Chapter 392: Prepare to fight early, fight hard, fight a world war
Chapter 392: Prepare to fight early, fight hard, fight a world war
Four miles west of Hailing City is Hailing Port.
Originally, this place was called Shili Village, but it was demolished four years ago. Now it is called Hailing Port. It is a super port that can berth 10,000-ton ships, has four 10,000-ton berths, and 200 berths of several thousand tons.
After four years of construction, the Hailing River Diversion Project was finally completed.
The total length of the Yinjiang River is only more than 40 miles, which is one-sixth of the length of the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal was built by hand and took ten years to dig. This side is assisted by steam power and took four years to complete, which is already quite slow.
The main purpose is to divert rivers in Hailing, and we cannot work the workers to death like the French did when they built the Suez Canal.
The completion of Hailing Port made Hailing a real coastal city.
Hailing Port is well-equipped with steam cranes on the dock, repair docks and pilot boats, and rows of warehouses on the shore.
Today, there are loud gongs and drums, blasting firecrackers, and fluttering colorful flags as the ceremony for the first 10,000-ton ship entering the port is being held.
Navigators, dispatchers, loaders, ship berthing operators, mooring workers, tank cleaners and maintenance workers are all in place.
The British 10,000-ton cruise ship Queen Victoria docked safely at the port. There were hundreds of family members waiting on the shore to receive the ship, all eagerly waiting, including Prince Shao Quanzhong, who had just cut the ribbon for the grand opening of the port.
The first people to come down were all foreigners of all kinds, some had just arrived in Hailing, some had returned to visit relatives or come back to work, and now they could go directly without having to take a boat from Shanghai to Kouanpu and then transfer to a train.
When most of the foreigners had left, seventy-four young officers in military uniforms lined up in an orderly formation and walked down from the cruise ship.
Twenty of them were dressed in snow-white British naval officer uniforms with lieutenant epaulettes on their shoulders.
Fifty-four of them were wearing German Army uniforms, most of them were lieutenants, and there were two captains. The leader, Yan Laoqi, already had the epaulettes of a major.
These were the eighty students who set out to study abroad in the fifth year of the Tongzhi reign. Seventy-four of them returned six years later after completing their studies.
As for naval cadets who go to the UK, they have to practice on board a ship for two years after four years of study, and it is normal for them to return home.
During the Franco-Prussian War, army cadets who went to study at the Berlin Military Academy enlisted in the army and received battlefield training. Six of them were killed in action and were buried in a foreign land.
After the Franco-Prussian War, they returned to the Berlin Military Academy to continue their studies, which delayed their graduation by two years. But they all grew up in a real war of blood and fire, and their war experience and command level were higher than those of the first batch.
All the cadets performed well in the war, so the worst ones graduated with the rank of lieutenant.
The students lined up in a running formation. Yan Laoqi, who had the highest military rank, took the lead in speaking, "Seventy-four students who studied abroad have returned to China after completing their studies. We report to the Marshal and ask for his instructions!"
Shao Quanzhong stood with his hands behind his back looking at the heroic young men, and sighed inwardly, "Another group of Jiangyan teenagers have grown up to become vigorous young officers, and I am getting old."
"Kids, you have worked hard abroad for six years. Thank you for your hard work."
"The first batch of students who went abroad to study caught up with the Western Expedition and the Franco-Prussian War, and have grown into senior officers. My promise back then that they could at least become captains was not bragging, and it has all been fulfilled."
"You guys, do you think you've come back too late? Now the Qing Empire is at peace and there are no more wars to fight? No!"
"As long as China has not become the world's hegemon, this war must be fought. We must be prepared to fight early, fight hard, and fight a world war!"
"It's not that I like militarism. I also want to put the weapons in the warehouse and let the soldiers go back home to farm. Whoever is willing to work harder and has a better brain will make more money."
"But the world isn't like that! If you want to get rich through hard work, someone will rob you of your property and take away your job as well."
