The development of Ningwu Mansion has begun to bring signs of prosperity to various parts of Shanxi. Hu Pinzhi is very clear about this. But in these troubled times, how long this good development momentum can be maintained, even the popular governor does not know.

Dare to draw conclusions easily. How to maintain a long-term, stable social environment and make the current good development trend continue as long as possible can only be achieved by relying on a strong armed force. And Kang Fan is prepared to do it on his own

After hearing about raising funds to form an army, Hu Pinzhi decided to intervene.

Hu Pinzhi understood the current situation of the dynasty very well: in the Zhili area, the Wu Yi Army, Gan Army, Yi Army and other new armies trained by some important ministers of the DPRK had no less than 60,000 troops, including the troops commanded by Ronglu himself.

There are more than 10,000 troops stationed in Nanyuan. At present, the battle between the conservatives and the reformers in North Korea is intensifying. The Western powers also have their own agendas. It is well known to everyone that they intend to carve up China. The internal and external situation is extremely bad.

Under this situation, if Shanxi can have a strong local armed force, it will be beneficial to Shanxi. On the one hand, it can increase Shanxi's weight in participating in political affairs in the court, and it can be relied on in internal battles and in resisting external aggression.

On the other hand, I am already over sixty years old and my official career is not long ago. It is rare to have a young man like Kang Fan who is extremely outstanding in character, ability and other aspects to help govern Shanxi. It should be the best thing.

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Therefore, after careful consideration, Hu Pinzhi made a major decision against all opinions: appointing Kang Fan as the infantry commander and instructor, forming a new type of army, and raising part of the military expenditure in the province to allocate it to Kang Fan.

Provide starting capital.

Hu Pinzhi was one of the few local officials in the dynasty who held both civil and military positions. He was a governor and an admiral, and held all the military and political power in Shanxi. The identity of the infantry commander he conferred on Kang Fan was of a natural nature.

He is a military attaché of the third rank - a general, and his position has been raised by two levels, which is already quite impressive. But in terms of influence, it is smaller than Kang Fan's original rank of military attaché, appointed by Emperor Guangxu himself.

Of course Kang Fan was happy to accept the task and got to work immediately.

The first is to openly recruit professional and technical talents with high salaries from society, such as Chinese students studying abroad, senior domestic scholars and Westerners, etc., to enhance the strength of Chiang Saen Battalion in professional cultural knowledge and military theory education, to expand intelligence, sniping, reconnaissance,

Professional training capabilities in communications, engineering, medical care, logistics, etc. Some of the doctors and nurses reserved by the county hospital were transferred to Chiang Saen Camp to receive retraining, making them the first batch of professional military doctors and ambulance soldiers.

Then there is the nationwide recruitment of military students. After admission, they will enter Chiang Saen Camp to enjoy public education. After graduation, they will become grassroots officers of the new army. However, because the expansion and renovation project of Chiang Saen Camp is in progress, everyone can only stay in the temporary resettlement site until the completion of the project.

I have to do my own thing, and the conditions are a bit difficult.

After the recruitment office at the county hospital started working, there was an influx of people who signed up to join the army. After these personnel passed the hospital's formal physical examination and the preliminary review by the instructors of the Chiang Saen Battalion, their personal information such as name, gender, age, height, weight

, place of origin, blood type, etc. and the subsequently taken bare-headed photo of the person will be entered into the personal file and placed in a temporary campsite next to Chiang Saen Camp.

The medical center in Chiang Saen Camp will organize them to carry out personal hygiene cleaning procedures. For example: new troops must cut off their braids and shave their heads into short crew cuts; their own clothes must be burned; after bathing, they must change into military uniforms issued by the munitions department.

etc.

The original Blue Demon members of the Cavalry Regiment were influenced by Kang Fan and spontaneously imitated Kang Fan one after another without any explanation from Kang Fan. They all shaved their heads into the same short crew cut. This is very important to them who live in contemporary times.

It is definitely an amazing move for people! It also reflects one of the best qualities of these officers and soldiers from one aspect: they are easy to accept new and good things and do not stick to the old rules.

