Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

Dagukou fell!

The entire capital area was suddenly wide open, and the British and French warships could go straight up the river, and the army headed straight for Tianjin!

However, when Meng Daban and Saxton reached Dagukou, they were still filled with awe. They did not expect that the Qing Dynasty still had an army with backbone. At least, they were not like the army yesterday, which collapsed without much effort. Such soldiers are real soldiers!

Yes, there were 4,000 defenders in Dagukou. In one battle, more than 2,000 were killed and more than 1,000 were seriously injured. Only dozens of people managed to break out. As for those who were captured and surrendered, the total number was no more than ten!

Look at the body of He Zhengqing, the general of Tianjin Town, in the distance. Not a single part of it is intact. Even if he died, he died on the way to charge. Soldiers always sympathize with each other. Even the two hostile parties will pay high respect to the iron-willed man, regardless of their position, just for the righteousness and loyalty in him!

Meng Daban stared for a moment and said in a deep voice: "Alright, bury this general. We still have to fight the next battle!"

Yes, although Dagukou was taken, the city of Tianjin was still in the hands of the Qing army. When the army went on this expedition, Britain and France did not think of giving up easily. They were determined to squeeze three liters of blood from the Qing government and settle this feud!

Saxton and Mondaban assembled a French brigade, a British brigade, and two Royal Cavalry regiments, totaling 13,000 troops, and began to march towards Tianjin!

In Tianjin, Senggelinqin was furious. The reason was that he had sent guerrilla general Chang Zaixian to inform He Zhengqing's troops to abandon the defense of Dagukou and retreat to Tianjin to preserve their fighting strength. As a result, the damned Chang Zaixian, fearing death, actually ran back to Tianjin halfway, completely forgetting his orders. You have to know that the Qing troops under He Zhengqing's command were all elite! Especially the more than 1,000 garrisons at Dagukou, who were particularly brave and skilled in fighting. After the vigorous rectification by He Zhengqing and Guo Ye, they were a real fighting force!

Now, it’s all good, they died in one battle! They really died in one battle, even the fierce general He Zhengqing died in battle and died for his country!

Chang Zaixian knelt in front of Senggelinqin with trembling body, almost turned into a puddle of mud!

"Someone, take this useless piece of shit out of here and chop it up!"

Senggelinqin roared angrily.

Several personal soldiers rushed up, carried Chang Zaixian and walked out!

Chang Zaixian begged for mercy repeatedly, but Senggelinqin had already turned his head away. If he didn't kill this man, he would not be able to get rid of the hatred in his heart!

Not only Chang Zaixian, but also that Yile Dong'a, is even more hateful. If he hadn't deserted the battlefield, how could we be in such a passive situation now? Even if we couldn't defeat the foreigners, we wouldn't be so vulnerable!

Senggelinqin's teeth were chattering, but he could execute Chang Zaixian but not Iledong'a. Not to mention that Iledong'a was an imperial envoy, even his title of Minister of the Lifanyuan made him a first-rank official. Even if Senggelinqin was an iron-hat prince and a regent, he would never dare to execute an important official of the state!

Senggelinqin wrote a memorial and handed it to the general beside him, shouting, "Send this memorial to the capital immediately, seven hundred miles away. I will ask the emperor for permission to execute that bastard Yiledong'a first, and then he will be sacrificed to the emperor!"

What Senggelinqin didn't know was that Yiledong'a, who was still stationed in the south of Tianjin, was also writing memorials. Deserting the battlefield was a capital crime punishable by death! Moreover, he was an imperial envoy appointed by the emperor.

If he didn't prepare early, once the news reached the emperor's ears, death would be the least of his punishment. He was afraid that all his family members would be exiled to Ningguta! Now there was only one way to save himself, and that was to file a complaint first, falsely accusing Senggelinqin of deserting the battlefield, and muddy the waters. Perhaps he would still have a chance to survive!

The two people have become strangers. Both want to kill the other, but they all know it tacitly.

But these are just small matters after all. The most important thing is whether Tianjin can be defended now!

Soon, Senggelinqin, who retreated to Tianjin, received news that the British and French allied forces were approaching Tianjin.

Senggelinqin's face paled. The Anglo-French coalition had over 10,000 men! Add to that the foreigners' incredibly powerful artillery and rifles, and how could he resist? Although he also had over 10,000 men under his command, it was clear that the gap between them and the Anglo-French coalition was too great. Especially since their artillery was so powerful, his cavalry and infantry had already been blasted away by the Anglo-French artillery before they could even get close.

Defend Tianjin to the death?

That would be an even more miserable death. You have to know that the foreigners' artillery is best at attacking cities. Dozens or even hundreds of cannons can bombard together. Even if the Tianjin city wall is strong, it will definitely not be able to withstand nearly a hundred artillery pieces of the foreigners!

However, if he doesn't hold on to the end, will he have any way to retreat? He has already lost Dagukou. If he loses Tianjin again, it will be a serious crime. Even if the emperor doesn't kill him, he will definitely be demoted and dismissed!

Sheng Bao, standing by, said urgently, "Your Highness, we absolutely cannot defend Tianjin to the death. Think about it, our main force is the cavalry. If we were to defend Tianjin, it would mean that all our strongest forces would be tied up in the city, unable to exert any effect at all. With only less than 10,000 infantry left, how could we resist the foreign attack?"

Senggelinqin was shocked. What Shengbao said made sense. His strength was to use cavalry to charge in the wilderness and strangle the enemy with high-speed mobility. Now he was trapped in Tianjin. He was using his weakness to attack the enemy's strength. It was even more unreasonable!

"Ke Zhai, you are absolutely right. We absolutely cannot defend Tianjin to the death. We must retreat, give up Tianjin, and find a plain area to fight the foreigners in the open!"

Senggelinqin said anxiously.

Shengbao asked, "Then, Your Majesty, how do you plan to deploy it?"

Senggelinqin looked at the military map and said in a deep voice, "It's right here! The area around Baliqiao and Zhangjiawan! This is all flat land, which is conducive to cavalry charges. Moreover, we have the firearms battalion left by Guo Ye here. Guo Ye once told me that one firearms battalion is equivalent to eight green battalions. This is an extremely powerful force. With him and the cavalry, we may still have a chance to win the battle against the foreigners!"

Shengbao's eyes lit up. Yes, he had completely forgotten about the Firearms Battalion at this moment. It takes a thousand days to train an army but only a moment to use it. Now is the time for the Firearms Battalion to show its service!

"Your Majesty, please give the order immediately, it will be too late if you delay any longer!