Saying that he can't fight is not a lie, but a conclusion he came to after repeated consideration.

It's not that I haven't fought without a battle -- I fought with foreign soldiers at Bali Bridge, horse bandits at Rehe, and sticky guards at Miyun. However, these encounters, the circumstances are different, and cannot be counted as evidence that there will be a war.

At the time of Bali Bridge, he was just a foreign commissioner, and he rushed forward with a charge, and he could break the artillery array of the French army, relying on the analysis of later military historians. With the horse bandits, it was a small-scale encounter, and he saw the opportunity quickly, and all he did was shout "release the arrow", and the rest was left to Ding Shijie and the soldiers to complete. As for Miyun One Night, it was essentially a palace coup, just a fight between the forbidden forces.

And this time against the Taiping Army, it was a face to face gong and a drum, not only a battle, but also a real battle. The last time the Taiping army attacked Shanghai, it was only a partial division, with less than 10,000 people, and it almost pulled out the city. This time if you are prepared, the number of people will be several times this, how should you command, in order to win the battle of "victory but not defeat"?

People can't really be born to know, Guan Zhuofan has always relied on his own historical knowledge. But this time, in addition to knowing that the battle would start in the first month, his memory of how many men and horses the Taiping army would come, how many roads it would be divided into, and where it would fight, his memory was very vague. Then we are even more at a loss as to how to command, how to advance and retreat, and how to maintain contact between various units.

In a daze, I can't help but be deeply afraid, and when I am idle every day, I either take the map and study hard, or I just pull Ding Shijie, Hua Er and Li Hengsong to do military discussions. After working hard day and night, the overall combat strategy gradually took shape in my mind. And in addition to the military deployment, a very important decision was also made, but this decision will inevitably not be accepted by the imperial court, and can only be carried out quietly.

As for the meaning of the foreign guns in the edict, because it is written very delicately, although Wall listened to it, most of them couldn't understand it, so Guan Zhuofan pondered whether he should give an explanation to Wall. However, he soon found that he was too worried, and Wall not only understood, but immediately said that the officers and men of the foreign guns had added an armband to the left sleeve of the uniform, which was divided into red, green, blue, and black, which were used to indicate different ranks. This emergency method is very ingenious, and more importantly, there is a big "Xuan" written on each armband.

Guan Zhuofan's "Xuan Army" has finally become an army!

This army, with high salaries and generous salaries, was raised by Guan Yin of the Shanghai Customs and donations from the Shanghai gentry, and included 660 men in the first battalion of the horse corps, 1,110 men in the two battalions of the infantry brigade, 720 men in the first battalion of the foreign spear corps, and about 800 long-husbands in the fourth battalion, making the total number of the whole army 3,300.

Since the army has been formed, a review must be arranged as usual, first, to strengthen people's hearts and make everyone believe that Shanghai can be defended; The second is to give an explanation to the gentry and people in Shanghai, so that they know that the money was not spent in vain; Third, we should also boost the morale of the officers and men in the army and personally feel the responsibility and glory of the soldiers.

The day of reading is set on the day and a half of the lunar month of the lunar month, and the place is outside the city walls of the West City. In addition to the officials and gentry of Shanghai, the guests who watched the ceremony on the city wall included consuls and wives of various countries, directors of the Ministry of Industry of the Concession, officers of the British, American and French marines guarding the concession, and captains of foreign gunboats anchored at Wusongkou. And the people of Shanghai, when they heard that it was Xuanjun who was read, naturally everyone wanted to come and see it, so that up and down the city wall, the audience was blocked, and it was more lively than the festival.

Xue Huan, the governor of Jiangsu, specially came from Nantong, where he was stationed in the festival, to preside over the review. As soon as the hour came, Xue Huan gave the order to start, and as soon as the red flag on the city waved, the Xuan troops who were read started in turn, and entered the field in a battalion in accordance with the drill instructions of the foreign teachings. In the front and back of each battalion, there is a specially selected standard-bearer, who raises the battle flag of the Xuan army, and the word "Xuan" is big on the flag, waving in the wind. When the troops passed through the Yifeng Gate, which was the main platform, an order, a thousand army shouts, and a thunderous sound resounded throughout the city. The people who watched the ceremony, both Chinese and foreign, all had the same feeling in their hearts: In terms of the appearance of the army and the prosperity of morale, such officers and soldiers have never seen it!

