On the morning of August, the temperature was very high, and Li Guolou rode a horse and sweated to the yamen of the three governors. signed up to meet Li Hongzhang, bowing his head and not daring to look at the person sitting at the front of the public case.

"Well, Master Li, you finally thought of it." Li Hongzhang slowly swallowed and spoke, and he didn't even say the word "flat".

"Hey, hey!" Li Guolou laughed dryly, got up by himself, and said cheekily: "Master Fu Xiang, you still don't know me, it's rare to have a holiday to rest, aren't you too lazy to move." When I came to see you this time, my grandson brought some souvenirs to honor you. While speaking, Li Guolou presented the gift box and put it on the official case.

Li Hongzhang showed a smile and said, "You, you don't learn all day long, you show off with a group of women's soldiers, and you were impeached by the imperial history, do you know?" I thought it was a great achievement, so be careful of the yarn hat. While speaking, Li Hongzhang opened the gift box, looked at the gift, and was quite satisfied, he didn't know how to give gifts to people, and he had already sent him to the corner.

"Ahh Li Guolou screamed: "If you are full, you will impeach me for this kind of thing." Thank you, Master Fu Xiang, for speaking for me, and the lower officials are grateful. ”

"Be honest with me, don't be a hairpin, you have to know how to avoid suspicion when you get along with foreigners. In military affairs, if you should let go, you have to let go, Principal Weng, I don't like it here. Gong Liu is here, come with me to visit him first. Li Hongzhang put the gold watch in his pocket, and the volume of "Orchid Pavilion Preface" was not put down, he took it in his hand, and looked at it while walking.

"Piercing!" Li Guolou and Li Hongzhang were behind their buttocks, lifting their spirits and accepting the facts. I don't even have the courage to compete for a round, I am not a level person, I can only swallow my anger, and I will die before and after the saddle.

In the living room, Zhao Lian and Liu Mingchuan were chatting about family life, and Li Guolou accepted the reality to see the elders' gifts, and saw Zhao Lian and Liu Mingchuan.

Zhao Lian was quite happy, and said with a smile: "Oh, Xiaolou is here, Shaoquan, why don't you tell me." Don't leave at noon, let's have a home-cooked meal together, and I'll go and prepare. ”

"Then I'll bother my uncle, I just like to eat my uncle's hometown food." Li Guolou was respectful, and his mouth was as sweet as honey.

Let Li Hongzhang listen comfortably, and originally planned to come up with a dismount speech, but all of them were canceled. If you can't write two "Li" characters in your own family, young people are selfish and can be forgiven once.

"Hahahaha! Master Li, I haven't seen you for a long time, you are so idle. Xu Chan shook his figure-eight steps into the living room, and a piece of pearl was holding a handy.

"Master Xu, where did you go just now, I still want to come to visit you." Li Guolou hurriedly stood up and saluted, and also saluted respectfully.

Although Xu Chan is Li Hongzhang's master, Xu Chan has a three-grade Taoist official hat, and one day Xu Chan is also a local magistrate. Li Hongzhang's staff and counselors are all this kind of people, and even the captain of the personal guard has the title of fourth-grade military attaché. Here, Li Guolou did not dare to put on an official stand, and listened to the teachings of his predecessors as a junior.

Li Hongzhang took a sip of tea, cleared his throat, and said, "Guolou! The third province is that I invited him out of the mountain, although he has no official status now, Wutang can't wronged him. You can't keep busy in Tianjin, and the chief academic and political position should also be put aside, what do you say? ”

Three pairs of smiling eyes stared at Li Guolou, the summer heat wave hit from the window, Li Guolou hurriedly expressed his attitude, and said with a smile: "Master Fu, your words are orders, and the lower officials will definitely follow them." Originally, I wanted to wait until the holiday to explain Liu Gong's errand, but since Liu Gong wanted to do something practical despite the long-distance travel, I would go to the small station once in the afternoon. ”

"Li Guolou, I'll go with you in the afternoon to see who the horse is!" Liu Mingchuan hated not being able to fight with Li Guolou, and was admonished by Li Hongzhang, so he wanted to have a horse race with Li Guolou and talk about winning or losing openly.

