Li Guolou defended: "The information on the British Army that Prince Gong Weichen has is indeed from the book, but it is roughly the same as the real situation. It is my first time to come to the Military Aircraft Department for a meeting. I don't know if you all know these situations, so I'm verbose. In a few words, Britain's naval construction and its overseas colonial undertakings are inseparable. They depend on each other and promote each other. Together they become the rock of the British Empire. In view of this, the British "government" attaches great importance to the construction of the navy and always puts the navy in a more important position than the army. The armaments policy has a distinct naval priority strategy. Today, the United Kingdom is still pursuing the construction goal of "making its navy powerful enough to compete with the navies of the two major powers." Specifically speaking, the British navy is to be better than the two countries that rank second and third in the world. The navy is even stronger combined
According to the information I collected, last year the British Navy's military expenditure was 9,013,000 pounds, an increase of 85% year-on-year. Now, although Prussia is vigorously developing its navy and claims that its steel production has surpassed the United Kingdom, its total naval tonnage is only 200,000 tons, which is far from the British Navy's 633,000 tons, so we rely on the Prussians to resist. The British strategy is also unrealistic. Prime Minister Bismarck will never offend the world's maritime hegemon because of our country. The British Bismarck. I have studied this person and he is definitely Su Qin who has traveled all over the world. He is good at making distant contacts and attacking closely. He has established a territory in the small European continent and seized every opportunity. We In order to survive in the cracks between the Western powers, the Qing Dynasty had to seize every opportunity. Just like the war in the country, our Qing Dynasty was reborn in blood. There are so many warriors who are accustomed to fighting to guard the four sides to ensure the safety of the Qing generation."
Li Guolou peeked at everyone's expressions and did not dare to say any more. It would be a fight, but only one generation's resources can be squandered. Even if the next generation waits to be promoted to a post, they will be promoted from sentry officer to battalion officer level. Soldiers have limited abilities. He had no idea to what extent the army's combat effectiveness had declined without having experienced the test of war. He wanted to seize the opportunity to lead the Qing Dynasty to the path of making the country rich and powerful, but he also needed someone to support him. With so many military ministers holding military power, who would be willing? Give up power to him. Li Guolou coveted military power and speculated on the thoughts of Emperor Tongzhi. He climbed to high positions step by step.
Li Hongzhang chuckled and said: "Li Guolou said it very well. Our country has never had so many generals since the Holy Ancestor suppressed the rebellion. The future depends on me and Zuo Zongtang completing the mission entrusted to us by the late Emperor. You and Liu Jintang, the younger generation, will guard the four directions for the Emperor."
Prince Gong was relieved that everything Li Guolou said was under his control. He showed a smile and said: "Li Guolou is so eloquent that he will fight for his own interests every time there is a meeting. The new military army has just decided on the establishment and cannot make any changes for the time being." A bowl of water will determine the situation of equal development, Your Majesty, will you please?"[
This is to prevent Emperor Tongzhi from resorting to militarism. This has set a precedent for the expansion of the new armed forces. Other armies must also work hard to expand the army. Only when everyone has spokespersons can the national strength improve. We cannot spend money on military expansion. Prince Gong and Lao Cheng want to seek the country more. For the long-term Westernization Movement, he only wanted to maintain the existing military system.
Li Guolou did not wait to speak to Emperor Zhi and said anxiously: "The emperor's idea of never being respectful to the prince is too dangerous. Now the pattern of the Qing Dynasty and ZTE has begun to take shape. A path for the Westernization Movement is to walk on one leg. Even if the body becomes stronger, If the other leg is not good, it can be slaughtered by Western powers at any time. As the saying goes, pigs have to be fattened before killing foreigners. They will also wait for us to become rich before they find excuses to squeeze us. If we want to keep our money bags, we must load our bayonets and kill the enemy at any time. Coastal defense is handed over to Prince Chun. Mr. Fu, the thankless errand of the army, must train a hundred thousand strong soldiers despite all odds."
Weng Tonghe jumped up and shouted: "Your Majesty, if you are willing to take charge of military training, let me handle the specific affairs of the military academy in Baoding."
Li Hongzhang didn't care about the army. The army was used to support the army. One-third of the army trained according to the model of the Huai Army. The other two-thirds were doing business to make money. He spent all his thoughts on the Beiyang Navy. But the Baoding Military Academy is under the jurisdiction of the Zhili Governor's Yamen, and it is within his jurisdiction. How can he allow others to interfere? If you can hand over one million taels of silver a year, you'll be over the limit. I can't bear it. Now Li Guolou has made a suggestion, which will cause a lot of bleeding. If you don't have diamonds, don't do the porcelain work."
