On the morning of August, the temperature was very high. Li Guolou rode a fast horse and came to Sankou Governor's Yamen with sweat all over his body. He signed up to see Li Hongzhang, but he lowered his head and did not dare to look at the person sitting in front of the public case.
"Well, Mr. Li, you finally thought of it." Li Hongzhang spoke slowly, without even saying the word "flat body".
"Hehe!" Li Guolou laughed twice, stood up, and said shamelessly: "Master Fu Xiang, you don't know me yet. It's rare for me to have a holiday, so I'm too lazy to move. I'm here to see you this time, grandson. I brought some souvenirs to honor you." As he spoke, Li Guolou presented the gift box and placed it on the koan.
Li Hongzhang showed a smile and said: "You, you have been ignorant and ignorant all day long. You led a bunch of women's soldiers to show off, and you were impeached by the imperial censor. Do you know? You thought it was a great achievement, be careful of your black gauze hat." As he spoke, Li Hongzhang opened the door. After looking at the gift box, he was quite satisfied. People who don't know how to reciprocate would have been sent to the corner by him.
"Ah!" Li Guolou screamed strangely: "I am full of food, but I will be impeached for this kind of thing. Thank you Mr. Fu Xiang for speaking for me. I am very grateful to you."
"Be an honest person and don't try to make excuses. Once you get involved with foreigners, you have to know how to avoid suspicion. When it comes to military matters, you should let them go. Principal Weng is not popular with me. Mr. Liu is here. Let me pay him a visit first. ." Li Hongzhang put the gold watch in his pocket and did not put down the volume of "Lanting Preface". He held it in his hand and read it as he walked.
"Strike!" Li Guolou followed behind Li Hongzhang, cheering up and accepting the facts. He didn't even have the courage to fight for a round. He was not a person of the same level, so he could only swallow his anger and die in front of him.
In the living room, Zhao Lian and Liu Mingchuan were chatting about family affairs. Li Guolou accepted the reality and saw Zhao Lian and Liu Mingchuan in order to see the gift from his elders.
Zhao Lian was quite happy and said with a smile: "Oh, Xiaolou is here, Shaoquan, why didn't you tell me. Don't leave at noon. Let's have a home-cooked meal together. I'll prepare it right away."
"Then I'll bother my aunt. I just like to eat my aunt's hometown food." Li Guolou bowed respectfully, his mouth as sweet as honey.
This made Li Hongzhang feel comfortable. He had originally planned to use some threatening words, but all of them were cancelled. His family could not write the character "李" twice, so young people are more selfish and can be forgiven once.
"Hahahaha! Mr. Li, long time no see. You are so free." Xu Qian walked into the living room with a swaying step, looking like he had everything in hand.
"Master Xu, where did you go just now? I was still thinking about coming to visit you." Li Guolou quickly stood up to greet him, and he greeted him with the same respect.
Although Xu Qian is Li Hongzhang's master, Xu Qian has the official title of third-rank Daotai. When Xu Qian is released, he will also be a local official. The staff and counselors around Li Hongzhang are all such people, and even the captain of the personal guard has a fourth-rank official. The title of Military Attaché. Li Guolou did not dare to put on official airs here. As a junior, he listened to the teachings of his seniors.
Li Hongzhang took a sip of tea, cleared his throat, and said: "Guo Lou! I invited him to be the third provincial minister. Although he has no official status now, he cannot be wronged in Xinwu Hall. You are not busy in Tianjin either. The position of chief academic officer should also be released, what do you think?"
Three pairs of smiling eyes stared at Li Guolou. The summer heat wave came from the window. Li Guolou quickly expressed his attitude and said with a smile: "Master Fu Xiang, your words are orders, and I will definitely obey them. Originally, I wanted to wait until after the holiday to explain Liu Gong's errands. Since Liu Gong wants to do something practical despite traveling long distances, I will go to the small station in the afternoon."
"Li Guolou, I'll go with you this afternoon to see whose horse is faster!" Liu Mingchuan wished he could have a fight with Li Guolou. After being scolded by Li Hongzhang, he wanted to have a horse racing match with Li Guolou in an honest and fair way. On winning or losing.
