Li Hongzhang was transferred to the Military and Political Affairs Office from his position as the Minister of Revenue and the Prime Minister's Yamen. Zuo Zongtang was also transferred to the Minister of War. Although both of them seemed to be in a high position equivalent to the cabinet elders of the Ming Dynasty, they had been stripped of military power.
This was also Li Ye's way of being a ruler. It was not a conflict with using people without suspicion and not using people when they were suspicious.
Although history proved that there was nothing wrong with the two of them, this was to form a political system.
In history, if there were several people in the central government who could contend with Cao Cao, then Cao Cao would not be a traitor but a capable minister.
East Warm Pavilion Military Affairs Office
Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang, who were sitting below Li Ye, understood why the Emperor had called them. It was mainly to prepare for the new army.
I plan to form a new army. The two of you will each recommend a leader from the Chu army and the Huai army!”
He planned to form four new armies, each with 20,000 soldiers. This way, he would have 80,000 soldiers.
Li Hongzhang directly recommended Nie Shicheng, and Zuo Zongtang recommended Zuo Baogui. This was also within Li Ye's expectations.
Nie Shicheng's performance in the Jiawu War was remarkable. Under the premise of the collapse of Ye Zhichao's army, he fought fiercely with the Japanese army for more than ten days and nights, recovered Lianshan Pass, killed the Japanese general Fugang Sanzao, and later became the governor of Zhili.
Liu Mingchuan had defended the island during the war between China and France. He fought hard and did not retreat. He had killed the commander of the French Far East Army, Gu Ba, and his reputation had spread far and wide.
"Who will lead the Third Town?”Li Ye looked at the two of them and asked.
Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang looked at each other and then at each other. They had already reached their limit by sending out one town each. It wasn't that they couldn't select so many outstanding officers and soldiers, but it was obvious that this was for the Emperor to decide.
"How about this, the 3rd Town will be chosen from the Xiang Army.”
Li Ye chose Zuo Gugui, who could lead 5,000 elite soldiers to fight fiercely with the Japanese army, which made the Japanese army's plan to raid Hanoi go bankrupt. In the end, because Ye Zhichao abandoned the city and fled, the other defenders did not listen to him and scattered. It was unlikely that Hanoi would be lost.
"Your Majesty is wise!"
The two of them looked excited. Originally, the Xiang army was the strongest. Wen Zhenggong's departure was cold. The Manchu Group had already suppressed the Xiang army because of their suspicion. The salary they paid was either in arrears or less than 30%. Sometimes, the Xiang army did not even have enough to eat.
The fox grieves when the hare dies. For such an illustrious army to suffer such treatment actually made the two of them feel disappointed. Now, there was finally a day for them to stand out.
The two of them could also imagine that Li Ye would not abandon them in a hundred years or when they were no longer needed. Their loyalty became firmer.
The Chu, Xiang, and Huai soldiers were mostly from poor families. They didn't smoke and worked hard.
Moreover, they were the beneficiary of the Westernization Movement. Not only did they have the most advanced weapons in the country, but they had also undergone a certain amount of military training. They had also accumulated a lot of combat experience from fighting against the Nian Army. Although they could not compare to the armies of the foreign powers, their combat standards were quite high.
After confirming the supervisor and source of manpower for Three Strikes, the two of them were relieved. They had thought that half of them, which meant that the two towns would be full of people. The new army would have the advantage of being useless. Now that there was only one, they could at least pick a full officer from Xiangyang.
"Emperor, why don't you let Prince Chun recommend you as the candidate for the Fourth Town?”Li Hongzhang thought that he had given this opportunity to Prince Chun.
" Let's put the Manchu people aside for now. They will receive the new army's favor later. As for the fourth town, we already have a candidate. It's Xu Bengdao.”
Li Ye smiled and said a name that both of them found unbelievable, but they felt that it was only natural.
Although Xu Bangdao was from the Huai Army, he was from the Green Army. He was a famous general who could command the Green Army and maintain considerable combat strength.
However, Li Ye didn't leave any private messages to the Manchu people. He was completely focused on the construction of the army, which the two of them didn't expect at all.
" Alright, Minister Zuo, you don't have to deal with other matters for the time being. You'll be in charge of organizing the troops of these towns. I've just prepared the new army training notes…"
How could Li Ye not know what the two of them were thinking? He interrupted their wild thoughts.
In his plan, although there were still some troops with combat strength, there were too few. The new army he established this time was to lay the foundation for future expansion.
In terms of combat effectiveness, it was comparable to the German army. The training methods of the modern army were recorded in detail.
In terms of weapons, they would purchase a weaker version of the K98 rifle (the Fruit Mauser 1871) from the Tianjin Machinery Bureau in the country of Dé. The machine guns would be used with Chehacais and Maxim. The cannons would all be Krupp cannons. They could be replicated, but the production would definitely not be enough. They would need to purchase them from abroad.
The enhanced version of the K98 Mauser 1898 could only be manufactured after the machines were in place for a few months.
As for the military officers, the first batch of foreign students had already returned to China. They could be used as instructors and officers. Some reliable German instructors from the Xiang and Huai armies could also be invited. Of course, they had to sign a contract and could not return to the country for the rest of their lives.
Moreover, the military had a dual-track system. There were political commissar above the company level, who were mainly responsible for learning, life, and thinking. On one hand, they taught the officers and soldiers cultural knowledge, and on the other hand, they promoted loyalty to the monarch and the country, as well as the historical and cultural spirit of China, so that the officers and soldiers knew who they were fighting for and why they were fighting…
The moment this order was issued, the Machine Bureau, Huai Army, and Ministry of War all got busy. Even the money from the Ministry of Revenue was spent like water. The recruits in Tianjin agreed one after another…
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