The meeting finally gradually became quiet. Xiao Zishan first read out the full text of the telegram from Guangzhou. Then, he asked the plenary meeting to discuss this issue.
Of course, convening a conference is not to discuss whether there is a war, nor is it to discuss how to win. With the strength of the crossing group, it is not a problem to win the 10,000 to 20,000 crusade troops. The main purpose of this meeting is to decide the scale and scope of the war.
The question of what to do after winning a battle.
Of course, the determination of the elders is unanimous, that is, if they don’t fight, they will defeat the Ming army and break their courage. So that they will no longer be able to covet the high power and achieve the purpose of forcing peace by force.
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But there was a big debate again at the meeting on the issue of how far to stop the fight.
Finally, three mainstream propositions were formed:
The first is to maintain the current situation of no fighting, no retreat, no care. In the future, the Ming army will be completely defeated and eliminated, and it will end, and they will continue to occupy Lingao.
Supporters believe that this advantage will not completely break up with the Ming Dynasty, it can still ensure the smooth flow of maritime trade channels with the Ming Dynasty, and it will also help ensure the safety of Guangzhou and Leizhou stations. As long as the Guangdong official does not lose the prefecture and county
, after a disastrous defeat, you can still keep your defeat secret and talk about your victory. In other words, you can keep your underwear for the Guangdong government.
The second is to take advantage of the great victory to pursue the Ming army to Qiongshan, destroy the Ming army in Baisha Water Village, completely eliminate the main force of the Ming army in Hainan, and then conduct a raid on the states and counties in Hainan, quickly occupying the entire island. This will make the entire Hainan Island
The manpower and material resources can be fully used by the crossing group, forming a situation of separatist control of Hainan.
The third type is an upgraded version of the second type, which advocates not only occupying all of Hainan, but also conducting a punitive expedition against Guangzhou. Some people propose using holy ships to bombard the city of Guangzhou with heavy artillery on the deck to create panic throughout Guangzhou; others propose
Some people suggested dispatching a special reconnaissance team to conduct a beheading operation against officials in Guangzhou who advocated the use of force against Lingao. Many people suggested that Wang Zunde's entire family be killed directly.
Each of the three plans has a group of supporters, who are at loggerheads with each other at the conference and refuse to give in to each other.
In general, the second and third options are actually the difference between fifty steps and one hundred steps. The third option was actively supported by Skade, who proposed a complete strategic plan:
1. Seize the whole of Hainan. Anyway, we are at odds with the Ming government, so we must take the opportunity to seize the whole of Hainan. Otherwise, the country traveling through it cannot develop.
2. Strive to annihilate the Ming army on land instead of just repelling it at sea. In this way, Ming will be unable to attack in three or four years. And there will be a large number of prisoners to use as labor and bargaining chips!
3. Moderately counterattack the mainland, strive to seize the surrounding areas of Guangzhou, and even temporarily surround the city of Guangzhou to fully deter the Ming Dynasty. However, it is not appropriate to capture Guangzhou because the country is not yet ready to conquer the mainland.
4. Pay attention to publicity and protect private property. Our policy is to oppose the unprovoked suppression by the Guangdong government, and to oppose corrupt officials who use the suppression as an excuse to plunder people's wealth and kill good people for merit. But we do not oppose the court (rebellion internally and externally).
Not contrary), leaving room for peace talks. Protecting private property can win over the people.
5. Use war to force peace. Lingao is not afraid of the Ming Dynasty coming to fight, but it does not want to cut off trade with the Ming Dynasty within a few years. Therefore, after the war, peace talks with the Ming Dynasty are the main policy for the time being, and if it is really impossible to negotiate, then fight.
In addition to these five points, Skade clearly requested to create panic in Guangzhou: He proposed to follow the British model of burning Copenhagen and launch Congreve rockets on a large scale, or occupy Baiyun Mountain and mount artillery on it to bombard Guangzhou official offices.
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Ma Qianzhu asked to speak.
He walked up to the podium: "Fellow elders, after defeating the Ming army, whether to occupy the whole of Hainan and whether to bombard Guangzhou must first be subject to our political needs - the so-called military is the continuation of politics." He coughed, "In our case,
Before discussing how large the scale of the war should be, I suggest that you first sort out the political and economic demands of our group in recent years."
