of guns and ammunition for the army and navy.

  In the second year of the Arthur administration, $1.5 million was appropriated for the construction of defensive works on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States.

  When the wheel of time rolled to May 19, 1883, following the historical track, the Paper Bridge Battle broke out. In the suburbs of Hanoi, Vietnam, Colonel Rivière led more than 400 fully armed French soldiers, who formed a loose formation and carried long guns.

  They were invited by the Viet Cong today to come and give them a show, thinking that those with big knives, long spears, and homemade guns would pose no threat to them.

  The long-braided pigs are fed up with living, and they dare to provoke the dignity of the powerful French army. So they decided that today they must teach these ignorant guys a good lesson, let the loyal and brave army know what is the mighty French Empire.

  The Zhongyong Army had already set up a 3-square-kilometer ambush circle, with more than 15,000 troops from the First Group Army under the command of Lieutenant General Yang Zhen'en.

  There are 120 single-barreled 76mm rapid-fire guns, sixty single-barreled 40-caliber 152mm rapid-fire guns forming an artillery position, as well as several small steel cannons and various light and heavy machine guns.

  The Zhongyong Army of today is no longer what it used to be, they have long since traded in their bird guns for cannons under Zhou Yu's lavish investment of pounds and dollars.

  The standard-issue weapons of the Zhongyong Army are a Black Star handgun and a Mauser 98 rifle.

  Due to Zhou Yu's orders, the Mauser 98k was not equipped with troops. On average, every ten people had two Type 14 Nambu light machine guns and one Type 14 heavy machine gun.

  Zhou Yu ordered the whole army that in situations where cannons can be used, they must be used first. In general situations, the lives of soldiers should be prioritized, followed by economic considerations. This means that the military should prioritize human life and not use human lives to fill gaps that can be filled with money.

  The life of a warrior comes first, and the moment all officers and soldiers of the Zhongyong Army received the order, they were deeply moved, and Zhou Yu was even more devoted to loyalty, making the Zhongyong Army more united and its combat effectiveness even stronger.

  The Li Weiye military also had a dozen or so small-caliber quick-firing guns. Originally, Li Weiye was not planning to bring cannons, but he saw that the paper bridge was not too far from the river, and carrying small-caliber artillery was more convenient. For safety's sake, he finally decided to carry a small number of small-caliber guns.

  Report to Commander, enemy forces have completely entered our artillery firing range, please instruct.

  Another five hundred meters in, Yang Zhen En gave the order without hesitation.

  After 10 minutes, the signal soldier reported again that the French army had advanced 500 meters.

  Order, the First Division of the First Army Group to seal off the gap in the direction of Heihe, order my artillery positions to carry out a 15-minute carpet bombing, and after the bombardment is over, order the rest of our troops to launch a charge into the encirclement, we must annihilate the enemy within our ambush circle, whoever lets a single Red Devil escape, I will hold him accountable.

  Yes, Commander!

  At this time, the Li Weiye army was still unaware of the arrival of the god of death. Everyone was muttering to themselves in their hearts, "These cowards, they dared to provoke us, but now they can't even be seen, when we fight later, we must give these stupid pigs a show."

  Their minds are still stuck in the traditional mode of face-to-face combat, but they will inevitably pay the price for their ignorance today, because what they are facing is the abnormal troops led by Zhou Yu.

  Zhou Yu has been instilling advanced military tactics in the development of troops, requiring the Zhongyong Army to pursue victory on the battlefield with minimal sacrifice and maximum gain. He strictly forbids personal heroism, and those who disobey will be severely punished. Therefore, the French army was destined to pay a heavy price for their ignorance from the very beginning.

  Suddenly, the French soldiers heard a large number of ear-piercing and sharp "chirp, chirp, chirp" strange cries, everyone was extremely curious what kind of ghost cry this was, making people feel very uncomfortable.

  At this time, Li Weiye had a very bad premonition. No good, artillery attack, everyone quickly get down. Suddenly, Li Weiye realized that it was the sound of shells flying at high speed, shouting and yelling for soldiers to take cover, but it was already too late. Before everyone could react, the shells had arrived above their heads. Under the dense rain of shells, all they could do was return to the bosom of their Lord.

  Boom, boom, boom, the sound of explosions was endless. In an instant, the battlefield of the French mobile forces was filled with flying flesh and blood, shrapnel everywhere. The entire French army would never have thought that war could be fought like this until their deaths. This is not fair, it's bullying! Not a bit of chivalry spirit.

  Fifteen minutes after the loyal and brave army began to charge, what awaited them was not the French army's gunfire and bullets, but a field of death, with no intact corpses or weapons on the battlefield, only severed limbs and metal fragments everywhere.

  Some of the minced meat still had some charred rags hanging on it, and the air was filled with a strong smell of gunpowder and meat. Many young soldiers who had not been through blood and fire tests could not bear this cruel scene, and they fell to the ground and vomited out their overnight food.

  Commander Yang Zhen'en of the Zhongyong Army did not scold them, but Yang Zhen'en knew that after this war, the Zhongyong Army would be even more sharp on future battlefields. Through this war, they would fully mature and become a truly qualified soldier.

  In a situation where the French army had an absolute advantage in terms of numbers, terrain and weapons, more than 400 French soldiers did not take any effective defensive measures or preparations, and were instantly annihilated by the First Army's dense artillery fire. They didn't even have time to fire a single shot, nor did they see the shadow of the enemy army. The French Colonel Commander Léon Vivien died in battle.

  This general, who once boasted of advancing north along the Red River to invade China and establish a so-called "Oriental Empire" that included Vietnam and southwestern China, died abroad without fulfilling his boasts.

  Immediately afterwards, the Zhongyong Army did not give the French army a chance to breathe. Yang Zhen led the entire army of 15,000 people to make some adjustments and quickly surrounded Hanoi, Vietnam, which was not far from Bac Giang Bridge, and launched a fierce bombardment on the French army stationed in Hanoi with heavy artillery.

  After the bombardment, the Zhongyong Army charged into the smoke-filled Hanoi Citadel and engaged in a brief street fight with the French troops stationed there.

  The French army, with about a thousand men left and without a supreme commander, was shaken by the previous bombardment and did not put up much resistance. The remaining French troops then surrendered en masse. (As early as 82 years ago when the French army attacked Hanoi in Vietnam, Liu Yongfu had asked Zhou Yu for instructions, and Zhou Yu ordered him to ignore it.)

  After the victory of the Tonkin Campaign, the Black Flag Army captured a large quantity of weapons and ammunition, as well as a huge amount of money and treasure collected by the French army. They also rescued the Vietnamese Emperor Nguyen and his officials. The Vietnamese Emperor was so moved that he immediately conferred on Liu Yongfu the title of King of Northern Vietnam.

  After taking away all the supplies and captives, Yang Zhen'en abandoned the ruined Hanoi to the King of Vietnam and led his troops back to the base of the Zhongyong Army. The King of Vietnam and his ministers looked at the ruined city of Hanoi and the empty imperial palace, they were left speechless and tearless.