The Central Committee agreed with Vézé's judgment. Army Commander Hu Chenghe asked, "Then what do we do next? If the French don't give us Jiaozhi, do we attack? "
Hu Chenghe was not confident when he said this. The British had done a lot of things around China, and the Vietnam incident seemed to be Britain's latest move. Britain was now the most powerful opponent China faced. It was not easy for China to deal with this country.
Deputy Army Commander Ruan Xihao said loudly, "I think we should fight if the French don't agree, and we should fight as soon as possible. The British suffered in the Republic of Prawn, and they didn't gain any advantage in Korea, so they came to Vietnam to regain their face. The French occupation of Vietnam doesn't mean that we lost, but that our victory forced the British to support France! "
These words were quite inspiring. Lei Hu, Vice Chairman of the Military Commission, smiled and said, "Comrade Ruan Xihao, what do you think of this problem? Can you explain it in more detail?"
Hu Chenghe looked at Lei Hu with a complicated expression. According to the rotation system of the Liberation Army, it was time for Hu Chenghe to be the Army Commander. The Military Commission generally agreed that Ruan Xihao would be the next Army Commander. Lei Hu's encouragement was clearly to carry Ruan Xihao's sedan chair.
Ruan Xihao was not polite. He said frankly, "The British instigated Japan to attack the Republic of Prawn, but they hit a wall and didn't have the ability to fight again in a short period of time. The British instigated Japan to threaten Korea, and after we sent an envoy, they also became listless. In terms of time, the British basically instigated Japan and France at the same time. Now it is clear that the British want to surround us. Yes, it is annoying and annoying for the British to do this. But it shows that the British are becoming more and more helpless. "
At the mention of the British, everyone subconsciously looked at Lin Jiajun, the Navy Commander. If they wanted to win against the British, they had to rely on the navy. Although the Central Committee had begun to contact Tibet, and Tibet had made some verbal statements. It could be said that Tibet knew of the existence of the Nanjing Central Committee, but it was still a long way from Tibet really obeying the Central Committee. Excluding the "road border" on the Tibetan Plateau, China had to deal with the British through the sea.
In the past few years, Vézé had been clamoring to build a naval fleet that could deal with England, and the construction of the fleet was getting more and more reliable. However, it would still take several years for Vézé to be satisfied with the completion of the fleet. Seeing the eyes of his comrades in the Military Commission, Commander Lin Jiajun also felt guilty. However, at this time, he had to say something. Lin Jiajun said in a more dependable manner, "I think Deputy Commander-in-Chief Nguyen is right about one thing. The British did instigate Japan and France at the same time, but the reaction speed of the two countries is different. That's why we feel that the British are putting pressure on us in waves. But did England only incite these two countries? I'm starting to doubt it. "
After saying this, Lin Jiajun also felt that his attitude looked a little timid. He paused for a moment before continuing. "The Marines have made a lot of preparations in recent years. If we fight now, the Marines are confident that they can hold their current territory. However, if everyone thinks that our navy can wipe out the British Far East Fleet, I'm not very optimistic. Because the Navy needs to attack and defend at the same time. If we really fight, many routes will have to be prepared to be attacked by the British Fleet. You may not know this, but the British Navy has a long history of privateering. They will send their fleet to attack our routes. So I think we should be more prepared first. "
Vézé was actually very unhappy after listening to Lin Jiajun's words, but he couldn't do anything about it. The British did seize an excellent opportunity. Because of China's strategic considerations, the gap between the old warships and the new warships was too big. The Navy really couldn't accept wasting precious resources on the old ironclads.
Asking himself, Vézé also dared to say that this choice was right in the long run. The British Dreadnought class battleship was the world's first all-main cannon battleship, equipped with 10 305mm main cannons and no secondary cannons. It had a displacement of 18000 tons and a speed of 21 knots. It was commissioned in 1906 and was the battleship with the strongest firepower and fastest speed at that time. It could be called a milestone in the development of battleships.
The Dreadnought battleship was an epoch-making battleship of the British Royal Navy. It was the first battleship in modern naval history to use a unified type of main cannon, and the first battleship to be driven by steam turbines. It was an epoch-making battleship that made the previous battleships obsolete overnight. Since then, its name has become a general term for "modern battleship". The emergence of the Dreadnought battleship created a new era of giant cannons in the history of naval science.
The new warship was only lacking two things compared to the British Dreadnaught-class battleship that shocked the world in the 20th century and made all the other countries' main warships fall behind overnight. The first was the steam turbines, and the second was the mechanical computing platform. These two technologies were the real crystallization of technology, and Vézé didn't even consider them now.
Of course, there were more technical details, from the reliable high-explosive shells, armor-piercing shells, to the torpedo engines, which the new warships couldn't solve. If they could, they would probably use the 3-5 plan. At that time, China's education system would be able to produce batches of engineers and skilled workers, which would be the true cornerstone of an industrial power.
