Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

When Liu Ye received the order, he was still undergoing training. According to his plan, he would select 100 people from each camp except the cavalry camp to form a special forces corps. Although in this era, military weapons are seriously backward and military technology cannot keep up, Liu Ye does not intend to give up. Special forces are not only reflected in one aspect. Even if their comprehensive capabilities are a little worse now, once the weapons catch up, the deterrent effect on the enemy will be self-evident.

After receiving the imperial edict brought by Lu Xi, Liu Ye was puzzled and asked, "Eunuch Lu Xi, may I ask why the emperor is so anxious to summon me to the capital?"

Lu Xi smiled bitterly and said, "Master Liu, you don't know yet, do you? Something happened. The big-nosed Russians in the north suddenly launched an attack. Heilongjiang General Yishan led his troops to meet them, but his 6,000 elite troops were defeated in one fell swoop. Now they are hiding in Qiqihar, not daring to leave. Just before I left the palace, Yishan sent another urgent telegram over 700 miles, saying that the Russian army attacked Vladivostok by land and sea, and captured Vladivostok without bloodshed. Now the whole of Jiangdong has fallen into the hands of Tsarist Russia!"

Liu Ye stood up suddenly. He tried his best but still couldn't break the historical trajectory of Tsarist Russia's invasion of Northeast China. East of the Ussuri River, there are more than 400,000 square kilometers of territory, especially that long and narrow river that sealed the entire Northeast on land. Jilin and Heilongjiang no longer have an outlet to the sea. We must not let Tsarist Russia succeed!

Liu Ye said in a deep voice: "Eunuch, is this the reason why the Emperor summoned me to the capital?"

Lu Xi smiled bitterly and said, "Yes, Lord Liu. Zeng Guofan's Hunan Army is still fighting a tough battle with the Taiping Rebellion, and the monk king's cavalry has to protect the capital and guard against foreigners and the Nian bandits. Where in the court are there any famous generals who can fight? In desperation, the emperor can only rely on you, his steed. You must be prepared. You may be sent to Heilongjiang to fight the Russians!"

Liu Ye nodded. It seemed this battle was unavoidable. Even if the imperial court didn't allow him to send troops, he would still ask for orders. If they didn't allow him, he would just raise an army and fight against Tsarist Russia alone. He would even make Heilongjiang his own territory! He absolutely couldn't lose the area east of the Ussuri River. Its strategic location was too important!

Liu Ye called He Qimou and Zhu Hai over. Zhu Hai had just recovered from his injury and had not fully recovered yet.

"Brother Qimou, Xiaohai, you heard what our father-in-law said just now. The Russians are riding on our heads again. This time, if I don't beat the shit out of them, I'll write the word Liu backwards!"

Liu Ye shouted in a low voice.

He Qimou said worriedly, "Brother, this matter cannot be taken lightly. The Russians are brave and good at fighting. Even if their cavalry was at the peak of the Eight Banners, they might not be able to defeat them. The two or three thousand people in Baoding Town have only been trained for a month and are far from being elite soldiers. If we rashly send them in, I'm afraid the outcome will be unpredictable..."

Liu Ye sneered, "So what? The Russians only have three or four thousand men, not many, and their weapons aren't much more advanced than ours. As long as we plan well, we still have a chance of victory. No matter what, this battle must be fought! Big Brother, Xiao Hai, you two must intensify your war preparations here. Once the order comes down, we'll go to Heilongjiang!"

After saying this, Liu Ye asked someone to bring his warhorse over, jumped on it, whipped the horsewhip, and galloped away, leaving even Lu Xi behind.

Lu Xi smiled bitterly. This guy was too arrogant. Even if he was anxious, there was no need to be like this. We hadn't even had a sip of water when we got here. However, this was an extraordinary period. Liu Ye was anxious and furious, so he couldn't pick on him like this.

He Qimou, who was standing by, quickly invited Lu Xi to the back hall of the general's mansion to rest.

Liu Ye got on his warhorse and galloped all the way from Baoding Prefecture to Beijing City, a distance of 400 miles. Even if he traveled at full speed, it would take a day, after all, a warhorse also needed rest.

By the time Liu Ye arrived in Beijing, it was already noon the next day.

Liu Ye went straight to the Forbidden City. After receiving the report, Emperor Xianfeng immediately summoned Liu Ye to the court.

Seeing Liu Ye walk in, Xianfeng said anxiously: "My dear Guo, the situation is urgent, so let's forget all the formalities. I want to ask you, now that the Russian army has invaded the border areas, if I let you lead the troops to Heilongjiang and command the battle on the front line, are you sure you can drive the Russians away?"

At this time, Liu Ye did not dare to speak carelessly. After all, he had made a big promise in the past. If he backed down now, it would be deceiving the emperor. There were important ministers such as Sushun and Weiren standing beside him. However, if he agreed to it, there would be hidden dangers. There were only more than 2,000 people in Baoding Town, while Tsarist Russia had 3,000 to 4,000 people, and it was said that it was still sending more troops. It would be extremely difficult to defeat Tsarist Russia with only these 2,000 people!

Liu Ye pondered and said, "Your Majesty, I dare not hide anything. If I were given another six months to reorganize the Baoding soldiers, I would be 80% sure of successfully repelling the Russians. However, the troops in Baoding have only been trained for a month, and most of them are new recruits. Baoding's weapons are still outdated cold weapons. I dare not claim victory over the Russians..."

When Xianfeng heard this, his face immediately turned gloomy. You were so arrogant at the beginning, saying that the Russians could not leave without a fight!

Prince Gong was also a little unhappy. This kid was good in every way except that he was not steady enough. How could he speak so freely in front of the emperor? Now he was screwed, right?

Prince Gong said in a deep voice: "Liu Ye, the war is urgent now. You boasted in public that you could defeat the Russians. Now that the Russians are here, you..."

Liu Ye quickly replied, "Your Majesty, Prince Gong, it's not that I'm afraid of fighting, but that I have no one under my command. Before I took over, Baoding Town boasted eight battalions, over 4,000 men. But when I arrived, I discovered where did those 4,000 men come from? At best, only 3,450 men. Moreover, many of them are elderly, weak, and sick. For the past month, I've been concentrating on reorganizing the military. After the reorganization, the entire town now only has over 2,500 soldiers, including nearly 1,000 new troops. With such a small force, facing the fierce Russian Empire, even if I had the ability of Zhuge Liang, I wouldn't be sure of victory..."

Xianfeng nodded slightly. That was true. The three or four thousand Russian troops were very powerful. Yishan's more than six thousand men were defeated by him, not to mention the more than two thousand men under Liu Ye?

Xianfeng asked, "Liu Ye, do you have any good countermeasures to resolve the military situation outside the Great Wall?"