"You didn't come all the way back from Jinling just to discuss the future combat situation with me, right?" Li Xiao shook his big cattail leaf fan in a "whispering" manner.

"Haha! Brother, Jiangnan is almost smoothed out. I don't know when, brother, you can go to Jiangnan to inspect it.

The people of the south of the Yangtze River are waiting and looking forward to seeing your handsome appearance."

"You kid, when did you start talking like this? The people in Jiangnan are looking forward to seeing me?

Haha! Not necessarily, the people in Jiangnan are mostly influenced by the Donglin Party. In the past more than ten years, our brothers have killed many people from the Donglin Party.

You got the reputation of a ferocious beast, and I got the reputation of a striking white-fronted tiger.

However, these two names are not good ones.

Want to have a glimpse of my style? I don’t think so...!" Li Xiao was so irritated by the heat that he simply picked up a piece of watermelon and started gnawing on it.

"Haha...!" Li Hao said "ha" and "ha" with a silly smile and said nothing.

"Are you dissatisfied with the governors of the five provinces in the south of the Yangtze River? You want to come back to the capital!" Li Xiao saw through the little fox's mind at a glance.

"Yeah!" Li Hao nodded like a squirrel.

"I don't know what's good about this hot place. Okay, then go to Jiangnan and see what you've done in Jiangnan these years!"

Li Xiao thought for a while and agreed to Li Hao's request.

In the past few years, when I went to Jiangnan, I only stayed in Huating County for a while. I have never been to other places in Jiangnan, including Jinling.

In Li Xiao's position, the land of the Ming Dynasty is like the concubines in the harem. If you want family harmony, it is necessary to have equal access to rain and dew.

"Brother, the Jinling Yangtze River Bridge is about to be closed. This time you go, I want you to preside over the closing ceremony of the bridge." Hearing Li Xiao's agreement, Li Hao looked at Li Xiao proudly.

"Why didn't you say it just now?" Li Xiao was very curious as to why Li Hao didn't use this excuse to invite him to Jiangnan just now. After all, this reason was much more formal and reasonable.

"I want to see if eldest brother really cares about Jiangnan."

"It's a lie to say that you don't care, but even if the entire Ming Dynasty takes advantage of the world, its resources are still limited! Now that Liaodong, Beijing, Hebei, and Shandong have made some progress in construction, it's time to turn our attention to the south.

"

"Haha! Brother, you are wrong. There is no shortage of money in Jiangnan." When talking about money, Li Hao seemed very confident.

"There is no shortage of money, but what is there?"

"Human! I have basically killed all the people in Yuelu Academy, including the students who taught them. Now Jiangnan does not lack resources, but it lacks talents. Talents who can govern the place. I really can't stand those idiots."

When Li Hao talked about this matter, he gritted his teeth with some hatred. It seemed that those idiots in Jiangnan really made him very angry.

"Haha! Xiao He established 3,000 laws, and in the end it was up to the officials to implement them. The administration of officials is a big task in itself, and it is not easy to do it well.

In fact, this talent is similar to crops. They need to sow seeds, then provide them with shelter from wind and rain, fertilize and eliminate insects. Only when they are mature can they finally be harvested.

However, the difference between talents and crops is that crops can be harvested once, twice or even three times a year. Talents, on the other hand, take a long time. It takes more than ten years to be useful from elementary school to university graduation.

Besides...!

There is also a large elimination rate, and a large number of unqualified people need to be eliminated. This process is very long, and it is difficult to change.

Nowadays, the whole country is short of talents. Every year, the positions for college graduates from Jinzhou, Jinan, Tianjin, and Beijing are all held by that old ghost Zhang Huangyan.

If you want someone, you have to find him. If I force you to dig him out, the old guy will come to me and fight for his life." Li Xiao quickly shook his head and rejected Li Hao's request.

"Brother, just give me a few dozen people. Jiangnan will have its first batch of junior high school graduates next year, and I want to build two universities in Jinling and Changsha.

But here is a university, there is no house to build, and no teachers, how can it be done? You only need to give eighty, uh... no, sixty people. If you give two professors to support the scene, brother, you have to help anyway.

OK."

"I knew you were a night owl, but Jiangnan is a place with outstanding people. It does need two universities to cultivate talents!

We can't let a group of junior high school students preside over local government affairs.

Let's go to Jiangnan first and see what you have done to Jiangnan." Li Xiao sighed, it seemed that he needed to pick on that old guy Zhang Huangyan.

"Thank you so much, brother. This time I bring you two jars of wine produced in Kweichow Moutai Town. It has been aged for eight hundred years and is rare to taste. I also dug a hole in the mountain to get these two jars to honor you, brother."

"You can pull him down!

They also dug holes in the mountains, not just to set up troops and rob them.

Uh...you mean it's really ten years old?"

"Yeah!" Li Hao nodded hurriedly.

