On the third day after the telegram of Nie Shicheng and others was sent, the telegram of the imperial court was replied, and the important ministers of the DPRK attached great importance to Zhang Yi's possibility of a possible Japanese attack from the sea, and there was no way not to pay attention to it, if Japan really took advantage of the emptiness of the Qing Dynasty's domestic defense to launch a landing operation from the Bohai Bay and the Yellow Sea, once it broke through the coastal defense and entered the interior, then the capital would be dangerous, after all, what is the combat effectiveness of the Eight Banners and the Green Battalion soldiers near the capital, these important ministers are clear, Counting on them to maintain the peace of the place, it is barely possible, if it really faces the Japanese tiger and wolf soldiers, I am afraid that in the blink of an eye, I will be beaten to the ground, and I have no power to parry. At that time, the city of Beijing was completely exposed to the artillery fire of the Japanese army, what could the Queen Mother and Lafayette do?

Therefore, Emperor Guangxu and Cixi, under the persuasion of the ministers led by Weng Tongxi, ordered Song Qing, the governor of Sichuan, to lead 8,000 Qing troops into the court, stationed in the area of Pyongyang, and could support Nie Shicheng and other troops, retreat, return to the country quickly, and defend the important land of Gyeonggi. Heilongjiang general Yi Ketanga commanded more than 20,000 Qing troops to the south, starting from Lushun in the north to Yantai in the south of the long coastline, divided troops to garrison the military port to guard against the Japanese surprise attack, the Qing Dynasty Lushun, Yantai and other important ports, to carry out landing operations. Considering the weakness of the Korean army, after consulting Li Hongzhang, the Guangxu Emperor issued an order, Qin Feng Zhang Yi as the head of the General Office of Recruitment in Zhili Province, responsible for recruiting troops, within a month, recruit 10,000 new soldiers, and form 20 battalions of new troops, divided into four battalions: Zhongzi Battalion, Yizi Battalion, Haozi Battalion, and Dangzi Battalion, each with 2,000 people, and specific generals at all levels were selected and promoted from the generals who had military merits in various Korean ministries. On the day of the order, Zhang Yi was ordered to return to China as soon as possible to prepare for recruitment.

Zhang Yi sat opposite Nie Shicheng, and Nie Shicheng's face was a little ugly.

Nie Shicheng's throat was a little dry, and he said bitterly: "Zhang Yi, I really didn't expect that the Empress Dowager Lafayette and the emperor appointed you as the Minister of the General Office of Military Recruitment, now that the war situation in North Korea is so tense, I can't leave you for a moment, you will go here for as little as a month, or as much as two or three months, once the Korean war changes, what can the tens of thousands of troops in North Korea do?" Alas......"

For more than half a year, Nie Shicheng has been accustomed to relying on Zhang Yi's planning for the war, and all major strategic decisions in the army, Nie Shicheng found Zhang Yi for discussion as soon as possible, and now the imperial court has summoned Zhang Yi to return to the country, and all the next burden can be on him Nie Shicheng, Nie Shicheng felt heavy pressure for the first time.

Zhang Yi smiled bitterly and said: "My lord, the will of the imperial court has come down, and we have no choice what, Zhang Yi can only complete the task of recruiting troops as soon as possible after returning to China, and return to Kaesong to assist the adults in preparing for war." My lord, Xu Huaijin's military talent is not under his subordinates at all, after his subordinates leave, adults can ask Xu Huaijin more for advice when they encounter things, and Zhang Yihu's command ability in front of the battle is even more outstanding, in the next few decades, Zhang Yihu will definitely be the best choice for the military commander of the Qing Dynasty, adults should make good use of it, after two major wars, the Japanese army has suffered a lot of losses, and there have been more than 13,000 casualties before and after, morale has declined, and the comparison of forces between China and Japan in North Korea has returned to the same level, in recent days, The 8,000 Qing troops led by the Lord will also arrive in Pyongyang; Now that I have heard that the voice of recalling Yamaguyama Youtomo in Japan is rising, it is certain that within half a month, the Japanese army will definitely have another high-ranking general to take command of the army, and the new commander must first integrate the Japanese forces in Korea and straighten out the relationship before starting the war, so that we will also win a certain buffer time. I don't think there will be any major changes in the war situation in Korea in two months, and you can just keep your guard tight, and don't take the initiative to fight. ”

Nie Shicheng nodded in agreement, and then said: "Zhang Yi, the imperial court made it clear in its will that we want to select personnel from the Korean armies and add that the new military camp will be the commander and backbone, what do you think?" ”

Zhang Yi replied: "My lord, the new army will be divided into four divisions of Zhongyi, each with five battalions of men and horses, and four commanders, I mean, the subordinates are in charge of the Yi Department, please Li Gang in charge of the Zhongzi Department, Zhao Shixiao in charge of the Hao Zi Department, and the other Dangzi Department is also under the instructions of the adults." ”

Nie Shicheng pondered for a moment and said: "Let's let Shan Lianke serve in the Dangzi Department, although he is from Ye Zhichao's subordinates, but these days, he has been going forward when he meets the enemy, and the people who led Ye Zhichao have made great contributions and have outstanding abilities, I believe that if he is in charge of the Dangzi Department, he will not let you down." As for Li Gang, I originally wanted him to be in charge of the Lutai training army in the future, but since you want to transfer him out of the Zhongzi Department, then this position can only be left to Keqiang. What about the candidates for the other camp management belts? There are also some candidates for pipe belts, you see? ”

Zhang Yi said with a smile: "Each battalion is in charge of the band, there are still adults you are looking for, the subordinates mean that sixty blue wolves will be selected to return to China together, and their subordinates will recruit and train them, so that with the blue wolf as the backbone, the combat effectiveness of the new army will be somewhat guaranteed, otherwise, 10,000 new troops will also be cannon fodder when they arrive in North Korea, and after the new army comes to the DPRK, the blue wolf will return to the country." ”

Nie Shicheng nodded and replied: "Okay, then it's decided, early tomorrow morning, the old man will hand over the list of candidates for each battalion management belt to you, well, these newcomers can't all be selected and transferred from the Lutai training army, one will affect the combat power of the Lutai training army, and the other will be difficult to explain to Ma Yukun and other adults, and the rain and dew will be wet!" ”

Zhang Yi nodded, and Nie Shicheng said: "Three days later, Admiral Ding Ruchang will send a warship to pick you up, and then send you directly to Tianjin." After arriving in Tianjin, don't leave first, hurry up and go to visit the Lord of the Middle Hall, the Lord of the Middle Hall has been looking forward to you for a long time, in front of the Lord of the Middle Hall, you can deal with it carefully, although the Lord of the Middle Hall favors you, but also can not be arrogant, his old man is the backbone of our Huai Jun family, the pillars, without his old man, where there is a Huai Jun Department today, you must remember to be cautious about the questions of the Lord of the Middle Hall, the Lord of the Middle Hall will also guide you to enter the court this time, and all in accordance with the teachings of the Lord of the Middle Hall. ”

Zhang Yi nodded and said: "Don't worry, after your subordinates get off the boat, you will go to see Lord Zhongtang immediately, your subordinates are still old and inexperienced, and listening to his old man's teachings is exactly what it should be." ”

The two of them talked together for half the night before they dispersed.

Three days later, Zhang Yi led the selected elites of each battalion to board the Beiyang warship that came to meet them and embarked on the journey home.