Chapter 22: It's Time for Battle!

  That voice sounded familiar, and Zhou Xuan Zhang hastily let go.

  There are two people standing behind.

  One is Feng Guozhang, one is Ai De.

  Ede covered his wrist and gritted his teeth. If Zhou Xianzhang hadn't let go quickly, Ede's wrist would have been crippled.

  The curriculum of the Tianjin Military Academy was almost entirely that of a German military academy, with only two exceptions: Chinese martial arts, taught by Tianjin's famous boxer Wang Wu; and political science.

  Zhou Xuan Zhang had been following his grandfather up the mountain to hunt since he was a child, and he was originally agile with his hands. The grappling technique taught by Wang Wu Dadao was extremely practical and easy to learn, so Zhou Xuan Zhang's martial arts skills were not bad, but he usually didn't want to show off, and this time, he subconsciously made a move, giving Ai De a warning shot.

  "Sorry, Mr. Ed, I didn't know it was you."

  "Whatever, whatever," Ed's Chinese was originally mediocre, and with a painful wrist, he said this even more sarcastically: "China's guns are no good, but their martial arts are okay. However, if I had a handgun, your martial arts would be useless."

  Feng Guozhang smiled and said, "Mr. Ed is right, but having only a handgun is not enough, you also need bullets. Mr. Ed should know that on the battlefield, there are always times when bullets run out."

  Ede shook his head: "Mr. Feng, for the Qing army, it is indeed a concern that bullets will run out, but in the German army, this is a low-probability event."

  "Why?"

  "Your Qing Empire's army doesn't have a logistics supply system, which is unimaginable in modern armies. In Germany, logistics supply is an important component of the military, and our logistics supply is professionalized, frontline soldiers won't worry about running out of bullets!"

  Feng Guozhang was speechless. What Ai De said was right, the logistics support of the Qing army was still in the thinking of "soldiers and horses have not moved, grain and grass first" in the cold weapon era. In the cold weapon era, logistics is just transporting grain and grass, which does not require any professional technology, as long as a grain officer hires some civilians and mules to do it.

  Now is the era of hot weapons, what needs to be transported is not only grain and fodder, but also guns, bullets, shells, medicines, engineering machinery and other tools of war. Moreover, modern warfare advances rapidly, and the situation changes in an instant, relying solely on temporary hired laborers is fundamentally unable to keep up. A professional logistics support system must be established, this system is an important component of the military, which in the West is called a "military station" system.

  The Qing dynasty introduced a large number of advanced weapons and equipment, and also built many arsenals that could produce bullets and shells. However, it did not establish a "military station" system. Once the war began, relying on the soldiers' personal ammunition to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop was fine, but if the battle became a stalemate, the problem of logistical supply would become prominent.

  A modernized army is not just about modernizing weapons, nor is it just about modernizing the quality of soldiers, but also about modernizing the combat system!

  Obviously, the military of the Qing dynasty still has a long way to go before modernization.

  "Big brother, Mr. Ed, what are you doing here?"

  Feng Guozhang did not respond to Zhou Xuanzhang's words, but instead asked: "Younger brother, just now by the pond, do you know who you were talking to?"

  "So you were there just now too. He said his surname is Liu, judging from his attire, he should be a warrant officer of the Beiyang Fleet."

  "Not bad! He's a bandit, but he's no ordinary bandit, he's Liu Buqian!"

  "Liu Buxian!" Zhou Xianzhang was startled.

  In the Qing military circle, Liu Buxian is a household name.

  This gentleman was one of the first batch of Qing dynasty naval officers to study abroad. He had practiced with the British Mediterranean Fleet, and served as a probationary lieutenant on the flagship "Manado". Due to his outstanding performance, he received high praise from the British Navy. After returning home, at the age of 22, he became the captain of a gunboat, making him the youngest captain in the Qing dynasty at that time. He also compiled the "North Sea Navy Regulations", and many naval rules were written by him. It can be said that Liu Buzhen was one of the main creators of the Beiyang Fleet.

  Liu Buchan is now the captain of the ironclad cruiser Dingyuan, concurrently serving as the commander-in-chief of the Right Wing of the Beiyang Fleet, with a first-class hat button, and is the second-highest-ranking general in the Beiyang Fleet after Admiral Ding Ruchang.

  The Dingyuan and Zhenyuan were the two largest cruisers in the Beiyang Fleet, and also the largest warships in Asia. The Zhenyuan was the flagship, with Admiral Ding Ruchang on board, while the Dingyuan was commanded by Liu Buchan, indicating his position in the Beiyang Fleet.

  Zhou Xuan Zhang actually came into close contact with the number two person of the Beiyang Navy, and he didn't even kneel down to him!

  "Big brother, why did Liu Buxian run to our Wu Bei Academy? We and the Beiyang Navy have always been like well water not interfering with river water." Zhou Xuanzhang hastily asked.

  "Tomorrow Li Zhongtang will come to inspect the students, he is here to prepare in advance." Feng Guozhang said.

