In addition to Guo Songtao, the Li Xubin brothers, who are very familiar with current affairs, are also willing to stay in Hubei, and in addition, Peng Yulin, the general of the naval division who knew that Luo Bingzhang could not build any good ships, also expressed his desire to stay, but Yang Yuebin considered that he was already a registered general soldier, Zeng Guohua was crippled, and after returning to Hunan, the main general of the new naval division was none other than himself, and expressed his attitude that he wanted to return to Hunan. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

To the surprise of the leaders of the Hunan army, the brothers of the Zeng family also split, Zeng Guohuang and Zeng Guobao wanted to take Zeng Guohua home to serve their seriously ill father, but Zeng Guoquan resolutely stated that he would stay in Hubei, and directly said to Zeng Guohuang and other brothers: "You want to go home and go by yourself, I want to stay in Hubei to avenge my brother, go back to Hunan to rebuild the army and start all over again, I don't know what year and month I want to take revenge, stay in Hubei to help the comfort pavilion, and the hope of revenge with my own hands is greater." Although Weiting is my junior, I am willing to listen to his orders! ”

Luo Zenan, one of the three major strategists of the Hunan army, had died of serious injuries before, and the last strategist, Liu Rong, was a famous scholar of ancient literature, who had never had a common language with Wu Chaoyue, who had no ink on his chest, and did not want to stay and return to Hunan. When asked about his position, Hu Linyi was silent for a long time, and gave an ambiguous answer, "Look again, wait until you see Wu Futai." ”

After resting and visiting Hankou, which is no longer a prosperous provincial capital, Wu Chaoyue personally crossed the river to Hankou, under the pretext of personally leading the leaders of the Hunan army to visit the military talent training school, and summoned the Hunan army in the newly built Hubei Military Academy for less than half a year, and then directly laid out the carriage and horses, and asked the Hunan army generals to abandon Luo Bingzhang and mix with him, and promised that they would never treat the Hunan gang badly.

They were willing to stay and wanted to return to Hunan, but even if they were willing to stay, Peng Yulin, Zeng Guoquan and others clearly told Wu Chaoyue that they could not guarantee to keep all the soldiers, so they could only let the remnants of the soldiers decide to stay. But Wu Chaoyue told Peng Yulin and the others more frankly, and said with a smile: "Generals, I hope you stay, focusing on your battlefield experience and ability, not your old department, even if all your subordinates go back to Hunan, it doesn't matter, I can recruit you and train again, and I also guarantee that you are only stronger than your old department in terms of quality." ”

Knowing Wu Chaoyue's ability to train soldiers, Peng Yulin, Zeng Guoquan and others hurriedly thanked him, and after Wu Chaoyue was polite, he turned his gaze to Hu Linyi, who was the only one who expressed his position, and asked with a smile: "Mr. Runzhi, why don't you talk all the time?" Do you want to think again? ”

Hu Linyi really needs to think about it, and after pondering for a long time, Hu Linyi suddenly asked: "Wu Futai, the lower officials want to ask you a question, since you can build a large iron factory and a big gun bureau in Daye that only foreigners have, can you also build an iron factory and gun bureau similar to Daye in Hunan?" ”

Obedient and listening, as soon as Hu Linyi asked this question, Wu Chaoyue immediately knew that his true attitude was still to return to Hunan - but this is not surprising, in terms of Hu Linyi's prestige and position in the Hunan army, the rebuilt commander of the Hunan army is naturally none other than him. Secretly disappointed, Wu Chaoyue could only say with a strong fighting spirit: "Of course, Hunan also has iron mines and coal mines, and the reserves and production areas of coal are far more than those in Hubei, and there is a fundamental foundation for iron factories and gun bureaus. But there is no way, I am the governor of Hubei, not the governor of Hunan, so the iron factory can only be built in Daye. ”

"Then Wu Futai, why didn't you think of joining forces with Luo Futai to build one in Hunan?" Hu Linyi asked, his expression was still a little excited, and said: "The output of the Daye Gun Bureau is not high, Wu Futai, most of your weapons still have to be purchased from foreigners, if you also build a gun bureau similar to Daye in Hunan, and join hands to jointly produce weapons, won't you be able to get rid of the constraints of insufficient weapons and completely quell the Changmao Rebellion as soon as possible?" ”

"This person is not destined to be mine, and it is unreliable to force him over." Wu Chaoyue muttered in his heart, and completely died of Hu Linyi's heart - he was too loyal to the Manchu Dynasty.

