Chapter 29: My Jin Army

  The development of Ningwu Prefecture has already begun to bring prosperity signs to various places in Shanxi, which is very clear to Hu Pinzhi. However, in this chaotic world, how long can this good development momentum be maintained? Even the popular governor at that time did not dare to make a conclusion easily. How to maintain a long-term and stable social environment and continue the current good development trend for as long as possible can only rely on a strong armed force. After learning that Kang Fan was preparing to raise funds to build an army, Hu Pinzhi decided to intervene.

  Hu Pingzhi was well aware of the current situation: in the Zhili area, some high-ranking officials in the imperial court had been ordered to train new-style land armies such as the Wuwei Army, Gan Army, and Yi Army, which already had a total strength of no less than 600,000. Among them were more than 10,000 troops stationed in Nanyuan under the direct command of Ronglu. At present, the struggle between the conservative faction and the reformist faction within the imperial court was becoming increasingly fierce, while Western powers also harbored ulterior motives, with the intention to divide China being well-known to all. The internal and external situation was extremely unfavorable. Under such circumstances, if Shanxi could have a powerful local armed force, it would be beneficial in every way: on the one hand, it could increase Shanxi's weight in the imperial court's politics, providing a reliable military force for both internal struggles and resistance against foreign invasions; on the other hand, Hu Pingzhi himself was already over 60 years old, with not much time left in his official career. It would be extremely fortunate to have someone like Kang Fan, who excelled in all aspects such as character and ability, to help govern Shanxi. Therefore, after careful consideration, Hu Pingzhi made a major decision: he appointed Kang Fan as the commander of the infantry and instructor, organizing a new-style army, and allocated part of the provincial military funds to Kang Fan as start-up capital.

  Hu Pingzi was one of the few officials in the current dynasty who held both civil and military positions, combining the roles of governor and commander-in-chief. He controlled all military and political power in Shanxi Province. The position of infantry commander that he granted to Kang Fan should have been a third-rank military officer - a lieutenant general, which was two ranks higher than his previous position as a fourth-rank colonel appointed by Emperor Guangxu. However, in terms of influence, it was slightly lower than the original position held by Kang Fan.

  Kang Fan was more than happy to accept the task and immediately threw himself into work. First, he publicly recruited high-paying professional and technical talents from society, such as Chinese students studying abroad, senior domestic scholars, and Westerners, etc., to enhance Qing Shengying's strength in professional cultural knowledge and military theoretical education, and expand intelligence, sniping, reconnaissance, communication, engineering, medical, logistics and other professional training capabilities. Some of the doctors and nurses reserved by the county hospital were also assigned to Qing Shengying for retraining, making them the first batch of professional military doctors and rescue soldiers. Then, he recruited students from all over the country, enrolled them in Qing Shengying, enjoyed free education, and became a grassroots officer after graduation. However, due to the expansion and renovation project of Qing Shengying, everyone could only do their own things at the temporary settlement point before completion, and the conditions were a bit harsh.

  After the recruitment office was set up in the county hospital, people came to sign up for the army. After passing the regular physical examination at the hospital and the preliminary review by the instructors of Qing Sheng Camp, their personal information such as name, gender, age, height, weight, place of origin, blood type, etc., and the ID photos taken later will be recorded in their personal files and concentrated in a temporary camp next to Qing Sheng Camp. The medical department of Qing Sheng Camp will organize them to go through personal hygiene cleaning procedures, such as: new recruits must cut off their braids and shave their heads uniformly; burn the clothes they brought with them; take a bath and change into military uniforms issued by the logistics department, etc.

  In the cavalry regiment, those original Blue Fiend members were influenced by Korfanty and spontaneously or later imitated him, shaving their heads in a similar short style. This was an extraordinary move for these modern people! It also reflected one of the best qualities of these officers: being open to new and good things, not adhering to outdated rules. However, when it came to implementing this in various parts of Shanxi province and among recruits from other provinces, they encountered great difficulties. Many openly opposed it, including some who overreacted, leading to a significant number quitting. Later, Korfanty made a compromise: frontline troops had to follow the rule, while internal security forces were not required to do so, allowing them to act according to their individual wishes, and the matter was finally settled.

