"Your Majesty, the last point is the establishment and improvement of the logistics mechanism!" Mao Qi didn't know that what he said would offend Zuo Zongtang and Feng Yunshan, he didn't think about these things at all, he just wanted to say what he thought honestly: "Your Majesty, since Weichen served in the Operations Department of the General Staff in the past two months, he wanted to check some relevant information, but it turned out that there was basically no information to check. The pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info helpless, so he could only ask some colleagues, and from their mouths, Weichen came to the conclusion: The empire's capture army is basically still at the stage where it can fight a war if there is food! ”

"It's ridiculous! You must know that logistics is not only all the tools and arrangements for waging war, but also all the tools and arrangements for drawing up strategic and tactical plans! The construction and perfection of the logistical support system has a direct bearing on the speed of the army's mobilization and assembly, and thus determines the victory of the war. The replenishment of troops, the supply of ammunition, the supply of food, the speed of gathering and transporting troops, and the allocation and transportation of weapons are all unavoidable problems for the officers of the General Staff and the commanders of the front in the rear. ”

In Wechen's view, fighting a war is fighting logistics. Once the empire had universal military service, as Prussia had done, the number of troops would increase dramatically, and the sheer size of the empire would have caused supply difficulties, put the country's finances in trouble, and even affected other domestic production. Therefore, even if the standing army in peacetime is expanded, it cannot affect the people's farming, and once a war breaks out, it is necessary to immediately assemble the army, quickly rush to the battlefield, and completely defeat the enemy as soon as possible. Only the shortest possible time to defeat the enemy is the most economical approach, and this is the key to developing the logistics mechanism. Mao Qi talked eloquently, he seemed to bow his hand to Feng Yunshan, took a blank piece of paper, and drew it on the white paper with a charcoal, and it didn't take long for a map of the territory of the Chinese Empire to appear in front of everyone.

"Your Majesty, the empire should vigorously develop the economy and improve the process of industrialization. Among them, the construction of railways and the formation of a nationwide railway network is the best way to quickly transport troops. Therefore, Wei Chen suggested that there should be an agency in the General Staff that should be responsible for the construction and planning of the railway. With the railway, troops, large artillery and other materials and ammunition can be quickly transported to the battlefield, there is no need to hoard a large number of materials to the front line, and the army rushes to the battlefield through the railway, which can greatly save physical strength, immediately put into the battlefield, and can also be reinforced and evacuated in time. Therefore, the General Staff should apply the militarization of the railway and form a system, such as building a new railway department. And finally, and the most important point in logistics, Your Majesty, Weichen believes that it is the development and use of new weapons. Among them, the Dresser M1841 needle pistol, which the Reich imported from Prussia, was very good, but it would be more suitable if it could be improved to have a longer range and a faster rate of fire. There is also the Krupp breech cannon produced by the Imperial Krupp Iron and Steel Company, I can't imagine this far east - I'm sorry, the minister didn't mean to belittle the empire - the minister just mourned for Prussia, this Mr. Krupp is a national treasure of Prussia, and he was actually invited by His Majesty, and the King of Prussia will regret it. Also, Wechen hasn't discovered the magical communication tool of the telegraph in the empire, it's really bad, and the transmission of messages and orders have to rely on fast horses, which is really deadly. Your Majesty, it is all too important to develop the telegraph as soon as possible. The Prussian telegraph was put into use more than a decade ago, and in previous years it had expanded its telegraph business throughout the kingdom. The empire is too backward in this regard, and it must be built. ”

“……”

With Moltke's explanation, after comparing the empire with Prussia, the shortcomings of the captives were completely presented in front of Feng Yunshan and Zuo Zongtang. At this moment, Zuo Zongtang looked at Mao Qi who was talking gloomily, he didn't understand, how could this foreigner's little head contain so many strange things, as for the telegram, he didn't understand what it was at all, but the emperor nodded in approval, let him understand that it was indeed a very important thing.

However, he is still a little unconvinced, this foreigner on the east coast so far, is just rhetoric.