After muttering, Wu Chaoyue said: "What Mr. Runzhi said is very true, it's not that I haven't considered building a few more gun bureaus, but there is no way, I really can't find a suitable person to preside over for me." ”

"Wu Futai, how about me?" Hu Linyi couldn't wait to ask: "If you can trust Xia Guan Wu Futai, how about letting Xia Guan help you build a big iron factory and a big gun bureau in Hunan?" ”

"On this point, Mr. Runzhi, you should go and discuss with Luo Futai." Wu Chaoyue replied casually: "If he can get the money, money, and grain, and can also suppress the local resistance, it is also to serve the imperial court, and it is also to pacify the Changmao and eliminate the bandits as soon as possible, of course I am willing to fully support him to build a gun bureau and an iron factory in Hunan." ”

"Well, after the lower officials return to Hunan, they will definitely do their best to persuade Luo Futai to follow your example, and also establish an iron factory and a gun bureau in Hunan."

Hu Linyi patted his chest and promised, and also subtly showed that he actually wanted to return to Hunan. Wu Chaoyue, who had already guessed Hu Linyi's thoughts, smiled, and after agreeing, he never mentioned asking Hu Linyi to stay. Of course, what Wu Chaoyue didn't expect was that his unintentional words caused some unexpected consequences, which will not be mentioned later.

After many years of fighting abroad, homesickness, coupled with the depressed morale after the defeat of Gray Mountain, only about 400 of the more than 1,000 old soldiers of the Hunan army were willing to stay in Hubei to continue to carry guns and eat, and the rest all returned to Hunan with Hu Linyi and Liu Rong and others. As for the soldiers who were willing to stay, Wu Chaoyue unceremoniously scattered them and assigned them to the battalions of the Hunan Army in Hubei, directly made it clear that they were not allowed to form gangs, and then ordered Zeng Guoquan and Li Xubin and other generals of the Hunan Army to enter the military academy to study, and then assign positions after they expanded the army.

On the battlefield, they didn't know how many times they crawled out of the pile of dead people, and Zeng Guoquan, Peng Yulin, Li Xubin and others naturally raised objections to Wu Chaoyue's request to enter the academy to learn to fight. Wu Chaoyue told them directly, "Uncle Jiu, don't think that if you have fought for a few years, you don't have to learn to use soldiers to fight. ”

"In your eyes, my Hubei New Army can already be regarded as capable of fighting, right? But let me tell you clearly, the land division of the Hubei New Army is only a qualified army on the battlefield of foreigners, and it is by no means an elite opponent of foreigners. The naval division of the Hubei New Army, in front of the sailors of the foreigners, can only be regarded as a third-rate army at most, and the British Navy, the current world naval hegemon, can pull out a detachment at will, and it will not take half an hour to bomb the naval division of the Hubei New Army to the point that there is not even scum left! ”

"Don't underestimate those foreign instructors in the Hankou Military Academy, each of them is really experienced in a hundred battles, they are all real ruthless characters who can still line up with soldiers with pipes in their mouths after more than half of the army's casualties, and their ability to lead troops to fight is only better than mine. Only by learning from them can you learn the most advanced tactical skills in the world, and no longer repeat the mistakes of the Opium War. ”

If it weren't for the painful lesson of being beaten by British lobster soldiers during the Opium War, Wu Chaoyue would definitely not be able to persuade Zeng Guoquan and Peng Yulin and others to enter the school again, but it was precisely because they knew the power of the foreign army and wanted to know why the foreign army was so powerful, Zeng and Peng and others still obediently carried their schoolbags and re-entered the school to accept the re-education of the foreign instructor and Wu Chaoyue.

In view of the fact that Cao Yanzhong of the Third Corps of the Wu Army has been transferred to Jiujiang to station, Wu Chaoyue is very shameless to temporarily erase the number of Cao Yanzhong's department from his Fubiao establishment, while using the excuse of supplementing the establishment, recruiting 2,000 soldiers in Hubei again to establish the Fourth Corps, and at the same time letting Cao Yanzhong expand the Third Corps into six battalions of 3,000 people in Jiujiang, so that it comes and goes. Wu Chaoyue's direct army actually became 13,000 people.

After getting the commendation order of Emperor Xianfeng, Wu Chaoyue found Huashana even more shamelessly, under the pretext that Emperor Xianfeng asked him to train his troops for backup, and also under the pretext that the naval division still needed to continue to strengthen to compete for the right to control the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and wanted to recruit another 3,000 people to expand his Fubiao establishment to 16 battalions.

