Wen Desi said: "I unconditionally agree with this plan. [Read the latest chapter]" He sighed, "We have to return to the place where we fought before."
"Yes, I think back to the time when Mr. Wen defeated the bandits all by himself, with the ppk machine gun sweeping through thousands of troops, and the way you cut down the bandits with your sword, I really admire your demeanor..." Skade said.
"It's all in the past, don't mention it again." Wen Desi waved his hand nonchalantly.
"Everyone, don't go off topic." Ma Qianxu said, "Continue to discuss the issue of Hongji Kai."
Dongmen Chuiyu, as the representative of the Military Affairs General Administrative Court, said: "We currently have insufficient troops - the only mobile troops available are the Lingao Guard Battalion and Ma Niao's battalion."
Insufficient military strength has always been a curse that has plagued the Lingao regime - overall, Lingao is an island regime at this stage, which is very suitable for the army building idea of a large navy and a small army, using sea control in exchange for the mainland not being attacked, 6 The army acts as a dispatch force for overseas intervention.
It stands to reason that under this system, the mobile military strength of the Lingao regime should have been sufficient - the Senate has the strongest maritime mobile delivery capability in this time and space, and can maneuver troops along the coastline at extremely fast speeds. A battalion can When used by several battalions.
However, Lingao's time-traveling regime was also a foreign regime. Although the senators tried their best to win over people's hearts, and there was no strong nationalist tendency in the 17th century, the chaotic social order of the medieval countries prevented social resources from being fully utilized. , which forces the military to take on the task of social transformation, which was not its main responsibility originally.
Although more than half a year has passed since the Battle of Chengmai, even though the Senate has been in control of the counties in Qiongbei for only three months. However, the main force of the Sixth Army is still used to carry out comprehensive "clearance" of local areas. The security war in Qiongbei launched by the General Staff contained most of the troops of the Sixth Army - the four regular infantry battalions of the Sixth Army were scattered throughout the Qiongbei area, performing a variety of security, escort and bandit suppression missions. The Sixth Army, which was originally supposed to be a projection force, was no longer able to divide its forces to support new combat operations.
"...If we want to open up the Hongji front, we can only use the general reserves of the Army." Dongmen Chuiyu expressed concern that in order to defend Hongji, it would be necessary to set up a Hongji garrison. Go three companies. If the Northern Dynasty insists on "defending the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity," according to the Northern Dynasty's mobilization level, it is very possible to recruit 12,000 people to besiege Hongji. It is very doubtful whether the three companies can save Hongji. During the war game, the General Staff believed that at least a full infantry battalion was needed to defeat the North Vietnamese crusade.
The veteran officers of the General Military Administration conducted many deductions on various plans and programs. The final result was that Lingao's military strength was still insufficient in quantity. They could only be satisfied with fighting short-term wars of fast in and fast out, and long-term operations would still be difficult. There is a danger of being stretched thin.
The solution is of course to expand the army, whether it is to expand the regular army or to form a new second-line security force... However, the veteran officers themselves feel unable to speak: the population statistics of Qiongzhou have not yet been released, but it is estimated that the total population is only 500,000 people, and the current size of the 6th Navy has exceeded 15,000 people. Relative to 30 people, there is only one soldier - the Lingao regime can be called the most militaristic regime in history, even surpassing Prussia, which is known as the "state army". If it weren't for the continuous supply of blood drawn from the mainland through export-oriented trade and the fact that the army usually devotes a lot of time to supporting construction, such an army would not be able to maintain it.
After the Battle of Chengmai, the Executive Committee once considered the idea of reducing some soldiers of the Navy to enrich grassroots cadres, but subsequent developments made this disarmament plan completely aborted.
"...The expedition to Vietnam is equivalent to another division of troops, and it will maintain a certain presence in enemy-occupied areas for a long time, and may even require long-term operations, and the threat of Zheng Zhilong and other sea masters has not been eliminated..." Dongmen Chuiyu continued to report With.
"We are in a strange circle now," Zhan Wuya said. "If we want to engage in large-scale industrial production, we need violent troops to seize land and obtain raw materials and fuels. The violent troops need a large amount of arms, and arms need large industries. Large industries need raw materials and fuels, and raw materials and fuels need You can gain it by seizing the territory, but to seize the territory, you have to use force..."
Wen Desi interrupted Zhan Wuya's complaints: "This matter is indeed difficult, but there is no result in just talking about the problem - let me talk about my opinion: first set up an armed trading station and pay for certain currencies or goods , hire local indigenous people to dig coal, and then recruit mine guards from the miners..."
"Let the Vietnamese indigenous people dig coal? In the old days, people said that their labor unions were very powerful and they would go on strike at every turn." Skade expressed doubts about the labor efficiency of the Vietnamese indigenous people. He had a background in foreign trade, and many foreign trade factories moved to save labor costs. After arriving in Vietnam, it didn’t take long for people to complain and complain that Vietnamese workers were too lazy.
