Chapter 111 Patriots
Chapter 111 Patriots
After listening to the conversation between Shao Quanzhong and Wall, the young foreigner had an idea in his mind.
We are short of artillery instructors, and my major is suitable. It doesn't matter if I don't have combat experience, I will have it after fighting a battle. In short, my five thousand taels of resettlement expenses and two hundred taels of monthly employment fees are safe.
Grant was worried. Although he was confident in his ability to command a battle, he was not good at artillery. His employer had just agreed to give him resettlement allowance, but would his salary be reduced?
As soon as Wall left, Shao Quanzhong turned around and patted Grant on the shoulder.
"Old Ge, we are family from now on. In view of your experience in commanding and operating in international wars, I appoint you as the deputy chief of staff of the Huai Army and commander of the cavalry battalion. When you return, I will promote your rank to lieutenant colonel, and your monthly salary plus official salary will be four hundred taels."
Grant was about to retort that I had no personality, but he stopped talking when he heard about the salary. You can call me whatever you want, I don't care about the lieutenant colonel of the Qing Dynasty, but the employment fee doubled than expected, which was unexpected.
Shao Quanzhong looked at the young foreigner, "Um - I don't even know your name yet."
Just now, when the young foreigner showed Shao Quanzhong his diploma and transcript, his name was clearly on it, but he overlooked the fact that Shao Quanzhong did not understand English.
His Chinese was much better than Grant's, so he answered immediately, "My name is Emory Upton."
This name did not shock Shao Quanzhong. He knew very little about famous people in the United States. He only knew Washington, Lincoln and General Lee. He only knew Grant because he visited China after becoming president and took a photo with Li Hongzhang.
But since he is an outstanding graduate of West Point, he must have sufficient abilities.
Shao Quanzhong thought for a moment and said, "I will promote you to major and appoint you as the battalion commander of the Huai Army Artillery Battalion and a staff officer of the General Staff. According to the prior agreement, your monthly salary, including military pay and office expenses, is two hundred taels."
Emery was relieved. His combat experience and skills were inferior to Grant's, and Grant was already a 40-year-old veteran. He didn't want to compare himself with Grant, and was satisfied with being able to secure 200 taels.
"You speak Chinese well, have good grades in the military academy, and work part-time as an instructor in various subjects at the Huai Army Camp Military Academy. I will give you a special subsidy of 100 taels of silver per month."
Emery was completely satisfied. Three hundred taels a month, that is three hundred and ninety dollars, absolutely a high salary.
He was 22 years old and had just graduated. He was not married yet. Unlike Grant, who came with a family of eleven and needed to buy a house in Hailing to settle down.
The five thousand taels of resettlement allowance could all be sent back to the United States, and with the three hundred taels of monthly salary, a single person wouldn't have to spend any money on food and accommodation in the barracks. The family's financial situation had completely improved.
Although I have no combat experience, I have good academic performance and have absolutely no problem with military theory.
I'm here to make money. I've got nothing to do at night in the military camp, so I might as well work overtime and teach here what I learned in West Point. I can easily earn an extra hundred taels a month.
"You, the deputy chief of staff and the staff officer, are both subordinates of Brother Zhang. Go get to know him better and cooperate sincerely in the future."
Zhang Zhidong took Grant and Emery to the side to chat and get to know these two subordinates. He was a lone chief of staff, but now he finally had two assistants, and the staff department was established.
After sending away the two foreign subordinates, Shao Quanzhong's joy wore off and he started to feel upset again.
There is still a standoff in the swamp outside Wuwei City in the north. Yang Fuqing's subordinates are all staunch rebels and are still soaking in waist-deep water, refusing to surrender.
The arrival of the Shanghai Army destroyed the Taiping Army's hope for assistance on the south bank, but Yang Fuqing's 4,000 men had not yet given up hope and were certainly still counting on Chen Yucheng to come back and rescue them.
Can Chen Yucheng come back? Shao Quanzhong knew that he could definitely come back.
Duolong'a cooperated with him in the feint attack on Tongcheng, temporarily attracting Chen Yucheng back. Once Chen Yucheng returned, Duolong'a would definitely be driven away. If he could capture Tongcheng, he would have captured it long ago. Isn't he no match for Chen Yucheng?
After Chen Yucheng drove Duolong'a away and rearranged the defense of Tongcheng, without Lin Shaozhang, the useless troublemaker, as the commander-in-chief, Duolong'a would no longer be a threat if he attacked Tongcheng again.
He no longer had any more military chips, so Chen Yucheng would definitely come back and rescue Yang Fuqing's troops who were surrounded by him.
Zhang Zhidong had already sent a marching team to closely monitor the direction of Tongcheng. He and Zhang Zhidong had the idea of trying to attack Yang Fuqing's surrounded troops before Chen Yucheng returned.
Maybe after soaking in the water for a whole day with empty stomachs, their morale dropped to a certain level and they were defeated.
This is not a guaranteed thing. If new soldiers who have never fought in a war go to the swamp to attack the Taiping Army, whose morale is low but their faith is firm, the chances of winning or losing are fifty-fifty.
The backbone of this group of Taiping troops are the old Cantonese bandits brought over from Jintian. They fought from Jintian to Nanjing, experienced hundreds of battles, and survived even more difficult situations. I really don't know if I can defeat them.
He had to rely on this bad hand to eat up the elite group that surrounded him, and if he wasn't careful he'd end up bursting his stomach.
Shao Quanzhong didn't know about the bloody battle of Taierzhuang. The situation he was facing now was surprisingly similar to the problem Li Delin encountered back then.
It seemed that there was no way to solve Shao Quanzhong's troubles, so he could only gamble. Then, new troubles came.
The two newly recruited foreign subordinates came up to him together and saluted him seriously with strange expressions on their faces.
Grant spoke as a representative, looking very guilty, "Sir, we just talked with Chief of Staff Zhang and learned that the civil war has started in the United States. As American soldiers, we must go back to serve our motherland."
Huh? You're leaving right after you got here? I'm so happy for nothing, right?
This is the hidden danger of Wall's introduction of these two talents. Don't Americans have patriotism education? Especially for soldiers who graduated from West Point, patriotism is a must.
When these two foreigners boarded the ship with Wall, the American Civil War had not yet begun.
After three months of journey, Wall brought them to Shanghai port. The news of the outbreak of the American Civil War had already reached Shanghai via wired telegraph.
As a broker, information is Wall's life, and he knew it first.
He knew very well the tempers of these two people, so he blocked the news from them and hurriedly sent them to Shao Quanzhong.
On the contrary, I sent my people there and got the money, so it's none of my business. Shao Quanzhong, you can't keep people, so you can't take back my referral fee, right?
Zhang Zhidong was in charge of the Huai Army General Staff, and the Intelligence Department had a steady stream of intelligence, covering all kinds of information. Of course, he knew the latest news about the outbreak of the American Civil War, and he casually talked about it with the two Americans, and then problems arose.
Shao Quanzhong had a look of class struggle on his face, and he stood with his hands behind his back looking at the two American patriots.
They have good reasons to leave, can you stop them? Humph, now you are on my pirate ship, I can't let you go even if I tie you up.
But if their hearts are not here and they refuse to work, won’t the work be in vain?
The same is true for the United States. Couldn't you have started the civil war two years later?
Huh? The American Civil War! A flash of lightning and thunder exploded in Shao Quanzhong's mind, and he suddenly had an inspiration.
(End of this chapter)