Li Guolou stood up and said with great pain: "Master Fu Xiangcai said the crux of the shortcomings of the Qing army, that is, to tell the truth, if you fake an army, it is a paper tiger, and it will be broken if you stab it." I don't care how other armies train their troops, everything in the martial arts is based on actual combat, and we must master the necessary knowledge of the modern army, infantry, cavalry, artillery, baggage soldiers, and engineers, all of them are top-notch talents, not one or two, but like high-quality products of industrial assembly lines, graduating from Wutang in batches. Those who are unqualified get out, don't look at Meng Yin here, regardless of family or nationality. As long as you are a good family, willing to pay, willing to use your brains, willing to learn, willing to endure hardships, loyal to the monarch and patriotic, you will have a good future, and you will work hard. ”

"Yes!" The school officials and students stood upright and replied loudly, even Liu Mingchuan and Li Hongzhang's adjutant Goshha were also infected by Li Guolou, and stood up together to salute Li Guolou.

A student with a shaved head, a green and ignorant face, and a handsome and tall student named Su Yuanchun asked, "May I ask Sir Li, why did our Qing army become like this?" ”

"Classmate Su, since you asked me, then I will tell you the truth, now the Qing Dynasty officers are corrupt, they are addicted to leisure and hard work, businessmen are prevalent, and smuggling and drug trafficking are the common problems of our Qing army today." Li Guolou said bluntly that since students are taught to tell the truth, they must lead by example. I don't look at Li Hongzhang's face, it's a big deal to do business and no longer get involved in military power.

Su Yuanchun said loudly: "Chief Li, how can you change it?" ”

Li Guolou still didn't listen to Li Hongzhang's cough, and said loudly: "Start with me, clean yourself, and be worthy of Fu Xiang's students." As a commander, you must also kill the killer and remove the black sheep from the army, and the evil consequences of appeasement and adultery will rot to the roots. It's a big deal to build another army and wipe out all the ruffians who are hard to return to. ”

This sentence is for Li Hongzhang, who is the governor of Zhili and the founder of the Beiyang Naval Division, and one of the five ministers of the aircraft department, and he has the right to speak in the restructuring of the army.

The Military Aircraft Department was the central authority of the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty. In the seventh year of Yongzheng, because of the use of troops in the northwest, outside the cabinet Taihe Gate, fearing leakage of secrets, began to set up a military machine room in the Longzong Gate, and selected the cabinet to be a confidential person to write on duty, in order to deal with urgent military affairs, to assist the emperor in handling government affairs. In the tenth year of Yongzheng, it was renamed "Military Aircraft Department", referred to as "Military Aircraft Department".

The establishment of the Military Aircraft Department was a major change in the central institution of the Qing Dynasty, marking the peak of the development of the centralized power of the Qing monarchy. The Military Aircraft Department was originally set up to handle military affairs, but because it was convenient to play the dictatorship of the monarch, once it appeared, it was caught by the emperor, not only permanent but also more and more expanded. The officers of the military aircraft department include the minister of military aircraft, commonly known as the "big military aircraft", and the military aircraft Zhang Jing, commonly known as the "small military aircraft". The Minister of Military Aircraft was specially selected by the emperor from the Manchurians, Han scholars, Shangshu, Shilang and other officials, and some were also promoted by the military aircraft Zhang Jing. The appointment of the Minister of Military Aircraft is called "Walking of the Military Aircraft Division". There was no quota for the Minister of Military Aircraft, and the number of the Military Aircraft Division was initially set at three, and later increased to four or five to eight or nine and as many as eleven. At the beginning of the military aircraft Zhangjing, there was no quota, and in the early years of Jiaqing, it was determined that there were 16 people in Manchu and Han Zhangjing, a total of 32 people, and Manchu and Han Zhangjing were each on duty in two shifts, with eight people in each shift. The appointment of the military aircraft chapter Jing is called "the military aircraft chapter walks on the capital".

Li Hongzhang saw Li Guolou for the first time, exuding a heroic spirit that should not be underestimated, looking at the outspoken and domineering Li Guolou, Li Hongzhang regarded him as a qualified school official for the first time in his life.

"Guard Li, you don't have a sword, don't talk so much, you are the big corrupt official in the world." Li Hongzhang suddenly exposed Li Guolou's true face, which made the originally tense and serious atmosphere weird, everyone wanted to laugh but didn't dare to laugh, Mu Leng stared at Li Guolou.

