In the evening, Li Hongzhang led his motorcade to Xiaozhan Town. The scene in front of him was very different from that of two months ago. It was a prosperous scene. Liu Jie led 800 students to line up to welcome Li Hongzhang's arrival.
When the "Xinwutang" Military Academy was built in Xiaozhan Town, a large area of farmland was used to build it. The school is divided into four parts: the main branch, the branch branch, the large playground and the shooting range. The main school is located in the center, covering an area of more than 180 acres. Its architectural pattern is Modeled after the British Military Academy, it is a complex of buildings with a stern brick and tile structure. It is surrounded by tall walls and surrounded by a river. There are rows of ancient willows on both sides of the river. The main gate of the military academy is on the south side, and across the river there is a tall screen wall and In contrast, the gate tower is tall and three rooms wide, and its majestic momentum can be compared with the gate of Zhili Governor's Mansion.
The red lacquer door is decorated with copper nails and rings, and a horizontal plaque with the three characters "Xin Wu Tang" is hung on the lintel. There are high stone steps in front of the door, and the south road in front of the steps leads directly to the river bank. There are a pair of stone lions on both sides of the south road. It is about 10 feet tall. A flat bridge is built over the river to connect to the playground. The main part of the school is the north and south courtyards. The north courtyard is the living area. The south courtyard is the center and teaching area of the military school, which is divided into east, middle, west and three courtyards. East, The west courtyard is for classrooms and student dormitories. Each has ten rows of blue brick buildings with corridors. The layout is symmetrical. There are corridors connecting the rows of buildings. Every two rows form an independent courtyard. The courtyard wall has a moon-shaped door. Each row of buildings has a moon-shaped door. There are about one Shao students living in the courtyard, commonly known as Yishao Daozi. The middle school has the school office and the Wushang Hall. The tall Wushang Hall faces south and is surrounded by stone railings, carved beams and painted buildings. It is magnificent. There are couplets on both sides of the hall door. Letter to:
Shangfu Yinfu and Wuhou Taolue are concisely figured out into one hall.
Those who have the ambition to serve the country, tie their hair and join the army, and many students are looking forward to it.
Li Hongzhang took a look at the couplet and realized that it must have been written by Weng Tonghe. He didn't deny it and just pretended that he hadn't seen it.
There is a long corridor in front of the hall leading directly to the school gate. To the north of Shangwu Hall is a large empty courtyard. There are two ancient poplar trees more than 50 feet high standing side by side in the courtyard, and a bronze bell hangs between the two trees. Officials give lectures and issue orders here, which is the center of the school and the school headquarters. On the east side of the campus is the branch campus, covering an area of 100 acres.
"Welcome Mr. Fu Xiang for review!" Battelle, the tallest man in military uniform, stood upright at the front of the procession.
Li Guolou quickly informed: "Master Fu Xiang, according to the rules of the military academy, all military salutes are performed, and the grand ceremony of kneeling and worshiping is cancelled."
"Well..." Li Hongzhang looked at the two rows of motionless students, his heroic face exuding a fanatical light, and shouted loudly: "Thank you for your hard work, students!"
"Thank you, Chief!" eight hundred students shouted together.
"Hello, classmates!" Li Hongzhang raised his hand and enjoyed the admiring looks from many people.
"Hello, Chief!" The voices of the eight hundred students were a bit immature, but the sounds they made with enough strength were so hoarse.
"Dudududu!" The 30-person honor guard raised a Western bugle with a red scarf on its left hand and blew a simple melody.
Liu Jie quickly explained: "Master Fu Xiang, the schedule of the new Wutang is based on the military trumpet."
Li Hongzhang's face glowed red and he smiled and said: "Liu Jie is in good spirits. Why has he become fat?"
"Xiaguan, I stay with young people every day. I eat, sleep, and do exercises together, so we become stronger." Liu Jie walked all the way, introducing the achievements of the new martial arts hall and the rapid changes. The fruits of his hard work.
Liu Jie said calmly: "Master Fu Xiang, please rest assured. Now the students are still living in thatched huts. When next month, the four-story red brick houses with tiles will be built, and the houses will be paved with hot air pipes. In winter, It can't freeze a single student, and the windows are all double-glazed. Before the students moved into new houses, the instructors didn't live in the academic building."
Li Hongzhang nodded slightly and said, "Well, what will the students eat at night?"
Liu Jie led the way and said: "Master Fu Xiang, when the students are growing up, they have to see one meat, two vegetables, plus a soup, steamed buns and the like every day. This is a must. Three days plus One meal, one meat and one vegetable. If you are training for a big sport, you can also add a meal. We are building a breeding farm, a vegetable base, and a fish farm here so that the local people who have been demolished can also have a job."
