"Commander-in-chief, if we use low standards to discuss the Qing Army, then there's nothing to discuss. We only need to discuss how to defeat the Qing Army. "The comrades of the Military Commission had the same opinion.
"That's a good idea," Vézé agreed.
Zuo Zongtang had mixed feelings when he heard this. He wanted to know the actual combat ability of the Liberation Army, but he didn't expect the Liberation Army to be so "arrogant." But if he thought about it carefully, it wasn't surprising that the Liberation Army could easily crush the Qing Army.
Hu Chenghe said, "If that's the case, then it's whether we should attack the Huaihe River or not. Our intelligence shows that Ceng Guofan killed hundreds of thousands of people in Huoyang. I don't think we should just let this go. "
After liberating Jiangxi and other places, the Liberation Army finally learned what atrocities the Xiang Army had committed. The bloody massacre in Huoyang didn't surprise the Liberation Army too much. Hu Chenghe's next suggestion was simple. "Tell the Nian Army about this."
Manchu Qing didn't open up the northeast. Manchu Qing's elite areas were Hebei, Henan, Shandong, and Shanxi. The Shanxi merchants might be rich, but Shanxi was a poor place. The real elite areas were Hebei, Henan, and Shandong. Most of the areas south of Jining in Shandong had fallen into the hands of Miao Peilin, the self-proclaimed "Prince Of Qi." The massacre in Huoyang was so cruel that the Nian Army couldn't just sit back and do nothing after hearing the news. If the Nian Army could gather forces to defeat the Xiang Army and the Huai Army, the only army left for Manchu Qing would be Sengrinchen's Mongolian cavalry.
"Will the Nian Army lose?" Ju Junfeng asked. This was a good question. No one could answer it right away.
Everyone looked at Vézé, hoping he could give them an opinion. Vézé seemed to be deep in thought. The members of the Military Commission quieted down for a while, waiting for Vézé to give the order. At this moment, Vézé felt a little uneasy. In the education he had received since he was young, Vézé could criticize the historical limitations of the peasant uprising, but it was completely unrealistic for him to view the peasant uprising as a scourge like the landlord class. This revealed Vézé's class position and denied the historical and political concepts that Vézé had established.
To put it more bluntly, once the Nian Army launched a decisive battle against the Xiang Army and the Huai Army, the entire situation would be heading towards a breakthrough. To break the situation, the Liberation Army needed to destroy all the separatist forces. No matter how clearly Vézé's rationality told him that it was necessary to completely destroy the Taiping Rebellion and the Nian Army, Vézé could not help but feel a strong resistance in his heart.
Seeing Vézé hesitate, no one urged Vézé to express his opinion immediately. It was rare for Vézé to hesitate like this. Even if no one knew what made Vézé hesitate, there must be a big reason for Vézé's hesitation.
Vézé quickly realized that he had lost his composure. He said, "How about this, let's decide on this battle first. I don't suggest continuing the battle against the Huai Army for now. We just need to destroy the invading enemy. What do you think? "
There was not much to nitpick about this kind of steady response. Everyone knew that if the battle were to expand, the small size of the Huai Army would not be able to withstand it at all. Once the Huai Army was defeated, the entire strategic concept would change completely. The resolution to defeat the attacking Huai Army was passed.
The next day, Vézé called for another military meeting. The first topic was to mercilessly attack some of the provocations of the Huai Army, but not to counterattack for the time being. A similar resolution had been made in yesterday's meeting. No one knew why Vézé emphasized it again today.
Vézé did not keep them in suspense. He said, "Shaanxi is in chaos. According to the latest news, the Taiping army and the rebel army have already started a fierce war. "
Among the people in the conference room of the Military Commission, Zuo Zongtang was probably the only one who was better than Vézé. Zuo Zongtang increasingly felt that Vézé was definitely a learned person. This was because Vézé's vocabulary might be relatively new, or it might even be Vézé's own creation. However, when it came to the use of vocabulary, Vézé would never use it carelessly. At least, Zuo Zongtang had never heard Vézé use the term "rebel army." Considering the context of the words just now, Vézé had unequivocally referred to the armed forces involved in the rebellion as "rebel army." Hearing Vézé define the rebels as rebel army, Zuo Zongtang felt very cordial.
The cadres of the Military Commission were not in such a leisurely mood. After hearing Vézé's words, they first looked at the map. Shaanxi was now under the control of the Taiping army. If the Liberation Army wanted to enter the northwest, they could only go through the southwest.
After a large round of retirement and conscription, the Liberation Army solved the ratio of soldiers in each province. Vézé believed that to make the Liberation Army China's army, it was necessary to provide opportunities for the whole country to join the army. Even though the cadres from Guangdong and Guangxi were unhappy, no one dared to raise any objections. After the reorganization, the army started from Yunnan and Guizhou according to the plan. After liberating Yunnan and Guizhou, the next step would be Sichuan, and then Kangding. When those areas were seized, a full-scale conflict with the Taiping Rebellion was inevitable.