In such a hot day, this horse is also tired to death, where is Li Guolou willing to drag a good horse down, and hurriedly arched his hand: "Liu Gong's demeanor is still the same, how dare the younger generation kill himself, please take care of Liu Gong in the future." ”

"Well, it's easy to say, Li Guolou, don't pinch my neck with silver in the future, the funds must be in place every month, you can save worry and effort, and let me take care of the daily work of Wutang." Liu Mingchuan saw that Li Guolou was a soft persimmon, so he was not interested in comparing with Li Guolou, and the soldiers should have an indomitable temperament, and Li Guolou couldn't see it at all. It's a bit like a eunuch who sends a message, no wonder the folk have the name of "Little Plum", and at a glance, there is no kind of guy.

"Hmmm······" Li Guolou was ambiguous and agreed. It seems that in the future, he will only have to move another great god "Weng Tongyong", otherwise he will become persona non grata when he goes to the martial arts hall to preside over his daily work.

Xu Zhan refused to let go of Li Guolou, and asked, "Guolou, didn't you originally say that school would start in January?" This school site has not yet been built, why did we start teaching, it is so hard to deceive us. ”

Li Guolou defended: "Master Xu, you don't know, the first time my subordinates came out to do things, they were a little anxious, and they didn't inform me. The enrollment of students went smoothly, and the task was completed early, so I talked to myself and brought the children to the station. In the future, I will say to them that since the rules have been made, they cannot be changed overnight. ”

Xu Chan chased after him and continued to ask: "Then let me ask you, what standard do you use to train students under your guard officers?" Was it in collusion with the Prussians? ”

"Master Xu, you can rest assured. I absolutely did not collude with the Prussians in private, it was not out of national interests, and I dared to touch this landmine. In fact, this is the case, the guards under my command were originally trained according to the standards of the French **, so they should follow the cat and the tiger, and also do daily training according to the standards of the French ** team. In fact, the training of the Western teams is much the same, only the Russians are relatively backward······" Li Guolou had no choice but to confide in the content of the martial arts training. The generals of the Huai Army, who studied Western military drills, were lazy in order to save trouble, and used national conditions as prevarication. He just didn't want to bring the bad habits of the Qing army into the martial arts, so he set his own rules, so that the students could have consciousness and not learn the dead end of the Qing army's training.

Liu Mingchuan couldn't listen anymore, interrupted Li Guolou's words, and said: "Li Guolou, then I want to ask you, what can I rely on to win the battle?" ”

Li Guolou pursed his lips and said without hesitation: "To fight with mud legs, of course, you can win by relying on the courage of the main general and the sharpness of firearms." But I can tell you unceremoniously that with your 'inscription battalion', when the plains and the foreign guns meet, they can wipe you out with only half of your men, which is the cruel reality. ”

"You bastard!" Liu Mingchuan slapped the case, stood up angrily, glared at Li Guolou angrily, and was so angry that his beard was raised. His "inscription battalion" has long since fallen apart in the Shaanxi and Gansu regions, otherwise he would have fallen into a situation where he has no official position and no position.

"Hey, hey!" Li Guolou saw Liu Mingchuan angry, but he was secretly happy, the big old man is uneducated, he is a Tanhualang, a meritorious celebrity, and he is not as knowledgeable as the big old man.

Li Hongzhang motioned for Liu Mingchuan to sit down, and everyone discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the army, and there was no need to disagree, so he looked at each other angrily and said: "Li Guolou, you are really, which pot is not opened." First of all, I will compensate Liu Gong, I am not helping my relatives. ”

Li Guolou blushed and had a thick neck, and quickly stood up and bowed to apologize: "Gong Liu, you are small-minded, and you shouldn't have your scars exposed." Please don't be surprised that you have a large number of adults. ”

"Well, forget it. It's also that I don't recognize people as unladylike, and I entrust a heavy burden to the incompetent, which counts me blind. Hey······" Liu Mingchuan slapped his thigh, how many sleepless nights he had spent for this matter, and he was almost beheaded by the imperial court. He has a group of old brothers, most of whom started by selling smuggled salt, and only recognize him as a big brother, and there is also a Li Hongzhang in his eyes. As soon as the "inscription battalion" arrived in the Shaanxi and Gansu regions, where would he put Zuo Zongtang, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, in his eyes, coupled with the extreme shortage of food and salary, the camp was bombed all of a sudden, and he was unlucky.

