son-in-law

Chapter 1315: Inner Demon (Part )

Chapter 1315: Inner Demon (Part )

Tang Minjie drew a diagonal line on the location of Guanzhong.

Peng Yueyun thought for a moment and said, "Then should we advance eastward from the Han River and attack Xiangyang?"

“One idea is to launch an attack from the Han River to Xiangyang, thereby threatening the Central Plains, including Bianliang.” Tang Minjie drew lines on the map to add more details to the terrain. “Of course, before that, we need to meet Cao Silong, take over Bazhong and Zhenba to control the Micang Road.”

“Cao Silong has indeed been in contact with us privately.” Peng Yueyun frowned.

“If the Huaxia Army wants to cross the border, Cao Silong will have no choice but to surrender. Of course, if he is chosen by Dai Mengwei, it's because he's a die-hard Confucian, and his management of Bazhong over the past two years will likely lead to his downfall.” Tang Minjie circled Bazhong, then drew a picture of Bianliang. “But Xiao Peng, what’s next?”

“Next… we will occupy Bianliang.” Peng Yueyun thought for a moment. “Crossing the Yellow River from Bianliang and opening up transportation with Jin is not a bad idea. Zou Xu wanted Guanzhong, so we gave it to them. Maybe he and the Mongols are not so good. After the Mongols took the Northwest, they went straight to Guanzhong and started fighting with him.”

"I mean, after we break out, from Bianliang southwards, covering the two lakes, such a large area, how many officials and how much logistics will we need to control it?"

Peng Yueyun frowned and fell silent. On the side of the room, Cheng Min sat on a stool, watching quietly. She was usually the one who livened up the atmosphere, but when discussing such important matters, she would not speak, her eyes bright and admiring as she looked at the two of them.

Tang Minjie gently tapped the chalk on the blackboard.

He took two steps back, observed for a while, and then slowly said, "Of course, it can be managed. If we only talk about ruling the country, there will be no shortage of officials anywhere. But the purity of the ranks and the degree of acceptance of discipline, once they are set out, can never be taken back. Why did the 521 incident happen, and several other incidents that have happened in the past, ultimately? It's because those officers knew they had broken the law and would inevitably be dealt with in the coming days, so they began to take risks. As long as you, Teacher, still hold the idea of ​​strict rectification, there will be no shortage of such internal disintegration in the future. The larger the territory expanded in a short period of time, the greater the possibility of this happening."

He sighed. "At the beginning of the month, I already reminded you to put yourselves in Zou Xu's shoes and consider the choices he might make. Xiao Peng, Zou Xu is a man driven to the brink. He's different from the average official who plots slowly or the ambitious warlord vying for power. He wants to live, and for that, he's capable of anything..."

"...He knows we have some ties with Jin, so he attacked Guanzhong to cut off the connection between the two sides. If we want to restore the connection between the two sides and go directly to Guanzhong, then no matter whether we send 20,000 or 30,000 men, he will gather the Mongols and Jurchens, plus his own forces, and swallow them all up in Guanzhong..."

"...But if we avoid Guanzhong and don't take it, whichever place you want, they'll give it to you. The reality is, in today's world, no matter which place your Southwest Huaxia Army wants, almost no one can stop you. Dai Mengwei never had this idea from the beginning, nor did Zou Xu. So go ahead and take it. But if you take such a vast area, will you have enough food? Will you have enough officials?"

"...Xiao Peng, I've been with the 223rd Institute for quite some time. To increase grain production, our teacher set up forty-three large research institutes throughout Chengdu. They seem to be doing farm work, but in reality, Chengdu has been constantly influx of people, and industrial development has led to a huge consumption of grain. The land of abundance, Sichuan, is still constantly importing grain from outside. I've reviewed the government's grain price records over the years. Since the Huaxia Army took over Chengdu, the price of grain in the city has almost doubled. Many people say it's because the city has developed, and a large number of wealthy households have come in, demanding high-quality food, causing the price of good rice to rise, while there's also unpolished rice available for ordinary people. But in reality, you see, industrial development will inevitably push grain prices even higher sooner or later. We're currently developing on the blood of those outside, but if we really bring those areas into the Huaxia Army's territory, many conflicts will escalate..."

"...In order to save his life, Zou Xu is doing everything in his power to challenge the Chinese army. The timing he has chosen is actually very ruthless..."

