Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

"Brilliant! Truly too brilliant! Liu Ye, Liu Ye! You are definitely the reincarnation of Sun Wu, the rebirth of Zhuge Liang! You can come up with such a plan, and every one of them is sure to succeed. What a brilliant plan!"

Looking at the three cavalry units returning victoriously, Senggelinqin really didn't know what to say. It was so exciting. A night attack had thrown the entire Anglo-French coalition into chaos. I'm afraid it will take them some time to recover!

He Qimou and Gao Qi just fired guns from a distance to attract the coalition forces, and there was no loss. Zhu Hai, the main attacker, led two thousand cavalrymen to charge and turn the British and French forces upside down. The casualties were no more than three hundred people. However, in this battle, the British and French forces suffered at least a thousand casualties!

Senggelinqin's estimate was not wrong. The Anglo-French coalition forces had suffered more than 1,500 casualties. In the dead of night, they were suddenly attacked by a large number of cavalry. They were caught off guard and suffered heavy losses. That was impossible. Even if there were only 1,500 casualties, it was thanks to the well-trained Anglo-French coalition forces. If it was the Qing army that was attacked, the Qing army would have collapsed long ago!

It was not until noon that the British and French forces had finally cleaned up the battlefield. Yaman and Saxton were in tears. Such heavy casualties had occurred again. Now there were only more than 7,000 British and French forces able to participate in the battle. The most troublesome thing was that so many casualties and a large number of wounded had become a burden to the army, seriously affecting the morale and combat effectiveness of the coalition forces!

Fortunately, the double bridges were finally repaired within two days. The Royal Cavalry and artillery rushed up from the rear and received new reinforcements. The combat effectiveness of the Anglo-French coalition forces increased greatly. Saxton and Yaman regained some confidence. Otherwise, there would be no need to continue this war!

Seeing the arrival of artillery and cavalry, Saxton finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had suffered a great loss before because he didn't have artillery and cavalry. This time, he must give them a good fight!

Yang Zha, Senggelinqin and Liu Ye also received news of the artillery and cavalry reinforcements from the British and French forces. The large number of artillery and cavalry brought tremendous pressure to the Qing army. The Qing army could not cope with the artillery of the British and French forces with just the current artillery, even though the other side was not professional artillery!

Senggelinqin asked, "Liu Ye, what do you think?"

Liu Ye said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, the terrain here is flat and there are no strategic locations to defend. This is really not conducive to our preparations for war. I suggest that we retreat again and withdraw the army to Gaobeidian. In Gaobeidian, we can defend along the river. There are a lot of earthen mounds there. We can use the mounds to dig fortifications and resist the artillery fire of the British and French forces. If we all stand on the ground, a single artillery shell will bring down on us and we will be killed or wounded. This is absolutely not acceptable. We need the help of fortifications to stop the enemy's attack!"

Fortifications?

Senggelinqin, a famous general in the cold weapon era, knew nothing about the defensive fortifications in the hot weapon era and was surprised.

Liu Ye replied, "Your Highness, to counter the enemy's artillery and rifle fire, we need to dig tunnels on the mound, preferably circular tunnels. Hiding in the tunnels can minimize the bombardment of artillery shells. Moreover, people hiding in the tunnels can also return fire with bows and rifles. Only the upper part of the chest is exposed outside the tunnel, or even lying flat on the ground inside the tunnel. This is a common tactic on Western battlefields. Using it for defense can greatly enhance our defensive capabilities!"

Senggelinqin frowned and replied, "Will the British and French forces give us the opportunity to make our arrangements calmly?"

Liu Ye replied, "Your Highness, the Anglo-French coalition has suffered a series of setbacks, and they need time to adjust. I have already trained the soldiers of Baoding Town in tunnel tactics, and they all know how to do it. With their supervision, we can mobilize two or three Green Battalions and dig a tunnel overnight. By the time the Anglo-French coalition wants to attack, we will have completely changed. However, we must hurry!"

Senggelinqin nodded and shouted, "Tonight, we will act. Order He Qimou and Zhu Hai to lead two cavalry teams to cover the rear to prevent the British and French forces from pursuing us. The main force will urgently retreat towards Gaobeidian!"

That night, more than 10,000 Qing troops retreated rapidly to the rear. From Yangzha to Gaobeidian, it was only more than ten miles and could be reached quickly. After arriving at Gaobeidian, the three Green Camps began to dig tunnels under the supervision of the Baoding Town soldiers!

Overnight, three circular tunnel fortifications were formed on the three large mounds in Gaobeidian. The Qing army all entered the tunnels, and the three fortifications faced each other. The Green Camp soldiers and artillery all entered the mounds, commanding the view from above. At the same time, they had the fortifications to protect them, and the wide Tonghui River behind them, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Now, it was impossible for the British and French forces to quickly defeat the Qing army!

As for the 5,000 cavalry, they were divided into two by Liu Ye, one led by He Qimou and the other led by Zhu Hai. They were specifically responsible for mobile attacks. They would be transferred to wherever the coalition forces were attacking fiercely to assist. A large number of cavalry became the link between the various mounds, which could be said to be as solid as a rock!

When the Qing army retreated, Saxton and Yaman wanted to launch a direct pursuit of the Qing army. After all, there was still a Royal Cavalry Regiment there. A burst of attack would definitely give them an advantage. However, they did not expect that the other party had already sent two cavalry units to guard the rear very tightly, giving the British and French forces no chance of a sneak attack. The two leaders were very depressed and could only wait until dawn to attack.

As a result, on the second day, when the army had advanced seven or eight miles, Saxton and Yaman looked through the telescope and were immediately dumbfounded. Overnight, the Qing army had built three huge fortifications on the high ground in front of them. They were circular tunnel fortifications that were only found in the West!

It must have been that Liu Ye! Damn, how could this guy be so proficient in Western military affairs? He was even better than all these Western generals. Damn, why hadn't I ever heard of this person? It was like he just popped out of nowhere! It was really frustrating. With the ring tunnel fortifications, it wouldn't be so easy to wipe out the Qing army in one fell swoop. What was even more infuriating was that Liu Ye had actually stationed a large number of cavalry under the three high grounds, connecting the three high grounds so that they could support each unit at any time. Such a tight defense was already eye-opening for them. Even the best Western generals were only so good at military deployment, right?

Yaman said in a hoarse voice, "Saxton, the Qing army is now defending tightly. There's no point in being anxious. We should attack slowly. If we underestimate the enemy again, we might have to retreat to Tianjin..."