"Yeah!" Li Hongzhang stood at the highest point of the outpost, holding a telescope and watching the scene in the distance. He secretly admired Liu Jie's quick actions and excellent demolition work, razing thousands of acres of land to the ground. But he didn't know that the local people were driven away by Liu Jie Where did he go? Liu Jie did a great job with this kind of superficial post, and did not reveal any clues. A capable officer was wasted in Xiaozhan Town. In the future, Liu Jie will be transferred from Xinwu Tang and Li Guolou's arm will be cut off.
Night was approaching, and the surrounding scenes were vague. Li Hongzhang put down the telescope and said with a smile, "Let's have dinner with the students."
"When a soldier eats food, he never forgets the common people. The common people are our parents. The common people provide us with food and clothing. They are loyal to the emperor, patriotic and protect our parents..."
The students stood at the door of the dining hall and sang dinner songs, and their clear and neat voices cut through the night sky.
Li Hongzhang smiled freely and sang magnificently. He glanced at Li Guolou and marveled at how Li Guolou could compose vernacular ballads and was not afraid of losing Tanhualang's face.
Students line up to enter the dining hall to eat. There is an instructor at each table eating with the students. The dining hall is quiet. After each table has finished eating, they clean up the table and wipe it clean. Another group of people enters the dining hall. When eating, a table must be divided into three groups of people to take turns to eat. It does not take twenty minutes for each person at the table to wash the dishes and chopsticks.
In fact, the new martial arts hall has not yet started school, and the Ministry of War has not allocated student allowances. Now the daily expenses of these 800 students are paid by Li Guolou out of his own pocket. Li Hongzhang and Liu Mingchuan knew this in their hearts, but they did not say it out loud, and had already reminded them The daily expenses of Li Guolou's new martial arts hall must be met. Anyway, Li Guolou owes the Beiyang Navy 10 million taels of silver, which will be deducted from the Beiyang Navy's funds.
Seeing Li Hongzhang eating the same dinner as the students made the young students admire the national hero Li Hongzhang even more. Although Li Guolou was dissatisfied, he did not dare to show it. Being able to bend and stretch is what a man does. He seeks development in the cracks. The big army belongs to Li Hongzhang. Yes, it's a certainty, there's no room for maneuver. Small-scale students can still be included, and he will become a prince all the way.
It was a long dusk in the summer. After dinner, Li Hongzhang was still visiting the campus of Xinwu Hall with great interest, and a group of officers followed him idly. Li Guolou was squeezed dry by Liu Mingchuan, and the secret of Xinwu Hall was revealed.
The shooting range is located in the north of the branch, covering an area of more than 330 acres. It is surrounded by the headquarters of the Military School from the north, west and south, covering an area of more than 880 acres, with the west side being the largest. The main function of the military school is to train junior officers. It lasts four years and is divided into five subjects: infantry, cavalry, artillery, engineering, and baggage. The teaching content and teaching methods of Xinwutang Military Academy are formulated with reference to German military education and combined with the actual situation of the Qing Dynasty.
It is a military school with complete equipment and strict training. Prussian officers and outstanding Huai Army officers are also employed as instructors and section captains. Education and training have always been carried out according to military section formations. The captain is a major level and is responsible for life management and basic military section. The technical instructors and military instructors are responsible for the military courses; the technical courses are stabbing, gymnastics, martial arts, etc., and are served by technical instructors, and there are also technical assistants to assist in technical training. Various arms are in mixed formations, and general military courses and life management are all mixed (Except for professional training), the captain is promoted to the rank of sentry officer, and the meals are also handled by the sentry team.
The cavalry and baggage section are concurrently supervised by the cavalry section captain, reducing the number of persons in charge of the arms, and the military instructors are battalion officers. Classroom education, with at least half a day to teach courses every day, in addition to military tactics, weapons, surveying, fortification and model orders , and add physics, chemistry, mathematics, history, geography, etc., each class is one and a half hours. The standard booklet is the guideline for teaching various military actions. General knowledge and foreign languages are auxiliary education, and civilian teachers are hired to enrich students' Military knowledge provides preparation conditions for gradually and comprehensively learning various military exercises.
