Chapter 7, Taking Up the Post of Sentry Officer

  Two days later, the Ministry of War sent someone to deliver some items for Wu Shaozhen's inauguration, including a military officer's seal, one set each of formal and informal attire for a seventh-rank military official, a plain gold hat, and a sword. Seeing these things, he couldn't help but laugh and cry - what era was this that he still had to wear such outdated military uniforms? Fortunately, not many people from the late Qing dynasty studied in Germany; if his classmates saw him, they would probably burst out laughing.

  But anyway, at least now I have a stable job, and that solves the problem of making a living.

  At the end of March, Wu Shaozhong sent someone to deliver a letter to Hu Hanmin according to the address left by Hu Hanmin, informing him of his current situation. He even wondered if Hu Hanmin would feel that he was not being utilized enough since he had not been assigned to a new military post, and thus distance himself from their relationship.

  For him, he can't easily cut off his relationship with the big shot Hu Hanmin!

  Who would have known, that night, Hu Hanmin sent someone to return a letter, first congratulating Wu Shaozhong on his new appointment, and also inquiring when Wu Shaozhong would be free, as he would host a banquet to celebrate.

  Wu Shaozhong was quite moved by this, it seems that not every revolutionary party regards the revolutionary cause as everything in life, and Hu Hanmin still has a human side. However, he will take office in a few days and there are many things to prepare, so he can't spare time to attend Hu Hanmin's celebration banquet, and can only write back to express his gratitude.

  On the morning of April 1st, a small official from the Ministry of War came to invite Wu Shaotang to take up his post at Shanziying.

  The Fire Brigade is a large battalion, and the four battalions under its jurisdiction, such as the Shanzi Battalion, are the basic units of the brigade. The commander of the Fire Brigade, Huang Shilong, has always found it inconvenient to be stationed in Xijiao, so he led his troops to be stationed within the city walls, and at this time they were not in the Xijiao drill ground. Therefore, the minor official only brought Wu Shaotang to the Shanzi Battalion to meet with the Qianzong and hand over some formalities.

  Wu Shaotong followed Xiao Li to the Shanziying General Camp and met with the Shanziying Qianzong here.

  This superior has a thin and frail figure, with a pale complexion, as if he had been taking Fu Shou Gao for a long time. He has a sloppy appearance and is very cold to Wu Shaotong, not even bothering to introduce himself.

  Qian Zhang would push all the affairs on the agenda to a subordinate official beside him, and he would sit in the doorway of the camp, with his legs raised, holding a purple sand teapot, drinking tea while basking in the sun with his eyes narrowed.

  It only took a moment to go through the formalities. Wu Shaotong walked out from the headquarters, feeling somewhat dazed. Until now, he didn't even know his superior's name, let alone what to do next!

  A minor official from the Ministry of War, who had accompanied them there, seeing Wu Shaozhong's expression, asked with a smile: "Sir Wu, do you have any doubts in your mind?"

  "This General Qian is so cold and distant, I don't even know his full name, how are we supposed to work together in the future?" Wu Shaotong said with a chilly expression.

  "The adult surnamed Li, named Ming Shan, he is actually Commander Huang's nephew." The little official said.

  "Does Lord Li think that his uncle is the commander of the fire brigade, treating everyone with such indifference?" Wu Shaotong didn't care about Li Qianzong's identity and background. In a few more years, the bureaucratic landscape would undergo great changes, and who knows, this guy surnamed Li might be beaten to death by his subordinates in the chaos.

  "This isn't it, the key is that Lord Wu took office and directly affected Lord Li's interests, so Lord Li would naturally have many complaints about Lord Wu. However, as time passes, this matter will pass, after all, Lord Wu was appointed by General to fill this vacancy, Lord Li wouldn't dare to complain too much!" The little official said with a harmonious and gentle tone.

  Wu Shaotong was somewhat puzzled and asked, "What does my taking office have to do with him? I've just returned to the country, how could I have offended his interests?"

  The little official looked around, making sure there were no extra idle people nearby, before saying: "Director Wu, you've just returned from abroad and may not know our local customs. The Shanzi Camp has five sentry posts, but one of the sentry officers' positions was vacant before your arrival. However, the Shanzi Camp still receives full military pay every month from above. In other words, the monthly salary for this vacant sentry officer is extra, and naturally it ends up in Li Dapeng's pocket. Do you understand, Director Wu?"

