Volume 1 Teacher Chapter 8: Establishing Authority (Part 1)
"Boss Lu!"
When several officers saw the approaching group of people, they stood up straight and saluted respectfully.
"Brothers don't have such big rules."
Even though Lu Jianzhang is now a spy chief, he actually comes from a military background.
He graduated from the Beiyang Military Academy in Tianjin and served as a sentry in the rear team of the third battalion on the right wing of the Beiyang New Army, a vanguard inspector, and an assistant commander of the first battalion on the left wing. In the 29th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1903), he was promoted to deputy envoy of the Military Science Department of the Training Department of the Ministry of War. In the 31st year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1905), he was appointed commander of the seventh brigade of the fourth regiment of the Beiyang Army. Later, he was transferred to the general of Caozhou Town in Shandong, the general of Gaozhou Town in Guangdong, the general of Beihai Town in Guangdong, and the commander of the seventh brigade of Gaozhou Town in Guangdong.
If Yuan Shikai had not had a person who could command secret spies and had forced him to do something stupid, he would at least be like Cao Kun, Duan Zhigui, and Li Chun, commanding more than 10,000 soldiers and serving as a division commander or a military governor to govern a region.
However, even though Lu Jianzhang's entire energy is now tied up in his duties as director of the Beijing Military and Political Law Enforcement Department, the title of commander of the guard army left to him by Old Yuan still fully demonstrates Lu's status in the Beiyang Army.
"There are no brothers in the army, only superiors and subordinates."
Naturally, none of them took this seriously and still acted very respectfully.
To be honest, with Mr. Lu's status and position, who would be so ignorant of the danger as to boast in front of Mr. Lu?
"Okay, okay, sit down!"
Lu Jianzhang sat in the middle seat and waved his hand, and everyone took their seats.
"I'm here today mainly to introduce a new colleague to you guys."
He pointed his finger, and Dai Jiliang, who was wearing the light blue-gray uniform of a Beiyang lieutenant colonel, stood up suddenly and saluted to the people around him.
"This is Dai Jiliang, Dai Zhixiang, a talented person who studied in Germany and was recommended by General Duan. He is now the commander of the third battalion of our Guards Army. No, it should be said that he is the battalion commander. We will be colleagues from now on, so let's get close to each other."
Suddenly, the eyes of the officers looking at Dai Jiliang changed. Some looked indifferent, some were puzzled, some were dismissive, and some were jealous and resentful.
You know, the Guard Army is called an army, but its entire strength is only the scale of three or four battalions under a patrol battalion. A battalion commander is already at the top of this group. How can people not be dissatisfied with this guy who parachuted in?
However, Dai Jiliang's military rank made some people with ulterior motives feel taboo. You know, according to the Beiyang's consistent regulations, it is rare for a battalion commander to be promoted to lieutenant colonel right from the start. Many battalion-level officers worked hard for many years but were only majors, and only became lieutenant colonels when they were promoted to regimental commanders.
It is obvious that Dai has a big boss backing him up, which makes many people think twice before acting.
"Let me introduce you. This is He Oucai, the commander of the First Battalion of our Guards Army, and this is his deputy commander Tang Dalin."
Lu Jianzhang took in everyone's expressions one by one, but calmly introduced them to Dai Jiliang one by one.
"This is your deputy, the deputy battalion commander, E Tao, a Manchu, whose surname is Xilin Gioro."
Oh? Dai Jiliang had heard that more than half of the people in the Beiyang First Town were of Manchurian aristocracy. He didn't expect that he would have the chance to meet one. He didn't know whether this person was a Manchurian elite selected by Yuan Shikai to strengthen the guard army or an unlucky guy who was kicked out because of the purity of the team.
"Meet Commander Dai!"
When E Tao saw Dai Jiliang was stunned, he knew that he remembered something, so he smiled bitterly and saluted him first.
"Please support me in the future, sir."
"No, no, we are all serving the President and Mr. Lu. Everything is part of our job. It's not a question of whether we are helping them or not."
Dai Jiliang's heart tightened. This deputy was no simple matter. He set a trap for him right from the start. Although he might not fall for it, he was a newcomer. If he offended someone he shouldn't have offended, it would be difficult to deal with.
"Then let's leave it at that for now."
Mr. Lu frowned as he listened to the two people's attack and defense, but he had limited time and naturally had no time to care about these trivial intrigues. He interrupted the two people concisely and gave orders as a superior.
