Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

Saxton shook his head and replied, "Yaman, you may be better than me on land, but once you're in the water, you're no match for me. We're indeed facing difficulties now, but within these difficulties lie opportunities. As long as we seize them, we'll definitely win!"

Yaman was stunned, and really didn't know where Saxton's confidence came from.

Saxton continued, "Look, the river here is much wider than the one at Zhangjiawan. We can requisition some of the ships and attack the Qing army from the river. As long as we return to Zhangjiawan immediately and seize all the large merchant ships there, we can launch an attack directly on the Qing army from the river!"

Yaman was shocked. Yes, they could launch an attack on the Qing army directly from the river. Their flanks were less than one kilometer away from the Tonghui River. All artillery could launch an attack directly, destroy their flanks first, and then the army could besiege them from both sides. The Qing army would definitely not be able to hold on!

Yaman shouted, "Alright, let's order our cavalry to take action immediately and seize all the large ships in the Zhangjiawan area!"

On the Qing army's front, Liu Ye and Senggelinqin were discussing battle deployments. Zhu Hai came over worriedly and called out, "Your Highness, General!"

Liu Ye looked up and was stunned. He asked, "Xiao Hai, what's wrong?"

Zhu Hai whispered, "Brother Ye, something is wrong. I feel like there's something wrong with our deployment..."

Senggelinqin laughed and said, "Hey little guy, this deployment was made by your commander himself, how could it be wrong? Are you more powerful than your commander?"

Zhu Hai blushed and dared not speak.

Liu Ye asked: "Xiao Hai, tell me, what's the problem?"

Zhu Hai replied, "Your Highness, General, look, our flank is only two or three hundred feet away from the Tonghui River. Further west along the river is the Gaobeidian Reservoir, where the water is even wider. If the British and French forces attack us from the river, we'll be in trouble. Their artillery is incredibly powerful and can completely cover our flank positions, even our central army positions! What's more, if the British and French forces sail directly into the Gaobeidian Reservoir and attack us from behind, we'll be even more passive!"

Senggelinqin shook his head and smiled, "Young man, you have some good ideas, which are worthy of praise! However, the Anglo-French warships are all ironclad ships. Although our Tonghui River is wide, it is still unable to support their ironclad ships. Once their warships really come in, they will be unable to move out and will only become sitting ducks for our artillery! I have already discussed this issue with your generals."

Liu Ye also nodded and looked at Zhu Hai with admiration. "Young man, you are making great progress. You will definitely be my most capable assistant in the future."

Zhu Hai said anxiously, "Your Highness, Brother Ye, I grew up by the Tonghui River and am very familiar with this place. In Zhangjiawan, there is the largest grain transport terminal in the capital area. Almost all the grain and goods from the south are transported to our capital via the grain transport. In Zhangjiawan, there are at least hundreds of large merchant ships, each with a carrying capacity of more than tens of thousands of pounds. If the British and French forces directly rob the merchant ships at our grain transport terminal, transport artillery and infantry onto the ships, they can directly launch an attack on our position, or even directly enter the reservoir behind and attack us from behind. By then, we will be in danger!"

Liu Ye was shocked and stood up from his chair at once. He had not expected this link. Although he had the most advanced tactics and military technology, he was far inferior to Zhu Hai in understanding the geographical environment of the capital area. This kid grew up nearby and every tree and blade of grass was in his mind. His analysis was absolutely reasonable. Once the British and French forces launched a surprise attack on Zhangjiagang and robbed the canal merchant ships there, the army would be in danger. It was completely caught off guard!

Liu Ye shouted, "Your Majesty, we were careless!"

Senggelinqin also looked solemn and asked, "Liu Ye, is it really that serious?"

Liu Ye nodded and replied, "Your Highness, it's absolutely true. If the British and French forces seize the boats and launch an attack from the river or the reservoir behind, we will be in real danger!"

Senggelinqin asked urgently, "Should we immediately send out cavalry to clear all the canal transport vessels from Zhangjiawan?"

Zhu Hai whispered, "Your Highness, if the Anglo-French coalition forces really want to take action, they are already on their way. They are closer, and they are all cavalry equipped with carbines. If they send out a small number of troops, we will not be able to intercept them. If they send out a large number of troops, our defenses will be empty. Moreover, even if we send out a large number of cavalry, we may not be able to catch them in time..."

Senggelinqin asked anxiously, "Then how should we deal with this?"

Liu Ye's mind was spinning rapidly. It was too late to redeploy the troops now. The British and French forces would definitely not give him the opportunity to make arrangements calmly. He could only try to make up for his losses.

Liu Ye said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, immediately order the collection of all the iron chains near the Tonghui River. Attach iron chains and nail wooden stakes across the river to completely block the passage leading to the reservoir. Especially the Suyang Bridge behind us. Use the thickest steel bars to seal the bridge hole. We must act quickly to prevent them from attacking us from behind! Also, mobilize ten artillery pieces and deploy them on the flanks. If the British and French forces force an attack, we can rely on the terrain to counterattack them!"

Senggelinqin whispered, "Then why don't we move the river barrier forward a few miles? That way, they will be even less able to attack our flank positions..."

Liu Ye replied, "Your Highness, a few miles ahead is the military range of the British and French forces. How can we successfully set up obstacles on the river? Even if we set up obstacles, without anyone guarding them, they will be quickly cleared by the British and French forces. We can only set up obstacles on our side."

Senggelinqin said sadly: "One wrong move and the whole game is lost. I'm afraid that even this is not very safe. What if something goes wrong..."

Liu Ye paused, then continued, "Your Highness, this time I will personally take charge of the right wing position to prevent the British and French forces from launching an attack from the river. I will also have Gao Qi mobilize a cavalry unit to wait on the side. Once the British and French forces launch a landing, I will order the cavalry to attack them and not give them a chance to deploy. As long as they can't enter the reservoir, I think we can still hold out..."

Monk Lin Qin sighed, this is the only way now!