Chapter 812 - To Hongji

"I support this plan unconditionally." Wen Desi sighed with theatrical wistfulness. "To return where we once fought!"

"Ah yes, those glorious days when Chief Wen single-handedly broke through bandit lines, sweeping thousands with a PPK machine gun and cutting down bandit chieftains with a blade—we all admire that legendary style..." Si Kaide said with mock reverence.

"Ancient history," Wen Desi waved dismissively. "Let's not dwell on the past."

"Everyone, please don't get sidetracked," Ma Qianzhu cut in. "Let's continue discussing Hongji development."

Dongmen Chuiyu spoke as the representative of the Military Affairs High Command. "Our current troop strength is insufficient. The only available mobile forces are the Lingao Garrison Battalion and one battalion at Ma'ao."

Insufficient troop strength was a curse that constantly plagued the Lingao regime. In broad terms, Lingao was an island regime, well-suited to a "large navy, small army" force structure—using sea control to secure the homeland while the Army served as an overseas expeditionary force.

Theoretically, under this system, the Lingao regime's mobile forces should have been ample. The Council of Elders possessed the era's strongest maritime projection capability, able to move troops rapidly along the coastline, making one battalion effectively worth several.

But the transmigration regime remained an alien regime. Though the Elders did their utmost to win hearts and minds, and the seventeenth century lacked strong nationalist sentiments, the chaotic social order of a medieval country meant social resources couldn't be fully utilized. This forced the army to take on the task of social transformation—a role not originally its primary responsibility.

Although the Chengmai Campaign had concluded over half a year ago, and the Council of Elders had controlled the northern counties of Hainan for at least three months, the Army's main force remained tied down in comprehensive "clean-up" operations across the localities. The General Staff's public security campaign in northern Hainan pinned down most of the Army's strength—four regular infantry battalions dispersed across the entire region, executing a motley array of garrison, escort, and bandit-suppression missions. The Army, which should have served as a projection force, had no strength to spare for new combat operations.

"...If we open a Hongji front, we can only employ the Army General Reserve at Ma'ao," Dongmen Chuiyu continued, his concern evident. "Defending Hongji would inevitably require forming a Hongji Garrison Battalion—at least three companies. If the Northern Court insists on 'defending national sovereignty and territorial integrity,' given their mobilization capacity, surrounding Hongji with ten or twenty thousand troops is entirely possible. Whether three companies can hold Hongji is highly questionable. The General Staff's wargames suggest at least a full-strength infantry battalion would be needed to defeat a North Vietnamese punitive expedition."

The Elder officers of the Military Affairs High Command had run numerous simulations on various plans and scenarios. The consistent conclusion was that Lingao's military forces remained quantitatively insufficient, capable only of fighting short, quick-in-quick-out engagements. Sustained operations still carried the risk of overextension.

The solution was naturally to expand the army—whether by enlarging the regular force or forming new second-line garrison units. Yet the Elder officers themselves felt unable to make such requests. Demographic statistics for all of Hainan weren't yet complete, but estimates put the total population at most five hundred thousand. Current Army and Navy strength already exceeded fifteen thousand. With a ratio of one soldier for every thirty civilians, the Lingao regime was arguably the most militarized in history, surpassing even Prussia—the legendary "army with a country attached." Were it not for continuous infusions from mainland trade and considerable peacetime construction assistance from military personnel, such a force would have been impossible to sustain.

After the Chengmai Campaign, the Executive Committee had briefly considered reducing some Army and Navy personnel to fill grassroots cadre roles, but subsequent developments had caused this disarmament plan to be completely abandoned.

"...An expedition to Vietnam effectively means another division of forces," Dongmen Chuiyu continued his report. "We'd have to maintain a long-term presence in hostile territory, possibly fighting a protracted war. And threats like Zheng Zhilong and other sea lords still haven't been eliminated..."

"We're caught in a vicious cycle," Zhan Wuya observed. "To run large-scale industrial production, we need to spam units to grab territory for raw materials and fuel. Spamming units requires massive munitions. Munitions require heavy industry. Heavy industry needs raw materials and fuel. Raw materials and fuel require grabbing territory. And grabbing territory requires spamming units..."

Wen Desi interrupted the litany of complaints. "This is indeed difficult, but merely listing problems yields no results. Let me share my view: first, establish an armed trading post. Pay currency or goods to hire local natives to mine coal, then recruit a mine guard force from among the miners..."

"Let Vietnamese natives mine coal?" Si Kaide expressed skepticism. "In the original timeline, I heard their unions were powerful—striking at the drop of a hat." He came from a foreign trade background; numerous export factories had relocated to Vietnam to save on labor costs, only to soon complain bitterly about lazy workers.

