In the Zhili New Military Division Command, Wang Chenhao convened the main officers of various branches of arms to meet. The meeting included Wang Shizhen, Chief of Staff of the Division, Jiang Guite, Commander of the Cavalry Corps directly under the Division, Duan Qirui, Commander of the Artillery Corps directly under the Division, Gong Yuanyou, Battalion Commander of the Engineering Battalion directly under the Division, Wu Changchun, Battalion Commander of the Division; Liang Huadian, Commander of the First Brigade, Wang Yingkai, Commander of the First Brigade, and Yang Rongtai, Commander of the Second Brigade; Feng Guozhang, Commander of the Second Brigade, Xu Bangjie, Commander of the Fourth Brigade, and Ren Yongqing, Commander of the Fourth Brigade.

According to previous years, in the assessment of the five major types of troops, infantry, artillery, cavalry, engineers and baggage teams, the inspectors sent by the court did not conduct assessments of the entire army in order to take into account the face of the court and the army. Instead, officers from each province selected soldiers to participate in the assessment. To put it bluntly, they were just showing off for their superiors.

Although the military capabilities of each province were poor in the past, there were always a group of soldiers in each army with good foundation and excellent military skills. Therefore, the soldiers selected and assessed by officers from each province were not bad. They were basically sharpshooters, magic gunners, superb riding skills, superb engineers, and meticulous baggage arrangements. Therefore, the achievements of each province were basically the same, and the overall they were excellent.

This kind of show satisfies the court and makes local officials happy. It doesn’t matter in peacetime. Once a war starts, the show’s troops are vulnerable, resulting in the Qing army’s repeated defeats in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895.

"Sir, if you make a show like this, then each army will select elites to take the exam. Everyone's grades are almost the same. The distribution ratio is rounded up, and everyone is basically 1:1, and they can't tell the winner at all."

"Yes, all the elites who participated in the assessment will definitely meet the standards. In this way, the military quality parameters of the soldiers on both sides will become the same during the confrontation exercise. What else can I compare to? Let's shake hands and say something! "

"That's right, isn't it all in vain for our hard training?"

...

All the generals were talking about each other and were very dissatisfied with this kind of show-style exercise assessment.

Wang Chenhao strictly requires officers and soldiers not to be realistic in terms of form. Today, he saw the results on the faces of the generals and was very satisfied.

"So what about making a show?" Jiang Guiqu stood up at this time and said disdainfully: "We are afraid that they will not succeed if we have the ability? Since ancient times, we are not as good as them in terms of water battles, but they can't beat us one of them! You just need to fight them to a draw, and the rest will be left to our cavalry regiment."

Wang Yingkai was dissatisfied and jumped out and said, "Hey! What do you mean? You cavalry are capable, right? Our infantry can only draw with others?"

Xu Bangjie said: "Zeng Gelinqin's cavalry is strong, but what's the result? Tens of thousands of people can't defeat a thousand infantry of foreign devils. The facts prove that cavalry is not as good as infantry, and it has long been outdated. At most, your cavalry regiment will harass and engage in sneak attacks. The only advantage is that it runs faster than us when retreating."

Everyone laughed, Jiang Gui was very upset and shouted: "Xu Bangjie, you were still wearing open-crotch pants when I was in the army! What qualifications do you have to call me? If you have the ability to pull it out, do you believe it or not, I will still defeat your infantry regiment!"

Xu Bangjie said dissatisfiedly: "If you fight alone, you will fight alone! I am really not afraid! Your cavalry target is so big, I don't need to go to the whole regiment, I will set up a heavy machine gun company position, and I will definitely shine you!"

Jiang Guitu sneered and said, "I'm not flickering my tongue when I speak loudly! Do you think I don't know you have a heavy machine gun company? What are you sending? I'll just throw a battalion to you. Your heavy machine gun company will be exhausted for at most half an hour. I cut off your supplies. If there is no ammunition, your heavy machine gun is like scrap iron. My cavalry will clean up you like cutting watermelons!"

The two of them were riveting against the wheat, and the people next to them were just watching jokes. The old Huai Army naturally looked at Jiang Gui's question, while the Beiyang Student Department supported Xu Bangjie. The debate between the two sides gradually became louder. Wang Chenhao, who was discussing countermeasures with Wang Shizhen not far away, soon heard it.