"If we want everyone to be fair, hardworking, and smart, we have to rise up first!"
"What if someone doesn't allow us to rise? I decide when to act like a grandson and when to fight. You don't have to think too much. You are soldiers. When I say fight, you must charge forward!" "Don't think that you are good enough just because you graduated from studying abroad. You are still far from it!"
"Navy cadets, your predecessors have been to Buenos Aires, fought in the Battle of the Aegean, bombarded Sevastopol, defeated the French Navy, and earned the title of the second best in the world."
"Learn from them, and I will equip you with the best warships in the future. The seven seas will all be yours!"
"Army cadets, you have participated in the Franco-Prussian War and have combat experience, but this is not enough! We now have new weapons, and Emery has formulated new tactical regulations. You must master them and learn from your predecessors with an open mind."
"In the future, your opponents will not be local rebels or backward countries like Japan, but first-class powers. You want to challenge the world's top combat power, so stay alert and don't embarrass me!"
"Okay, take a month off to reunite with your family, and then report to the army. Twenty years later, I hope to see generals, marshals, and five-star generals among you. Do you understand?"
"Die for the Marshal!"
After Shao Quanzhong finished his speech, the students dispersed and the family members who had been waiting came forward and took their children's hands to ask about their well-being.
When the students left, Shao Quanzhong brought them from Jiangyan on a sampan. Now when they go home, the people who come to pick them up are donkey-drawn sedan chairs. All the fellow villagers from Panjiawei and Luzhuang have become rich people.
After returning from Berlin and London, the students felt that they had learned a lot and wanted to tell their hometown folks about the advancement of Europe. However, they found that only six years later, Hailing had become an international metropolis that was not much worse than London.
The sending of students abroad ends here. Now the teaching level of Zhanjiang Naval Academy is not much worse than that of the British Royal Naval College. The level of Baoding Army Officers School has surpassed that of Berlin Military Academy...
Shao Quanzhong returned to Qiao Garden, where there were five other expatriate trainees who had returned on the same ship. They were quietly brought back by the housekeeper Aunt Qiao, and were waiting to see Shao Quanzhong.
Four years ago, five of my trusted children who were sent to study in the United States also returned.
They first went to London from the east coast of the Federation, and then transferred to the Queen Victoria cruise ship. After the Suez Canal was built, the time taken by this route was almost the same as that of a flight across the Pacific Ocean.
Wang Yongxian fell to his knees, "Hello, godfather!"
The other four children bowed together, "Meet Uncle Shao."
Shao Quanzhong was delighted. "Okay, okay. You are all young men in your twenties. Have any of you brought back a foreign wife?"
"Godfather, we have important responsibilities, so we don't have time for romance. Even Jiang Lao Si only occasionally attends dances to pick up girls, but he hasn't found a wife."
Ahem, Jiang Laosi is the son of Jiang Chunlin’s concubine, and he has a family background in academic studies. This - is understandable.
"Well, they are all dressed in suits and look very decent. What have you learned? What are you going to do after returning?"
Song Qi, the son of Mr. Song, was the first to speak up. "I studied at Harvard University and obtained a master's degree in economics in three years. After graduation, I interned at Citibank for a year and a half, and at the same time, I attended doctoral courses at Columbia University and obtained a doctorate in economics."
"I can work in a bank, but I'm more interested in taxation. I want to standardize our Qing taxation system and align it with international standards."
"That's great, kid. Others take four years to get an undergraduate degree, but you took four and a half years to get a doctorate. You're such a genius."
Shao Quanzhong patted his forehead and said, "But it won't work. The Qing Dynasty still doesn't control its own taxation... Let me arrange for you to be the Commissioner General of Customs and be Hurd's assistant. Study hard, and you will be the boss one day."
Alas, my first child has caused me problems. Now I don’t dare to snatch the tax back from big brother Britain.
(End of this chapter)