Although the imperial strategy meeting on the development of the Nanyang Peninsula lasted for more than two hours, no key consensus was reached.
There is a consensus that it is time to carry out the large-scale development of the Nanyang Peninsula. After all, after many years of expansion and penetration of the Chu Empire in the Nanyang Peninsula, it already knows the local area very well, and the military resistance will not be too great if it expands.
At the same time, with the development of the medical and health industry in the Chu Empire, especially the promotion and use of cinchona tree, willow bark salicylic acid and other drugs, people have more feasibility in fighting malaria and daily colds.
There are also some more important medical advances, which have made people know that a lot of diseases are caused by germs. They also know that pests such as mosquitoes, flies, mice, bedbugs, etc. can spread a variety of diseases.
Extended from this are changes in people's hygiene concepts, such as washing hands before meals and after going to the toilet, keeping living spaces clean and tidy and disinfecting, using more sun for daily necessities such as clothes and clothes, and other measures.
These are not only useful in the empire itself, but also play an even greater role in overseas colonization.
Especially in tropical rainforest areas like Nanyang, the anti-malarial cinchona tree and the analgesic and fever-reducing willow bark play a huge role.
Good hygiene habits can also help new immigrants survive in their new living environment.
For example, drinking hot water plays a greater role than any medicine!
By the way, most Chinese people in ancient times did not actually have the habit or conditions to drink hot water... It was generally a custom only among the upper class, and they mostly drank tea. In fact, not many people actually drank boiled water.
The habit of drinking hot water among all Chinese people is the result of extensive publicity and promotion in the 1950s... At that time, there was an organization called the "Patriotic Health Committee", and most of the Chinese people's health habits were promoted and guided by this organization. .
In the Great Chu Empire, Luo Zhixue also followed the example of later generations and set up a special hygiene habits promotion and guidance organization, that is, the Health Promotion Department of the Ministry of Health... In order to promote and guide the people to establish more hygienic and healthy living habits, the Great Chu Empire But a special third-grade department-level organization has been established!
Looking at the past dynasties, apart from the later generations of China and the plagiarist Luo Zhixue, which ruler would do this?
No one’s!
Anyway, few aristocratic men drink raw water, and those who drink raw water are common people. Drinking raw water will cause a stomach full of parasites, and you will become potbellied in your teens, and then die, which is none of your business!
The advancement of medical standards and hygiene concepts have allowed the people of the Chu Empire to make significant progress in fighting against diseases. At the same time, this has also led to the death rate caused by diseases when the Chu Empire colonized overseas. It's even smaller.
With fewer casualties caused by immigrants overseas, the people will naturally be more accepting of it.
Otherwise, if like Europeans now, immigrants had a very high mortality rate in the past and were easily wiped out by the group, it would be a fool's errand.
Historically, why have Europeans not carried out large-scale immigration operations in Africa and Southeast Asia, instead focusing on colonial rule and plundering the economy?
It's just that the climate in these two places is not good, and when the medical level is not good enough, immigrants have a particularly high proportion of casualties in the past.
Relatively speaking, the situation in the Americas, especially North America, is much better.
This situation actually also existed in the Chu Empire. Immigrants preferred to go to North America because the local climate was good and there were not many messy diseases.
Immigrants from the Chu Empire next like to go to India. That place is relatively mature and the climate is not extreme.
However, even though Nanyang is closer to the mainland, not many people go there.
Not to mention Africa, if gold hadn't been found, few people would have gone there.
Even if there are not many people running there now, there are actually not many people. Many of them are just running for the gold and going home after getting the gold...
Now that the Chu Empire wants to promote the development of the Nanyang Peninsula, health and medical conditions must be adequately guaranteed.
To this end, in this imperial strategy meeting, many ministers have reached an agreement on health, that is, they will increase investment in the health and medical field in the Nanyang Peninsula in the future, build more government-run hospitals and clinics, and ensure sufficient Drug supply and more.
This sounds like a lot of money, but in fact it is not much. Compared with other investments, it is inconspicuous, and cabinet officials can quickly reach an agreement.
But on other fronts, officials are deeply divided.
Especially military spending.
The military is unwilling to pay out of its own pocket, and the cabinet also strictly adheres to the principle of not providing additional military expenditures during 'peace' times!
The opinions of the cabinet are very clear. The Nanyang development does not face many powerful enemies, only Siam and Burma, which are already half disabled and have little resistance.
Just for these two families, the military randomly sent some people to conduct an armed march, and that was basically it.
Do you still want more additional military spending?
Dreaming.
Civilian leader Ji Dehua made it clear at the meeting: No additional military spending will be given during non-national wars!
