King of Beiyang

"Wow, this is the Astor Hotel! The most luxurious hotel in all of Tianjin. I never thought I'd be able to drink and dine here one day!" exclaimed Kong Qingtang of the Military Academy.

"Even the most luxurious restaurant is just a place for drinking and eating. Today, I'm hosting this dinner for you all."

But I believe that in the near future, you will all be able to distinguish yourselves in the military. Even a successful career in the military is not out of the question.

"At that time, everyone can eat until they're sick of the food at the Astor Hotel!"

Li Jingyuan seemed to have a very high opinion of everyone.

This made the Beiyang elites even more hopeful for the future.

Li Jingyuan was the son of Li Hongzhang, and promotions within the Beiyang clique were undoubtedly inseparable from Li Hongzhang.

By cultivating a good relationship with Li Jingyuan, everyone is undoubtedly one step ahead!

These Beiyang elites toasted Li Jingyuan one after another, expressing their gratitude to him.

Li Jingyuan, on the other hand, accepted all offers without hesitation, displaying great generosity, which further increased the respect of the Beiyang elites for him.

If you want to get ahead in the military, you obviously can't do it if you can't drink.

Fortunately, Li Jingyuan had a good alcohol tolerance in his past life. In this life, he often practices drinking in private as well.

Even when facing multiple opponents, he is not at a disadvantage.

"By the way, Brother Jingyuan, you just mentioned the 'Four Irons of Life,' which is a novel idea. I wonder what those four irons are?" Feng Guozhang asked.

  

Everyone else couldn't help but prick up their ears.

"Gentlemen, the so-called four iron bonds in life refer to fighting together, studying together, sharing dirt together, and doing *that* together!"

We've already met the criteria of carrying a gun and being classmates. The latter two aren't a problem either.

You could say we have the closest of friendships ever!

Li Jingyuan explained.

They were both soldiers, and this time they went to study together in the German Empire at a military academy. So there's no doubt that they had fought together and studied together.

As for dividing the spoils, that goes without saying.

In the future, leading armies to conquer all sides, the benefits they receive will be substantial.

And the last one is even less of a problem.

The group of Beiyang elites nodded repeatedly, their faces beaming with smiles, except for the youngest, Li Yuanhong.

"Brother Jingyuan, what exactly is the last one?" Li Yuanhong asked, puzzled.

"Haha! Brother Li is still young after all!"

"Yes, Brother Li probably doesn't understand that feeling yet, which is understandable!"

Everyone else burst into laughter.

"Alright, everyone, stop making fun of Brother Li. When you all become successful in the future, you can visit all the famous hutongs in Beijing and the Qinhuai River in Nanjing. Even foreign women, whether Japanese or Western, blonde or white-skinned, or if they have a stronger palate and can eat dark-skinned women, it's all fine!" Li Jingyuan said with a smile.

Everyone burst into laughter.

Even the youngest, Li Yuanhong, understood what it meant.

It has to be admitted that when men get together, they are more likely to hit it off when talking about women.

"Gentlemen, I have something important to say. The German Empire has approved our studies abroad. We are expected to depart in seven days. However, the language barrier will undoubtedly be a challenge for everyone."

I've found some German textbooks; everyone should take some time to cram.

The journey from the Qing Dynasty to the German Empire by ship takes a little over a month. Let's all work hard so that by the time we disembark, we can basically speak the language.

Otherwise, if we don't understand German, even if we go to a military academy in the German Empire, we won't learn anything.

I'm fairly fluent in German. If anyone has any questions on the ship, feel free to ask me!

Li Jingyuan said with a serious expression.

He had already regarded these Beiyang elites as his own core group, and naturally he would do his best to cultivate them.

The group of Beiyang elites stopped joking and their expressions became serious.

Everyone knows that this is a rare opportunity, and if you miss it, you might regret it for the rest of your life.

On October 25th of the fourteenth year of the Guangxu Emperor's reign, Li Jingyuan set off for the German Empire.

Before a child departs, as the saying goes, a mother worries when her son travels a thousand miles.

His mother, Madam Mo, repeatedly urged him to take good care of himself after arriving abroad. She even slipped Li Jingyuan a considerable amount of silver notes—money she had saved through a lifetime of frugality.

Li Jingyuan counted it; it totaled ten thousand taels of silver.

Similarly, Li Jingyuan also took out all his pocket money and New Year's money from childhood, totaling five thousand taels of silver.

With the money given by Mo, it was all exchanged for German Imperial Marks in the concession.

At the current exchange rate, one tael of silver can be exchanged for approximately five marks.

A total of 15,000 taels of silver were exchanged for 75,000 marks.

In this day and age, this is already considered a considerable fortune.

It's important to know that the average worker in the German Empire earns only a little over 600 marks a year.

75,000 marks is enough for many workers to work for over a hundred years without eating or drinking.

Furthermore, on the eve of Li Jing's departure from home, Li Hongzhang specifically instructed him to be extra careful, as he had already informed the Chinese embassy in the German Empire. The embassy would pick them up at the dock. At the same time, arrangements for their enrollment and accommodation would be made.

The current Qing Dynasty's Minister to the German Empire is concurrently held by Hong Jun, the Minister to the Russian Empire.

The specific work of the embassy was handled by Second Counselor Kim Kai-ri.

Jin Kaili is a German citizen with US citizenship. He worked as a German language instructor at the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau before being recommended by Li Hongzhang to work as a translator at the Chinese Embassy in Germany. He was later promoted to counselor and can almost be considered one of Li Hongzhang's men.

In addition, Li Hongzhang handed Li Jingyuan a check from Deutsche Bank for 200,000 marks.

This is Li Jingyuan's expenditure in the German Empire over the next four years.

Although this is only a drop in the ocean compared to Li Hongzhang's fortune of tens of millions of taels of silver.

But Li Hongzhang, like any ordinary parent, still reminded Li Jingyuan to be frugal with his money.

After bidding farewell to his parents, Li Jingyuan took a horse-drawn carriage to Dagu Wharf.

The others from the Naval Academy and the Military Academy were already waiting here.

After Li Jingyuan arrived, everyone boarded the cruise ship directly.

Originally, the Beiyang government had booked fourth-class cabins for the students studying abroad. However, Li Jingyuan changed them to second-class cabins.

Since we need to win over these elites of the Beiyang government, we can't be too stingy.

It's worth noting that the ticket price for fourth class and second class is ten times different.

Of course, the environment in second class is much better.

If it were Li Jingyuan himself, he would definitely be flying first class. But in order to share weal and woe with the Beiyang elites, he naturally wouldn't make any exceptions.

Besides, he also had to teach everyone German on the way to the German Empire.

How can you study in the noisy environment of fourth class?