Beiyang Dream

Chapter 104 Li Hongzhang, don't cause trouble, I still have to fight against Russia!

On the 30th day of the fifth month of the 17th year of the Guangxu reign, the Gaosheng Hall was erected.

Chang Desheng felt he had never been this angry in either of his two lives.

Back in Pontianak, he led a few hundred men against thousands of indigenous people. Although it resulted in a bloodbath, it was his doing that killed people. Although there had been an anti-Chinese movement before, which also resulted in some deaths, compared to the countless other conflicts throughout history, this was nothing.

As for his miserable past life, when he was a draftsman working all night to finish projects, he was just tired, not annoyed. As long as he could get overtime pay, he was still willing to work his ass off... So he died from exhaustion, not from anger.

This time, he really infuriated those Manchu princes. These twenty young masters, along with about thirty servants, totaling over fifty people, were crammed into the second and third-class cabins. It was utter chaos and commotion!

Several of Chang Desheng's grandsons complained that the cabin was too small, chattering away in his ear: "Is this even a place for a human to live? My servants live in a bigger cabin than this!"

What the hell is he showing off for? Chang Desheng thought to himself: It's just that the time hasn't come yet. When the time comes, everything will belong to the state, and they'll only leave your family a small room, and they won't even let you relocate!

Several others complained about the food on the ship, yelling, "What is this? Rotten noodles, even a dog wouldn't eat it!" That's called stewed noodles! Chang Desheng really wanted to tell them: When the Qing Dynasty falls, you'll be eating cornbread every day!

Some people complained about the rough seas: "Why is this boat rocking like this? Won't it capsize? I want to go home..."

Go home? Chang Desheng would rather throw him into the sea and swim back himself!

The most despicable one was a man with a yellow sash, of the same generation as Puyi, named Puxian. Just from his name, you could tell he was a conspicuous fellow. He carried a thrush, and while he claimed to have one bird, it should be counted as two, and he insisted on a separate cabin. Refused? He lifted his robe, revealing his yellow sash! He was a legitimate Manchu from the Aisin Gioro family!

Chang Desheng thought to himself: Do you believe I'll throw you and that bird into the sea together?

But he held back. A small act of impatience could lead to chaos for the Qing Dynasty. He had to maintain a smile, he had to be amiable. Chang Desheng said, "Don't worry, everyone, we'll make sure you're satisfied when we get to Korea." In his heart, he cursed, "Once we get to Korea, I'll make you carry bricks to build barracks every day. If you can't carry them, don't eat!" Duan Qirui, standing beside him, remained expressionless throughout, only occasionally pulling out his notebook to jot down a few notes.

Chang Desheng glanced at him and thought to himself: Go ahead and write it down. Ah, wait until I send you and all these informants to do manual labor, then let's see what you can remember.

After finally settling all the Manchu nobles in, Chang Desheng and Duan Qirui returned to the first-class dining room. As soon as they entered, they saw Yuan Shikai, the "Yuan Shikai silver dollar," already there, sitting at the head of the large table, talking to a Henan cook in an apron. "The mutton must be stewed until very tender, with plenty of angelica root and less salt. The pepper for the spicy soup must be freshly ground; don't try to fool me with stale pepper. And that flatbread... did you bring flour? It must be flour from our Central Plains; that's the best for aroma and elasticity."

The cook nodded repeatedly, his face beaming with smiles: "Don't worry, Lord Yuan, everything is ready. The dough has been kneaded for a while now and is being cooked. We'll bake it for you at mealtime."

Chang Desheng watched this scene with a mix of emotions. Not only had Old Yuan chartered the boat, but he had also replaced the cooks and servants with his own men. What kind of spirit was this? This was the spirit of the Henan people—"eat wherever you go!" Following Old Yuan, the food was truly unbeatable... eight meals a day, every single one authentic Henan cuisine, all at a level that later Henan restaurants couldn't match—this was a Yuan family banquet! Arranged by Yuan Shikai himself, guaranteeing there were no pre-made dishes.

Seeing them enter, Yuan Shikai smiled and waved, "Zhenbang, Zhiquan, come and sit down! How are things going with those young masters?" Chang Desheng plopped down in a chair and let out a long sigh, "Don't even mention it, they're so hard to please!"

"How is it bad?"

