Jingshi, located in the mansion of Liu Yun, chief of the general staff, outside the Desheng Gate, in the high-walled compound, green trees and red flowers, strange stones and blue pools, and Qiaoting and wonderful corridors.

In the warm sunshine, four children no more than two or three years old were toddlers in the small pavilion surrounded by weeping willows, two young women watched over them, several maids stood outside the pavilion, and a few family members with revolvers at their waists.

The children communicate with each other in their own way, including simple words, babbling sounds, and all kinds of body language that adults don't understand.

A young woman dressed in a long Western dress, petite and delicate, with bright eyes, white skin, and a happy smile on her face, teased the little cuties who were entangled on the ground from time to time. The other has a slightly darker complexion, but there is a healthy beauty, she is dressed in a traditional cheongsam, although she also looks at the children with happy and loving eyes, but after all, some of the ladies are reserved, only sitting on the stone bench and talking to Mrs. Zhu - that is, Rong'er, the wife of Major General Zhu Tao, director of the General Staff Intelligence Department - she is the 20-year-old wife Chun'er of Lieutenant General Liu Yun, chief of the General Staff, and one of the four children is a pair of dragon and phoenix twins, the elder brother is called Liu Ping, and the younger sister who was born three minutes later is called Liu Yuchun.

"Mrs. Zhu, you see how well the children of our two families play, if you can often be in a hurry in the future, you can really be a childhood sweetheart."

Mrs. Zhu pulled over little Liu Ping, who was holding her two-year-old daughter, and said: "If you can make a marriage contract in the future, it will be a beautiful thing, look, Liu Ping likes my Zhu Xin so much." ”

Mrs. Liu said with a smile: "My Yuchun and your Zhu Liefeng are also quite compatible, I have this intention, but I don't know what you and my husband mean, how can our women's family be the master." ”

Before Mrs. Liu's words fell, there was already Liu Yun's laughter behind her: "What is Madam going to do, isn't it enough to be the hostess here?" ”

Mrs. Liu hurriedly got up and saluted: "Master, you are back." ”

Liu Yun held her and said, "Didn't you tell you not to do this kind of ceremony, it's been four years, and you just can't change it." ”

"Cheap concubine......" Mrs. Liu hurriedly changed as soon as she spoke: "Chun'er doesn't dare to disobey etiquette." ”

Mrs. Zhu smiled on the side: "Sister just can't be flexible, but Chief of Staff Liu likes such a sister, right?" ”

As early as three years ago, Mrs. Zhu - Rong'er and Mrs. Liu - Chun'er met at a private banquet in Liu's Mansion, and they really hit it off at first sight, so they married Jinlan, and since then, the wives of the two families have often visited each other, and from time to time they also brought their children, like sisters.

Liu Yun pointed behind him and said to Rong'er: "Your master is also here, aren't you honest?" ”

Rong'er pulled her pair of children and said with a smile: "He's the same when I'm not - quick, Xiaoxin, Gale Wind, call uncle." ”

Xiao Zhu Xin called "Pig ......" indistinctly, causing the adults to laugh.

Zhu Tao came over and picked up Xiaoxin and pinched her little nose: "Xiaoxin, tell Dad, do you like Brother Ping?" ”

Xiaoxin shouted again: "Brother Ping, is it ...... Pigeon ......"

Zhu Tao asked again: "Then will you be Brother Ping's bride in the future?" ”

Xiaoxin took a thumbs up, hesitated, and muttered, "Okay...... Not good...... Good ......"

Chun'er picked up Liu Ping, pointed at Xiaoxin and said, "Did you hear, my sister promised to be a bride for you, are you happy......?"

Liu Ping resolutely shouted: "Happy, sister ......"

After speaking, he opened his mouth and smirked.

Xiaoxin saw Brother Ping laughing, and also grinned, Yuchun and Gale on the ground were confused, looked at them blankly, thought for a while, and began to laugh without asking the reason.

Liu Yun looked at this scene, and suddenly remembered the home left in another time and space, and it seemed that there were again the figures of his daughter Liu Qianhua and his wife Xiao Wen in front of him, he closed his eyes and shattered the image that was about to take shape. People who have abandoned the past and constantly miss the past are not only a betrayal of the present, but also an insult to the past.

Chun'er whispered in Liu Yun's ear, "Master, what do you think of this idea?" ”

"What?"

"The children of our two families, Mrs. Zhu and I both think it's very good, I don't know what Master Lu Dao means......