Feng Yunshan couldn't care about Zuo Zongtang's thoughts, and Mao Qi's words made him realize that the General Staff Headquarters he established was just a simple imitation of the organization, and it did not really play the role of the General Staff. The military system of the empire must also be reformed. So, he said directly to Zuo Zongtang: "Zuo Aiqing, you are the chief of the General Staff, but for the reform of the General Staff, General Moltke is still the mainstay, and you mainly assist him in handling all aspects of the relationship, and the direction is checked." As for how to reform, leave it to General Moltke. ”

Although Zuo Zongtang was a little reluctant, since the emperor explained like this, he could only obey the order, he wanted to see what kind of changes this foreigner could bring to the General Staff!

A few days later, Emperor Feng Yunshan issued an official edict, announcing the expansion of troops throughout the country and officially promulgating the "Military Service Regulations of the Chinese Empire". The statute did not completely follow the Prussian conscription system, but stipulated that the Reich would adopt a military service system that combined compulsory and volunteer soldiers, standing forces and reserves, and local militias.

As long as they are subjects of the Chinese Empire, regardless of Han and Miao, occupation, origin, and education level, they are obliged to perform military service in accordance with the regulations. The armed forces of the empire consisted of field captives and reserves, local garrison reserves, and local militias.

Immediately afterwards, the newly established Ministry of National Defense, through local governments, especially township offices, carried out extensive propaganda throughout the country, calling on young and strong people to join the army and serve in the army.

At the same time, the General Staff Department also carried out a round of reform, and all personnel below the deputy director level of the Tibetan General Staff were dismissed from their posts and attended a training course for the intensive military staff officers training course run by Deputy General Staff Chief Mao Qi.

Early that morning, Zuo Zongtang and many officers and men of the General Staff Headquarters came to the main hall of the General Staff Headquarters, which was used as a training venue, to listen to Moltke's lectures.

"Who will answer, a 400-man infantry battalion, assuming it is equipped with 400 Dresser M1841 pin guns, but only 350 combat-trained soldiers, standing in a three-column combat formation, how long the battle line must be at least? And how often do you attack fire? If a thousand cavalry armed with spears and sabers charged from the opposite side were to besiege on all sides, what kind of formation would they use to resist on the plains? Moltke asked first through a general interpreter who had just arrived from Nanyang Company.

The crowd looked at each other, but no one answered. No one has thought about these details, marching and fighting, relying on bravery and superior forces, what does it matter? Zuo Zongtang saw that the hall was cold, so he personally replied: "General Mao, an infantry battalion, according to the 350 soldiers you said, is lined up in three columns to fight, it should be about 117 people in each column, according to the distance of more than one meter between two people, the battle line is spread, it should be 70 meters long. The frequency of firing, I really don't know, Zuo seems to remember that the Dresser M1841 pistol can shoot four bullets in one minute, counting, a total of 350 muskets, and 1400 rounds of ammunition can be fired in one minute. As for the sabre hand slashing and killing before, what other formation can it be, it will naturally form a circle to resist. ”

After listening to the general matter and translating Zuo Zongtang's words, Mao Qi shook his head and said: "What Chief of Staff Zuo answered, the income is complete, but it can barely be passed. But there are a lot of mistakes in it. First of all, when encountering the actual situation on the battlefield, it is most practical to decide what kind of formation. The frequency of attack firepower should also be adjusted according to the number of enemies......."

“…… Moreover, how can you do it if you don't know the route and weather conditions on the march? These are the qualities that a military staff officer should have...... "Unconsciously, Moltke's lecture made everyone in the entire General Staff Department fascinated. They didn't expect that, as a staff officer, there would be so many places to master and learn.

"The above is a military staff officer. And as a military commander, one thing is very important: "Give less orders, more instructions!" After Moltke finished talking about the main points of the military staff officers, he also talked about the requirements of the grassroots commanders: "It is necessary to issue fewer orders with specific content and strong binding force, and more instructions with clear tasks and concise contents; at the same time, we must also encourage subordinates to take the initiative when they cannot accept orders, so as not to miss the fighter plane!" ”