Guo Ye said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the Russian Koubian, then there is only one word, fight, if you can fight, you have to fight, if you can't fight, you have to fight, the Russians are insatiable, and they are completely different from Britain and France, after all, Britain and France are thousands of miles away from us, and at most they will plunder some gold and silver treasures; But the Russians are close at hand, they are going to rob our territory, and the ancestral inheritance must not fall into the hands of the bureaucrats! The minister is willing to ask for an order to patrol the border and fight to the death with Tsarist Russia! ”

Xianfeng said in a deep voice: "Aren't you unsure? ”

Guo Ye smiled proudly and replied: "Your Majesty, the minister has already said just now, if you can fight, you must fight, but if you can't fight, you must fight!" There are 360,000 people in the Qing Dynasty, and 2,000 people are not opponents, so can't we send 5,000 people up? 5,000 people are no opponent, so we will use 20,000! Until the Tsarist Russia is completely subdued, they will no longer dare to make easy mistakes! Those who commit crimes will be punished even if they are far away! The Han people have such a backbone and domineering, do we lack blood? ”

Su Shun on the side shouted: "Okay, Guo Ye, what you said is good!" Foreigners are greedy, cold-blooded, and cunning, and we just want to make them have a better memory! Your Majesty, the ministers supported Guo Ye's suggestion and sent troops to patrol the border and pass outside! ”

Wu Ren hesitated: "Su Zhongtang, this is not a joke, in the first war between China and Russia, how many troops do we need to mobilize, and how much food do we need?" Moreover, from the capital to Heilongjiang, thousands of miles away, how long do we have to travel on the road? These are all unknowns......"

Xianfeng was also hesitant for a while, to fight, that is to pay for it! If you can win, it is good to say that once you are defeated, it will be a real loss of labor and money, and the gains outweigh the losses.

Xianfeng asked, "Guo Ye, since you think this battle must be fought, what mature strategy do you have?" ”

Guo Ye replied: "Your Majesty, first, the military strength, Lord Yishan said that the strength of Tsarist Russia has increased to more than 5,000 people, or Yishan has some exaggeration, but it is true that the army is strong. The minister's strength in Baoding Town was indeed insufficient, and the minister requested that three to six battalions of troops be increased, or that the firearms battalion be allocated for use; Second, weapons, although the Russians are not as sophisticated as the British and French, they are also equipped with a large number of firearms, especially their cavalry, equipped with cavalry special cavalry guns, with a range of not less than two or three hundred paces, far exceeding the bows and arrows of the imperial cavalry. Third, starting from the land to Heilongjiang, the journey is only afraid of no less than three thousand miles, even if it is a full march, it will take nearly two months to arrive, the time is too long, and when the army arrives, I am afraid that we have lost the opportunity, the minister suggested renting American merchant ships from Tianjin, all the way to escort the army to the North Korean Qingjin, where the Jiangdong area is already close at hand, and the sea march, the speed is far beyond the land, to the minister's estimate, can save at least 20 days of time for our army! ”

Xianfeng nodded slightly, although he didn't understand Guo Ye's analysis too deeply, but compared to those ministers who had no idea in their chests, it was already very good, at least he came up with a set of strategies.

Su Shun frowned, and replied: "Guo Ye, I am afraid that there are some difficulties in the matter of increasing troops, first of all, there are five or six battalions of elite soldiers, and now almost all the elite soldiers are concentrated under the command of the monk king, and now in addition to deploying Gyeonggi, he has to make every effort to eliminate the bandits, and the troops are still insufficient, how can he help you?" As for the firearms battalion, that is the last barrier in our capital, and the emperor's safety is tied to it, you transfer the firearms battalion, so what will happen to the defense of the capital next? ”

Guo Ye was depressed for a while, what is it, together with your suppression army, we have troops, and we will fight against foreign invasion, and there will be nothing? One is cannibalism, the other is a foreign strongman, who is close and who is far away, can't you tell the difference? There is also a firearms battalion, if the foreigners come over, do you really expect these hundreds of people to be able to drive the foreigners away? Lao Tzu is here, the firearms battalion can exert its power, Lao Tzu is not there, just relying on that waste-like Zaidun, I'm afraid that people haven't come to him, I'm afraid that he will be scared to the point of urine, right?

Guo Ye replied: "Your Majesty, Su Zhongtang, if you only send troops to Baoding Town, even if I have the ability to go to the sky, it is difficult to say that I will win, unless the imperial court equips the whole army of Baoding Town with foreign guns and artillery, otherwise, the ministers are only more than 2,000 people facing twice as strong an enemy as themselves, and it is difficult for this clever woman to cook without rice!" ”

Xianfeng nodded and replied, "Guo Ye, then in your opinion, how many weapons do I need to equip Baoding Town?" ”

Guo Ye pondered for a moment and replied: "Your Majesty, you have already allocated 300 rifles and 10 artillery pieces to Baoding, if you want to arm the whole of Baoding, I need to add 20 artillery pieces, 1,500 rifles, and at the same time, I also need 3,000 shells and 2,000 boxes of gun bullets!" As long as these things are fully configured and with the assistance of Lord Yishan, the minister will win! ”

The corners of Xianfeng's mouth twitched, there were not many firearms transported by the Americans this time, the first batch was only 3,500 rifles, and there were 100 artillery pieces, which made Guo Ye take more than one-third of it at once! It's distressing!

However, Tsarist Russia is already in the midst of a burning matter, and it must not be delayed any longer, as long as it can repel the Russians, it can only grit its teeth and promise Guo Ye.

Xianfeng said with difficulty: "Guo Ye, this time the Western ordnance of the United States is all handled by you, and you also know that they have given a total of so much, I have already allocated 2,000 rifles to Zeng Guofan and the monk king, and there are only 1,200 left, as for the artillery, there are still 20 pieces, so it will satisfy your wish." ”

Wu Ren played on the side: "Your Majesty, there is one more thing for the minister, that is, if it is really as Guo Ye said, renting American merchant ships to transport troops, it is a lot of expenses, and now the treasury is in difficulty......

Guo Ye was almost so angry that he vomited blood, none of these old men can do the right thing! In addition to making a mess for yourself, there is no time to be comfortable!

Guo Ye said angrily: "Lord Wa! To rent an American merchant ship, it is enough to have 10,000 taels of silver, and with 2,500 troops, only four large ships are needed, that is, 50,000 taels of silver. But have you ever thought about it, the five large battalions under my command, after being equipped with weapons and equipment, can only march sixty miles a day on land! To reach Heilongjiang, it takes two months, how much food does it cost a day? How much does it cost to pay for 60 days? Can't you even calculate which one is a good deal? Could it be that your arithmetic was taught by an old woman on the street? ”