Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

In the court, Emperor Xianfeng sat in the middle, with civil and military ministers sitting on both sides.

Minister of War Chen Fu'en had just read the victory report when Emperor Xianfeng said calmly, "Well, a great victory at Dagukou. The Imperial Chinese soldiers fought bravely and selflessly, inflicting a crushing defeat on the foreigners. They captured warships, firearms, and several hundred foreign soldiers, and captured hundreds of them. This is truly a victory unprecedented in the past twenty years. Commander-in-Chief Shi Rongchun and Deputy General Long Ruyuan braved the arrows and stones themselves, ultimately dying for their country. This is truly awe-inspiring. Let us discuss this matter."

"Your Majesty! This is a major event. The battle the day before yesterday finally washed away the shame of the late emperor's defeat. This old minister believes that we should choose a day to offer sacrifices to the ancestral temple and pray to our ancestors!"

The Minister of Rites, Lin Kui, stood up excitedly and spoke loudly to Emperor Xianfeng.

Xianfeng nodded, it was true, a great victory in one battle would definitely comfort all the ancestors.

"Your Majesty, Lord Lin Kui is right. This great victory is entirely due to your Majesty's wise decision and the protection of our ancestors. We should offer sacrifices at the Taimiao to rally the people's hearts!"

Su Shun, the Minister of the Court of Colonial Affairs, also stood up excitedly. For more than a decade, the imperial court had lacked such inspiring events. Now that one had finally come out, it was natural to publicize it widely.

"Well, in that case, let the Ministry of Rites handle it and choose a day to offer sacrifices to the Imperial Ancestral Temple!"

Xianfeng was also persuaded. After this battle, as an emperor, he could also leave a significant mark in the history books of future generations, right?

Chen Fu'en continued, "Your Majesty! The Monk King commanded the troops in Tianjin and masterminded their plans. Shi Rongchun led the troops in the battle and died for his country. The other officers and soldiers also sacrificed their lives without regard for their own safety. The court should commend them!"

Xianfeng replied, "Linkui, you are the head of the Ministry of Rites. What do you think of this matter?"

Lin Kui quickly replied, "Rewards are of course indispensable, but now the Monk King has become a prince, the highest position among officials, this..."

Senggelinqin was a Khorchin prince, and the title was hereditary. In the entire Qing Dynasty, I am afraid that in terms of title, except for Prince Gong, there was no one more noble than Senggelinqin. As for power, Senggelinqin, who commanded the elite troops of the Eight Banners of Mongolia, was not comparable to the current Prince Gong. Prince Gong Yizhen was outstanding in talent and was deeply feared by Emperor Xianfeng. Until now, he was just an idler!

Xianfeng pondered and said, "Well, in that case, I will give Prince Khorchin a yellow jacket, a thousand taels of gold, and a jade ruyi, and send a special envoy to Tianjin to reward the troops!"

Lin Kui continued, "Zhili Admiral Shi Rongchun disregarded his own life and death, risked his life to supervise the battle, and died for his country. I believe that he should be posthumously awarded the title of Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War, and be given the hereditary title of Cavalry Commander and the hereditary title of Cloud Cavalry Commander, and the posthumous title of "Zhongzhuang". Lieutenant General Long Ruyuan should be given the title of Chariot Commander and posthumously awarded the title of Tianjin Town General as a token of favor. As for other meritorious officials, He Zhengqing led the soldiers of the North Fort to defeat the foreigners and won a great victory. He can be promoted to Lieutenant General and the title of General, the second rank, and be awarded the title of Wuyong Baturu; Dong Cheng defended the South Fort, which is also meritorious, and he should be promoted to Lieutenant General; Qianzong Liu Ye was meritorious in training the troops. He also offered advice before the foreigners attacked, and helped to hold the ground during the foreigners' surprise attack, sinking the enemy chief's flagship and killing the enemy chief Hebu. He is indeed a great meritorious person. I believe that he should be awarded the title of Third Rank Lieutenant General and command the defense of the North Fort! As for the others, I will submit them to the officials for proposal and respectfully request the emperor's decision."