In the whole review, Xuan Jun won a total of four big prizes, just like the stage was performed well and the audience applauded.

For the first time, it was the horse team that took the lead. This battalion is the birthplace of the Xuan Army, and it is even more handy to be read, the horses are controlled freely, the steps are neat, and they look at it from a distance, as if they are machinery, so this sound is loud and loud.

The two battalions in the back were brave, although they were recruits, but they walked neatly, and when they were read for the first time, everyone was excited, and their spirits were particularly high-spirited. Another majestic feature is that the six cannons of each battalion have all lost their artillery jackets and marched with the team to increase their might. So for this spirit and these six cannons, the audience is also constantly colorful.

When the foreign gun team came over, both Chinese and foreign soldiers were wearing brown hunting clothes, belts around their waists, and clear armbands, and the crowd became a sensation. As far as the people in Shanghai are concerned, this is an unprecedented "review" of foreigners, and it is needless to say that they are excited and surprised, but for the foreigners who are watching the ceremony in the city, this is regarded as a "child soldier", so there are cheers, cheers, and whistles for a while.

When the review was over, among the guests who watched the ceremony, all those who had helped Xuan Jun were all smiling and feeling bright, only Zhuo Fan, although he was by Xue Huan's side, his eyes had been secretly looking at the wives and ladies of the consuls of various countries - this was the first time he had seen a foreign girl since he crossed over. Although there are unsightly vulgar fans in it, there are really beautiful and lovely stunners.

He couldn't move, he couldn't move, he kept telling himself that every move was an international dispute.

*

*

The lottery was read, which made the officers of the Xuan Army very proud. Guan Zhuofan sent a reward, but also gave a very severe warning: It's good to be happy for a day, it's useless to just look good, whether it's a mule or a horse, you have to go to the battlefield to see the real chapter. Because of this sentence, everyone had to put away their excitement, and all battalions once again threw themselves into intense training.

Guan Zhuofan found Libin and asked him if he had an eyebrow about the "quiet" thing.

"There it is." Even in Guan Zhuofan's county office, Libin still lowered his voice very low, "There is an Englishman named Rey Luoduo, who is the senior of Lifu Foreign Company. His treasury was well equipped, but he never used it, and he asked the British minister Pasha to make several requests to the General Administration, but they were all rejected. ”

"Rey Rodo, that's a very elegant name." Guan Zhuofan said with a smile. However, when I heard that it was British, I couldn't help but hesitate and asked Libin: "Are there any trading houses from other countries?" ”

"No," said Libin with certainty, "he is the only one in the whole foreign market." ”

"So......" Guan Zhuofan was about to agree, but suddenly had an idea and asked: "This thing needs a special technician, is the technician he uses also British?" ”

"Not really. For this matter, he hired three Danish technicians, and he has been idle in Shanghai for more than half a year. ”

"That's it! His things have been kept in the library, and it is his own capital that is pressed, and since he can't use it, he must be thinking of getting rid of it. Mr. Li, you go to Jin Nengheng and ask him to quietly take down this batch of goods, and even invite the three Danish technicians to pay more salaries. ”

"Yixuan, you mean, let Jin Nengheng's Qichang Company do it?"

"No," Guan Zhuofan shook his head, "Let him make a new company, tell him first, we will account for sixty percent of the company's shares in the future, and the other three percent will be regarded as dry shares given to him, and the three Danes will also give one percent." ”

Libin nodded, didn't squeak at first, picked up the tea and drank it, thinking about it for a while.

"Then we'll have to pay for it ourselves." He said worriedly, "In the library of Lifu Foreign Company, there are more than 600 wire poles alone, plus six machines, and more than 80 wires...... Even if you kill them fiercely, you will have to pay 20,000 silver to be able to do it. ”

"20,000 is 20,000, which is our return." Guan Zhuofan said slowly, "The telegram is still in your hands, so you can rest assured." ”

*

(xiexie chivalry, refusal, life, rainbow, ycbh, undercooked tip.) ）