The so-called political demands are directly related to the economic demands of the crossing group.
"For now, we are still heavily dependent on the resources, population and sales market in the areas controlled by the Ming government." Ma Qianzhu said, "If we use too fierce war methods, not only will Ming not obey us out of fear,
Will, on the contrary, will cause the Ming Dynasty to impose a comprehensive political and economic blockade on us, and it will inevitably be accompanied by constant military attacks. Even if such military attacks are completely ineffective, the Ming government will continue to carry out such offensives to maintain the pursuit.
face."
"The Governor is advocating his turtle technology tree theory again." Someone whispered in the seat.
"He's right. Fighting is fun, but you have to wipe your butt afterward."
Skade immediately stood up and objected: "When we mount the cannon on Baiyun Mountain, I wonder if Wang Zunde can still be tough! If not, let him launch 10,000 Congreve rockets from the Pearl River! Burn Guangzhou!"
Lin Shenhe frowned below: Ten thousand. This group of people really came out of their mouth. The first weapon design team of the rocket had already developed it, and they even used it to set off fireworks. Now that it has developed, Kanger
Although the Reeve rocket has not been used yet, it has been included in the list of weapons he is preparing to eliminate. The first team has test-fired several Hale rockets of different calibers. This rocket is much more advanced than the Congreve and also
No need for long stabilizer bars.
"The Ming Dynasty is not the Qing Dynasty, and there are no officials like Qi Shan who understand the overall situation and take the overall situation into consideration." Ji Tuisi snorted, "If we want to do this, just wait for the imperial court to collect money and start a war with us every year."
"Are we still afraid that the Ming army will fail, and that the imperial levy is not seeking death and accelerating the collapse process?" Skade said.
"That's right, but Ming's economy and population are a hundred times larger than ours. If the other side wants to be serious and send someone like a cabinet bachelor to supervise the division, fighting all day long will be very detrimental to industrial upgrading." Ma Qianzhu.
Continue to stick to your own opinions.
"What does it matter about fighting? The army has to fight." When Wei Aiwen heard that there was going to be a war, he was already excited and made an army expansion plan. He speculated that the Ming army's navy was not good enough, so the land division must be the main force.
This is a good time for the army to shine. Moreover, while the Ming army has tens of thousands of people, the total number of army companies and auxiliary troops is less than 4,000. After discussion, some people from the Young Officers Club thought that this was exactly what they were asking the Senate to pass.
A good opportunity to decide on a massive military expansion.
The foreign enemy is at the forefront, and it is the Army. If the Army does not expand, who will expand it? This is what Wei Aiwen and Zhang Bolin had in mind.
"War costs money and consumes materials. It is a kind of pure consumption. Our war model is different from the army in this time and space. It is a typical high-consumption war. If we cannot occupy the territory and population, this kind of war will not be worth the gain. ” Ma Qianzhu was not enthusiastic about the suggestion of war.
"I think it's better to take this opportunity to occupy Guangzhou and then control the entire Pearl River Delta. With this territory, we need people, people, and supplies."
"Using four thousand land troops to occupy the entire Pearl River Delta? Guarding Hainan has the support of the navy, which can offset the enemy's numerical advantage. On the mainland, this number of troops will not be enough."
"That's why we need to expand the size of the army." This is what Wei Aiwen was waiting for.
"I firmly oppose investing too many resources into military projects at this critical moment of industrial upgrading." Wu De immediately expressed his opposition, "Occupying the Pearl River Delta will inevitably involve us in a long-term large-scale military conflict. Excessive consumption of our limited strength."
Qian Shuiting also objected: "The size of the army is already sufficient to meet the current tasks. Even for this battle, appropriate temporary recruitment of troops and supplemented by militiamen will be enough. There is no need to blindly expand the number of the standing army. And given our situation, there is no need Too many armies..."
"What did you say?!" Wei Aiwen jumped up - in his opinion, this statement was a public humiliation of the Army, "You are slandering the Army!"
"I don't think this is slander." Qian Shuiting did not give in. "The size of the army must be consistent with the existing economic scale. I oppose any blind expansion of military operations."
