Since the autumn of the 29th year of Guangxu, a series of changes have taken place in Shandong, the first is military affairs, the right wing of the Weisheng Army "entrenched" in southern Lunan has been expanded into the fifth town of the Beiyang Army, the commander Long Qian has been appointed as the governor of Shandong, and the Beiyang troops who remained in Shandong (mainly in Ji, Qingdao, and Laizhou) have withdrawn from Shandong. The departments of the fifth town went to various places, and immediately recruited troops on a large scale, and launched a strict rectification of the patrol battalions in the province.

There are always a small number of people involved in military affairs, including the "defection" of Lu Shan and others, which has nothing to do with themselves for ordinary people. The impact is only in military circles. On the contrary, the new admiral's rectification of patrol battalions in various localities has attracted widespread attention because of its wide range of involvement.

The second is the economic field, the headquarters of Huayuan Industrial Group, which has been famous in Shandong, is about to move to Jinan, and all walks of life in Yizhou are very dissatisfied with this, causing a storm. The Yizhou Chamber of Commerce was established in the 28th year of Guangxu, and the Chamber of Commerce came forward to submit a petition to the Yamen of the Yizhou prefect and the headquarters of Huayuan Industry, strongly requesting that Huayuan stay in Yizhou. In Jinan, it is rumored that the machine bureau will be eaten by Huayuan, which has also brought instability.

The third is the change in political circles, which is a trivial matter. Because the main changes were in the two prefectures of Lunan: Tang Shaoyi, the prefect of Yizhou, was promoted to the governor of Fengtian, Wu Yong, the prefect of Yanzhou, was transferred to Yizhou, and Zhang Lianfen, the envoy of Shandong Yanyun, concurrently served as the prefect of Yanzhou.

Except for a small number of people whose vital interests are involved, ordinary people in Shandong Province, even middle- and lower-level officials and gentry who are concerned about the current situation, will not pay attention to the above three points. The impact was not as good as that of Fifth Town's province-wide recruitment.

Throughout the history of the Celestial Empire, the status of the military in society has always been very low, except for a few periods. For example, the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties are exceptions. Most of the time, the military is at the bottom of society. As far as officials are concerned, it has been a common practice to emphasize literature over military force, that is, in the Song Dynasty, which was highly respected by later generations, Zhao Kuangyin did not kill the scholar doctor to become a beautiful talk, and the Song Dynasty, which was a good doctor, has never been polite to the martial arts, and the beheading should not be soft. In the Ming Dynasty, the situation of emphasizing literature and suppressing military force was even more serious, and a second-rank military general even had to kowtow when he saw a six-rank civil official. The Qing Dynasty system mostly followed the Ming Dynasty, under normal circumstances. Military personnel are extremely poorly paid. Military salaries were already small, but they were still paid at a discount, and even so, arrears of pay became the norm. It is not difficult to understand that the folk proverb that a good man is not a soldier is widely spread.

in Shandong. Until Yuan Shikai brought the right army of Wuwei to settle in. That's how that's changing. Objectively speaking. Yuan Shikai has a set of rules for governing the army. He spent great efforts to form a new army of small stations, which changed the outdated habits of hundreds of years and gave this army a new look. The first major way to do this is to raise military salaries by a large margin. Even the lowest-ranking men in the army had three taels of silver a month. Moreover, it was paid in full and on time, basically putting an end to the bad habit of eating empty salaries and drinking soldiers' blood. The second is to advocate uniformity among officers and soldiers in the new army, and to put an end to beating and scolding soldiers. A German instructor once slapped a soldier and was discovered by Yuan Shikai, who seized the incident and did not let go, severely punished the instructor, and maintained the dignity of the soldier. Third, we have intensified the training of officer corps, held military academies with battalions, vigorously raised the cultural level of middle- and lower-ranking officers, and cultivated loyalty to the army. Of course, Yuan Shikai's purpose is to cultivate loyalty to himself, and it has not risen to the height of the country and the nation, and the more important reason is that Yuan Shikai regards the new army as the greatest guarantee for his future, and will not educate officers and soldiers to be loyal to the court and even the country and nation.

It is a pity that after the establishment of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, because of his background and his knowledge, he has always avoided the two major issues of the state and the nation. And the elucidation of these two major issues is precisely the hallmark of a modern state.

Go back to just now. Because of those three articles, Yuan Shikai's expansion in Shandong was much smoother. It must be recognized that the increase in military salaries and the full payment of military salaries are the most crucial factors.

Since the birth of the Mengshan Army, the situation has changed again. At the end of 1903, the Mengshan Army had the strength of Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army, but it had the characteristics that the Beiyang Army did not have. Because of its high salary, strong discipline and sense of honor, it has won the sincere support of the local people. Therefore, the recruitment of troops in the fifth town was relatively smooth, especially in the area where the Mengshan army was stationed, and the phenomenon of young people enthusiastically joining the army was even more obvious, and the number of applicants and admissions was about five to one.

