As soon as Zai Zhen and his party got off the boat, Yuan Shikai on the opposite side gave an order, and military music sounded.
It turned out that he also brought a military band with dozens of people to play music, which was really grand.
Yuan Shikai greeted him with a smile: "Zhen Beizi has traveled thousands of miles and traveled to various countries. It's a lot of hard work!"
"It's not hard work, thank you. Yuan Zitai personally welcomes you." Zai Zhen pointed to the orchestra behind him, "Is this all your fault?"
Yuan Shikai said proudly: "Exactly! It's just that there are not many pieces of music now. It would be good if you can practice one or two well. I heard that it is quite troublesome to learn various Western musical instruments."
Zai Zhen nodded: "Why not use our silk and bamboo wind instruments, golden bells and drums?"
Zai Zhen's thinking was so exciting that he actually wanted to use these as musical instruments in a military band.
Yuan Shikai was stunned and patiently explained: "Zhen Beizi, since we are learning from foreign troops, these etiquette systems must also comply with their systems."
"It makes sense." Zai Zhen looked at Yuan Shikai's new army, "Foreigners do have something to say, and this time I have opened up the world."
Standing behind Yuan Shikai were several officers, whom Li Yu knew of course, followed closely by Xu Shichang, and then all three Beiyang heroes arrived: "Dragon of the North" Wang Shizhen, "Tiger of the North" Duan Qirui, and "Dog of the North" Feng Guozhang.
Zhang Xun and Cao Kun could also be vaguely seen in the crowd.
Tianjin is Beiyang's territory, and most of Beiyang's top executives are here. Of course, in addition to the officers from Beiyang, Tang Shaoyi from Tianjin Customs Department also came to greet him in person.
Ordinarily, it didn't need to be so grand. With Yuan Shikai's scheming, he must have had his purpose in doing this. It was probably to win over Zai Zhen. Maybe there were some new changes in the DPRK during this period.
Yuan Shikai said: "I will prepare a little wine in the army to help the envoys wash away the dust. I also ask Zhenbeizi and the envoys to go together."
"Yuan Zhitai is attentive." Zai Zhen had no reason to refuse.
The military camps in Beiyang are really different from the Eight Banners. The soldiers recruited by the new army are carefully selected: first of all, they must have good physical fitness, and then their family background must be clean, and they must not have a history of opium smoking.
Yuan Shikai even personally wrote the "Thirteen Essential Principles for Military Training", which clearly stipulated all aspects, and it already looked like a modern army.
The salary in the army is also pretty good. Ordinary soldiers get 4.5 taels a month, sentry officers (platoon leaders) get 30 taels including public funds, and battalion commanders get 400 taels a month.
If you are an artilleryman, your salary will be better. After all, it is a technical job and you need to learn more operations.
This kind of treatment was really high at the time. In addition, in order to prevent empty pay, Yuan Shikai established a new food and salary bureau, and pay was paid by roll call on the playground every time.
The Beiyang Army was actually very rich from beginning to end. Since they were rich, of course the food in the army was not bad.
Although the Yingpan Canteen is not as good as the restaurants in the capital, the dishes prepared by Yuan Shikai are still very rich.
There is a large long table in the canteen. In order to show his closeness to his subordinates, Yuan Shikai often served meals in the army with a large number of officers sitting at the same table.
Everyone took their seats one by one. At the top of the table were Yuan Shikai, Xu Shichang, Wang Shizhen, Duan Qirui, and Feng Guozhang from the Beiyang side, as well as Zai Zhen from the special envoy, and several second-rank officials such as Liang Cheng and Huang Kaijia.
Li Yuze, Wang Daxie, Tang Wenzhi and others lined up in sequence.
Li Yu's ancestral home is Shandong, and he really knows a lot about seating. If it's a big round table, he also knows the rules of the host and deputy host. But the people here today either had official or military ranks, so he wanted to sit back.
Just as he took a few steps back, Yuan Shikai actually stopped him: "Are you Li Yu? Don't be so formal, sit forward, sit forward! Let me see, um, you sit down with Cao Kun."
Yuan Shikai actually remembered him, and the host and companions all spoke, so Li Yu had no choice but to sit down under Cao Kun.
Yuan Shikai asked the people from Beiyang to sit apart from the envoys. On Li Yu's right was Cao Kun and on the left was Zhang Xun. Both of them would become great warlords in Beiyang in the future.
Opposite Li Yu, diagonally across and further up, is Tang Shaoyi of Tianjin Customs Road.
Li Yu's position is very high, just below Tang Wenzhi and Wang Daxie, members of the fourth-rank mission.
The future "braided handsome man" Zhang Xun saw that the food would have to wait for a while, so he took out a betel nut from the purse he brought and chewed it. After chewing for a while, it became boring, then he lit a cigar and took a comfortable puff. "This is so exciting!"
Li Yu was almost confused. Who could smoke like this?
Is it true that just betel nuts and cigarettes have boundless magical power?
