Li Zhen glanced at the people present, suddenly his eyes lit up, and he said loudly: "I think there should be one person among the people present who wants to join the National Defense Committee."
"Who?" Zeng Guofan asked.
Li Zhen stared at Zuo Zongtang and said with a smile: "Principal Zuo Zongtang."
Zuo Zongtang quickly shook his head and said: "President, I have already served as the principal of the military academy. I hold an important position and can no longer hold other positions. Besides, there are still many things that need to be dealt with by me in the establishment of the military academy. Do not put the school's affairs on hold. , specializes in the affairs of the Ministry of National Defense, and asks the president to show his favor, but it is really useless and does not have so much energy."
Li Zhen chuckled and said calmly: "Principal Zuo, I have good intentions and think about it for the Chinese Military Academy. As long as Principal Zuo joins the National Defense Committee, even if he does not hold important positions such as minister or deputy minister, he will still have Those who have the opportunity to participate in national defense have certain decision-making power. For the military academy, Principal Zuo can play a big role. As the saying goes, there are people in the court who are easy to be officials. This is the reason. Alas... Whatever, if Principal Zuo is not willing , I won’t force it either.”
The corners of Li Zhen's mouth raised, and there was a hint of teasing in his eyes.
After hearing this, Zeng Guofan, Zhao Liewen and others all snickered, knowing that Zuo Zongtang must have fallen into the trap. Sure enough, Zuo Zongtang's eyes widened and he changed his mind without hesitation, and said shamelessly: "President, you didn't just I agreed, but it was really impulsive. In fact, I wanted to serve as a member of the National Defense Committee, so I did it."
He looked like he was doing his part and was extremely excited.
After the candidates were selected, the next step was to agree on the positions. Li Zhen carefully counted the number of people participating, and said with a smile: "There are 18 candidates submitted so far, including Principal Zuo, and seven of them need to be arranged. He will serve as commanders in each major military region, and the remaining ten people will be left as candidates for the Ministry of National Defense. We will discuss who will be the minister and who will be the deputy minister, and how many people are needed for the deputy minister, and then determine the national defense committee."
This time, it became quiet.
When it comes to personnel arrangements, that is the specific division of power.
This is the real meat show.
A guard walked in and reported loudly: "President, Commander Li and Commander Yang who came back from Japan, as well as Commander Su from Taiwan, Commander Lu and Commander Li Xiucheng from Vietnam are back and have arrived in the reception room."
Li Zhen waved his hands and said: "I will come soon." After the guard left, Li Zhen glanced at everyone and said: "You discuss the appointment of candidates. I will go to see Li Hongzhang, Lu Shaochuan and others first, and we will meet later. Let’s finalize the candidate.”
After finishing speaking, Li Zhen stood up and left the conference room.
In the reception room, Li Hongzhang, Yang Jianhou, Su Lei, Lu Shaochuan, and Li Xiucheng have arrived.
The five people were sitting upright, with excitement in their eyes.
"Dong, dong,,."
The sound of footsteps was heard, and the five people looked at each other.
Immediately, he stood up neatly and saluted.
Li Zhen returned the military salute and said, "Thank you for your hard work. Sit down."
After the five people sat down, Lu Shaochuan asked anxiously: "President, what big thing happened? Please call us all back."
Li Zhen replied: "There is indeed a major event. Currently, I am preparing to adjust the military. We need to establish a Ministry of National Defense to unified command the military across the country, and establish military regions across the country, which requires a large number of candidates to fill the gap." Li Zhen introduced in detail. Seeing the arrangements of the seven military regions and the Ministry of National Defense, Lu Shaochuan's eyes shone and he couldn't help but rub his hands.
Li Hongzhang was quite excited and could not restrain his emotions. He had accumulated enough qualifications in Japan for many years and believed that he could obtain certain rights.
Lu Shaochuan changed the topic and said: "President, when I came back, Governor Ye Chengzhong asked me to say hello to you on his behalf. Moreover, Governor Ye Chengzhong and Vietnamese Princess Ruan Lele already have a child, and they miss them very much. President, please take the time to visit Vietnam."
Li Zhen laughed loudly and said, "Okay, I didn't expect Xiaoye to have a child too."
Li Hongzhang continued: "President, this time I return to Beijing to say hello to you on behalf of the Empress of the Heart of Japan. Furthermore, the Empress of the Heart wants to bring her children to visit China."
Li Zhen raised his eyebrows. The Japanese Empress whom he wanted to support actually had a child.
He looked at Li Hongzhang and saw Li Hongzhang nodding slightly. Li Zhen had a clue in his heart and said with a smile: "You can send a telegram to Japan. I welcome Emperor Shinnomiya to visit China with his children."
After a pause, Li Zhen asked again: "Commander Li, what is the situation in Japan?"
Li Hongzhang was confident and calm, and replied loudly: "The country has become more and more powerful in recent years. With China as its backing, Japan's situation is also quite stable. Especially the Emperor Shinnomiya ruled by doing nothing and opened major ports, which greatly guaranteed Japan's stability." The political environment provides a stable environment for business. In addition, the strength of the Fourth Army stationed in Japan is also increasing day by day, and it is well-equipped. It has a navy and an army, and it is an army that can fight tough battles."
Li Zhen nodded with satisfaction and asked, "Has the successor been determined?"
Li Hongzhang replied: "The person who took over Japan is named Liu Mingchuan, and he is a division commander under me. A few years ago, I took people back to Shanghai and recruited Liu Mingchuan. This man is good at fighting and is a good leader of troops. , so in less than a few years, he has gone from an ordinary soldier to the level of division commander."
"Hahaha……"
Li Zhen laughed loudly, with a smile in his eyes.
Unexpectedly, Liu Mingchuan, the governor of Taiwan in history, went to Japan.
The effect of this little butterfly is really great.
Li Hongzhang was a little dazed, wondering whether the president knew about Liu Mingchuan, or did the president think it was inappropriate. When Li Hongzhang hesitated, Li Zhen continued: "Since Liu Mingchuan has been arranged, let him stay in Japan and guard Japan with peace of mind. ." Immediately, Li Zhen asked: "Lu Shaochuan, who is left behind in Vietnam?"
Lu Shaochuan chuckled and replied: "It's a man named Feng Zicai. He is in his early forties, in the prime of life, and has superb martial arts. Moreover, Feng Zicai is familiar with the art of war and is very good at using troops. This man is more powerful than Li Xiucheng and I. He serves as The people stationed in Vietnam are completely suitable and will not cause any trouble."
"His,."
Li Zhen took a breath and thought to himself, this is another talent.
Feng Zicai, a veteran of the Sino-French War, also appeared.
Li Zhen nodded and said: "Since you recommended Feng Zicai, let Feng Zicai stay in Vietnam." At this time, Li Zhen was full of expectations and asked: "Su Lei, where is Taiwan."
Su Lei replied: "The person who takes over from Taiwan is named Ma Ziming, and he is a native of Taiwan."
Li Zhen hummed, he had no impression of this person.
Generally speaking, Li Zhen was satisfied. He didn't expect that this transfer would bring out Feng Zicai and Liu Mingchuan. He was in a good mood and said with a smile: "Go down and have a rest. Regarding your appointments, they will be announced soon."
"yes."
Several people answered and turned to leave.
After Li Zhen left the living room, he came to the conference room. His eyes fell on the people who were discussing and asked: "After discussing for such a long time, what is the result?"