"They're all damn spoiled brats," Chang Desheng counted on his fingers. "I'm at my wit's end! Some complain about the small cabins, some about the bad food, some about the rocking of the ship, and one even brought a thrush and wants to share a cabin with it..."

Yuan Shikai chuckled: "Have you made the arrangements?"

"I've arranged for that bird to wait in the kitchen... I'll make soup with it tomorrow," Chang Desheng said irritably, spouting nonsense.

Duan Qirui sat down next to him, and his lips seemed to twitch slightly, as if he had been amused by Chang Desheng.

Chang Desheng was already quite humorous, and now he's paired up with Yuan Shikai. Their back-and-forth banter is almost like a comedy troupe performing under a bridge.

Yuan Shikai laughed even harder: "You're just talking nonsense... But speaking of which, how's the education of these young men?"

Chang Desheng shook his head: "Don't even mention it! He only knows a few words of German. He can't even understand a quadratic equation in one variable, and he's never studied drawing. With that level of ability, let alone the Prussian War Academy, he wouldn't even be able to get a foot in the door of the Berlin Military Academy."

Yuan Shikai picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said slowly, "That won't do. Lord Rong is counting on them to return after their studies and become the backbone of the Eight Banners New Army."

Chang Desheng thought to himself: This bunch of scum, you think they can be the backbone? I'd rather they were just cannon fodder.

But it would be good if these guys could really get the Eight Banners New Army in check... In the year of Jiawu (1894), they could go to Shenyang to guard the ancestral tombs; in the year of Gengzi (1900), they could fight in the Legation Quarter in Dongjiaomin Lane; and when the Eight-Nation Alliance invades Beijing... then there could be a bloody battle in the Forbidden City! They should all die with dignity, at least that would be worthy of the more than two hundred years of ironclad rule! But what he said was, "After all, this was entrusted to us by the Emperor and the Empress Dowager. Lord Rong even specifically sent these people to Korea to 'endure hardship' with us; we can't let down the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and Lord Rong!"

Yuan Shikai put down his teacup and looked at this loyal subject of the Qing Dynasty: "So what do you plan to do?"

Chang Desheng leaned forward and lowered his voice, saying, "What I mean is, to find a sparsely populated area in North Korea and open a training school for North Korean military officers. Officially, it would be for training North Korean military attachés... What do you think?"

Yuan Shikai raised an eyebrow: "Training North Korean military officers? That's within our jurisdiction. The Tianjin Treaty doesn't prohibit us from helping North Korea run military academies."

"That's right." Chang Desheng slapped his thigh. "And we also need to use foreign teachers, which isn't prohibited by the Tianjin Special Treaty."

"The foreign instructors seem readily available," Yuan Shikai thought for a moment. "I think the twenty or so on the ship are quite good. You hired them from Germany, right? They all look quite competent. But the problem is... your foreign instructors don't seem to speak Chinese or Korean. How are you going to teach the Koreans?" "That's not a problem," Chang Desheng laughed. "There are translators readily available on the ship."

He gestured towards the second-class cabin: "Those Manchu students, aren't they from the Tongwen Guan? It's perfect for them to be both students and translators. The foreign instructors teach the German military manuals, they learn from them, and then translate it for the Korean military officers who understand Chinese. It's killing two birds with one stone."

Yuan Shikai pondered for a moment: "That's a good idea. But those Manchu students are here to learn military skills, not to be translators. Can they handle it?" "They can. Learning a language requires a lot of practice," Chang Desheng said with the air of someone who had been there before. "As long as they listen and speak every day, they can become fluent in German in six months at most."

"And shouldn't translators also take classes? Why not have them practice together? Besides... translation is the best way to deepen understanding. If you listen once and then translate it, you'll remember it much better than if you just learned it on your own."

As he spoke, he glanced at Duan Qirui out of the corner of his eye. After the school was set up, he was appointed "Principal Duan"—a significant appointment! Duan Qirui sat beside him, holding a teacup, his face expressionless, but his ears were clearly perked up. Chang Desheng knew perfectly well: although Duan Qirui wasn't officially in charge, he was Li Hongzhang's "eyes and ears." That old Li wasn't stupid; he definitely knew about my solo journey, but he had also benefited from it, so he was pretending not to know. But he certainly wouldn't let me continue traveling alone indefinitely.

What I'm doing now... could it be considered "privately running a military academy"?

Li Hongzhang might not agree.