Li Guolou said solemnly: "Lord Fu Xiang, Li Guolou is not a corrupt official, but a capable official. With the courage that ordinary people do not have, he amassed a rich country, proposed to enrich the country and strengthen the army, and was appointed by the emperor to explore Hualang. ”

"Oh! Clean yourself and be a good person, you want to be the Minister of Military Aircraft, do you have the ability? Li Hongzhang scoffed, with a look of contempt.

"Yes! Seize the day and take Master Fu as an example! Li Guolou said without hesitation, holding his head high.

Li Hongzhang said: "Li Guolou, anyone can say big things, I don't want to listen." With the Battle of Shicai Baliqiao, give me an analysis of the shortcomings of the Qing army and how to restructure. ”

"Yes!" Li Guolou sorted out his thoughts and said, "The official of the school is very good, I will add it."

The commander of the Battle of Baliqiao, Prince Horqin, Monk Greenqin, was a national hero of the Qing Dynasty and an excellent commander, there is no doubt about this, and I will not say much about his merits here. Since the commander-in-chief is a good general, the weapons and equipment of both the enemy and us are not much more advanced than ours, and we have no less artillery than the enemy, and we have the ability to attack from a distance, but our army can arrange the artillery properly when it arrives at the battlefield first. The soldier has a pistol in his hand, and the firing range is almost the same, that is, the rate of fire is a little slower than that of the enemy. We have an absolute advantage in the number of troops, and we have an advantage in local operations, soldiers, supplies, and geography, and the main combat arms on land are not comparable to the British and French infantry, and it is absurd that 20,000 cavalry beat 6 infantry, and actually lost 3 people and fled in defeat, which is definitely a big joke in the eyes of Europeans.

Cavalry against infantry, whether in the East or in the West, has always been one to ten, the Eastern Archer is theoretically superior to the European musketeers, and should have achieved great results, but why did they lose so badly? It can be summed up in three main points: the weapons are not good, the tactics are wrong, and the commanders are incompetent. All three of the above points, but not the main one, how to say it? Even if the above three points are true, with 2 cavalry fighting 6 infantry with primitive muskets, even if the bow and arrow musket are not used at all, one person and one saber, even people and horses rush over, and they can be trampled to death.

As for the cavalry, even if the first platoon is stabbed to death, the second platoon will still crash into the previous platoon and continue to attack, but the spears behind your infantry will not be easy to use. Therefore, at that time, the formation of an infantry phalanx by spears was only a good defensive battle formation for cavalry in the infantry, but it was not a good offensive battle formation. If the heavy cavalry can be broken through the attack regardless of the cost, the problem is that the cavalry is so expensive, and the cavalry commander disdains to use such a method of warfare.

Why did you lose? It is because the 90,000 royal troops of the Qing Dynasty at that time lost their melee combat capabilities, which is the historical truth. The standard tactics of the cavalry of the Qing army are basically to use bows and arrows from a distance and draw sabers to kill the enemy at a distance, but most of the Qing troops rushed to the end of the Baliqiao War, and they only used bows and arrows, and they rarely pulled out their sabers to cut and kill in close combat. It was a coalition of nearly 1,000 people who were hit by arrows, and only more than 4 people died. If it is changed to the period of Taizu and Taizong, how can there be a reason that an arrow will not die? If you wear armor, you have to die, nearly 9 pounds of rally full bow 75 steps ** to kill armored soldiers, and the armor arrow can shoot through homogeneous iron armor within 5 steps.

The bows and arrows of the Qing army have reached the peak, throwing 4 meters at a 45-degree angle, 15 meters flat, and the normal shooter is accurate within 5 meters, and the rate of fire is 1 to 12 rounds per minute. The large firing range of the smoothbore gun does not exceed 4 meters, and the quasi-only 7 meters and one-third of the time in the Great Patriotic Battle Formation, what does it mean? Let's just say that flintlock pistols, three shots within 7 meters, only one shot, that is a very normal thing. It was a bow and arrow against muskets at that time, and the advantage in the battle formation was obvious. It's just that it takes 3 years for the archers to barely become successful, and the bow and arrow manufacturing cycle is one year, and the composite bow of the Qing Dynasty is expensive. It only takes a month for musketeers to get together or go into battle, and it takes less than half a month for muskets and ammunition to be manufactured in batches, and the cost is low, and the difference between the elite and the grassroots is only.

