13 on their way to Beijing could afford to pass up an opportunity to visit Li,sound out his views,and press their own pet projects.[43] One distinguished foreign visitor to China in the mid-1870s was the American general Emory Upton,who called on Li and inspected the Anhui Army as part of his grand military tour of Asia.According to Li,the two men talked about the idea of establishing a Chinese military academy,but nothing came of the discussion.Although Li's writings at the time indicate a clear awareness of the value of such a step,apparently the need was not considered sufficiently great to justify the cost of establishing a full- fledged military academy on Chinese soil.During the same period,Li also inquired into the possibility of placing a few Chinese cadets at West Point--presumably a small-scale version of the famous educational mission of civilians sent to America in 1872.Again, nothing materialized--this time for political reasons.In 1876,however,Li was able to send seven of his Anhui Army officers to Germany to learn "the art of war,"accompanied by one of Li's best drill instructors,a man named Lehmayer.[44] The Germans,with a newly-formed East Asian squadron and an eye on the establishment of a German territorial foothold in China,were only too happy to oblige Li. Although Hart continued to work unceasingly for the advancement of British interests, his zeal was now matched by Krupp and the Reich,who made considerable efforts through the use of means such as subsidies to prospective instructors,to ease the way for Germans to serve the Chinese.German military men flocked to Li's standard,including the influential adviser and sometime field officer,Constantin von Hanneken,who entered Li's service as an aide-de-camp in 1879.[45] Meanwhile,some of the students sent by Li had returned to the Anhui Army.The experience of one of them,Zha Lianbiao is illuminating.Zha served in Zhou Shengchuan's 10,000-man Shengjun--perhaps the best detachment of the Anhui Army in all of China up to the time of Zhou's death in 1885.Convinced of the value of Western training and drill from long exposure to foreign instructors in Li's force(dating from the Taiping period),Zhou lamented the fact that the spirit of foreign drill had not more fully permeated the Anhui Army.Hoping to remedy the situation and appreciative of Zha's contributions to the overall efficiency of the Shengjun,Zhou urged Li to "break the rules" by giving Zha a salary increase in order to reward and encourage him.Significantly, however,Zhou did not recommend him for high-level promotion within the Green Standard system--a reward which most yongying officers especially esteemed.Although Zhou's voluminous writings repeatedly emphasize the importance of Western-style drill, it is apparent that Zhou himself was not prepared--for whatever reason--to request maximum rewards for those who mastered it.[46]How much more of a problem must this have been in other,less progressive military forces? We can also see in the Shengjun a certain hostility to foreigners and foreign influences reminiscent of both the Ever-Victorious Army and foreign-training programs of the Tongzhi period,such as Fenghuang shan.Although foreign meddling in this particular unit of the Anhui Army seems to have been minimal,and although Zhou took pains to point out that his foreign-trained officers were trusted by their men,it is clear that the acceptance of foreign influences within the Li's army was far less than complete. In the words of one well-informed observer of the Anhui Army,"to be smart [in Western drill]is to be like a hated foreigner and to lose caste.This attitude,together with an inherited distaste for active involvement in drill,undoubtedly compromised the military effectiveness of the Anhui Army's officer corps.[47]13 on their way to Beijing could afford to pass up an opportunity to visit Li, sound out his views, and press their own pet projects. [43] One distinguished foreign visitor to China in the mid-1870s was the American general Emory Upton, who called on Li and inspected the Anhui Army as part of his grand military tour of Asia. According to Li, the two men talked about the idea of establishing a Chinese military academy, but nothing came of the discussion. Although Li's writings at the time indicate a clear awareness of the value of such a step, apparently the need was not considered sufficiently great to justify the cost of establishing a full￾fledged military academy on Chinese soil. During the same period, Li also inquired into the possibility of placing a few Chinese cadets at West Point--presumably a small-scale version of the famous educational mission of civilians sent to America in 1872. Again, nothing materialized--this time for political reasons. In 1876, however, Li was able to send seven of his Anhui Army officers to Germany to learn "the art of war," accompanied by one of Li's best drill instructors, a man named Lehmayer. [44] The Germans, with a newly-formed East Asian squadron and an eye on the establishment of a German territorial foothold in China, were only too happy to oblige Li. Although Hart continued to work unceasingly for the advancement of British interests, his zeal was now matched by Krupp and the Reich, who made considerable efforts through the use of means such as subsidies to prospective instructors, to ease the way for Germans to serve the Chinese. German military men flocked to Li's standard, including the influential adviser and sometime field officer, Constantin von Hanneken, who entered Li's service as an aide-de-camp in 1879. [45] Meanwhile, some of the students sent by Li had returned to the Anhui Army. The experience of one of them, Zha Lianbiao is illuminating. Zha served in Zhou Shengchuan's 10,000-man Shengjun--perhaps the best detachment of the Anhui Army in all of China up to the time of Zhou's death in 1885. Convinced of the value of Western training and drill from long exposure to foreign instructors in Li's force (dating from the Taiping period), Zhou lamented the fact that the spirit of foreign drill had not more fully permeated the Anhui Army. Hoping to remedy the situation and appreciative of Zha's contributions to the overall efficiency of the Shengjun, Zhou urged Li to "break the rules" by giving Zha a salary increase in order to reward and encourage him. Significantly, however, Zhou did not recommend him for high-level promotion within the Green Standard system--a reward which most yongying officers especially esteemed. Although Zhou's voluminous writings repeatedly emphasize the importance of Western-style drill, it is apparent that Zhou himself was not prepared--for whatever reason--to request maximum rewards for those who mastered it. [46] How much more of a problem must this have been in other, less progressive military forces? We can also see in the Shengjun a certain hostility to foreigners and foreign influences reminiscent of both the Ever-Victorious Army and foreign-training programs of the Tongzhi period, such as Fenghuang shan. Although foreign meddling in this particular unit of the Anhui Army seems to have been minimal, and although Zhou took pains to point out that his foreign-trained officers were trusted by their men, it is clear that the acceptance of foreign influences within the Li's army was far less than complete. In the words of one well-informed observer of the Anhui Army, "to be smart [in Western drill] is to be like a hated foreigner and to lose caste." This attitude, together with an inherited distaste for active involvement in drill, undoubtedly compromised the military effectiveness of the Anhui Army's officer corps. [47]