"What are you quarreling? You have the energy to go out!"

Wang Chenhao shouted softly, but the generals sat down honestly and shut up and stopped talking.

At this moment, whether it is Jiang Guite, the generals of the old Huai Army system, or the rookie student officers from the Beiyang Military Academy, they dare not underestimate the Wang Chenhao, the generals in front of them. After eight months of training and getting along, Wang Chenhao has used all kinds of tricks to make them submissive. Although the two factions of the Old Huai Army and the Beiyang Military Academy dislike each other, they both claim to be Wang Chenhao's little Beiyang generals and dare not have any objections to Wang Chenhao's orders, and they are simply like imperial edicts.

Everyone calmed down, Wang Chenhao swept around and said lightly: "We are a group, and the fists must be consistent with the outside world, and internal strife is absolutely not allowed. Although the cavalry has declined in Europe, it is because the European railway network is well connected and it can be quickly sent to various war zones without cavalry troops. However, our country does not have the hardware. For a long time, cavalry is still the indispensable main force of our army. General Jiang Guite has rich experience on the battlefield. In the Battle of Motianling, the force of a cavalry battalion blocked the follow-up and pursuit of the Japanese two cavalry battalions, which won valuable time for the victory of the Motianling blocking battle and made an indelible contribution."

Wang Chenhao emphasized the importance of cavalry combat and praised Jiang Gui's achievements, which made Jiang Gui's heart full of admiration and touching.

"Report!"

"speak!"

When Wang Chenhao saw that it was Xu Bangjie who had just argued with Jiang Guiqu, he heard him say: "Mr. What lord said has benefited a lot from Hu Zheng. I dare not underestimate the cavalry anymore."

Wang Chenhao nodded and gave him a wink. Xu Bangjie turned around to apologize to Jiang Gui: "I offended so much just now, I hope the old general will forgive me."

Jiang Guitu is already fifty years old, and Xu Bangjie is twenty years older. It is not an exaggeration to call him a veteran general.

Jiang Guite was also a straightforward person, so he got up and fisted to return, saying, "Captain Xu has said this. I am so angry. I speak too hard, but I am not right to the people. The soldiers led by Captain Xu are very righteous, and Jiang is deeply impressed."

The two smiled at each other and understood each other, and the atmosphere suddenly improved.

Wang Chenhao smiled slightly, waved his hand, and signaled the two to sit down.

He praised Jiang Gui's title and proved that the importance of cavalry is only one link. Wang Chenhao continued: "A strong army cannot do without cavalry, nor can it do without infantry, nor can it do without artillery. In short, our Zhili New Army infantry, artillery, cavalry, engineers, and logistics are a group together, just like a person, only if it is complete, with a head, limbs, internal organs, eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. Is this the truth?"

"Yes! Master wise!" The officers answered in unison. As soon as Wang Chenhao said this simple and profound truth, everyone immediately understood that they were equally important in Wang Chenhao's heart. After knowing this, everyone stopped comparing with each other.

Wang Chenhao suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said with a smile: "I have thought of a way after our lively!"

Everyone hurriedly looked at Wang Chenhao and listened attentively.

Wang Chenhao smiled and said a few words "random selection".

The generals quickly understood what Wang Chenhao meant. The manpower and time sent by the court were limited, so it was impossible for all troops of the entire army to participate in the assessment. If the strength of the Zhili New Army was to be reflected, it would be fair to randomly select a group of officers and soldiers to participate in the assessment.

Wang Chenhao told Li Hongzhang and Yang Shixiang the idea, and they also felt it made sense. Out of protection for their own people, Li Hongzhang asked Yi for approval.

Yi thinks this is indeed the best way to test the combat effectiveness of the army. Randomly selecting officers and soldiers to evaluate can prevent cheating, and can also test the true combat effectiveness of the army.

After the approval of Emperor Guangxu, Yibao immediately selected randomly according to the officers and soldiers of the new army in each province. Each province's new army selected 150 people according to the five major types of troops for the examination.

As a result, most of the military assessments that were collected by each province failed, and the ranking of the scores suddenly opened.
Chapter completed!