"Lord Yuan, do you want to torture us subordinates? How can you give us a gift? Or is it something so valuable? Li Lianying looked very embarrassed.

Yuan Shikai waved his hand again and again, "Master Li, where is this?" How can I be called an adult in front of you? Didn't I stay in North Korea for more than a decade? The ready-made ones at home, the ones that you can't get your hands on, make you smile. ”

"Lord Yuan, you are a friend of Mr. Ruan, that is, a friend of our family. I'll have something to do in the palace later, so let's not talk politely. Didn't you have something to do with me? Let's get it straight. ”

Yuan Shikai saw that this Gonggong Li was still a happy person, so he told his own affairs from beginning to end.

After listening to Yuan Shikai's words, Li Lianying pondered for a while, "Mr. Yuan, let's not tell lies in front of real people, this is a military matter, and it is difficult for our family to speak." ”

Yuan Shikai said: "Gonggong Li, you misunderstood. I don't want to use you to find this errand for me in the Queen Mother's old man's house. ”

"Then what do you mean by looking for us?" Li Lianying was puzzled.

Yuan Shikai said: "I just want to ask my father-in-law to help me inquire which one is the candidate in the Queen Mother's heart." Let's compare, if there is a fight, we will fight. The difference is too great, let's give up, and we will be at ease. ”

"It's very easy to do. I'll go and find out tonight, and you'll have to come over tomorrow night to hear a letter. Li Lianying happily agreed.

All day, no. Last night, Yuan Shikai didn't sleep well. My mind has been going up and down, guessing what kind of person Lafayette will be in his heart?

Time stayed up minute by minute in anxious waiting, and before he could wait for the appointed time, he rushed to the Li Mansion in a hurry.

This time, Li Lianying was not there. Ruan Zhongshu accompanied Yuan Shikai to wait in the hall.

Yuan Shikai was talking to Ruan Zhongshu calmly on the surface, and his heart was really turbulent.

Finally waited for Li Lianying to come back, and as soon as the hall door opened, Yuan Shikai got up to greet him.

"Lord Yuan, take a look! Check it out! How did you do it? ”

Without waiting for a few people to sit down again, Li Lianying said hurriedly.

Yuan Shikai's heart sank, "What's the matter, Gonggong Li?" ”

Afraid of bad luck, Yuan Shikai didn't dare to say the words "Is the catastrophe coming?"

Li Lianying said: "I haven't finished talking about this yet, so I asked the Buddha to train me." ”

"I'm sorry father-in-law, I've bothered you." It seemed that a catastrophe was really coming, and Yuan Shikai's heart was beating suddenly.

Li Lianying shook her head, "Do you know what the Buddha said?" Li Lianying looked at Yuan Shikai and Ruan Zhongshu, and learned the voice of Lafayette: "Little Lizi!" Are you underwhelmed? Do you know how many things are going on in a day in our Great Qing Kingdom? Just find a person to lead the training, such a trivial matter, if you also let your master worry about it, you will tire your master to death? ”

"What's going on?" Yuan Shikai didn't understand.

Li Lianying shook her head again, "What's the matter?" Not only is there no one in this position, but her old man doesn't even know about it. ”

"What about this?" Yuan Shikai was relaxed for a while.

"The Buddha said, look at whom, supervise the military affairs department and discuss it, just follow the normal procedure."

"Thank you, father-in-law! Thank you, father-in-law! Yuan Shikai's heart was overjoyed.

"By the way, the Buddha can say, but you have to find a good person, find a serious person. This soldier must be trained well, and he can't always lose the battle. ”

"Good! Good! Good! Please rest assured that the Queen Mother will definitely train an army for the Queen Mother that can win battles. ”

Since then, Yuan Shikai has made friends with a person with hands and eyes.

On 19 November, the ministers of the Military Affairs Department, Yi Xuan, Li Hongzao, Changlin, and Weng Tonggong, agreed: 1. Hu Liao, who was in charge of the 10 th battalion of the Dingwu Army, was reappointed as the supervisor of the Jinlu Railway. Second, Yuan Shikai practiced the foreign team. 3. Yinchang selects flag soldiers and enters the military academy.

This was followed by the formal procedure: on December 8, 1895, the princes and ministers of military aircraft requested that the military system be changed, and a new army was created in Tianjin, and personnel were sent to supervise the training.

