Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

Liu Ye said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, Your Highness. Even if the situation is devastating now, Liu Ye is still confident that Britain and France will not be able to gain any advantage!"

Wen Xiang asked, "Master Liu, how will you respond?"

Liu Ye replied, "Your Highness, Lord Wen, although there are no more soldiers available in the north, the troops from Shanxi and Shaanxi are moving eastward, and the army from Henan has also begun to move north, preparing to defend the king. It is true that their combat power is not strong, but we do not want to really go to war with them. Instead, we want to use this as a leverage to force the Anglo-French coalition. The Anglo-French coalition fought with me in the Tong County area. Although they won a great victory, they also suffered heavy casualties. Of the 20,000-strong army, only more than 10,000 remain. If we really gather tens of thousands of troops, the Anglo-French coalition will have to think twice! In a word, we want peace through a war. As for Gong Xiaogong, I naturally have a way to deal with it!"

Wen Xiang frowned and replied, "I'm afraid this alone may not be enough..."

Liu Ye smiled and said, "Of course there are more than these. I naturally have other cards up my sleeve. We just have to wait and see them slowly revealed..."

Prince Gong was still very convinced of Liu Ye's ability. Even though the Anglo-French forces now had an absolute upper hand and the entire city of Beijing fell into their hands, as long as Liu Ye was there, he still had the ability to turn the situation around.

Sure enough, Liu Ye did not disappoint him.

For three days, the entire capital region was in chaos. The British and French forces were repeatedly robbed by bandits, and items worth tens of millions of taels of silver were snatched away and disappeared! The British and French forces suffered more than 300 casualties!

What annoyed the British and French forces the most was that these bandits were all horse bandits, who came and went like the wind, and were all equipped with muskets. Even if the British and French forces were more powerful, they could not do anything to them.

When Prince Gong got the news, his first reaction was that Guo Ye did it! It was definitely Liu Ye who did it!

But when Prince Gong summoned Liu Ye to question him, Liu Ye shook his head fiercely and said, "Your Highness, this is not my work. You know, I have been staying at home for the past three days. How could I have controlled a battle dozens or even hundreds of miles away?"

Prince Gong didn't believe it and replied, "Liu Ye, don't try to fool me. I know exactly how many Western firearms the Qing Dynasty purchased. One-third of them went to Zeng Guofan in the south, one-third to Senggelinqin, and almost all the remaining firearms were allocated to you. The other tribes received almost no new weapons. Zeng Guofan is far away in Jianghuai, and Prince Senggelinqin's troops have been completely defeated. How could such a large-scale fighting force appear in the capital area? Bandits? Why do I just don't believe it? If it has nothing to do with you, I will never believe it even if you kill me!"

Liu Ye laughed heartily and replied, "Your Highness, how dare you say that in front of the British and French forces?"

amount……

Prince Gong's face suddenly turned red. Damn, the situation was already tense, and the foreigners were just about to put a knife to his neck. If he admitted that it was the Qing army who did this, his good days would be completely over. The foreigners, who were furious, would definitely tear him to pieces and then demolish the city of Beijing!

Liu Ye continued, "Alright, Your Highness, these are just some fierce bandits. Didn't they say they were from the Taihang Mountains? The Taihang Mountains are vast and boundless. If the foreigners don't accept it, let them wipe it out themselves! All our armies in the north have been defeated. We have no ability to wipe out these bandits, and this has nothing to do with the imperial court!"

Prince Gong nodded silently. Liu Ye's meaning was very clear. This was a group of fierce bandits. Whether in front of others or behind their backs, they had to say so. If it leaked out, I'm afraid there would be no end! However, Prince Gong also understood thoroughly that the so-called fierce bandits were just a trick played by Liu Ye. He didn't want such a large amount of treasure to flow into Europe!

Prince Gong was silent for a moment, then said, "Liu Ye, these people are only a few hundred strong. If the British and French forces concentrate all their efforts to wipe them out, they won't be able to resist, right?"

Liu Ye replied: "Your Highness, although there are only a few hundred people, they are all cavalry. The British and French coalition forces are mostly infantry. The enemy is in the open and we are in the dark. How easy is it to encircle and annihilate them?"

Prince Gong replied, "Perhaps. However, you may not know that after your accident, the British and French forces mobilized another cavalry force, almost three or four battalions, thousands of men. Adding to their existing cavalry, there are at least more than a thousand, less than two thousand. If the coalition forces deploy cavalry, it will be difficult to deal with them. Even if they are bandits, they are still our Qing people. We cannot let foreigners take advantage of us!"

Liu Ye narrowed his eyes slightly and was shocked. He really didn't know that there was a cavalry reinforcement during his injury. If the British and French forces really sent out cavalry, it would be really dangerous to surround the minority with the majority!

Liu Ye nodded and said, "Your Highness, I will take my leave first."

Prince Gong nodded and was about to send Liu Ye away when Ejier rushed over and said, "Your Highness, the foreigners are here again and demand to continue negotiating the terms!"

Prince Gong's heart sank and he looked at Wenxiang and Liu Ye beside him.

Liu Ye replied calmly, "Your Highness, since they're here, let's have a confrontation today!"

Prince Gong shouted, "Ejil, please invite the envoys of the two countries in!"

As soon as Prince Gong finished speaking, hurried footsteps were heard outside, and Gong Xiaogong's arrogant voice rang out again: "Prince, Master Wen, what's the matter? Aren't you going to welcome the distinguished guest?"

As the words were spoken, Gong Xiaogong took the lead and rushed in with the British and French envoys, Grant, Yaman and others.

Prince Gong's face changed, and before he could reply, Liu Ye spoke first: "Gong Xiaogong, there's a Chinese saying, you haven't forgotten it, have you? When guests come, we have fine wine; when jackals come, we have hunting rifles. Tell me, should I greet you with fine wine or with a hunting rifle?"

Gong Xiaogong hesitantly glanced at Liu Ye. He had never seen this man before. A young official with an imposing demeanor, wearing a first-rank official hat. So young! There were only a few first-rank officials in their twenties in the entire Qing Dynasty! Even the military officials were first-rank officials!

"Liu Ye!"

Grant and Yaman didn't know Liu Ye, but Elgin and Gro were familiar with him from the previous negotiation and were deeply impressed by him! When they saw Liu Ye, they screamed!

Sure enough, this Liu Ye is not dead! Now, it is difficult for Britain and France to squeeze the Qing Dynasty to bleed!