Then the military's attitude became clearer. This is not a war like the Western Expedition proposed by our military, nor is it a war initiated by our military overseas. This is the Nanyang Development, but your civilian system proposed it.
Our military is kind and well-intentioned to help you expand and fight your wars... but you still want to force us to cut down on food and clothing and save money to fight the war without paying a dime. How can there be such a good thing in the world?
Immediately afterwards, Nie Fengyu, the biggest civil servant’s biggest troll, the new Minister of Counselor of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, mocked rudely: “Reducing clothes and dieting? Are you kidding? Don’t think we don’t know. You replenish massive amounts of food to various places overseas every year. Last year, more than 10,000 military horses were transported to India alone. They were high-quality horses purchased from the mainland, but more than half of them died on the way."
"Are there no horses in India? The local mules and horses cannot be used, and they have to be transported all the way from the mainland?"
"There are also those guns. We purchase so many guns every year, but we throw them away while purchasing. As far as I know, all Type 18 rifles have entered service now, and there are a lot of surplus sealed percussion guns in the country. They are all in the warehouse. The piles were moldy, but you still ordered a total of 150,000 brand-new flash cap percussion guns to be sent to America...
"Haha, I don't know how many people have benefited from it here!"
As soon as Nie Fengyu said this, the faces of several generals on the army side turned dark... I'm sorry to say that there's nothing I can't do!
"Can the horses in India be used? How can they be used with their shoulder height and pulling power? We have excellent Fengzhou horses and Liaoxi horses, as well as new southwest horses specially used for tropical and plateau areas. Why not let the soldiers Use it? Are you leaving good things unused and preferring to let the soldiers use shabby horses? This is irresponsible for the lives of the empire's soldiers."
"We have more than a million soldiers in the Imperial Army fighting for our country, and this is how you plan to treat us?"
"As for the flash cap percussion rifle, do you think our army is willing? It's not because your defense industry is unreliable. It's been several years. A Type 18 rifle costs more than 40 Yuan. It's not expensive. , the output is still so small, even if you want to change the clothes, you can’t change it!”
"The soldiers in the Americas continue to fight, and the losses of guns and artillery are extremely high. What is stored in the country are some outdated 21-year-old muskets, many of which are modified from 13-year-old rifles. These have been used for more than ten or two years. It’s been ten years, how can such junk be used by frontline soldiers?”
"This new breech-loading gun is not enough, and the old guns are unusable. What will we do if we don't purchase new flash cap guns? Do we want our soldiers to fight empty-handed?"
As he said that, General Huang Jinkui, the Minister of Staff, member of the Military Affairs Council, and Chief of the Army Staff, put on an extremely aggrieved and angry expression: "You guys are going too far!"
These words made the Chief of Staff and the Chief of Naval Command, Admiral Wang Kui'en, couldn't help but laugh out loud: "If you want to be thick-skinned, it's your army's thick-skinnedness!"
"I heard that the new rifle production line at the Tianjin factory has been completed and the production capacity has been increased. However, you have been delaying in placing large-scale orders. The Tianjin factory has turned to our Navy to promote it... "
When Huang Jinkui heard this, he got angry again: "Why are you delaying? It's not because we don't have money. Our army officers are all so poor that they are chewing tree bark. Your navy is better. It takes up our army's military expenditures every year to build useless battleships." ."
Admiral Wang Kui'en's face darkened: "But your army takes the lion's share of this annual military expenditure, and the battleships are useless? Without the escort of our navy's battleships, you landlubbers would have been drowned long ago when you went overseas!"
Several civil servants on the side started to argue when they saw the army and navy themselves, and they tacitly agreed to remain silent.
This is also an old tradition of imperial strategic meetings. The cabinet and the military quarreled, and the army and the navy quarreled in the military.
Sometimes even the Guards will be dragged into the water... Who makes the Guards well treated, well equipped, and the one who stands out is not short of money. The new Type 18 improved breech-loading rifle that uses metal bullets also has The expensive new Type 32 75mm field gun is now only a large-scale equipment for the Guards, and the Army can only watch helplessly from behind.
That’s called envy, jealousy, and hatred!
Forget it, he still goes to the frontier or overseas battlefield every day to grab the credit!
Moreover, the Guards actually built a fleet of warships directly... The Navy was very unhappy about this!
Neither the Army nor the Navy have a good impression of the Guards... But the Guards are no better than the Army and Navy. The money they spend is not military expenses, so they don't share money with the Army and Navy. The source of military expenses for the Guards is royal funds, and they just have more money. , spend whatever you like.
If you don't accept it, bite me?
There was more than two hours of quarreling over money, and in the end the imperial strategy meeting ended without any results.