Liu Yun squatted down, hugged Yuchun and Gale Wind, pinched their little faces, and smiled, "Let it be." ”

At this time, a family member hurriedly ran over, bent down beside Liu Yun and said, "Report to the master, the prime minister and vice minister of the cabinet Wen Yi ask to see ......."

In the living room of Liu's mansion, Liu Yun asked all the maids of the family to step down and only meet Wen Yi with Zhu Tao.

Wen Yi was dressed in a black suit at this time, wearing a bow tie, the fake braids had already been thrown away, his hair was smooth and shiny, and he was combed back, holding a top hat in one hand and a civilized staff in the other, quite a European and American gentleman.

Liu Yun and Zhu Tao were dressed in generals' uniforms modeled after the German Army, with navy blue as the main tone, and a general's rank badge with golden tassels on their shoulders.

The collar was pinned with a golden dragon pin, a privilege of officers, with silver dragon trim on the cuffs, a silver unicorn on the outer belt buckle, and a glittering military cap in the middle of the two men's hands, which was the military emblem of 1891 - the golden coiling dragon.

The three of them omitted politeness, sat down around the Zhang square table, and poured tea by themselves, Liu Yun helped Wen Yi put away the top hat and civilization staff, and turned around and said: "Wen Yi, what news is there in the cabinet, come and hear it." ”

Wen Yi took a sip of tea and said slowly: "Today, I accompanied Premier Weng to the Senior Administration, and as soon as I entered the door, Tan Si and those people came up to make a fuss about opening the National Assembly this year, and the Prime Minister explained that it took a long time for them to calm down; Then there were the hereditary princes and nobles who protested against the clearing of the fields, and the prime minister said that such a thing went to the Supreme Court and sent them back; Next, I listened to Liang Qichao's speech, and he spoke for three hours, during which half of the aristocratic parliamentarians withdrew, the other half of the aristocratic parliamentarians dozed off, and some of the civilian parliamentarians applauded and some scolded...... I think it was really a correct and hopeless decision to recruit him into our Chinese People's Party

The Yuan was the product of the "preparatory constitution" of 1891, and it existed as the basis for the future National Assembly from the beginning, and there were two types of members: "elected by the people" and "appointed". "Elected Members", also known as "Civilian Members", have a total of 100 members, elected by the members of the provincial advisory bureaus and approved by the governors of each province. The "King James Councillor", also known as the "noble councilor", stipulates that the hereditary princes and nobles of the clan and foreign domains, as well as the military merit and merchant nobles who are rewarded according to the new title system, are also 100 according to the principle of reciprocity. Since the first annual meeting of the Senior Council was held in March 1892, Wen Yi and other cabinet members of the "Liu Yun system" began to recruit talented people among the members of the parliament, and after careful planning, the Chinese National Democratic Party, referred to as the Chinese People's Party, was established in January of the following year. By the time the Third Ordinary Session of the Senate was held in 1894, the KMT had 68 commoner members and 35 aristocratic members, and had gained the power to influence the overall situation in the Senate. At the same time, the KMT has also developed greatly at the local level, with its branches set up in provincial capitals, prefectures, and even county seats, and two-thirds of the country's provincial and regional advisory bureaus are controlled by Chinese Democratic Party members, and the other one-third of the provincial and regional advisory bureaus also have a certain number of Chinese Democratic Party members, and the goal of the Chinese People's Party is to gain absolute superiority in the National Assembly, which is scheduled to be held in 1896, so as to firmly hold power.

Liu Yun waited for Wen Yi to finish speaking, then took a folder, opened it and pushed it in front of Wen Yi: "This is this year's emergency military budget, you keep it for now, and when it happens, you will immediately submit it to the cabinet for discussion, and be sure to let the Senior Administration Yuan pass the bill to raise new taxes." ”

Wen Yi browsed through the past and nodded: "No problem, reduce government spending, suspend capital investment, and then impose new taxes on the wealthy class, issue war bonds, and launch fundraising by the Propaganda Department, this budget can still be raised." ”

Liu Yun said: "This is only within this year's plan, if the war does not go according to our plan and drags on until next year, or if our army suffers an accident, then there will be a new budget." ”

Wen Yi waved his hand: "You can rest assured that you will proceed according to your plan, there are a large group of brothers in our cabinet in terms of finance, so you don't have to worry about it." In addition, after four years of political and economic reform, although there are no fundamental changes, the country's material and financial resources are enough to support a modern army that is the largest in East Asia to fight a war of annihilation. ”

"The war to destroy the country? That's a good point, but I don't think it's necessarily about annexing territory and enslaving people, it's about gradually destroying the self-esteem and self-confidence of its citizens, controlling its economic lifeline, and making it culturally and economically completely subservient to us—"

"Never turn over."

