afterglow

Chapter 552: A small disturbance; if you don’t eat meat, how can you rejuvenate the country?

Zhou Changfeng took the telegram and browsed through it, "Go back and report on your work? This place has just started, how can anyone make a report right from the beginning?"

The message was unclear and he couldn't explain the reason. He felt that something was wrong. "Call back and say that I am temporarily unavailable. Military training is a major military matter. It makes sense to report on the work after the results are achieved."

As he felt, this time the report in Beijing was just a pretense.

At first, when Mr. Zhou volunteered to personally select the training center and host the intensive practical training, everyone didn’t take it seriously. However, they never thought that things that should have been ordinary were actually found to have many faults by Mr. Zhou!
The most troublesome thing is that this guy didn't communicate privately, but directly reported directly and openly, and the upward official document pointing out a series of omissions and problems was sent to the Ministry of War.

Once an official document is issued, it will definitely be kept on file. The Ministry of War, the General Affairs Department, and the palace must keep files. This means that these matters are completely put on the table and can only be handled in a business-like manner, without any room for maneuver.

Moreover, it is not only the Guangdong Dusi and several military preparation departments that need to bear the responsibility, but also the Military Supplies Department and the Military Training Department of the Ministry of War.

The Munitions Department has a certain responsibility for failing to provide sufficient training equipment in a timely manner; the Military Training Department also has a responsibility for failing to coordinate and resolve difficulties and ensure the smooth completion of training for the 107th and 108th Divisions.

The emperor was unhappy, the cabinet was dissatisfied, and the governor-general was even more angry, claiming that such neglect of military and state affairs was a serious mistake that he could not escape the blame for.

What added fuel to the fire was that these things were leaked out, and the major newspapers were very well informed. Although it didn't make the front page headlines, it quickly became a hot topic.

There are only so many positions in government agencies at all levels. They are like carrots and holes. How many people are watching at the same time, just waiting for the opportunity to grab the pigtails. If something goes wrong, they will immediately be "sieged".

Everyone in the Governor's Mansion was enjoying watching the show. It was obvious that everyone was dissatisfied with these guys from the Ministry of War who were always haggling over things.

Therefore, the anxious military officials rushed to generate electricity in an attempt to bring the giant Buddha back to Beijing. Once someone from Zhou returned to Beijing, they tried every means to keep him and delay the time until the military inspection team set off.

Zhou Changfeng was undoubtedly successful in this regard - he unknowingly messed up part of the Ming Dynasty's civil service system.

With that said, Zhu Lingjing slowly stood up and stretched.

"When you say that, I find it quite scary."

"how you said that?"

Now that it's over, many people's careers will be affected.

Those who find it troublesome may stay at the joint training camp, but most people will go to Yazhou City for a stroll, and some even take the train to Qiongzhou together.

In the east room of Zhaoren Hall, Su Yiyi said while placing files on the bookshelf: "I don't know whether Zhou Taizhao did it intentionally or not, but something happened again..."

"He doesn't care so much." Zhu Lingjing, who was leaning on the chair, fiddled with her fingernails and said nonchalantly: "Maybe he knows what's appropriate. He has a very quick mind."

Zhou Changfeng was dismissive of changes in the outside world. He didn't care at all how many people's careers would be frustrated. The major omissions in recruiting troops during the war must be properly resolved, not to mention that public opinion and the army were applauding.

At this time he was finally able to empathize with the officers of these newly formed infantry divisions.

"Why not? It's a lot easier to be consistent."

"Isn't this bad?"

The high-intensity training made the officers and soldiers exhausted physically and mentally, so Zhou Changfeng prescribed a special two-day vacation.

Su Yiyi smiled awkwardly and said: "Well... I used to think that Zhou Taizhao was the kind of informal and outspoken person, but gradually I felt that it was not like that..."

Day and night alternate, and a few days fly by.

Zhu Lingjing raised her eyes and glanced at her, and said in a nonchalant manner: "Are you trying to say that I thought he was simple-minded before and now I find it different? Isn't there a big gap? No, I've told you before, he is very smart. "

The Staff Office of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion also made a special call to the Qiongya Joint Training Camp - signed by Cheng Han, a colleague of the Staff Office, saying that all fronts are now stable, there is no rush, and troops can be trained calmly and peacefully.

What worries Zhou Changfeng is that the morale of the conscripts is really low, so much so that the intensive practical training has been conducted in the past few days and has caused great distress.

Many conscripts are in a state of confusion and confusion - Wang Shi has fought and won several battles, why is he forcing us to serve?

There is neither the motivation of hatred between the country and the family nor the fanaticism of militarism. Most people just want to live their own small lives in peace and contentment.

"Should mobilization and propaganda also be under our control? What do those literati do for a living? The pen can't even play its due role? Can't even draw a cake?" Zhou Changfeng couldn't help complaining about this phenomenon.

