Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

The next day, Liu Ye and Yan Chunyu set off for Rehe.

The distance from Beijing to Rehe is about 500 miles. It takes at least two days to get to Rehe.

In the Rehe Palace, Emperor Xianfeng has long been bedridden and can only lie on the hospital bed every day. Apart from the Empress and Concubine Lan who serve him every day, only Sushun, a close minister, stays by his side.

Early that morning, just as Emperor Xianfeng had finished taking his medicine and felt a little better, Lu Xi, the chief eunuch, walked in and said, "Your Majesty, Liu Ye, the general of Baoding Town, has been sent by Prince Gong to Rehe to see Your Majesty. He wants to inquire about Your Majesty's health and request an audience."

Xianfeng's heart was lifted. Although the negotiations led by Liu Ye and Prince Gong were constantly criticized by important officials in the court, Xianfeng still recognized Liu Ye's ability very much. Such loyal ministers and good generals were rare. Minor flaws cannot cover up great virtues. Since Liu Ye was here, he had to meet him no matter what. Not to mention his previous military exploits, but he was demoted in the past few days, so he should be comforted. Using both kindness and severity is the right way to control ministers.

Xianfeng said, "Oh, Sushun, please make arrangements first. Please comfort Liu Ye on my behalf. Tomorrow morning, when all the ministers come to court, I will meet him."

Sushun was delighted to hear this. It was just right for him to meet Liu Ye first, so that he could find out what Liu Ye's attitude was.

Sushun quickly agreed, said goodbye, and walked towards the mansion.

When Liu Ye heard that Su Shun was coming, he naturally couldn't neglect him and quickly welcomed Su Shun into the mansion.

Liu Ye bowed and said, "Mr. Su, it's been a long time since we last met. I hope you are as healthy and well as ever. I am honored to meet you."

Su Shun smiled and said, "Alright, Liu Ye, we are now in the same palace, so let's not be polite. You have worked hard for the country and the people, and you deserve our consolation. Look, the emperor has ordered me to entertain you first. He will personally see you tomorrow morning."

Liu Ye quickly replied, "I don't deserve it. I dare not accept your praise."

Sushun's eyes flashed, and he asked, "Liu Ye, what is the current situation in Beijing? What is the status of the signed treaty? Please tell me."

Liu Ye said in a deep voice: "Even if Lord Zhongtang doesn't ask, I will tell you. This time I came to Xiaguan for this matter. I believe Lord Zhongtang has also heard that the foreigners invaded Beijing and looted the entire Old Summer Palace. At the same time, they burned it down to ashes. It is really heartbreaking. However, we may not be completely right in this matter. After all, we were the ones who abused the British and French delegations first. There were more than 40 British and French envoys, more than 20 of whom died, and several of them were no longer in good condition. Since ancient times, when two countries went to war, they did not kill envoys. What's more, they were not going to war with us, but exchanging letters.

Sushun was a little displeased and replied, "Liu Ye, Zaiyuan and others did handle this matter inappropriately, but we can't let the foreigners do what they want. An audience with His Majesty is a major event, involving the orthodoxy of the dynasty. Our etiquette was established by our ancestors. Foreign envoys must kowtow when they meet with the emperor. There can be no sloppiness. This concerns the dignity of the Celestial Empire, and there is no room for compromise."

After all, whether it was Zaiyuan, Duanhua, or Guiliang, they were all on the same side as Sushun. Liu Ye was the first to bring up this matter, and Sushun was of course a little dissatisfied.

Liu Ye smiled bitterly in his heart. People said that Sushun was upright, strict, talented and far-sighted. Now it seemed that he was just a pedantic person who clung to the religious doctrines of his ancestors. What era is it now? Are you still talking about the Celestial Empire? The problem is that you are self-proclaimed. Why should Britain and France revolve around you? How are they inferior to you now?

Liu Ye replied: "Master Zhongtang, you should know that we are not the prosperous Kangxi and Qianlong eras of a hundred years ago. At that time, our national strength was strong, so we could do whatever we wanted. After all, whoever has the bigger fist is the boss. However, now we are facing internal and external troubles, and our national strength is declining. If we still hold this attitude when dealing with foreigners, wouldn’t we be asking for trouble? The foreigners have strong ships and powerful guns, which is indeed not something our current Qing army can deal with. Now the foreigners still have gathered tens of thousands of people in Beijing, and there are thousands of troops in Tianjin. "Our Green Camp soldiers and the Eight Banners are already outwardly strong but inwardly weak. How can we be their opponents? Liu Ye is not being self-deprecating. If I had soldiers available, why would I bother you, Lord Zhongtang? I would have killed them long ago! But, aren't we no match for them? Even if I had dragon-slaying skills, I still need a dragon-slaying sword. The foreigners are a vicious dragon. Tens of thousands of foreign soldiers could march north to Rehe at any time. Now that the monk king's cavalry has been completely destroyed, what can we do to resist? To be frank, is the Jingkang incident really going to happen again?"

Sushun felt depressed. He was not a fool, nor was he one of those old scholars who picked out sentences from books. Although he was xenophobic, he still had some vision. The foreigners were powerful, so how could he ask them to withdraw without giving them benefits?

Sushun said helplessly, "Liu Ye, you have a point. When you live under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. However, that clause is really too harsh. I have read all of it. Although I am not as drastic as Lord Woren, I am also somewhat dissatisfied. We are too weak. That is selling out the country for personal gain. Lord Woren even directly accused you of being a traitor..."

Liu Ye's cheeks twitched and he almost cursed out loud, "An old man who refuses to die is a thief. That old guy is fighting with him with his arms raised!"

Liu Ye whispered, "Master Zhongtang, choose the lesser of two evils. I can only guarantee that we will suffer minimal losses. As for the issue of face, please bear with it for a while. Compared with the indemnity of tens of millions of taels of silver, is the face of our Celestial Empire so important? Han Xin even suffered the humiliation of being kicked in the crotch, and Gou Jian even endured hardships. At worst, when China is revived, we can fight back. If that day comes, I, Liu Ye, will be the first to volunteer to lead an army of tigers and wolves to attack Huanglong!"

Tens of millions of taels of silver?

Sushun was also shocked. He was not in Beijing, so he was naturally not aware of some of the details.

Liu Ye smiled bitterly and said, "You probably don't know this yet, but while I was recovering from my injuries, the foreigners used Gong Cheng as an insider to know everything we did, forcing Prince Gong into a state of panic. The two countries demanded an indemnity of 30 million taels of silver, and that's not all. There were also even more stringent conditions, such as unilateral most-favored-nation treatment. If I hadn't directly pressured the two countries' envoys with words and killed Gong Cheng with a sword, I'm afraid we would have been in an even more passive position!"