Zeng Guofan can do it again and again. On the one hand, it is the state of mind, and on the other hand, he is unwilling. However, Zeng Guofan's heart is not made of iron after all, and when he is discouraged, he will feel depressed and depressed. Just as he suffered unprecedented defeats twice, once he wanted to commit suicide by throwing himself into the water, and once he wanted to rush into the enemy line on horseback to fight to the death, but he was stopped by his subordinates and saved his life.

He came to see Li Zhen this time, it was sincere, and he made up his mind to pay attention to what he wanted to learn.

What he doesn't have and what others have, he can learn. Zeng Guofan had this idea, put aside the problem of his age, and acted from the heart, without pretense.

Li Zhen waved his hand and said, "Brother Bohan, please take a seat, I must know everything, and I will say everything." As a junior, I am also a fledgling, and I also have something to ask Brother Bohan for advice. ”

Li Hongzhang said: "Lord Li, don't be modest. Among the Han generals of the Great Qing Dynasty, Li Daren should be the leader, and he can be called the pillar of my Han people. Everywhere, Master Li is also a leading general. This time, I came with my teacher to learn from Master Li. ”

"Brother Shaoquan is too humble!"

Li Zhen saw that Li Hongzhang was so humble, and he was quite intentional in his heart.

Think about it, what a glory it was for the two great ministers of the late Qing Dynasty to sit in front of him and humbly ask him for advice? Li Zhen didn't shirk either, and said slowly: "Brother Bohan, Brother Shaoquan, I, a person from the army, do have a little opinion on things about marching and fighting, but I am limited to a little experience of myself. ”

After a pause, Li Zhen said again: "If there is something wrong, please ask the two brothers for more advice." Both of you are from well-known families, and you are more educated than me; They are all older than me, and have more experience than me; And I have been in officialdom for a long time, and I know more about officialdom than I do. Let's talk about it, there is no such thing as asking for advice. ”

Li Hongzhang said: "Lord Li, about ......"

Li Zhendao: "Brother Shaoquan, just call the word directly, and I will be angry if I call Master Li again." ”

"Good, good!"

Li Hongzhang also smiled, feeling that the person in front of him had no shelf. He said: "Brother Hongyi, my understanding of being an official is the emperor's favor. As long as you get the emperor's attention, everything is not a problem. Just as Hongyi's virtuous brother was reused by the emperor, this is the key, and this is enough. ”

Zeng Guofan glared at Li Hongzhang and said, "Hongyi, don't listen to Shaoquan's words. This is half a sentence, if it is just an invitation to pet, it may be a loyal minister, or it may be a minister. So, I still have to think about myself, that's my current view. ”

Li Hongzhang said obediently: "The teacher is right! ”

Li Zhen said with a smile: "Brother Bohan is worthy of being from a famous family, and his knowledge and life are extremely good. ”

Zeng Guofan said: "Let's get down to business, tell me how you trained? ”

Li Zhen nodded and said, "Brother Bohan calls it military training, but in fact, I just have a little opinion. In my opinion, there are at least three conditions for an army to be called an army. First of all, an army can be cohesive, not a plate of scattered sand, the commander is an extremely important prerequisite, as the saying goes, a general is incompetent and tired to death of the three armies, a general without ability, the army is definitely not good. This army cannot be an army, it can only be said to be a plate of scattered sand. ”

After Zeng Guofan heard this, he immediately began to think, did he have the ability?

Yes!

After Zeng Guofan thought about it, he affirmed it without hesitation in his heart.

Li Zhen continued: "Brother Bohan is a great talent in the world, with extraordinary ability, he can be a general, and he can also be a general, so the first question I said is not Brother Bohan's problem, nor is it Brother Shaoquan's problem. I think that in the normal situation of the manager, the second important condition is the weapons used by the soldiers in the army. ”

"If the ancients wanted to do a good job, they must first sharpen their weapons, and if the soldiers did not have sharp weapons to fight, it would be difficult for the soldiers of the army to exert their strong combat effectiveness."

"Before the Ming Dynasty, in fact, including the Ming Dynasty, most of the battles were fought with cold weapons such as knives, swords, and spears. At that time, the competition relied on martial arts and the sharpness of weapons. Whoever has the most strength and whose weapon is sharper will be even more powerful. By now, it is no longer possible to win without great strength or sharp blades. ”

"Now the competition is about the power of the musket and the advanced nature of the weapon, which is the key to victory. No matter what martial arts you practice, whether it's a golden bell jar or an iron cloth shirt, I can kill you instantly with a bullet. When the two armies fought, my soldiers all used muskets, and Brother Bohan's soldiers all used swords. ”

Li Zhen smiled on his face, and his eyes fell on Zeng Guofan.

Zeng Guofan sighed and nodded.

Obviously, Zeng Guofan also agrees with Li Zhen's second point.

Li Hongzhang said: "Brother Hongyi, my soldiers may not have good weapons, but they still have morale. The morale of the army has come up, and it is equally desirable to unite as one. ”

Li Zhen shook his head lightly and said, "Brother Shaoquan, you have drilled the horns." In the same situation, an army with high morale does have an advantage. But my first point is to make it clear, there has to be a normal manager. When the commander of his own side sees that the other side is boosting morale, won't he boost the morale of his own army? Monks can do it, and Taoist priests can do it. ”

Li Hongzhang nodded and said, "Go on!" ”

Zeng Guofan didn't say a word, waiting for Li Zhen to continue.

Li Zhen continued: "The third point, which I think is the most important, is also the most difficult. I believe that an army should have a military spirit, so that all soldiers have the morale to the army, this is this spirit. With this spirit, all the soldiers can be brought together, so that they can give their backs to their comrades-in-arms, so that they can fight desperately, and let them fight for the same goal. This, in my opinion, is the most difficult, and it is also the key to the failure of the army. ”

"Whew!!"

After Li Zhen finished speaking, he picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea.

At this time, the people led by Zeng Guofan were all in deep thought. Thinking about it carefully, what Li Zhen said is very simple, he can understand it, but when it comes to specific operations, it is not so easy.

After a long time, Zeng Guofan sighed: "In the final analysis, the point is that the weapon is not powerful enough!" ”

Li Hongzhang said: "If our weapons were powerful, we would have solved the bandits long ago." ”

Li Zhen's eyes rolled, and he had another idea in his heart, and said solemnly: "If you want to change weapons, you must learn from foreign foreigners. Nowadays, foreigners have strong ships and powerful firearms, and this is what we need to study. Whether it is the politics, economy, or culture of foreigners, it is worth learning, and anyone who is a foreigner can study it. ”

Li Zhen said this because he wanted the two to get in touch with more information and let them open their eyes to the world.

ps: the second shift; I recommend a good fantasy book, "Supreme Holy Lord", this book is a classic and worth a look.