? "Why does China want us to give up our land?" The Vietnamese representative asked Zuo Zhidan with a shocked expression.
Zuo Zhidan's first request was for Vietnam to give up their land. He was not unprepared.
Zuo Zhidan's first request was for Vietnam to give up their land. He was not unprepared. There was no threatening expression on her face. Zuo Zhidan asked in a carefree manner, "You've been fighting the French for years. Do you think they're fools?"
The Vietnamese representative shook his head violently. The French were no fools. They were ruthless and intelligent, and had beaten the Vietnamese up badly.
Zuo Zhidan continued to ask after getting a clear answer, "Do you think the French will care about us sending troops to help you drive them away? Or will they care about us? Of course they'll hate us, and they'll look for trouble with us everywhere. I think you're very clear about this. If you didn't, you wouldn't have come to us in such a hurry to ask for help. "
When the Vietnamese representative heard Zuo Zhidan speak so frankly, he did not dare to provoke Zuo Zhidan. Switching to a gentle tone, the Vietnamese representative said, "We're willing to serve your country, but you want us to give up our land. Isn't that too unbecoming of China?"
Zuo Zhidan laughed dryly with an exasperated expression. "If someone wants to attack Vietnam, we won't talk about it if they come from the north. Those who attack from the south will attack where the French are currently fighting. We don't want that land because it's beneficial to us. After we occupy that land, other countries will have to consider China first if they want to make a move on Vietnam. If China doesn't allow them to make a move on Vietnam, do you think they'll dare to make a move as long as we have a piece of land there? This is something that will benefit your Vietnam greatly, why can't you understand? "
The Vietnamese representative was dumbfounded. This logic was understandable, but it sounded a little too domineering. With an awkward expression, the Vietnamese representative said, "But …" After saying that, the Vietnamese representative could not find any reason to refute Zuo Zhidan.
Zuo Zhidan waved her hand and said in a helpless tone, "This isn't a question of buts. It's a question of whether Vietnam can maintain its peace and stability. Our Chinese Heavenly Dynasty can help you fend off all invasions from the sea. Whoever wants to invade Vietnam will have to go through us first. Today the French came, and we drove them away. What if the British came tomorrow? Shall we drive the English away again? Mobilizing the army required money and rations, and it required so many troops to fight without fear of death. We are not willing to fight Vietnam just to expand our territory, yet you want us to sacrifice so much for Vietnam? How are we going to answer to our Emperor? If you don't want to accept it, then please go back and find a way. We're happy not to take advantage of you. You're making it seem like we're bullying you! "
After sending off the Vietnamese representative, the Party Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was puzzled as to why Zuo Zhidan did not continue to work hard to achieve their goal. "Minister Zuo, Vietnam can't even defeat the French, what can we do even if we force them to cede territory? Do they really dare to refuse? "
Facing such a question, Zuo Zhidan laughed: "Based on the French's actions, they will definitely request for Vietnam to cede some land. As long as the Vietnamese agree to it, we will send our troops to take over the land. At that time, it would save him a lot of effort. The Vietnamese aren't the problem, the French are! "
This solution made the comrades of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs suddenly understand. Indeed, since it was ceding land, it was much easier for Vietnam to cede land to China than to France. After all, this was the first time the French had attacked Vietnam, while China had attacked Vietnam many times in history. The Vietnamese were more wary of China, and this was completely understandable.
It was not that there were no comrades who did not understand the thoughts of the Vietnamese, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not have the authority to decide on foreign wars, even if they were to speak harshly, it would be useless. Therefore, this matter was reported by Zuo Zhidan to Vézé.
When Zuo Zhidan went to see Vézé, he was told to wait, as Vézé was in the middle of a meeting with an official. Zuo Zhidan obediently waited in the reception room, and sighed in his heart, Vézé was getting busier and busier.
Vézé was indeed very busy, and the person he was talking to was Wang Mingshan from the Ministry of Finance. This young man was famous for his stubbornness in the Ministry of Finance. The most famous incident was in the budget of 1861, where the army tried to build a fleet to protect the Siamese rice trade route, but the budget had been used up, so Wang Mingshan publicly opposed it. At that time, the Minister of Finance, Levis, was about to be transferred to Hunan, so the Ministry of Finance was focused on who would succeed him. There was basically no one who dared to openly oppose the army, and Wang Mingshan was especially eye-catching.
Because of Wang Mingshan's opposition, and the Ministry of Finance was happy to have someone take the blame, the special allocation of funds was not passed. The army had a terrible impression of Wang Mingshan, and as the saying goes, "Notoriety spreads far and wide." Wang Mingshan could be considered to have become "famous", because of the harsh words of several high-ranking officers, he almost became the person of the year in 1861. Even Vézé knew the name of this stubborn person.
