"Your Excellency, we have brought you some greeting gifts." Miao Peilin's envoy said to Lei Hu with a flattering smile.

After saying that, the envoy glanced at his subordinates. The soldiers went out and brought up some of the rope-bound men. Lei Hu had never seen Zuo Zongtang, he looked at Hei Chenggang who was attending the meeting together, Hei Chenggang looked carefully at the gray-faced Zuo Zongtang, and after making sure that it was correct, he nodded at Lei Hu.

Lei Hu smiled: "That's all I can thank Mr. Miao." After saying that, he waved his hand, and Hei Chenggang took a few people with the guards and took them down.

After Zuo Zongtang and the others left, Lei Hu smiled and said, "This gift is also valuable. ”

When the envoy received the praise, he immediately smiled and said quickly, "If you like it, your lord." It's good if adults like it. ”

Lei Hu continued: "What you said about rewarding, but the official is not something I can do. It's up to us to decide. However, I can guarantee that our army will not continue north. Since Mr. Miao is anti-Qing, then we can't just say that Mr. Miao has done a good job. We gave Mr. Miao a thousand guns. ”

The envoy originally hoped to get an official and a reward of money, but Lei Hu rejected both of them. A thousand guns is not a small number, but in these war-torn years, rifles are not particularly scarce, which is too far from Miao Peilin's expectations.

But as soon as the rifle sample was in his hand, the messenger could no longer take his eyes off the rifle. Everyone lives a life of licking blood with a knife, and the rifle that Lei Hu took out looks like the best guy. In particular, the gun also carries a sleeve bayonet, which can really be used in both long-range and close combat. During the war years, there was nothing more reliable than a good rifle. This gift is really valuable.

Here Lei Hu dealt with Miao Peilin's messenger, and over there Hei Cheng just took Zuo Zongtang to a distant house, and he loosened the ties for Zuo Zongtang and the others. Zuo Zongtang moved his wrist with a dark face, and he sneered: "I didn't expect the Guangfu Army to arrange it so well, admire!" ”

Hei Chenggang said: "Mr. Zuo doesn't need to think crookedly, we are only afraid that the name will not be right, if I decide to do it to Chu Jun, then I will definitely not let someone like Miao Peilin do it for me." ”

Zuo Zongtang thought in his heart that Miao Peilin was likely to surrender on his own initiative, and if such a great achievement as the annihilation of the Chu army was taken up by Miao Peilin, what would be the benefit to the Guangfu army. Although intellectually can make such a judgment, Zuo Zongtang emotionally can't accept this fact. Defeat to the powerful Liberation Army, if not a glorious defeat, is within an acceptable range. Let a villain like Miao Peilin sneak attack, what is this?

Hei Chenggang looked at Zuo Zongtang's unwilling look, and he smiled: "Mr. Zuo, victory and defeat are commonplace, something happened, let's talk about the next thing." Since you have arrived in Xuzhou, there are also captured soldiers of the Chu army in Xuzhou. What we mean is to release the Chu army and go home. But I don't know what Mr. Zuo thinks? ”

"Released home?" In these years, it was also the norm for the Qing army to dismiss the captured Taiping army, and after capturing a bunch of prisoners, they raised and wasted food, and they were not at ease with them, so dismissal was the norm. As for whether the prisoners can return to their hometowns safely after demobilization, that is not a question that the Qing army needs to consider.

Zuo Zongtang hesitated slightly, if he wanted to have a place in the Liberation Army, he couldn't do without troops in his hands. If the Chu army is dismissed now, then this last chance will be gone. It's just that he has encountered such a humiliation, so Zuo Zongtang's decision to defect to the Guangfu Army now is beyond Zuo Zongtang's ability to bear.

Between this hesitation, Hei Chenggang saw the general situation, and he smiled and said: "Either way, Mr. Zuo can go to Chu Jun's side first, so that Chu Jun's brother can know that Mr. Zuo didn't ignore them." ”

This is indeed subtle enough, but Zuo Zongtang knows very well that he is a prisoner like Chu Jun's subordinates, and he said with a dark face: "I understand Mr. Hei's kindness, but I still don't need it." ”

In the next few days, Zuo Zongtang took a steam boat from Xuzhou to Huai'an. It has been more than three years since the liberation of Huai'an, the land reform has been basically completed, and the organizational system has been completed. The steamships of the Liberation Army used propellers, which were very different from the paddle wheeler propulsion ships that came to China from foreign countries at this time. Riding this kind of boat at a speed far beyond the other ships in the canal, Zuo Zongtang could hold back at first, but when Hei Cheng just introduced the shipping facilities, Zuo Zongtang listened with great concentration.

After arriving in Huai'an, from the countryside to the city, from the mulberry garden to the factory. Zuo Zongtang visited the social organization of the Liberation Army with a high-intensity and compact schedule. Seeing the roaring machine in the silk reeling factory and the yarn factory, there are dozens or hundreds of female workers working in an orderly manner in one workshop. Zuo Zongtang spoke for the first time, "Look at this factory, it's really quite orderly. ”

When Zuo Zongtang went to visit the school, he saw the primary school students neatly lined up under the leadership of the teacher, reporting the number and running exercises. The face of the leader of the Chu army became extremely ugly. The Chu army also had military training, and the training of these children, who were from five or six years old to twelve or thirteen, was not remarkable. But being able to concentrate so many children for the most basic paramilitary training is itself different.