However, it was very difficult for the troops stationed in various parts of Shanxi and those who signed up to join the army from other provinces to implement the above procedures. There were many open opponents, many of whom overreacted, so there were many people who quit. Later, Kang Fan did

A compromise was made: the front-line garrison must comply with the request, and the internal defense troops did not make clear requests and acted according to their own wishes, and the matter was settled.

There are hundreds of thousands of green battalions, Eight Banners soldiers, local regiment training and other armed forces stationed in Shanxi Province. The number of soldiers is sufficient. Although the good and bad are mixed, there are still a certain number of outstanding personnel who can meet the cultural and military qualities selected from them.

Guaranteed. At the same time, recruiting outstanding military personnel from across the country is, to put it bluntly, poaching and recruiting qualified people from within the country.

The expansion and renovation project of Qingsein Camp is also being carried out in a hurry. It is planned to be completed and officially put into use after the recruitment work is completed before winter. Since the industrial system of Ninhwu Prefecture has not yet been completed, it is not yet possible to produce new weapons and equipment, so it is decided that the military uniforms will still be used.

Qing army standard military uniforms, weapons will continue to be purchased from abroad. The weapons used by front-line garrison troops are still Mosin-Nagant rifles, Mauser automatic pistols and Maxim water-cooled heavy machine guns, while the internal security troops and patrol house personnel are equipped with

Colt revolver and Winchester lever-action rifle. Although these two types of American-made civilian firearms are less powerful, they are very suitable for the tasks of these two teams.

The new army stationed in Chiang Saen camp in the future is actually the Ningwu Prefecture garrison. It should be under the jurisdiction of the general military officer of Datong Town, but in fact it is directly dispatched by Hu Pinzhi and should be regarded as a force directly under the provincial military region. But the new army's

All expenses were basically raised by the Ningwu Prefecture on its own. Hu Pinzhi's greatest contribution was to provide firm official support. As for military expenditures, it was only symbolic support.

In this way, Kang Fan actually controlled the military power of the New Army, making officials at all levels in the province afraid of Kang Fan's measures to rectify the officialdom of Ningwu Mansion. Therefore, Yu Hao's initial worries disappeared and he was relieved.

He helped Kang Fan thoroughly clean up the officialdom of Ningwu Mansion.

The members of the Chiang Saen Battalion intelligence team played a major role in this operation. The relevant information they obtained through various means became the main criterion for evaluating people in Ningwu Prefecture's officialdom. The cavalry regiment and the patrol house acted jointly, and they were unaware of the ghosts.

All those in the officialdom who broke the law were arrested, leaving them no time to react and they all surrendered.

But Kang Fan later adopted a very conservative strategy on how to deal with these people: they were all handed over to the Yanping Road Department, and the Yanping Road priest, Yu Hao's uncle, would deal with them.

All evidence and physical evidence were handed over, and these people were dismissed from their official positions and kicked out of the Ningwu Mansion. As for those people in the officialdom who had no illegal behavior but were incompetent, Kang Fan dismissed them all from their official posts and kicked them out of the officialdom directly.

After the purge operation, Kang Fan officially appointed Yu Hao to take charge of the administrative work of Ningwu Mansion, Zhong Hanqiang to take charge of financial work, He Shuichang to take charge of agriculture, He Shuikuo to take charge of domestic trade, Donovan to take charge of foreign trade, industry, etc.

The heads of the newly established departments such as culture and education, medical and health, and social security were all elected from the students. Mei Xiang was elected as the Minister of Medical and Health Affairs of Ningwu Prefecture with her superb medical skills and outstanding leadership ability. I am delighted that

Can't help myself.

After the main agencies and responsible persons of Ningwu Prefecture were established, they began to openly recruit public officials from the society. Each agency hired qualified candidates through interviews, written examinations, review and other procedures, and assigned them to suitable positions. Together with the retained veterans, the system was completed.

Each company has its own personnel system, and this procedure has been fixed. It will be reviewed every two years, incompetent personnel will be fired, and new people will be hired.

After the implementation of these measures, it shocked the whole province, especially several county magistrates in Ningwu Prefecture who were very silent for fear of getting into trouble and worked extremely hard. In his heart, Hu Pinzhi supported Kang Fan's actions.

, so I turned a blind eye and ignored the criticisms from all parties.