"You are short-sighted..."
Xiao Zishan banged the gavel: "Watch your words! Please refrain from personal attacks!"
The motion to occupy the Pearl River Delta was quickly vetoed, as most elders believed that it was beyond the current strength of the Chuan group. Premature occupation of densely populated areas with a lack of military and administrative personnel would inevitably require a large number of old ruling personnel. and institutions. Moreover, the Guangdong region is an important source of fiscal revenue for the Ming government, and the Ming government will never sit idly by.
Once caught in a continuous military operation, it will seriously hinder industrial upgrading and then affect subsequent development. This is unacceptable, especially for people in the industrial port. Although the people in the industrial port very much want to see the guns and weapons they make. Show off your skills on the battlefield, but you would rather see a modern large-scale industrial system established in your own hands.
As for the agricultural group headed by Wu Nanhai, they are strongly opposed to expanding the scale of the war - the agricultural group is more worried about their own affairs than the industrial group - the industrial group's altars are fortified after all, and the agricultural land, irrigation system and other farmland The basic construction cannot be defended at all, and he is also worried that the farmers and workers he has finally cultivated will be dragged away to fight.
Therefore, Nong Nongkou's position at the meeting was the most conservative. He only demanded that the Ming army's attack could be repelled. Of course, Wu Nanhai also demanded that the enemy troops be wiped out in order to transform the prisoners into agricultural workers.
However, most people believe that the time has come to occupy all of Hainan. If it is limited to Lingao, the future development space will be very limited. It will also leave a lot of trouble. The imperial court will always be able to use local political institutions and resources to launch
Encirclement and suppression. Moreover, the legitimacy of the imperial court has always been with the Ming Dynasty. The people in Lingao will feel that they are "thieves". Once the situation is slightly unstable, the people's hearts are likely to collapse. Investigations by the General Administration of Political Security show that many
People who "get rich first" are worried about their future.
Ma Qianju saw that the atmosphere at the meeting place clearly disapproved of the plan of only keeping Lingao, so he decided to abandon Plan A, which was to only keep Lingao, and switch to Plan B.
"First of all, do we need to maintain the superficial peace with Ming Dynasty?" Ma Qianxu said, "From a strategic perspective, this is very necessary!
"If we want to maintain economic and trade relations with the mainland and continue to import people and materials from the mainland, it is crucial to maintain a superficial state of peace with the Ming government." Ma Qianzhu said, "So I oppose any expansion of war to the mainland.
This is what we should do. Once the war expands to the mainland, Ming Dynasty will definitely cut off trade and population flow with us."
Of course, judging from the Ming Dynasty's administrative execution and limited maritime capabilities, this blockade is definitely incomplete. Moreover, the Crossing Group does not have to worry about finding enough agents to serve itself. The mountain-sea business under construction
-The intelligence system can also play a supplementary role. However, such "smuggling" activities far exceed normal trade in terms of scale and cost.
"The means we use must be strategic to a certain extent - we must let the Guangdong government leave a fig leaf so that Wang Zunde, Li Fengjie and others can continue to fudge the blame."
To achieve this goal, the Crossing Group cannot use too drastic means - it cannot engage in large-scale beheading operations, nor can it bombard Guangzhou, or even openly occupy the administrative offices of various prefectures and counties in Hainan. In short, it must give the Guangdong local government
Leave face and a reason to take the blame.
"Secondly, do we want to occupy the entire territory of Hainan?" Ma Qianju said eloquently, "I think this is necessary."
Someone below was muttering: "Isn't this different from the Governor's attitude a few days ago?"
It is too slow to increase the population by recruiting refugees from the mainland alone. Occupying all of Hainan will allow the Crossing Group to control a Han population of at least 200,000 and an unknown number of Li and Miao people - the latter numbering at least 50,000 to 60,000. This is more than
The immigration rate of hundreds to thousands of mainland immigrants every month is much faster. Moreover, the number of refugees in Guangdong is unstable and cannot be supplied stably in the long term. Before other sources of population are developed, it is time-saving to develop the population on the spot.
A good way.
