Chapter 8 Not in the pool

After Xu Shuzheng moved into the governor's office in Shandong, Yuan Shikai didn't assign him any fixed errands. What he did every day was to go up and down with the rest of his staff and talk about the past and the present. Most of the original staff of the Yuan Mansion were pedants, and they were proficient in the general official document procedures of memorials, but they were ignorant of major issues.They had never heard of what Xu Shuzheng said, and after a long time, they all admired his profound knowledge and talent. Reminiscing that Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang and others were originally seemingly arrogant and boastful scholars, but then they rose to prosperity step by step by acting as a curtain, some people shook their heads and commented: "Youzheng (Xu Shuzheng's word) is not Chizhong. things too!"

One day, Duan Qirui, who was then the commander of the artillery, came to the governor's office to chat with his staff.Someone mentioned Xu Shuzheng, saying that this young man is excellent in literature and writing, and he will definitely be useful in the future. The speaker has no intention, but the listener has the heart.At this time, Qirui was ordered by Yuan Shikai to set up a camp school, with a lot of chores, and he lacked a person who could write and write.With an attitude of giving it a try, he said to the staff who praised Xu Shuzheng: "Since Xu is a talent, you can ask him to come and see me."

When Xu Shuzheng found out, he came to see Duan Qirui.Although he was polite and courteous when talking with Duan Qirui, his attitude was neither humble nor overbearing, and he acted like no one else when talking about major events in the world. What Duan Qirui urgently needed was a copywriting, and it was not enough to be able to speak. He had heard that Xu Shuzheng made a report to Yuan Shikai, so he asked Xu Shuzheng, "Have you ever written to Futai (that is, Yuan Shikai)?" Xu Shuzheng answered yes.After hearing this, Duan Qirui smiled and asked Xu Shuzheng to sit down, then took out several letters to be answered and asked Xu Shuzheng to draft on the spot.This was not difficult for Xu Shuzheng. It didn't take long for him to draft several replies one by one, and then submitted them to Duan Qirui for reading.Duan Qirui saw that he was very satisfied, so he admired Xu Shuzheng quite a lot, and his love for talent spontaneously arose.

Xu Shuzheng was originally an aide in Yuan's mansion, so he had to go through Yuan Shikai to come over.Duan Qirui told Yuan Shikai that Yuan Shikai did not have a proper opportunity to install Xu Shuzheng, so he immediately agreed to Duan Qirui's request. Duan Qirui sent Xu Shuzheng to serve as secretary in the secretariat, with a monthly salary of twelve taels of silver, which is not to say that the treatment is not unreasonable.Duan Qirui usually treated him very politely, so Duan Qirui's family and his subordinates respected Xu Shuzheng as Master Xu in person. Since Xu Shuzheng joined Duanmu, Duan Qirui listened to him discussing the situation at home and abroad every day, and every time Xu Shuzheng spoke clearly and logically.As for handling affairs, often Duan Qirui hasn't come up with a specific plan yet, Xu Shuzheng has already considered it very carefully for him: what is the best strategy, what is the middle strategy, and what is the worst strategy, and every suggestion is well-organized. Duan Qirui felt very satisfied, "I really got my heart".

With Xu Shuzheng by his side, Duan Qirui seems to have an extra memorandum, which can save a lot of memory work-Xu Shuzheng is very smart, especially his memory is very comparable, it can be said that he has a photographic memory, what rules and regulations, official documents and regulations, you can see He is fast, remembers and is familiar, whenever Duan Qirui asks him, he always answers fluently.Some people didn't believe it, they found out the information and came up with a pair, only to find that it was word for word. Duan Qirui was more than satisfied with this.At that time, the general masters were full of words and pretentious, so that they could smell a sour smell from a long distance away.Although Xu Shuzheng was born as a scholar, he didn't have such sour and stinky airs, and he was quite simple and diligent.

Duan Qirui made his debut as a soldier, and he usually trains the soldiers the most. Every morning, he personally takes the soldiers out for exercises.Going out to practice is a hard job, and even some officers and soldiers have the mentality that it is best not to go.Xu Shuzheng is a teacher, so he didn't have to go out to do exercises, but he got up early every day to practice exercises with the soldiers.This increased Duan Qirui's affection for him, thinking that Xu Shuzheng can not only speak and write, but also do it. Sincerely, he is a rare talent among scholars. This staff member seems to have found the right one.

Soon, Yuan Shikai was promoted to governor of Zhili and minister of Beiyang, and began to train the new army.Duan Qirui also came to Baoding and was ordered to manage the military equipment crash school.The Armed Forces Crash School is the predecessor of Baoding Military Academy. Many graduates of the school later became senior generals of the Beiyang Department. It is self-evident to expand Duan Qirui's career territory.In the process of running the school this time, Xu Shuzheng helped Duan Qirui a lot, from the proposition of enrollment, invigilation, grading and other matters, to the planning of the school, he did everything he could.

After the establishment of the Six Beiyang Towns, Duan Qirui served as the commander of the Army's third town, and at the same time promoted Xu Shuzheng to the first-class clerk of the town department.Originally, Duan Qirui wanted to find an opportunity to continue promoting Xu Shuzheng vigorously, but this master already had other ideas. At this time, the Russo-Japanese War broke out. After defeating China in the Sino-Japanese War of 1898-1895, Japan challenged Russia. This shows that this newly rising island country has gradually become an important role that cannot be underestimated in East Asia and even in the international political arena.

Xu Shuzheng is different from ordinary scholars and masters in that he is concerned about the country and the people, and he is always concerned about and understands the trend of international and domestic trends.He believes that although China is now weak and bullied by foreign powers and even Japan, once it becomes strong, it can still conquer other countries. What must be done now is to learn from Japan first and strive to catch up with Japan as soon as possible. Xu Shuzheng not only wants to study in Japan, but also plans to send his wife there, but what worries him is that he will bid farewell to Duan Qirui when he goes to Japan.Everyone knows that Duan Qirui has a lot of trust in him, and those who understand his true intentions will inevitably persuade him not to give up his bright future in Duanmu, and those who don't understand will accuse him of being ungrateful and ungrateful.

Another problem is funding.Studying in Japan requires a lot of expenses, and Xu Shuzheng has no other source of income other than a fixed monthly salary. His savings can be used to maintain daily life, but it is far from enough to pay for studying abroad. Xu Shuzheng decided to send his wife Dongdu to Fusang first, and just like Yuan Shikai's report at the beginning, he thought of taking the lead with his sword.