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"Sir, we have brought some greeting gifts for you," Miao Peilin's messenger said to Lei Hu with a flattering smile.
After that, the emissary winked at his subordinates. The soldier went out and brought in some men who were bound with ropes. Lei Hu had never seen Zuo Zongtang before. He looked at Kurosawa Tsuyoshi, who attended the reception with him. Kurosawa Tsuyoshi carefully looked at Zuo Zongtang, who was covered in dirt. After confirming that there was no mistake, he nodded at Lei Hu.
Lei Hu smiled and said, "Thank you, Mister Miao." After saying that, he waved his hand, and Kurosawa Tsuyoshi brought the guards to take them away.
After Zuo Zongtang and the others left, Lei Hu smiled and said, "This gift is quite valuable."
Receiving praise, the messenger immediately smiled until his teeth could not be seen. He hurriedly said, "It's good that you like it. It's good that you like it. "
Lei Hu continued, "As for the rewards you mentioned, I don't have the authority to make a decision on whether or not to confer an official position. It's up to His Majesty to decide. But I can assure you that our army will not continue north. Since Mr. Miao is fighting against the Qing, we can't just use our mouths to say that Mr. Miao did a good job. We will give Mr. Miao a thousand guns. "
The emissary had hoped to be promoted to an official position and be rewarded with money, but both were rejected by Lei Hu. A thousand guns wasn't a small number, but in these war-torn times, rifles weren't particularly scarce. This was a far cry from Miao Peilin's expectations.
However, once the rifle sample was in his hands, the emissary's gaze could no longer move away from the rifle. Everyone lived on the edge of a knife, and the rifle Lei Hu took out was obviously of the highest quality. Especially with the bayonet on the gun, it could be used for both melee and long-range combat. In times of war there is nothing more reliable than a good rifle. This gift was really valuable.
While Lei Hu was dealing with Miao Peilin's emissary, Kurosawa Tsuyoshi took Zuo Zongtang to a house in the distance and untied Zuo Zongtang and the others. Zuo Zongtang exercised his wrists with a dark face and sneered, "I didn't expect the Liberation Army to arrange things so well. I admire you!"
Kurosawa Tsuyoshi said seriously, "Mr. Zuo Zongtang, Zuo Zongtang." Zuo Zongtang, Zuo Zongtang, don't get the wrong idea. I'm afraid we don't have a legitimate reason.
If Zuo Zuo Zongtang didn, Chu, Zuo Zuo Zongtang. "Mi," said. "Miao Zuo Zuo Zongtang." Zuo Zuo Zongtang. "Zuo Do Zuo Zuo Zuo Dong Zuo and Zuo Zuo Gued means Su. Losing to the powerful Liberation Army was not an honorable defeat, but it was within an acceptable range. What was it to be ambushed by a petty person like Miao Peilin?
Kurosawa Tsuyoshi looked at Zuo Zongtang's unwilling expression and said with a smile, "Miao Zuo, victory and defeat are common in war. Since this has happened, let's talk about what to do next. Since you have come to Xuzhou, and there are Chu soldiers in Xuzhou who have been captured. We mean to release the Chu army and bring them home. What does Miao Zuo think? "
"Release them home?" In these days, it was normal for the Qing Army to dismiss the captured Taiping army. It was a waste of food to keep a bunch of captives. They would not be at ease using them, so dismissing them was normal. As to whether the captives could safely return home after being dismissed, that was not a problem the Qing Army needed to consider.
Zuo Zongtang hesitated slightly. If he wanted to have a place in the Liberation Army, he could not have no troops. If he dismissed the Chu army now, then this last chance would disappear. But after suffering such humiliation, Zuo Zongtang's decision to join the Liberation Army was beyond what Zuo Zongtang could endure.
In this moment of hesitation, Kurosawa Tsuyoshi had a general idea. He said with a smile, "How about this, Miao Zuo can go to the Chu army to see first, and let the Chu brothers know that Miao Zuo did not ignore them."
These words were subtle, but Zuo Zongtang knew that he was a prisoner just like the Chu soldiers. He said with a dark expression, "I appreciate Miao Hei's good intentions, but there is no need."
In the next few days, Zuo Zongtang took a steamship from Xuzhou to Huai 'an. It had been more than three years since the Restoration Party had liberated Huai 'an. The land reform had basically been completed, and the necessary organizational systems had been established. The Liberation Army's steamships used propellers, and were very different from the paddle-wheel propelled ships from foreign countries to China. Riding on this kind of ship that traveled faster than other ships in the canal, Zuo Zongtang could hold it in at the beginning, but when Kurosawa Tsuyoshi introduced the shipping facilities, Zuo Zongtang listened with great concentration.
After reaching Huai 'an, he went from the countryside to the city, from the mulberry garden to the factory. With a high intensity and tight schedule, Zuo Zongtang visited the social organizations of the Liberation Army. He saw the silk factory, the roaring machines in the cotton factory, and the hundreds of female workers working orderly in one workshop. Zuo Zongtang spoke for the first time. "Look at this factory. It's really organized."
When Zuo Zongtang went to visit the school, he saw the elementary school students lined up neatly under the teacher's lead, counted off, and ran. The Chu military leader's expression became extremely ugly. The Chu army also had military training, and the training for these children from five to thirteen years old wasn't very impressive. But to be able to gather so many children for the most basic paramilitary training, this matter itself was very different.
