Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

Liu Ye gave instructions to the generals, and he and Luo Bicheng led the cavalry battalion and rushed all the way to Tianjin.

Senggelinqin, who had already received the news, personally summoned Liu Ye at the Imperial Commissioner's Office in Tianjin.

Looking at the dusty Liu Ye, Senggelinqin patted him on the shoulder and said with emotion, "Boy, I never thought that you would be leading an army on your own. When I first received the imperial edict, I was shocked. The Russian army is fierce and powerful. Those Russians are as ferocious as tigers and as cruel as wolves. They have no humanity at all. Are you sure you can handle this mission?"

Liu Ye smiled bitterly and said, "Your Highness, on the battlefield, there's no such thing as guaranteed victory. Even if there's only a 70% chance of winning, I'll charge forward without hesitation. But when the odds are 100%, all I have left is to turn around and run..."

Senggelinqin laughed heartily and exclaimed, "Well said, that's what you mean. Fortune and honor are sought in danger, right? That's exactly what's happening right now. If I didn't need to stay in the capital, I'd really like to head north to Heilongjiang and fight the Russian army to see who's more powerful: the Mongol cavalry or the Cossack cavalry!"

Liu Ye said sternly, "Your Highness, please forgive my frankness. Three hundred years ago, the Mongol iron hooves could easily crush the Cossack cavalry, just like chopping melons and vegetables. Now, the Mongol iron hooves can only be crushed by the Cossack cavalry..."

Senggelinqin's expression changed, and he said unhappily, "Liu Ye, what are you talking about? Are you looking down on my cavalry? Are my cavalry even inferior to the cavalry of your battalion?"

Although Senggelinqin's personal guard battalion lost the last exercise, it was an exercise after all, and it was an infantry battle, not the cavalry that Senggelinqin was good at. Seeing Liu Ye look down on his cavalry, Senggelinqin naturally felt very unhappy.

Liu Ye replied, "Your Highness, I've just noticed your cavalry. Where are their rifles? I know the Emperor allocated quite a few rifles to you all at once. Are you reluctant to use them?"

Senggelinqin frowned and replied, "Liu Ye, rifles are naturally for infantry. Do we really need our cavalry to use rifles? How can we fight then?"

Liu Ye gave a wry smile. The renowned general of the late Qing dynasty, a pillar of the Qing dynasty, was now completely out of touch with the times. Could it be that cavalry couldn't use rifles? You haven't seen it yet. Wait until the day the European armies arrive, and you'll see for yourself. Cavalry armed with carbines, galloping and firing simultaneously, are incredibly powerful. The Mongol cavalry, armed with bows and arrows, simply can't withstand them!

Liu Ye replied, "Your Highness, you are wrong. It is true that rifles are not equipped for cavalry, because cavalry in Europe have standard carbines. But we don't have carbines now, so we can only use rifles. Even if it is just rifles, once equipped with cavalry, the combat effectiveness of the cavalry will see a huge leap!"

Senggelinqin hesitated for a moment and asked, "Is what you said true?"

Liu Ye replied, "Your Highness, all four hundred of my cavalrymen have been trained in rifle shooting. This time, heading north, I've specially equipped them with rifles and sabers. They'll fire from a distance and use sabers at close range. I wonder at what distance your elite cavalry can effectively fire arrows?"

Senggelinqin, with a touch of self-pity, replied, "Excellent Mongol warriors can shoot at a distance of 150 steps and still maintain a certain degree of lethality. As for ordinary cavalry, they can also maintain an effective range of about 100 steps. This is also the capital of the Mongol cavalry's dominance over the world!"

Liu Ye smiled and said, "Your Highness, that's why I said that three hundred years ago, your Mongolian cavalry could easily defeat the Cossack cavalry. Three hundred years ago, and even five hundred years ago, Temujin's cavalry had no rivals across the Eurasian continent! But now it's different. It's not that the Mongolian cavalry has degenerated, but that their opponents have improved. The cavalry equipped with carbines have surpassed the Mongolian cavalry. Your Highness, even for excellent cavalry, the lethality of bows and arrows is only two hundred steps at most. However, you know that any rifle, as long as it is not damaged, has a lethal range of about three hundred steps. Imagine that an ordinary cavalryman can fire three shots in a row from three hundred steps away, while your best warriors can only get within two hundred steps to shoot with bows and arrows! Three shots, and perhaps your three best warriors will have been killed!"

Liu Ye said this and shouted to Luo Bicheng in the distance: "Luo Bicheng!"

Luo Bicheng hurried over and shouted, "Greetings to the prince, and to the general!"

Liu Ye shouted, "Bring me a rifle!"

Luo Bicheng quickly handed the rifle on his shoulder to Liu Ye. Liu Ye took out a bag of bullets, installed them, and fired a shot at a willow tree in the distance!

boom!

Liu Ye threw the gun to Luo Bicheng and said to Senggelinqin, "Your Highness, this tree is at least two or three hundred steps away from us. Let's take a closer look and see how powerful this bullet is!"

Senggelinqin nodded and came to the willow tree with Liu Ye. They saw that the bullet was deeply embedded in the trunk of the willow tree!

Senggelinqin sucked in a breath of cold air. Even when he was in his prime, he claimed that he could draw a bow weighing three stones, but he could only shoot from two hundred steps away. If he shot at this willow tree, it would probably be at the end of its strength by this point and would not even be able to penetrate the bark. Now Liu Ye shot the bullet directly into the willow tree with one shot. It was really amazing!

Liu Ye continued, "Your Highness, this isn't my fault. Any soldier here, as long as they master the techniques of firing a rifle, can do this! Just think about it, if hundreds of cavalrymen were firing at each other, with bows and arrows on one side and rifles or carbines on the other, I'm afraid by the time the cavalrymen with bows and arrows get into range, more than half of them would have already been killed by the cavalrymen with carbines, right?"

Senggelinqin's face was filled with shock, his mouth hanging open. This Liu Ye had once again shocked him. It seemed that he had really been sitting in a well and looking at the world. He had never expected that the cavalry outside would be so powerful. If they were really that powerful, then the Mongolian cavalry would definitely not be their match! Not to mention the Manchu Eight Banners, which were already rotten to the core. They were even more vulnerable!

Senggelinqin smacked his lips, making a clicking sound, and suddenly shouted, "Liu Ye, tell me, if the cavalry were equipped with rifles like this, how long would it take for them to reach your level?"

Liu Ye was stunned and said, "Your Highness, why do you have to reach my level? With just a year or more of training, all cavalrymen can master rifles and shoot freely while their horses are galloping! And their accuracy is no less than that of a bow and arrow!"

Senggelinqin roared, "Very well then! I'll immediately dispatch three hundred rifles and equip my personal cavalry battalion! Damn it! Even if I have to train them to death, I'm going to make sure they master this skill in the shortest possible time!"