Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

What Zhu Hai said was absolutely correct. In Zhangjiawan, there were two shipping gangs, each operating one or two hundred ships of various sizes, responsible for the transportation of grain and tributes for the entire city of Beijing. The largest ship could even carry more than 100,000 kilograms of grain. A cannon weighed only a few thousand kilograms, and even a heavy cannon weighed only more than 10,000 kilograms, which was enough to carry two to three cannons and dozens of shells!

We don't need many such ships, just a dozen or so will be enough. Even if we take into account the troops to be transported, we only need twenty or thirty ships. Even if the artillery is unstable on the ship and has poor accuracy, the impact on the combat will not be very large!

Grant led the Royal Cavalry Regiment in a charge and ran to Zhangjiawan, forty miles away, surrounded the Zhangjiawan canal transport terminal, robbed the thirty largest and strongest civilian ships, and drove them along the canal and Tonghui River.

A round trip took less than a day, and Saxton was so excited that he jumped up and down. These large ships had a carrying capacity of about 100,000 pounds, which could carry two or three heavy cannons. Moreover, they were very sturdy and could fully participate in the war!

Saxton roared, "Quick, get our heavy artillery up there immediately! Thirty pieces of it, all on board the ship! I'm going to attack immediately!"

Liu Ye and Senggelinqin stood on the Gaobeidian position, watching the large ships approaching from afar. The sight of them was terrifying. If they launched an artillery attack from the river, followed by an infantry attack, their position would be in real danger. Even if they didn't detour to the reservoir in the rear, it would be extremely difficult for the Qing army to cope with it! Senggelinqin's face was grim. He had been smart all his life, but had been confused for a moment. Now he was facing a huge problem!

Suddenly, Liu Ye laughed out loud, hahaha!

Senggelinqin was stunned and said unhappily, "Liu Ye, do you have a fever? Why are you laughing so hard?"

Liu Ye whispered, "Your Highness, we have a solution..."

Senggelinqin was stunned and asked, "What's the solution?"

Liu Ye turned around and shouted, "Zheng Jinggan, immediately lead your men and get all the kerosene around here. Remember all the kerosene! I want all the kerosene!"

Green Camp leader Zheng Jinggan was confused. They needed kerosene at this time?

Senggelinqin didn't know what was going on, but seeing Zheng Jinggan still standing there stupidly, he couldn't help but roar, "Traditional virtues, you're stupid! Hurry up and get them! If you can't get them here, ride your fastest horse back to the capital to get them. The sooner the better, and the more the better!"

It was less than thirty miles from Gaobeidian to the capital, a round trip that took half a day. Senggelinqin threw his token to Zheng Jinggan and shouted, "Hurry up! I want all the kerosene! The strongest kerosene!"

Zheng Jinggan ran down quickly.

Senggelinqin looked at Liu Ye, and Liu Ye laughed and said, "Your Highness, we actually forgot that their ships are big enough, but they are all wooden ships, and they are full of grass and trees. As long as we get the kerosene ready, throw it all onto their ships, and then bombard them with artillery, haha, the events of Red Cliff will surely repeat themselves!"

Senggelinqin whispered, "That's all very well, but the distance is too far. How are we going to get the kerosene to the British ship?"

Liu Ye replied, "Now we can only give it our all. Find some wine jars, secure them, and fire cannonballs. Send them up there. Hundreds of shells will bombard them fiercely. Only one out of ten will hit them, and there are still dozens left. Let's see how they respond! These merchant ships are large enough, but each one carries two heavy guns, plus the cannonballs, weighing 20,000 to 30,000 kilograms. Moving on the Tonghui River is quite inconvenient and slow, which is a great opportunity for us to attack!"

Senggelinqin's eyes lit up. That's great! It turns out that water overcomes fire, but now it's fire that overcomes wood. If the merchant ship really catches fire, not only will the ship be destroyed and people will die, but even the cannons will sink to the bottom of the river!

Thirty heavy artillery pieces and thousands of shells. It was not easy for the British and French forces to get these supplies onto the large ship. The British and French forces mobilized a company of troops and took great pains to get the artillery onto the civilian ship. It was already late at night.

Saxton said bitterly, "Order, the entire army rests for the night. Tomorrow morning, concentrate all firepower and launch a full-scale attack on the Qing army's position!"

The British and French forces all entered a state of combat readiness and waited for the arrival of dawn.

On the Qing army's position, Zheng Jinggan led a battalion of cavalry and galloped to the capital. He met with Prince Gong and took out all the kerosene from the firearms battalion, as well as requisitioned thousands of wine jars from various hotels. The wine was left to you, but the jars must be handed over. This was the decree from the Prince of Seng and Prince Gong. In the entire capital, they were the two most powerful people. Anyone who could afford to offend them had to hand over all the wine jars.

It was not until the second half of the night that Zheng Jinggan finally returned to the position carrying kerosene and jars of wine.

There was still time, so Liu Ye immediately ordered people to prepare, put kerosene into the jar, and then sealed the opening. If such a jar fell on the ship, it might not break, but the explosion of the shell would definitely blow the jar to pieces and ignite the kerosene at the same time. Such a large amount of kerosene would definitely be enough to give the British and French forces a hard time!

The dawn of the next day came quickly!

At Saxton's command, the British and French forces began to attack the Qing army's position. The Qing army also launched a blocking attack with the help of fortifications. The two sides were engaged in a fierce battle on the battlefield from the very beginning!

At this time, civilian ships began to move along the Tonghui River towards the Qing army positions!

Liu Ye and Senggelinqin's eyes all became solemn. The moment to decide the outcome was finally coming. This was the most critical point. As long as the heavy artillery of the British and French forces could be sunk into the Tonghui River, the British and French forces would be helpless!

The thirty heavy artillery pieces of the British and French allied forces launched a fierce attack on the right wing position of the Qing army on the ship. Shells fell continuously on the Qing army's position, blowing sand and stones into flying flames. The twenty civilian ships at the back were full of the British and French allied forces, a full battalion of elite troops. Once the Qing army's position was defeated by the artillery, the British and French allied forces would land directly on the river and attack the Qing army's position!

The Qing army also fought back without showing any weakness, but faced with the two-pronged attack of the British and French forces, even though the Qing army was powerful, it was still somewhat stretched to its limits and in danger!

In an instant, the British and French forces had fired hundreds of artillery shells at the Qing army's right wing position. Even with the fortifications to rely on, the Qing army still suffered heavy casualties.

Liu Ye shouted coldly: "Prepare immediately, launch kerosene, and attack the British ships with all your might!"