"Monkeys are quite hard-working and willing to work, at least better than the indigenous people further south - they grow three-crop rice - is this something a lazy man would do?" Wen Desi said, "Besides, the heresy of labor unions Time and space do not exist. One more thing: Vietnam has a large population, which is enough to supply the consumption of coal mining. Aren't they fighting the Civil War now? This kind of medieval society has a small territory, and it can fight hundreds of thousands of people in a big war. , Needless to say, the people are in dire straits, we can get a large population at a very low cost - just feed them."
Wu De said: "In the long run, the armed trading station can also serve as a base for subtly cultivating and transforming local indigenous people, which will be beneficial to our future implementation of the new order."
In the Senate's overall plan, Vietnam, North Korea, and Japan, countries in the "Chinese Cultural Circle", are among the countries that will enter the "East Asian New Order" system in the future, and their treatment is different from that of the natives of the Southeast Asian archipelago.
Everyone has no objections to Wen Desi's use of local labor force. Even if Vietnam cannot provide enough indigenous labor force, in the long run, slaves can be transported to fill the mine pits.
Dongmen Chuiyu said: "I'm just worried that the armed trading station will not be able to support the Northern Dynasty's attack..."
"We try our best to achieve peaceful trade." Wen Desi explained his plan. "The trading station is only used as a shelter in case of emergency. So the scale does not need to be large, as long as it is strong enough to support the navy for reinforcements. "
The purpose of the traversers is only to dig coal, not to occupy territory. Hongji is not a land of plenty, but a barren hilly peninsula. The illustrious military exploits of Lingao should have also spread to the Northern Dynasty. The Northern Dynasty was already at war with the Southern Dynasty and had too much time to take care of itself. There was no need to fight with a powerful military power over a small piece of wasteland - especially when the other side's purpose was just to dig coal. That’s all. Wen Desi's plan is based on the premise of this prediction.
Yu Eshui said: "In my personal opinion, President Wen's plan is still feasible. Every time the Northern Dynasties went south, they were blocked by the Ruan family's fortress group near the 17th parallel and the arms provided by the Portuguese. Now they are eager to find foreign aid. ——According to the course of history, the Dutch will act as their advisors in the near future. If we provide some arms in exchange, letting us stay in Hongji to mine coal is not an intolerable price for the Northern Dynasties. And it can also crowd out the Netherlands. The influence of people on the Northern Dynasties.”
"Selling arms?" Some people find it hard to accept. In the past, Li Luoyou's attempts to buy arms for the Ming Dynasty were rejected, but now he suddenly wants to sell arms to the Northern Li Dynasty.
"Do we have enough steel?"
"After the No. 1 blast furnace, the steel production capacity has been expanded more than 10 times. It is still beneficial for us to consume some in exchange for enough thermal coal." Zhan Wuya feels a bit wealthy because of the successful ignition of the blast furnace a few days ago. , "The No. 1 blast furnace is not yet working at full capacity, and the daily pig iron output exceeds 60 tons. The No. 2 blast furnace will be put into operation in another month."
"There are also medicines, processed food - food can be processed with supplied materials... These can all be sold to the Northern Dynasty as trade goods. They are similar to the goods sold to the Tatars." Skade said, "I don't think the Northern Dynasty will refuse this. This kind of trade requires. Medicines and food are very useful in the military."
Finally, the resolution to open a trading station for coal mining in Hongji was passed. As a first step, the Vietnam Trading Company was separated from Leizhou Station. The Trading Company with Vietnam became a state-owned company directly under the Ministry of Colonial Trade. and Leizhou Sugar Industry achieved the same status. The headquarters is still located in Leizhou.
In a luxurious residence on Hai'an Street in Haikang County, Leizhou, the elders of Leizhou Station were sitting around a table, and the atmosphere was a bit subtle. The table was piled with account books and other things. In addition to the abacus, there was also a pocket electronic calculator.
A big black man said at this time: "Okay, the accounts should be clear, right?"
The female veteran who was filling in the best numbers on the form straightened up - she was Jin Zhijiao from Cheka. She said: "No problem. There are a few transactions that violate the system, but they are not serious." She stamped the handover audit form and said, "Okay."
"Old Wen, I'm about to leave you, don't miss me..." The big black man was Chang Shide. A few days ago, he received a telegram from the organization office, asking him to "prepare for the handover immediately and transfer to Lingao has another appointment." Following the telegram came this Cheka woman.
Operation Hongji started with personnel transfers: Chang Shide was transferred out of Leizhou; Yan Maoda was officially transferred to Leizhou as the general manager of the Vietnam Trading Company, and Bei Kai became the trade representative in North Vietnam. The latter had already received long-term Vietnamese language training in Lingao - learning strange Vietnamese words from the TV every day was too much for him. Although Bekai repeatedly emphasized that his family had nothing to do with Vietnam, he was still selected for the position of trade representative in Vietnam because of his "very Vietnamese" appearance. . ..