However, this is actually a bit difficult for the propaganda machine, because the war between China, Britain and the United States is essentially a competition for interests between the great powers, and it is really not easy to exaggerate emotions. This is much more difficult than propagating that justice will defeat evil in history.

The good news is that the British and American propaganda machines faced the same predicament as the Ming Dynasty. The American officers and soldiers captured by the Ming army also had poor morale. Without the desire for revenge after being attacked in history, the mood of the American people and the army was relatively calm. .

Thinking of this, Zhou Changfeng wasn't that worried anymore. As long as everything could be done on the same starting line, there wouldn't be any difficulty.

However, in order to boost morale as much as possible, he still took great pains to tell a grand narrative and vigorously promote the bright future of establishing a successful career; then he applied for additional funds to improve food.

The Ministry of War, which had always been stingy, was afraid of neglecting Zhou, so it allocated funds unexpectedly quickly.

Zhou asked that all this money be used to purchase ingredients, focusing on eggs, cooking oil, and various meats. These are the things that can best enhance the happiness and satisfaction of grassroots soldiers.

As a populous country with limited industrialization, the animal husbandry industry does not have the unique advantages of Argentina. Therefore, although ordinary people in the Ming Dynasty are basically free from hunger, meat and fish are still a rare delicacy in daily life.

In order to prevent embezzlement and corruption, Zhou Changfeng specially ordered the Guangdong Procuratorate to send a team of officials, and also found some newspaper reporters and student representatives to form a hodgepodge inspection team.

He even said harsh words - behead him if caught. Instead of going through the process, he would shoot himself to see who dared to take care of him in the end.

It may be that Mr. Zhou's intimidation power cannot be underestimated, or it may be that cunning reporters are so pervasive that there are no flaws in the procurement stage for the time being.

Tons of rapeseed oil, peanut oil, palm oil, Zhanjiang chicken, Wenchang chicken, large white pig, and Yorkshire pig were transported to the Sanya Naval Base via military trains.

How significantly has the food improved? There are not enough whetstones in the cooking units.

It is worth mentioning that nowadays, pigs in the north and south of the Ming Dynasty are "changing breeds" rapidly and imperceptibly. Almost all breeding farms choose white pigs, and black pigs can gradually only be seen in rural areas.

China's native black pigs have excellent taste, but the growth cycle is too long, often taking 9 to 10 months to be ready for slaughter, while white pigs only need 5 to 6 months to be ready for slaughter. Therefore, in later generations, the native black pigs were almost extinct in order to meet the growing demand.

The introduction of British Yorkshire pigs to improve local black pigs was an important instruction issued by the imperial court at that time, and it was also vigorously promoted by Zhu Shiyan himself.

Just like how you can make a country rich and strengthen its army without smelting copper, how can you strengthen your body without eating meat?

If I don’t raise pigs, how can I rejuvenate the country? Zhou Changfeng wrote this in a letter home to his wife: "I am really worried about military training, being a father and a mother at the same time, and I feel that I have broken my heart for the country..."

He was thinking that he should give himself a day off. It happened that Ouyang Zhanghua had finished his inspection in Hangzhou and was inviting Zhou to a banquet in Qiongzhou. The latter happily agreed.

The next day.

It was only dawn, and Qiongzhou had already woken up from last night's sleep.

Wisps of black smoke floated up and disappeared into the blue sky.

The slender train ferry carried five or six military train carriages from the north of the Qiongzhou Strait. The dock was crowded with people. Workers coming and going, trucks with roaring engines, and steaming locomotives formed a busy picture.

In addition to the many employees who got up early to go to work, there were also many drunken soldiers in twos and threes on the street.

These are soldiers returning home on leave, which is allowed every nine months if deployed overseas during wartime.

If you choose to return to your home country, the vacation will be ten days from the day you set foot on the country; if you choose to go to Xingzhou, Old Port, Batavia, etc., the vacation will be extended to fifteen days.

Many soldiers still feel that returning to their homeland is more cordial. Some of the more playful and unmarried soldiers are unwilling to go home and simply stay there for ten days.

At the beginning, everyone had no experience. The soldiers who returned from vacation complained that the prices in Guangzhou and Dagu were too expensive, and even the goods were wrong. As a result, more and more people chose Qiongzhou and Quanzhou, which were rumored to be of high quality and low price.

As volunteers, professional soldiers often take life and death very broadly. A few of them may still have illusions and plan carefully to save money for the rest of their lives. However, after being tempered by blood and fire, this illusion has disappeared.

Bullets have no eyes, and God knows when it will be on the road to death, so it is better to enjoy it in time.

Therefore, many soldiers would squander a few months' salary, eating hot and spicy food, and doing whatever they wanted in the fireworks alley. Some people even hold the concept that if a person dies, a bird will look up to the sky, or if he or she will live forever, they feel that it is very unlucky to save money carefully.

