Chapter 9: Eating Rations as Soldiers

  Zhou Xuan Zhang did not know that the governor's mansion was a certain rule, looking at the city gate being heavily guarded, the sentry was majestic and powerful, completely different from the situation on the main street, it must be the governor's mansion without a doubt.

  According to Feng Guozhang's words, once he arrived at the provincial governor's office, it was a matter of capturing this "rebel" and bringing him to justice, and the next step would be to behead him in public!

  Zhou Xuan Zhang is not afraid of death, anyway he has already died once!

  But he's afraid of being beheaded!

  The taste of beheading is unbearable, and the appearance of death is extremely ugly.

  Zhou Xuanzhang retreated without a way out and had to speak out loudly: "Teacher Feng, what crime have I committed? What right do you have to chop off my head?"

  Feng Guozhang sneered: "You dare to be stubborn in this place! Alright, I'll make it clear to you, and you'll have no choice but to admit defeat! Listen up, prisoner Zhou Xuanzhang, you've committed two major crimes. First, you've recklessly discussed state affairs and slandered the imperial court! Second, you've spread heretical teachings and incited me, a high-ranking official, to cut off my queue, plotting to undermine the foundations of our great Qing dynasty! Either of these crimes is punishable by beheading, and you're guilty of both - how can you expect to live?"

  "Feng teacher, I was just talking nonsense and didn't really do anything, you're punishing me for speaking out of turn..."

  "Shut up! This official warns you, in the Great Qing Empire, one word out of place and an entire family will be executed, with nine generations implicated! You young whelp have spoken more than just one word, killing ten families would not be enough! Considering that your whole family has already been buried at sea, I won't implicate them, but I'll just cut off your own head. This is the imperial court's special mercy, don't you quickly thank me!"

  The flood swallowed up countless villages on both sides of the canal, and the people were in dire straits everywhere. Zhou Xianzhang was the only one who crawled out of the canal alone, apparently he was the only survivor of his family.

  In the 19th century, the Qing dynasty was a time when speaking out could lead to severe punishment. Feng Guozhang's words were stern and harsh, causing Zhou Xuanzhang to become enraged, but even with the dark gun muzzle pressed against him, he was still helpless.

  Feng Guozhang saw that Zhou Xunzhang had become honest, and he secretly rejoiced, saying: "However, this teacher can also point out a way for you to abandon the darkness and turn to the light."

  There is still hope!

  Zhou Xuan Zhang hastily said: "Teacher Feng, please go on!"

  "Look over there."

  Zhou Xuan Zhang followed Feng Guo Zhang's finger and looked over, only to see a earthen platform under the city gate, on which was placed a square table, with a soldier sitting at the edge of the table, dressed exactly like Feng Guo Zhang. A group of young and strong men were lined up under the earthen platform, walking up to the platform in order, taking a strip from the soldier's hand, holding the strip and entering the city gate.

  "What's that for?" Zhou Xianzhang asked.

  "Will you join the army for food?"

  "I refuse!" Zhou Xiangzhang said resolutely. Although Zhou Xiangzhang was not very familiar with the history of the Qing Dynasty, he knew that in the late 19th century, the Qing army had only been defeated and humiliated! In the 21st century, being a soldier meant being scolded as a pig! But to be a soldier in the late 19th century Qing Dynasty was even worse than being a pig!

  "How dare you!" Feng Guozhang angrily shouted: "Our sect's master saw that your marksmanship is outstanding, and you also understand some infantry drill methods, so you're a rare talent. That's why he recommended you to go to school! You ungrateful bastard, not recognizing the kindness shown to you, get out of my sight now! We'll go to the Governor's mansion immediately, and let the Governor behead you!"

  "What? This isn't the Xunfu Gate?" Zhou Xianzhang asked in surprise.

  "Open your dog eyes and take a clear look, what's written on the city gate?"

  Zhou Xuan Zhang looked up and saw that on the city gate was written in large letters: "Tianjin Martial Arts Academy".

  It turned out that Feng Guozhang had never intended to behead Zhou Xuanzhang.

  Zhou Xuanzhang showed off his good marksmanship on the riverbank, and then again showed off his good vision on the main street. This made Feng Guozhang feel deeply moved. In these times, people who can use both their brains and hands are really too few!

  Feng Guozhang originally suspected that Zhou Xuanzhang was a remnant of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom or the Nian rebels, and planned to take Zhou Xuanzhang back to the city for further interrogation. However, Zhou Xuanzhang's eloquent discourse on infantry training changed Feng Guozhang's mind.