In a horse racing competition on such a hot day, the horse will die from exhaustion. Li Guolou is not willing to drag down a good horse. He hurriedly handed over his hand and said: "Liu Gong's style is still the same. How dare this junior to seek death? Please take care of Liu Gong in the future." .”
"Well, it's easy to talk, Li Guolou, don't strangle me with money in the future. The monthly funds must be in place, so you can save worry and effort and let me take care of the daily work of Xinwutang." Liu Mingchuan saw that Li Guolou was a I'm a soft persimmon, so I have no interest in competing with Li Guolou. A soldier must have an indomitable temperament, and you can't see it at all in Li Guolou. He looks a bit like a eunuch who delivers orders. No wonder he is known as "Little Plum" among the people. No., at first glance, he looks like a guy with no talent.
"Hmm..." Li Guolou was in a dilemma and agreed vaguely. It seems that in the future, he will have to move another great master "Weng Tonghe", otherwise he will become the new martial arts hall to take charge of daily work. Become persona non grata.
Xu Qian refused to let Li Guolou go, and asked: "Guolou, didn't we originally say that school would only start in January? This school site has not been completed yet, why did it start teaching? It's so hard to deceive us."
Li Guolou defended: "Master Xu, you don't know something. It was the first time that my subordinates came out to do things. They were a little impatient and didn't notify me. Everything about recruiting students went smoothly and the task was completed ahead of schedule. I'm just talking to myself." I brought the children to the small station. I will tell them later that once the rules are established, they cannot be changed overnight."
Xu Qian gave chase and continued to ask: "Then let me ask you, to what standards do your guards train their students? Are they colluding with the Prussians?"
"Master Xu, don't worry. I have definitely not colluded with the Prussians in private. It's not for national interests. How can I dare to touch this mine? In fact, the guard officers under me were originally based on the law* They are trained according to the standards of the Japanese, so they should follow the example of the French army and conduct daily training at the small station according to the standards of the French army. The military training of Western countries is actually similar, only the Russians are relatively behind..." Li Guolou had no choice but to reveal the training content of the new martial arts hall in detail. The Huai army generals who were old-fashioned and learned Western military drills. In order to save trouble and be lazy, they used the national conditions as an excuse. They had already The essence was tampered beyond recognition. He just didn't want to bring the bad habits of the Qing army into the new martial arts hall, so he did his own thing so that the students would have a new consciousness and not learn the dead ends of the Qing army training.
Liu Mingchuan couldn't listen anymore, so he interrupted Li Guolou and said, "Li Guolou, then I want to ask you, what can I rely on to win the war?"
Li Guolou curled his lips and said without hesitation: "A battle with Mud Legs can certainly be won by relying on the bravery of the general and sharp firearms. But I can tell you unceremoniously that with your 'Inscription Battalion' , when you meet the foreign gunmen on the plains, they only need half of your troops to wipe you out. This is the cruel reality."
"You bastard!" Liu Mingchuan slapped the case, stood up angrily, glared at Li Guolou, and his beard stood up in anger. His "Mingzi Camp" had long since fallen apart in the Gansu District of Shaanxi Province, otherwise how would he have ended up here? The state of being without an official position.
"Hehe!" Li Guolou saw Liu Mingchuan getting angry, but he was having fun instead. The big boss was just uneducated. He was a Tanhua Lang, a man with a great reputation, and he was not as knowledgeable as the big boss.
Li Hongzhang motioned Liu Mingchuan to sit down, and let everyone discuss the merits and demerits of the army. There was no need to disagree, so he looked at each other angrily and said, "Li Guolou, you are serious. You will not open the pot. First, let Liu Gong compensate. No, I am helping the manager and not the bride."
Li Guolou blushed and had a rough neck. He quickly stood up, bowed and apologized: "Mr. Liu, you were too small-minded to expose your scars. Please don't take offense if you have enough."
