Chapter 389: How to Dispel Such Worries

After Han Bo's sarcastic tirade and sweeping condemnation, the opportunists sitting there all felt a bit awkward.

To be honest, this really was asking too much. With no intelligence support or prior preparation, crossing the entire continental coastline from subtropical to frigid zones, then demanding soldiers fight in the field and eliminate a sufficient number of Tartars...

This wasn't simply a matter of a few hundred actual Tartars. In this era, wanting to eliminate a few hundred Banner Elite inevitably meant simultaneously dealing with several times that number of Auxiliary Soldiers and Bondservants.

Furthermore, the Banner Troops had horses. Such massive losses would inevitably draw a siege by large cavalry forces. Relying on the meager supplies they carried, the high-consumption Crossing Army simply couldn't sustain more than a few engagements in the field.

Without a doubt, this was a suicide mission.

And the most critical issue, which everyone present actually understood, was this: no Logistics Supplies.

If the Crossing Faction had established a port base in Tianjin beforehand, even if that base were in Shandong, then for a King's Rescue campaign like this, we could absolutely field a field combat combination of cavalry + infantry + artillery + Auxiliary Soldier supply columns.

The Eight Banners troops would never dare approach such a force. With cavalry and infantry-artillery having ample supplies, they could take turns slaughtering the enemy through day and night, driving them one or two kilometers away. The so-called Banner Elite wouldn't even be able to enter their attack departure positions.

Yet the problem bottlenecked right here: Taiwan's supplies were quite abundant, but unfortunately, its reach simply hadn't extended that far yet.

"Let me explain a bit." Seeing the atmosphere turning sour, Cai Feiming stood up.

As the Cabinet Minister in charge of diplomatic matters, Cai Feiming was one of the main behind-the-scenes drivers of this meeting. Since bilateral relations with the Ming Empire fell within his scope of work, he was naturally among the opportunists.

"Looking at the nation's current Achievements, without a doubt, the original Recruitment and Amnesty strategy was a tremendous success. Just look at Fujian now — it's practically become our dependent territory. The circulation of personnel and goods faces no obstacles, and infiltration requires no effort at all."

At this point, Cai Feiming extended one finger and smiled as he surveyed the room: "I can say responsibly that three to five years from now, the moment we raise the banner of revolt, Fujian will change color overnight without the slightest ripple. The populace will all be the Guide Party."

"This excellent situation exists entirely because of the original Recruitment and Amnesty... Some may disagree with my view, so please direct your attention to the currently half-dead Shanghai Bund Project, which is waiting for someone to save it."

Here, Cai Feiming's expression grew a bit more serious: "Even the most rotten government still holds administrative power! Without government support, it's obvious that the Shanghai operation can only be described as struggling at every step. Relocating a broken-down village is that difficult — isn't the contrast clear enough?"

"Therefore, scaling up our Fujian Model nationwide, replacing Xiong Wencan with Chongzhen, and using military merits to exchange for our political and commercial freedom along the northern coast — that is the fundamental purpose of this Qin Wang Campaign."

"This is a very important operation, tied to the Empire's overall development strategy and expansion speed. It cannot be treated lightly. So I ask everyone not to grumble, and to offer more useful suggestions."

Having finished his summary, Cai Feiming nodded and sat down.

However, before he could settle in his seat, the criticism came. The tall and burly Wei Yuan rapped his knuckles on the table: "Thump, thump." "If it's so important, what were you doing earlier? Hmph. And all that talk about 'the military must endure.' Now you're caught with your pants down, aren't you?"

Sitting there a head taller than everyone else, Wei Yuan wore a look of utter disdain: "Let me tell you all, the First Step of any expansion action is always the military. And soldiers need time to cultivate. They aren't 'finished products' you gentlemen can see the day after you allocate resources today."

"So put away those tricks of suppressing the military as soon as possible, and give us sufficient resources. Otherwise, this kind of shambolic scene today will continue. I'd like to see what you'll use to go to the South Seas and North America in the future."

Wei Yuan's righteous speech immediately drew nods and support from all the military men present: the policy of controlling the military set at the year's beginning General Assembly had thoroughly disgusted the military brass all year, and today they had finally seized the chance to vent their Criticism.

"Alright, stop right there!" Xia Xianze, seated at the head of the long table, was getting a headache. Seeing that the proper Qin Wang Campaign discussion meeting was about to be derailed by the military faction into a struggle session, he quickly spoke up to halt the trend: "Earlier we needed to prioritize development, so military demands were controlled. Now that development has hit a bottleneck, naturally we must consider expansion. It's like walking with left and right feet — each period can only have one focus. No one is at fault, so you lot stop acting like bitter wives!"

After suppressing the roughnecks' momentum, Xia Xianze thought for a moment and then offered a Carrot: "Regarding military construction, hmm, it now seems the time has come for a wave of development. But that requires a separate meeting for discussion. Everyone pay attention — today's meeting has only one Agenda, and that is how to obtain the Largest benefit from this King's Rescue matter. Do not stray from the topic again!"