  Wu Shaotong suddenly realized that this must be the case, and he had made up for the shortage of the mountain character camp officer. Li Mingshan would lose this silver every month, and it was only natural that he wouldn't be happy in his heart.

  "This is really... an old bad habit!" He had originally intended to scold Li Ming-shan for being gutless, but thinking that this little official was not his confidant, how could he casually complain about his superior in front of outsiders?

  The little official suddenly covered his mouth and burst out laughing.

  "What are you laughing at?" Wu Shaotong asked in a low voice, thinking that the other person was laughing at him being an angry youth.

  "Sir Wu, please don't take offense. Someone like you who has been out and seen the world will naturally have your own views on things. But I think that in the future, Sir Wu will also inevitably follow in Mr. Li's footsteps!" The minor official said with a somewhat serious tone.

  Wu Shaotong suddenly felt that this little official really had the guts, and actually dared to say such direct words to himself! He sneered twice and said: "How do you think I will repeat the same mistake?"

  The junior official saw that Wu Shaozhong did not seem to be angry, so he plucked up the courage to say: "Wu sir, you don't know this, but the Shanzi Camp you belong to is a training army. The training army is different from the new army. The nominal monthly salary of the battalion commander is two taels of silver, but in reality, they only get one tael and two mace at most. The remaining eight mace are either fake or deducted. In a year, even if you add up the allowance for food and clothing, it's only over 50 taels."

  Wu Shaotong had read historical books on this aspect before, and knew that after Jiaqing of the Qing dynasty, the national strength declined year by year, and ordinary officials could not even support a family of three with their salary alone. So in the Xianfeng years, the court began to restore the system of providing silver for officials' living expenses, and each year the amount of silver provided was even more than their annual salary. Over time, the silver for living expenses gradually became the main source of income for officials, while their original salary was just small change.

  As for the small official's mention of the outer ring, it is indeed the military rank he currently holds as a sentry officer, which means that his annual salary is only fifty taels. He remembers that in ancient times, the value of one or two silver coins was still very large, and during the prosperous period of the Song Dynasty, one tael of silver was equivalent to 3,000 yuan in the 21st century. Unfortunately, it is now the late Qing dynasty, and the situation is greatly different. It is said that in the late Qing dynasty, one tael of silver was only equivalent to 45 yuan in 1995.

  "Director Wu, fifty taels of silver would be sufficient for an ordinary soldier. However, as a senior official, you have to support your family and also entertain guests, this amount of silver is far from enough for your expenses." The minor official continued.

  "Ah, I see!" Wu Shaotong replied calmly, his face showing no signs of difficulty.

  "Hehe, fortunately, there are more than 40 vacancies left under Lord Wu's command. In the future, when Lord Wu takes office, these vacancies will be his rewards!" The little official said with a smile.

  Wu Shaotong nodded slowly and suddenly asked: "May I ask your honorable surname and given name, brother?"

  He felt that this little official was quite impressive, not only knowledgeable but also very bold. Although the other party was just a small official, he didn't have any intentional flattery or sycophancy. More importantly, he had a gentle and peaceful demeanor, just like Nian Duan, which made people feel no resistance when they saw him.

  "My humble name is Liang Hongkai, and my style name is Jingyun."

  Wu Shaotong was taken aback for a moment. Wasn't Liang Hongkai one of the leaders of the four warlords of the old Guangdong Army in the future?

  The formal establishment of the Guangdong Army dates back to when Chen Jiongming formed the Guangdong People's Army to attack Fujian. At that time, the only nominal leader of the Guangdong Army was Chen Jiongming. However, around 1922, internal divisions within the Guangdong Army became increasingly severe, until after Chen Jiongming bombarded the Presidential Palace and "betrayed the revolution", the Guangdong Army suddenly split into four factions: Chen Jiongming, Xu Chongzhi, Deng Keng (Liang Hongkai), and Li Fulin.

  In 1921, Deng Keng served as the Chief of Staff of the Guangdong Army and Commander of the First Division. He was one of the military leaders who insisted on supporting Sun Yat-sen. At that time, Liang Hongkai was the commander of a mixed brigade under Deng Keng's command. In early 1922, Deng Keng was assassinated at the Guangzhou railway station. After his death, the First Division of the Guangdong Army elected Liang Hongkai as its new commander, and from then on, Liang became one of the four major warlords of the Guangdong Army.