Chapter 21: Elite of the Era

  Chapter 21: Elite of the Era

  "Huo Shi? Is our second battalion arranged?" Huo Shan asked further.

  "It's all arranged, the 6th battalion led by Yue Shan will head to Zhejiang, the 7th battalion led by Qiu Heng will head to Yunnan, the 8th battalion led by Huo Dongping will head to Guizhou, the 9th battalion led by Sun Chenggang will head to Cambodia, and the 10th battalion led by Huo Donglin will head to Sulawesi Island! However, young master, as our troops are increasingly deployed overseas, our transportation ships are no longer sufficient for replenishing ammunition and transporting immigrants. Therefore, Huo Long hopes that we can purchase another batch of ships from Europe!"

  "Order a sea boat? Let him ask Fu Bo for money to buy it! What, does he have any other ideas?" Huo Shan thought of Huo Long, who had not been seen for over a month, and couldn't help but ask with a smile.

  "Yes, young master! Now that guy is building military bases on Saipan, Guam, Truk Island and Nauru, and has taken 5,000 people from the family's fleet to train his marine corps according to your training outline. The more than 200 people we poached from the Fujian Water School have also been taken away by him, and a naval academy has been established on Saipan. Now, looking at our army growing in strength and deploying to various places! That guy can't help but feel anxious!" Huo Shi said excitedly, his face flushed with excitement as he watched his troops grow in number, the greatest leader of the land army, of course, was overjoyed in his heart!

  "Send him off, let him train well. The navy is not formed by just buying a few warships! I give him one year! Within this year, he must make good use of the teachers we 'invited' from Mawei! First, let these 5,000 people get rid of illiteracy, and then gradually introduce various naval theories! After one year, our own shipyard should also be able to build small-tonnage cruisers! At that time, let them concentrate on warship maneuver training again!"

  "Understood, young master! I'll go inform him right away!"

  "Hmm, you and Yunfeng go back first! Bring those two guys, Huo Lang and Huo Bao, to me!"

  After they left, Huo Shan leaned back in his chair, exhausted, and slowly massaged the temples on both sides of his head with his hands.

  Now, as the troops continue to expand, all sorts of big and small matters have also become more numerous. Relying solely on the people from their own family is fundamentally unable to alleviate the thirst for talent in the current Huo family army. However, in this era's China, truly opening one's eyes to look at the world, having one's own ideals and ambitions, such talents are really too few! Therefore, now it is still relying on one's own cultivation and gathering of the Qing government's accumulated talents over several decades to serve oneself. However, this is after all limited, after going through four months of collection, those who could be invited with money have basically all gathered in Taiwan, while the remaining ones are not easy to deal with!

  "It seems like I can only think of a way out!" Huo Shan thought to himself.

  "Master, Hu Bao and Hu Lang have arrived!" Just then, Hu Lei, who was guarding the door outside, opened it and said.

  "Let them in!"

  "Master, you're looking for us?"

  Sit!

  "I asked you both here today because I wanted to ask some questions!" said Huo Shan after they sat down.

  "Howl, how's the task I assigned to you going?"

  "Master, Xu Shou and Xu Jianyin father and son, Hua Xuefang and Li Shanlan old couple and their family members have all been received by us in Taipei and are arranged to stay in the military camp at the back of the mountain!"

  "Great, haha! Too good!" With excitement in his heart, Huo Shan suddenly jumped up from his chair.

  "These few people are the most powerful scientists of this era, master-level talents!"

  Xu Shou, a native of Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, was self-taught and proficient in science, music, geometry, mechanics, mining, steam engines, medicine, optics, and electricity. Throughout his life, he successively led the design and development of steamships at the Anqing and Nanjing Arsenal, earning him the title of "the pioneer of modern Chinese shipbuilding". In the seventh year of Tongzhi, he founded a translation institute, where with the assistance of British missionaries Alexander Williamson and John Fryer, among others, he translated and published 13 scientific works, including six Western modern chemistry books in 63 volumes, systematically introducing Western modern chemical knowledge to China. At the same time, he was also the chief designer for the shipyard built by Hu Shan.

  Compared with his father's excellence, Xu Jianyin, as a son, is also not inferior. Especially in shipbuilding and military industry, he is undoubtedly one of China's top talents.