By occupying the whole of Hainan, we can promote the "Lingao experience" on a larger scale and carry out the reform of the civil affairs system. This is also an experiment, but the scale has expanded from a mere Lingao County to the entire Hainan Island.
It is a test for the trained indigenous staff. The Crossing Group also needs to use this to summarize the experiences and lessons learned in training indigenous personnel and local administration to prepare for future rule of a wider area.
"It is too difficult to occupy all of Hainan without maintaining superficial peace with the Ming Dynasty officials." Some people questioned, "Losing a county is a major event that needs to be reported to the court, let alone losing a government! Wang Zunde and Li Fengjie may not be able to do that.
This is how you pretend to be deaf and dumb."
"So I suggest that the Lingao model be maintained throughout Hainan. That is to wipe out all the subordinate officials in various places and let our indigenous administrators take over, bypass local officials, and establish our actual rule over Hainan. The taxes and grain needed by the court will be based on quotas.
Pay as usual."
Qiongzhou Prefecture is located in a remote place, and the foundation of Ming Dynasty's rule is extremely weak. Except for Danzhou, Lingao, Qiongshan, and Wenchang counties, which are relatively mature, the existence of local governments in Changhua, Yazhou and other places is very weak.
Basically, government orders do not go out of the city gates. There are several counties where county officials have not been in office for a long time, and miscellaneous officials act as county administrators. It is quite easy to take over the power by using the county government as an excuse - in many places, there is no county government in the first place.
Jiang Shan did not speak at the meeting. He felt that this plan was a bit wishful thinking. Lingao County can still agree, but it will be very difficult for Qiongzhou Prefecture to do this. There are several yamen in Qiongzhou Prefecture: Qiongzhou Prefecture, Qiongshan Prefecture
County, Hainan Province, Chief Secretary Branch Office, Coast Defense Counselor...
With so many officials, it is not as simple as in Lingao. If a stupid young man is unwilling to live his life and is sidelined, he must work hard to achieve something. It will be difficult to sideline the local government like Lingao.
It's as high as perfect.
Moreover, there is still a garrison in Qiongshan County. If we want to continue to maintain the apparent existence of the Ming Dynasty, will the more than 2,000 ships of the Qiongya Coast Defense Admiral be allowed to continue to be stationed? This is the imperial government's economic system, and it has not been decadent for a long time.
An unbearable guardhouse. Even if it was destroyed in battle, it must have been rebuilt. Is it allowed for such a force to exist beside the couch?
Jiangshan thought, the most difficult thing is: once the counterattack army and navy troops arrive at Qiongzhou City and break through Baisha Water Village, the officials of Qiongzhou Prefecture and Qiongshan County will either surrender or commit suicide and die for their country. No matter which way, Qiongzhou Prefecture and the city will be destroyed.
The news of the fall was bound to spread, and Wang Zunde and others would never have the guts to lie and claim that the city was not lost.
But he did not intend to question these issues face to face - there would be a special meeting to discuss the matter when it was implemented. Anyway, whether it was maintaining "surface peace" or completely breaking up, he was in favor of occupying all of Hainan.
Although some people question whether this "maintaining superficial peace" can be achieved, most of the elders are still very enthusiastic about occupying all of Hainan - Lingao is still too small after all. Many people have a vague idea
Yueyue hopes that once the political power is extended to the whole of Hainan, everyone will be able to stand alone - or even take up positions such as chief executive in other counties.
Finally, the Senate passed three principles guiding the war:
First, completely annihilate the invading Ming army and other enemies, and at the same time eliminate the effective strength of the Ming army in Hainan.
Second, occupy the entire Hainan under favorable conditions.
Third, the war will be limited to Hainan Island and surrounding waters, and will not be extended to the mainland and other waters - unless approved by the Senate.
This operation was named the "Second Counter-Encirclement and Suppression Operation."
Skade continued to advocate for peace talks with the Guangdong local government after the war.
The specific plan was to quickly release several high-level prisoners back to Guangzhou after the war, try to contact the leading figures in the Guangdong government, and ask for peace talks with them. Then send special personnel to negotiate.
The peace talks can be held in Macau, with the Portuguese ensuring the safety of both parties. If the Portuguese are unreliable, they can also choose to hold them in other remote locations.