"Well, forget it. It's just me being disrespectful and entrusting a heavy burden to an incompetent person. I'm blind. Hey..." Liu Mingchuan slapped his thigh, having spent so many sleepless nights on this matter. , was almost beheaded by the court. Most of his old brothers started their business by selling smuggled salt. They only recognized him as the eldest brother, and they still had Li Hongzhang in their eyes. Once the "Mingzi Camp" arrived in the Shaanxi-Gansu area, how could they regard the Governor of Shaanxi-Gansu? Zuo Zongtang took it seriously, and coupled with the severe shortage of food and salary, the camp was suddenly bombed. In the end, he was the unlucky one.
Li Hongzhang glanced at him and said: "Li Guolou, don't think that you have read many books and are just talking about military affairs on paper. You don't understand military affairs. If you mess around, you will lead 800 good seedlings into the side door."
Li Guolou replied: "Master Fu, morale, loyalty, and dying can be mentioned in one go. Illiteracy is easier to control. But modern warfare is actually a technical job. If you can understand the map, even if your subordinates are illiterate, they will make mistakes. Lu. What Xia Guan did was to teach the students basic combat methods. Our Qing Dynasty followed the line of elite soldiers and never used human sea tactics, so improving the personal qualities of officers was the first priority. According to the following The strategies formulated by the officials, the military talents trained, loyal to the emperor and the country, and knowing the advantages and disadvantages of equipment, using their own strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses, can at least fight the foreigners, instead of just waiting for orders from the highest officer to defend. "
Xu Qian shook his head and said: "Li Guolou, don't pretend to understand. Mr. Fu Xiang's formation can win a thousand miles. Lao Maozi was defeated by our heroic Huai army in Anhui. It was all formulated by our Mr. Fu. Strategies can lead to victory thousands of miles away, and predicting the enemy is like a god."
Li Hongzhang's face shone brightly. He relied on his rapid promotion in defeating the Taiping Army to achieve what he is today. He prided himself on being able to be both civil and military, and a capable minister who knows the military.
Li Guolou nodded frequently and praised: "Master Fu Xiang's decision-making is as good as Han Xin's. I feel ashamed that I am inferior to him, and I am ashamed of being a master of the same job."
Li Hongzhang became excited all of a sudden and laughed loudly and said: "Well, let's go to the small station together in the afternoon. Xiaolou can think of the first batch of Hefei students recruited by the New Wutang. I am very relieved. Let's go and see our little fellows."
The training of talents is divided by region, especially middle and lower-level officers. If you are promoted slowly, you will be grateful for his life. Li Hongzhang has long regarded the students of Xinwu Hall as his disciples. All the efforts Li Guolou made in Xinwu Hall will eventually be It turned into making wedding clothes for others.
Li Guolou looked at the three adults in front of him, and felt chilled in his heart. It's over! Li Hongzhang personally took action, and all the eight hundred students wanted to be his disciples. All his ideas came to nothing in the end. From now on, he will be the room master of the eight hundred students. , at most, it can be regarded as the status of a lady.
"Master Fu Xiang, the sun is shining brightly in the afternoon. It's too hot. You'd better wait until autumn to see it." Li Guolou seemed to be thinking about Li Hongzhang, taking out a bone fan from his sleeve and waving the fan.
Li Hongzhang smiled and said: "Xiaolou, it's okay, I'm not old enough to walk. We'll set off after lunch. Hey! Xiaolou, where did you get your fan?"
Li Hongzhang relapsed into his old habit. When he saw the good things in other people's hands, he wanted to cheat them. Li Guolou was heartbroken to death. The ancient fan was a flower and poem painted by Tang Yin. This was a special filial piety from his godson Wei Xiaoliu. Unexpectedly, he was caught by Li Hongzhang again before he could hold it up.
Looking at the scene of Li Hongzhang waving a fan and chatting in the living room, he is like Zhou Lang with a feather fan and silk scarf. Under his planning, the construction of the modern army of the Qing Dynasty seems like a baby bird has hatched.
Li Guolou, Liu Mingchuan, and Xu Qian clapped their hands together and echoed Li Hongzhang's talk. They were filled with emotion and heartache. The credit clearly belongs to him. He personally paid for it, visited the construction, personally ordered the personnel, and arranged many matters. In the end, Xinwutang's credit was exactly the same as that of the Prussian Empire Alliance, he just looked familiar.