Chapter 47: Ye Zhi's Inspection of Talents

  Time quickly entered the Gregorian calendar in December, and the Ye family, led by Ye Zhichao, strictly followed the six rites. After asking for names, accepting auspiciousness, accepting signs, and requesting dates, they tentatively set Ye Zhiwei's wedding date for March of next year.

  Sheng Huiyi knew that the book had reached a reasonable conclusion, and even if she was unwilling in her heart, she would not speak out against it. Moreover, after meeting Ye Zhi Kui that day, she did not find him particularly unpleasant; Ye Zhi Kui knew that opposing it would be meaningless, and after meeting Sheng Huiyi, although he could not say that he liked her at first sight, nor could he say that he disliked her, so he let Ye Zhi Chao take charge. There was only one condition: the Sheng family had to agree to his marrying Xiao Linglong as a concubine. When everyone learned that Xiao Linglong had saved his life in Korea, they no longer spoke out against it.

  At the beginning of the month, the imperial reward finally came down. Ye Zhiqi was granted the honor of riding a horse in the Forbidden City, the title of Zhongyong Batulu, and was awarded a yellow jacket and precious objects. He was promoted to be the commander-in-chief of the Zhili army due to his military achievements, and was ordered to select 30 battalions from the Huai Army stationed in Zhili, equip them with new-style weapons, imitate the German military system, and form the "Wuyi Army", which was stationed in Tianjin Lutai.

  Ye Zhiqi had already made all the preparations for recruiting before the order came, and as soon as he was appointed, Ye Zhiqi immediately found Li Hongzhang, Nie Shicheng (who had been transferred to Shandong Governor at that time) and his uncle Ye Zhichao. He visited them three times a day, determined to get some talented people from them, no matter what. The three of them were also annoyed and helpless, so they recommended some talents such as Ruan Zhongshu, Wang Huaiqing, Yan Dunyuan and others. Li Hongzhang even reluctantly handed him over to his former subordinate, Yin Chang, who was then the director of Tianjin Military Academy.

  If Ye Zhikui can be called the "Lucky Star" of the Qing Dynasty, then Yin Chang can be called the "Lucky Official" of the Qing Dynasty. Yin Chang's family background was not very good, although he was a member of the Zhengbai Banner, but just an ordinary citizen. At the age of 13, he was forced to enter the Tongwen Guan in Beijing to study German. Why did I say "forced"? Because at that time, the Tongwen Guan couldn't recruit students. The mainstream view was that going to learn foreign languages was equivalent to surrendering to foreigners, and it was shameful to go there to study.

  Yin Chang thus began his legendary life, first serving as a translator for the German personnel. Unfortunately, after studying German for several years, he still didn't pass the test and was demoted from third-class to fourth-class translator. It's not important if you're good at foreign languages or not; what matters is whether your luck is good or not. After graduation, Yin Chang was sent to study in the Austrian army, where he coincidentally became part of the same unit as Crown Prince Wilhelm II. The two somehow hit it off and became sworn brothers, even going so far as to share a mistress together. Yin Chang thus gained a good friend in Germany, and after Wilhelm II ascended to the throne, many interactions between the Qing government and Germany were entrusted to him.

  Ye Zhikui brought several famous paintings and letters to the Yinchang Mansion, where Yinchang was holding a bird cage and teasing birds. As soon as he saw Ye Zhikui, he came forward enthusiastically and said: "Is it from Yunba? Zhongtang has told me about you, what do you think of this painted eyebrow? Isn't its call clear?"

  Yezhi Kui looked up and said: "The bird's cry of Mr. Yin is fierce, but unfortunately it's a bit too small."

  Yin Chang is absolutely a man of the times, he had already cut off his braid during his stay in Germany, and every time he met Cixi, he would wear a fake braid. Ye Zhi Kui couldn't help but admire his two small German-style mustaches, thinking to himself: fashionable!

  Ye Zhi Kui and Yin Chang's conversation started with a painting of a bird, both having been to Germany and sharing common interests. Ye Zhi Kui knew Yin Chang loved elegance and enjoyed food, drink, and entertainment, so he brought out several famous paintings for him to critique, which he then gifted to him. Afterwards, he shared some leisurely and carefree methods from later generations with Yin Chang, who was amazed and enthusiastic, almost pulling Ye Zhi Kui into an all-night conversation by candlelight. Before long, the two men were addressing each other as brothers.

  Fortunately, Ye Zhi Kui still remembered the purpose of this trip and soon said: "Yin Dage, I'm here to borrow some talent from you. Thanks to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor's favor, we're training a new army, but unfortunately, it's hard to find talented people. I've only just joined the army and don't have many useful talents under me. As the president of the Tianjin Martial Arts Academy, please recommend a few good ones for me."

  Yin Chang took people's money and helped them with their affairs, patting his chest and saying: "No problem, your younger brother's problems are my problems. It's rare for you to look down on the students who can enter your eyes." The Huai Army mostly started from the ranks, so they naturally looked down on the military academy students. At that time, after graduating from the military academy, they could only become instructors and had no actual command power, were not valued, and promoted very slowly, which is why Yin Chang said this.

  Yin Chang relied on his memory and thought of several excellent graduates, so he said: "There was a Feng Guozhang who was not bad. He had excellent grades that year and stayed in school to teach."

  Ye Zhi smiled and replied: "Hua Fu is now a subordinate of mine."

  Yin Chang was taken aback and continued: "There's also Wang Shizhen, who is quite good."

  Ye Zhi Kui smiled awkwardly and said: "Ping Qing is my younger brother's artillery instructor."

  Yin Chang was taken aback! He laughed and said, "From Yun, you and I really are heroes who see things similarly. Wait a moment, let me have the servant bring over the list of graduates from each period. You can choose whoever you like, and after you've made your selection, take my name card and go speak with them. I'm sure these people will give their teacher some face."

  Ye Zhi Kui was so moved that his nose was running, and soon someone brought the list over. Ye Zhi Kui flipped through it, and on it were not only the performance records of each graduate during their school days, but also their whereabouts after graduation and contact addresses, which made him extremely delighted.

  Just a rough glance, Ye Zhi Kui was thoroughly shocked in his heart, because the people on the list were really too stunning, what Duan Qirui, Cao Kun, Lu Jianzhang, Li Chun and so on. Some of the big names of the Republic of China era are now nothing, if they weren't serving as instructors in other armies or doing some assisting, clerical work, they wouldn't be reused. Ye Zhi Kui believed that as long as he gave them a little real power, they would definitely be lured over.

  Ye Zhi Kui was really excited, his words were trembling with gratitude, he said to Yin Chang: "Brother, such a generous gift, I am truly at a loss for how to repay you. In the future, if brother has any matter that needs my help, I will definitely risk my life to assist."

  Yin Chang obviously didn't understand why Ye Zhi Kui was so agitated, and in his heart he was still thinking that every time the graduates went out, it would be a big problem, and later they could just push them to Ye Zhi Kui.

  The two of them took what they needed, and for the time being, both host and guest were satisfied. After agreeing to meet again next time, Ye Zhi Kui borrowed a large stack of materials to take home. Although Ying Chang would help contact people, Ye Zhi Kui couldn't go find him every time, so he would try to handle things himself first, and only ask for his help when necessary.

  ………

  A new week, I hope brothers can continue to struggle together!