The cavalry of the Qing army only has the attached gun battalion of the Eight Banners Han Army, the Manchurian and Mongolian firearms battalion, half of the Praetorian Guard forward battalion, the bird gun guard in the guard camp, the upper three banners pro-army battalion, the tiger gun battalion, and a small number of pro-soldier knights of the Green Battalion are equipped with muskets, and the rest of the cavalry is mostly equipped with bows and arrows according to regulations. The infantry is mainly equipped with less infantry archers as a supervising team, and it also needs to account for 3 percent according to the system, but it is a chore to draw a bow, and it is difficult to pull an 8-pound standard military bow without a super physique, and it is not as easy as putting a shotgun.

Soldiers like to use muskets regardless of the Eight Banners or the Green Battalion, and the proportion of muskets and bows and arrows in the Qing Dynasty army is getting higher and higher, and the proportion of bows and arrows is getting smaller and smaller, which also reflects the bloody loss of the Qing Dynasty soldiers and the serious phenomenon of slack in armament. It also tells us a truth, being passively beaten on the battlefield, being restrained everywhere, no matter how brave the general is, he can't bear it.

Hey! I'll tell you another secret, Master Fu, you've never heard of it. The French lost less than 1 man in this battle, and after returning home, the French general Mentoban was named 'Count of Baliqiao' by the French Emperor Napoleon III, but when he continued to give a reward of 50,000 gold francs, he was opposed by most of the parliamentarians. Saying that the Battle of Bali Bridge was a very easy and even somewhat laughable battle, we only lost so many people, and this one-sided battle did not reflect the general's command ability and military ability at all, and it can only be said that the opponent is too weak, so it is not worth giving such a high reward. ”

Liu Mingchuan deliberately shouted: "It seems that Li Xuezheng is suitable for being a spy, where is the undercover agent hiding?" ”

Li Guolou rolled his eyes and said: "Only by recognizing yourself can you be reasonable, and you are arrogant and arrogant, and you are the frog at the bottom of the well." This is how Monk Grinqin failed, defeating the long-haired son, not enough to be proud. ”

"Am I proud? Am I arrogant? I'm telling the truth, telling the truth in the classroom, Li Xuezheng is suitable for being a spy. Liu Mingchuan is often reasonable, his voice is loud, and he speaks uprightly.

Li Guolou didn't bother with Liu Mingchuan, and continued: "The methods and effects of the cavalry operations of the Qing army show that the cavalry combat thinking of the Qing army is backward, and it is still stuck in the 17th century in the face of backward equipment performance and cutting corners, resulting in poor quality arquebus Ming army, and even the Mongolian cavalry tactics in the 13th century. Therefore, these battles are mostly manifested as one-sided killings, although the cavalry of Seng Lingqin has succession and courage, and is boasted by the imperial court as 'Southern Zeng and Northern Monk' Seng Greenqin's military ability is limited, and he will not change his tactics when the enemy changes and I change. Because he had already suffered a loss in the front, he had tasted the power of the three-stage musket of the British and French forces, but the battle of the Monk Greenqin Bali Bridge still adopted the same tactics, allowing 2,000 heroic Mongolian cavalry to die heroically. The old-fashioned mentality is a cancer in the development of army building.

The Battle of Bali Bridge changed many preferences of our Qing army, and the warriors used to be superstitious about cavalry, bows and arrows, and bravery. Now the army has changed to superstitious guns, contempt for cavalry, contempt for bows and arrows, and contempt for bravery. Think that if you have good guns, you just have good ships. This is a misunderstanding from one misunderstanding to another. The soul of the army is the key to the longevity of an army, and an army without a sense of honor is useless if it has a hundred guns. Cowardly and afraid of death, leave their backs to the enemy, dare not fight hard and fight to the death, and lose the face of this kind of army. Therefore, we vigorously develop military science and technology, improve weapons and equipment, master the essentials of modern weapons, and still vigorously develop cavalry and the spirit of bravery. The spirit of the army! There is hope for an army, and you represent the soul of a generation of Qing soldiers. The spirit of Wutang is to fight endlessly, swear to defend the territorial integrity of the Qing Dynasty to the death, and wipe out the invaders. ”

"The spirit of Wutang is to fight endlessly, swear to defend the territorial integrity of the Qing Dynasty to the death, and eliminate the invaders." The school officials and the students hissed and shouted together, and the students outside the door also erupted in shouts.

Li Hongzhang stood up and looked up at Li Guolou, but he was a bit of a general. Looking around at the school officials and students, he showed a look of approval. The martial arts tactics class shocked him and gave him a sense of crisis.