Zheng Zaoru was in his thirties, with two small beards on his lips. His face was serious, giving people an extremely solemn feeling. Long before Li Zhen returned to the camp, Huang Shihai said that he would summon Li Zhen when he came back. Therefore, Zheng Zaoru was already prepared. After seeing Li Zhen, he kowtowed and said, "Zheng Zaoru, a humble official, has met the admiral."
Li Zhen frowned and said, "Get up."
Zheng Zaoru stood up and stood neatly, waiting for Li Zhen to ask questions.
However, Li Zhen looked at Huang Shihai and asked: "Shihai, the rule of not kneeling in the army has been implemented. Don't Mr. Zheng still know?"
Huang Shihai said: "Commander, I forgot to tell Mr. Zheng, please punish me."
Li Zhen waved his hand and said: "This will not be the same next time. Remember, every time a new person comes, they must make it clear. If you really can't remember it, just formulate a policy and regulations and convey it to everyone in the form of a notice. Know."
Zheng Zaoru heard the conversation between the two and said: "Admiral, after I entered the Jiangbei camp, I heard soldiers in the army say that I don't need to kneel when I see you. At that time, I didn't think it was credible, so I didn't take it to heart. This is not the Yellow Brigade." The long problem is that I don’t believe it deep down, and when it comes to culpability, it’s also a problem that I knew but didn’t carry out.”
Li Zhen laughed and waved his hand: "It's okay, it's just a small matter. I just reminded Huang Shihai to pay attention." After a pause, Li Zhen continued: "Mr. Zheng, tell me what you think of Jiangbei Camp. During this time, you What did you do in the camp?"
"yes."
Zheng Zaoru nodded and said: "The humble position is..."
Li Zhen interrupted: "There is no need to use the word 'humble position', just use the self-identification as 'I'."
Zheng Zaoru paused for a moment, feeling a little uncomfortable.
The officials he came into contact with were very clear-cut and had a strict hierarchy. If there was no distinction between superiority and inferiority, he might directly offend his superiors. Zheng Zaoru glanced at the sitting Li Zhen and continued: "I am in Xiangshan County, Guangdong. When I was in the army, I had organized group training, met the Qing army, and knew some of the conditions of the Qing army. However, after meeting the soldiers in the Jiangbei Camp, I felt that this was a unique camp with unique soldiers. .”
"Oh, tell me in detail." Li Zhenxiao said.
Zheng Zaoru continued: "The soldiers in the camp are as close as brothers, full of vigor, sunshine and vitality. When they drill, they give people a sense of calmness and seriousness. Such an army is highly disciplined but not lacking in family affection. , the team supported by friendship can be called an invincible division."
"Flattery, this is flattery."
Li Zhen was delighted and said happily.
Although Zheng Zaoru's words were compliments, they really spoke to Li Zhen's heart. Li Zhen built the army with his own hands and poured countless efforts into it.
Li Zhen also thought that the army was an invincible force, so he was very happy.
Zheng Zaoru looked as usual and continued in a neither humble nor arrogant tone: "I stayed in the Jiangbei camp for more than half a month, and the only thing I did was to target the prisoners in the camp and let them return home. I think this is a very important thing. , because solving their problems will prevent them from doing evil in the future, no longer helping the tyrants, and no longer bringing shame to their ancestors. It will also save them from danger to their lives and give the army a brighter future. I I like this feeling.”
"Hahaha……"
Li Zhen laughed loudly and nodded repeatedly. He could feel that Zheng Zaoru's words came from the bottom of his heart. This person really liked to do such things, so he could have such understanding.
Zheng Zaoru breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Li Zhen smiling.
In fact, he was still a little uneasy before he came. After all, he must have been a little worried when facing a high-ranking official in the border area. However, after talking to Li Zhen, his worries disappeared. The person who is the governor of a province and also serves as the governor is still a person granted by the emperor. The imperial envoy turned out to be so approachable, which made him feel that staying in Jiangbei Camp was an extremely wise decision.
Li Zhen stopped laughing and asked, "Mr. Zheng, what position do you hold in the camp?"
Zheng Zaoru scratched his head and said: "There is no specific task for the time being."
Huang Shihai continued: "Commander, Mr. Zheng gives lectures to tens of thousands of prisoners in the camp. This position does not belong to the army because he does not fight or lead troops. He is just someone who stays behind. At the same time, it does not belong to the local area. Official, because he does not have the rights of a local official, I don’t know how to divide it, I can only wait for the commander-in-chief to come back and then carefully position Mr. Zheng.”
Li Zhen nodded and fell into deep thought.
What Zheng Zaoru does is ideological work, similar to a political commissar in the army.
However, the authority of political commissars in later generations was not only ideological work, but also greater rights. Li Zhen's career was on the rise, and he did not want more people to interfere with the army.
Li Zhen thought for a long time and said: "Currently, our army has grown to tens of thousands. The more people there are, the bigger the forest will be. Various ideas may appear, including pride, complacency, and arrogance... Therefore, ideological education must be carried out. Someone must be able to unite all soldiers as one, which is the source of ensuring the combat effectiveness of the army. Moreover, every prisoner problem must be solved, so ideological education must also be carried out.”
"I plan to set up a separate department to provide guidance on the ideological education and discipline of soldiers in the army. This team does not lead soldiers, but is divided according to the army's superior and subordinate system, and enjoys the rights of brigade commander, regiment commander and other levels. .”
Li Zhen looked at Zheng Zaoru and said, "Mr. Zheng, what do you think this department should be called?"
Zheng Zaoru said: "I don't know either, I haven't thought of it yet."
As he spoke, Zheng Zaoru felt faintly excited because this department had not yet been established. He happened to encounter this opportunity and would become one of Li Zhen's confidants.
Li Zhen quickly thought about the name of this department.
Huang Shihai said: "Commander, just take the Ministry of Education."
"Pfft."
Li Zhen suddenly laughed. He didn't expect Huang Shihai to come up with the word "Ministry of Education." He looked at Huang Shihai and asked: "Shihai, tell me why you thought of the Ministry of Education."
Huang Shihai chuckled and said: "You just said that one department should be established one by one. I thought that there are six departments in the imperial court, including the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the Ministry of War. Since we want to add a department and it is engaged in ideological education, we might as well just Wouldn't it be appropriate to intercept the word education and call it the Ministry of Education? If it can be on an equal footing with the six ministries, that would be great."
Li Zhen laughed and asked, "Mr. Zheng, what do you think?"
Zheng Zaoru said: "Actually, as far as the name is concerned, it is catchy and fits the nature of the matter. It is very good. However, a department is very complicated. If this department is designated, there will be personnel at all levels below. These personnel And what kind of name should it be given? I’m afraid it will take a certain amount of energy to formulate.”
Li Zhen heard this and said with a smile: "This is simple, I have a position here."
Huang Shihai said: "Please let me know, Commander-in-Chief."
Zheng Zaoru also looked forward to hearing Li Zhen's opinion. He admired the young admiral in front of him for his drastic changes and his courage.