Chen Fuen, standing aside, frowned and replied, "Master Linkui, Liu Ye's achievements are indeed great, but it seems inappropriate for him to hold such a high position at the age of twenty. I think he should be promoted to the rank of Guerrilla General, a fourth-rank official..."

Grand Secretary Wen Xiang shook his head and replied, "Master Chen, the Monk King once mentioned in his memorial that Liu Ye is a versatile talent. Not only is he outstanding in military talent, he is also proficient in Western affairs, resourceful, and good at training troops. Such a young talent is really rare. Nowadays, the court is mostly composed of veteran officials and generals. Among the younger generation, there is no one as capable. I think it is time to make use of him. Your Majesty should grant him special rewards as a token of God's grace. In the future, he will become a pillar of the country and will naturally fight to the death and be loyal to the country. Also, Master Lin Kui's suggestion that he be in charge of the affairs of the Northern Fort is probably difficult to realize. The Monk King has already submitted a memorial. You will equip your subordinates with all the Western firearms seized this time. Since there are too few people in the army who understand Western weapons, the Monk King requests that Liu Ye personally lead the training. With time, he will surely become a rare elite!"

Xianfeng also had an idea. It was definitely a good idea to give him special rewards as a sign of God's grace. He was just a young man, but he had such outstanding talents. In time, he would surely become a pillar of the country.

Xianfeng said slowly: "Since that's the case, then I will appoint Liu Ye as a Third Rank Lieutenant General, Yiyong Baturu, add the title of Imperial Guard, and award him a yellow riding jacket. As for training the firearms battalion..."

Lin Kui quickly replied, "Your Majesty, Western firearms have always been extremely powerful. According to reports, in this battle at Dagukou, no fewer than a thousand foreign rifles and tens of thousands of bullets were seized. Once an armed firearms battalion is formed, its combat power will be absolutely formidable. I believe that such a heavy weapon, especially in the capital area, is too important. It is best to keep it in the hands of the bannermen. That is the best strategy..."

Wen Xiang smiled bitterly and said, "Master Lin Kui, there is some truth in what you say. However, if you were to select one of the Eight Banners men in the capital, would you find anyone who is proficient in Western weaponry?"

Lin Kui refuted, "Even if there isn't one, it's absolutely impossible for a Han Chinese to be in charge of such a heavy weapon! This is too risky! The Firearms Battalion must be controlled by the Bannermen. This is also customary!"

Sushun, standing aside, replied, "Your Majesty, my Lords, the Firearms Battalion is important, but as long as Liu Ye is loyal, why not? General Zeng of Jianghuai commands hundreds of thousands of soldiers, unrivaled in combat power, and he is also Han Chinese. The court is plagued by internal troubles, the Taiping rebels have not been annihilated, the Nian bandits have risen again, and the Hui people in the northwest are also restless. Now is the time to appoint people based on their abilities. How can we throw the baby out with the bathwater? Since Liu Ye is proficient in Western weaponry, why not let him lead the training of the Firearms Battalion?"

Xianfeng was still somewhat worried and replied, "How about this. Since Lin Kui is worried, I will hand over the training of the Firearms Battalion to Liu Ye. I will order the Monk King to select talented generals from the army and have them lead the army alongside Liu Ye. One will be responsible for training, the other for command, so that both can work together!"

Xianfeng thought too simply. Since it was Western weapons, the tactics would naturally be very different from those of the Qing army. It was ridiculous to use a general from the cold weapon era to command a team from the hot weapon era. However, this resolution was supported by most of the important officials in the court, which was really speechless. It seemed that what Senggelinqin said at the beginning was really accurate. Liu Ye was not qualified to lead such an important army. At the very least, he could not fully control such a powerful force before proving that he was loyal enough.