Wen Yi interjected, Liu Yun nodded, and said: "So I think the result of this war is a treaty, no matter who wins or loses, it will depend on negotiation to finally solve the problem, if we win a big victory, then we must force the other party to sign a treaty that can give us the greatest benefit and damage the most to it." ”

"I'm sure your army can bring us this treaty." Wen Yi said.

"Do you want to take a look, I will go to Tianjin next Monday to inspect the Second Praetorian Guard Division, if you have time, come together." Liu Yundao.

"I'll take a look at ......" Wen Yi took out his memo and flipped through it, "There will be a meeting the day after tomorrow, it's not very important, so let's talk to Premier Weng, and I'll let you know if it's okay." ”

“OK。”

Tianjin Zizhulin Barracks.

The headquarters of the Second Janissary Division is located here, and in addition to the divisional headquarters and the officers' families, the barracks also houses the regiments directly under the division headquarters, with a total of nearly 9,000 officers and men.

As of April 30, 1894, in the Zhili Military District centered on Zhili Province, four Praetorian Guard Divisions (No. 1 to 4 Praetorian Guard Divisions), three Praetorian Guard brigades (Beijing Division Garrison Brigade, Praetorian Hussar Brigade, and Janissary Teaching Brigade), and two Praetorian Marine Corps (1st and 2nd Regiments) had been organized and completed. In addition, the standing army trained with reference to the Praetorian Guard has also grown to three divisions (the 1st to 3rd infantry divisions), of which the 1st and 2nd Infantry Divisions are stationed in the Liangjiang Military Region, and the 3rd Infantry Division is stationed in the Northeast Military Region.

The establishment of the Praetorian Guard Division was originally based on the standard of confronting the Japanese divisions, and striving to surpass the opponent in terms of firepower and logistical supply capacity under the same force conditions, but with the reform of the Qing army's establishment, the establishment of the Japanese army also underwent corresponding changes.

Take the 1st Janissary Division of the Qing Empire, which was formed in 1892 and is now full, as an example.

The 1st Praetorian Division consisted of the divisional headquarters, divisional teams and three Janissary Infantry Brigades (the 4th, 5th, and 6th Janissaries Brigades).

*Divisional teams include:

The divisional artillery regiment has five artillery battalions, three of which are equipped with German-made or French-made 150-mm heavy guns, two battalions are equipped with 75-mm field guns, and one guard infantry battalion, one baggage battalion, and one artillery reconnaissance company, with a total of 2,364 people in the regiment, equipped with 27 150-mm heavy guns and 36 75-mm field guns;

The Guards Regiment, the same ordinary infantry regiment, 1641 people in the whole regiment;

The cavalry regiment, the whole regiment is mobile with war horses, the establishment is similar to that of an ordinary infantry regiment, there is an additional war horse maintenance company, and the whole regiment has 1,659 people;

The baggage regiment has jurisdiction over three baggage battalions and a guard company, with a total of 1,180 people;

The Engineer Regiment has three engineer battalions and a guard company, with a total of 1,483 people;

The reconnaissance cavalry battalion has one more horse maintenance platoon than the ordinary infantry battalion, with a total of 432 people.

* The Praetorian Brigade consists of the brigade headquarters, the brigade directly subordinate to the brigade, and three Janissaries infantry regiments.

The brigade consists of:

The artillery battalion has three artillery companies, one guard platoon and one baggage platoon, with 255 people and 18 75mm mountain guns;

the Praetorian Battalion, the same ordinary infantry battalion, with a total of 426 people;

The baggage battalion has three baggage companies and a guard platoon, with a total of 352 people;

The engineer battalion has jurisdiction over three engineer companies and one special equipment company, with a total of 453 people;

The reconnaissance company, the same ordinary cavalry company, the whole company 110 people.

* The Praetorian Infantry Regiment consists of the regimental headquarters, the regimental direct subordinate team and three Janissary Infantry battalions.

The regimental teams include:

The artillery company has three artillery platoons, a total of 65 people, and is equipped with 6 57mm mountain guns;

The machine gun company has three machine gun platoons, a total of 65 people, and is equipped with 3 37 mm 10-barrel Grimm machine guns;

the guard company, the same ordinary infantry company, the whole company of 110 people;

The baggage company has jurisdiction over three baggage platoons, with a total of 101 people.

