The real purpose of Luo Yaoguo's coming to Wu Jianzhang was not to cheat, nor to give Wu Jianzhang a chance to redeem himself, but to get clothes.
His thousands of new troops need military uniforms, and they cannot always wear the short clothes of dock workers. This looks like a coolie regiment. Although many of the strong men who were recruited were originally working on the docks. , but now they are all soldiers "wearing Mr. Luo's clothes", so why don't they wear more airy clothes?
If you want to dress more impressively, of course you can't wear the clothes of the Qing army. Those clothes are too ugly, and there is a "circle" on the chest - is this to facilitate the enemy's aim?
So Luo Yaoguo designed a set of military uniforms by himself. The upper body is a blue-gray Chinese double-breasted jacket or single jacket, the lower body is blue-gray trousers, a blue-gray turban is wrapped around the head, leggings are put on the calves, and a pair of thousand-layer soles are worn on the feet. cloth shoes, a cloth belt tied around the waist, and a cloth bag slung across the body.
The material of this military uniform is mainly the most common blue-gray cotton, and the style is also familiar to the people. Wu Jianzhang's colleagues put the orders out to the people of Shanghai, Huating, Qingpu, Jiading, Baoshan and other counties. After picking it up from home, thousands of housewives started sewing together, and they were able to get the quantity together in such a short time.
The next day, when Luo Yaoguo and Wu Jianzhang took a carriage together to go to the newly opened restaurant called Lao Dexiji in the concession to eat Western food with the consuls of Britain, the United States, and France. A team shouted "Wear it" every day The New Army soldiers who had "Lord Luo's clothes" finally put on the new military uniforms prepared by Lord Luo for them, and followed their Lord Luo into the British Concession in Shanghai.
I saw that all of them were dressed in simple blue and gray, carrying brown Bess guns and bayonets on their belts. They formed two columns in front of and behind the carriage, shouting "one, two, one" and "left, right, left". Ordered to advance, it really looks like a Western-style army.
"Xue Yan, you really know how to train troops! How many days have it been? It's already impressive! I don't think you need foreign generals or soldiers anymore, or those foreign generals and soldiers..."
In the carriage, he saw a group of fresh recruits in front of him through the window. Wu Jianzhang's conversation turned to foreign generals and soldiers for some reason.
These days, Luo Yaoguo and Wu Jianzhang, with the help of the consuls of Britain, the United States, and France, have negotiated more than 200 contracts for foreign generals, soldiers, and sailors. However, these foreign generals and soldiers have not yet officially signed contracts. On duty.
Unlike Wu Ruxiao, Wang Kuiyi, and Cheng Fupei, who helped recruit Chinese soldiers, they could immediately enter the military camp after receiving their settlement allowance and signing a contract. These foreigners all had jobs in Shanghai and had to resign. Those who hold positions in the British and French garrisons have to go through a handover, or at least arrange an agent before they can come to Luo Yaoguo to take up their posts. Some people have to relax for a few days after resigning from their original jobs. Procrastination is not good at all!
Therefore, many foreigners signed contracts, but less than thirty people actually entered the Luodian camp. Moreover, these people did not leave the army, but were receiving short-term Chinese language training from Wu Chaoyue.
"That's not possible," Luo Yaoguo heard that Wu Jianzhang meant to "fire" these foreigners who had not yet taken up their duties, and immediately shook his head and said, "The contract has been signed, how can we break the contract?"
"Only more than a hundred people have signed, and there are still more than a hundred who have not signed!" Wu Jianzhang said with a smile, "Actually, I don't want to save a few dollars, but I want to recommend these people to Mr. Su."
"Master Su?" Luo Yaoguo immediately became vigilant, "Sushun? He also wants to train a new European-style army?"
Wu Jianzhang nodded, with a matter-of-fact expression: "Xueyan, with a few hundred new troops as your base, you have been promoted from a small seventh-grade candidate county to a fourth-grade Jiangnan Yanfa Road and Jiangning Prefecture in a short period of time. ...Wouldn't this promotion attract the attention of the world? Of course, many people want to learn from you."
"But Sushun is a relative of the emperor!" Luo Yaoguo said with a frown, "He still needs to train soldiers to get promoted."
"That's not necessary," Wu Jianzhang shook his head, "but he is going to lead a team overseas..."
"Going abroad? Sushun is going abroad? Luo Yaoguo was shocked and thought to himself: "What's going on? Is the Westernization Movement going to be advanced? Why are they just running forward? Where are the diehards? Why don't you stand up and stop it?"
"Master Wu, where did you get this news? Is it reliable?" Luo Yaoguo still couldn't believe it.