In the face of Wu Chaoyue's shameless request, Hua Shana, who had always been obedient to Wu Chaoyue's words, was also a little frightened, not only did not dare to agree, but also said: "Comfort Pavilion, it's too much, right?" I am the governor of the provinces of the Qing Dynasty, and the Fubiao is usually the left and right battalions, and the Guangxi Fubiao with the largest official establishment is only six battalions and 3,000 people. ”

"The younger generation also knows a lot about the flower making platform, but the situation in Hubei is too special." Wu Chaoyue explained eloquently: "The long-haired bandits entered Hubei several times and captured the provincial capital twice, and the Hubei Green Battalion suffered heavy casualties in successive battles, and its troops were almost exhausted, and it was urgent to strengthen its troops. In addition, Hubei has the responsibility of rescuing the surrounding provinces, and the Hubei Navy Division also has to bear the responsibility of fighting with the long-haired bandits for the right to control the river. ”

Hua Shana was silent for a moment, and then asked, "Then why do you have to expand Fubiao?" Isn't it the same for the expansion of Eyong and the restoration of the green camp? ”

"Hua Zhitai, let's say something from the heart, E Yong and Green Camp, can they be up to the task?" Wu Chaoyue asked rhetorically, and said: "Hua Zhitai, you also saw it with your own eyes, the juniors didn't send elite soldiers and strong generals from Fubiao to help train E Yong and the Green Battalion, but no matter how they practiced, E Yong and the Green Battalion are Fubiao whose combat effectiveness is not as good as that of the juniors." What is the reason, there is no effective general to lead the army, there is no persistent strict military discipline and control, or it will not be long before it will be scattered and decline again, and even if it is released, it will not be of much use. ”

Hua Shana was silent again, and said after a while: "Comfort Pavilion, I'm sorry, the old man can't promise you this, if you must continue to expand the Fubiao, you can only ask for the order yourself." But before that, the old man has to give you a warning, don't forget the lesson of your teacher Zeng Guofan, the imperial court in order to resolutely not give him real power in the place, what is the reason, you are a smart person and understand it yourself, the old man will not break it. ”

Wu Chaoyue was disappointed, Wu Chaoyue knew very well that the Manchu court would never allow himself to expand the scale of Fubiao to such an exaggerated - the reason why he brazenly asked Hua Shana to agree, the real purpose was just to use Hua Shana as a shield for himself, and in the future, the Manchu court would ask, Wu Chaoyue could use the excuse of Hua Shana's consent to prevaricate.

Hua Shana is indeed a good man, even if he didn't go to Wu Chaoyue's evil deeds, he was in front of Wu Chaoyue to shelter Wu Chaoyue, but he still gave Wu Chaoyue a good idea, and suggested: "Comfort Pavilion, otherwise, don't be in a hurry to ask for the expansion of Fubiao, first find the close ministers of the Son of Heaven you know to listen to the rumors, see what the attitude of the emperor and the court is, and then decide whether to ask for the most secure." ”

Hua Shana didn't specify who Wu Chaoyue was familiar with the Son of Heaven's close ministers, and he didn't need to point it out, Wu Chaoyue, who understood it, thanked Hua Shana for his kind advice, and immediately asked Zhao Liewen to ghostwrite, and sent a letter to Su Shun, who was similar to himself, and talked about the reasons for expanding Hubei Fubiao, and said very shamelessly that he was worried that this would make the court misunderstand, and asked Su Shun to test Emperor Xianfeng's attitude towards it.

After a while, relying on the post station that could barely maintain its operation, Su Shun's reply was finally delivered to Wu Chaoyue. However, to Wu Chaoyue's great disappointment, Su Shun not only clearly warned Wu Chaoyue not to repeat the mistakes of Zeng Guofan, which led to the suspicion of Emperor Xianfeng, but also issued a warning to Wu Chaoyue by the way, saying that his sworn enemy Bai Ye had entered the military aircraft to seize power, and was doing against him everywhere, and he would definitely not let go of Wu Xiaocomprador, the backbone of the Su Party, if he had the opportunity, he would definitely not let go of Wu Xiaocomprador, the backbone of the Su Party, and asked Wu Chaoyue to act cautiously, and never give Bai Ye a handle, especially don't be caught by Bai Ye in terms of foreigners. Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to excuse Wu Chaoyue.

"There's no way, it seems that I have to start the second plan, the idea of fighting Eyong."

