After the Empress Dowager Cixi deposed Prince Gong, she asked Prince Yi Xun who could serve as the Minister of Military Aircraft, Yi Xun recommended Prince Shi Duo, and the Empress Dowager Cixi ordered Shi Duo to be the foreman of the Minister of Military Aircraft, and let him have an important event with Prince Yi Xun of the alcohol business, Prince Li Shi Duo's ancestor is the second son of the Qing Taizu Dai Shan, very early in the internal affairs of the country, the foreign commander of the heavy army, almost became the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, but his eighth brother Huang Tai suppressed in his life, and was almost killed several times, so Shi Duo knew that the imperial power was bloody and learned the lessons of his ancestors, willing to be a prince who has no opinions and does not dare to have opinions. So the affairs of the Military Aircraft Department, except for when the ministers can go to the toilet, have become a critical event, and his favorite two sentences to Prince Yiyun are: "What do you think about this?" "You're right, just do it!"

Prince Alcohol returned to power, this day, he waited for ten years, he knew who gave this power, how to use it, as soon as he took office, he actively tried to restart the Old Summer Palace project, which had been stalled for more than ten years, that is what Emperor Tongzhi and Empress Dowager Cixi have always wanted to do. Prince Alcohol wanted to do this very much, but also because his son Emperor Guangxu has now grown into a fourteen-year-old boy, and he can marry a wife in two years, and he also wants the Empress Dowager Cixi to go to the Old Summer Palace to live in the Old Summer Palace at that time!

After Hu Xueyan's death, all his account books were destroyed by Song Xiaofei and Sheng Xuanhuai, and his property and private collection became a confused account, and how much money he had became a mystery. Those depositors in Fukang Qianzhuang ended up receiving about half of the compensation. Li Hongzhang originally planned to get rid of Hu Xueyan first, and then deal with Zuo Zongtang, but he didn't expect Zuo Zongtang to braided his hair first, which was purely an accident. In the court, no one is Li Hongzhang's opponent for a while!

In the eleventh year of Guangxu, that is, in 1885, not only did political opponents fall one by one, but Li Hongzhang was in good spirits on many happy events! The three ironclad warships he had ordered before, Dingyuan, Zhenyuan and Jiyuan, finally came back, and the team led by Admiral Ding Ruchang of the Navy Division drove to the port of Tianjin, and on this day, Li Hongzhang waited for five years! These three are real ocean-going warships, with a displacement of 7,300 tons, which is the absolute first among Asian ocean-going warships at that time, and is equipped with 305 mm cannons, suitable for long-range attacks; There were not only torpedoes, but also two torpedo boats by the way, which were suitable for covert attacks; The ship was also equipped with a five-barreled rapid-fire gun, the kind that fired 60 shells a minute, suitable for close combat. The equipment of these three warships is simply cool, suitable for all-weather and multi-level operations, and if you go directly to destroy Xiao Yueben at that time, you don't need to open a plug-in or a gold finger at all.

Li Hongzhang saw that the goods were good, plus there was no Zuo Zongtang in the court to quarrel with him about "coastal defense and plugging defense", there was no Weng Tongxiao's old man stuck with the silver of the household, and there was no Qingliu ministers such as Li Hongzao and Zhang Peilun chirping crookedly, he quickly wrote a letter suggesting that the imperial court buy two more ironclad warships, and the "new official" Prince Alcohol was happy and approved! No, two is not enough, four more! Also buy separately in the UK and Germany, and arrive quickly!

This is also excellent news for Song Xiaofei, he recommended Liu Buyun and Deng Shichang, who were born and died brothers to study at the German Naval Academy in the second year of Guangxu, who had already achieved academic success at this time, and became the right wing chief soldier and the left wing deputy chief soldier of the Beiyang Naval Division, serving as the warship pipe belt, equivalent to the captain, commanding these ocean-going ironclad ships.

For Song Xiaofei, there is a better news, he suggested that Li Hongzhang report the Beiyang Military Academy to be built, Prince Alcohol has been the main battle, and also realized that in the Sino-French war, the Chinese [***] team lacks talents who can fight, and there is a gap between the combat effectiveness and the French [***] team, so it was approved, but the imperial court is now preparing to overhaul the Summer Palace, the treasury is empty, and there is no money to allocate it again.

