Zeng Guofan said: "Hongyi, are all the drills of all the soldiers under your command using real guns and live ammunition to shoot targets?" ”

Li Zhen nodded and said: "Naturally, it is to use live ammunition to operate, only in this way can the soldiers not be in a hurry when they arrive on the battlefield, and they will not be messed up into a pot of porridge."

Zeng Guofan asked again: "How many soldiers are there in the Hongyi Army?" ”

Li Zhen replied: "There are currently 10,000 people!" ”

The corners of Zeng Guofan's mouth twitched slightly, and he swallowed his saliva, frightened by the number Li Zhen said.

If it were an ordinary 10,000 soldiers, he could also provide for it.

But according to Li Zhen's training method, the consumption of 10,000 people is definitely a huge amount of money. Zeng Guofan said slowly: "It is already a lot of expenses to provide 10,000 people with food and food, in addition, to maintain the normal development of the army, there are also miscellaneous expenses, after all these expenses are calculated, it is already a lot of money. ”

After a pause, Zeng Guofan continued: "This amount of money is already small compared to 10,000 soldiers using real guns and live ammunition for shooting practice. Hongyi, if you want to maintain the weapons needed by the soldiers in the army, can you support it only by the taxes of Guangdong, or by the money received by the gentry? ”

Li Zhen shook his head and said, "Brother Bohan, I don't rely on taxes and gentry fundraising. They are willing to give, it is the icing on the cake, and I am happy to take it. If you don't want to give, I don't force it, I have money anyway. ”

Li Hongzhang asked: "Dare to ask Hongyi, how to make money?" ”

Li Zhen said: "As long as you have brains, you can make money anywhere." You can do business from business, or you can find another way. Doing business is only a small income, and my income comes more from foreigners. Both Guangdong and Shanghai are close to the sea, and I often intercept foreign merchant ships, and I have gained a lot of money. Moreover, in order not to be intercepted, some foreign businessmen have to pay money every month, so there is a steady stream of money into their pockets. Foreigners are so rich, it's a pity not to draw blood from foreigners. ”

Li Zhen was purely fooling the two of them, and did not say the way to make money.

After Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang heard this, they looked surprised.

This guy is really bold!

This kind of method is something that Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang can't learn. The two of them could only keep this idea in their hearts, and they had to consider money from more aspects, so that they could have more money to ensure the supply of weapons for the army.

The drill of the soldiers' guns, Zeng Guofan and others did not watch it for too long.

Soon, the group returned to the big tent of the Chinese army.

The guest and host sat down, and Zeng Guofan took the lead in saying: "Hongyi, this time watching has opened my eyes." Judging from the training methods of the soldiers in your army, it is indeed second to none in the country, no one can use real guns and live ammunition to practice, and no one can have great masters like Yang Luchan and Dong Haichuan to train soldiers. What's more, I see a fairly thorough reform in your army, which can already be called a new army. ”

Li Hongzhang nodded and said, "I agree with the teacher's statement, Hongyi's army reform is very thorough. It's not just the change of title, but also the military ranks, and the clothes of the soldiers. The new uniforms were worn on the body and the fighting spirit was high, and the soldiers appeared more energetic. Not only that, but the atmosphere in the Hongyi Virtuous Army's army has changed, and it is completely different from the rest of the army. After I go back, I will definitely learn from Brother Hongyi and strive to build a new army in a short time. ”

Li Zhen said: "Brother Bohan, Brother Shaoquan, praise falsely. I'm just learning Western things, you can see more, learn more, and I believe you can find more ways to strengthen the country and the army. In fact, Li Zhen's words were obviously incorrect, in order to guide the two, so Li Zhen said to learn from Westerners.

Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang nodded in response, taking Li Zhen's words to heart.

In the next few days, Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang exchanged views with Li Zhen to discuss military training and the situation in the DPRK and China. Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang are ** lake veterans with rich experience, and Zeng Guofan's life and knowledge are first-class, Li Zhen naturally will not let go of this great opportunity.

After some consultation, Li Zhen benefited a lot.

Moreover, Li Zhen, Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guofan are all Hanchen, and talked about Hanchen's current situation. In fact, except for Li Zhen, a Hanchen in the court, who has great military power, the rest of the Hanchen do not have this treatment, and they are all unsuccessful group training. Historically, in the Xianfeng Dynasty, none of the Hanchen could control the real power of the place, and all of them were the children of the Eight Banners.

Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, Peng Yulin, Zuo Zongtang and a number of powerful local officials were all suppressed during the Xianfeng period, and they did not get any real power. Just as Zeng Guofan got the official position of governor of Hubei because of his meritorious service, he has already gained real power. However, seven days later, Zeng Guofan's rights were deprived of his rights and became a fictitious title of a military squire, without any real power.

The rise of Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang and others was all after Xianfeng's death.

Because Xianfeng's son Emperor Tongzhi was young, there was a fight in the court, Cixi and Prince Gong and others needed to cultivate strength, and they also had to deal with the eight auxiliary ministers, and they were also facing the threat of banditry, so with the opportunity to rise up a group of Hanchen such as Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang, they could quickly become important ministers in the late Qing Dynasty.

I have to say that Li Zhen's luck is better than the two of them and he has won Xianfeng's trust. Of course, this also has something to do with Li Zhen's background in the army, because Li Zhen is a person without any background in the scholar clan, a smooth person, without family constraints, it is easier to obey Xianfeng's orders. In addition, Li Zhen was picked up by Xianfeng, so he has Xianfeng's weight.

Zeng Guofan and his entourage stayed in Jiangbei camp for five days, and then said goodbye and left. In the past few days, the relationship between Li Zhen, Zeng Guofan, and Li Hongzhang has developed by leaps and bounds, to the point of being called brothers. No matter what happens in the future, at least in this short period of time, Li Zhen has gained the trust of the two through his own efforts.

……

At the end of August of the fifth year of Xianfeng, the city of Beijing had cooled down.

Forbidden City, Chuxiu Palace.

On the bed in the backyard bedroom, a woman is half-lying on the bed, her eyes closed. This woman's melon seed face is petite and exquisite, and she looks like a heavenly country, with a faint smile on her ruddy face. He reached out and touched his slightly pregnant belly, and his face showed kindness. If Li Zhen was here, he would recognize this woman as the concubine who received him at the beginning.

This woman is the Empress Dowager Cixi, who controlled the Manchu Dynasty for half a century.

At this time, Cixi was just a newly pregnant concubine. Because Cixi was favored by Xianfeng, her status in the palace has steadily improved, and she is already an important role in the palace. In addition, Xianfeng has been on the throne for five years, but none of his sons have spoken out, and he is quite anxious, so after Cixi became pregnant, Xianfeng almost moved to Chuxiu Palace to live.

ps: The third shift, call it a day;