  There are tens of thousands of troops stationed in Shanxi Province, including the Green Standard Army, the Eight Banners, and local militias. Although their quality is uneven, it's still possible to select a certain number of excellent personnel with satisfactory cultural and military qualities. At the same time, they also recruited outstanding soldiers from across the country, which was essentially poaching talent from other regions.

  The expansion and renovation project of Qingying Camp is also being carried out intensively, with a plan to be completed before the winter recruitment work ends and put into formal use. Since the industrial system of Ningwu Prefecture has not yet been established, it is temporarily unable to produce new-style weapons and equipment, so it was decided that military uniforms would still follow the Qing army's uniform style, and weapons would continue to be purchased from abroad. The frontline garrison troops continued to use Mosin-Nagant rifles, Mauser automatic pistols, and Maxim water-cooled heavy machine guns, while the inner guard units and patrolmen were equipped with Colt revolvers and Winchester lever-action repeating rifles. Although these two types of American-made civilian firearms have relatively small firepower, they are very suitable for the tasks performed by these two teams.

  In the future, the new army stationed in Qing Shengying was actually the Ningwu Fu garrison, which should have been under the jurisdiction of the Datong Town General Officer, but in fact, it directly accepted Hu Ping's dispatch and should be considered a direct unit of the Provincial Military Region. However, the entire expenditure of the new army was basically self-raised by Ningwu Fu, and Hu Ping's greatest contribution was to provide firm official support, and as for military expenses, it was only symbolic assistance. In this way, Kang Fan actually controlled the military power of the new army, making officials at all levels in the province dare not underestimate him, and also dared not belittle Kang Fan's efforts to rectify the Ningwu Fu government. Therefore, Yu Hao's initial worries also dissipated, and he helped Kang Fan thoroughly clean up the Ningwu Fu government.

  The members of the Qing Shengying Intelligence Class made great contributions in this operation, and the relevant materials they obtained through various means became the main standard for evaluating the officials in the Ningwu Prefecture. The cavalry regiment and the patrol house jointly took action, capturing all the law-breaking officials in the government without warning, leaving them no time to react. After that, Kang Fan adopted a very conservative strategy in dealing with these people: handing them over to the Yanping Road Dao Office for disposal by the Yanping Road Dao officer, who was also Yu Hǎo's uncle. The Ningwu Prefecture handed over all the evidence and relieved these officials of their duties, expelling them from the prefecture. As for those in the government who did not break the law but were incompetent, Kang Fan dismissed them from public office and directly expelled them from the government.

  After the cleansing action, Kang Fan officially appointed Yu Hao to take charge of administrative work in Ningwu Prefecture, Zhong Hanqiang to take charge of financial work, He Shuichang to take charge of agriculture, He Shui Kuo to be responsible for domestic trade, and Duonowan to be responsible for foreign trade. The heads of the newly established departments such as industry, culture, education, medical health, social security, etc. were all elected by voting among the students. Mei Xiang was elected as the Minister of Medical Health Department of Ningwu Prefecture with her superb medical skills and outstanding leadership ability, overjoyed.

  After the main institutions and responsible persons of Ningwu Prefecture were established, they began to openly recruit public officials from society. Each institution went through procedures such as interviews, written tests, and audits to independently recruit qualified personnel, assign them suitable positions, add those old-timers who were retained, perfect their own personnel system, and fix this procedure, reviewing it every two years, dismissing the unqualified, and recruiting new people.

  After these measures were implemented, the whole province was shaken, especially the county magistrates of Ningwu Prefecture, who were even more silent and fearful of causing trouble for themselves, working extremely hard. However, Hu Ping's heart was actually in support of Kang Fan's approach, so he turned a blind eye to the criticisms from all sides.

  After the officialdom was rectified, it reached the expected goal of Kang Fan. All major decisions in Ningwu Prefecture were made through collective discussion and decision-making, which avoided many unnecessary detours under the collective wisdom. With the help of the new administration of Ningwu Prefecture, Kang Fan also had more time for himself.