Having finally heard Grand Secretary Xia relent on the matter of military construction, the military personnel present instantly switched from their just-now indignant bitter-wife mode into loyal-patriot mode.

Then, after some ambiguous winking and eyebrow-raising at each other, Navy Deputy Chief of Staff Wang Xiaohui, who was usually adept at dealing with all sides, promptly stepped forward.

Wang Xiaohui had started out in the Army upon Crossing Over. Later, he decided to fulfill his youthful dream of playing with big ships and naval guns, so he Jumped Ship to the Navy. He was a classic double-sided man.

"I'll first discuss the Navy." The chubby Wang Xiaohui, dressed in a snow-white general's uniform, walked to the front with a smile, picked up the Pointer, and began genuinely guiding the laymen present.

"The Navy has no major issues. For the north, we can dispatch a reconnaissance ship tomorrow to chart the coastal waters north of Shanghai. The transport fleet can Departure once organized — within One Week, depending on how fast you provide the supplies."

"In short, since the Later Jin forces did not penetrate deeply into the Tianjin area during their first incursion, the Navy, aside from serving as transport squadron leader, won't be of much use."

At this point, Wang Xiaohui used the Pointer to draw a Circle around Tianjin on the map: "By the same logic, transporting ordinary Soldiers over and then Sitting In Jin City waiting for the Tartars to come to their deaths — that is also unnecessary."

"So now the question arises: the troops need to kill Tartars, but lack the conditions to sortie out from Tianjin. What to do?"

A sly smile appeared on Wang Xiaohui's chubby face, and his Pointer simultaneously aimed at a tough-looking man beside the long table: "Gentlemen, how to dispel such worries? Only with special forces!"

One remark roused the dreamers. Some people present suddenly wore expressions of sudden enlightenment, then turned their gazes towards the two officers sitting at the end of the military camp: Special Forces Commander Qian Tieshan and Special Forces Deputy Commander Du Dewei.

The slow-on-the-uptake laymen now understood one after another: things ordinary Soldiers couldn't accomplish, switching to the Special Operations Team would work, wouldn't it?!

And the broadly-built Special Forces Commander Qian Tieshan did not decline at this moment. He immediately stood up and stated his position: "In principle, the Special Operations Team can take on the King's Rescue objective. Apart from frigid-zone marching, my Special Operations Team members have trained in all other subjects, including mounted operations. The current issue is, if we are to go into action... Import Goods, especially munitions, will be consumed on a large scale."

The moment Qian Tieshan said this, the Warm and Enthusiastic atmosphere that had just ignited in the meeting hall instantly turned cold again. The Transmigrators, having developed a Conditioned Reflex, now could not bear to hear the single phrase "Import Goods." No matter who said it, it triggered them.

Even Comrade Xia Xianze, originally calm and composed, now had a face full of uncertainty. The Special Operations Team was unlike other units. This special force of only 50 men was a "strategic force" controlled by the Cabinet, or more precisely, directly controlled by him personally. Just like the Second Artillery Corps of Later Generations, the Special Operations Team was not normally deployed.

Although the Special Operations Team, fully equipped with imported gear, possessed formidable combat power, everyone knew that this so-called combat power was built entirely on irreproducible future-era weapons. Xia Xianze, who had to personally approve supplies for the Special Operations Team at regular intervals, was especially clear on this.

"This counts as off-plan supplies. How much do you need?" His expression shifting back and forth, after weighing the options several times, Xia Xianze ultimately couldn't help but ask.

Qian Tieshan dared not be flippant on this matter: "This is a real combat deployment to the north. I must calculate with a generous margin. So including some temporarily added frigid-zone equipment, plus the major consumption item — ammunition..."

Qian Tieshan made a V-sign: "Victory requires Sacrifice. Forget about getting something for nothing. Two crates."

As matters evolved to this point, everyone present felt a sense of déjà vu: whenever this regime encountered a thorny problem, it ultimately always came down to Import Goods.

After This, all military personnel were kicked out of the hall.

No one could predict what situations would arise in a distant northern campaign, so no civil official dared to haggle over the quantity of supplies Qian Tieshan had requested. If the front-line troops suffered heavy losses due to insufficient Supply, the person who had haggled would be Responsible For it. No one was foolish enough to do that.

So, after expelling all the military personnel who would certainly vote in favor, the Remaining civil officials began a heated Discussion and final vote on the matter.

Fortunately, the civil officials generally approved of the "Fujian Model." Thus, with Xia Xianze, who held veto power, tacitly acquiescing, the Civil Official Bloc ultimately passed this temporary motion with an absolute advantage of five votes.

Since the resolution was passed, it was time to discuss the details. So the roughnecks smoking outside the hall were called back in, and all relevant Departments began Planning for this sudden King's Service Incident.