"And our army can only become a service department that provides technical guidance for civilian officials to organize temporary armies, commanding a dog-legged force that is short of major generals but has 'high hopes' from senior military police, and is used to suppress disobedient local braves when necessary. It also depends on the faces of the Navy, the National Army, the Coast Guard, the Tax Police and others!"
Xi Yazhou waited for him to finish venting, and then said kindly: "Both Secretary Dongmen of the General Staff and I know your opinion. All the elders, including the former leaders of our General Staff, are very concerned about the construction of the army. Some people in the army He also knows the idea. The development of the Army has been relatively restricted in recent years. It is normal for everyone to have opinions. However, the current situation has both subjective factors and objective reasons. Don't blame it all the time. On conspiracy theories.”
Seeing that Zhang Bolin wanted to refute, Xi Yazhou smiled again: "I have been squatting in Sanya for several years. People, sometimes you have to be a bystander to understand. I won't say any more. I will just mention three points. You go back Think about it carefully.”
"First, although the several hundred people in our Senate come from all over the world, they all come with one goal in mind: to establish a country under our control, and everyone should be regarded as a master. This, I believe, even in Du Wen's heart That's what I think - no matter what his ambitions and ideas are, without power, he is nothing."
Zhang Bolin nodded: "Who doesn't think so? Otherwise, what are we going through life and death for?!"
"Second point, the Nidaime once said that the army must be patient. In our case, it means 'the army must be patient'. I am also an army, but I wholeheartedly support this sentence. This is determined by our current environment. ...You may disagree with my opinion, but from D-Day to now, we have never failed militarily. We have won a great victory in battles. We can be said to be invincible and invincible - this is not how wise we are personally. Shenwu, but we have the system of the Senate to support us, don’t you deny this fact?”
Zhang Bolin showed an unconvinced expression, but he had no way to refute. Without the Senate, there is nothing. Regardless of the army or navy, no one dares to deny this.
"The third point is that the environment and conditions have changed, and the situation will naturally change accordingly. In the past few years, every expansion of the army is related to changes in our strategic situation. This time for the mainland expedition. 10 battalions may be able to capture Guangdong. But 10 battalions will definitely not be able to conquer the whole country - let alone other places. No matter how powerful the navy is, it cannot allow warships to be driven ashore."
Zhang Bolin snorted and gasped, but said no more.
Xi Yazhou continued: "The Guangdong Campaign is both a test and an opportunity for us. I think the opportunity is more important." He looked at his watch. "It's getting late. You should go back to the army first." He saw Zhang Berlin was about to stand up, and then said: "As a former and current soldier, I also want to remind you: Senators can say random things in private, but they cannot do things randomly. The Senate also has discipline - never forget the past and the future. Master of things. You go."
Watching Zhang Bolin leave, Xi Yazhou stood up, pulled the hem of his clothes, and walked around the office again with his hands behind his back. The army has entered Guangzhou, and Mayor Liu, sitting in a sedan chair, also came in with great dignity. Naturally, he has to deal with the mess in Guangzhou.
Guangzhou was captured peacefully, but what happened next was not that simple. Xi Yazhou knew very well that based on the current situation, it would probably not take much effort to march all the way to take over the city. Just like the actions of various troops around Guangzhou, they were at best an armed march. When he walked to the city and shouted, whether it was the state or county garrison or the garrison city, he would look forward to the wind.
Capturing Guangdong or even Guangxi is not difficult for him, the commander of the South China Army. As long as he controls the rhythm of the troops and supervises the logistics work, the next thing will be determined by the marching speed of the troops.
What he is worried about now is the upcoming security war.
In addition to the Pearl River Delta, Guangdong is mostly mountainous, with Han and Yao people living together, and ethnic conflicts are sharp; among the Han people, the Cantonese, Chaozhou, and Hakka are at odds with each other; the rural areas are mostly villages where ethnic groups live together, and the rural sages everywhere. The situation is so complicated that it has rarely been seen since the Senate landed.
The General Staff made various plans for the Guangdong Campaign, seventeen or eight in one go. There are three plans for fighting the Ming army, but there are more than a dozen plans for the public security war. The problem is that although he personally participated in the production of these plans, he knew very well that they were of no use.
The cornerstone of the security war: the National Army in each county is still on paper. According to the opinions of Xi Yazhou and others, the county National Army should at least be a "brigade" with a three-company system plus a directly affiliated team. However, due to budget constraints, most counties can only satisfy one over-staffed "squadron."
What use can a 120-man squadron do? Even in the small counties in Hainan with a household population of less than a few thousand, there are still thirty or forty people in Zhuangban. These hundreds of people can only meet the most basic defense work of county towns and important transportation hubs, and they are stretched when it comes to riot control. What's more, the combat effectiveness of this hastily established national army is not worth mentioning. It would be nice to be able to do defensive work well. If something really happens, the regular army will have to be mobilized. The regular army will inevitably be exhausted by then.