Long Qian has more than 100 years of knowledge, and his methods of building and governing the army are generally better than Yuan Shikai. Since Mengshan reorganized the army, Long Qian's purpose is to build a strong army that transcends the times. This is the foundation of his goal to achieve. The initial approach was to consciously cultivate the discipline and sense of honor of the soldiers while adopting more effective and scientific military training, and to build an officer corps from the top that was loyal to themselves, moral, disciplined, and dedicated and sacrificed. However, due to the limitations of the conditions and situation, we could only adopt the method of steady progress, and both the treatment of officers and men and the ideological education should be in line with the actual situation at that time as much as possible. For example, on the issue of military salaries, there was no military salary during the Mengshan period, and it was not until Zhengjiazhuang was opened and the rural base area was established that military salaries were issued, and the standard was gradually raised. It was not until the army was reorganized into the right wing of the Weisheng Army that its military salary was basically in line with Yuan Shikai's new army. However, there is still a big difference in specific operations, such as the special expenses given by the Yuan Department to middle and senior officers, which the Mengshan Army basically does not have. But the first batch of officers and soldiers owned "shares", and the share capital came from two large pieces, one for the confiscation of Zheng Jing's property, and the other for robbery from Beijing. The officers and soldiers who enjoyed the "shares" constituted the backbone of the Mengshan Army, and Long Qian's idea was obviously to rely on this group of people to develop and strengthen his own strength. After the implementation of this practice, Mengshanjun is a bit like a joint-stock company. Situ, who later joined the Mengshan Army, received a formal military education from Germany, and once raised objections to Long Qian's approach, believing that there were great hidden dangers. Long Qian knew that at present, he still needed to use the big tree of the Manchu Qing Dynasty to shelter from the wind and rain, although the roots of this big tree had rotted, but after all, it had not fallen, and it still had great use value. In the current situation, talking about the concept of the state and the nation will definitely arouse the vigilance of the imperial court, and attract the suspicion and even strong measures of the imperial court. Therefore, until the formation of the fifth town, Long Qian's troops were not substantially different from Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army in nature, to put it bluntly, they were a warlord army, and the vast majority of officers and soldiers were loyal to Long Qian rather than the imperial court, and the prestige of the leader came more from his own qualities - self-discipline, knowledge of people, fairness, honesty, courage and methods.

For most officers and soldiers, it is the most important thing for the supreme leader to have a way. When the troops are constantly expanding, personnel. The territory and equipment are constantly increasing, the officers are constantly being promoted, the salaries are increasing, the loyalty of the troops is there, and there is no problem with cohesion. Only the most core officer corps had a higher goal - to fight for the overthrow of the Manchu Qing and the establishment of the Long dynasty. Behind this is the drive of interests, from Long Jianzheng, that is the founding hero.

I am encouraged by this goal. Long Qian transcended the strict military laws of the times - no big smoke. No gambling, no prostitution, these disciplines that were difficult to maintain at that time were basically guaranteed.

In any era, the discipline of a soldier comes mainly from the officer taking the lead. This is what Long Qian did best. He started his military with himself. Ask yourself to take the lead in doing what you do. Then there is the core officer corps, and then it is extended down to the middle and lower ranks. Even if Long Qian served as the commander of the fifth town, he went deep into the army to conduct morning exercises. The habit of eating a big stove is still maintained, and at least one day a week is spent in the grassroots company.

With the example of a senior officer, the following problems are easy to solve.

There are two main links in the whole army, the first is to enrich the fifth town, and the easiest way is to recruit troops. There was no problem with the number of soldiers at all, but Long Qian reserved 50 percent of the missing posts for the elite of the patrol battalion, which put the rectification of the patrol battalion on the agenda.

Long Qian's method was to solve the problem of the patrol battalion by rebuilding the reserve. In other words, all the patrol battalions with low combat effectiveness and poor military discipline were incorporated into the system of the Mengshan Army.

The first step, of course, is the reorganization of the reserves. Lu Shan, Fan Deping, Deng Qinghua and other senior reserve officers "defected", and the reserve existed in name only for a period of time, Long Qian appointed Ning Shijun as the commander of the reserve and Zhang Yulin as the chief of staff, rebuilt the reserve headquarters, and stabilized the military morale of the reserve troops.

Because Ning Shijun would not be able to take care of the business of the headquarters for a long time, Long Qian appointed Situ Jun as the acting chief of staff of the Fifth Town.

The first batch of officers and backbone soldiers taken away by Lushan was as high as more than 50 people, and the direct result of this was the instability of the military morale of the reserve forces. Although Lu Shan and the others made some arrangements when they were leaving, more soldiers were unable to learn the truth. According to the plan, after the first batch, at least two batches of 200 people are expected to go to the northeast, and in addition to the backbone personnel from various parts of the headquarters, they will basically be transferred from the reserves.