"Of course it's reliable!" Wu Jianzhang took out a thick stack of folders from his sleeve pocket and handed it to Luo Yaoguo, "Brother Xueyan, read it for yourself... This is the Di newspaper that was just delivered today."
"Di's newspaper? Oh... let me take a look."
Only then did Luo Yaoguo remember that in ancient China, there had long been the "Di Bao", a news copy specially used by the court to convey documents and political intelligence about government affairs - of course it was also a leaking hole!
The previously established God-Worship Secret Hall had long regarded collecting the Qing court's "Di Bao" as an important way to obtain intelligence.
But now that he has become a fourth-level Taoist priest in the Qing Dynasty, he can obtain the Di Bao openly, but he has forgotten this matter. But even if he remembers this matter, Luo Yaoguo himself has no way to obtain the Di Bao. Because he Not even a formal yamen has been established yet! He had never thought about confronting the Holy Angel Wu King Luo Yaoguo in Shanghai, so he never made any plans to open a yamen.
Now that the "Shanghai Special Zone" is going to be established, there must be a government office to connect with the Qingyao court. Luo Yaoguo is doing two things. While thinking about how to open a government office, he has already unfolded the eighteen-page Di newspaper. I flipped through the pages and quickly found news about "Sushun, Yuanbao, Bai Siwen, and Li Hongzhang going abroad".
"And Li Hongzhang?" Luo Yaoguo muttered, and then asked in surprise: "They went... to Rome to ask the monks from the Vatican's Demon-Conquering Hall to conquer demons?"
Wu Jianzhang nodded and said with a smile: "I heard from Witoma, who is in charge of this matter, that inviting monks from the Vatican to come to the Qing Dynasty to slay demons is only one of the purposes of this trip. The other purpose is to ask foreign generals and soldiers to help train troops. , and we will buy a large number of foreign guns and cannons to deal with Changmao... So if we don’t need those one or two hundred foreign generals and soldiers, we can transfer them to Mr. Su, and he will definitely make arrangements for them."
"We need it!" Luo Yaoguo quickly vetoed Wu Jianzhang's suggestion, "How could it not be needed? Our Western-style army has just started, and we have a lot to learn! Mr. Wu, let's urge Aliguo again today, love Tang, Ma Hui, tell them to quickly arrange for the professional officers we signed to take office!"
"Okay, then I'll urge you again!"
The Old Desi Restaurant near the British Consulate was the first Western restaurant to open on Shanghai Bund. It was opened in a small three-story British-style building on the Bund, next to the Huangpu River. An important place for dining and socializing.
At this moment, in a private room on the third floor of this foreign-style building, there were Aliguo, Weitoma, Aitang, Ma Hui, and a man wearing a French army uniform with a long scar on his right cheek and two The elderly man with a fierce look in his eyes and five people were reading around a copy of the "Hong Kong Banknote" that had just been sent from Hong Kong. There was also a bilingual "Hong Kong Banknote" in Chinese and English beside the Hong Kong Banknote. "The Great Book of Prophecy".
The atmosphere in the box was very solemn. Aitang and the old French officer made the famous cross on their chests from time to time and murmured something to each other. But Waitoma shook his head repeatedly and muttered in a low voice: "This is impossible, absolutely impossible... Napoleon III actually married this Eugenie. Even the wedding date was the same as what was mentioned in the "Major Prophecy"!"
Ma Hui, the American red-necked consul, said excitedly: "I knew the devil existed! I have known for a long time that there are many legends about the devil in the United States, and there are still people who believe in the devil!"
"Major!" the old French officer interrupted the American consul in blunt English, "Why the devil? Maybe an angel?"
"It can't be angels," French Consul Aitang immediately shook his head and said, "Charles, if the information in the "Great Prophecy" comes from angels, then who are the children of God and the sons-in-law of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?"
American Ma Hui took the question from the French consul and shrugged: "God may not only have Jesus as a child. Adam and Eve seem to be children of God as well..."
"Major, you are blaspheming!" the French consul said seriously. Ma Hui snorted: "What is blasphemy? This is freedom of belief! Our United States is a free country, unlike some European countries that always Oscillating between freedom and monarchy!"
"Major," the old French officer immediately became angry, "without our French monarch, you would still be a second-class citizen in the British colonies!"
"Stop arguing! The diplomatic missions of our three countries in China must be consistent!" British Consul Aliguo saw that "the United States" and "France" were about to fight over the issue of how many children God has, and he quickly spoke to mediate.
But Major Ma Hui and the old French officer still glared at each other. Just when the scene was about to get out of control, an Indian servant from the British Consulate quickly went upstairs, walked to Aliguo, bowed, and said in a flattering tone: "Mr. , Chinese guests have arrived."
Chapter completed!