* The Praetorian Infantry Battalion consists of the battalion headquarters, the battalion directly subordinate to the battalion, and three Praetorian Infantry companies.

The battalion teams include:

Machine gun platoon: three machine gun squads, with a total platoon of 20 people, equipped with 7.92 mm Maxim machine guns or 3 ten-barreled Grimm machine guns;

Guard platoon: the same ordinary infantry platoon, the whole platoon is 32 people;

Baggage platoon: 32 members of the platoon, responsible for the delivery and distribution of supplies for the whole battalion.

* The Praetorian Infantry Company has three platoons of 10 men in each platoon, with 7.63 mm revolvers and 7.92 mm Mauser 88 rifles for soldiers. The platoon has a platoon commander and a communicator, both using revolvers, and the deputy platoon leader is a squad leader, with a total of 32 people in the platoon. The company headquarters consisted of a company commander and adjutant, 2 communicators, 5 snipers (using Austrian Manlisha rifles), 3 cooks, 1 medical officer, and 1 accountant. The company consisted of 110 men, including 105 combatants, and was armed with 90 Mauser rifles, 5 Manlisha sniper rifles, and 19 revolvers.

* Each Janissary Infantry Battalion had a total of 426 men, including 372 combatants, armed with 300 Mauser rifles, 15 Manlicia sniper rifles, 68 revolvers, and 3 Maxim machine guns or 10-barreled Grimm machine guns.

* Each Janissary Infantry Regiment had a total of 1,641 men, including 1,400 combatants, armed with 1,020 Mauser rifles, 53 Manlisha sniper rifles, 246 revolvers, 9 machine guns, 9 57-mm mountain guns, and 3 37-mm ten-barreled Grimm machine guns.

* The Praetorian Infantry Brigade has a total of 6,555 personnel, of which 4,981 are combatants (excluding engineer battalions, baggage battalions and brigade headquarters organs). The brigade was equipped with 3,510 Mauser rifles, 179 Manlicia sniper rifles, 30 machine guns, 27 57-mm mountain guns, 9 37-mm 10-barreled Grimm machine guns, and 18 75-mm mountain guns.

* The Janissaries Infantry Division has a total of 28,581 men, and the division is equipped with 12,750 Mauser rifles, 610 Manlisha sniper rifles, 99 Makqin or 10-barreled Grimm machine guns, 99 57-mm mountain guns, 33 37-mm 10-barreled Grimm machine guns, 54 75-mm mountain guns, 36 75-mm field howitzers, and 27 150-mm heavy howitzers. At this time, even the 1st Praetorian Guard Division and the Praetorian Teaching Brigade, the most elite in the country, did not fully meet this standard, and the average compliance rate of heavy equipment of other divisions and brigades was less than 25%: the 2nd Janissaries Division did not have 150 mm heavy guns, the divisional artillery regiment was only equipped with 24 75 mm field guns, and the whole division was only equipped with 35 machine guns, and the entire artillery of the 3rd Guards Division was equipped with 38 57 mm mountain guns and 17 75 mm mountain / field guns, without a single machine gun. The newly formed 4th Praetorian Division did not even have a single gun, not a single machine gun.

The combat effectiveness of the Standing Infantry Division of the Imperial Army was slightly inferior to that of the Janissary Division, and there was no cavalry regiment in the direct subordinate team of the division, and the artillery regiment was a four-battalion system, equipped with 36 75-mm mountain guns and 18 75-mm field guns. The brigade artillery battalion is equipped with 27 57-mm mountain guns, and the regimental artillery company and machine gun company are equipped with 37-mm 10-barreled Grimm machine guns, three in each company. The division has 26,536 men, equipped with 11,730 Mauser rifles, 557 Manlisya sniper rifles, 99 machine guns, 81 57-mm mountain guns, 66 37-mm ten-barreled Grimm machine guns, 36 75-mm mountain guns, and 18 75-mm field guns. At this time, the 1st Infantry Division, the most elite infantry division in the army's standing army, had less than 80 percent of its heavy equipment attainment rate, while the average heavy equipment compliance rate of other divisions and brigades was less than 35 percent, the 2nd and 3rd Infantry Divisions were completely unequipped with machine guns and multi-barrel rapid-fire machine guns, and the 3rd Division's entire artillery equipment was no more than 27 57-mm guns and 16 75-mm guns.

