China has been a continental country since ancient times, a pure continental country, although it has a vast territorial sea and a long coastline, but it still cannot change the fact that it is a continental country, and the successive rulers of China are neither mediocre nor wise. They all focused on mastering the land. And now, although Xu Jie has made this great country begin to re-examine its own maritime frontier and the world outside, as a land power country, Xu Jie must put the construction of the army in the first place, and before the rebuilding of the new army, how to deal with the large number of old armies with no combat effectiveness has been put on the work agenda.

The old army of the Eight Banners has long disappeared without a trace with the ashes of the Qing Dynasty, they are now only Manchu civilians, and the regular armies such as the Green Battalion loyal to the Qing Dynasty have also been packed up by the Beiyang and the provincial officials of the uprising.

Although it seems to be a lot less, there are still millions of troops, for the current China, millions of troops are not much for maintaining more than 12 million square kilometers of land, but what Xu Jie needs to do now is not to expand the army, but to first dismantle the old army, and remove the part of the cumbersome, no combat effectiveness and only mess around from the army, the army needs efficiency rather than quantity!

However, it is not an easy task to dismantle the old army, and some local powerful factions do not want to lose control of the army, and the local forces that support the republic for whatever purpose cannot be forcibly carried out by force. Nowadays, people have decided that any little wind and grass will cause a big backlash.

"We need to look for some examples from the old army. We can let them have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of their lives, but we must not allow those old troops under their command to continue to waste China's precious resources. In Li Hongzhang's official residence, Xu Jie said.

"It's a way. But if you want to really implement it, you have to wait until Zhang Zhidong and Liu Kunyi and they arrive in Beijing, with these bigwigs, even if some people want to exchange the military power in their hands for wealth, I'm afraid it will not be easy to get it. Li Hongzhang said.

"We can wait and start, but again, it can't be too long. For those units that have some combat effectiveness or want to stay in office, we can set up a new military academy to train and educate these people, and we want to make them understand that the army is loyal to the whole country and not to a certain person or group. The army is not used as a tool for power. Rather, it serves as a sword to safeguard national interests. Xu Jie said calmly.

"In this way, not only do you want to attack the Nanyang and those local forces, but you will also not let go of my Beiyang, right?" Li Hongzhang's voice was a little dry and cold.

"There are people who are really not fit to stay in the military. The hilt of the sword seems to be a good thing, but if it is not handed over to the right people to use, the consequences will be unimaginable, and we need to let the military know the meaning and mission of its existence. It is not that he says that he has military power and acts recklessly. You did it. Others will do the same, and in the end it will only lead to endless strife and internal friction. Westerners say that the Chinese are insiders in civil wars and outsiders in foreign wars, which can be said to be an extremely incisive summary of the thousands of years of Chinese history. And I don't want that to continue. Xu Jie said solemnly.

"Boy, you're thinking well, but what if one day someone threatens you with the hilt of a knife in your hand? Although now, you don't have to worry about self-preservation, but people will eventually grow old one day. You and I can't be at the pinnacle of power all the time. Li Hongzhang asked thoughtfully.

"We need to build a system, and a whole new system. It is used to limit rights and ambitions, but first we must abide by it, and we must first reforge the army in our hands into a new army, the violence is too terrible. It's enough for anyone to indulge in it, and we need to get everyone in the army to follow this principle. Xu Jie said.

"But society is made up of people, and where there are people, there will be gangs, and there will be power, which is an unchangeable fact, and this is the case in China, and the same is true in other countries." Li Hongzhang changed his words and continued: "Your ideals are very good, but you must remember that ideals are not equal to reality, so let's protect ourselves first." Okay, let's not talk about these things, what are you going to do? ”

"First of all, the quality of soldiers is strictly limited, and soldiers who are disabled, who are older than the length of service and who do not have any skills, must be discharged. Of course, the state will resettle and compensate retired soldiers. Second, low-ranking officers can go to the nearest military academies to receive training, and those who are willing to keep their weapons and pass the training can be retained and assigned to field units or local units according to their achievements. Xu Jie said and handed over a plan.

"Is there any difference between this field unit and the local army?" Li Hongzhang was very interested in this division.

"The field units are naturally the most elite in the army, with great mobility and striking power. These elite troops are not very numerous, but they are the fist of our Chinese army, but it is not suitable to expect this force to be dispersed to defend the vast territory, so we must also use a large number of troops with low mobility and quality to maintain local order, such as quelling rebellions and defending fortresses. This matching method existed as early as the Song Dynasty, but at that time it was called the forbidden army and the box army. Xu Jie said with a smile.

"As for some veterans and mid-level officers with a skill, we can train the former into a skilled army, and the latter will also be the object of our struggle. They will be studying in the newly established military academy in Beijing, and of course, this group of people will have to be carefully screened. As for the senior officers, I hope that those who remain are elite, and those who escape can be given an idle post or transferred to other posts. All this is just foreshadowing, and the subsequent reorganization is the main thing. Xu Jie paused and continued.

"We will re-split and form some new corps, and these corps will break down geographical restrictions and reorganize forces from different regions. The old gang system must be destroyed as much as possible, in short, the new army must be reorganized politically and institutionally, and it must be done quickly, and we are running out of time. Xu Jie said solemnly.

"Jishi, you have taken a road that no one has ever walked before, and it is up to you whether this Huaxia can win the next war." After pondering for a while, Li Hongzhang agreed with Xu Jie's train of thought.

Thank you for the ~~~~~ of the old man in the Strait. (To be continued.) )