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The cabinet meeting officially began, and naturally Ye Bin was the first to speak.
"Everyone, according to the reports from the envoys sent by Ban Dingyuan, we have initially learned about the people's sentiments in South Australia and the attitude of the monarch of South Australia towards our Han Dynasty.
Let me briefly mention a few points. First, the political system of South Australia is basically similar to the traditional culture of our country. The majority of the ethnic groups are descendants of our Central Plains.
The population is probably between 8000 and 100 million people, but the decision-making level of the indigenous people in South Australia is based on the local indigenous people, and more than 90% of the descendants of the Central Plains are basically at the bottom..."
Ye Bin said from above, and the officials below immediately picked up their pens and recorded the key points in their notes one by one.
Dahan currently uses three types of pens for official notes. The first is naturally a brush, the second is a carbon pen, and the third is a water pen.
This fountain pen is an improvement on the velvet pen obtained from the Ministry of Industry and missions from the West. The ink injected into it is enough to write more than a hundred words.
In this cabinet meeting, those Western missionaries who had settled in the Central Plains also participated. However, they did not have the right to vote or discuss. They were completely observers so that they could become familiar with the operation of the Han Dynasty's official system.
"...The general situation is like this. These are the complete situation compiled from the news passed back by the Ban Dingyuan mission. As for whether to suppress South Australia's counterattack, we have to discuss it together to make a final decision. Okay, I will The official has finished speaking, now everyone is invited to speak.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Weiyuan General Chen Qing said: "Is there any need to talk about this? I traveled thousands of miles to negotiate with Nan'ao with full sincerity.
As a result, they not only refused to cooperate, but even expelled our envoys from the country in front of the foreign countries. This move was tantamount to starting a war with the Han Dynasty.
How have we, the great Han, ever suffered such humiliation since we established our country? Since he is so arrogant, he should simply teach them a lesson.
I support sending troops! "
Chen Qingke was the first veteran to follow Liu Ce in raising an army. His 7,000 white-robed troops killed the eastern grasslands with fear.
After Liu Ce ascended the throne, he ordered Chen Qing to go to Beijing and be responsible for the defense of the six counties in the capital. He also served part-time as the commander of the Second Military Region, mainly responsible for assisting the southern military affairs.
His words carry so much weight that there is no room for others not to participate.
But soon there were objections.
The counselor Zhang Qiong said: "General Chen's words are wrong. Of course Nan'ao is wrong, but this is only at the diplomatic level.
It should be resolved through diplomatic means instead of going to war because of these humiliating situations. Wouldn't this make foreign countries think that I am bullying others? "
Zhang Qiong's words are not unreasonable. If you think about it carefully, you can't just attack because of diplomatic setbacks. In fact, you can have a good talk.
Another senator, Sima Jin, also echoed: "I think what Zhang Yizhi said is reasonable. The diplomatic level should be resolved by diplomacy.
After all, the world is so big that it is impossible for every country to be willing to follow the will of the Han Dynasty. Is it possible that if someone does not agree to establish diplomatic relations with the Han Dynasty, they will send troops to attack it? "
When Yao Zhong, the admonishing official and minister of the Ministry of Rites, heard this, he replied: "However, this time, the king of Nan'ao directly humiliated me.
When it comes to exchanges between countries, what matters is equal treatment, but the king of South Australia treats me as a member of the state.
There is a sense of pretentiousness and arrogance in his words. Do you think he only humiliated the envoys of the Han Dynasty?
But all of us! "
Zhang Qiong immediately said: "I apologize that I cannot agree with what Yao Yushi said. The whole process between the King of Nan'ao and Ban Dingyuan was completely narrated by Ban Dingyuan's envoy alone.
This cannot be used as an excuse for an expedition. Moreover, even if the statement is true, it only means that Nan'ao has no intention of establishing diplomatic relations with our Han Dynasty.
If we send troops to attack just because of this, wouldn't it mean that we have no name? "
Chen Qing immediately said: "I know what you are thinking, but I want to say that we can't just stick to the previous idea of centering on the Central Plains.
My Han Dynasty's sphere of influence has expanded to Nanyang, and many countries in Nanyang also need my Han Dynasty to control it. This is not just a matter of face,
It is even more related to the livelihood of hundreds of millions of people in our country, and South Australia is the largest suzerainty in Nanyang. If this nail is not pulled out,
It will only bury a factor of instability in the future Nanyang trade. Therefore, I still think that it is imperative to use troops against South Australia. "
Sima Jin immediately replied: "What General Chen said is correct, but precisely because Nanyang is a matter of livelihood, we must be cautious in using our troops.
Apart from military expeditions, isn't there a better way to solve this problem? In fact, I can also force South Australia to change its attitude through economic blockade.
After all, wars today are no better than in the past. Once a war breaks out, those guns and gunpowder are worth a lot of money. Just as your Majesty said, what is the meaning of gold when a cannon goes off?
The war is all about money! "
All the officials said something to each other, and it can be said that they each came up with their own analysis of the South Australia strategy.
Gradually, the war faction and the anti-war faction began to argue with each other, and no one could convince the other.
Liu Ce watched the quarrel quietly and did not stop it.
The existence of the cabinet is to first identify differences, then find out the key points from the differences, and then resolve them one by one, and finally reach agreement.
However, no one may have noticed that the official plan for South Australia only depends on fighting or not fighting, but no one has ever raised the possibility of "defeat".
Perhaps because of the impression of invincibility since the founding of the Han Dynasty, the officials subconsciously believed that there was no longer any opponent in the world, victory was deserved, and there was no possibility of defeat.
Nowadays, officials who can gain a foothold in Chang'an have moved from the concept of a round sky and a self-centered place to the realm of world harmony.
No one would anymore think that the Central Plains stood at the center of heaven and earth, surrounded by barbarians coveting the wealth of the Celestial Empire. Instead, they began to think of ways to gain benefits from the worldview to develop the economy of the Central Plains.
This progress has transcended the limitations of the previous dynasty and improved the situation.
In fact, all officials in this debate are considering whether to fight or not to fight from the perspective of interests, which is called healthy competition.
After arguing all morning, the main war faction and the main war faction were unable to reach an outcome, so they could only put it aside for the time being and decided to continue the discussion after dinner.
After lunch, the cabinet meeting continued. The scene was still the same as in the morning, with endless arguments, even more intense.
After a long time, Xu Wenjing couldn't bear it anymore and stood up and said: "Everyone, please be quiet. I wonder if you can listen to what I have to say!"
The cabinet hall immediately fell silent, and everyone looked at Xu Wenjing.
Liu Ce squinted at Xu Wenjing, knowing that this guy was finally going to make a big move, and couldn't help but wonder what he was going to do.
Xu Wenjing walked down the platform, grabbed a stack of documents, distributed them to passing officials, and then said: "Everyone, this is the information about the living conditions of expatriates in South Australia and Nanyang that I got from General Yue Shaomu of the Ministry of War. Take a look. How do we descendants of the Central Plains live in a foreign country?"