After the officialdom was reorganized, the goals expected by Kang Fan were achieved, and government agencies at all levels began to operate immediately. All major decisions in the Ningwu Mansion were decided through collective deliberations to decide whether to implement them or not. After brainstorming, a lot of work was saved.

Without unnecessary detours, all aspects of work can be carried out more smoothly. And with the full help of the new Ningwu Prefecture administrative agency, Kang Fan will have more time for himself.

The recruitment work of the New Army and the Chiang Saen Camp are assisted by students, officers of the Cavalry Regiment and many personnel from the county hospital. It is not necessary for Kang Fan to be in charge personally. He can just go and ask questions every once in a while. And Kang Fan is in Chiang Saen.

The house in the camp was not included in this renovation, because both Kang Fan and Mei Xiang were very satisfied with their current residence, so Kang Fan stayed at home for most of the rest of the year.

Worked as a supervisor at the Chiang Saen Camp construction site.

Under his personal supervision, after the expansion and renovation, Chiang Saen Camp became a real, fully functional military base that fully meets Kang Fan's standards: the headquarters, barracks, classrooms, library, etc. have all been changed from the original ones.

The brick and tile bungalows have all been transformed into three-story brick-concrete buildings with basements. There are well-equipped training grounds, shooting ranges, arsenals, logistics warehouses, stables, hospitals, boiler rooms, canteens, bathrooms, etc.

The scale has been enlarged compared to the original, with cement-paved roads extending in all directions. The open spaces on both sides of the road and between the buildings are filled with newly planted flowers, plants and trees, and are full of greenery. The entire camp is clean, tidy and pleasing to the eye, enough to accommodate 20,000 people stationed there.

The area of ​​the camp is even larger than that of Ningwu County.

Kang Fan merged the conscripted soldiers with the cavalry regiment to form a new army with a total number of more than 13,000 people. In the new army, local troops accounted for 70%, and active soldiers who jumped from various armies in the country

accounted for the remaining 30%, and the rest of the ordinary people who signed up to join the army were accepted by the Internal Guards. Although the number did not reach the 10,000 people Kang Fan originally envisioned, because the number of the new army greatly exceeded

If expectations are met, the expansion of the internal security forces will become less urgent.

Furthermore, in the future, recruitment work will be carried out regularly every year, and new recruits will be continuously added. Therefore, after the number of new troops reached the required number, Kang Fan ordered the recruitment work to be stopped this year.

All new officers and soldiers were stationed in Chiang Saen Camp, disrupting the organizational structure. They were all downgraded to ordinary soldiers and underwent systematic training. Kang Fan personally participated in the training work and was responsible for supervision. After the new officers and soldiers underwent basic training, they were divided into professional, intermediate and senior

Training. There are many officers and soldiers in the new army who have rich practical experience and excellent military skills. During the training, a group of outstanding officers and soldiers stood out. These people were personally selected by Kang Fan, trained and appointed as officers at all levels. Therefore, the new army

The officers of the army all respected Kang Fan as "principal".

When Kang Fan established the New Army, he also established a staff department directly led by himself. The administrative organization is located in the headquarters building of Chiang Saen Camp. The personnel are all composed of outstanding officers selected from the New Army. The subordinate Combat Support Bureau

, Equipment Management Bureau, Administrative Personnel Bureau, Law Enforcement Inspection Bureau, Security Bureau and other departments, are fully responsible for the defense work of Ningwu Prefecture and the recruitment, training, management, equipment, logistics, intelligence, command, combat and other aspects of the Jin army. They are Ningwu

The higher-level management agency of all the armed forces in the Wu Prefecture. The Security Bureau was expanded and established based on the original intelligence team. It is divided into domestic and foreign departments. The domestic department is responsible for conducting inspections of officials and staff in various administrative agencies of the province.

Supervises, reviews, and collects and handles intelligence on security-related matters in other areas of the country and the province. The foreign department is responsible for the collection and handling of intelligence on security-related matters related to foreign countries. It has a team of intelligence personnel and special operations forces directly under the jurisdiction of this department.

The Internal Security Forces are directly under the jurisdiction of the Staff Department, and their officers are also officers drawn from the New Army. They implement the same management model as the New Army, but their stations are scattered in renovated old military camps in the counties under their jurisdiction, and are in charge of their respective tasks.