"Comrade Wang Mingshan, you seem to be very supportive of the land reform?" Vézé asked.
Facing Vézé, Wang Mingshan was obviously a little afraid, so he answered cautiously, "Yes. From a financial point of view, there will be no stable tax revenue without the land reform. Without stable tax revenue, it will be difficult to make a more effective budget. "
"If I put you in charge of the land reform, will you stick to your principles?" Vézé continued to ask.
"I will definitely stick to my principles," Wang Mingshan answered. After expressing his stance, Wang Mingshan couldn't help but show his timidity, "Commander-in-chief, where do you want me to go for the land reform?"
Vézé answered, "I want you to go back to Anqing. The land reform in Huainan must be pushed forward, and if we hesitate on this matter, we will definitely not be able to do it well. Only by pushing forward the Gordian knot can the people of Huainan be allocated land, and only then can the people of Huaibei understand the difference between the Liberation Army and the Manchu Qing. Of course, the land reform in Huainan is very difficult, and different comrades will definitely have different opinions. Now, I feel that there must be comrades who stand on the land reform, and tax revenue. Comrade Wang Mingshan, you are very famous, and I heard that you dared to challenge the General Staff. So, I want to ask if you are willing to take on this task! "
Hearing Vézé mention that matter, Wang Mingshan was a little scared, and he asked in a low voice, "Commander-in-chief, are you angry with me?"
"Comrade Wang Mingshan! Are you working?! "Vézé asked unhappily.
Wang Mingshan immediately explained, "Commander-in-chief, I … I didn't have a choice at that time!" Wang Mingshan explained, "The Ministry of Finance only has so much budget, and it has already been spent. The new Finance Minister hasn't even taken office, so how could I dare to agree to an increase in the budget? "
"That means you're working!" Vézé asked.
"Yes! I'm working according to the rules! "Wang Mingshan quickly replied.
"Then it's fine! What's there to worry about when you're working? "Vézé replied unhappily. The reason why he had a good impression of Wang Mingshan was because he dared to stick to his duty and not shirk it. Vézé couldn't openly criticize some of the Military Commission's practices, but that was because Vézé was the leader of the Military Commission, and he couldn't be too forceful in pushing some things. In the construction of the system, a certain amount of conflict was necessary. If Vézé was in charge of everything, the result would be very bad. Therefore, some people thought that those who insisted on their own department's system were reducing the efficiency of the system, but on the whole, there were more disputes, and some of the more ridiculous requests could be effectively resolved.
For example, the plan to ensure the rice trade line with Siam could be passed in conjunction with the acquisition of land in Vietnam. If it was passed at the beginning, it would be very troublesome to pursue it later. Based on Vézé's experience in state-owned enterprises, it was actually more inefficient to add to the plan than to establish a new budget.
Wang Mingshan didn't have the same level of knowledge as Vézé, and he was originally quite worried about the fact that he had offended a big shot in the military commission. Offending a big shot in the Military Commission usually didn't end well. After all, a considerable number of people in the Ministry of Finance came from the logistics department, and Wang Mingshan actually didn't have a very good time in the army.
Now, he didn't expect that because of his "insubordination," he would be able to gain Vézé's appreciation, which was a pleasant surprise. Therefore, Wang Mingshan immediately followed Vézé's words and expressed his attitude. "I will definitely do my job well!"
"Very good, then go to Luzhou. Comrade Shen Xin and Comrade Lei Hu will hand over the work with you there! "Vézé assigned the work.
When sending Wang Mingshan out, Vézé said, "Comrade Wang Mingshan, do whatever the organization wants you to do. If there are any problems, you can raise questions to the higher-ups, and after getting a reply from them, you can continue working. Don't make your own decisions, and don't be afraid! "
After sending Wang Mingshan off, Vézé met with Zuo Zhidan. After Zuo Zhidan introduced the situation, she said, "Commander-in-chief, the Vietnamese seem to be very insensible!"
Vézé smiled and said, "Even Manchu Qing let the British invade the capital, how can the Vietnamese be insensible? Can they still defeat the French by themselves? In the end, it's just ceding land to France or ceding land to us, we can afford to wait. The French can't afford to wait thousands of miles to fight in Vietnam, so let's let the French help us with this matter. "
Zuo Zhidan nodded repeatedly, "Then let's wait first."
Vézé sneered and said, "If Annam really ceded land to France, when we take land from the French, if the Vietnamese are willing to participate, we can give them some of the land that the French took from Vietnam. Of course, in exchange, we can ask for the mining rights of all the Hongji Coal Mine. Don't do things so ruthlessly. "
"Understood!" Zuo Zhidan nodded vigorously. Doing things too ruthlessly was indeed not a good thing in the long run.
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