Therefore, Chang Desheng had to finalize the matter as soon as possible to create a fait accompli. By the time Li Hongzhang found out, the military academy would have already started. He couldn't very well ask the Manchu and Korean students to drop out, could he?

Duan Qirui held his teacup, his mind racing with calculations.

Chang Desheng wants to open a military academy. Ostensibly, it's to train North Korean military officers, but it's obvious to everyone that he's cultivating his own power base. Should this be reported to the Grand Secretary? No, the question is, how should it be reported...? This military academy can not only help Chang Desheng build his power base, but also cultivate his own people for Duan Qirui!

He was in charge of affairs at the Korean Camp Affairs Office. Above him were Yuan Shikai and Chang Desheng. Old Yuan didn't understand military science, so he couldn't possibly be the head or co-head of that school. That left him and Chang Desheng... So, one was the head and the other was the co-head!

As he was pondering this, he heard a Beijing accent coming from the doorway:

"That's great!"

Several people turned their heads at the same time.

Bai Siwen stood at the door, a satisfied expression on his face. He wore a slightly worn silk shirt, the collar open, and he looked quite relaxed, his eyes sparkling with the energy one might expect from drug use. He hadn't shown up while Chang Desheng and Duan Qirui were settling the Manchu trainees. Chang Desheng had assumed he was unconscious in his cabin... but now it seemed he was smoking opium! Compared to him, those twenty Manchu young masters didn't seem so bad; at least they weren't doing drugs—it was quite a feat for Ronglu to have picked out twenty non-drug-using Manchu young masters who could even speak a few words of German. Bai Siwen staggered in, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Yuan Shikai, Chang Desheng, and Duan Qirui, then pulled out a chair and plopped down. "Chang Guancha, that military academy you mentioned earlier is excellent!" Bai Siwen chimed in, his voice booming, clearly having just finished a long talk. "If you ask me, we should find the most remote place, so those brats have nowhere to eat, drink, or have fun. They're in Korea, and their families can't send them anything. Let's see how they'll act like spoiled brats then!"

He got more and more excited as he spoke: "His Majesty and the Empress Dowager will definitely applaud this! You have no idea how much trouble Lord Rong has gone through for these young masters. He can't hit them or scold them. Each and every one of them is a genius. Lord Rong has been so worried that his hair has turned white."

Chang Desheng was overjoyed.

Bai Siwen is Ronglu's man!

His meaning is the same as Ronglu's!

Ronglu was the Empress Dowager's man; Ronglu's meaning was Cixi's meaning!

Now Li Hongzhang... definitely won't object.

Chang Desheng glanced at Duan Qirui again.

Duan Qirui remained expressionless, holding his teacup and feigning profundity.

Chang Desheng decided to press on: "Brother Zhiquan, what do you say? As for this matter, what about the Grand Secretary's side..."

Duan Qirui put down his teacup, remained silent for a few moments, and then slowly spoke, his tone steady and composed: "Your Excellency has always prioritized national affairs. If it is truly possible to help Korea train a new army and cultivate talent for the Eight Banners, Your Excellency will naturally not object."

"Good!" Chang Desheng slammed his hand on the table, pressing the ironclad decision while it was still fresh in his mind. "It's settled then... The school will be located in Zhennanpu! From now on, that will be my main base in Korea. The military academy will be called 'Nanpu Military Academy'—Huangpu and Nanpu, both have 'Pu' in their names, it'll definitely work!"

He then looked at Yuan Shikai: "Brother Weiting, is there no problem with Prince Li and Queen Min regarding this matter?"

Yuan Shikai waved his hand: "Easy, easy. Right now, the Russian ironclad warships are approaching Wonsan Port, which is the perfect time for Korea to strengthen its military. I'll mention it to Queen Min, and I guarantee it will be approved. She'd love for someone to help her train her troops."

Chang Desheng was overjoyed.

Nanpu Military Academy, the cradle of revolution, red flags fluttering... it's almost time to sing it!

In two or three years, we'll train a new batch of progressive officers, and then equip them with the new rifles made in Luanzhou... At that time, not only the Japanese, but even the Russians, can be held off.

As he was envisioning a bright future, Duan Qirui suddenly spoke up: "Brother Zhenbang, we don't need to worry about the Russian ironclad warships anymore."

Chang Desheng was taken aback: "What do you mean?"