  Similarly, Hua Hengfang's achievements in mathematics and shipbuilding, Li Shanlan's achievements in astronomy, are also the big shots of this era! Being able to gather these talents under one's own banner, many plans can be launched ahead of schedule!

  "What about their attitude?" Huo Shan asked immediately.

  "When he first came, he didn't say a word and didn't pay much attention to us either! However, after reading Young Master's "Zhonghua Lun" and other books, he began to ask about Young Master constantly! Now, apart from constantly asking us for books, he always says he wants to meet Young Master!" Huo Lang said with a smile.

  "Alright, got it. You bring your book over to them later! First, let them stay in the barracks for a few days and see our military training. Make sure to take good care of them!"

  "Yes! Young master!"

  "Right, our industrial development has just begun, and we need talented people from all aspects. In addition to normal recruitment methods, your intelligence agency must also make more contributions. European education is well-developed, and the number of workers is large. You should think of ways to recruit them to Taiwan! Moreover, in countries like the Russian Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, there are many political prisoners in their prisons who are invaluable talents. Similarly, in the prisons of Western countries such as England, France, Germany, and the United States, there are also many talented people. Use money to buy them over! This is also an effective way for us to narrow the talent gap with Western industrialized nations!" After finishing speaking, Huo Shan handed a piece of white paper filled with names from his desk drawer to Huo Lang.

  "The people above are important to us. Your intelligence agency must find a way to bring them and their families to Taiwan, pay attention to the allocation of time, don't let anyone detect it!"

  Nikola Tesla (Austria)

  Charles Parsons (UK)

  Rudolf Diesel (Germany)

  John Philip Holland (USA)

  Joseph John Thomson (UK)

  Antoine Henri Becquerel (France)

  ………

  "These 124 people are high-level talents involved in various fields such as power, basic materials, military technology, and machinery. They are crucial to our country's future development. You must bring them to Taiwan within three years. This will be the Military Intelligence Bureau's most important and core work!" Huo Shan instructed solemnly.

  "Understood, young master!" Upon hearing the young master's words, Huo Lang's expression turned extremely serious.

  "This list is kept by you and only you know about it! When taking specific action, let Hobo's special forces help you!"

  "Understood!" The two of them stood up at the same time and responded loudly.

  "Alright, Huo Lang you go prepare!"

  ——————

  "How's your special forces training going?" he asked after seeing Huo Lang off.

  "Master, the 'Cheetah' special forces have been formally established, with a total of seven companies, thirty platoons and two hundred fourteen men!"

  "Do you plan on expanding enrollment?"

  "Master, I think these two hundred plus people are just right. The hunting leopard is the true elite, and fewer but better is its essence!" Huo Bao thought for a while before slowly expressing his understanding of special forces.

  "What you said is right, the Cheetahs are the most elite special forces, they are the special forces that carry out campaign tasks! However, our army and navy still need other special forces to carry out tactical tasks! So, we need more special soldiers! This is also one of the reasons I called you here today!" Ho Shan said slowly.

  "Yes, sir! What can I do for you?"

  "Divide your men into three parts, and send them to Alaska in the United States and the Northwest Territories of Canada to build training bases. Establish a special forces unit that can fight in extremely cold weather, named 'Snow Wolf'! Also, establish a training base on Borneo and form a special forces unit that can fight in hot regions, named 'Specter Snake'! Then, go find Holong and have him provide you with personnel and facilities to establish a special operations unit belonging to the Navy, named 'Sea Lion'! These three special forces units will be like the Cheetah, first recruiting 400 people for training, then expanding each year by selecting personnel from various units, with no limit on the number of people!" Ho Shan said slowly.

  "I understand!"

  "Also, while training in Alaska you have another task! That is to kill those gold prospectors who go there! I don't want to hear that Alaska has any other resources besides endless ice and snow, forests and natives!"

  Watching the distant back of Hu Bao, Hu Shan murmured: "Alaska's rich resources can only be owned by hardworking Chinese!"

  It's now 1880, and he still remembers that Alaska was developed after a prospector named 'Eina' discovered a huge gold mine! This attracted other prospectors and adventurers to flock in, eventually making Americans pay attention to this largest state in the United States, which was initially ridiculed as the "Seward Icebox".

  "But now that Young Master has taken a liking to it, the Americans can forget about it!" He Shan thought to himself with a hint of satisfaction.

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