Back in government work, Tang Minjie was usually a man of few words, often hiding his true abilities from unfamiliar colleagues. But to be honest, how could someone like him keep his mind occupied? For days, he had been listening to discussions about the outside world, reading newspapers and listening to various messages, naturally sketching out the whole picture of the events in his mind.

At this moment, Peng Yueyun looked at the rudimentary map and felt a slight chill run down his spine.

Then, remembering something, he said, "Actually... there's another opinion in the military. It's mainly that many people in the Presidential Office are saying that we should just go into seclusion and wait until the land administration is completed before heading out of Sichuan. We'll sweep across the country in one go, and who can stop us then..."

“If the Southwest doesn’t make any moves after such probing and focuses on its own affairs, Zou Xu will be happy.” Tang Minjie shook his head. “Then I have two choices: First, be on good terms with the Southwest. You do your own affairs, and I’ll take over my territory. We can form alliances as much as possible and, within a few years, reach an alliance with all sides to resist foreign aggression. We might even restore the old system of the Wu Dynasty. Then we can drive out the Mongols and defeat the Jurchens. After a few years, when you leave Sichuan, you will no longer have the legal basis to attack the whole country. Either you join this alliance, or you will be the cause of chaos in the world. At that time, even if the Huaxia Army has already taken over its own affairs, it will be passive in every way.”

"And the second option, you want to govern the land? Is it really that easy? In Hanzhong, a large number of merchant ships have recently been detained on the road. At first, they might have been laughing and arguing, but next, they will do everything they can to block all trade routes into Sichuan..."

“He dares!” Peng Yueyun stood up.

"Why wouldn't I dare?" Tang Minjie sneered. "Little Peng, I am Zou Xu. I'm fighting for my life. I'll play along when necessary, but when it's time to make a decision, even if I can't win, I will. I dare to cut off not only the trade routes into Sichuan, but I can also breach the dikes on the Han and Yangtze Rivers. I'll even send out guerrilla river bandits to ensure that not a single grain of rice can enter your Chengdu. I'll force your Huaxia Army out, and then hand over the entire Central Plains to you. Little Peng, you're a benevolent army. Aren't you going to take care of all these people suffering from war and hunger throughout the world? Their families are broken, their babies are crying for food, won't you take care of them?"

“Look, back then, Dai Mengwei took over countless Han slaves from Xi Yin, thinking we would get angry. We refused and threw the problem back to Dai. Now, Zou Xu is throwing the problem back at us. In recent years, the world has been in constant war. When Liu Guangshi was alive, he did some construction, but Dai Mengwei immediately ruined it. From the two lakes to Bianliang, from Bianliang to Guanzhong, which place is good? Xiao Peng, I won't feel bad about abandoning these places, because only here with your teacher is the key…”

"With the land administration incomplete and internal purges ongoing, giving you large tracts of land undermines internal oversight and fuels ambition among the lower ranks. In the end, the internal conflicts will turn against the leader. This is the only way to potentially defeat the Huaxia Army and cause it to disintegrate. At least, after much thought, this is the only possibility I can find for him to turn the tide..."

Inside the dormitory room, the oil lamp flickered, and the light was not very bright. Even standing in such light, Tang Minjie's figure seemed like a black hole that could absorb light as he spoke, which made Peng Yueyun feel terrified.

"If... that's the case... maybe he'll choose the first option..."

"If he really chooses the first option, it might prove that he still has a shred of mercy and a bit of wishful thinking in his heart. Maybe the teacher would be willing to talk to him about the misunderstanding from back then. But do you think that's possible? Take the Huaxia Army for example, and take the teacher for example. Would he really lock up the army in a corner of Sichuan and let Zou Xu manipulate the whole world at will for two or three years?"

Tang Minjie sighed: "...He can't choose."

On a summer night, the sounds of people talking and moving around could be heard outside. The dormitory room was quiet for a while. Tang Minjie stared at the blackboard. This was perhaps the first time he had expressed his suspicions about Zou Xu. After a while, he sighed softly.

"Perhaps it's because... when I was in the North, I thought about the enemy's treachery and brutality every day, and how to minimize our losses. After returning to the Southwest, one thing that has always made me doubtful and worried is the indiscriminate confidence in the army recently. Everyone always says, 'Where is the enemy? How many are there? Just charge over there...' Even if we encounter a formidable enemy, they say, 'It's just a matter of a cartload of Dijiang (a type of ancient Chinese cavalry) that can solve the problem.' I know that these ideas come partly from Zonghan's achievements and partly from my teacher..."

