Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

They defeated the Russian army in such a short time! How did they recapture Aichun City in such a short time?

Two thousand enemies were killed in one battle, and hundreds were captured!

Oh my God! My ancestors blessed me and gave me such a great general!

Xianfeng trembled his fingers and roared, "Liu Ye, Liu Ye! This is my Dragon City Flying General! My Dragon City Flying General, the reincarnation of Wei Huo! Decree that Liu Ye be immediately appointed as the Governor of Zhili, assisting Senggelinqin in the military affairs of the capital. From the day you receive this decree, you will lead your troops back to the capital to defend the emperor!"

The entire imperial court was stunned. If Zeng Guofan, the leader of the Southern Dynasty, could single-handedly control half of the country, it was still within their grasp. Then, Liu Ye, a young man just starting out, first fought a bloody battle at Dagukou, then captured Aichun City, defeating both the British, French, and Russian armies! This was a legend! An absolute legend! Unbelievable!

However, Xianfeng could deal with Liu Ye, but he couldn't deal with the Americans! Xianfeng's edict was quickly sent to Heilongjiang by express delivery over 700 miles, and then transferred from the General's Mansion to Vladivostok. After receiving the edict, Liu Ye would surely return with his army as soon as possible.

However, the Americans were different. When the Americans sent Liu Ye to Korea, it was to fight the Russians, and they only sent him to Korea. The Americans agreed to it for tens of thousands of taels of silver and to build a relationship with Liu Ye and continue future cooperation.

It's different now. If we ask the Americans to help us withdraw our troops, we'll be going against both the British and the French. Given the current strength of the Americans, how could they dare to offend both the Americans and the French at the same time? It's not worth it just for a small sum of money!

Senggelinqin, who received the imperial edict from Emperor Xianfeng, tried his best to persuade the American Consul in Tianjin, Huggins, but failed. When Huggins heard that the court wanted to use American merchant ships to bring Liu Ye's army back to defend the emperor, Huggins shook his head like a rattle, no, no!

Absolutely not!

Hawkins smiled bitterly and said, "Your Highness, you are putting me in a difficult position. Not to mention a mere consul, even our ambassador, Mr. John Hua, has no authority to accept this lease request. Once the British and French find out, we will face enormous pressure, pressure we cannot withstand. Even worse situations may arise: British and French warships will directly intercept our merchant ships and sink them on the spot! We do not have the strength to directly confront these two hegemonic countries. Sorry, I really cannot agree to your request..."

Senggelinqin was stunned and asked, "Mr. Huggins, are these two countries really so overbearing? Are they so terrifying?"

Hawkins smiled bitterly and said, "Your Highness, this is still the lightest of all. These two nations have destroyed dozens, if not a hundred. They relied on their powerful ships and artillery to colonize everywhere. Didn't they even destroy a country as ancient and powerful as India? And almost all the islands in Nanyang have already been occupied by them. Their iron ships and cannons are extremely powerful..."

Senggelinqin was shocked. Liu Ye had said the same thing to him before, but he thought it was a joke and that Liu Ye was exaggerating. Now he realized that half of what Guo Ye said was true!

"Are they really some kind of empire on which the sun never sets?"

Huggins nodded and replied, "Yes, many people in the world now, including the British themselves, believe this. They are the empire on which the sun never sets, and the sun can always be seen on their land!"

Senggelinqin sighed deeply. It seemed that things were really bad this time. Even Huggins didn't dare to stand out!

Senggelinqin said helplessly: "Well, since you can't make the decision, then I will ask Mr. Hua Ruohan to come forward and try..."

Huggins shook his head and replied, "Your Highness, with all due respect, even if Prince Gong, who is familiar with the Minister, were to intervene, it would be ineffective. Even if General Liu Ye were to come personally, it would be difficult to satisfy your demands. This is not a question of whether we are willing, but a question of whether we can. Above all else, we cannot burn America to death for a mere 100,000 taels of silver..."

As expected, in Beijing, Prince Gong Yixin thought he had enough face, and this time he personally came forward with Prince Zheng Duanhua to try to persuade Hua Ruohan. However, even though the two of them were eloquent, Hua Ruohan still did not give them any face and firmly rejected their requests!

In a word, what we can do is to stay out of the affairs between your Qing Dynasty and Britain and France, and we will never get involved!

Yi? hadn't expected Hua Ruohan to change his expression so quickly. Back when Liu Ye was around, he was so easygoing. How could he change so quickly? As for Duan Hua, the look in his eyes when he looked at Yi? had changed. "Aren't you a capable guy? Didn't you boast so much? How come you've completely changed now, and they still ignore you?"

Hua Ruohan sneered in his heart. You two are too naive. Just relying on a few hundred thousand taels of silver, you want us to jump into this big mud pit and go against Britain and the United States? Dream on!

I'm already giving you face by not kicking someone when they're down. If I didn't have a big deal coming up with Liu Ye, I wouldn't be hanging you around! Hehe, actually, it's not bad to follow Britain and France and pick up some bargains, but that Liu Ye is too hard to mess with. If I piss him off, he'll cut off my source of income and that'll be more trouble than it's worth. If I follow Liu Ye, there will be plenty of benefits for America in the future. We'd better not follow Britain and France. The benefits will be divided up by Britain and France, and I'll only get a little bit of the spoils. What's the point?

Yi Xin and Duan Hua came with high hopes but returned disappointed, and had to apologize to Emperor Xianfeng!

Emperor Xianfeng finally realized how incompetent his ministers were and how important Liu Ye was to him. When he went outside the Great Wall, Liu Ye was just a matter of words. He only talked with them in Tianjin for less than an afternoon and reached a consensus. He was also respectfully sent out by an envoy and a consul.

Now, two princes, no, with Senggelinqin added in, three princes, and all of them are iron-hat princes, have been turned away. They offered five times the price, but people didn't even look at them. It's really pathetic! Pathetic!

Emperor Xianfeng finally gave up. He waved his hand weakly and replied, "Alright, you all get out of here. I have another order! Order Liu Ye to lead the Baoding garrison troops and rush back to the capital day and night. Have the Heilongjiang General's Office prepare fast horses for them. The sooner they return, the better!"

Yi? and Duanhua were covered in cold sweat. The emperor was now a little disheartened. It would be better to stay away from him. If they were not careful, disaster might happen!