Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

Elgin was so angry that he began to tremble. What the British Empire wanted was benefits, not mutual destruction or a pyrrhic victory. If all the 15,000-plus troops he brought to China were wiped out, what would it matter even if he snatched more gold, silver and treasures?

Gro was even more furious. He felt that he had been deceived the most. The Chinese were so damn cunning, and Liu Ye was the most cunning. If he was not careful, he would fall into the trap set by him. Now the two countries were in a difficult situation!

Ge Luo squeezed out a word from between his teeth: "Liu Ye, you are really cruel! But even if there are 20,000 people, they still can't do anything to us. We have 2,000 cavalrymen. At worst, we can mobilize troops from Tianjin! If you want to fight, I will fight! Even if it means reducing China to ruins, I will not hesitate. After all, this is not my country. I don't care if there are many casualties!"

Liu Ye cursed in his heart: "Fuck you, you don't feel sorry for me, but I do! This is my country, my fellow countrymen!"

But this is definitely not the time to show weakness. If we don't put down Gro and Elgin's arrogance, there will be no way to force them to make concessions!

Liu Ye gritted his teeth and finally took out his last trump card - horse bandits!

Liu Ye asked, "Mr. Gro, if four or five thousand horse bandits appeared in China, just like they did against the British and French forces before, would you still be so calm?"

Horse bandit?

Ge Luo's heart trembled. He remembered what Yaman had said to him: the Chinese army wasn't to be feared; it was those bandits! It was too damned impressive. Yaman had made the most meticulous preparations, mobilizing twice as many troops as the horse bandits, all cavalry, and even 300 infantrymen armed with rockets. Even with such a force, they still couldn't defeat the horse bandits!

More than a thousand people surrounded and suppressed six or seven hundred people. On one side were elite cavalry from the West, and on the other side were horse bandits from a backward country. It was a mob that did not gain any advantage at all on the banks of the Tonghui River. Yaman killed two or three hundred people in vain, and only left behind less than eighty corpses of horse bandits. This was simply a shame for Britain and France. When had they ever been taken advantage of by a group of bandits?

When Yaman talked about it now, she was still gritting her teeth and was very annoyed, but there was nothing she could do. This war was a failure, an absolutely miserable defeat!

If thousands of horse bandits really appear in the capital area, the British and French forces will definitely be in trouble!

Ge Luo growled viciously, "Liu Ye, tell me, were you the one behind those horse bandits?"

Liu Ye shrugged and replied, "Mr. Ge Luo, you should know that I have been staying in my residence since arriving in Beijing. The farthest I have been is to Prince Gong's residence. How could I have the opportunity to command so many horse bandits? Moreover, if I were in charge, are you sure you can drive the horse bandits away?"

Confidence! This is the confidence that only a famous general has!

In the whole of China, only Liu Ye says such words now, and others will not think that he is bragging, but will truly weigh the weight of his words!

Groden stopped talking. Yes, based on how ferocious the horse bandits were, if Liu Ye was in command, it was still uncertain whether Yaman could successfully drive the bandits away. This Liu Ye was really great at fighting!

Elgin sneered at the side and said, "Liu Ye, no matter how many horse bandits there are, what does it matter? Their biggest enemy is your Qing government. Do you think they will obey your command? Without unified command, they are scattered and will never amount to anything. Even if reinforcements from Henan, Shaanxi, and Mongolia arrive, what will happen? Can they obey your command? Without your command, they are just a group of sheep, destined to be slaughtered by us. Unfortunately, you are not the prince behind you. After all, you are just a small general!"

Elgin's words were like a sharp sword, piercing the flaws in Liu Ye's words. Even if there were more people, what would it matter? They didn't want to hang you. You were just a nominal admiral. The Green Camp in Henan and Shaanxi were all led by admirals, with higher ranks than you. Why would they listen to you? Not to mention the Mongolian prince, who was the most powerful prince in the Qing government. Why would they listen to you?

However, as soon as Elgin finished speaking, Prince Gong Yixin beside him burst into laughter.

Yi Xin stood up and said with a smile, "Mr. Elgin, thank you for your reminder. Without your reminder, I really wouldn't have noticed that we have such a big flaw!"

Yi Xin paused briefly and shouted, "I, Prince Gong of the Qing Dynasty and Minister Plenipotentiary in Beijing, Yi Xin, immediately appoint Zhili Governor Liu Ye as Commander-in-Chief of Military Affairs in the Capital Region, responsible for all wars in the Capital Region. All troops entering the Zhili region will be directly commanded and dispatched by Liu Ye until the Anglo-French Allied Forces withdraw from China!"

Yi is now the person with the highest title and official rank in the interior of the country. He is also the person in charge of all affairs in the interior of the country left by Emperor Xianfeng in the capital. Naturally, he has the right to issue such an order. Now almost all the orders in Rehe can no longer be effectively conveyed, and we can only rely on the cabinet left behind by Yi.

Yi Xin looked at Elgin and Gros with a smug look on his face. It was so satisfying, so satisfying! This defeat had the British and French allies completely pissed off. "What can you do to me, little bastards?" Although I'm not familiar with Western affairs, that doesn't mean I don't understand military affairs. At this moment, only Liu Ye can help us through this difficult time. Let alone letting him command all the troops in the capital, even if the entire Qing army were temporarily handed over to him, it would be worth it, as long as we can preserve the Qing dynasty!

Elgin and Ge Luo were nearly suffocated by rage. Ge Luo glared at Elgin fiercely, his eyes revealing something like, "You're so bored! Are you forcing them?" "You're just reminding them, okay?" Yi's order had been issued, meaning Liu Ye could legitimately command all the troops in the capital. With the support of the two princes, which army would dare to disobey? Wouldn't that be courting death?

Elgin even wanted to slap himself twice. Damn it, he originally thought he had found the opponent's weakness, but he didn't expect that he would become a disguised enemy! He was in trouble!

Liu Ye saw that the time was almost right and said with a smile, "How about you two take back this plan? Let's sit down and have a good talk. As the saying goes, always leave a way out so that we can meet again in the future..."

In fact, Liu Ye's heart was also beating fast. If they really fell out, could he really win?

At the very least, Liu Ye was not so sure. The reinforcements from Henan and Shaanxi were real, but Senggelinqin's cavalry was made up by him. It would take at least half a year for Senggelinqin to form his army!