Region. The formation of this force effectively cooperates with the various tasks of the county patrol houses and the new army, ensuring the stability and peace of the people in the Ningwu Prefecture area and even the entire Yanping Road, and jointly creating the best regional society in the province.

environment.

Although the military uniforms of the New Army and the Internal Guard still follow the Qing army standard, they are fully equipped with clothing from inside to outside, from winter to summer. Every 10 to 20 people share a dormitory with double-layered bunks.

There is a single bed for each person, and the bedding and personal items are all standard configurations. Bedding, towels, toiletries, etc. are all provided. The bedroom is spacious and clean, and the large windows inlaid with transparent glass provide lighting and good ventilation.

, and at night, the lights are bright, and very sanitary flush public toilets and scientific sewage systems are uniformly used. The new officers and soldiers stationed in Qingsein Camp have all cut off their long braids, have short crew cuts, and wear strict

The personal hygiene and collective hygiene management systems such as bathing, changing clothes, and haircuts have greatly reduced the probability of some common diseases and infectious diseases.

How can the contemporary Qing army have such superior conditions? The military uniforms are extremely incomplete and lack this and that; the military camps are all old-style buildings, and although there are windows, they are all covered with window paper, which is dark and stuffy; the toilets are full of stinky smells

The sky is full of maggots in the latrines; sleeping in Datongbu, the officers and soldiers have long braids and can hardly take a bath. Dozens of people sleep on the same bed. Mosquitoes are rampant in the house, and everyone is covered with lice... The most common thing in the military camp

One phenomenon is: when going to bed, everyone puts on a quilt and scratches the lice on their clothes under the oil lamp.

In addition to rice, white flour, miscellaneous grains and other grains, the meals provided by the canteen of the Chiang Saen Camp for the officers and soldiers also greatly increased the proportion of meat, milk, eggs, vegetables, fruits, etc., providing the officers and soldiers with sufficient nutrition to satisfy Chiang Saen.

The almost cruel military training implemented in the camp places stringent demands on the physical fitness of the officers and soldiers.

In addition, some modern sports have been introduced into the Chiang Saen camp and various cultural and artistic activities have been carried out. On the one hand, they can enrich the life of the officers and soldiers in the military camp. On the other hand, they can increase the physical fitness of the officers and soldiers, improve their physical fitness, enhance exchanges between officers and soldiers, and deepen

Friendship, such as football, basketball, volleyball and other collective ball games, horizontal and parallel bars and other equipment sports, track and field events, aerobics, singing, dancing, individual talent performances, etc., are all new things that officers and soldiers have never heard of or seen before.

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These modern sports events were taught by Kang Fan, Zhong Hanqiang, Mei Xiang and her classmates, and the teaching staff working in Qingsaen Camp played an icing on the cake. In their spare time, they often

We played various sports with everyone on the training ground, organized various cultural and artistic activities on the lawn in front of the headquarters building, etc., which made the Chiang Saen Camp bustling with activity, attracting a large number of local people, and the soldiers and civilians had fun together.

The teaching staff and students in Chiang Saen Camp enjoy the same living conditions as the officers and soldiers, while the conditions of the internal security forces in terms of military camp hardware facilities and equipment are slightly worse. However, this is only compared with Chiang Saen Camp. If it is compared with Chiang Saen Camp,

Compared with the contemporary Qing army, the conditions are quite good.

Later, following Hu Pinzhi's wishes, Kang Fan collectively referred to the New Army and the Internal Guards as the Jin Army, respectively called the Jin Army Standing Army and the Jin Army Internal Guards. Under the joint maintenance of the Standing Army, Internal Guards, patrols and other armed forces

, the industrial and agricultural development centered on Ningwu Prefecture was developing with each passing day. At the end of that year, the industrial construction plan of Ningwu Prefecture was completed, and a relatively complete industrial system was established, thus entering a new industrial era.

In this year's large-scale construction, the local power industry and building materials industry first developed and expanded due to huge demand, followed by the mining industry, wood processing industry, paper industry, food processing industry, daily necessities manufacturing industry, and pharmaceutical industry.

, the prosperity of the textile industry, service industry, etc. These enterprises have created huge wealth for Ningwu Prefecture, provided strong support for the establishment of various local undertakings, and promoted various local undertakings to enter a stage of healthy development.
To be continued...