Aspirations for Nation and Beauty: Section 54 Debate

After the battle, Li Wufeng and Ling Tianfang discussed the gains and losses of the battle and the shortcomings of their own troops exposed during the war. In the end, Li Wufeng decided to wait a week later, which is February 2, 694 in the mainland calendar. It was held in Qingyang to summarize the experience in the counter-insurgency campaign, and to arrange and deploy the work in 694.

On February 2, the meeting was held as scheduled. The chief planners of the four prefectures of Qingyang, Jinzhou, Guide, and Bonan and the chief planners of the Jiedushi Yamen in the northwest counties, as well as the chief officers of the four divisions of the Northwest Army attended the meeting.

At the meeting, Xiao Tang announced the appointment of Li Wufeng, appointed Mu Haoran as the deputy director of the Northwest County Administration and the director of the Culture, Education and Health Department, appointed Jin Ning as the director of the Northwest County Intelligence Agency, and appointed Lu Man as the Northwest County The Director of the Combat Readiness Department, and the rest of the departments are temporarily undecided.

Immediately afterwards, Ling Tianfang praised the achievements of the various ministries in this counter-insurgency campaign, and announced the order to promote the ranks of 19 people including Liang Chongxin.

Li Wufeng severely criticized the weaknesses and inadequacies of the troops exposed during the war, pointing out that the troops are still undertrained at this stage, the cooperation between the various ministries is not tacit enough, and at the end of the campaign, the remnants of the chaotic army showed great weakness. This is particularly prominent. The first and second divisions only cared about themselves and ignored other troops, causing the two chaotic armies to join together, causing our army to be passive. Both Liang Chongxin and Cui Wenxiu made self-criticisms at the meeting.

When discussing how to deal with about 60,000 rebel surrendered soldiers in Guide, a fierce quarrel broke out between the military and the government attending the meeting.

Government officials headed by Xiao Tang and Su Minshun strongly demanded that these 60,000 people be released as civilians, and that these people be allowed to return to their hometowns so that they can return to engage in industrial and agricultural production. However, the military headed by Liang Chongxin insisted on incorporating these surrendered troops and forming the fifth division of the Northwest Army and the troops directly under the army, so that the Northwest Army could become a complete army. The county can form the second garrison division.

Li Wufeng sat in the middle of the auditorium and listened to the debate between the two sides, but he didn't express his position.

"My lord, now that the Northwest is at the beginning of peace, a lot of waste is waiting to be rebuilt, and a lot of labor is needed. The current population of Guide Mansion is less than 400,000, and more than two-thirds of them are old, weak, women and children. Guide's economy is facing a crisis. Opportunities for great development. There are already many powerful businessmen who are interested in investing in the development of the well salt mine in the north. I have reached a preliminary opinion with them on this matter. Some populations are simply not enough to meet this demand. And the grape plantations and winemakers in the south have also negotiated with me to further expand the scale, give full play to the brand effect, make these advantageous industries bigger and stronger, and strive to expand this year Entering the markets of the Central and Western Continents in batches also requires a large amount of labor, and the development of these industries will bring us considerable tax revenue." Su Minshun, who was a little excited, blushed a little, "What's more, my lord wants us to To revive the economy, the construction of long-abandoned roads, farmland water conservancy and other infrastructure must be carried out immediately, which also requires a considerable amount of manpower. Therefore, I implore the adults to release these surrendered soldiers who were originally farmers and let them return to their original state. I believe they will work hard and repay the government with this preferential policy.”

As soon as his words fell, Liang Chongxin's deep voice rang out: "I don't agree with Master Su's opinion. There are two reasons. First, the 60,000 soldiers who surrendered were not as Master Su said. All of them are farmers from Guide Mansion, and quite a few of them are bandits from the former Iron Cavalry Association and members of the former Longevity Association. These people have adapted to life in the army. It is quite difficult, and if it is not done well, it will become a hidden danger to local public security; second, the situation in the northwest is still quite serious. The Luobei and Mot people in the northwest seem to have no changes, but they must not be taken lightly; there is Yinchuan in the north. The Mansion and the Heathrow Empire pose a huge threat to us, and there is the Taixuan Mansion in the east. There are three elite divisions in the Yinchuan Mansion, and the Heathrow Mansion also has 100,000 troops stationed in the southern fortress of Nuremberg, and there are The trend is increasing. Taixuan Mansion also has three divisions of elite troops. The combined strength of these parties far exceeds our current strength. It is enough to defeat us, so I think the most urgent task is to strengthen combat readiness and enrich the army. These 60,000 people already have a certain combat effectiveness, and they can become qualified soldiers as long as they undergo the necessary training."