Li Hongzhang glanced at him and said, "Li Guolou, don't think that you read a lot of books and just talk on paper." You don't understand military affairs, and if you mess around, you will bring 800 good seedlings into the sideways. ”

Li Guolou replied: "Master Fu Xiang, morale, loyalty, and death can be brought up in one go, and illiteracy can be controlled." However, modern warfare is actually a technical job. You can read the map, and your men are illiterate and will go the wrong way. The work done by the lower officials is only to teach the basic combat methods to those students, and we have taken the line of elite soldiers in the Qing Dynasty and have never used the tactics of crowds, so improving the personal quality of officers is the first priority. According to the strategy formulated by the lower officials, the military talents are cultivated, loyal to the monarch and patriotic, and know the advantages and disadvantages of equipment, with their own strengths, and the shortcomings of the enemy, at least they can fight with the foreigners, instead of just waiting for the order of the senior commander to defend to the death. ”

Xu Zhan shook his head and said: "Li Guolou, you don't know how to pretend to understand, Master Fu Xiang's arrangement of troops can win a decisive victory for thousands of miles, Lao Maozi Anhui was defeated by our heroic Huai army, it was our Lord Fu Xiang's strategy to win a thousand miles, and the enemy was like a god." ”

Li Hongzhang's face radiated brilliance, he relied on the rapid promotion of the military merits of defeating the Taiping Army to achieve today's achievements. He boasts of being able to write and martial arts, and is a capable minister who knows soldiers.

Li Guolou nodded frequently and exclaimed: "Master Fu Xiang's decision-making is comparable to Han Xin's. The lower officials are ashamed of themselves, and some of them are ashamed. ”

Li Hongzhang suddenly came to his senses, and said with a smile: "Well, let's go to the small station together in the afternoon, Xiaolou can think of the first batch of Hefei students recruited by Wutang, I am very relieved, let's go to see our little fellow countryman together." ”

The cultivation of talents is divided by geography, especially the middle and lower-level officers, and they will be slowly promoted, and they will be grateful to Dai De for his life. Li Hongzhang has long regarded the students of Wutang as his protégés, and all the efforts made by Li Guolou Wutang have become wedding dresses for others.

Li Guolou looked at the three adults in front of him, and his heart was cold, it's over! Li Hongzhang personally went out, and all the 800 students wanted to worship Li Hongzhang's disciples. In the future, he will be a master of 800 students, and he will be regarded as a lady.

"Master Fu Xiang, the scorching sun in the afternoon is too hot, you better wait for the autumn to see it." Li Guolou seemed to think about Li Hongzhang, took out a bone fan from his sleeve, and waved the fan by himself.

Li Hongzhang smiled and said: "Xiaolou, it's okay, I haven't been old enough to walk, we'll set off after lunch." Hey! Xiaolou, where did your fan come from? ”

Li Hongzhang made the same mistake again, and when he saw the good things in other people's hands, he wanted to cheat them. Li Guolou's flesh died of pain, and an ancient fan was painted by Tang Yin with flowers and poems. This is the godson Wei Xiaoliu specially honoring him, but he didn't expect to be covered with heat, and he was caught by Li Hongzhang again.

Looking at Li Hongzhang waving a fan and talking eloquently in the living room, it was like a lupine scarf Zhou Lang, and under his planning for the construction of the modern army of the Qing Dynasty, it was as if a fledgling had hatched.

Li Guolou, Liu Mingchuan, and Xu Chan stroked their palms together and chatted with Li Hongzhang, feeling a lot of emotion in their hearts, and there were bursts of pain. The credit is obviously him, it is he who personally took out the silver, came to the construction in person, ordered the personnel in person, and arranged many matters, and the credit of Houwutang is the same as that of the Prussian Imperial Alliance, he is just familiar.