"The monkeys are actually quite industrious—at least more so than natives further south. They grow three crops of rice annually. Is that something lazy people accomplish?" Wen Desi countered. "Besides, unions are a heresy that doesn't exist in this timeline. And consider this: Vietnam has a large population, sufficient to sustain mining consumption. Aren't they fighting a civil war? In medieval society, fighting major battles with over a hundred thousand troops in such a compact territory means utter misery for the common people. We can acquire considerable labor for a very modest price—merely guaranteeing them full meals will suffice."

Wu De added, "In the long run, an armed trading post can also serve as a base for subtly cultivating and transforming the local population—beneficial for our future imposition of a new order."

In the Council of Elders' master plan, countries within the "Sinosphere"—Vietnam, Korea, Japan—were destined to enter the "East Asian New Order" system, with status distinct from the natives of the Southeast Asian archipelago.

No one objected to Wen Desi's proposal to utilize local labor. Even if Vietnam couldn't supply sufficient workers, in the long term they could ship slaves to fill the mine pits.

Dongmen Chuiyu raised another concern. "I'm just worried an armed trading post can't hold off a Northern Court attack..."

"We'll endeavor to keep things peaceful," Wen Desi elaborated. "The trading post serves only as emergency shelter. The scale needn't be large—just sturdy enough to hold out until the Navy arrives."

The transmigrators' intent was simply to mine coal, not occupy territory. Hongji wasn't some promised land—just a desolate, hilly peninsula. Lingao's glorious war record should have reached the Northern Court by now. The Northern Court was already at war with the Southern Court and had its hands full; picking a major fight with a powerful military force over a patch of wasteland made little sense—especially when the other side's goal was merely mining coal. Wen Desi's plan was predicated on this assessment.

Yu E'shui offered his perspective. "My personal view is that Chief Wen's plan is feasible. Every time the Northern Court marches south, they're blocked by the Nguyen clan's fortress complex near the seventeenth parallel and the munitions provided by the Portuguese. They're desperate for external aid—historically, the Dutch will soon serve as their advisors. If we provide some armaments in exchange, allowing us to remain in Hongji to mine coal won't be an intolerable price for the Northern Court. And it would push out Dutch influence."

"Selling arms?" Some found this difficult to accept. In the past, Li Luoyou's attempts to purchase weapons for the Ming had been rejected; now suddenly they were considering selling arms to the Le Dynasty in the north.

"Do we have sufficient steel?"

"With Number One Blast Furnace operational, steel capacity has expanded more than tenfold. Consuming some to exchange for adequate power coal benefits us." Zhan Wuya felt a flush of newfound wealth following the successful blast furnace ignition days earlier. "Number One isn't even at full capacity yet, and daily pig iron output exceeds sixty tons. Number Two Blast Furnace can commence production in another month."

"There's also medicine, processed instant food—we can provide toll processing for foodstuffs... All of these can serve as trade goods for the Northern Court. Similar to what we sell the Manchus," Si Kaide added. "I don't believe the Northern Court will refuse this trade request. Medicine and instant food are extremely valuable militarily."

Finally, the resolution to establish a trading post at Hongji for coal mining was passed. As the first step, the Vietnam Trade Company was separated from the Leizhou Station. The company became a state-owned enterprise directly under the Colonial Trade Ministry, achieving equal status with Leizhou Sugar Industry. Its headquarters remained in Leizhou.

~

In a luxurious residence on Hai'an Street in Haikang County, Leizhou, the Elders of the Leizhou Station sat around a table, the atmosphere subtly charged. Account books and ledgers were piled on the surface; beside an abacus sat a pocket electronic calculator.

A large, dark-skinned fellow spoke up. "All right, the accounts should be clear now, correct?"

The female Elder who had been entering final figures on a form straightened up—none other than Jin Zhijiao of the Cheka. "No problems. There are a few transaction violations, but nothing serious." She stamped the handover audit form. "Done."

"Old Wen, I'm leaving you behind. Don't miss me too much..." The big fellow was Chang Shide. Days earlier, he had received a telegram from the Organization Department ordering him to "prepare for immediate handover, transferred to Lingao for another assignment." Following the telegram had come this Cheka woman.

The Hongji operation began with personnel transfers. Chang Shide was transferred out of Leizhou. Yan Maoda was officially transferred to Leizhou as General Manager of the Vietnam Trade Company. Bei Kai was appointed Trade Representative to North Vietnam. The latter had undergone lengthy Vietnamese language training in Lingao—learning strange Vietnamese vocabulary from a television set each day had been a trial. Although Bei Kai repeatedly emphasized his family had no connection to Vietnam, he had been selected for the Representative position because he looked "very Vietnamese."

(End of Chapter)