"Master Liang's words may be a bit alarmist. I personally feel that after the counter-insurgency war in the Northwest, although the world is not peaceful, at least the overall situation is settled, and nothing else is enough to shake Lord Li's position in the Northwest. Mr. Liang mentioned the threat from the Yinchuan Mansion and the Xisluo people. I personally think that it is unlikely that they will collude. Everyone knows that although the two parties still maintain the airs of an alliance on the surface, they have long been in the same bed. The ambitions of the Sithrow people are not unclear. He cannot completely cooperate with the Sithrow people without any precautions. That would not be of much benefit to him. It will never be possible to go south freely. As for the Taixuan Mansion, at present, it is not possible. We have reached an agreement that is beneficial to both parties. There will be no changes in the near future. The Motts can be ignored. Their biggest enemy right now is the Heathrows, not us. Now the urgent task facing the Northwest is not to expand its military strength , but to develop the economy. Only when the economy develops and the people's living standards improve, will they support us wholeheartedly, and the status of adults will be more stable. Only in this way, our fiscal revenue will gradually increase, and we will have more funds. to support the development of the army. Therefore, I personally advocate releasing these 60,000 soldiers as civilians so that they can be enriched for the development of industrial and agricultural production." With the strong support of government officials, even military officials who strongly opposed it felt a little hard to argue.

"Lord Xiao, although what you said is very reasonable, have you ever thought about it? The economic foundation of the northwest region is weak, and it will not be achieved overnight to develop the economy. However, the enemy is watching us all around us now, and the situation in the empire is unstable. The situation has undergone a major change, and we have few major generals, so we will be unable to deal with it. Everyone knows that the empire is now plagued by many diseases, and the slightest disturbance may cause major turmoil. We must be prepared for danger in times of peace, plan ahead, and prepare early. You can't be content with the status quo. Moreover, the army's training can't form combat effectiveness in a day or two. They were released as civilians, let alone whether they can adapt to civilian life, it is really a pity." Although Cui Wenxiu's words were more tactful, she also expressed her willingness to use these soldiers as the army, "and I think that as long as we have a strong army, we can defend our home and country when we retreat, and expand our territory when we advance, so as to seek more space for development, this is also in line with your wishes, Mr. Xiao." The following sentences Even Li Wufeng Ling Tianfang, who had been silent all this time, couldn't help but smile at each other with words full of expansion ambitions, obviously speaking to their hearts.

"Yes, Master Cui's words are very reasonable. If there is no strong army to protect, even a prosperous economy may be destroyed. With a strong army as the backing, the smooth development of the local economy can be guaranteed. , You can also seize the favorable opportunity to obtain greater benefits, which is a good thing that kills two birds with one stone." Kamapov continued to speak.

"I don't agree with the views of the two adults. A strong army is a good thing, but it also depends on whether the local finances can support it. Now the population of the four northwestern prefectures under the direct control of Lord Li is less than 2.5 million. Cough the number of troops has reached four divisions of the regular army and four divisions of the garrison, the number of which is close to 200,000, and the ratio of soldiers to civilians has reached an appalling 1:13, which is unacceptable. Besides, our economic base in the Northwest It is weak, and the finances are even more difficult. It is that the army before the increase is already stretched, and now three more local garrison divisions have been added in this counter-insurgency campaign, which makes the finances even more overwhelming. If you increase the army establishment, I am afraid that the finances are really unaffordable~IndoMTL.com~James, who spoke, has served as the financial director of the Golden State for a long time, and he is very familiar with the financial situation of the entire Northwest, and put forward his own views on the financial burden.

Both sides expressed their views one after another. Under Li Wufeng's intentional guidance, both sides refuted each other's opinions, and neither could convince the other.

While listening to the opinions of both sides, Li Wufeng was also thinking about it. The opinions of both sides actually focused on one focus, that is, whether the future policy should focus on self-cultivation and economic development, or military expansion and military expansion. Questions that have been considered.

It stands to reason that the situation in the northwest is basically calm now, and it is a good time to seize the time and concentrate all energy on developing the economy, but Li Wufeng's desire to use force to win greater benefits has been lingering in Li Wufeng's mind. Of course, Wufeng also knows that economic development and military expansion are mutually reinforcing. Only a strong military can protect local vested interests, and only a prosperous economy can maintain a strong military operation. Both are indispensable.

The impending chaos in the central plains of the empire and the relative weakness of its surrounding forces made Wufeng always hope that he could find a suitable time to further expand his power, but this must require him to have a strong enough force as a guarantee. However, there are also real difficulties in front of us, and the financial burden has reached the limit. If we continue to fish in the dry lake, I am afraid that the gain will not be worth the loss. On this issue, he has also discussed this issue with Ling Tianfang several times, and also exchanged opinions with Xiao Tang. Find a better solution. It seems that everything is not perfect, and there are gains and losses, and you can't force it.

He raised his head and scanned the subordinates who were still talking about it. Everyone knew that it was a sign that their boss was about to speak, and they immediately calmed down.