After the welcoming ceremony, the dignitaries were ushered into the reception room, and the military attachés and commanders of the garrisons in China were invited to attend the anniversary, most of whom were European and American soldiers with high noses and sunken eyes, with the only exception being a group of dwarfs in yellow tweed uniforms sitting in the corner and talking and laughing in a low voice.

Those were the officers of the Imperial Japanese troops stationed in Tianjin, and their European and American counterparts looked down on them, and they looked down on the Chinese, so they had to entertain themselves.

Chen Zikun ate too much chilled watermelon on the train, and at this time he was a little anxious, so he took a chance to sneak out to find a thatched house.

In the camp of the third division, the thatched hut is usually dug a big pit for each company, and a grass shed is set up on it to shelter from the wind and rain, and every morning the soldiers take turns to squat next to the big pit to go out and go out, and after the end of the ditch, they can take a piece of grass or grass blades to wipe it, and the sanitary conditions in the thatched hut are generally extremely bad, in the hot summer, they can catch a handful of flies with their hands, and the soldiers' favorite thing to do is to use urine to flush the maggots in the dung pit with white flowers.

But Chen Zikun scurried around in the US ** camp, but he didn't find the familiar manure pit.

It turned out that the toilet in the barracks was set up indoors, a row of Western-style toilets with iron sheets, and a cable water tank on top of them, and the cement floor was wiped spotlessly, which was cleaner than the room of the Third Division.

Adjacent to the toilet is the bathroom, Stilwell explains: "Originally, in the basement of the bathhouse hall, it was inconvenient for the lads to take a shower, so they often complained, and then the colonel installed shower facilities in each building. ”

Chen Zikun secretly said that there was no bathhouse in the barracks of the Third Division, and the soldiers did not have that concept of hygiene, it was common not to take a bath for two or three months, and a pinch of mud in the crotch of his pants was a ball of mud, and no one was embarrassed to greet anyone without dozens of fleas.

After the bladder pressure was resolved, Stilwell offered to take the guests on a tour of the barracks, and Chan readily agreed to take Stilwell on a tour of the modern American barracks.

The barracks are Western-style buildings, with a three-story brick and concrete structure, a semi-basement below, and an attic above, where each building accommodates two companies of soldiers, and each soldier has his own bed and personal wardrobe.

Chen Zikun said secretly, is this here to be a soldier? I'm here to be a master.

There are heating, electric lights, running water and flush toilets in the building; The kitchen, the warehouse, the canteen, and the basement are all well organized, clean and tidy.

On the west side of the barracks, there are stables, cattle pens, and carports; A small ice factory, a bakery, a veterinary hospital, a shop and a blacksmith's shop.

At the gate of the barracks, dozens of rickshaws lined up, and the drivers squatted in the shade of the trees, as long as there were people at the gate, they would flock to the front and enthusiastically solicit business in Tianjin-style English, but the two officers had no intention of taking the car, Stilwell pointed to the garden house in the shade of the trees in the distance and said: "The officers live there, with their families, housekeepers, servants, cooks and drivers. ”

Chen Zikun secretly calculated that even if the price of Chinese servants was low, and if there were five servants in each family, the monthly expenditure would be a large amount, and it would be impossible to stop it without a hundred yuan, and it was difficult for him to imagine how the salaries of these officers could maintain such a luxurious life, and it was even more difficult to imagine that the barracks could be built so advanced and comfortable, compared to the barracks of the Beiyang Army were still in the pre-Qing era.

Stilwell's next words made him even more emotional, "Compared with the Tianjin Barracks and the permanent barracks in the United States, the quality from design to construction is simply poor, which is probably the only regret of the 15th Regiment, but they have something to brag about, that is, there is a shooting range on the seashore of Qinhuangdao, and you can go to cool off every summer." ”

Looking at Stilwell's expression, it didn't look like he was showing off or bragging, it seemed that Americans who were born to eat food and be soldiers deserved this treatment, Chen Zikun couldn't help but ask: "Your army spends all its military expenses on construction, can the military salary still be guaranteed to be paid on time?" ”

Stilwell laughed: "Dear friend, do you think the U.S. military will deduct military salaries, of course not, every month the soldiers' accounts will be paid in full for military pay and subsidies for overseas service, if the soldiers are willing, they can be exchanged for American gold dollars or Chinese silver dollars, and a corporal who has served for the second year can get thirty dollars, which is equivalent to one hundred and twenty oceans, which is enough for him to drink and find a woman." ”

As he spoke, Stilwell threw over a shiny thing, and Chen Zikun copied it, which turned out to be a gold coin, much smaller than Yuan Datou, with exquisite patterns, clear lines, and shining with the brilliance of gold.

With the American gold dollar in hand, Chen Zikun was fascinated, using gold as currency, the military camp was as luxurious as a hotel, and the military salary of ordinary soldiers was as high as that of a university professor, how rich and powerful such a country must be.