Logically speaking, Vézé knew that the best way for China right now was to wait and endure. However, the word "endure" was like a knife on top of a knife. Vézé's journey had been too smooth. It had only been 21 years from 1852 to 1873, and Vézé's journey had been smooth. Apart from Britain, which dominated the world, no country in the Western Pacific could truly oppose China.
But Britain's hegemony was not for nothing! Not to mention on land, Britain could use one of the maritime countries around China as a base, which could pose a huge threat to China. At the thought of such a situation, Vézé's heart was on fire, and even his breathing felt like it was on fire. This painful feeling made Vézé feel restless, but this self-awareness made Vézé reflect on himself. Such restlessness was definitely a sign that he had made a mistake.
"Let's calm down for now," Vézé said. After saying that, he immediately realized that he had said the wrong thing. Hu Chenghe was a bit conservative, but Ruan Xihao was actually quite optimistic about the current strategic situation. Ruan Xihao was just short of excitedly saying that the British were exhausted from running around. As for Lin Jiajun, he made a very serious assessment based on the current situation of the Chinese Navy. It was not a lie made up by Lin Jiajun to say that the British Navy was stronger than the current China. It was a complete fact.
Overall, no one was pessimistic about the current strategic situation. It was not them who needed to calm down, but Vézé. Vézé was disappointed that he could not beat up the British, but it had nothing to do with them.
As a leader, he had to quickly explain himself when he said something wrong. This was not about moral cleanliness, but a very practical interest. Everyone was discerning. If Vézé insisted on the wrong view, it would damage Vézé's position in the eyes of the smart people. Covering up a lie would only let people see Vézé's weakness more clearly.
After thinking it through, Vézé immediately said, "Everyone said it very well. We are far from the point of passively taking a beating. It's just that I've always wanted to drive the British out of the Western Pacific. At such a critical moment, I'm impatient! "
Hearing Vézé tell the truth, the nervous expressions on the faces of several members of the Military Commission relaxed. In the eyes of the Military Commission, Vézé's "let's calm down for now" was a tactful objection to the members of the Military Commission. The Military Commission had always followed Vézé's lead. Everyone was thinking about what the members of the Military Commission had said to make Vézé object.
Now that they understood that Vézé was eager for quick success, everyone immediately relaxed. Which soldier had not been eager for quick success? The situation on the battlefield was changing rapidly. Everyone hoped to solve the problem quickly. The more victory was in front of them, the stronger this feeling was. Everyone found it interesting that the Military Governor Vaize also had such a feeling. Of course, they could have such a relaxed thought because the members of the Military Commission were sure that there would not be any serious conflicts of direction.
Although the work of the Military Commission was very important, there was also a lot of other work. After the Military Commission meeting, Vézé began to deal with other work. The Third Conference of 73 was about to be held, and 74 was the year when the First Five Year Plan ended. Vézé also found another reason to be upset. Once the First Five Year Plan ended, there would be a lot of personnel changes. At this time, internal problems would be the focus. If the British added more trouble to Vézé, with Vézé's current mentality that everything was under control, he was afraid that he would be in a dilemma.
As he dealt with official work, Vézé's mood gradually calmed down. In the first three years of the First Five Year Plan, the economy developed well, and the internal system of the liberated areas was gradually straightened out. The self-positioning of each province and each region had made a lot of progress. After dealing with a group of comrades who randomly asked for policies from the Central Committee, no one was willing to make this kind of mistake again. The provinces exchanged experiences on typical problems with each other, and the content of complaining to the Central Committee gradually became their own solutions to various situations.
It must be said that Wei Changrong and Zuo Zongtang's demonstration effect in Guangdong was quite obvious. Zuo Zongtang produced a series of in-depth reports, and after Zuo Zongtang received praise, everyone naturally followed suit. Although many of the things were too naive for Vézé, it showed that everyone really put in the effort. This attitude in itself was commendable.
At this time, the secretary reported to Vézé that Foreign Minister Li Xin came to see him. After Li Xin came in, he showed the document for the French to Vézé. After Vézé read the words "restore China's Jiaozhi County", he couldn't help but laugh. The words looked tactful, but in fact, they were tough.
"Li Xin, what do you think foreigners think of China now? Do they think China can be bullied? "Vézé put down the document and asked.
"Commander-in-chief, I think it's foreigners who are afraid of us now. Seeing that we are getting stronger and stronger, the foreigners feel that if they don't quickly fish in the corner, they won't have a chance in the future. You said they want to bully China, but I don't think they have this intention. "Li Xin replied.
Hearing this, Vézé suddenly laughed. After dispelling the anxiety, Vézé returned to his usual calm. Li Xin's words were the same as the speech of the members at the military commission meeting. Everyone thought that Britain was under far more pressure than China. In fact, thinking about it carefully, if the French really wanted to bully China, why would they come to China to ask to re-sign the treaty? If France was really not afraid of China, they could just swallow Vietnam. There was nothing to talk about with China. If there was no Britain, Vézé would have dealt with France in the same way.
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