According to the intelligence, the Taiping Rebellion had cooperated with the rebellious Hui people in the process of seizing Shaanxi. Now that the two sides were fighting, the comrades were very surprised.
Vézé said, "This is what I think. The time has come for the Taiping Rebellion to show their cards. At first, they could temporarily cooperate with the rebels under the banner of anti-Qing. But how will they face the rebels and the Han people? I don't think Hong Xiuquan will stand on the side of the rebels. Now the conflict has exploded. "
"What's next?" Shaanxi was too far away, and the members of the Military Commission wanted to see the result directly.
"Next, if I'm not wrong, the Taiping army will not be able to attack the east for the time being. They can only attack the west," Vézé explained. In fact, this was easy to understand. The rebels were not limited to Shaanxi. Their main force was in the provinces further west. Even if they fell out, Vézé did not think that the Taiping army would not take the opportunity to expand their territory to the west. In the east, the Nian Army was fighting with the Manchu Qing. Vézé could sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, but the leaders of the Taiping army were not easy to deal with. Weakening the Nian Army and the Qing Army at the same time was an easy strategy for them.
"Commander-in-chief, do you mean to wait and see?" Everyone could easily see Vézé's attitude, but this attitude was not in line with Vézé's usual style. In the past, although Vézé was calm, he was a decisive fellow. But this time, Vézé was obviously hesitant. This time, he used the so-called "wait and see". Everyone felt that Vézé was looking for an excuse for the Taiping Rebellion.
Seeing the doubts in his comrades' eyes, Vézé could only make it clearer. "What I mean is to let them fight first. We can feel that the rebels are not Han people when we marched into Yunnan and Guizhou. Now, the Taiping army is killing the rebels, but if we enter Shaanxi, we will still have to kill the rebels. That kind of killing is not a simple matter. It is a fight to the death. Personally, I don't want the Liberation Army to fight such a war. "
Everyone still did not quite understand. They looked at each other, their faces full of doubt. What could make Vézé, a leader who had always shown a clear and resolute style, hesitate?
Vézé had to make it clearer. "The Zhuang people are still a part of the Chinese people, but the rebels can basically be seen as foreigners entrenched on Chinese soil. How do you think we will treat those foreigners? "
"If foreigners entrenched on Chinese soil, we will naturally kill them all." This answer was too easy to come up with.
At this point, Vézé simply made it clear. "But I don't really want to see the Liberation Army do that. That kind of killing is too cruel. Even if I can give that order, I still can't bear to do it. That's what it is. "
Although they still did not understand, after hearing Vézé's words, everyone felt that they could not continue asking. The Liberation Army did not care about peeling the skin of Qing Army officials. It was obvious that the war against the rebels that Vézé mentioned would be even more cruel. Since Vézé was unwilling to talk, everyone felt that they should not add to Vézé's troubles.
After deciding not to continue north for the time being, the Liberation Army put forward another agenda. "Should we send a fleet to Ryukyu?"
Ryukyu was rich in high-quality sulfur. In the past, the Liberation Army had not opened a route to Ryukyu, and the British had made a lot of money by selling sulfur. The Liberation Army's fleet had recently arrived in Ryukyu. In addition to contacting the local government, they had also bought a large amount of local sulfur. This amount of money saved was too much. Chen Zhe, the head of the military department, said excitedly, "Commander-in-chief, according to the report, the local nobles in Ryukyu are eager for us to help them get rid of Japan's control. Ryukyu has always been our vassal state. I think it is necessary to send troops. "
After saying that, Chen Zhe paused for a moment and added, "After restoring Ryukyu, we can also open a trade route with Japan. Japan also has a lot of sulfur."
"Seize Ryukyu from Japan and then open a trade route with Japan?" The comrades felt that this process was very strange.
Chen Zhe also felt that this matter was not logical, so he lowered his head and did not say anything.
At this time, Vézé regained his composure. He said with a smile, "This is no accident. After seizing Ryukyu, we can open a trade route. I very much agree with Comrade Chen Zhe. Moreover, sulfur is not only used in the military, but also in industry. "
Sulfuric acid was one of the foundations of the chemical industry. Everyone had been educated and did not doubt this. To the delight of the comrades, the decisive and often unexpected Vézé that everyone was familiar with had returned. The hesitation that Vézé had shown not long ago was really not something that everyone was used to.
Since Vézé had decided to use troops, and sulfur was so important to the Liberation Army, the motion was quickly passed.
Zuo Zongtang was far less familiar with Vézé than everyone else, so he did not sigh. However, during the discussion, Zuo Zongtang noticed that Vézé was looking over a little uneasily. There was a thoughtful look in his rather gloomy eyes. Unable to understand what Vézé meant, Zuo Zongtang felt a little uneasy.
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