"Oh, I forgot to congratulate you, you are now an officer, is there any plan to further your education, a well-educated young man like you, if you don't study abroad, is a waste." Stilwell Road.

Chen Zikun's heart moved, and he said: "I am going to go to Japan to study the army. ”

Stilwell shook his head: "Nonono This is by no means a good plan, the Japanese Army's set of things is pieced together, learning from the United States, France, and Germany, and it turned out to be a four-like one, if I guess correctly, you should be preparing to go to the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School, right?"

Chan nodded yes.

Stilwell shook his head again: "I really don't understand why you Chinese love this broken military school so much, and those who return home after completing their studies are usually promoted to generals in a short period of time, you know, this is just a military school that trains low-level non-commissioned officers, so that people who have only learned squad and platoon level combat can command thousands of troops, and it is strange if they do not make mistakes." ”

Chen Zikun nodded silently, and had to admit that his words were very reasonable, and it can be seen from the diary of Xu Shuzheng's expedition to Outer Mongolia that the command art of this Beiyang general from the non-commissioned officer school is still inseparable from the traditional tricks and routines in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and he doesn't know anything about command under the hot weapon war.

"Chen, I suggest you don't stick to the experience of your predecessors, after the European War, the world pattern is changing dramatically, no one wants to repeat the tragedy like the Verdun meat grinder, the appearance of airplanes, long-range artillery, submarines, airplanes, and tanks will inevitably change the way of war, and the army that does not realize this will undoubtedly lose, because the set of things they have mastered is outdated, if you go to Japan to study, then what you learn can only be some obsolete things from the Middle Ages, Of course, the premise is that the Japanese are willing to teach you. ”

Stilwell's words were scathing, but they were substantial.

"So, where should I study abroad?" In fact, Chen Zikun had already vaguely guessed the answer, but he still asked this sentence.

"West Point, you've gone to West Point." Stilwell replied without hesitation, "The Academy of American Affairs is the best military academy in the world, and there is no one, as for the British Sandhurst, the French Saint-Cyr, the Russian Frunze and the like can only be relegated to the second." ”

"What about Japan's military academies?" Chan is very cooperative in playing the role of praise.

"Shoes don't deserve it." In belittling the Japanese, Stilwell did not hesitate to use all the Chinese meanness he could master.

Chen Zikun smiled: "I am very willing to go to West Point to study, but the handsome pass is difficult." ”

Stilwell said: "You don't have to worry about this, I think the American minister will be happy to help." ”

"Thank you so much, Captain Stilwell, and hope we can be alumni." Chan stretched out his hand.

"Call me Joe." Stilwell's palms are wide and warm.

Back in the reception room, the banquet had begun, an American-style buffet with elaborate dishes and snacks on long tables, Chinese servants in white uniforms carrying trays to and fro, and military officers and politicians chatting and laughing in groups.

After Stilwell came in, he found Colonel Wild and whispered, and without much effort, the two walked up to Wu Peifu with wine glasses and started talking, talking about the friendship between the two countries and the two armies, and then mentioning the issue of exchanges between the two armies.

"I sincerely suggest that General Wu select some outstanding young officers to study military affairs in our country so as to enhance exchanges between the two armies." Colonel Wild raised his glass.

"I'll think about it, drink, drink." Wu Peifu didn't seem to be very interested, and avoided the question in a few words.

Wild wanted to say a few more words, but Wu Peifu politely said that he was not with him, and left with his wine glass.

Stilwell shrugged his shoulders at Chan and spread his hands.

Chen Zikun smiled helplessly, he naturally knew the temper of the handsome, and it was impossible to be persuaded by others in a few words.

……

That night, Cao Kun and Wu Peifu stayed in Caojia Garden in Tianjin, and after dinner, Wu Peifu called Chen Zikun to him and asked straight to the point: "Japan and the United States, which country do you want to study in?" ”

Chen Zikun said without hesitation: "I want to go to the United States." ”

Wu Peifu nodded, paced back and forth indoors for a few steps, and suddenly stopped and said: "The people who slaughter dogs in the countryside, it is not a problem to mix food and clothing, and the brave who has the power to slaughter tigers can be famous in the township and have no worries about food and clothing, so can people with dragon slaying skills be crowned marquis and worship generals, and glorify their ancestors?" ”

Chen Zikun was silent for a while, and the big marshal meant that studying in the United States to learn the useless art of dragon slaying, because there are no dragons in the world, and the set of things learned at West Point is not useful in China at all.

"Dashuai, I still want to learn dragon slaying, although there is no dragon in the sky at present, but it does not mean that there will never be a dragon, Fengzhang is crazy to expand the army, ambitious, and has a strong neighbor Japan, eyeing the tiger for a long time, and asserts that within 20 years, the sky over China will be full of evil dragons!"

Needless to say, Wu Peifu waved his hand and said, "You go down, let me think about it again." ”

Although it has not been formally agreed, the tone has loosened a bit.