The local military police and police will not and dare not make things difficult for these soldiers who finally returned home for vacation. As long as they do not break the law or violate discipline, everything will be fine.

Submarine soldiers have an even more transcendent status. The order received by the local military police is - if they see an unshaven and crazy naval soldier, then there is a high probability that it is a submarine soldier who has just returned. After asking for confirmation and saluting, just stay away.

After Zhou Changfeng got off the plane, he drove to the designated location. He saw many drunken soldiers along the way. He couldn't help but wonder why Qiongzhou has become the first choice for returning home for vacation.

Passing through the downtown area on the way, looking at the bustling streets, a sense of peace and tranquility emerged in his heart, but it soon turned into a trace of worry.

There are leisurely people coming and going, and the streets are dotted with vendors selling sundries and handicrafts, as far as the eye can see.

Young men and women were holding hands and talking about love, and middle-aged women were bargaining with vegetable baskets... The rationing system didn't seem to bring any negative effects to them.

The banquet place chosen by Ouyang Zhanghua is called Chenxing Tower. It is located at the end of a street in the west of Qiongzhou City. It is quite secluded. This restaurant mainly sells Yunnan and Cantonese cuisine, and also has Hunan cuisine, but its cooking skills are not good.

After getting off the off-road vehicle, the soldiers on two sidecar motorcycles quickly lined up and stood guard.

Zhou Changfeng, who was dressed in blue and gray uniform, reached out and picked up his saber, then crossed the threshold with the knife.

A woman with a very good figure came up to him with a smile, "Oh my God, is this General Zhou? Seeing is believing, this is much more handsome than the one in the newspaper. I am Wen Fang, the shopkeeper of our store."

Zhou Changfeng glanced at her, "Where are General Ouyang?"

"Their group is in the private room at the back. Oops, I really didn't expect it. Senior Ouyang said that a distinguished guest would come back today. I was wondering who it would be. It's really exciting."

"To put it bluntly, it doesn't mean it won't happen."

The private rooms in Chenxing Tower are at the back of the entire courtyard, relatively independent, and can only be reached through an elegant corridor.

Zhou Changfeng noticed that the security here was quite tight. There were military police guarding the area not far away. It could be said that there were three steps, one post, five steps and one sentry.

Along the way, a beautiful girl who was traveling with him kept trying to open up the topic, trying to talk a few words with Zhou Changfeng.

It can be said that Zhou's arrival has greatly attracted their interest. After all, this is a young general with outstanding achievements who only exists in newspapers.

Wenfang thought she was well-informed, but she had never seen a cat that didn't eat fishy food. They all said that it was difficult for a hero to be a beauty. She really wanted to see it today - it could be said to be a different kind of bad taste.

The girl in the front left also has a good figure. She is wearing a very thin pink shirt and skirt, and her white thighs are hidden and exposed when she walks up the stairs.

Zhou Changfeng, who was following behind, curled his lips, shook his head slightly, quickened his pace and strode past her, straight to the second floor.

"General Zhou is really calm. He is indifferent even if someone offers himself a pillow. It is indeed extraordinary." Wen Fang said without hesitation.

"Well...it's mainly because my wife is so strict. I'm afraid of her."

In response to Zhou Changfeng's humorous rejection, Wen Fang just smiled slightly and immediately found herself at the foot of the stairs, "Is a talent like General Zhou that is hard to find in the country also afraid of henpecks? It is really an interesting story. Hey, it is a great blessing to be able to sleep with you. Yes, I really envy your lady."

"Actually, it's more about fate."

As soon as he entered the door, Zhou Changfeng was surprised to find that there was another person besides Ouyang Zhanghua in the private room. Both of them were drinking tea, smoking cigarettes and chatting happily.

"Oh? Finally here?"

"Yeah, the plane encountered cumulonimbus clouds and made a big circle."

"This is from the Admiral's Office of the Eastern Fleet." Ouyang Zhanghua pointed at the colonel wearing glasses beside him and introduced with a smile: "He has many ideas for dealing with submarines."

The colonel stood up straight, cupped his fists and saluted, "I'm Zou Yongxia, I've seen Zhou Daizhao."

After chatting for a while, Ouyang Zhanghua announced that the banquet was open and invited Zhou to eat and drink.

Various dishes were served like flowing water, and a dozen young women in light shirts and skirts filed in holding various musical instruments, and they all started to play music.

"I didn't expect Senior Ouyang to be so elegant." Zhou Changfeng couldn't laugh or cry, and turned to say seriously: "How is the Yinghuo? Have the causes and consequences of the fleet's shipwreck been found out?"

"The Yinghuo is fine for the time being, and the damage is not serious. It suddenly encountered a strong wind... It was unexpected, and it was much worse than the weather forecast."

(End of this chapter)