  Li Hongzhang was a high-ranking official in the imperial court, and every time he came to Tianjin Military Academy, he would inevitably be accompanied by a large retinue. Moreover, each time there were also high-ranking generals from the Huai Army who came to receive him in advance. Feng Guozhang explained it this way, which was also reasonable.

  "I don't think it's that simple," said Ed. "In the past, those who had been sent to Li Zhongtang as advance guards were all army generals. After all, the Tianjin Military Academy is an army academy and has nothing to do with the navy. I think it's still related to the Koreans."

  "What's wrong with North Korea?" Zhou Xianzhang became curious.

  Feng Guozhang glanced around and said in a low voice, "Younger brother, originally I came specifically to bid you farewell. When I arrived at the dormitory and didn't find you there, I came to the pond and saw you with Liu Buxian together, so it wasn't convenient for me to approach."

  "Big brother, are you leaving?" Zhou Xuanzhang felt a great sense of loss in his heart. Originally, he had some complaints about Feng Guozhang, this big brother, forcing him to become sworn brothers and using his head to make bets with the adults, but over the past half year, Feng Guozhang truly treated him as a brother. When Feng Guozhang suddenly said he was leaving, Zhou Xuanzhang felt empty and hollow inside.

  Zhou Xuanzhang sighed: "Big brother, it's good that you're leaving, this school is a place of right and wrong."

  Feng Guozhang was shocked: "How did the school become a place of right and wrong?"

  "You're not a place of right and wrong for others, but you are for Big Brother!" Zhou Xuanzhang sighed: "If the Jin army is going to behead you, Big Brother should run far away."

  These days, the situation between China and Japan is calm and peaceful, with no signs of war. Moreover, the view that China and Japan should join hands to resist Western powers has gained the upper hand in the imperial court. The Qing dynasty continues to show goodwill towards Japan, and it is said that Yuan Shikai, the Qing's special envoy to Korea, also welcomes Japanese military personnel to participate in the reform of the Korean government.

  China and Japan can't fight, according to the bet, then Jin will have to cut off Feng Guozhang's head, which makes Zhou Xuanzhang very worried.

  Feng Guozhang, however, looked embarrassed: "This, younger brother, I have to go, not because I'm afraid that Jin will cut off my head, but because the Taiyuan General Nie Shicheng wants me to be his staff officer."

  "That's right. It's also a good thing, I heard that General Nie is very capable and his troops are well-trained, he is a good general. Big brother can be under General Nie's command, it's definitely more promising than being a teacher."

  Ai De said: "Your elder brother's brain is fine, Zhou Xian Zhang, I'm afraid it's your brain that has a problem."

  "What's going on?" Zhou Xuanzhang tensed up, could it be that China and Japan are really going to fight! Zhou Xuanzhang thought of the First Sino-Japanese War, by now he had been in the Qing dynasty for more than half a year, and he no longer believed his past life. Just like Zhuangzi's butterfly dream, he thought that was just a big dream he had, and the stories about the First Sino-Japanese War were also part of this dream.

  Feng Guozhang said in a low voice: "Don't deceive your brother, this time our Great Qing country and the Easterners are evenly matched!"

  Zhou Xuan Zhang was shocked and turned pale: "Is it a fight?"

  "Not yet," said Feng Guozhang.

  Zhou Xuanzhang let out a sigh of relief.

  "But it's almost done!" Ed said.

  Zhou Xuanzhang suddenly felt his scalp numb and the back of his neck cool, as if a steel knife was placed on the back of his neck: "What happened?"

  Feng Guozhang said: "Half a month ago, Kim Ok-kyun of the Gaehwadang in Korea was assassinated in Shanghai!"

  "Who killed him?" Zhou Xianzhang asked.

  "A North Korean, named Hong Zhongyu, is said to be an assassin dispatched by the North Korean court."

  Zhou Xuan Zhang let out a sigh of relief again: "Big brother, Koreans killing Koreans has nothing to do with our Great Qing and the East."

  Zhou Xuzhang had heard of Kim Ok-gyun, a renowned reformer in Korea.

  After the ascension of King Gojong, two major political forces emerged in the Joseon court: one led by Grand Internal Prince and the other by Queen Min. The Grand Internal Prince was the biological father of King Gojong, while Queen Min was his queen consort. Due to King Gojong's weak personality, he was manipulated by Queen Min, and the power of the court fell into the hands of Queen Min and the Grand Internal Prince.

  At this time, Korea was closed to the outside world, with a corrupt government and officials who were out of control. The people were suffering and the court was in crisis. The two factions were busy fighting each other, ignoring the people's hardships. The Korean people rose up, and peasant resistance movements broke out all over the country. Among them, the Donghak movement led by Choe Je-u developed rapidly, becoming a major force in the peasants' resistance against the government.

  In North Korea's upper echelons, calls for reform are also growing louder. Kim Yu-geun is the leader of the reform faction.