Liu Yongfu
On February 28, 1883, Rivière began launching attack on Nam Định. French army entered the town by noon. The governor Võ Trọng Bình fled. Later, he was demoted and criticized for exceeding the court’s limitation on salary provisions for Chinese soldiers when he tries to enhance the defenses of Nam Định. After the capture of Nam Định, Tang Jingsong traveled to Sơn Tây where he made contact with Hoàng Kế Viêm. Later, Tang Jingsong finally met Liu Yongfu thanks to Hoàng Kế Viêm. During the meeting, Hoàng Kế Viêm talked about an offensive to Saigon in response to Rivière’s invasion of Nam Định. He proposed that an invasion to Saigon would disrupt the connection between Saigon and Paris and even imperil French supply line. Meanwhile, Tang Jiangsong also transmitted Qing empire’s will to offer materials and official title to Liu Yongfu in exchange of his loyalty to China. Deeming the recapture of Nam Định impossible, Hoàng Kế Viêm and Liu Yongfu left Tang Jingsong in Sơn Tây and moved their soldiers to the village west to Hanoi.