Regarding Yuan Shikai's appointment, the Military Affairs Department said: "Since the flattening of Guangdong and the twisting, China has followed the old law, and the habits have gradually deepened, and there are many evils, which is very difficult. Now if you want to emphasize the way of self-improvement, you must first retrain the troops; If you want to have a strong army, you must especially reform the old system. ……

"Yuan Shikai, the commissioner of the Military Affairs Department, Zhejiang Wen Division, is simple and brave, knows how to fight, and is quite prestigious in North Korea before. Because Ling Yang plans to change the method of training foreign troops, it is very thorough to submit a contract for hiring foreign personnel and a new army battalion system, salary medals, and ministers.

"Accordingly, I asked Yuan Shikai to supervise the new army, and if he had the power to do things, he would be responsible for the ten battalions of the armed forces, 3,000 infantry, 1,000 artillery, 250 horses, and 500 engineers, which were considered fundamental; And recruit 2,000 infantry troops and 250 horse troops, a total of 7,000 people, that is, according to the proposed camp system and salary and medal formation of the road. ”

On the same day, the imperial court approved this performance and ordered Yuan Shikai to go to Tianjin to take over the 10th battalion of Hu Liao's Dingwu Army as the basis for the training of the new army.

In particular, he emphasized: "The Tao should know that it is very difficult to raise salaries, and it is easy to change the law, so it is strictly trained and everything is verified. If you still follow the habit of brave camping, the only way is to ask. ”

After twists and turns, Yuan Shikai finally got the position of supervising the training of the new army.

On December 16, 1895, Yuan Shikai went to Xiaozhan Town to take over the Dingwu Army and began his career as a military training in Xiaozhan Town.

Xiaozhan Town is located seventy miles southeast of Tianjin, and its name comes from Li Hongzhang's Huai Army.

In 1870, due to the Tianjin teaching case, British, French, and American warships approached Dagukou.

Qing ** ordered Li Hongzhang to succeed Zeng Guofan as the governor of Zhili, deal with the Tianjin teaching case, and ordered his Huai army to defend Gyeonggi.

Li Hongzhang's pro-military battalion was transferred from Linfen to Qingxian Racecourse and stationed in Xincheng. Therefore, a Malaysia-Singapore Avenue was built between the racecourse and the new town, and post stations were set up along the way. A small station in ten miles, a large station in forty miles.

This is the fifth post station west of Dagu, and soldiers used to call it a small station.

The Huai army was stationed in this Tuntian for nearly 20 years, and in the First Sino-Japanese War, all the Huai troops here were scattered, and the barracks were empty.

Later, Hu Liao's Dingwu army moved from Tianjin Machang to this place.

How important the small station training was to Yuan Shikai's later life may not even be imagined by him himself at that time. If it is said that the stationing in North Korea made him step into the official career and add to the red top, the small station training is the cornerstone of his ascent to the highest power of the country.

Xu Shichang, Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang, Cao Kun, Zhang Xun...... These famous figures of the Republic of China walked out of here singing military songs.

Because of Yuan Shikai, Xiaozhan has become well-known at home and abroad.

The Dingwu army originally had 4,750 people, and on this basis, Yuan Shikai recruited a group of recruits from Henan, Shandong, northern Anhui, and northern Jiangsu, purchased horses, and formed a team of 7,000 people.

The name of the unit was also changed from the Dingwu Army to the "New Army".

The newly built army adopts the German and Japanese structures, and includes infantry, artillery, horse, engineering, and heavy arms, thus putting an end to the backward situation in which the old army did not distinguish between arms.

The infantry team consisted of 5,000 men, divided into left and right wings. One battalion of 1,000 men, two on the left flank and three on the right flank;

The artillery team of 1,000 people is divided into three teams: the right wing fast artillery team, the left wing heavy artillery team and the receiving horse artillery team;

The horse team was five hundred people, divided into four teams;

There are 500 engineers, who are responsible for bridges, fortifications, electric mines, repairing machinery, surveying and mapping, and telegraphing.

The equipment was replaced with Manlisa rifles, carbines, pistols and Grusen rifles purchased from Germany.

More than a dozen officers were hired from Germany to serve in the training, and Bassens was in charge of the training of the whole army.

In the Qingzi army, especially in North Korea, Yuan Shikai profoundly realized that without strict discipline, it is impossible to bring out a good team. An army without strict discipline is useless no matter how well equipped.

In this unit he trained, the veterans developed many old habits and bad habits that needed to be overcome. When a recruit first comes to a blank piece of paper, he must set rules and develop good habits.

Yuan Shikai first started with military discipline, and he knew that this was a serious illness, a stubborn disease, and he had to take heavy and fierce medicine.