Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

Seven or eight hundred cavalrymen formed more than ten columns and, under Shengbao's command, began to charge towards the French army opposite. Hundreds of cavalrymen charged together. Such a scene was really magnificent. If they were the Green Camp soldiers in the country, they would probably be scared and scattered. No infantry would be willing to be trampled into meat paste by horses' hooves!

Although the Eight Banners Cavalry is no longer as strong as it used to be, their outfit is still pretty good. The shiny sabers, neat harnesses, and tall horses make them look quite sleek.

Unfortunately, what the cavalry encountered today was the French army, which had the strongest land combat power in the world at that time. No matter whether it was the British, the Russians, or the Prussians, in that era, it was generally recognized that the French army was the best in the world. The army led by Napoleon had few rivals in Europe. Even though Napoleon's era has passed, the French army is still as powerful as ever!

Rows of French troops began to fire at the cavalry, bullets raining down like dense rain! The cavalry that had concentrated their charge was in trouble. Shengbao's cavalry still maintained their old tactics, charging from the front with concentrated forces, attempting to rely on the impact of their horses to directly attack the French positions. As long as they could get close to the French army, they would definitely collapse!

However, he hadn't anticipated that the French weren't armed with swords or spears, but rather advanced rifles! They were all breech-loading rifles! A hail of bullets rained down on the cavalry. Besides rifles, there were also powerful artillery pieces. The massive explosions sent the horses flying, and the cavalrymen were riddled with bullets, falling dead from their horses!

The seven or eight hundred cavalrymen were beaten to pieces by the sharp firearms before they could even charge to the front of the French army. In the blink of an eye, more than five hundred people were killed or wounded. The remaining cavalrymen were like frightened birds. How could they dare to charge head-on into the face of the muskets?

This isn't a charge at all, this is suicide! A futile suicide!

The shrill neighing of war horses and the screams of the Qing cavalry frightened Shengbao. It turned out that war could be fought like this! It turned out that infantry could stop cavalry like this! It turned out that cavalry was no longer king in this world!

My cavalry? The cavalry I worked so hard to build up! These are the cavalry of the Beijing Camp, the cavalry that protects the Emperor! If they were beaten like this, wouldn’t they be skinned alive by the Emperor?

Shengbao wanted to cry but had no tears. His heart suddenly felt hot and he spat out a mouthful of blood!

Across from them, Meng Daban watched the cavalry fleeing in defeat and laughed arrogantly. "Is this the Qing cavalry? They're completely vulnerable! Are their tactics still stuck in the past two hundred years? They dared to launch a massive charge against a massive infantry formation. They must be so tired of living!" "If I had known this would happen, why would I have brought 5,000 troops? Another 2,000 would have been enough to crush them!"

"Order! All troops attack!"

At Meng Daban's command, the French army launched a swift offensive against the Qing army. Thousands of French soldiers rushed towards the two hilltops of the Qing army like a raging wind and huge waves, and their rifles kept firing forward! As for the heavy artillery in the back, they opened fire at full force, bombarding the Qing army continuously!

The Qing troops in the Beijing camp fought back in an attempt to stop the French advance, but it was a waste of effort. The French were charging from four or five hundred meters away, and their bullets could hit the Qing army's positions, but the Qing army's bows and arrows could only hit halfway before falling down, and they couldn't even touch the French!

The Qing army's casualties were mounting, and Shengbao's heart grew colder and colder. It was over. Beitang was definitely not going to be saved. It had only been an hour, and the sky had just begun to brighten! The two thousand Qing troops had already suffered heavy casualties, at least over a thousand casualties, and there were less than eight hundred who could still fight. If the battle continued, he was afraid that in half an hour, he would be left alone!

The French army on the other side was getting closer and closer, and the sound of gunfire was getting more and more intense. Finally, the Qing army could no longer hold on. A huge sense of fear devoured the fighting spirit of the Qing soldiers. Morale plummeted, and the legs of the Qing soldiers trembled. If it weren't for their own General Ke still standing in front, I'm afraid everyone would have turned around and fled. Who would stay and die? These foreign devils are too powerful. Damn, they are not human at all, they are simply demons!

Finally, Shengbao could not hold on any longer. The casualties were too great. Such heavy casualties frightened this brave general. He pulled his horse over, jumped on it, turned around and ran away!

Save your own life first. If you lose everything else, you can still find another opportunity. If you lose your life, you will have nothing. It will be too late!

The Qing army was defeated and fled in all directions, without even knowing the direction, running all over the mountains and plains!

Meng Daban commanded the army to chase closely from behind and headed straight for Dagukou!

Dagukou, the current Senggelinqin, had no time to pay attention to these. Firstly, before dawn, the British and French forces launched a fierce attack on the Dagukou Fort on the sea. He Zhengqing once again climbed onto the fort and personally commanded the battle. The war was urgent; secondly, the current Senggelinqin also welcomed an imperial envoy - the Minister of the Lifanyuan, Yiledong'a!

Following the order of Emperor Xianfeng, Iledong'a led 8,000 troops from the capital to Dagukou to help in the battle. At this time, Senggelinqin had to supervise the battle while taking care of the imperial envoy!

Yiledong'e had always lived a life of luxury, how could he have ever been on the battlefield? This time, for some unknown reason, the Emperor had misjudged him, and he had been implicated. The defense of the capital was handled by Sushun and Duanhua, and below them were Zaiyuan and Zaidun, as well as generals from various banners. He, a mere civilian, had been driven to the front lines by the Emperor. It was truly speechless.

While Iledong'a was secretly criticizing the emperor, he asked Senggelinqin about the current war situation.

Senggelinqin looked at the pale-faced Yiledong'a and couldn't help but smile bitterly. Is there really no one left in the capital? The emperor actually sent such a fool! He looked almost seventy years old, and he needed help to walk, let alone ride a horse!

"Lord Yiledong'a, the war is now at a stalemate. We have dozens of artillery batteries and nearly a hundred cannons at Dagukou. We are powerful and will never encounter any problems. I dare to guarantee that Dagukou will be safe!"

As soon as Senggelinqin finished speaking, a warhorse came galloping over!

Wanqi Kai, the lieutenant commander of the Beijing camp, was still dozens of steps away from Senggelinqin when he fell from his horse and shouted, "Your Highness, Your Highness! This is bad! Thousands of foreigners have landed at Beitang and are heading straight for Dagukou!"