New Shun 1730

"Oh...it's OK if the general doesn't know the soldiers."

The emperor repeated Liu Yu's words as if he was talking to himself, seemingly unintentionally.

This general who doesn't know the soldiers doesn't mean to just grab anyone to be the chief general. Liu Yu's intention has always been to carry out military reform, unify the military training, and establish military schools for officers from various departments.

The chief general must also study in the military school, but due to the emperor's trust and other issues, he must be selected from the nobles or the Dragon Forbidden.

The situation of the Qingzhou Army is very special. According to the name of the previous dynasty, it can be called the Liu Family Army.

The training, salary payment, and the appointment of reserve officers are all presided over by Liu Yu.

If the Qingzhou Army can change the chief general and still maintain its combat effectiveness, then the subsequent military reform can definitely be done as Liu Yu said before.

The emperor knew that Liu Yu's intention to take the initiative to find the deputy general was much deeper than Li Jiu's thoughts, because the emperor has always been convinced that Liu Yu did not take the threat on land seriously at all, but was always thinking about Nanyang.

If the question just now was not a test at all, it was not entirely true. But if you say that there is really no idea of ​​recruiting talents regardless of their background, that is also heartbreaking.

The emperor was really anxious about the Junggar incident.

Seeing that he was almost forty years old, if he didn't even have an Anxi Protectorate, how could he compare himself with Li Tang?

The incident of Luosha Kingdom, along with the official visit of Duke Qi, also made the emperor worried.

Li Gan was somewhat confident, but looking at the dynasties, no one dared to guarantee the future descendants.

If Luosha Kingdom produced a few more wise rulers like Peter in the future, and Dashun produced a few foolish people, then the Western Regions would really be unprotected.

Li Gan admired Peter very much.

This admiration was inseparable from the rumors spread by the Poles.

The Poles forged a will of Peter I, which clearly showed Peter's ambition and Russia's ambition.

France, as a traditional ally of Turkey at this time, printed a large number of Peter's wills forged by the Poles.

The relationship between France and Dashun, coupled with Li Gan's concerns about Luocha, made this ambitious will spread by the Polish rumors come to Li Gan's hands smoothly.

Although he was obviously ambitious, as an emperor, he had a sense of heroism.

Russia's feet were too deep in the affairs of the Western Regions. Li Gan was really afraid that Russia would produce a few more Peters, and the Western Regions would definitely be in chaos in the future.

The visit of Duke Qi also brought news of the Russian coup. A woman who married a foreigner without any foundation dissolved the Privy Council overnight and successfully seized power.

Although Anna I was just average, it was not clear at this time.

This coup made Li Gan exclaim whether Luocha would produce another female Peter?

Liu Yu said that his training methods were learned from the Western Yi. After Li Jiusi returned from Weihai, he praised the Qingzhou Army, which made Li Gan even more worried.

Although Liu Yu talked about integrating Chinese and Western forces to achieve victory all day, he felt that even if the Western army was better than the original, it should not be underestimated.

According to the report sent by the Duke of Qi, the regular army of Luosha was not at the level of the Cossacks on the Heilongjiang River, but most of them had been equipped with flintlock rifles and bayonets.

In order to have a direct comparison, Li Gan also asked Li Jiusi a very heavy question.

If the Qingzhou army and the Beijing camp were facing each other, with similar forces, could the Duke of E be sure to win?

Li Jiusi was silent for a long time at that time, and gave a very cautious answer: If they were to fight in the field, he had no confidence in winning.

This shocked Li Gan deeply. Even though he believed in Liu Yu's words before, he had never given such a direct comparison answer.

With this direct comparison, Liu Yu's memorial of "please arrange a deputy general" had a different explanation.

"In your opinion, is Long Jin better as the deputy general? Or is Xun Wei better?"

"I think... Xun Wei."

"Why?"

"Your Majesty, do you want to see the most capable army in the world, with all officers from good families?"

Li Gan glanced at Liu Yu, with a half-smile on his face.

Just as civil officials are not monolithic, and nobles are not monolithic, Li Gan is sure that Liu Yu did not say that Xun Wei should be the deputy general because he was born as a son of a noble.