The reserve headquarters is still in Wuding Mansion, and after Ning Shijun arrives, the most difficult problem is how to appease the somewhat unstable military morale. If you can't explain the real situation, you can't really solve the problem, Ning Shijun urgently asked Long Qian, hoping that Long Qian would come to Wuding. So, Long Qian went to Wuding in early November and convened a meeting of officers above the rank of reserve platoon commander.

"I'm sorry, this meeting is a little late." Long Qian got straight to the point, "During this time, there have been various rumors against Commander Lu and others, and everyone has a lot of words in their hearts. Today I am here to answer your doubts. Lu Shan, Fan Deping, Xiong Xun, Deng Qinghua, etc., are all old brothers who have followed me for a long time, who have been tested for a long time and have made many military exploits, and are the heroes of the Mengshan Army! Their departure was in no way due to a betrayal of dissatisfaction with the reorganization! Rather, it performs a special task. ”

As soon as these words came out, the officers present immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Why did you want to leave secretly because of the extreme secrecy of the mission. It couldn't be conveyed to the whole army, so they had to be carried by the black cauldron. I am telling you this secret today because I believe you and hope that you will strictly keep this secret for the sake of the Mengshan Army group. When someone asks this question, you say you don't know what to do. In the next step, some of the brothers here will be selected and sent out, so everyone is ready.

"The reserve force is an important part of our Mengshan Army, and it is by no means raised by a stepmother, and it is inferior. If you look at all of you, you will know that many of them are old brothers who have participated in the Mengshan Army, and half of them have entered the Suiying Military Academy, which is the essence and wealth of our Mengshan Army. Chief of Staff Ning's appointment as your commander is enough to prove the importance I attach to the reserves. In the future, the reserve will be expanded, to what level? Is it a standard or a co-ordination? It's up to you. I can guarantee that the salaries of the reserve forces are exactly the same as those of the main forces, and when the conditions are met, the equipment will be fully equipped according to the standards of the main forces. In fact, who is the main force depends on the performance on the battlefield, not self-styled, nor self-sealed. If there is a war in the future, the reserve will definitely be on the line, and everyone must not have other ideas. In addition, the headquarters will also recruit a large number of officers from the main force and the cadets who have graduated from the military academies accompanying the battalion to enrich the reserves.

"What is the main job of the reserve at the moment? It is to rectify the defense camps in all parts of the province. Everyone also knows that the predecessor of the patrol battalion was the Green Battalion, and many of you here have fought against them, and they have little combat effectiveness, and their discipline is very bad, and they have developed many bad habits. The imperial court appointed me as the governor of Shandong, and I had the responsibility to rectify the patrol battalion. How to rectify it? Some people say that it was simply disbanded. Not to mention that the imperial court does not allow it, the actual situation must not be done like that. If it is simply disbanded, it will be a scourge! It is impossible to say that a large number of ringing horse bandits should be cultivated throughout the province. So, we can't do that. My idea is to absorb some of the outstanding officers and men among them into the main force, some of the better ones to be added to the reserves, and some of them to go home voluntarily after receiving severance pay and leaving with money, and a number of them will be arranged to work in factories in Yizhou and Yanzhou. You have to take on this difficult task, and don't think it's easy, I tell you, it's hard. Don't be afraid of difficulties, so that you are unwilling to carry out this order, or if you do it superficially, but in fact it is perfunctory. The officers and men of the patrol battalion are all our Shandong people, and as long as we formulate policies and think of methods well, we will certainly be able to do a good job in this matter of great significance. How many people are in the patrol battalion in the province? Let me tell you, more than 20,000! If such a large force is converted, how much will the strength of our Mengshan Army increase?

"All of you here are officers, and the lowest rank is also the platoon commander. What is an officer? It is the backbone of the army. It is the person responsible for training the undisciplined peasants, vagrants, and urban vagrants into qualified soldiers. If you don't do this well, you're not a qualified officer. Can it be done well? I think totally. As long as you take the lead, those patrol battalion brothers who have lax discipline and many vices will follow you, just like when you joined the Mengshan Army in various capacities, and gradually become qualified soldiers of the Mengshan Army, and even join the ranks of officers. For those guys who have repeatedly refused to change their ways and seriously violated military discipline, there are military rules there, and you just do what you do.

"Please seriously consider my words today and devote yourself to the construction of the reserve and the transformation of the patrol battalion with the greatest enthusiasm."

Long Qian stayed in Wuding for three days, talked with the main officers of the reserve force, understood their thoughts, and talked about his thoughts on the transformation of the patrol battalion. But for them to ask about the whereabouts of Lu Shan and the others, Long Qian smiled and did not answer, the question was urgent, Long Qian said, at least three or five years, at most seven or eight years, Lu Shan and they will return to our Mengshan Army!

Long Qian and Ning Shijun agreed that the rectification of the patrol battalion would be piloted first. This pilot will start with Wuding Mansion. (To be continued......)