What Zuo Zongtang wanted to learn the most was how Vézé used his troops. In September, the Liberation Army finally began its own military operations. Its goal was not to go north, but to Yunnan and Guizhou.
After working as Vézé's secretary for more than a month, Zuo Zongtang understood the full title of Vézé's identity. Chairman of the Liberation Party, Chairman of the Military Commission of the Liberation Army, Chairman of the Chinese Min dynasty, Emperor, and Comrade Vézé. In this position, the Chairman of the Military Commission of the Liberation Army was ranked two ahead of the title of Emperor. In the past, Zuo Zongtang would feel that this order was "not like a human monarch." But now, Zuo Zongtang did not think so. In his current view, this was the true image of a human monarch.
"The affairs of a country are in worship and military." In ancient times, worship was basically equivalent to "political ideas," and military referred to war. The Liberation Party controlled the political ideas of the country, and the Military Commission was responsible for the heavy responsibility of war.
According to the Book of Songs, the soldiers of the Restoration Army were well-equipped and armed to protect the country. Their illustrious social status was commensurate with their dedication.
From this point of view, how was Vézé deviating from the traditional path? Vézé was the most determined successor of China's traditions. As for the Liberation Army's war operations, Zuo Zongtang wanted to see the true face. How wise and powerful must he be to have such illustrious military achievements?
At the Military Commission meeting, Vézé first set the idea of liberating Yunnan and Guizhou. "When liberating Yunnan and Guizhou, we must pay attention to ethnic policies, and first eliminate discrimination against the Zhuang, Dai, and other local people. We are going to liberate these areas, not after defeating the Manchu Qing, where we are high and mighty. The Political Department must bear the burden of education. "
Many people in the upper ranks of the Liberation Army had fought against the Qing Army and Zhuang Yong, so they knew the actual situation in Yunnan and Guizhou. After listening to Vézé's point of view, many people felt a headache. He trusted the Chief of Staff Hu Chenghe, who came from the old Tian Di Hui. With difficulty he said, "Commander in Chief, this idea is very good, it's just that the Manchu Qing have been wreaking havoc in Yunnan and Guizhou for too long, the Zhuang people, Dai people, and Li people are extremely hostile toward the Han people. It was said that Wing King Shi Dakai's mother was a Zhuang person. Therefore, he had some reputation for being able to say some encouraging words. How are our preparations in this regard? "
Shen Xin, the director of the Political Department, took over the conversation. "We've already recruited some Zhuang comrades in our army. Speaking of this, we're definitely not worse than Wing King Shi Da."
Vézé said, "Let's continue with our original experience, and pay attention to the adjustments. My suggestion is to let the military art troupe learn some folk songs. If the troops can sing folk songs that can make the local people feel close to them, I think it will be of some help. "
Singing folk songs?! Zuo Zongtang, who was listening to Vézé's suggestion, widened his eyes in shock. However, Zuo Zongtang's attitude had changed as well. He had changed from resisting to following. He couldn't help but start to find reasons for Vézé's actions. As a result, the story of "besieged on all sides" popped up. It was easy to associate this phrase with a dead end, but its original meaning was really a mountain song.
Just as Zuo Zongtang's thoughts were scattered, Ju Junfeng smiled and said, "Commander in Chief, why don't you sing it for me?"
With someone taking the lead, the guys from the Military Commission immediately followed suit. "That's right, Commander-in-Chief, sing for me!"
Wei Ze was not angry. He tapped his fingers on the table and sang, "Hey, what do you mean by somersaulting on the water, hey???" Emperor Xi's judgment? Emperor Xi Huang's verdict? Ping the Traitor Jie Xi? Put an end to this? Gracefully imported animal excrement
Hey, ducks doing somersaults in the water, hey??? Xihuai Pan? Hope for the end of the tree to grow slowly? Ping the Traitor Jie Xi? Braising? Graceful excrement!
After all, Vézé's body was that of a native of Guangxi. His voice was clear and bright, and his folk song really brought out the original flavor of Guangxi. Guangxi had a tradition of singing folk songs to each other. Hearing this familiar local accent, the officials from Guangxi who were originally just heckling quickly became nostalgic.
Zuo Zongtang was from Hunan, so he could understand the Guangxi dialect. Although he was surprised by Vézé's beautiful voice, he was even more surprised by the elegant lyrics. Folk songs, in the imagination of scholars, were quite vulgar. But as he listened to this song, he actually saw a big ship sailing on the water, ducks on the water, lotus flowers on the shore, and the beautiful scenery of mandarin ducks swimming together.
In the conversation with Vézé, although Vézé did not like to talk about sour words, he often used some words created by Vézé, which made people confused. But Zuo Zongtang felt that Vézé must be a person who had read a lot of books. Even ordinary words, when spoken by Vézé, had a very elegant feeling. Just like this folk song, it had a kind of beautiful flavor unique to the water village, but it was not vulgar at all. Zuo Zongtang was more and more confused about Vézé. Were these things given by heaven?
After Vézé finished singing, the comrades of the Military Commission did not speak immediately. Everyone was silent for a while. Shen Xin said, "Is it not appropriate for the troops to sing this song?"
Hearing this, Zuo Zongtang could not help but nod slightly. The folk song was good, but it was not suitable for the troops to sing at all. This point of view was completely in line with Zuo Zongtang's thinking.