The most capable army in the world, with all officers from good families...this is also what the emperor does not want to see.

"I think we should open more military schools and select more talents as officers. The textbooks of military schools should be changed. Even if the students of Wude Palace who come from good families learn practical knowledge, there is still some gap between what the new army needs to learn. In the short term, it is natural to use good families as grassroots officers, but Your Majesty must consider the future. Open more schools, teach practical knowledge, select officers, and dilute the good families. Temporarily, the nobles will be in charge of the army and the good families will be the captains."

"The children of the nobles can start at a higher level. After completing their studies, they can be the chief officers of the battalion regiment, familiar with military affairs, and can be assigned to the army at will in the future."

"Military schools will recruit, select and assess according to their levels, and serve as company-level chief officers. In the short term, we rely on good families, after all, what they learn is more useful; in the long run, we still have to take the path of "imperial examinations" and open schools. As long as they can become officials, whether civil or military, everyone is willing to come."

"Soldiers are mainly recruited and trained in a centralized manner."

"Training, generals, captains, military law and military pay are separated."

"I am not being ashamed of my words. If I were to propose a test to select artillery officers, not a single one would be qualified. In the end, they would have to learn it all over again. Those who came from the Butoku Palace just learned it easier. But in fact, the things they learned are really It only takes five or six years to learn something useful. If you open a new school, it only takes five or six years, so you don't have to rely entirely on Liangjiazi."

These words are really not meant to scare Li Gan.

In a few years, the French artillery officer examination will require a later level of high school mathematics and mechanics, plus a preliminary foundation in calculus.

If you are a naval artillery officer, you will also need to take additional tests on spherical geometry and navigation.

The gap is getting wider and wider, and now we can only catch up.

The foundation laid by Wu Degong and Ying Xue Sanshe Fa is very good, but there are also many useless things learned.

If a new type of school were to be opened, the biggest problem would be that after studying, one would not be able to take the imperial examination or become an official, and no one would be willing to study.

The test of Wude Palace requires horseback riding, marksmanship, and strategy.

The poor are rich in literature and martial arts, and ordinary families cannot afford to study or pass the exams. Wealthy households who were able to study outside their jobs were more willing to take the imperial examination and become high-ranking officials.

Artillery and navy are technical branches, so of course they need to be studied in depth.

However, what infantry officers at the battalion and company level have to learn is very simple. If the military can be reformed and Xue Shixue has a way to become an official other than the imperial examination, this will undoubtedly help to promote it.

Liu Yu was originally prepared to get rid of the privileged and good family members. It's just that there is a shortage of officers for military training, so it is too late to train them from scratch, starting from teaching literacy, geometry, and arithmetic.

On the one hand, it is a plan in advance, and on the other hand, it is also to instigate conflicts between Liangjiazi and ordinary school students in the future.

Now that the emperor asked this question, he just said it.

We don't dare to take the imperial examination lightly, so we can only compromise like this. At worst, all the science students in the new school will become military officers. At least they will have a useful path after studying.

Otherwise, if you study hard and cannot become an official, who will learn new knowledge? Utilitarianism, of course, is utilitarian. How many people in the world, ancient and modern, at home and abroad, study purely for the purpose of acquiring knowledge?

Li Gan knew the military songs compiled by Liu Yu, and also knew that Liu Yu had always believed that the new army did not need Guan Zhang, who was the most brave among the three armies, as generals. Instead, he believed that company-level officers should be able to read and count.

Listening to what Liu Yu said, Li Gan knew that Liu Yu had a complete system and ideas for future military reforms, and that he was not an isolated Qingzhou army.

In other words, anyone can train the new army in the future as long as they follow the steps step by step, not Liu Yu.

These words made Li Gan feel at ease, and he was also very satisfied that Liu Yu knew how to advance and retreat. Our original commitment remains unchanged, and we have never forgotten the idea that "a general can fight even if he doesn't know how to fight". This is how we can serve the country's long-term interests.