For technical training, various standard coaches are first conducted on the playground, and then exercises are carried out at various coaching grounds. Field exercises are first progressed from simple to complex, and then gradually enter comprehensive joint exercises. There is a shooting range for live ammunition shooting, a racecourse for horse riding training, and a horse training ground for artillery training. The artillery field and engineers have civil engineering work sites and bridge erection work sites, and blasting exercises are conducted in places that will not cause harm. Auxiliary arts subjects such as gymnastics, hacking, martial arts, etc. have professional instructors and are conducted in the compound. Instrument training is performed at the back door of the school. These trainings are conducted at outdoor equipment playgrounds. Each class of these trainings lasts for more than one hour. Formal training is usually two hours. Field exercises take at least half a day. When the subjects are complex and far away from the school, the length increases to one to several days. A tent is also carried for large exercises. , cooking utensils, organizing life at the exercise site.
Li Hongzhang listened to Li Guolou's talk in the office of the Xinwu Tang Middle School, and he was impressed by Li Guolou's superior ability. In just over two months, Li Guolou actually made Xinwu The church was built and had begun to take shape. Even he was ashamed of his ability to do things. This also made him determined to tie Li Guolou to his carriage and never let Li Guolou become a faction of his own. .This son is definitely not the Zhao Kuo who is just an armchair strategist. A person who can accomplish so many things is extremely capable, hundreds of times better than "Liu Liu Mazi".
Liu Mingchuan beamed with joy and said: "Oh, Guolou. The war horses have been purchased, and there is no need for the Ministry of War to dispatch them. You are really rich. Then I will just eat ready-made food. Hahahaha!"
Li Guolou wished he could kick Liu Mingchuan to the ground. He was a warlord. Those who obeyed me prospered, and those who went against me perished. People like "Liu Liu Mazi" formed small gangs in the army, so there was "Ming Chuan". "Ziying" bombed the camp. How could he give up the new martial arts hall to Liu Mingchuan? He laughed and said: "Liu Gong is willing to come out to help. The new martial arts hall will definitely become a wonderful flower of the Qing army and bloom. Dazzling light, students should also learn more from you and take care of you in the future."
Liu Mingchuan, a rough old man, couldn't hear the voice-over of Li Guolou's refusal to delegate power. He grinned widely and said: "Well, I'll let you see my training methods tomorrow. I guarantee it will open your eyes."
Li Guolou was shocked and waved his hands hurriedly: "Liu Gong, these students are all educated people. You must take your time and let them have the idea of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, overcome their own shortcomings, and increase the difficulty of training little by little. If you If you use force, all these people will escape in a few days. It is very difficult for scholars to be willing to serve as soldiers. You must not beat them to death with a stick. They only joined the army because of the reputation of Master Fu Xiang and Liu Gong. You need your subordinates. Have mercy."
Li Hongzhang understood it as soon as he heard it, and said hurriedly: "Excuse me, you have to wait and see for a few days first. Don't overdo anything. It is very important to get along. If those instructors have any military ideas that conflict with yours, don't be impatient. Listen. Listen to what Xiaolou said, scholars are so proud of themselves. If you scold and beat them a few times and run away, it will be in vain. When those students are well fed, well clothed, and receive their allowances, it feels like being a reserve officer is What a glorious time. At that time, if you hit them and scolded them, they would accept the reality."
"Grandma, since when do soldiers still need to be coaxed? Children of the Eight Banners are just spoiled." Liu Mingchuan couldn't believe that such a thing could happen in the army. He was also a veteran, so he was kind and could not lead the army. , has continued from ancient times to the present and has not changed.
Li Guolou argued: "Liu Gong, this is different. It is not called habit here, but ideological education. Everyone has room for improvement. There are too few educated people in the Qing Dynasty, and the resources we have are already scarce. If If you force others to make things difficult, it will be a vain effort. Therefore, education is the first priority. Those who are really unreasonable can only be persuaded to quit, but the vast majority of people can still overcome difficulties. Just like me, Mr. Fu Xiang Give me an official hat, and I will obey orders. If you want students to surrender in Xinwu Hall, you must first set an example. The instructors should not be special, and should focus on enlightenment and supervision, supplemented by punishment. If the talent reserve is sufficient in the future, At that time, talent training can reach a new level. It is impossible to do it in one step. Even if all our instructors are now Prussian officers, if the students still have the same quality, the outcome they will face is still not optimistic."
"Well, Xiaolou said it very well. What kind of seeds will produce what kind of melons? We can only follow the trend and force others to do things, which is not beautiful. The first batch of students must set an example, so that young people from all over the country can Jun will flock to apply for the new martial arts hall."
Liu Mingchuan was deeply dissatisfied, but Li Hongzhang agreed with Li Guolou's proposal, and he did not dare to object and only obeyed the order.