Xie Peng walked in: "Commander, the ship is ready. The captain asked when to set off?"
"Let's go immediately!" Xi Yazhou put on his military cap, picked up his saber and tied it on. Instead of thinking about things here and there, it's better to get to work as soon as possible and solve the problem on the job.
The boat to Xi Asia is moored at the dedicated pier under the Big World. This is the inland river paddle steamer Octopus specially built for Guo Yi. Now this ship has been handed over to the Guangzhou Municipal Government at the beginning of the Guangzhou Campaign as a VIP ship. The specially designed shallow draft design allows it to reach most places in Xijiang and Beijiang. The shipyard in Hong Kong also carried out surprise modifications to the ship in the past few months, adding armor that can withstand firearms and bows and arrows, and installing protective nets to prevent enemies from boarding the ship and jumping gangs. At the same time, a 5-barreled Hotchkiss-style manual rotating cannon was installed at the bow and stern of the ship. A major general's flag fluttered on the mast.
On the pier, the guards lined up with guns and ammunition. As soon as Xi Yazhou exited the door of the big world, a trumpeter blew the trumpet, and then everyone raised their guns and saluted. Xi Yazhou was wearing a thin woolen officer's cloak, holding a command knife in his hand, and saluted in reply before boarding the ship.
The whistle blew three times on the dock, Minglun slowly turned, the water rolled, the sailors put away the anchor, and the Octopus slowly left the dock.
Because the Octopus cruise ship is the basis of a tugboat and has a lot of horsepower, the joint logistics department, which is known for not wasting money, ignored the "military appearance" and just hung five passenger tugs behind it. Not only did they load the headquarters personnel of the South China Army, but also the preparations Civil affairs cadres, joint service officers and other naturalized civilian cadres heading to Foshan and Sanshui all took them with them.
Although the cities along the way have been captured, there is no appeasement in the place. There are already many bandits on the waterway, so the entire tug fleet is heavily guarded. Not only were the naturalized civilian officers and cadres all armed with guns, but there were also five sailors on each passenger train standing guard at the sentry post on the top of the ship. The Pearl River Squadron also dispatched an inland river gunboat to serve as escort.
The first stop to Sanshui is Foshan. Foshan was famous for its prosperous industry and commerce during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and was known as one of the four major towns in the world.
Although Foshan in the Ming Dynasty was not as prosperous as the Qing Dynasty, it was already a "giant town" that ordinary small counties could not match.
Its geographical location is convenient, with water and land transportation extending in all directions. Since ancient times, it has been a place where industry and agriculture have been developed and merchants have gathered. Ancient books record: "All treasures and goods are transported from the north to the south, with Foshan as the hub, and business is booming." It has become a commodity distribution center in the Lingnan region. Prosperous commerce has driven the handicraft industry. Smelting, ceramics and textiles are all developed here. The traditional Chinese medicine industry is also very prosperous. Medicinal materials from the province and other places are gathered here for sale.
Because this is the largest commodity distribution center in Guangdong and a large market that can radiate to Guangdong, Guangxi and even the whole country, both Shanhai Road and Shanhai Road under the Senate's business system have set up subcolons here to handle procurement, sales and exchange business. So this place is very familiar to the senators. The elders came here many times to purchase goods: the industrial port purchased pig iron and copper materials in large quantities here. The health clinic has also purchased medicinal materials here, and the sporadic purchases are even more numerous.
Such a chicken that can lay golden eggs, naturally the Senate must take good care of it. As soon as Guangzhou was defeated, the Left Route Army sent a task force by boat to attack Foshan with lightning speed. Even the local Foshan leading party led by Lin Ming immediately responded and captured the Foshan Fort of the Ming Dynasty without a single blow. down. The move was so fast that even the merchants doing business in the town didn't understand that the Foshan Fort of the Ming Dynasty had become the "Foshan Town of the Song Dynasty".
Although the king's flag has been changed at the top of the city, as long as the people can live a peaceful life, they will naturally not care. Although the market is not as good as before due to the impact of the "war war", there is still a warm scene on the dock streets.
Originally, Xi Yazhou did not plan to stay in Foshan, but Minister Hong's plan was to use the local favorable conditions for metal smelting and processing to set up an ordnance factory in Foshan to provide ordnance repair and ammunition manufacturing for the Guangdong-Guangdong Campaign, so he decided to I changed my mind and decided to visit Foshan.
The troops who arrived in Foshan early had already advanced westward. What greeted him on the pier was the squadron leader of the Foshan Squadron of the National Army. Foshan's status was unusual, so it also enjoyed county-level treatment and had a squadron of the National Army.
"Chief!" The squadron leader saluted excitedly, "Captain of the Foshan Squadron of the Guangdong Corps of the National Army, and Second Lieutenant of the National Army Cao Qing report to you!"
"Relax!" Xi Yazhou returned the salute, "Is the mayor here?"
"Not yet!" Cao Qing tried his best to straighten his back, "I received a notice and said it will arrive in the next few days!"
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