"Chief Zhixiang, please lead the way and let Xiao Dai get familiar with the affairs of your Third Battalion. From now on, the training will depend on you, Zhixiang. Don't let me, the Chief, and the President down!"
The increasingly serious tone made the two people in front realize the seriousness of the matter, so they immediately stood up straight and responded in unison.
"I understand, Commander, please rest assured!"
"Captain, let me tell you something."
After seeing off Lu Jianzhang, who was busy with work, E Tao led Dai Jiliang back to the base of the Third Battalion of the Guard Army. Soon all the leaders of the battalion came to Dai.
“Ma Kang, from Baoding, captain, commander of the first company.
Ding Baonian, a native of Tangshan, is a captain and the second company commander.
Li Guo, a native of Liaocheng, was a lieutenant and deputy commander of the third company.
Chu Gan, from Deqing, lieutenant, battalion clerk..."
Dai Jiliang quickly figured out the situation of his troops.
It should be said that Lu Jianzhang was very dedicated to the small force in his hands. Each battalion had three companies with a total of 150 people. Except that they were not equipped with divisional artillery and regimental machine guns according to the Beiyang military system, each company was equipped with original German Mauser 98 rifles, which were much more sophisticated than the Mauser 88 or the similar Hanyang-made imitations that the old Beiyang divisions were currently equipped with.
As for the monthly funding of the camp, it is allocated in real terms without any arrears. In addition, no one dares to suck the blood of soldiers under the nose of the King of Hell for the time being.
Therefore, an ordinary private could still earn more than four dollars a month after deducting various miscellaneous expenses such as food expenses. Based on this point alone, the Guard Army was outstanding in the entire Beiyang system, so this small Guard Army was able to recruit a group of talents.
For example, Ma Kang and Ma Xiaoyou, the captains of the first company under Dai Jiliang, were the runners-up of the fourth term of the Beiyang Army Speed Training School, and Li Guo and Li Debiao, the deputy company commanders of the third company, also had study experience at the Tokyo Zhenwu School.
However, the Guard Army is, after all, a small temple that cannot accommodate a great Buddha. Even though Lu Jianzhang has tried to recruit people again and again, he still lacks the backbone forces that can serve as the Guard Army. Therefore, it would be a good thing for Lu to kill two birds with one stone if he could recruit a top student from both German and Japanese military academies and use this opportunity to establish a good relationship with Duan Qirui. That's why he mustered up the courage to ask Yuan Shikai for Dai Jiliang.
Of course, even if Dai Jiliang couldn't guess the inside story, he would not blindly believe that Lu Jianzhang had a special liking for him, a double-top student. After all, only by making real achievements can he continue to have a say in front of Butcher Lu, and only then can he hold on to the military power and lay a solid foundation for his future actions.
Therefore, in his opinion, it would be impossible to subdue this group of rebellious Monkey Kings without showing some real skills, so Dai Jiliang made a decision promptly.
"I now order the entire battalion to assemble immediately!"
Obviously, a new official has three things to do upon taking office. If he fails to light any fire, it is better for him to leave as soon as possible to avoid embarrassment and ruin Duan Qirui's reputation.
"stand at attention!"
From the speed of assembly and the queue after assembly, Dai Jiliang could tell that E Tao and his men had put in considerable effort. However, it was precisely because of this that these guys were hostile to him who was snatching food from their mouths, Dai Jiliang thought as he stood in front of the formations of each company.
“Time is going too slow!”
Dai Jiliang held up the pocket watch in his hand and roared viciously at nearly five hundred people.
"Five minutes and thirty-two seconds. Do you want to spend more than five minutes gathering under enemy fire? Are you all so damn strong that you won't be afraid of shrapnel?"
As Dai Jiliang scolded, the faces of several chief officers became a little colorful, but due to military discipline, everyone just stood there and listened to Dai Jiliang's angry scolding.
"What kind of soldiers are you? You are just a little bit more than ordinary people. Why are you not satisfied? Do you know who I am? I am your new battalion commander. You bastards are going to have a hard life in the future! Three months, I will give you another three months. If you can't train it out, you can get the hell out of here. I don't want you cowards!"
Now even all the soldiers were a little agitated.
"Why are you not convinced?"
Dai Jiliang smiled coldly, everything was under his control.
"If you're not convinced, come out and practice!"
Dai Jiliang unbuttoned his officer's uniform and took off his wide-brimmed hat, revealing a white shirt underneath.