Luo Zhixue had expected this... If such a matter involving large expenditures could be resolved in a royal strategy meeting, unless he, Luo Zhixue, personally exerted pressure to make the decision, don't expect it to be achieved in a short period of time. protocol.
After all, there are considerable conflicts of interest. There are conflicts between the cabinet and the military. There are also conflicts within the military between the army and navy. There are also conflicts between the army, navy and the Guards... And the civil servants in the cabinet do not mean that they are of the same mind.
They only have one mind when dealing with the military, but there is also a huge conflict of interests internally. Each boss has his own little calculation and wants greater benefits.
It takes time to slowly reconcile so many conflicts.
Today I will start by conveying an attitude to my ministers: I am ready to annex the remaining areas of the Nanyang Peninsula!
As for conflicts of interest between civil and military departments, let these ministers quarrel and coordinate among themselves.
Judging from so many years of experience, as long as Luo Zhixue finalizes the general direction from above and conflicts in specific implementation details, these ministers will carry out various interest exchanges on their own, and Luo Zhixue does not need to worry about it.
If these ministers cannot resolve this conflict of interest and come up with a big plan...then don't blame Luo Zhixue for replacing him.
It’s not like the counselors and co-organizing ministers cannot be replaced... basically one or two counselors will be rotated every year, and there are several co-organizing ministers.
As Luo Zhixue expected, after the imperial strategy meeting ended, these imperial ministers began to exchange various interests and engage in various private negotiations.
This Nanyang development not only requires costs, but also represents benefits.
For example, for the civil service system, this will create at least one more governor position. This is not the case in Myanmar, where there is already a Bangladesh governor.
However, the affairs in Siam are currently managed by the governor of Malacca Province. If it is taken over and established as a province in the future, this will be the responsibility of a new governor.
A new governor, and a governor's position close to the mainland, has considerable weight, enough to allow those civil servants to exchange interests.
Then there are Siam and Myanmar. Although the climate is not good, they are more suitable for growing economic crops such as rubber.
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce strongly supports the occupation of these two places and the subsequent large-scale construction of rubber plantations.
Currently, the demand for rubber in the Dachu Empire is growing day by day, but the growth rate of rubber sources is not enough, which has seriously affected the development of the empire's industry.
And this matter also has something to do with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. After all, although rubber is an industrial raw material, it is an economic crop. As long as it is related to agriculture, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry thinks it can have a foot in it... So there are also conflicts between them. And there will also be some exchange of benefits.
The biggest contradiction is the issue of military support this time.
The cabinet refuses to let go and will not give money!
No matter what the military says, the bottom line is: if you don’t pay for non-state war, you must not open this hole, let alone doors, there are no windows.
Even Ji Dehua said that he would rather not develop Nanyang, and he would not open this hole, otherwise the country will not be a country...
When the military saw that the cabinet was like a stone in a latrine, smelly and hard, they were not to be outdone... they shouted, "Just give me a slap, no more, you can go and finish it yourself!"
In the end, it was Luo Zhixue who came forward in person to mediate, and finally resolved the military spending issue.
But the solution was very strange. The cabinet still did not spend a dime for military expenditure... He refused to die. Ji Dehua would rather hit his head against the pillar of the main hall and die than give up the principle that the cabinet had adhered to for more than 20 years.
In fact, if Ji Dehua really dares to agree to this condition, he may have to beg for his body tomorrow, because there will be a large number of civil servants forcing him to become an official.
No money will be given for non-state wars. This has been the principle of the Da Chu Empire's civil service group against the military for more than 20 years. If that cabinet minister dares to make such an opening, a large number of civil servants will have to pull him down tomorrow.
This matter is no less important in the political arena of the Chu Empire than the national disputes in the pre-Ming Dynasty. This involves the basic principle of the separation of military and political ecology in the empire, and it cannot be touched!
Your military can ask for money and persuade His Majesty to issue an order for mobilization... You don't even need a first-level general mobilization. You can just carry out a third-level local mobilization. Their cabinet will pay honestly in accordance with the principles of national war, and if the fight is fierce Yes, they sold national debt to help you raise money for the war.
But don’t even think about it when your military comes to me for money without even mobilizing!
The military wanted to mobilize, but Luo Zhixue was unwilling... Just attack small countries like Myanmar and Siam and carry out mobilization... This joke is not funny at all.
Therefore, even if it is blended by Luo Zhi's learning tools, the money is still not worth a single copper.
However, the cabinet also gave other plans, saying that it could call on various agencies and government-run enterprises to donate a sum of materials to the military... Specifically, it included 50,000 Type 18 rifles and 100 Type 32 75mm field guns. Fifty guns, equipped with 5 million rounds of all-metal bullets and 30,000 rounds of new 75mm cylindrical collision fuze grenades.