The Chu army only started military training after being conscripted, and these children naturally couldn't go to the battlefield now. But in a few years, when they grew up, some of them might become soldiers. Compared to the future young people who had been trained to line up, count off, line up, and receive cultural training from a young age, the traditional military organization model was far behind.
"Black Commissar, can you really support so many people?" Zuo Zongtang asked. In the past few days, Zuo Zongtang had also started to use Kurosawa Tsuyoshi's position to address him.
Kurosawa Tsuyoshi answered seriously, "Mister Zuo, our Majesty talks about social development. There are advanced and backward systems. The landlord system is backward because the landlords are already a layer that exploits the peasants, and the benefits they exploit are not given to the country. The land reform has indeed brought great benefits to the people, and the country can also benefit greatly from such a system. We take thirty percent of the grain, and this thirty percent of the grain falls into our hands. Grain can't be stored for a long time, so there are enough people in the city to eat the grain. This is also something the country needs to consider. "
"Isn't this the Eight Banners?" Zuo Zongtang expressed his opinion.
"The people of the Eight Banners don't produce. But in Mr. Zuo's view of our system, who exactly is being supported by others? Workers work, farmers farm, and soldiers protect the country. Everyone is a part of the whole society. The Manchu Qing still has imperial power, but our Restoration Party wants to control every village in China. "Kurosawa Tsuyoshi said proudly.
"Then do you have so many talents?" Zuo Zongtang asked.
Kurosawa Tsuyoshi pointed at the students in the physical education class, "We opened the school to nurture talents. Mr. Zuo, we actually hope that everyone in China can become a talent. We hope that everyone in China can read, read, be educated, and understand science. It takes ten years to grow trees, and a hundred years to nurture people. His Majesty said that this is a process of faith. But this is also the only way to completely dig out the root of poverty in the hearts of all the people in China. "
"Haha!" Zuo Zongtang sneered twice at first, but he soon laughed out loud. In his life, this was the first time Zuo Zongtang heard of a government saying "dig out the root of poverty in the hearts of the people". He could roughly guess the meaning of this "root of poverty". So most of Zuo Zongtang's laughter was mocking, and the other half was sympathy.
The people had the root of poverty in their hearts, and they were short-sighted. Zuo Zongtang agreed with this view. But as the saying goes, it's easier to change a leopard than a leopard. Vézé might be able to change the world, but he actually wanted to change the nature of the people. That was not the nature of one or two people, but the nature of the people in China. Kurosawa Tsuyoshi was such an outstanding person, but he still talked about this issue with a reasonable attitude. Zuo Zongtang really did not know whether he should describe Vézé as heroic or wishful thinking to make a conclusion about Vézé.
But no matter what he said, it made Zuo Zongtang more interested in Vézé. A person who came from the remote mountains of Guangxi could have today's achievements and build the factories and schools that Zuo Zongtang saw. It was enough to be called a hero. Arrogant goals could also be regarded as great ideals. When this hero had ideals that far exceeded what he had achieved in reality, Zuo Zongtang could not help but be deeply curious about Vézé.
After the visit, Zuo Zongtang was even more convinced that there was a complete social service system, including the post office, telegraph, and hospital. There was also the public security, the procuratorate, the court, these judicial institutions, as well as the household register, food stamps, and other specific means of implementation. The various systems seemed harsh or unreasonable, but after a careful understanding, Zuo Zongtang could feel the governance philosophy behind them. Jin Liang had never been convinced by anyone, but he had to admit that this philosophy and the practice of building on top of it were indeed very reasonable.
According to Kurosawa Tsuyoshi, this was the system that Vézé had created under the leadership of the Central Committee of the Party. Zuo Zongtang stomped on the leather shoes that were given by the Liberation Army. "Black Commissar, you said that these rubber-soled shoes were also made by Vézé?"
Now that the production of leather shoes had begun to increase, liberation shoes were still not as breathable as leather. With thick rubber soles and leather surfaces, Zuo Zongtang, as the person that Vézé had selected, naturally had to give him preferential treatment, so he gave him a pair of leather shoes. Zuo Zongtang did not think much of it at first. When he first wore it, he felt uncomfortable. But after wearing it for a few days, he began to get used to it. The waterproof, elastic, and wear-resistant rubber soles made Zuo Zongtang understand where the Liberation Army's strong marching ability came from. But when he heard that Vézé actually knew everything about astronomy and geography, he could govern the army and pacify the people. He couldn't help but have his suspicions.
Kurosawa Tsuyoshi replied, "We have special research institutions and factories. His Majesty put forward his own ideas, and the research institutions put them into practice. The research institutions provide the factories with production methods, and the factories produce according to them. Mr. Zuo, everyone in our Liberation Army is a member of the whole system. We talk about cooperation and working together. So you know that in our system, His Majesty the Emperor is also officially addressed as Comrade Emperor or Comrade His Majesty. The reason why everyone only calls him His Majesty is because we are lazy and don't want to be so troublesome. "
"Comrade His Majesty?" Zuo Zongtang was shocked by this form of address.
"Yes! Even if you call him Comrade Vézé, it is not a mistake in our Liberation Army. Comrade, this is the real address in our system, "Kurosawa Tsuyoshi said very seriously.
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