"Come on, each company, send up your best marksman, the best at bayonet fighting, the best at gun maintenance, all of you, come out and compete! If anyone is better than me, I will immediately promote you and reward you with money! If there is an officer who is better than me, I will immediately give way to him, without hesitation."
The atmosphere suddenly became heated. Dai Jiliang's arrogant tone not only angered the soldiers below, but also made many officers feel embarrassed.
So E Tao gave a wink, and several company commanders and deputy company commanders returned to their respective troops with a sneer. After a while, several groups of people including the second company commander Ding Baonian were in place.
"E Tao, you be the referee."
Dai Jiliang magnanimously allowed his disgruntled deputy to decide whether he won or lost.
"Let's have a bayonet fight first. Will you come one by one or all at once?"
"I come!"
Ding Baonian was furious. He had never seen such a crazy boss. He took the wooden gun stained with lime, put on protective gear and held the gun across his face.
"I am enough."
"That's fine. Captain Ding is an officer of our Beiyang Army. Officers have privileges."
Dai Jiliang responded with a forced smile, then he put on the protective gear imported from Japan and walked to the center of the training ground.
So, in full view of everyone, Dai Jiliang's first challenge in the Guard Army began.
"Damn it, Old Ding is going to be in trouble!"
Looking at the two people in the field ready to go, Li Guo, the deputy company commander of the 3rd Company who had studied at the Zhenwu School in Japan, frowned.
"Old Ding, this is a martial art passed down from generation to generation. Li Debiao, why are you only trying to enhance the prestige of others while destroying your own ambition?"
The quartermaster Chu Gan said something strange with a crooked mouth.
"You see, Dai is holding the front handguard with one hand and the curved part of the buttstock with the other hand. The buttstock is slightly drooping on the side of the supporting leg, facing the opponent half-diagonally, with the tip of the bayonet slightly level with the eyebrow. In this way, the gun can protect the neck, chest and abdomen from the upper to the lower part, and the bayonet can be stabbed with a flick. This Dai must have studied in Japan, and his starting position is the Japanese bayonet fighting posture."
Li Guo shook his head.
"The Japanese bayonet can make the Russian big nose scream. It must be real kung fu. I wonder how much Dai has learned. Although Lao Ding has inherited martial arts from his family, he is not an expert in spearmanship. Oh no, this is going to be bad!"
Sure enough, before he finished his words, Ding Baonian took the initiative to attack. He made a feint with a gun, trying to divert Dai Jiliang's attention, and then shot directly at Dai's throat.
However, Dai Jiliang stared at the opponent's gun tip steadily until the gun was very close, and then he pushed it hard.
Ding Baonian suddenly felt as if his hand was hit by a sledgehammer, his palm went numb, and the wooden spear almost flew out of his hand.
While he was still confused, Dai Jiliang had already adjusted his posture by blocking the opponent, and then he made a straight thrust. Ding Baonian's eyes went dark, and a sharp pain came from his chest through the protective gear. Almost at the same time, he flew out involuntarily.
"Someone! Carry Captain Ding down and send him to the nearest field hospital. He may have a broken sternum."
Dai Jiliang gave orders without even raising his head. He watched Ding Baonian, who had regained consciousness with his eyes wide open and was suppressing the pain, being carried away on a stretcher in front of him. The soldiers present all felt a chill all over their bodies. They had not expected that Captain Ding, who had the best martial arts skills in the battalion, would fall down in just one round. Even the other two soldiers who were going to fight Dai Jiliang couldn't help but panic.
"You two come together!"
Dai Jiliang hooked his finger and signaled. Since the commander insisted so much, the two soldiers rushed forward together after some hesitation.
"It's no use!"
Li Guo sighed, and his tone changed unconsciously.
"Captain Dai's posture is even better than the most powerful Japanese sergeant I've ever seen. These two guys are going to be in trouble."
Sure enough, after a while, the two men were stabbed to the ground one after the other. Seeing the two of them rolling on the ground, howling in pain, I was afraid that they were also injured.
Dai Jiliang dropped his wooden spear and gave orders without any emotion.
"Carry it away!"
After saying this, he looked around at the soldiers of all ranks who were watching him with a devilish smile, then he turned to look at E Tao.
"Deputy Battalion Commander E, I win this one, right?"
E Tao nodded reluctantly, and Dai Jiliang pointed to the other two groups of people next to him.
"Then it's time to move on to the next item. Come on, bring up the table, and those who are best at keeping guns, please stand out. I'll compete with you in how to assemble guns!"