  No matter whether it was the Taiping or the Nian, they could not possibly have been so well-versed in modern infantry drill and tactics. These were things that had only been taught to Chinese students by German instructors at the Tientsin Military Academy over the past three years. Apart from the Tientsin Military Academy, no one else had even heard of such things. The Taiping and Nian rebels knew nothing about them.

  Feng Guozhang's thinking was not conservative, but rather somewhat radical. In his view, even if Zhou Xuanzhang and the Long-haired bandits had some connections, the Long-haired bandits had long been pacified, and the remaining minority remnants, as long as they no longer regarded the Qing dynasty as an enemy, could be allowed to reform themselves.

  The Qing Empire is in dire need of military talents like Zhou Xuanzhang. If Zhou Xuanzhang can be utilized by the Qing Empire, even if he used to be a bandit, it would still be a blessing for the country.

  So, Feng Guozhang wanted to get Zhou Xuzhang into the Tianjin Military Academy as a student, that is, as a soldier. This kind of student-soldier was different from the soldiers of the Xiang-Huai Army, and also different from those useless young masters in the Eight Banners and Green Camp.

  The Tianjin Military Academy was founded by Li Hongzhang as a modern army military personnel training school, both the imperial court and Li Zhongtang attached great importance to the academy. All the students who entered the academy were selected from various camps of the Qing army, and had to go through layers of selection, they were the elite among the elite in the Qing army.

  Zhou Xuan Zhang is not a current soldier, he is just a refugee who cannot be drowned, and his origin is unknown. Originally, he was not qualified to enter the school.

  Feng Guozhang was eager for talent and also a teacher at the school, planning to recommend Zhou Xuanzhang to the school board in his personal capacity.

  Of course, Feng Guozhang was just a small teacher, with little power and influence, and it was uncertain whether the school would listen to him, even he himself had no confidence.

  But anyway, the first step is to persuade Zhou Xianzhang to agree to join the army and go to school.

  However, in the Qing dynasty, persuading someone to join the army was an extremely difficult task.

  These days, ordinary people have a natural resistance to joining the army, and even abhor it! As the saying goes, "Good iron is not used for nails, good men do not join the army." This has something to do with the mercenary system of the Qing dynasty. The Qing dynasty still uses mercenaries, and the purpose of joining the army is just to make a living. In the eyes of ordinary people, those who join the army are all rascals who can't make a living at home and have no way to stand on their own feet, so they join the army just to make ends meet.

  In the Qing dynasty, the social status of soldiers was even lower than that of *

  This can be seen from the selection of students at Tianjin Martial Studies Academy.

  The Qing dynasty has accumulated evil for a long time, and corruption has penetrated into every cell of the official system. The various selections of the Qing dynasty, whether it is selecting officials or examining scholars, even if it is to be a small yamen runner, are all silver flying everywhere. The officials of the Qing dynasty, from candidates to incumbents, are all piled up with silver.

  The students of the Tianjin Military Academy enjoyed a salary from the imperial court and had no worries about food and clothing. In modern terms, they were civil servants, which should be a good job. Since it was a good job, according to the implicit rules of the Qing Dynasty, one could not enter the academy without paying a price in blood.

  However, the selection of students for Tianjin's Military Academy was completely free from corruption.

  No one gave silver to the officials and teachers of the school.

  The reason is simple: anyone with a bit of connections would rather not be a soldier, and even less willing to attend school.

  When the social status of soldiers is already low enough. In the Tianjin Military Academy, instead of learning Confucian classics, they follow red-haired and blue-eyed foreigners to learn strange skills, which is simply a slave to foreigners! Can Chinese people with a sense of justice enter the academy?

  So in the eyes of the Chinese people, a student soldier is even more inferior than a soldier! Two ranks lower than a soldier!

  In this way, the Tianjin Military Academy's selection of students was strictly in accordance with procedures, without any hidden rules. In a corrupt Qing dynasty, such an unusual phenomenon actually emerged, like a lotus flower that rises from the mud but remains unsoiled.

  So, according to Feng Guozhang's general experience, it would be easier to climb to the sky than to persuade Zhou Xuan Zhang to go to school!

  Feng Guozhang's brain was also quite clever, since persuasion was difficult to be effective, he simply adopted a high-pressure policy, and fabricated several capital crimes for Zhou Xuanzhang, forcing him to surrender.