Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

Liu Ye said helplessly, "Well, I won't recommend the position of Censor. However, Your Majesty, you must find me a reliable person. If this Censor doesn't do his job honestly, I will be the first to fire him. Although I have never been a local official, I know that the most important thing for the people's livelihood in a province is the governance of the officials. As long as the governance is fair, the people can live a good life. Therefore, this position of Censor is too important..."

"However, Liu Ye, there are only three garrisons in the entire Shandong Province right now, and then there's the Banner Camp commanded by Deputy Governor He Ning. The Banner Camp is aloof and independent of the Green Camp. The remaining three garrisons only have a little over 10,000 men combined. With the Nian bandits causing such a raging problem, they've all been transferred by the Monk King to help suppress them. How are you training your troops?"

amount……

Liu Ye had never really paid attention to this issue. Shandong was not like Zhili. Zhili protected the capital, so naturally there were many garrisons. Even in a small place, there were seven garrisons and seven generals stationed there. But Shandong only had three! Now they were all drafted to the front line!

Liu Ye said in a muffled voice: "In that case, should I use the troops in Baoding Town..."

"dream!"

Prince Gong certainly knew what Liu Ye was trying to do. How could this guy possibly want to take the troops from Baoding Town to Shandong? If the troops from Baoding Town went to Shandong, the south gate of the capital would be completely open. Once a war broke out, the capital would be directly exposed to the enemy!

"Liu Ye, don't even think about it. This is impossible! The elite soldiers of Baoding Town must be left to me. You will also have to resign from the position of General of Baoding Town. How can a governor be the General of another province?"

Prince Gong said dissatisfiedly.

Liu Ye's face was filled with helplessness. He asked, "Your Highness, how do you want me to train my troops? I need to have soldiers to train, right?"

Prince Gong was also in a dilemma. The imperial court had a rule that it was not easy to increase the military strength of a town. It had to be discussed in the court first.

Cixi said, "Sixth Master, in the south, didn't Zeng Guofan organize the Xiang Army? Recently, Li Hongzhang has also been organizing the Huai Army, which is almost complete. Zuo Zongtang has even organized the Chu Army. How about we issue an imperial decree and have Liu Ye organize the Lu Army in Shandong to guard against the Nian bandits in Shandong and Henan? After all, after the bloody battles in the capital area, the monk king has lost all his elite troops. It is uncertain whether we can defeat the Nian bandits with only the Green Camp and the temporarily recruited Mongolian cavalry!"

Prince Gong's heart moved. This is a way to have the best of both worlds. Zeng Guofan's power in the south is too great now. There are 100,000 Hunan troops. If you add Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, who have close relations with him, the army under Zeng Guofan's control is probably more than 100,000, and they are all elite divisions! When the monk prince's elite troops were still there, they could check and balance Zeng Guofan. Now I am afraid that they no longer have such strength. It is a good idea to build a Lu army that has nothing to do with the Hunan army to check and balance Zeng Guofan!

Prince Gong bowed and said, "The Empress Dowager's words are clear and insightful. I agree. When Liu Ye arrives in Shandong, he should recruit strong local men and organize militia to suppress the Nian bandits. At the same time, he can also check and balance Zeng Guofan in the south. This is the best of both worlds."

Liu Ye was overjoyed when he heard this. This was great. He could organize his own militia, and the number of soldiers and generals would have to obey his arrangements!

Liu Ye quickly replied, "I thank the Queen Mother for her grace, and thank you, Your Highness, for your cultivation!"

Prince Gong replied, "I have given you the assignment. First, you must work diligently and train the Lu army well. Second, all the food and military pay for the Lu army must be raised by Shandong. The court will not allocate a single cent to you. Third, when you arrive at the local level, do not be too arrogant and do your job honestly!"

Liu Ye nodded, and Prince Gong continued, "Also, since you've resigned from the Baoding Town post, please recommend a general. After all, Baoding Town uses foreign guns and cannons. Appointing a general arbitrarily could lead to disaster."

Liu Ye said quickly: "I think Zuo Baogui is brave and good at fighting, and he is devoted to the country. His bravery is commendable. He can definitely lead the troops of Baoding Town. Now that I am in the capital, the military affairs of Baoding Town will be handed over to him for supervision."

Prince Gong frowned and asked, "Zuo Baogui? Isn't that person too young? He has so little experience. I'm afraid it's not appropriate for him to suddenly take on such an important position."

Liu Ye smiled and said, "Your Highness, although Zuo Baogui is young, he must be a few years older than me, right? I'm already a governor, so why can't he be the general of a town?"

Prince Gong angrily said, "You? Do you think anyone can compare to you? What are you? You are simply a freak! A goblin! A star general has come to the world, and you can be appointed governor, but that is because of your accumulated merits. How can Zuo Baogui be qualified? Do you want him to become the target of public criticism?"

At this time, Cixi thought of the young military officer who was protecting the emperor. He was really upright and brave. If he was trained well, he would definitely become a talented general.

Cixi quickly said, "Okay, there's no need to argue about this. Zuo Baogui is indeed a little young, but he's already a deputy general. You can let him act as the deputy general in Baoding Town. After two years, the position of general will be his, and this will also shut up the others."

Prince Gong and Liu Ye looked at the Empress Dowager's words and decided not to argue any further.

Liu Ye continued, "Since Baoding Town has been allowed to stay and I am allowed to organize my own militia, I request that a group of capable personnel be selected from the Firearm Battalion and Baoding Town armies to accompany me to Shandong to assist me in handling military affairs!"

Prince Gong nodded and replied, "That's fine. After all, even the best cook can't cook without rice. Who do you want to take with you?"

Liu Ye thought for a moment and replied, "I'm going to take Zhu Hai's battalion with me, and then a few newly promoted garrisons. I'll take Yan Chunyu, Gao Qi, Gao E, and Luo Bicheng with me. They should be enough. They're all talents I promoted personally, and they're brave and good at fighting. I know them well."

Taking away one battalion and then the commanders of several battalions is feasible. After all, some people need to be left for Liu Ye to use, and it is impossible to leave no one for him.

In fact, Liu Ye had already thought about it a long time ago. He planned to organize his own militia. Among the five of them, Zhu Hai would help me, Yan Chunyu, Gao Qi and Gao E would lead three battalions each, and he would form four cavalry battalions and let Luo Bicheng lead them. In one to two years, he would form a force of three to five thousand people, which could definitely defeat ten enemies with one!

Basically, all his goals have been achieved. Even if Cixi and Prince Gong made some requests, it would not be difficult for Liu Ye!