Vézé nodded, "It is indeed not suitable for the troops to sing, so we need to create more songs suitable for the troops to sing. Oh, the superior owes me money, the middle class has to sleep, the inferior follow me, it is better than renting cattle to plow the fields! Make this into a song. "
After hearing this, Shen Xin replied, "I will ask the troupe to compose some suitable songs."
Zuo Zongtang's evaluation of Shen Xin immediately improved. Shen Xin did not dwell on the details, and completely understood Vézé's meaning, and came up with a solution. This was indeed the bearing and method of a capable official. Of course, Zuo Zongtang knew that in the era of Manchu Qing, there was no such open dialogue between superiors and subordinates. Subordinates would flatter their superiors to prove how wise and mighty their superiors were, and even their farts were fragrant. Or they would quote classics to say that their superiors' opinions were wrong. Smart people who could understand their superiors' meaning and give appropriate answers would be beaten black and blue in the officialdom of Manchu Qing, and might even lose their lives.
There was not much purely military content in the discussion about the march to Yungui, and more of the discussion was on the political level. After listening for a while, Zuo Zongtang finally understood. The goal of the Liberation Army's Military Commission was how to eliminate the estrangement with the local people as soon as possible after occupying Yungui. The specific content of the war was drafted by the General Staff Headquarters.
After discussing this issue, the Director of the Political Department, Shen Xin, reported the latest conscription issue. "The proportion of soldiers from the liberated areas and provinces in the army has gradually balanced, and the conscription has basically achieved its goal. Moreover, the policy of non-local enlistment has basically been implemented. "
Zuo Zongtang had a question in his mind. With the strength of the Liberation Army, they could have swept the world a long time ago. Why was it that when they could act freely, the Liberation Army instead? The troops did not advance. Now he also felt a little enlightened. The Liberation Army did not stop at all, but carried out more internal adjustments.
Vézé had said that he wanted to completely break the status quo of the provinces treating each other as their neighbor and being hostile to each other. Zuo Zongtang was now sure that Vézé was not the kind of person who talked big. Vézé first started this step in the army. The provinces of Manchu Qing were all local armies, and the recruited troops were all stationed in their own provinces. Only when needed would they go to other provinces to fight. The Liberation Army's policy of non-local enlistment was fundamentally different from the policy of the Manchu Qing era.
The topics at the meeting were one after another, and the content was different. The common point was that the Liberation Army was implementing its strategic plan step by step. Among them were long-term strategic plans for the future attack on the Netherlands in the South China Sea and the seizure of the Spice Islands. The Netherlands used to want to annex Lanfang Province very much. After the Chinese Min dynasty incorporated Lanfang into their territory, the Netherlands finally restrained a lot. However, the restraint of the Netherlands did not mean that the Liberation Army was ready to let the Netherlands go. The Military Commission made a plan to attack the Spice Islands occupied by the Netherlands in the next five to ten years.
What surprised Zuo Zongtang even more was that the reason for the attack was that the Liberation Army needed to expand the planting area of palm and rubber. Moreover, instead of letting the Dutch earn China's money by exporting spices, it would be better to use the money to buy spices to build a powerful fleet, drive the Dutch away, and let the Chinese control the Spice Islands themselves. This was not only a matter of seizing land for China, but also an economic problem.
While admiring Vézé's broad and far-reaching strategic vision, Zuo Zongtang was also very clear that Vézé was by no means a good person. However, the moral integrity of using long-term economic goals to start a war was really indescribable.
After the meeting, Zuo Zongtang couldn't help but ask Vézé if it was a bit "that" to start a war without authorization. Vézé smiled and said, "Comrade Zuo Zongtang, in my opinion, only the highest interest is the interest of the Chinese Min dynasty. Above this interest is the interest of the Chinese people. This is not starting a war without authorization. This is an action for the long-term interests of China. "
Zuo Zongtang was not completely convinced by Vézé. He said, "I'm afraid that the gains won't make up for the losses. There is miasma in Yunnan and Guizhou, and I'm afraid the South China Sea is even worse. "
"Miasma?" Vézé smiled and nodded. "You're right. There is indeed this problem. However, it's not miasma, but bacteria and tropical diseases. Therefore, the medical school is working hard to prescribe drugs and treatments for these problems. "
Hearing that Vézé had already made corresponding preparations, Zuo Zongtang no longer pestered the issue. However, Vézé had no intention of letting Zuo Zongtang go. He said, "I'll treat you to lunch at noon."
Lunch was Vézé's order. It was a few dishes cooked with a lot of spices, including fish and meat. Zuo Zongtang liked a hot and sour soup, which used a lot of spices that Zuo Zongtang had never eaten before. Zuo Zongtang didn't know that it was a dish known as "Thai-style hot and sour shrimp soup" in later generations.
After lunch, Vézé asked, "Do you know the benefits of these spices? I heard that people are actually afraid to eat fish because they are afraid that fish is cold and harmful to the body. "
Stimulated by the spices, Zuo Zongtang, who was sweating profusely, understood what Vézé meant. With the help of spices, people would no longer have to worry about those problems. Zuo Zongtang couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid that people can't afford to eat meat."
Vézé looked at Zuo Zongtang with a smile. "They can't afford it now, but it doesn't mean that they won't be able to afford it in the future. I hope that before I die, people in China can eat meat as they like. At that time, people won't eat meat because they don't want to. "
This was no longer a dream. In Zuo Zongtang's eyes, this was simply wishful thinking. However, Zuo Zongtang was no longer the Zuo Zongtang of two months ago. He shut his mouth and said nothing.
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