The man looked up and saw that it was a young scholar who was asking him a question.
But he didn't see any contempt on Dong Shuheng's face.
"Sigh... I originally wanted to take the exam for the military academy. I heard that those who have passed the Huai Haijun Military Academy can directly become officers. Someone said that the exam is organized here, so I came to ask, but I didn't expect that I took the wrong exam. It turns out that this is an academy exam."
The man said dejectedly.
"Why do you only want to be admitted to the military academy? After passing the academy, you can directly become an official."
"Brother, I think you come from a wealthy family. If ordinary people like us want to get ahead, it is obviously easier to do so in the military than in the officialdom."
"I heard that the Huai Navy attaches great importance to military merit, and most of the people in the army come from poor families. It is suitable for ordinary people like me. I have studied for a few years, and it may not be enough to be a civil servant, but this little ink should be enough in the army."
"It's all Zhang Shusheng, an old liar, who actually tricked me into making a trip to Jiangning for nothing." The young man said bitterly.
"May I ask where Xiongtai is from?" Dong Shuheng became more and more curious about this person.
"Oh, I'm Feixi Liu Mingchuan. I wonder who you are?" Liu Mingchuan looked at the man's attire and should be from the Huaihai Navy.
"Oh, I'm He Shuhuan in Yangzhou!" Dong Shuheng made up a name at random.
"If you want to be admitted to the military academy, why don't you find out first?"
"The military academy in Huaihai Navy does not seem to admit external students. You must be a soldier of Huaihai Navy or a militiaman on a farm to be eligible to take the exam. Moreover, the military academy is in the south of Gaoyou." Dong Shuheng felt that the man in front of him was not that confused.
people.
"I'm from Luzhou. Our place was previously occupied by Changmao, but it was recently under the rule of Huai Haijun."
"I heard some of the deeds of the Huai Navy, and I admired them deeply. I wanted to join the army. We happened to have a talented student named Zhang Shusheng there. He told me that if I wanted to join the Huai Navy, I had to come to Jiangning. Now all the heads of the Huai Navy are here.
Jiang Ning, he also told me that I should take the exam at the Huaihai Navy Military Academy, because those who graduate from the Huaihai Navy Military Academy can directly become officers."
"No, I just came here. The exam happened to be organized here. I thought they were recruiting people for the military academy?"
"Now that I hear what you say, my trip was in vain."
The two chatted for a while. Dong Shuheng felt that Liu Mingchuan was a pretty good person and his name sounded familiar, so he asked him to have dinner with him that evening.
He himself sent the two girls back first. All three of them had busy lives, so it was good to be able to go shopping for half a day.
Wei Yuzhen and Yang Ximei were also very busy with matters concerning the Women's Normal School.
Wei Yuzhen has been living in the East Prince's Mansion recently, so that she can discuss things with Yang Ximei conveniently.
She originally lived in the Presidential Palace, but Dong Shuheng often asked her to go out for a walk at night.
He also likes to run to backlit areas with few people and then do something with his hands and feet.
Wei Yuzhen was worried that if she stayed with that bad boy any longer, he might be able to take advantage of her.
So I simply moved there and lived next to Lao Dongwang's Mansion, so that it would be easier to deal with work matters.
Dong Shuheng met Liu Mingchuan at night, and Liu Mingchuan also felt that Dong Shuheng was unusual and wanted to get close to him.
The two of them talked a lot at the dinner table.
Liu Ming's family lives in Daqianshan, Feixi, Luzhou. His family has been farming for generations. He is the sixth of six brothers.
When he was 11 years old, his father died of illness, and his brothers started their own families. Since then, he and his mother have been dependent on each other.
In order to support his mother and himself, he went out to work as a boy at a very young age.
He was smart and eager to learn, so the shopkeeper taught him how to read when he had time.
In this way, he learned to read and could read by himself.
Later, war broke out and the master's family was gone. He sold private salt to the mountains by himself and became a private salt dealer.
After the Taiping Army occupied Luzhou, he led the villagers to form a stronghold in the mountains to protect themselves, and he cooperated with the Zhang family regiment led by Zhang Shusheng to resist the Taiping Army.
After the Huai Navy recaptured Luzhou, a grassroots military government was established. Zhang Shusheng and Liu Mingchuan led the villages to submit to the military government.
Zhang Shusheng was born in China. After getting to know Huai Haijun, he felt that Huai Haijun could achieve great things, so he had the idea of joining Huai Haijun, but there was no way out.
It happened that Liu Mingchuan wanted to join the army, so Zhang Shusheng made up a lie and asked Liu Mingchuan to come to Jiangning to test the waters.
Dong Shuheng learned a lot about Anhui's situation through Liu Mingchuan's mouth.
He did not expect that the people of Luzhou were so tough, that even a small village dared to settle debts and confront the Taiping Army.
And Zhang Shusheng, whom Liu Mingchuan mentioned, seems to be a very interesting person as well.
Many officers and soldiers in Dong Shuheng's army were from Huaixi. Most of them were refugees recruited by the Huai Navy in the early days.
The Huaixi refugees and Yanding are currently the two most important forces in the Huaihai Navy.
Dong Shuheng naturally knew about the Huai Army that appeared in history. This army pulled by Li Hongzhang was a major military force active in China after the Hunan Army.
Some people even say that the Huai Army is the originator of China's modern army.
The main body of this army is the powerful Huaixi people and the common people.
Today, after listening to Liu Mingchuan's story about how they formed a stronghold to resist the Taiping Army, Dong Shuheng felt that there really was a wise man out there.