Zhang Xun took a few sips and said to Cao Kun: "I say to Cao San, you fool, this military band you brought is really boring! If you ask me, it must be according to Bei Ziye's words, what kind of Western instruments are used, we used to War is not fought with gold and drums."
Cao Kun was dull by nature, and he was like a fool in the army. He was called "Cao San Fool" by his fellow soldiers since he was a child. But fools are blessed. Cao Kun's previous leaders liked him very much, and Yuan Shikai also liked him who worked hard and obeyed orders.
Moreover, he was very lucky. Somehow he was admitted to the Beiyang Armed Forces Academy, he somehow became a high-ranking military officer, he somehow became Yuan Shikai's son and daughter, and he somehow became a briber to elect the president.
I really don’t know if he is pretending to be stupid and acting like a fool?
But of course Cao Kun still had advantages, such as caring for soldiers, which was a huge advantage among officers at the time.
Moreover, Cao Kun was also relatively accurate in judging people and single-handedly promoted Wu Peifu. Later, when Zhili was able to be so powerful, it was really Wu Peifu who was so good at fighting.
Wu Peifu deeply felt the kindness of encountering Cao Kun. His eldest brother took me to Beiyang, and I will take him to become the president!
Cao Kun was not angry at all after hearing Zhang Xun's ridicule, and said slowly: "You are talking about the golden drum during the war. In peacetime, the army must look like an army. The military band is used as a guard of honor to strengthen our army." Power."
"Exactly!" Zhang Xun said disdainfully, being a very traditionalist, "It's not like our ancestors lacked musical instruments. Do we have to learn from foreigners for these? Let me see, it would be great to use our silk and bamboo orchestras, golden drums and suonas! "
I don’t know if Zhang Xun has heard of it, "Of all the musical instruments, the suona is the king, either ascending to heaven or worshiping in the hall; a thousand-year-old pipa, a ten-thousand-year-old zither, and an erhu playing for a lifetime. The whole play ends with the sound of the suona."
If you go to the battlefield playing the suona, you really can't tell whether you are welcoming a bride or attending a funeral.
Moreover, Zhang Xun was definitely the last loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty. He loved the Qing Dynasty to the core, otherwise how could he have carried out restoration later.
Li Yu could hardly hold it in any longer, but luckily Tang Shaoyi, who was diagonally across from him, laughed first, attracting Zhang Xun's attention.
Zhang Xun said: "What, what we said is wrong?"
Tang Shaoyi also smokes cigars, but his movements are much more elegant, and the way he holds the cigarette is the same, not as rough as Zhang Xun. He said: "Musical instruments are like weapons, and different instruments have different uses. For military music, orchestral instruments are naturally more suitable."
Tang Shaoyi was a cultural person, while Zhang Xun had little education and didn't know the difference between orchestral music and traditional musical instruments. He couldn't tell the specific details and couldn't continue to refute. He saw that Tang Shaoyi also smoked cigars, so he immediately changed the topic: "Does Taoist Tang also know about cigars?"
Tang Shaoyi pointed to the cigar in his hand: "Just for fun."
"I bought this one from the French Concession. It costs three silver dollars each. Do you want to try it?" Zhang Xun took one out of the box and handed it to Tang Shaoyi.
At that time, smoking cigars was an absolute luxury, and the price was simply not acceptable to ordinary people. The cost was comparable to that of smoking.
Of course, later generations of cigars are not cheap either. A good one costs six to seven hundred yuan, and there are also cigars that cost two to three thousand yuan. Calculated, they are not much different from those of the past.
Tang Shaoyi laughed loudly, and even took out a small box, took out one and invited him over.
Zhang Xun's expression changed as soon as he saw it: "This! Isn't this the Cuban cigar sold in the British Concession? Each one costs ten silver dollars!"
Tang Shaoyi took a breath and said, "If Zhang Guandai likes it, I will send someone to deliver 10 boxes to you."
Guandai is the term for the position of battalion commander in the Beiyang Army.
Zhang Xun also cares about face, so he immediately put on a show: "I don't like Cuban cigars, but I like this one."
Tang Shaoyi smiled slightly and stopped insisting. In terms of worldview, how could he be inferior to Zhang Xun.
After fussing for a while, the kitchen prepared the food and brought it out. Because it was a long table, many dishes were arranged in a messy manner even though they were prepared several times.
Cao Kun placed a plate of chili-fried pork belly in front of Zhang Xun, "I heard from Teacher Juren that you like spicy food. I'll put this plate in front of you. Eat more!"
Ju Ren was Xu Shichang's nickname. Yuan Shikai liked to call him "Brother Ju Ren", so many military camp officers also respectfully called him by his nickname. Moreover, because Xu Shichang was born in a juren family and served as an imperial scholar for nine years, he was ranked first in the Beiyang Military Academy in terms of knowledge and academic qualifications. Most of the soldiers in the camp have little education, let alone fame, so everyone respects him as their teacher.
Zhang Xun is from Jiangxi, and Jiangxi people are famous throughout the country for eating spicy food in later generations.