The Chu army only began military training after being drafted, and of course these children cannot go to the battlefield now. But in a few years, when they grow up, some of them may become soldiers. The traditional model of military organization of the peasants who were temporarily conscripted was far behind the traditional model of military organization compared to the young men of the future who had been trained in queues, numbers, ranks, and culture since childhood.

"Black political commissar, can you really support so many people?" Zuo Zongtang asked, in the past few days, Zuo Zongtang has also begun to call him Hei Chenggang's position.

Hei Chenggang replied: "Mr. Zuo, our majesty is talking about social development. There are advanced and backward systems. The landlord system is backward, because the landlords are already a layer of exploitation of the peasants, and the benefits they have obtained have not been obtained by the state. Land reform has indeed benefited the people greatly, and the state can also benefit greatly from such a system. We harvest 30 percent of the grain, and this 30 percent of the grain falls into our hands. There is no way to store food for a long time, so there are enough people in the city to eat it. This is also something that the state needs to consider. ”

"Isn't this the Eight Banners?" Zuo Zongtang expressed his opinion.

"Those people in the Eight Banners don't produce. But in our system that Mr. Zuo saw, who was supported by people? The workers worked, the peasants farmed, and the soldiers defended the country. Everyone is an integral part of society as a whole. The Manchu Qing Dynasty still had imperial power, but we had to manage every village in China. Hei Chenggang said proudly.

"So you have so many talents?" Zuo Zongtang asked.

Hei Chenggang pointed to the students in the school's physical education class, "Isn't it just that we are cultivating talents when we open a school?" Mr. Zuo, we actually hope that everyone in China can become a talent. We hope that everyone in China can read, read, be literate and understand science. Ten years of trees and a hundred years of people, we say that this is a process of belief. But this is also the only way to completely dig out the poor roots in the hearts of the entire Chinese people. ”

"Huh!" Zuo Zongtang sneered twice at first, but soon he laughed "haha". For the first time in his life, Zuo Zongtang heard that there was a government that "dug out the poor roots in the hearts of the people". He could probably even guess the meaning of this "poor root". Therefore, most of Zuo Zongtang's laughter was ridicule, and half was sympathy.

The people have poor roots in their hearts, and the people are blind. Zuo Zongtang agrees with this point of view very much. But as the saying goes, the nature of the country is easy to change and difficult to change, Wei Ze may be able to change the country, but at this time he still wants to change the nature of the people. That is not one or two people, but the nature of the entire Chinese people. An excellent figure like Hei Chenggang even talked about this issue with a logical attitude. Zuo Zongtang really didn't know whether he should use pride to describe Wei Ze, or should he use wishful thinking to make a conclusion for Wei Ze.

But no matter which way it is said, it has greatly increased Zuo Zongtang's interest in Wei Ze himself. A person who came out of the poor mountains and remote areas of Guangxi can have today's achievements and build these factories and schools that Zuo Zongtang saw, which is enough to be called a masterpiece. The arrogant purpose can also be said to be a great idea, and when this hero still has an ideal that far exceeds the achievements he has achieved in reality, Zuo Zongtang can't help but feel deeply curious about Wei Ze.

The subsequent visit strengthened Zuo Zongtang's thoughts, including the post office, telegraph, hospital, these complete social service systems, as well as the public security, procuratorate, courts, these judicial institutions, as well as household registration books, food stamps, and other specific means of implementation. All kinds of systems seem to be harsh or unreasonable, but after a careful understanding, Zuo Zongtang feels the concept of governing the country behind them. This Jin Liang has never been convinced, but he has to admit that this kind of concept and the practice of building on the concept are indeed very reasonable.

Listening to Hei Chenggang, this is the system formulated by Wei Ze and the Party Central Committee. Zuo Zongtang stomped on the leather shoes given by the Guangfu Army under his feet, "Black political commissar, you said that these rubber-soled shoes are also made by Wei Ze?" ”

Now that the production of leather shoes has begun to increase, liberation shoes are still not as breathable as leather. With a thick rubber sole and a leather surface, Zuo Zongtang, as the person named by Wei Ze, naturally had to be treated preferentially, so he gave him a pair of leather shoes. Zuo Zongtang didn't think much of this originally, and he felt uncomfortable when he first wore it. After a few days of wearing it, he began to get used to it. The impermeable, elastic, and wear-resistant rubber sole made Zuo Zongtang understand where the strong marching ability of the Guangfu Army came from. But when he heard that Wei Ze turned out to be omniscient in astronomy and geography, he went on the horse to govern the army and dismounted to settle the people. This can't help but make him not deeply suspicious.

Hei Chenggang replied: "We have special scientific research institutions and factories. His Majesty put forward his own opinions, and the scientific research institutions put it into practice, and the scientific research institutions came up with the production methods to the factory, and the factory produced according to this. Mr. Zuo, everyone in our Liberation Army is a member of the entire system, and we are talking about cooperation and working together. So you know that the official title of the emperor in our system is also, Comrade Emperor, or Comrade Majesty. The reason why everyone is only called Majesty is because we are lazy and don't want to be so troublesome. ”

"Comrade Majesty?" Zuo Zongtang was shocked by this title.

"Yes! Even if you call Comrade Wei Ze, you are not making a mistake in our Liberation Army. Comrade, this is what we really call it within the system. Hei Chenggang said very seriously. R1058