Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

Zhu Hai couldn't help but feel heartbroken. Most of the brothers who were killed and wounded were from his First Battalion. First they blocked the battle at Shuangqiao, then they retreated, and then they counterattacked. It was impossible for there to be no casualties.

Zhu Hai was extremely angry and hurt, so he was naturally rude to Yan Chunyu.

Upon hearing this, Yan Chunyu immediately lost his temper. This time the lesson was profound!

Gao Qi, standing by, advised, "Okay, Xiao Hai, it's all thanks to Old Yan for charging straight at the encircling British troops. Otherwise, the First Battalion would have had a hard time escaping unscathed. So, Old Yan's courage is commendable!"

Indeed, they dared to charge against 500 cavalrymen with only 300 men. The enemy was a group of well-trained, brave and combat-savvy dragoons. They were neither the Eight Banners of Manchuria nor the Eight Banners of Mongolia. Without sufficient courage and determination, they would never dare to do so.

Yan Chunyu was ashamed. It wasn't that he wanted to charge, but there was no other way. What else could he do if he didn't charge? Even if the two battalions were combined, they were not as strong as the French cavalry. He could only pick the weak ones at that time!

Zhu Hai's anger subsided a little, and he said, "How is it? Did you get the goods?"

Yan Chunyu said angrily: "Traditional virtues, we have been fooled. Where did the goods come from? They are all French infantry hidden inside, more than a hundred people, with large boxes of clothes as cover, and a lot of rockets. We can't rush through at all. If we force an attack, we will pay a huge price. I am afraid that you can't hold on at Shuangqiao, so I can only withdraw troops to support you..."

Zhu Hai took a deep breath and sighed, "Alright, the enemy is outnumbered and powerful. We simply can't deal with them right now. Unless the more than 1,000 people left in the Northeast all return, we can unite our forces and then use artillery. Maybe we still have a chance."

Gao Qi asked: "What should we do now?"

Zhu Hai said in a deep voice: "First, the goods in Huairou must be guarded well. That is Brother Ye's entire future wealth. We rely on him to carry out major events. Gao E, you take your company to Xixia Village and keep a close eye on it. In particular, you must pay attention to not letting any information leak out. At the same time, sort out all our goods there and see how much property we have in total. Second, the military commander also needs some people to protect her safety. Nie Sheng, you also lead the guard company back to the capital. Third, our main force can no longer stay in this area. The British and French coalition forces will never give up. We are no match for them in a head-on confrontation. The main force should bypass the west of Beijing and rush to Baoding. With Taihang Mountains behind us, even if the British and French coalition forces are powerful, they can't do anything to us!"

Yan Chunyu whispered, "Xiao Hai, I made a mistake this time. I plan to go to Beijing to apologize to the military..."

Zhu Hai waved his hand and replied, "Forget it. The past is a lesson for the future. This time, it wasn't just you who made the mistake, I was also too careless. If we had acted more cautiously earlier, we wouldn't be in such a mess. Moreover, if you hadn't launched the counterattack, both of our battalions might have been wiped out here. Let's make amends later."

Zhu Hai was right. This time, several people definitely underestimated the enemy. Although these people were smart and capable, and had followed Liu Ye for a long time, they had made rapid progress through learning from him, but they underestimated the heroes of the world. The Anglo-French coalition had dominated the world for many years, and had fought countless major battles, and even more small battles. How could it be possible that their officers were all good-for-nothings? Even Liu Ye would not believe it. Zhu Hai and Yan Chunyu were powerful, but in terms of overall military quality, they had not yet surpassed the European military generals represented by Yaman.

After the assignment was completed, the cavalry of the two battalions began to move separately and dispersed.

At this time, Yaman had no choice but to return to Beijing. It was all in vain after mobilizing so many troops!

After seeing Grant, Yaman felt her face burning. Before she set out, she patted her chest and said that she could definitely kill the horse bandits. But not only did she not get any meat, but she also got into trouble. This group of horse bandits was really too powerful!

Grant consoled him, "Well, after this lesson, I'm afraid the bandits won't dare show up again. After all, our military strength has been demonstrated, and they won't dare take risks again for such a small fortune. Next, it's time for us to discuss how to handle the negotiations."

Yaman gritted her teeth and said harshly, "Grant, I think we can give up all the conditions, but this Liu Ye must die. Even artillery shells couldn't kill him. His life is too tough! Ten or twenty years from now, with China's land and manpower, if we work hard to govern, he will definitely become our most powerful enemy! There is absolutely no room for negotiation on this!"

Grant frowned and said, "What you said makes sense, but why should we kill him? You know, he is the pillar of the Qing Dynasty now! Can we kill him if we want to?"

Yaman sneered, "Grant, don't forget! He led his army to kill over 3,000 soldiers from both our countries, and injured even more. This alone is enough to cost him his life! We must avenge the fallen soldiers and put the greatest pressure on the Qing court. We must either seize Rehe or issue an order to investigate Liu Ye! I don't believe the Qing court can withstand such great pressure. You know, from the first Lin Zexu to the current important officials, the Qing court has given up on many of them!"

Grant nodded. It made some sense. As long as they could get rid of Liu Ye, giving up certain interests would be acceptable. Otherwise, it would give them a chance to recuperate. With capable ministers like Liu Ye, it would be extremely difficult for them to invade the Qing Dynasty in the future!

Grant said in a deep voice, "Okay, let's do it this way. This time, let's give Liu Ye a taste of his own medicine and see what kind of rubbish the Qing government he wants to support is!"

At their request, Elgin and Gros quickly drafted a note and sent it to Prince Gong. It stated that Liu Ye was the primary culprit in the massacre of British and French soldiers. If they wanted to negotiate, they had to bring him to justice or hand him over to Britain and France for punishment! If Liu Ye was handed over or executed, Britain and France would waive some of the terms and even support the Qing government in suppressing the Taiping Rebellion in the south! If the Qing government insisted on its own way, the Anglo-French coalition would burn Beijing to the ground, then march north and, in one fell swoop, swallow up Rehe!

Prince Gong held the note in his hand, his eyes black with rage. "These bandits are truly unreasonable! Killing Liu Ye? What a joke! He's the only pillar of our Great Qing Empire! Without Liu Ye, who knows how else you'll invade us?"