"If you don't bring it up yet, drink it quickly while Master Ao's wine jar is not there! When he comes back, there will only be one wine jar left for him."

"Okay! I'm just waiting for your words, brother, come and bring the wine in."

Li Xiao and Li Hao were very drunk. Maotai was so good. After drinking too much, they didn't feel sick at all the next day. They didn't feel dizzy and didn't burn their stomachs.

Early the next morning, a telegram from Li Xiu was placed on Li Xiao's desk.

Li Xiao looked at Li Xiu's telegram and frowned with the word "Sichuan".

"What is the navy going to do? Sending out the navy to help the Prussian and French troops land is not a big deal, as long as the Prussian and French troops spend their military expenditures.

But dispatching a Marine Division to help them fight is a bit much.

The Ming Dynasty cannot fight for the interests of others, let alone bleed for the interests of others. I was always trembling with fear when fighting Tashkent. I would rather spend more money than have my soldiers fall into a brutal siege.

Fortunately for him, he would dispatch one Marine Division at a time.

What should we do if the landing fails? How can we ensure that our soldiers of the Ming Dynasty are withdrawn? What should we do if some soldiers are captured?

No brains!" Li Xiao threw the telegram on the table angrily.

"What do Master Ao and Cao Wenzhao say?" Zhang Huangyan felt that this was a military matter, and it was better for him not to interfere.

But there were only two people in the office, himself and Li Xiao. Keeping quiet was not an option.

"Those two old bastards, they are opposed to it!"

"Oh, Master Ao and Cao Wenzhao actually objected?" Zhang Huangyan was a little surprised and thought this news was a bit strange.

"What they object to is the Marine Corps coming to do this job, and they are prepared to take their own troops to fight.

These are two idiots. To transport their troops to Europe, they would have to travel halfway around the world. By the time they go, it will be winter." Li Xiao took a fierce puff on his cigar, as if he was about to blow it up in one puff.

The same thing after smoking.

Zhang Huangyan curled his lips, Ming soldiers saw military achievements, just like wolves seeing their prey.

For soldiers, military merit means everything including houses, money, women, glory and so on.

But the problem is that the Ming Dynasty is now in a mess. There is not even a rebellion, and there is no enemy around.

Zhang Huangyan didn't speak, and Li Xiao didn't speak either. The office fell into silence for a while.

"Mr. Zhang, please give me an idea." After a while, Li Xiao threw the cigar into the ashtray and let the green smoke rise.

"I have an idea? Marshal, you know that I am a stingy old guy. I am not a soldier in this operation, and I will not stop others from gaining military glory.

However, I made a promise in advance that Ming Dynasty will not pay a single coin for this matter. All military expenses will be paid by the navy itself.

There’s more!

Because Ming Dynasty did not have many obvious interests in this, the navy would not have any military merits after the war.

As you know, military merit is followed by various benefits for meritorious servicemen. They cannot enjoy the benefits that Ming Dynasty provides to military personnel without obtaining sufficient benefits for Ming Dynasty."

Zhang Huangyan said it very well, and the general meaning is this.

I don't care about the war, I don't care about the money! I don't even know how to pay for it.

Although the navy has some financial resources, if the court does not provide funding, it will be very difficult to win this battle.

The price of ammunition supplied to the Navy is several times different from that of ammunition taken out. If the court does not allocate funds, the Navy can only buy ammunition at high prices.

In this way, the cost of the landing battle will be greatly increased. With the limited financial resources of the navy, it is impossible to support it.

"Okay! Shunzi, pass the original words of the First Assistant to the second son. Let him get less involved in this war. Europe is too far away, and our Ming Dynasty will not get actual benefits and benefits.

The blood of Ming warriors can only be shed for the benefit of the Ming Empire."

After Li Xiao finished speaking, Shunzi agreed and walked out.

Zhang Huangyan glanced at Li Xiao angrily. Blocking someone's financial path was like killing his parents. This time he had offended even the military bosses.

Perhaps this is Li Xiao's purpose. He is engaged in civil affairs. If he gets involved with the army, then... I have to say that today's commander-in-chief is more imperial.

"I'll take the airship to Jiangnan with Lao Si later. I want to build two academies in Jinling and Changsha. I told me that I need some manpower. You see...!"

"No!" Zhang Huangyan replied angrily.

Just after you cheated me, you actually started picking on me.

The current university has graduated three batches of students. The total number is only more than 3,000 people. These more than 3,000 people are treasures!

Moreover, about half of these more than 3,000 people have to continue to work in the education industry. Moreover, people with outstanding talents have to be selected to stay and teach their students.

As a result, there were fewer talents available to the court.

The first thing the imperial court must ensure is the appointment of officials in Liaodong, Beijing, Hebei, and Shandong. Even these university graduates have to start from the grassroots level. If they want to become a leading figure, it will take almost ten years, or even more than ten years.

Just fine.
To be continued...