It's just that Jiangxi's cuisine is not as famous as Hunan's Hunan cuisine, so many people think that Hunan people can eat spicy food best.
Zhang Xun did like spicy food, but today he was a little shy. He smiled and said, "We can't just eat spicy food!" Then he pushed the dish gently and said, "You all eat it, you all eat it."
Cao Kun said with a smile: "Why, could it be that hemorrhoids have occurred again?"
Zhang Xun said sternly: "No matter where it is! It's been cured long ago!"
"Then I have to give you this dish. Come on, take two bites!"
Zhang Xun couldn't tell whether Cao Kun was a real Tiehanhan or a fake Tiehanhan. He didn't know why he was so persistent, but he couldn't embarrass the people of Jiangxi! There was no meat, so I just put two chili peppers into my mouth and started chewing.
Cao Kun waited until he had swallowed it before giving him a thumbs up: "Zhang Guan is so heroic!"
Zhang Xun's face was almost red, and he would probably cry again when he went to the toilet today.
Li Yu is really interesting to watch, being able to bring together these great warlords of later generations, who is now Yuan Shikai.
Li Yu once saw a national "hemorrhoids map", but Hunan ranked first in the incidence rate, and Jiangxi was not weak either, ranking sixth.
The last one is Li Yu's hometown of Shandong, so he doesn't have a deep feeling about hemorrhoids and cannot understand the distress of Zhang Xun, a "hemorrhoid-affected person".
Zhang Xun became famous as a "hemorrhoid sufferer". Even the Empress Dowager Cixi knew that he had hemorrhoids!
Two years ago, the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Beijing, and Lafayette hurriedly took Guangxu away.
As a loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty, Zhang Xun didn't care about anything and quickly led his troops directly to the north to King Qin. After finding Cixi, he walked all the way, following Lafayette's sedan. No matter how heavy the snow is in the cold winter, she always remains unswervingly around Cixi.
As a result of walking for a long time, Zhang Xun suffered from hemorrhoids and he was bleeding profusely. The robe behind his buttocks was stained red with blood, and he looked uncomfortable as he walked.
It was Li Lianying who saw General Zhang's buttocks turning red and asked about the incident, so he told Cixi.
Cixi was deeply moved when she saw Zhang Xun walking with his butt stuck out and bleeding continuously, so she specially ordered General Zhang to ride a horse.
But Zhang Xun said: "It doesn't hurt me! I will follow my ancestors! It's important for me to protect the saint!"
What does it mean to be loyal to the Qing Dynasty? Otherwise, he was the last loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty!
Zhang Xun was not a direct descendant of Beiyang. He was born in the Huai Army and did not have a strong sense of belonging to Beiyang. He did not attribute most of the credit for his rise to prominence to Yuan Shikai, but felt that Cixi had given him a glorious status.
The drinks in the Beiyang military camp are also foreign wines, whiskey with more than 40 degrees. Nowadays, all soldiers like to drink. Alcohol can strengthen their courage and improve their morale, so the control is not so strict.
Yuan Shikai, who was in the first place, filled up the wine and said: "Brothers, please fill it up!"
Cao Kun was quite polite and wanted to pour wine into Li Yu's glass. Li Yu wanted to refuse, but Beiyang was the employer after all today and the envoy was the guest, so Cao Kun insisted on filling Li Yu's glass with wine.
Cao Kun didn't seem to know Li Yu, so he just asked, "How's your drinking capacity, little brother?"
As a Shandong native, Li Yu's drinking capacity was not able to see the final staple food according to Shandong standards, but he persisted until the hot dishes were okay, and he barely reached the passing mark.
However, he rarely drank alcohol, so he said: "It is definitely far behind the amount of alcohol consumed by the officers."
"Okay!" Cao Kun became more energetic, "Well said! But my drinking capacity is not good either."
Then he poured a full glass of Zhang Xun's glass attentively and said, "In terms of the amount of wine that is amazing, I, Zhang, have to take care of the adults."
Zhang Xun looked at the wine in the glass and felt the corner of his mouth twitching and his anus tightening. On weekdays, he really drinks a lot, drinking half a catty of Fenjiu with every meal, but today, thinking about his butt, he really couldn't hold it down.
Zhang Xun said tactfully: "The soda drinks in the camp are also good. There are so many guests today. It would be inappropriate to drink too much."
"It doesn't matter!" Cao Kun insisted, "I don't believe there is anyone who can make Zhang Guan drink down."
Sitting below, Li Chun, who was also a great warlord in later generations, laughed and said, "I don't believe it either!"
Zhang Xun suddenly felt that it was difficult to get off the tiger.
After everyone filled up their glasses, Yuan Shikai stood up with a glass in his hand and said, "Everyone, let us toast Master Zhenbei and the envoy who have returned from thousands of miles away!"
Everyone stood up one after another. Zhang Xun was most afraid of sitting together now, but he had no choice but to stand up with the wine glass in hand.
Yuan Shikai shouted: "Cheers!"
Everyone drank it all in one gulp, Zhang Xun cursed in his heart that Grandma was a bear, and drank it all.