  The recruitment work of the new army and the enrollment work of Qing Sheng Camp were assisted by many students, cavalry officers, and hospital staff in the county town. It was not necessary for Kang Fan to preside over it personally, and it was enough to ask about it from time to time after a period of time had passed. Kang Fan's residence in Qing Sheng Camp was not included in this renovation, because both Kang Fan and Mei Xiang were very satisfied with the current residence, so Kang Fan spent most of the remaining time this year supervising the construction site of Qing Sheng Camp without leaving home. Under his personal supervision, the expanded and renovated Qing Sheng Camp became a truly functional and fully equipped military base that met Kang Fan's standards: the command center, barracks, classrooms, library, etc. were all transformed from the original brick bungalows into three-story buildings with basements, and the facilities such as training grounds, shooting ranges, armories, logistics warehouses, stables, hospitals, boiler rooms, canteens, and bathhouses were all expanded in scale compared to before. The cement roads led to all directions, and the empty spaces between the roads and buildings were filled with newly planted flowers, grasses, and trees, making the whole camp area clean, tidy, and pleasant to look at, fully meeting the requirements for accommodating 20,000 officers and soldiers. The camp area was even larger than the county town of Ningwu.

  Kang Fan merged the recruited soldiers with the cavalry regiment to form a new army of over 13,000 people. In the new army, local garrison troops accounted for 70%, active-duty soldiers from various parts of the country accounted for 30%, and the remaining ordinary civilians who signed up were absorbed by the internal guard corps. Although the number did not reach Kang Fan's initial plan of 10,000 people, due to the large number of new recruits exceeding expectations, the expansion work of the internal guard corps was no longer so urgent. Moreover, recruitment work would be carried out regularly every year in the future, and new soldiers would continuously supplement the army. Therefore, after the new army reached its required size, Kang Fan ordered the suspension of this year's recruitment work.

  All new officers and soldiers moved into Qing Sheng Camp, disrupting the establishment, and were uniformly demoted to ordinary soldiers for retraining. Kang Fan personally participated in the training work, directing on duty. After initial training, the new officers and soldiers were divided into professional intermediate and advanced training. There were some military officers and soldiers with rich combat experience and solid military skills in the new army. During the training, a batch of outstanding officers and soldiers emerged. These people were personally selected, trained and appointed by Kang Fan as officers at all levels, so the officers of the new army called Kang Fan "Principal".

  Kang Fan established a staff headquarters directly under his leadership while building the new army, with administrative agencies set up in the command building of Qing Shengying. The personnel were all composed of excellent military officers selected from the new army, and were responsible for departments such as the Operations Support Bureau, Equipment Management Bureau, Administrative Personnel Bureau, Law Enforcement Supervision Bureau, and Security Bureau. They were fully responsible for Ningwu Prefecture's defense work, as well as the recruitment, training, management, equipment, logistics, intelligence, command, and combat of the Jin army. It was the top-level management agency for all armed forces in Ningwu Prefecture. The Security Bureau was expanded from the original Intelligence Class, divided into domestic and foreign departments. The domestic department was responsible for supervising, reviewing, and collecting and handling security-related intelligence on officials and personnel in administrative agencies within the province, as well as other areas related to provincial security. The foreign department was responsible for collecting and handling security-related intelligence on foreign affairs, with its own intelligence personnel team and special operations forces.

  The Inner Guard Corps is directly under the jurisdiction of the General Staff, and the officers are also appointed from the new army. The management model is the same as that of the new army, but it is stationed in the old barracks transformed in various counties within the jurisdiction, each responsible for its own area. The establishment of this force effectively coordinated with the work of the county police stations and the new army, ensuring the stability and tranquility of the people's lives in Ningwu Prefecture and even the entire Yanping Road, creating the best regional social environment in the province.

  The new army and the inner guard troops' uniforms, although still following the Qing military style, were fully equipped from inside to outside, from winter to summer. Every 10 to 20 people shared a dormitory with upper and lower bunks, each person having a single bed, bedding and personal items were all standardized, including quilts, towels, washing supplies, etc. The dormitories were spacious and clean, with large windows made of transparent glass that provided good lighting and ventilation conditions, and at night the electric lights were bright. Moreover, they used very hygienic flush toilets and a scientific sewage system. All the new soldiers who entered the Qingying camp had their long braids cut off, wearing uniform short hair, and adhering to strict personal hygiene and collective health management systems, greatly reducing the incidence of common diseases and infectious diseases. In contrast, what kind of superior conditions did the Qing army have? Their uniforms were extremely incomplete, lacking this and that; the barracks were old-fashioned buildings with windows pasted over with paper, dark and stifling; the toilets were stinky and infested with flies; they slept on large platforms, officers and soldiers had long braids, hardly ever bathed, dozens of people shared a bed, mosquitoes swarmed inside, everyone's body was infested with lice... The most common phenomenon in the barracks was: when going to bed, everyone would cover themselves with quilts and scratch their clothes under the oil lamps.