"...Back in Xiaocanghe, our teacher would occasionally joke, always saying that once we learned my tactics, we could finish things off with a final all-out attack... But jokes are jokes, after all. Strong confidence can bring high morale, which is a good thing, but is confidence this strong still a good thing? Will we suffer losses when we charge out...? Zou Xu knows us. Since he's started, doesn't he already have a plan to make us suffer losses, or even cause us to fail...? If we don't understand these things, I'm afraid we might actually suffer a major setback this time..."

When talking about his experiences in the North, Tang Minjie spoke slowly, his expression slightly dazed. Peng Yueyun thought for a while: "I understand, Zou Xu gave us a big problem... Senior brother, if it were you, how would you solve it?"

"Aren't you going to try to solve it yourself?"

“I have Zhuge Liang.” In front of Tang Minjie, Peng Yueyun refused to use her brain and spoke with righteous indignation, “Besides, I can’t even get out of here. What’s the difference between me and Liu Shan?”

"I do have a rather far-fetched idea..."

Tang Minjie looked at the blackboard in front of him, then walked to the table next to him, took out a newspaper from the middle, and handed it to Peng Yueyun.

"...Last month's news was that the land administration program has basically completed over three thousand villages. Although various problems have arisen internally, by May, over three thousand active participants selected from various villages had completed their studies. Theoretically, this process should accelerate... The teacher attaches great importance to the land administration program and hopes to complete it gradually in a stable environment, but things in this world are rarely so ideal... Since Zou Xu insists on setting the questions, in my opinion, we should just go out and fight our way through, making changes as we go. War itself will bring about drastic changes in various places, so let's start from Xiangyang and proceed with the land administration program all the way to Bianliang..."

Tang Minjie drew lines on the map, his speech gradually increasing in speed.

"...Bring the land administration work team, bring along activists from various places, and continue to recruit and train these activists within the land administration system. Open up a path to Bianliang and head straight for the Yellow River... Xiao Peng, Bianliang is the former capital of the Wu Dynasty and has political power. Conduct large-scale land administration around it, and the whole world will know the determination of the Huaxia Army... Of course, this will give Dai Mengwei and Zou Xu a legal basis to oppose the Huaxia Army, and a large number of landlords and gentry will begin to oppose the Huaxia Army. That's perfect..."

He drew a line north of the Yellow River.

"...Just in time, the Jurchens are marching in from here. For over a decade, they have been the ones with a blood feud with the entire world. Zou Xu wants several armies to fight a decisive battle in Guanzhong, but we won't go there. We'll go directly to Jin, combine the armies from Jin and Shandong, concentrate the use of rockets, and use our most elite forces to block them in this area. We will slaughter 100,000 Jurchens, ensuring they can't return to Yanmen Pass—let the whole world see who the true core force is in resisting foreign aggression. In this way, we can minimize the world's resistance to the land policy. We will seize two symbolic legal cores for the liberation of the entire world and the new land policy."

Tang Minjie's chalk moved back and forth on the blackboard. He spoke steadily all night, except when he uttered the phrase "massacre 100,000 Jurchens," when his emotions became somewhat agitated. Cheng Min stood up from the side and asked, "Can you really kill 100,000 Jurchens?"

“Jin people, they are Jin people.” Tang Minjie corrected his slip of the tongue in his excitement, “You need to know that the Jurchen army’s composition for each southern expedition was like this… and this time… theoretically, it should definitely have 100,000, and based on the current balance of power…”

He explained the composition of the Jin army to Cheng Min by the blackboard, and then began to ramble on about the feasibility—and necessity—of massacring 100,000 Jin soldiers. Soon after, Peng Yueyun joined in, and after a while, asked, "Could I organize today's conversation into a report and submit it?"

Tang Minjie said, "The General Staff has countless talents; someone has probably already submitted such an analysis. What I'm curious about is that you had this idea back in March, so why haven't you made a decision yet..."

Through the window, the lights of Chengdu are dazzling in the distance, and similar conversations may be taking place in many other places on this night.

More than 200 miles from Chengdu, Zhang Village was quieter as night fell. Ning Yi came out of the courtyard, crossed the small hill, and quietly strolled along the small river on the outskirts of Zhang Village.

Recently, his insomnia has become quite severe, and he has many things to think about.