There are also a bunch of dry military rations, canned food, a batch of mules and horses, and a lot of other military supplies.
The total value is approximately six million Chu Yuan!
When the military heard this, they were not happy!
Six million to send out beggars!
After a discussion with the cabinet, the cabinet added another two million in supplies, making up the total of eight million, and said that this was the final donation number. Don't expect any more... Ji Dehua shouted: If your Army keeps talking nonsense, I will Just give these supplies to the armed tax police and armed patrol police, and let them fight... Niang Xipi, don't think that you are the only one who can fight!
Army General Huang Jinkui looked calm: Without our army's nod, see if you can command the armed tax police. As for the armed patrols... Haha!
Ji Dehua was so angry that his beard was twisted on the spot... After the meeting, Ji Dehua emphasized many times in the internal cabinet meeting that the cabinet must have its own armed forces. Armed tax police are unreliable, and the construction of armed patrol police must be strengthened and so on... …It’s just that after being beaten by Luo Zhixue, nothing happened.
The armed tax police are originally a semi-armed force managed by the cabinet. Although the commanders and members of the armed tax police are all retired soldiers, and this is mandatory, the armed tax police can only be recruited from retired soldiers. member.
This resulted in the military having significant influence over the armed tax police.
but……
This does not mean that the military can directly command armed tax police. In fact, only the tax department can directly command armed tax police.
Usually, the military wants armed tax police to help with something, such as helping fight a war overseas. If the tax officer doesn't nod, the military actually has nothing to do!
Therefore, the armed tax police of the Dachu Empire theoretically belonged to the civilian system. In fact, the military had a huge influence on them. Therefore, the armed tax police were in a non-nominal dual management state of the military and the cabinet.
As for the armed patrols, they are just a special patrol that is dispersed across various places to cooperate with the patrols in law enforcement and fighting crime. They have stronger firepower and professional training than ordinary patrols. They don't even have artillery.
In the face of more powerful rioters, this kind of thing is usually the responsibility of the C-class garrison divisions stationed in various places by the military.
The various armed and semi-armed forces in the Da Chu Empire have clear divisions of labor and even different organization.
Class A combat readiness divisions and Class B standing divisions are field forces and the core force of national defense.
The C-class garrison division is the main force for city defense, guarding important areas, patrolling, and suppressing small-scale rebellions. On weekdays, it also assists the patrol police in dealing with some extreme armed and violent criminals. In wartime, it assists the A-class and B-class divisions in carrying out operations. Combat.
The above three types all belong to the regular army, and all their personnel are active soldiers.
As for the armed tax police, although they are powerfully armed and have strong combat effectiveness. They often cooperated with the regular army in fighting domestically and now they often fight overseas. But in the final analysis, they are just a law enforcement force. However, their law enforcement tasks are arduous and special and require strong force. Just a guarantee.
Mainly because there are no guns on hand. How can the tax department collect taxes? In the early years, a large number of wealthy landowners, gentry and wealthy people engaged in armed resistance to taxation, which made a lot of noise.
Armed tax police, they belong to a special tax police establishment. Their members are all retired soldiers, and they have served in the armed tax police for a relatively long time. When they get older, they will be rotated to other departments of the tax agency...
However, the armed patrol is a patrol law enforcement force that specializes in dealing with violent crimes. It is a standard patrol force, and many of its members are not soldiers, but newly admitted patrol officers. After serving as armed tax police for a few years, they will be dismissed. Assigned to serve in other patrol departments.
Their establishment, level, salary and benefits are similar to those of ordinary patrol officers...
You want to strengthen the armed patrol police... Luo Zhixue is about to ask you what you want to do.
Luo Zhixue did not want the cabinet to create another army on its own, so that the principle of separation of military and political affairs would be gone.
Finally, under Luo Zhixue's instruction, the Guards transferred a batch of about 30,000 Type 16 front-loading rifled rifles originally equipped to the Army for free. This batch of 15mm Mini rifles passed through the bolt mechanism. After modification, it can also be converted into a breech-loading rifle. The modification cost is not expensive, only about two yuan.
The Guards have decided to completely replace the Type 18 breech-loading rifles. The Type 16 front-loading rifles previously equipped were originally intended to be sealed. Now they can be given to the Army after modification.
After receiving the donation from the cabinet and the benefits from the Guards, the Army said: Don't worry, bosses, I will clean up Siam and Burma right now, and I will keep these two places for you to clean up. It's clean!
With the conflict between the cabinet and the military finally resolved, the development of the southern peninsula has been officially moved up the agenda.
