Chapter 36 Huai Army
Chapter 36 Huai Army
Lord Qiao cared about his subordinates and allowed Shao Quanzhong to propose any conditions he wanted. It was just a polite remark. Who would have thought that Shao Quanzhong would actually order a third-rank official of the court to do things for him.
Qiao Songnian was stunned at the time. This kid was trying to climb up the ladder. He was definitely not someone who could be taken lightly.
Thinking of his own grand ambitions, and the fact that he had to rely on this boy who knew how to train foreign soldiers, the displeasure on his face flashed away, and he stared at Shao Quanzhong with a smile, "Which great talent do you want me to invite in person?"
Shao Quanzhong saw that Lord Qiao was unhappy, but he pretended not to notice and expressed his grievances.
"Sir, four years ago, there was a severe drought in central Jiangsu, and I was forced to leave my hometown and go out to beg for food. My parents and younger brothers were able to survive thanks to your relief at that time.
Now I am leading the team under your command, and all I think about day and night is how to repay your kindness, Lord Qiao.
This time, I led people to suppress the bandits, but we fought against only a mob. I feel extremely ashamed to receive your generous reward, sir.
The Lord asked Lord Wu to supervise the militia training. It is to deal with the Guangdong bandits and the Nian bandits, not these bandits.
If we want to fight against the Guangdong bandits, we must have artillery. I want to invite an artillery expert from the Qing Dynasty."
Qiao Songnian was in a good mood immediately. Providing relief to the victims of the Jiangsu earthquake four years ago was the proudest achievement of his life. Shao Quanzhong still remembered it and was grateful, which made him worthy of the name of a righteous man.
A militia with only 300 people needs to be equipped with cannons. This means the militia needs to be expanded. Xiao Shao and I have the same idea, and it is exactly what I want. I will help with this.
"As far as I know, the artillery of the Qing Dynasty is not good enough. We will have to equip ourselves with foreign artillery in the future. Shouldn't we directly ask foreigners to teach us?"
"Your Excellency is wise. We must buy foreign cannons and hire foreign instructors, but it would be best if we had our own close friends to lead the battle. That would be more convenient.
I dare to ask you to offer a formal position to recruit this great man."
"Oh wow, you are so bold. You are not even an official yet, but you want me to use my official position to recruit talented people. Will they listen to you then?"
"The militia is your armed force. I just want to train them to be able to fight. It doesn't matter whether they listen to me or not, as long as they listen to you."
Lord Qiao liked to hear this. The young man was good at speaking and was not a fool.
It seems that the person he is willing to invite even if it means making me unhappy must be really important.
"Quanzhong, you are dedicated to the public, not bad. Tell me, who is so important that I need to step in and recommend him to be an official."
"It's Ding Gongchen from Guangzhou Prefecture."
Lord Qiao suddenly realized, laughed, and patted Shao Quanzhong on the shoulder, “Quanzhong, you are so young, but you know so much about the talents of our Qing Dynasty that you want to invite this great Buddha.
I have had the honor of reading his works "Yan Pao Tu Shuo Ji Yao" and "Yan Pao Tu Shuo Hou Bian". If you want to invite him, I really need to come forward and recommend him for an official position."
Ding Gongchen also had the sixth rank military merit hat and had received a purse from the emperor that was given to the imperial commissioner Sai Shang'a, so he was well-known.
Although he was talented but never got a chance to be promoted, he was not someone that Shao Quanzhong, a militia leader of the same rank, could invite.
"I will send someone to Guangzhou Prefecture to recommend Ding Shuyuan, the ambassador of the Salt Transport Department, to serve in your army."
"Thank you, sir!"
"Quanzhong, if you want a genuine eighth-rank official to listen to you, you have to be higher in rank than him.
However, if you want to become an official, you must have military merits against the Guangdong bandits or the Nian bandits. It is useless to suppress ordinary water bandits.
I have sent you the silver. Your priority now is to quickly expand your army and enhance your combat effectiveness.
I am now in charge of the Lianghuai Salt Administration and am working hard to attract salt merchants and restore trade in order to provide sufficient military pay for the Jiangbei camp.
What worries me is that there are salt smugglers entrenched in Guazhou and they are against me.
Hou Boqiu of Guazhou was known as Hou Batian, and he was notorious for lending money for profit. Now the Jiangbei camp was suppressing the Guangdong bandit Chen Yucheng's troops and the Nian bandit Zhang Lexing's troops, and was unable to help suppress the salt smugglers.
Hou Boqiu took the opportunity to become more powerful, joined the Green Gang, and colluded with the Tiandihui rebels, gathering more than 2,000 people to sell illegal salt.
The Yangzhou Green Camp had only a thousand soldiers and could not touch him.
The traitor Hong bestowed on Hou Boqiu an honorary title of "Grand Marshal of the Two Rivers and Two Lakes" and asked him to help disrupt the grain transport and the salt administration in northern Jiangsu. Now he is also considered a member of the Guangdong bandits.
Quanzhong, if you can defeat him, I will have a reason to recommend you to take up an official position."
Shao Quanzhong stood at attention again, "Thank you for your cultivation, sir. I am willing to serve you at my utmost and will destroy Hou Batian as soon as possible."
"it is good!
Quanzhong, you use foreign methods to train soldiers, which is beyond the capabilities of militia. The organization is also different from that of ordinary militia. It is not true to call it militia anymore.
I hereby declare that once you have completed the expansion of your army, you will immediately form the Huaiyong Army and you will be the commander.
In addition to the "loyalty" battalion you lead, you must train a few more battalions of elite soldiers for me. If you need military supplies and military pay, feel free to contact me."
What? Huai Yong? Shao Quanzhong thought he had misheard and was stunned.
He pretended to be friendly with Qiao Songnian just to get more money for the militia, expand its organization and enhance its equipment.
He was also thinking that two years later, Zeng Guofan would send Li Hongzhang to form the Huai Army, and he would go to join him with his militia and start out as a battalion officer.
Why does Lord Qiao want to form the Huai Army now?
This is totally unreasonable and has never happened in history. So what will Li Hongzhang do in the future?
Shao Quanzhong was stunned for a long time, and suddenly realized that Qiao Songnian was becoming ambitious when he saw that the soldiers he had trained were good.
Lord Qiao was so generous that he directly promised himself an official position. I don’t know how high it was, but it was definitely higher than the eighth-rank official promised to Ding Gongchen.
Then, he directly appointed himself as the commander.
A commander can manage several battalions. It’s the power of a boss.
Zeng Guofan now has only four commanders under his command, Hu Linyi, Liu Kunyi, Zuo Zongtang, and Peng Yulin, all of whom are famous generals who have fought in many battles.
The famous Li Hongzhang has not yet come to prominence and is just an aide to Zeng Guofan. Now I am going to be the commander!
I have met the most benefactor in my life!
Fuck it, why would I vote for Li Hongzhang? With my ability and such a good opportunity for development, who knows who will be in charge of whom in the future.
"Li Jianfu, come here and give me a back pat..."
Shao Quanzhong forced himself to stop daydreaming immediately and stood at attention again.
"Your Excellency's kindness to me is as great as a mountain. I will do my utmost to train an invincible army for you.
Under your leadership, I will be the first to enter Nanjing and capture Hong Xiuquan alive for you!"
Qiao Songnian stroked his beard, very happy.
This boy is really smart. He knew what I was thinking right away. I think highly of him.
Shao Quanzhong suddenly fell to his knees, "I have been wandering for twenty years and have never met a wise master. Your kindness to me is as great as the sky and the earth. If you don't abandon me, I would like to take you as my foster father!"
(End of this chapter)