There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 75 Military Academy

"Drip drip..."

"General, you should be able to speak now."

Several secretaries stood in the city wall, fiddling with the radio on the table for a long time, and finally made some noise.

Although this radio is for civilian use and is a retro model, its operation is relatively simple. If it were not simple, it would not be sold. However, it is a generation behind the times and there is no experience to learn from it. Fortunately, these secretaries have all been educated and have a decent comprehension ability. It only took them half a morning to figure out how to operate it.

As for the power consumption, there are solar charging and hand-crank charging. The power is not high, but it is stable and portable.

Nie Yu stepped forward and reached for the radio receiver. "Now let's start the command: Kangxi Kangxi eats bran and drinks porridge, Qianlong Qianlong is deaf and malnourished."

According to the pre-arrangement, they set up a radio station on the city wall, while Feng Xiuyong took his men out of the city. They didn't have to go too far because the city wall was very high, and people outside the city would definitely not be able to hear them unless they spoke loudly.

The purpose of setting up the radio station for testing is to let these officials see the radio's transmission function.

Outside the city, Feng Xiuyong and others were huddled in a straw hut, with their ears pressed against the radio microphone, concentrating on listening to the voice transmitted by the microphone.

"Beep beep beep... Now let's start the command: Kangxi Kangxi eats bran and drinks thin soup, Qianlong Qianlong is both short-tempered and deaf."

There was almost no crackling or delayed sound, and Nie Yu's voice came through the microphone very clearly, so clearly that Feng Xiuyong was a little unable to react for a moment.

After a long while, the secretary who was waiting to take notes nearby thought that he had failed and was about to put down his brush and pack up his things.

Feng Xiuyong suddenly put down the microphone and said, "It's time to record."

"Ah...oh, Secretary Feng, please go ahead." The recording officer quickly pricked up his ears and picked up his pen.

Feng Xiuyong calmed down a bit, then said with a smile, "Now let's start recording the passwords! Kangxi Kangxi eats bran and drinks porridge, Qianlong Qianlong is both short-tempered and deaf."

"Uh...huh?"

The recorder was stunned and thought he had misheard.

Until Feng Xiuyong pretended to be serious and shouted, "What are you standing there for? Write it quickly! You have to hand it in to the general after you finish it. This is the order given by the general himself."

The recorder finally reacted and understood what was said. He was not angry at all, but felt that the general's words were a little too hurtful.

No, it should be that it hurt the hearts of those pseudo-Qing dogs and slaves. If those dogs and slaves heard or saw this, they would probably want to come over and fight them to the death on the spot.

There were very few words, so the secretary who took notes finished it quickly and wrote it in a very neat and beautiful way.

Things were easy after that. The radio's voice transmission function test was successful, and everyone in the Secretariat was completely convinced.

Not only were they convinced, but the news quickly spread throughout the General's Mansion under his instructions. All the officials in the General's Mansion knew that the General had obtained a good thing from the foreign merchants in Southeast Asia, a magical artifact that could transmit sound over a thousand miles, known as the "Thousand-Mile Ear".

With such a magical weapon in hand, everyone understands what it means. It is not simply about controlling the army, but can also greatly change the course of future wars.

Because Nie Yu had specifically emphasized that these artifacts were rare items that he had obtained with great difficulty. The Pseudo-Qing Dynasty did not have and could not get channels to obtain the artifacts, nor could they imitate them.

This means that in the future, if the Qing Dynasty wants to fight against their Han army or suppress the White Lotus rebels, it can only be resolved through local governors. If the governors cannot solve the problem, they will have to submit a memorial to the court to ask for an order and request the court to dispatch troops.

Even if the fastest waterway, the canal, was used, a round trip would still take a month. And the key wasn't just reaching the capital; you still had to report military intelligence to the court! Therefore, he had to use his connections to file reports and beg the Grand Council, controlled by Heshen, to show some mercy and not suppress his memorial.

By the time you finally get through all the channels and submit your memorial to the emperor, the news from the local areas is already more than a month behind, or even longer. This is why whenever a dynasty encounters a rebellion, it is generally ignored if it is small, but large ones will get out of control.

Not to mention the distant past, let’s just talk about the recent White Lotus Sect and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. One fought for ten years and the other for twenty years. Although they were finally put down, they also severely damaged the vitality of the Qing Dynasty, and the trend of its collapse was irreversible.