Weng Tonghe had no ability to make money and was only loyal to Emperor Tongzhi. He held his neck and shouted: "The education of the Emperor's Military Academy is the most important minister. He who can do it must work hard."
Emperor Tongzhi looked at Li Guolou's irritating metaphor with reproachful eyes. What is a pig? It's so reasonable and euphemistic: "Well, Prince Gong is right. I want a bowl of water and don't touch it for the time being. I'll wait until next June to see the bank balance of the Ministry of Finance." How much more will be left will be discussed in the second half of next year.”
Li Guolou swallowed his saliva and refused to argue that the training of the new armed forces was a dead end. He could adopt alternative measures to reorganize the army in Xiaozhan Town.
Changfu is not included in the official establishment of the army. He must train tens of thousands of elite soldiers to fight for modern warfare. It consumes thousands of new armed forces. How can it be consumed? Besides, the new armed forces is a cultured army. The seeds cannot be eliminated to allow the uneducated. Changfu died righteously, which was the essence of his training of the New Armed Forces, but he couldn't swallow it. He handed over more than 3.5 million taels of silver to the country and spent it on the navy. If the ship sank, it would all be wasted, even if the Beiyang Navy The division's government office is as honest as water and has trained a large number of loyal and patriotic naval officers. However, without a strong army as a backing, the navy is just a showpiece. Even the base has been kicked out and the military port cannot be defended. There is no talk of guarding the coast.
From the beginning, Li Guolou did not agree with the Qing Dynasty's national defense focusing on the navy. The statement he wrote to Prince Gong also clarified this view. He believed that the Qing Navy should attach importance to offshore gunboats, Yi Xiaobu Yi, large gunboats, and flexible tactics. The huge guns of the fort can defend the coastal defense line, but Li Hongzhang insisted on his own opinion and wanted to found the Beiyang Navy. He wanted to get close to the big tree of Li Hongzhang, so he had to bite the bullet and tamper with the original idea, and handed over the huge funds he earned to Li Hongzhang and Ding Richang. He would not stop investing money in coastal defense, but he would still focus his strategy on the army. Li Guolou's ambition amazed the world. From the beginning, he included a large number of the richest royal relatives and nobles in the Qing Dynasty into his business model. However, He was far from satisfied. He wanted to bring in foreigners' money so that foreigners could also contribute to the Qing Dynasty's Westernization Movement.
"The emperor's ministers have gained a deep understanding of modern warfare through actual combat experience in the northwest, and have proposed brand-new combat strategies for the army's combat tactics. Westerners' rifling tactics have fallen behind, and only fools use stance-style three-stage shooting. Hand-to-hand combat tactics are no longer what they used to be. Only by having strong tactical literacy can you win honor in the final hand-to-hand combat. All the Qing Dynasty’s military’s tactical literacy courses must be changed. It will be too late to regret it.” How could Li Guolou be willing to accept this? The expansion of the New Armed Forces failed, and the expansion failed. He immediately changed his routine, changed his appearance, and packaged himself as a tactical theorist. If his reputation as a master's seat was established, he could command any army in the Qing Dynasty. He could command any military camp he went to, and everyone wanted him. Call him "Master of Academic Affairs". His official position is not high, but he makes people obey orders.
Emperor Tongzhi is in a good mood and has been in power for one year. The national fiscal revenue has increased by 12%. The resurgence pattern has become a reality. The society is more stable than when the two empress dowagers listened to the government behind the curtain. His ability determines the people's hearts. The common people say that he is a wise monarch. Only by working together with one heart and one mind can Tongzhi rule to a higher level. The emperor was waiting for the day when the small treasury of his Ministry of Internal Affairs would be increased tenfold. Li Guolou was very pleasing to his eyes. As a man, he had already guessed why the empress dowagers of the two palaces wanted Li Guolou to be the supervisor of Wanshou Mountain. The two empresses were looking for him. A face is not a big deal in the Qing Dynasty. There is a tradition. The relationship between Prince Gong and his mother-in-law, the Empress Dowager Cixi, has long been known to all women and children in the Qing Dynasty. They still live in harmony today. He can change nothing and nothing can change this dynasty. The princes, ministers and governors in various places who are in power are all promoted by the empress dowagers of the two palaces.
The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility. Emperor Eniang trapped Prince Gong and allowed him to secure his position. This move would also make the little eunuch Du Zhixi no longer favored. Emperor Tongzhi had already sent Du Zhixi to guard the imperial mausoleum. Du Eniang, who was engaged to Li Guolou, rewarded Li Guolou with the lost mulberry elm in the east corner, where the misfortune lies, and where the misfortune lies. To test it, I saw that the book you wrote had the feeling of clearing the air. It can be said that you are both civil and military. I have absolute trust in you. If you have any ideas on the military, just tell me."
