Struggle in Russia

Prince Mikhail liked talented young people, especially those of "humble" origin like Vishniak and Boris. Such young people can bring great benefits just by giving them a chance to show their talents.

Generally speaking, such young people have no background, so there is no need to worry about the exchange of benefits from the families behind them. After they grow up, they might not be the wings of the family, especially since they have a close relationship with Leonid, which is even more perfect.

Soon, Prince Mikhail's eyes on Vishniak and Boris softened a lot, and the aggressive pressure was gone. This made Vishniak and Boris more relaxed, and their conversations were more calm, which undoubtedly made Duke Mikhail feel better about them.

For a while, Li Xiao, who was supposed to be the protagonist, seemed to be forgotten. But Li Xiao wasn't in a hurry, he still had enough time to eat and drink, looking contented.

After a long time, Prince Mikhail felt that he knew almost everything about Vishniak and Boris, so he turned to someone who was relaxed and comfortable.

"Your Excellency, according to Leonid, do you have a lot of experience in improving the combat effectiveness of the 748 regiment?"

Li Xiao smiled and replied very "modestly": "It's not an experience, it's a little opinion. And it's not just for the 748 regiment, but it has an effect on the entire army."

"oh?"

Prince Mikhail sat up a little bit, as if he was interested in someone's big talk, he asked slowly: "Is there such a good way?"

Li Xiao snorted in his heart: 【Old fox! 】

But he still replied with a smile on his face: "Yes, there is! And it's very simple!"

Prince Mikhail asked: "Then I have to listen to your high opinion, Your Excellency the Grand Duke? Can we talk about it?"

"Of course." Li Xiao asked slowly, "Your Excellency, what do you think are the key factors affecting the combat effectiveness of troops?"

"Haha!" Mikhail laughed openly, and asked, "Your Excellency, are you testing me? That's right, I'm afraid an old guy like me won't be able to get into the eyes of you young people."

"That's not true. I'm just a fledgling kid. How can I compare my experience in the army with yours. I just want to take this opportunity to discuss with you and verify whether my theory is correct. I still need you to correct me!"

【Little Fox! 】

Prince Mikhail also cursed secretly in his heart, just now he did it on purpose, but Li Xiao was not fooled, and dispelled his trap without humility.

"That's great!" Duke Mikhail laughed again, and said, "Let's discuss and discuss together! I'll start by throwing bricks to attract ideas!"

"The key factors that affect the combat effectiveness of the army, to put it bluntly, are nothing more than equipment and personnel! Good enough weapons naturally have stronger combat effectiveness, and more elite soldiers naturally have higher combat effectiveness."

Li Xiao nodded: "I agree." After a short pause, he asked again: "What do you think of our army's combat effectiveness? How does it compare with our European counterparts?"

Duke Mikhail smiled slightly, and said, "I won't brag about myself or expose my ugliness. What do you think, Your Excellency the Grand Duke?"

This is another pit! But Li Xiao immediately avoided it: "I personally feel that our army's combat effectiveness still has room to improve."

Grand Duke Mikhail glanced at Li Xiao again, he was surprised by the other party's water tightness, it seems that such a test is meaningless, so he smiled and said: "I also hope that our young man is as good as possible!"

Li Xiao nodded and said, "Yes, I all hope that the soldiers are as strong as possible. But improving the personal quality of soldiers, making them stronger, faster, and more hardworking is undoubtedly too expensive!"

Duke Mikhail immediately knew what Li Xiao meant. It is really not easy to improve the quality of soldiers. Although Russia has abundant serf resources,

But there were not so many serfs with good health. Even if there were, the greedy serf owners who owned these precious resources would not allow them to serve in the military, but chose to stay on their farms as cattle and horses.

Most of the serfs who were thrown out for military service were thorns who were not in good health or not law-abiding. There are too many problems with the strength, speed and awareness of such soldiers, and they are not good enough.

And to make these guys great, you have to invest a lot of money and time. The problem is that Russia may not be short of time, but it is really short of money. What's more, for the tsar and ministers, serf soldiers were just gray animals and cannon fodder, and they were not worth such a huge investment at all!

Obviously, taking this path to improve the combat effectiveness of troops is absolutely unfeasible in Russia. Maybe a few guards can do it, but for the others, it's useless to sleep.

Duke Mikhail immediately knew what Li Xiao was going to say next, and if he couldn't do it, he could only use weapons. Equipping better and more powerful weapons is undoubtedly a good way to improve combat effectiveness.

Of course, there are also pitfalls here. Duke Mikhail immediately pointed out: "Your Excellency, are you going to recommend new weapons to me? Did I recommend the new steamboat?"

After a short pause, Duke Mikhail said in a slightly teasing tone: "Haha. But I'm from the army, and I can't match the navy, and those gold-throwing behemoths are too expensive, I can't afford it!"

Li Xiao didn't care, he also smiled and replied: "You misunderstood, how could I recommend those to you. What I want to recommend are some gadgets! Cheap, but immediate results!"

Prince Mikhail was stunned. He was very skeptical about this. In his understanding, cheap goods generally do not have good goods, and good things are not cheap. But Li Xiao just said that it is cheap and the effect is obvious, which is very interesting.

He immediately urged: "Tell me. I'm very interested in cheap and good things!"

Li Xiao didn't have a problem, he smiled and said to Duke Mikhail: "Your Excellency, I brought you a small gift, may I show it to you?"

Only then did Duke Mikhail notice the long box that Li Xiao brought. At first he was a little funny, thinking that the Grand Duke Li Xiao was too shabby, and the gift box was so simple. But now it seems that there may be another article.

He immediately said: "Of course, I can't wait!"

Li Xiao continued: "Do you have a shooting range or a garden in your house? The actual display effect of my gift is more obvious, so that you can clearly feel its benefits!"

Duke Mikhail immediately rang the bell to summon the butler, ordered the target to be prepared in the garden, then looked at Li Xiao with some deep meaning and said, "My lord, I really hope you won't let me down!"