The more noble the identity, the more involuntary it is. The meaning of this sentence Li Hongzhang has thoroughly realized today, and no leader wants to be coerced by his subordinates. But just because you don't want to do it doesn't mean you won't be coerced or coerced. This thing has been in history and is still there in the future, and those in high positions must be able to control the overall situation, know the importance of it, and more importantly, know how to unite people's hearts and minds for everyone's interests, or who will do it with you? Lao Li did this, and he has always done a good job, and it is not bad for the old people of the Huai system, (of course, Zhang Shusheng and others who want to replace Lao Li are not among them) But now the problem is out, the Huai people only recognize Lao Li and do not recognize the court. This was originally Lao Li's capital, but now it is a bit out of control, especially in the face of Japanese pressure, the top of the Huai system obviously does not want to sit still. And these guys, who are now full of the comparison of the Qing army's military strength, will definitely not care about the actions of the imperial court, and even if they do, it is obviously impossible for them to give up the expansion of the army. But Lao Li can't, as a loyal minister and an old-style bureaucrat, he has his own moral bottom line and code of conduct. He can play some tricks with the center, but he still has to try to avoid letting him openly disobey orders or challenge the authority of the center. (Of course, Lao Li openly disobeyed the order when the southeast mutual insurance, and the officials of the feudal territory joined forces once, and the authority of the Qing court was lost!!) Therefore, how to ensure that the Lu division can be expanded, and how to avoid the overreaction of the imperial court as much as possible has become Lao Li's most concerned issue.

On the second day of the internal meeting of the Huai system, the meeting on the expansion of the Huai army was held in the same room, and the participants were in addition to Lao Li, Zhang Peilun, Nie Shicheng, Ma Yukun, Wei Rugui, Liu Shengxiu, and Xu Jie. After all, he proposed this construction. After Xu Jie greeted everyone, this meeting officially began.

How to find a suitable reason for the expansion of the army, and make the court feel at ease. was the first theme of the conference. Within Zhili, the Beiyang army is dominant, which has already made the imperial court uneasy. If the army is expanded again, the imperial court will definitely be uneasy, and the resistance will increase suddenly.

"There must be no new troops near the capital. However, there is still a chance for new troops in Liaodong and Weihai, Shandong. After all, these places are far away from the capital, and it is still possible to add a new batch of troops in the name of suppressing bandits or protecting the navy. Zhang Peilun, who is well versed in officialdom accidents, said.

"Under what name? Is it a military training or a militia group? Wei Rugui asked, after all, this is related to whether this money is from the imperial court or raised by Beiyang itself.

"I'm afraid that the imperial court won't be able to give a penny, and my Beiyang Navy Division's purchase of warships is already unhappy with the center, and if I ask for money again, I'm afraid it's impossible." Xu Jie couldn't help but shake his head and said. In fact, Xu Jie wanted to say in his heart, Beiyang pays for it himself, and the court is unwilling, for fear that the tail will not fall, you still want the court to pay? ?

"Then I have to spend another expense in Beiyang. This annual army salary of 5 million yuan is not enough, if I am asked to pay Beiyang again, I don't know if I can afford it. Nie Shicheng said with a sad face.

"The local armed forces will form a regiment for training, and the old man still has some money. Instead of fighting a lawsuit with the center for this money, it is better for the old man to pay for his own army and build his own army. The regimental training is not a regular armament, and after the court reprimands, we can also speak. As for the escort army related to Weihai and Lushun, it should be established in the name of training the army. Li Hongzhang thought for a while and said.

The nature of the army is determined, and then it is the reason for its creation, the people in the Northeast are fierce, there are more beards in the mountains and wilderness, and it is absolutely possible to organize militia groups for self-defense, this is a reason, and the two naval bases in Lushun and Weihai, because of the addition of warships and the expansion of ports, need more port guard troops. And because of the expansion of the fleet and in order to cope with possible landing operations. The Marine Corps in Beiyang also needs to be expanded. Privately, Zhang Wenxuan and Ding Ruchang highly praised the Marines in the Nanyang conflict. He also emphasized that the staff is too small and needs to be expanded. Of course, the latter two are a bit beyond the scope of the militia group, and Lao Li decided to put it aside for the time being, and submit the establishment of the militia group first. …,

"In addition to these combat units, our Beiyang Army Division must also add corresponding logistics support troops and engineers. I think that when our Huai army was suppressing the Changmao and Twisting Army, each battalion had a corresponding number of Changfu used to transport supplies and ammunition and dig trenches. But now the arrangement of fortifications is becoming more and more complex, and the consumption of ammunition is also increasing. Chiefs who are not specially trained are simply not competent in logistics and engineering work. All European countries have special logistics and engineering units, but our Beiyang does not have them, and once a war starts, it will be quite unfavorable to the maintenance of combat strength. Xu Jie emphasized the importance of logistics and engineering units.

"In this way, even if I don't add new combat troops in Beiyang, I'm afraid I will have to expand a lot of personnel, right? Will the imperial court agree? Zhang Peilun raised his own questions from the perspective of politics.

"We call him Changfu, but in fact, he is doing the work of logistics and sappers in Europa countries, anyway, the Qingliu bigwigs in the center can't tell the difference between long-term husband and sappers." Liu Shengxiu said impatiently, his words full of dissatisfaction with the center.

"How to solve the problem of this sapper?" Nie Shicheng asked, if those peasants who can't read a few big characters are allowed to build bridges and arrange various bunkers without the guidance of professionals, the ghost knows what will come up.

"Technical officers can hire foreigners, and middle- and lower-level technicians can recruit Chinese from Nanyang or send students to European countries for further study." Xu Jie said.

"I'm afraid that such a person is not very reliable, right?" Li Hongzhang said. When he opened a military factory, he was not lightly affected by those foreigners who took advantage of their skills. Later, after the Qing workers basically mastered the technology, they were all dismissed directly, but then, the quality problem appeared again, and the foreigners were indeed arrogant, but the things produced were still qualified.

"The number of technicians in my Qing Dynasty is scarce, and the level is not high, so for today's plan, I can only use foreigners first." Xu Jie said helplessly. It's good to guard against foreigners at all times, but you can't just reject it, especially if you can't do it, it's even worse. Whether you want to or not, you have to use it!!

Hearing Xu Jie's words, Li Hongzhang didn't say anything anymore, although he still rejected foreigners in his heart, but the Tianjin Manufacturing Bureau's various favoritism and ammunition quality problems had reached the point where they had to be solved.

"In addition to the normal expansion of the army and the increase of engineers and logistics personnel, should we also arrange personnel to defend the key places in our Beiyang? For example, the Tianjin Machinery Bureau, military ports and ammunition depots in various places, as well as along the railway. It's the lifeblood of my Beiyang, and if it is destroyed or the secrets in it are known to the Japanese people, the consequences will be unimaginable. Nie Shicheng said worriedly. This article is remarkable, not only asking for more troops, but also including the idea of counter-espionage and anti-sabotage, and this is the next question Xu Jie wants to talk about.

"Nie Shi's results are not simple." Xu Jie sighed in his heart.

There may be something tomorrow, so let's make tomorrow's better~~. Let's support it more, it's the first time for a newcomer to write a book~~