Li Guolou raised his sleeves and bowed in salute: "Your Majesty, all military ministers, please move to the sand table so that Weichen can explain in detail."
Everyone followed Emperor Tongzhi to the next room and stood in front of the sand table to listen to Li Guolou's speech. Everyone had different thoughts, including joy, jealousy, anger, and praise. Li Hongzhang was angry that Li Guolou did not report his military thoughts to him. This was a meeting yesterday afternoon. The mistake of just thinking about how to deal with the aftermath of the "Ma Jiali Case" allowed Li Guolou to escape, but one thing is the same. They firmly believe that Li Guolou is forward-looking. The tactical theory class is a compulsory course in the military aircraft department. Everyone who speaks a word becomes everyone. The opinion raised by someone is not the key point. Minister of Military Aircraft Shen Guifang will never write the name of Li Guolou who is observing. It must be issued with the order of the Military Aircraft Department so that armies everywhere can learn from it.
Unexpectedly, Li Guolou was making wedding dresses for others and was still immersed in the dream of "Master's Seat". He pointed at the sand table with a pointer and said: "Due to the limitations of weapons and equipment, the rebels mostly use human sea tactics to return to the army. Even if they get support from the Russians, There are guns and artillery, but the artillery is very slow to build. It requires a lot of manpower and material resources. It is difficult to train talents in a hurry. Those Russian cannons cannot exert their power and are captured by us. As for the volley shooting, it is even a mess. I have never seen the returning army willing. Stand in line and compete with us. The power of the battle formations. Returning troops are full of individual bravery on the battlefield, but this cannot change the outcome of a battle. Our army occupies a dominant position on the battlefield.
Our weapons have been completely westernized, but the tactics we use are similar to those of the Westerners. The emphasis is on suppressing the enemy's fire with artillery and firing a few rounds of gunfire, then blowing the charge horn to win the final victory in hand-to-hand combat. In the final analysis, it is still the sea of people. The tactics used by our army seemed to be very different from those used by Western armies. However, with such military quality, we would definitely lose in a battle with the second-rate Western armies. They were no match for the foreign gun team in Tianjin.
I have summed up a set of experience in fighting on the front line. In modern warfare, although the artillery fire can kill the enemy thousands of meters away, the key factor that really determines the outcome is the people on the front line. There is only one target for the artillery attack, which is the enemy's front line. The position uses dense rain to create a hole in the enemy's front line to achieve precise strikes and destroy the enemy's effective force. Artillery is by no means an observer. One person debugs the gun mount. Artillery is a collective, at least one corps. Each person takes turns to debug the gun mount, even if only one is left. Humans can also achieve precise strikes. This is the efficiency-first military concept advocated by the New Armed Forces. Nowadays, artillery training is using the training cost. If the artillery company has insufficient training and still complains to the Ministry of War, the commander will be fired directly. What's the use of such capable soldiers? I don't need to listen to the reasons. I only see the results. We all have difficulties. Artillery is the soul of an army. The so-called souls are scared to death by artillery. When the Qing army trains, artillery officers are used to perform surgery on those who fail. The Emperor's words are true, and practice will tell the truth. Other branches of the military can still fool people whether the artillery is qualified or not. If you practice it once, it will be clear. The artillery commander will definitely use artillery and understand Western ethics. This is a necessary condition for being an artillery officer. There is no such thing as Mengyin. The thing is, I hate people talking about their ancestors the most. Anyone who mentions a bird cage has a good ancestor..."
While talking about Li Guolou's retreat, Li Hongzhang snorted and said: "Hmm... It seems that Yichen is just going to have a big competition with our army and eliminate a group of wastes who are waiting to die. There is one in the Westernization Movement." The advantage is that there are many new positions that can re-employ these people, so the resistance from the army will be smaller. Is there anyone who can take this offending job from me?"
When a group of officers are removed, a group of people will be promoted. None of the people present understand this. But Li Hongzhang said it well. He has the resources to arrange the life of the soldiers after they retire. Even if others have the intention, they can't organize such a large scale. Li Guolou's re-employment project was launched on the army. This first blow seemed to be tailor-made for Li Hongzhang, but it was snatched away by Li Hongzhang. Execute the large-scale military training plan[
In the first round of the contest, only the recruiter but not the demolisher, Li Guolou, passed the proposal very smoothly. Several military ministers agreed to reorganize the artillery force of the Qing Dynasty. Li Guolou gained nothing, but he was not discouraged. Li Hongzhang The cowardice suffered by his subordinates was enough to blow up the entire universe, but he was still alive and said with a low eyebrow, "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Fu Xiang."