At the same time, the Japanese Army division was organized into a four-unit system, that is, the division had two brigades under its jurisdiction, two infantry wings under the brigade and regiment, and three infantry brigades under the jurisdiction of the infantry wing, four infantry squadrons under the brigade, one machine gun squadron (8 Maxim or 10-barreled Grimm heavy machine guns), three infantry squadrons under the jurisdiction of the infantry squadron, and three rifle groups under the jurisdiction of the infantry squadron. The division also had an artillery wing, a baggage wing, an engineer wing, a cavalry company (four cavalry squadrons and a machine gun squadron), and other units. The artillery wing has 36 75 mm field guns and 12 120 mm or 150 mm heavy howitzers, and the wing has a squadron of artillery (4 57 mm mountain guns) and a rapid-fire gun squadron (4 37 mm 10-barreled Green guns), with a total strength of 28,500 people, and the whole division is equipped with 104 machine guns, 16 37-mm ten-barreled Green guns, 24 57-mm mountain guns, 36 75-mm field guns, and 12 120-mm or 150-mm heavy guns. At this time, the Japanese army had a total of 6 standing divisions (1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th divisions) and 1 guards brigade, of which the 1st Guards Brigade and the 3rd and 5th divisions were the most elite, except for the number of machine guns in these three units only reached 50% of the quota, the other heavy weapons were completely up to standard, and the average compliance rate of heavy weapons in the remaining four divisions was about 40%, of which the number of machine guns in each division was only about 10% of the quota.

It can be seen from this that in the state of full strength, the heavy weapons and firepower of the Imperial Army Janissary Division is much higher than that of the Japanese division, and in terms of supply capacity, the Japanese division and regiment have established a baggage wing, while the Imperial Praetorian Guard Division has set up corresponding baggage units in brigades, regiments, and battalions in addition to a baggage regiment at the division level, and the continuous supply capacity is better than that of the Japanese army.

The Standing Infantry Divisions of the Imperial Army were inferior to the Japanese divisions in terms of the quantity and quality of long-range artillery, but they were superior to the Japanese in terms of quantity and quality of other heavy firepower, and their supply capacity was higher than that of the Japanese Janissaries.

At this time, Major General Zhong Xiahuo, commander of the Second Praetorian Guard Division, Lieutenant General Liu Yun, chief of the Imperial General Staff, Major General Wu Dingguo, director of the Training Division of the General Staff, and Wen Yi, vice minister of the cabinet, gathered in the meeting room of the division headquarters to drink tea and fruits, and discuss the exercise.

"Master Zhong, what program did you prepare for us this time?" Wen Yi asked as he sipped tea.

Zhong Xiahuo said: "How about the artillery live firing?" ”

Liu Yun said: "Old Zhong, this is your land, you can watch it, but we are not here to go through the motions, those virtual things will be avoided." ”

Zhong Xiahuo smiled: "How can it? I'm still a human being if I want to play tricks on you, so I'll arrange for the artillery regiment to prepare to go. ”

Zhong Xiahuo called the adjutant and gave him some advice, and then said to everyone: "Okay, the live ammunition shooting will start two hours later, and everyone will say, let's have lunch at the division headquarters first or go down to the troops to have a look?" ”

Liu Yun put on a military hat: "What kind of food to eat, go down to the army, this lunch will be solved at the grassroots level, what the soldiers eat, we will eat, okay?" ”

"The chief of the general staff has said, if there is anything that can't be done, then let's go, let's go to the cavalry regiment, and the meal will be served in half an hour, so let's inspect the food situation at the grassroots level." Zhong Xiahuo called the guards and was about to set off, when an officer of the intelligence department stationed in the division headquarters hurriedly walked in, holding a folder and said: "Report to the chief of the general staff, the intelligence department is in an emergency." ”

"Read."

"Yuan Shikai sent an urgent telegram today, saying that the Donghakdo Rebellion had captured Jeonju, the capital of Jeolla Province, on June 5, and the Korean Janissaries who went to the rescue had suffered heavy losses, and the King of Korea had sent an envoy to Yuan to discuss the matter of China sending troops to quell the rebellion, and Yuan asked the government for clear instructions. Today, the Cabinet is holding an emergency meeting to discuss this matter, and it is hoped that the chief of the General Staff will return to Beijing as soon as possible so that he can make plans. Director of the Intelligence Division of the General Staff, Zhu Taoshang, June 7, 20th year of Guangxu. ”

Liu Yun nodded: "Zhilu Dao, you go down." ”

Wen Yi patted Zhong Xiahuo on the shoulder: "This live-fire exercise is not worth watching, but your artillery will soon perform on the battlefield for us, for the people of the whole country, and for the whole world. ”