Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

Rehe, Chengde, Mountain Resort.

Emperor Xianfeng ran for seven or eight days before arriving in Chengde. The long journey of escape had completely broken down his already weak body. Not only was his body broken, but his spirit was also broken. The fall of Dagukou and Tianjin dealt him a heavy blow. He no longer had any ambition or dignity as an emperor. If he could live one more day, he would never die early!

After arriving in Chengde, Xianfeng fell ill and had a continuous high fever. He was very weak these days and his eyes had lost the luster of a middle-aged man. The Empress and Concubine Lan were serving him.

At this moment, Senggelinqin's victory report was delivered to Xianfeng's bedside.

Su Shun came in excitedly after soaking his feet, shouting, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, great joy, great joy!"

Xianfeng frowned. What good news could there be at this time? If Senggelinqin failed in battle again, even Beijing would fall.

Xianfeng said weakly, "Sushun, what's the matter? Why are you so happy?"

Sushun smiled and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, great joy! I, your servant, have come to you with the good news! A few days ago, when the Monk King was engaged in a fierce battle with the foreigners, Liu Ye suddenly arrived with his army. He defeated the British and French forces three times, at Baliqiao, Yujiawei, and Shuangqiao. Over 5,000 foreigners were killed, countless more were wounded, and countless military supplies were seized! May God bless our Great Qing!"

what……

Xianfeng suddenly became energetic. He had not expected, really had not expected, that it would be a great victory, a great victory!

It seems like this Liu Ye is truly a lucky general. Before he showed up, Senggelinqin had suffered a series of defeats, crushing them all the way from Dagukou to Tongxian County. As soon as Liu Ye showed up, he immediately changed the course of the battle, first defeating the French, then defeating the British twice. It's incredible, incredible! How on earth did this guy manage to lead his troops, winning every single battle?

Xianfeng shouted, "Where's the memorial? The memorial! Hurry and show it to me!"

Sushun quickly handed over the memorial.

"I, Prince of Khorchin and Governor-General of the Capital Military Affairs, Senggelinqin, report: On June 20th, I led my army in a fierce battle with the foreigners at Baliqiao. Liu Ye, Acting Governor-General of Zhili and General of Baoding Town, led his army a thousand miles to support us, attacked the French positions from behind, and defeated the French Western Army in one fell swoop, seriously wounding the French commander-in-chief, Meng Daban. We killed over a thousand enemies and wounded two thousand, and repelled the British and French forces in one fell swoop. On the 22nd, Liu Ye led his army and the Mongolian cavalry to besiege Yujiawei and defeated the British Royal Army. The British cavalry regiment suffered nearly 2,000 casualties and retreated eastward to Zhangjiawan. Following Liu Ye's advice, I retreated to Yangzha. The Anglo-French forces advanced in three directions. Liu Ye led his cavalry to ambush the British at Shuangqiao, killing over 1,500 in a single battle and seizing numerous artillery and foreign rifles. The Anglo-French forces, severely weakened, retreated to Zhangjiawan... These successive victories are all due to the blessings of our ancestors, the divine power of the Emperor, and the devoted service of our officers and men. I dare not take credit for anything but will report this truthfully. Senggelinqin bows again, wishing His Majesty well!"

Hundreds of words long, each word a pearl of wisdom, this victory report was more effective than the Shaolin Great Rejuvenating Elixir. After reading it, Emperor Xianfeng felt that his pain had been relieved by 50% or 60%. He shouted excitedly, "Excellent, excellent! This is great! The Monk King is worthy of being the pillar of the Qing Dynasty, and Liu Ye is worthy of being my guardian!"

Concubine Lan's eyes flickered as the energetic and majestic young general suddenly appeared before her eyes. Liu Ye, it was Liu Ye again. It was such a blessing for the Qing Dynasty to have such a genius. Concubine Lan's heart was pounding.

"Your Majesty, the Monk King and Liu Ye have achieved such an extraordinary feat. We need your gracious reward so that the ministers below can devote themselves more attentively to the affairs of the king..."

Concubine Lan opened her mouth slightly and spoke softly.

Su Shun's face immediately turned gloomy. The ancestral law stated that the harem was not allowed to interfere in government affairs. Ever since the emperor went on a hunting tour, he had been in poor health, and many matters had been entrusted to Concubine Lan. Now Concubine Lan was becoming more and more unruly. How could this be tolerated?

Xianfeng, standing by, was so excited that he couldn't care less. He said repeatedly, "Yes, rewards! Everyone must be rewarded! Immediately issue an imperial decree. Senggelinqin will be promoted to Minister of War, appointed to the Military Affairs Council, and awarded a hu of pearls! Liu Ye has made great contributions to the country and is now appointed Governor of Zhili, Minister of Foreign Affairs, First Class Jingzhong Man, and awarded 10,000 taels of silver! Of course, I can't give you this reward now while I'm on a hunting tour. I'll double it after I return to Beijing!"

Xianfeng sat up from the bed and shouted, "Come here, change my clothes for me, I want to go out for a walk, haha..."

The Queen and Concubine Lan were startled and quickly stopped him, saying, "Your Majesty, your health is not good. You'd better not get out of bed..."

Xianfeng smiled and said, "It's okay. This memorial is the best medicine. I'm almost recovered from my illness. Sushun, thank you for your hard work these days. I feel much better today. Go find me some opera troupes and set up a stage. I want to watch an opera. Find me some famous actors!"

Su Shun quickly replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will prepare it right away!"

Xianfeng was a truly capable emperor. The city of Beijing was in turmoil, and Tongzhou was still engaged in battles, yet he still had the mind to listen to an opera. I'm afraid those fallen soldiers would be so angry that they would vomit blood in the underworld.

Lady Lan beside him whispered, "Your Majesty, this Liu Ye is such a good fighter. Do you think we should transfer him to Chengde to protect you? We are very isolated here. If any foreigners cause trouble, then..."

Upon hearing this, Xianfeng was quite tempted. However, he had already detained the Firearms Battalion. If Liu Ye was transferred to Chengde, what would happen to Senggelinqin at the front? Without Liu Ye's help, Xianfeng did not believe that Senggelinqin alone could stop the powerful British and French forces. Although his own safety was important, he could not afford to lose Beijing. Once Beijing fell, it would shake the foundation of the Qing Dynasty.

Xianfeng remained silent. Concubine Lan saw that the emperor was somewhat moved, and continued, "Your Majesty, if it was really when Liu Ye first entered the interior of the country, the war was urgent, and we would not have sent Liu Ye with us. But now that the Monk King has defeated the foreigners several times in a row, I'm afraid the foreigners have been severely weakened. I think with the Monk King's current strength, he should be able to resist the foreigners. If he does well, it is not impossible to defeat them and drive them back to the sea..."

Xianfeng was shocked when he heard this. This made sense. He pondered and said, "It won't be too late to make a decision on this matter after I consult Sushun and others..."

When Xianfeng told Sushun what he meant, Sushun was also quite interested. It was not because he was worried about Xianfeng's safety, but it was just that his relationship with Liu Ye had not been very harmonious during this period. Gong Laoliu took advantage of him and he could never get close to Liu Ye. He was really unwilling to accept this. If he could completely pull Liu Ye into his camp, it had to be said that Xianfeng's opinion was a great opportunity!