Liu Yu suggested that Xun Wei serve as deputy general. This idea coincided with Li Gan's, and he also thought about it in a check and balance manner.

Now that it was Liu Yu who brought it up, Li Gan nodded and said: "You are right. The matter of opening a school will be discussed after the decision is made. I also think that the deputy general should be appointed as an honorary guard. The British Duke's direct grandson is better than you. If he is a little older, let him serve as deputy general. What do you think?"

Of course Liu Yu recognized the British Duke's direct grandson. A few years older than Liu Yu, he has been working as an honorary guard in the capital, and he is also a member of the honorable circle.

Liu Yu thought that maybe the emperor felt that the British father was old and his son was not in charge, but his grandson was still okay, so it was considered a treatment for an old minister.

This person had a blank slate and had no experience on the front line. He had only served as a guard in the capital, so he was considered a suitable candidate.

When choosing a lieutenant general to take over in the future, the cleaner the paper, the better.

The old experience and the old system are completely inconsistent with the Qingzhou Army. Both of them are noble sons, and Liu Yu has military exploits, so he can suppress them.

Liu Yu didn't care too much about this matter. The emperor could choose whoever he wanted, so he said: "Your Majesty has a candidate, I just need to obey your orders. It's just... uh... the matter of Jinghai Palace's official school and navy..."

Li Gan laughed and thought to himself, Liu Yu, Liu Yu, what you really care about most is the threat from the East China Sea. It seems that what E Guogong said is true. You are very confident in the Qingzhou Army and really don't care about the Junggar tribe. It is a good thing to have such thoughts.

"As soon as the war in the northwest begins, I will let your father Yi Guogong temporarily take charge of the affairs of Jinghai Palace and the navy. The navy has just been built, and I don't want it to be ruined. You don't have to worry. Since you are loyal to the country, I will naturally I can trust you. Mr. Yi has not been out of the capital for many years, so he just needs to do something to stretch his muscles. You don’t have to do anything.”

This was indeed a great trust. Liu Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Since his family was responsible, he didn't have to worry about someone ruining the fledgling navy.

The staff at Liu Yu's side are all too junior to be able to make it to the stage. According to the rules of this dynasty, how can a group of people who have not even passed the Wude Palace directly take care of such a huge matter? What do you think of those who have been admitted to the Wude Palace and those who have entered the Shangshe?

If it were anyone else, the emperor would be really afraid of causing trouble. Then I thought that Yi Guogong Liu Sheng was a suitable candidate.

This can be regarded as a kind of reciprocation. Since Liu Yu has never been selfish and has long wanted to hand over the Qingzhou Army, the emperor must also express his due trust.

After Liu Yu thanked him, he took advantage of the situation and said: "Back to Your Majesty, there is another matter. I have transported back this year's dividends from the internal funds, a total of 130,000 taels. The two warships are also the dividends from your Majesty's internal funds, but it is a pity that they cannot be transported. It cannot be shown to His Majesty.”

Li Gan was startled, then said: "Didn't I say that? I trust you. You send this silver to the capital, and then I will send it back to Weihai. It's really unnecessary."

Having said that, he was very happy in his heart. Thinking about the shareholding system that Liu Yu had mentioned before, he smiled and said: "Forget it, since it has been transported, I will find someone to send it back. The accounts are clear, and I have also read them. I also know that if it is government-run or imitated the 24 prisons of the previous dynasty, there will be trouble. Merchants value profit, just keep a close eye on it and don't make some big mistakes that are detrimental to people's livelihood and national affairs. But you gave My treasury silver has been given a pseudonym, Long Aotian... Oh, how vulgar."

"It is precisely because of this that I have asked Duke Yiguo to temporarily take charge of the navy. This matter will damage the reputation of the royal family and must not be made public. As for the establishment of the Maritime Chamber of Commerce and the stock exchange in Songjiang and the collection of stamp duties, I have also selected the people."

"The navy's expenses are all paid from this. Before the troops are dispatched next year, you should arrange all this. Don't let the war in the northwest delay the construction of the navy. Those silvers will be temporarily stored in the treasury, and I will send people to escort them to Weihai in a few days."