Perhaps his original military school enrollment model was still a bit narrow.
"Brother Liu, if you really want to go to the military academy in Huaihai Navy, it's not impossible. I know that there are some special recruitment quotas in Huaihai Navy every year. You have experience in leading group training in the local area, maybe you can give it a try.
"
"Really?" Liu Mingchuan asked in surprise. He was already preparing to go home, but now that he heard what Dong Shuheng said, his hope suddenly rekindled.
If he went back in disgrace like this, the man named Zhang would definitely laugh at him.
But if he successfully enters the military academy in Huaihai Navy, then when he goes back later, it will be him who laughs at Zhang Shusheng.
"Of course, Brother Liu, I think you made the right choice to go to the military academy. You are born to be an officer."
"How can I see it?"
"You have a big heart. You dare to run to Jiangning without knowing anyone's situation. Leading troops to fight requires your determination and hard work."
"But only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win every battle. Any decision you make in the future must be made after you investigate the situation clearly."
"Brother He, I have learned a lesson."
After seeing off Liu Mingchuan, Dong Shuheng asked Wei Yuxiang to send a telegram to the Gaoyou Army School, informing them that a young man named Liu Mingchuan was going to take the military academy entrance examination, and asked them to help arrange a spot for special recruitment.
A chat with Liu Mingchuan also opened a window for Dong Shuheng.
There is no shortage of talented young people everywhere.
Historically, if Zeng Guofan had not founded the Hunan Army in Hunan, Hunan would not have had such famous officials in the late Qing Dynasty emerge.
If Li Hongzhang had not founded the Huai Army in Anhui, Anhui would not have had so many modern generals emerge.
Do times create heroes, or do heroes create current events? This has always been an important proposition that has troubled people.
Dong Shuheng feels that current events or opportunities create heroes.
Now, if those of his men had not existed of their own and had not had the rise of the Huaihai Navy, they might have been impoverished salt men for the rest of their lives, and some of them might have died as refugees.
But now, many of them may become heroes who will go down in history. Isn't this just how the times have shaped them?
Dong Shuheng had already remembered who Liu Mingchuan was, and he remembered a TV series he had watched before.
In the TV series, a Confucian general led the army and civilians to fight against the French invaders in Tamsui.
Now Liu Mazi is still a fledgling boy, but he already has the qualities to become a hero.
But if Dong Shuheng didn't give him a chance this time, his ending might not be what it would be.
As a leader, Dong Shuheng felt that he had to create more opportunities for these people and not let these historical heroes be buried.
Back at the presidential palace, Dong Shuheng found Ma Zongwu, the director of training.
"Lao Ma, I'm going to build another military academy. Where do you think it should be placed?"
"President, isn't our current military academy not enough?" Ma Zongwu felt that with the current size of the Huaihai Navy, one military academy would be enough.
"It's enough now, but I have a vague feeling that we may make big moves in the next two years, so we will soon expand our troops. We really can't wait for the time."
Ma Zongwu understood what Dong Shuheng meant and did not continue to ask.
"President, if we expand the military academy now, there should be no problem with the teachers. After more than a year, our Gaoyou Military Academy has also accumulated a team of instructors. Some of the officers we have trained ourselves can serve as instructors temporarily.
"
"As for the location, I think it would be better to put it in Jiangning. Jiangning is now our headquarters, and there is a ready-made place here."
"Lao Ma, I plan to recruit students directly from the public for this military academy and organize exams together with the academy every year. Our original enrollment model may cause a lot of brain drain."
Ma Zongwu's suggestion was in line with Dong Shuheng's thinking. Dong Shuheng was trying to build a cluster of universities in Jiangning to promote the development of Jiangning City.
Moreover, having a military academy next to him would make it easier for Dong Shuheng to go to the military academy when he had nothing to do and get closer to the officers.
It just so happened that Dong Shuheng was in Dajian Academy recently, so this could be a good thing to do.
Ma Zongwu also agreed with Dong Shuheng's proposal to recruit students from the public.
After seeing off Ma Zongwu, Dong Shuheng attended the working meeting of the military government at the Prime Minister's Office.
Heard about the recent takeover of new jurisdictions by the military government.
Under the protection of Huai Haijun's powerful force, the entire takeover work went smoothly without much resistance.
Of course, the local forces that wanted to oppose Huai Haijun in everything have long been uprooted.
The Huaihai Navy's method was to raid the entire tribe as long as they resisted, and then move all the tribes overseas.
Recently, the Huai Navy fleet also discovered several uninhabited islands in the Pacific Ocean.
It is also possible that these islands have been discovered before, but because they are too small, the great powers simply do not like them, let alone be willing to develop them.
More than a thousand nautical miles northwest of Hawaii, the fleet unexpectedly discovered an island covering an area of several square kilometers. The island is located exactly halfway between Japan and North America.
After Dong Shuheng received the report from the fleet, he named the island Midway Island.
At the same time, Dong Shuheng also asked the fleet to bring hundreds of people to the island, preparing to build a supply station on the island.
In the end, the fleet that discovered the island also received a generous reward.
Dong Shuheng believes that if this continues, the shipping fleet will discover more islands.
In fact, most of the islands in the Pacific are in the hands of the Spanish. Especially in the South Pacific, where the islands are concentrated.
Dong Shuheng has long been salivating over these islands.
However, although Spain is now in decline, it is still one of the great powers. Its naval power is still superior to the Huai Navy.
In addition, the Spaniards have inextricably linked relations with the United Kingdom, and it is not something Dong Shuheng can just make up his mind.