  The canteen of Qing Sheng Camp provides officers and soldiers with a diet that includes not only staple foods such as rice, flour, and miscellaneous grains but also a large increase in the proportion of meat, dairy products, eggs, vegetables, and fruits to provide sufficient nutrition for the officers and soldiers. This meets the strict physical requirements of the military training implemented in Qing Sheng Camp.

  In addition, Qing Sheng Camp has introduced some modern sports and organized various cultural activities. On the one hand, this enriches the military life of officers and soldiers; on the other hand, it increases their physical fitness, improves their physical quality, enhances communication among officers and soldiers, and deepens friendships. Examples include team ball games such as football, basketball, and volleyball, apparatus gymnastics such as single and double bars, track and field events, fitness exercises, singing, dancing, and individual talent shows.

  These modern sports projects were taught by Kang Fan, Zhong Hanqiang, Mei Xiang, and her classmates. The teaching staff working in Qing Sheng Camp played a role in adding to the beauty of these activities. In their spare time, they often participated in various exercises with everyone on the training ground and organized cultural activities on the lawn in front of the command building, making Qing Sheng Camp lively and extraordinary, attracting large numbers of local people to come and enjoy themselves together with the military personnel.

  The faculty and students of the Qing Shengying enjoyed the same treatment as the officers and soldiers, while the conditions for the Inner Guards were slightly worse in terms of hardware facilities and equipment, but this was only compared to the Qing Shengying. Compared to the contemporary Qing army, the conditions were also quite good.

  Later, in accordance with Hu Ping's intention, Kang Fan collectively referred to the new army and the inner guard troops as the Jin Army, which were called the Jin Army Standing Army and the Jin Army Inner Guard Troops. Under the joint maintenance of the standing army, the inner guard troops, and the patrolmen, the industrial and agricultural development centered on Ningwu Prefecture was making rapid progress day by day. By the end of that year, the industrial construction plan of Ningwu Prefecture had been fully completed, a relatively complete industrial system had been established, and it had entered a brand new industrial era.

  In this year's large-scale construction, the local power industry and building materials industry were first developed and expanded due to huge demand, followed by the prosperity of mining, wood processing, papermaking, food processing, daily necessities manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, textiles, services and other industries. These enterprises created enormous wealth for Ningwu Prefecture, providing strong support for the establishment of various local undertakings, driving various local undertakings to enter a stage of healthy development. The county government renovation project that Kang Fan was most anxious about had been completed before the industrial construction plan was completed, and Zhong Hanqiang and Mei Xiang's classmates all settled in comfortable homes in the county government, also having their own careers, finally truly settling down, really nothing to worry about anymore.

  Kang Fan was lost in thought, sweeping the fallen leaves on the ground, when suddenly he felt an overwhelming urge to cry. He tried to hold it back, but tears had already begun to flow uncontrollably.

  Mei Xiang was busy in the kitchen, and for a long time, she didn't hear any movement from Kang Fan. When she turned her head, she saw him crying, so she hastily threw down the spatula in her hand and ran over to him.

  How did you suddenly cry? Mei Xiang hurriedly lifted her apron to wipe away his tears.

  Kang Fan pushed her hand away: Let me cry. After that, tears fell even more fiercely.

  Mei Xiang recalled the scene when she first came here with Kang Fan exploring the road together. At that time, Kang Fan also cried once. At this moment, affected by Kang Fan, she also shed tears.

  I know you've been working very hard, I know... Mei Xiang said softly.

  Kang Fan really felt that he had been through a lot of hardships, coming to this era for almost three years now. The unpredictable hand of fate had pushed him to the forefront, but he himself was not psychologically prepared at all, relying solely on his passion and perseverance to get by until now. Fortunately, heaven's eyes were watching over him, allowing him to finally achieve some small success, which should be considered a fulfillment of expectations, right?

  Adolf and Chi Tu walked together, with two people turning around beside them. Chi Tu would occasionally return to the stable to bring back fodder to chew on, and Adolf would come forward to make trouble, tearing apart the fodder in Chi Tu's mouth and scattering it all over the yard. Kang Fan thought this yard was thoroughly cleaned out.