Li Hongzhang planned to imitate the United States Military Academy at West Point, cultivate generals, select 100 elites from various battalions of the Huai Army to study, and let Song Xiaofei be responsible for preparing for this matter. After the morning court that day, as soon as Li Hongzhang returned home, he found Song Xiaofei and said this: "You have defeated the Yue army and the French army several times in North Korea, Vietnam, and Taiwan in the past few years, and you have rich combat experience. At present, there are some people among the scholars and generals of the Huai Army, who only think about their own promotion and wealth, and are ashamed of military training. I hope that young people like you don't have such pedantic ideas. ”

Song Xiaofei said: "From the first time students see the teacher, they put the importance of serving the country and protecting the people, and fame and fortune are like dung for students. The students suggested expanding the scale of the Beiyang Military Preparedness School, directly building the Beiyang Army Accelerated Military Preparedness School or the Army Military Academy, which not only trained high-level generals but also low-level officers, with 2,000 people per session, and initially set up four departments of infantry, horse, artillery, and engineering troops, and expanded the enrollment targets to the whole country, so that more soldiers from poor backgrounds could be recruited, and they would be more effective on the battlefield. As far as the students know, the Army Noncommissioned Officers School has already advanced China and has trained a large number of military personnel for the Army, and China cannot afford to delay any longer. ”

Li Hongzhang said: "Your ideas are very good. It's just that training is training money, and the old man can only provide you with a salary for 100 people, weapons and equipment, and the cost of hiring foreign instructors. ”

Song Xiaofei said frankly: "When the students and Sheng Xuanhuai raided Hu Xueyan's home, they had set aside part of the military salary, which could probably support the needs of the Army Military Academy for three years. In three years, 6,000 new-style officers can be trained. The students also ordered Zhang Jian to open a coal mine in North Korea, and the telegraph company, post office, and treaty port also had some tariff revenue, and the students suggested that a governor's palace be set up in Seoul to draw part of the North Korean income support. If it really doesn't work, the students will ask domestic business people to recruit money, and Sheng Xuanhuai is an expert in this regard, so he can help. ”

Li Hongzhang said: "Now that Korea has opened its door to the countries of Taixi, the matter of setting up a governor's palace in Korea is a big matter, and the old man wants to discuss it with Prince Alcohol. As for the preparation for the establishment of the Army Military Academy, if you are confident that you will run it well, the old man will fully support you. On the North Korean side, you still need to choose a reliable person to stabilize and not make any trouble. ”

Song Xiaofei said: "On the North Korean side, I have ordered Tang Shaoyi to manage it, he has experienced the last coup d'état of the Enlightened Party and has matured a lot. Once there is something to do, students can also enter the court at any time, and it is only four or five days from Yantai to Seoul. Now that the enemy is strong and we are weak, running a military school is a major national matter and needs the full support of teachers. First, the position of the principal of the Army Military Academy must be held by a big man with appeal like a teacher, so that all the talents in the world will come to the test; Second, land is still needed to run a school. ”

Li Hongzhang said: "The old man can be appointed as the honorary principal, and the specific affairs will be handled by you." Well, you can choose any location in the Zhili territory under the jurisdiction of the old man, Baoding and Tianjin. ”

Song Xiaofei said: "Students think that Tianjin is better, Tianjin is close to the sea and has an excellent port. At that time, if necessary, a naval branch can also be added, and the Beiyang Naval Division School will also be included in it, so as to train the tiger and wolf division for the Beiyang Naval Division, and the current Beiyang Naval Division is not enough to deter the Taixi powers. ”

Li Hongzhang said: "You should first draw up a detailed plan for the establishment of the Army Military Academy and the recruitment of non-commissioned officers for the old man to see, and it is best to have a training plan, the more detailed the better." In addition, you are still young after all, and I am the only one who recommends you to run a military school, and I am afraid that there will be some gossip in the court. You go to find Liu Kunyi, the governor of Liangguang, he is a general of the Hunan army, and now the queen mother speaks with a lot of weight in front of him, you have repeatedly defeated the Yue army and the French army, and investigated the case of Hu Xueyan, and he has a good impression of you. As long as you can convince Liu Kunyi to upgrade the Beiyang Military Academy to the Beiyang Army Officer Academy, the old man will see it as feasible!

Song Xiaofei said: "Thank you for the teacher's guidance, the student will do it immediately." ”;