But it was different for the Han army because they had a radio. If the front encountered any problems, they could use the radio to inform the rear. If there was a shortage of food, they would ask the rear to transport food immediately without any delay. If there were any changes in the battle situation, they could also immediately notify the rear to be prepared.

As one side gains strength while the other loses strength, what can the Qing army use to fight the Han army?
……

Back at the General's Mansion, no one mentioned the issue of civilian military supervision anymore.

Since we already have radio stations, why do we still need civilian officials to supervise the army?
Nie Yu arranged for the radio to be properly put away before saying with a smile, "Originally, I was planning to wait until Commander Chen and his men had learned to read before giving them the Thousand Mile Ears. But since this problem has arisen, I might as well do it sooner rather than later!"

Feng Xiuyong hurriedly said, "The general has purchased such a divine weapon from a foreign merchant. Our Han army will surely be invincible on the battlefield!"

Nie Yu said, "It's not invincible, but it's certainly more useful. And what Mr. Feng said earlier is not without reason. The problem with Huarong County doesn't lie entirely with Commander He, but more with the current military system of our Han army. Reform of this military system is still necessary."

"Don't hold office for too long, don't lead from afar, and don't command concurrently—these three points are all very well said. The military is the military, and they should fulfill their duties. The same goes for civil officials. As long as they do their best to govern the people and manage the government, and each performs their duties, that's the long-term solution!"

The words were a bit literary, but the officials in the Secretariat who were listening below broke out in cold sweats.

This is not about military reform, it is clearly a warning to them.

The Secretariat is in charge of military and political affairs, but in the final analysis, they are still secretaries, and of course, the people who make up the Secretariat are all civil servants, so they only need to do their own job well, manage the army's logistics and recruit soldiers, and don't think too much about unnecessary things, and don't specially set up a civilian to supervise the army.

Are they afraid that he, the great general, won't be able to see it?

The officials in the Secretariat seemed to have just woken up. The general was too kind to them, so much so that they almost forgot that the other party was a rebel and a killer. Even Cui Longjian, the former governor of Jingzhou of the Qing Dynasty, was killed by Nie Yu himself.

Nie Yu looked at the tense and frozen scene and suddenly smiled again. "How to reform the military system? Mr. Feng still needs to come up with a plan. The Secretariat should first compile a detailed plan for me according to the three points mentioned above."

"Also, the issue of military literacy should be put on the agenda as soon as possible. We don't need to demand that ordinary soldiers can learn to read. We don't have that much energy, but as officers leading soldiers in battle, they should at least know a few words, right?"

"If soldiers can't read, they can still obey their officers. But if officers can't read either, then if an emergency occurs, everything will be in chaos. So, I decided to set up a military academy in the barracks. This academy will be responsible for teaching officers and generals to read, regardless of other things. They don't need to know too many words, just the basic common words."

"Besides, literacy is just a basic course. After that, we can continue with military training. Soldiers may not understand battle formations, but how can officers and generals be completely ignorant? We are still rebelling. Our lives are completely dependent on battlefield experience. We don't have enough lives to waste. One wrong move, a major defeat, and perhaps even a complete loss."

Nie Yu had already had the idea of ​​the Military Academy in his mind, but the time had not come before. Now, taking advantage of the opportunity of military system reform, he could solve it at the same time.

Without a military academy, Nie Yu's army would be a bit of a makeshift team. It would all rely on the soldiers to fight hard and hone themselves on the battlefield. The tolerance rate is too low, and a slight mistake could lead to a great defeat.

Nie Yu plans to first set up a military academy in the army to systematically train grassroots officers, and then gradually transform the army into a firearms-based army to quickly adapt to the current version of world war.

"I understand."

Feng Xiuyong listened carefully to Nie Yu's instructions. Now he didn't dare to mention interfering in military power casually.

He finally managed to take the risk of surrendering and risked his life several times to make great contributions, and only then did he get to his current position as the Chief Secretary of the Secretariat. And the general in front of him seemed to be a man who could accomplish things.

If you are rejected at this time, won’t all the risky investments made in the early stage be wasted?

Feng Xiuyong still knew what was more important and what was less important. He wanted to be a loyal follower and take a chance to become a prime minister.

(End of this chapter)