Very helplessly put down Su Shun's letter, Wu Chaoyue could only continue to use his head full of bad water, and began to think about how to take the opportunity to insert his cronies and subordinates into Eyong to lead the troops to power in the name of military training, try to control part of Eyong, and indirectly control more troops.

When they were thinking about it, Zhao Liewen and Yan Jingming suddenly entered the back hall with a smile, and when they looked up and saw Zhao Liewen smiling strangely, Wu Chaoyue asked curiously: "Huifu, why are you smiling so happily?" ”

"Luo Futai sent a message, asking us to provide us with details of the construction of the Daye Iron Works and the Gun Bureau, and also asked if we could help him build the Iron Works and the Gun Bureau in Hunan."

Zhao Liewen showed the official document in his hand and said with a smile: "What Mr. Danchu and I just joked about is that if Luo Futai saw the cost of building our factory, as well as the quotation of foreign machinery and the salary price of foreign technicians, would he be so frightened that he even stared out his eyes?" ”

"Hu Linyi really persuaded Luo Bingzhang? Luo Futai really wants to set up an iron factory and a gun bureau? Wu Chaoyue was taken aback and blurted out: "Doesn't he know that Daye Iron Works can be successfully completed and put into operation because Daye's high-quality iron ore is easy to smelt, and there happens to be a large coal mine nearby, saving so much transportation costs?" ”

"How could he possibly know?" Zhao Liewen smiled lightly: "Luo Futai is just full of poetry and books, and he is not as proficient in foreign affairs as you, so he knows everything." ”

Wu Chaoyue smiled dumbly, and then remembered that he had never explained the specific details of the establishment of Daye Iron Works to Hu Linyi, and Luo Bingzhang naturally couldn't know how difficult it was to establish a modern chemical industrial base. However, after being happy, Wu Chaoyue felt that this matter was quite tricky, and it couldn't end without telling the truth, if he told the truth, Luo Bingzhang either felt that he was playing with him, or he would think that he was making excuses and refused to help, which led to a worse relationship with him - after forcing Luo Bingzhang to impeach the official document, the intimacy of the relationship between Wu Chaoyue and Luo Bingzhang dropped by more than one step.

"Comfort Ting, how do you answer?" Zhao Liewen also asked: "Tell Luo Bingzhang directly, saying that Hunan is not suitable for building a large iron plant?" Or tell him how much money and food we spent to build the factory, and scare him into shutting himself up? ”

Wu Chaoyue was once moved, and just wanted to use the huge cost of building a factory to intimidate Luo Bingzhang, who was financially tight, but the corner of his eye inadvertently glanced at a letter on the bookcase - a warning letter sent by Su Shungang. Then, a bad idea suddenly jumped out of Wu Chaoyue's mind, making Wu Chaoyue can't help but cheer in his heart, "If you have the intention to plant flowers and flowers that don't bloom, and you have no intention of planting willows and willows, there is a godsend, there is a way to bring down Luo Bingzhang, the old fox!" ”

After a little calculation, Wu Chaoyue said: "Tell him that the cost of building a factory is okay, and I also clearly tell him that although Hunan is not suitable for establishing a large iron plant like Daye, it should not be a big problem to establish one or two small and medium-sized iron plants." If he wants, I will do my best to help him, and I can also send a few technicians to Hunan first, and explore and test the ore of the existing iron mines in Hunan for him, and see if there is a suitable place to set up a small iron factory. ”

"Wei Ting, do you really want to help Luo Bingzhang like this?" Zhao Liewen asked with some confusion.

"It's all for the imperial court, he wants to build an iron factory and a gun bureau, but also to kill Changmao, if you can help, you can help."

Wu Chaoyue replied lightly, and said casually: "By the way, by the way, tell Luo Bingzhang when he will send someone to pick up the technician to Hunan, and he will say hello to me in advance, so that I can prepare manpower for him." Also, tell him again that he doesn't have to worry about the money to buy an iron-making furnace, Hubei can already imitate it, and the procurement cost in Hunan can be reduced a lot. ”

Zhao Liewen agreed, and immediately picked up the pen to write a letter to Luo Bingzhang to reply, Wu Chaoyue lowered his head slightly and smiled, and said secretly: "Luo Lao slippery, since you sent it to the door to find death and exposed such a big flaw, then don't blame me for being unkind." This time, the lightest will also drag down your finances, if it goes well, you will directly get rid of your official hat, send you home for retirement, and solve the biggest hidden danger behind me! (To be continued.) )