Chapter 1299 - The Army's Calculations

Throughout Operation Engine's execution, the population that completed purification first had been allocated on an ongoing basis according to established ratios, with people dispersing in every direction. Since the various departments didn't know how many more people would arrive subsequently, disputes over allocation had remained minimal—or at least, objections were relatively easy to counter with Planning Commission explanations. Everyone harbored hope that "more people are coming—we can make it up later."

Now that time had come. The manpower competition that had been avoided before would erupt in full force once the internal bulletin was published. Locked in Yang Yun's safe was a status table showing population distribution from Operation Engine to each department thus far. Agriculture had received the most, which meant Wu Nanhai's hope of obtaining another 120,000 people was extremely slim. Yang Yun's plan was to allocate him only 50,000 more.

He estimated Wu Nanhai would push back strongly—not only because the "final allocation" was less than half of what he hoped for, but also because the military would subsequently poach more people from him.

The Agricultural Commission was being used by the Human Resources Department as a holding pool for migrants. Fresh off the purification camps, migrants awaiting specific assignments all worked as agricultural laborers under the Agricultural Commission. Particularly when certain departments couldn't bring their factories online in time, or when some project temporarily didn't need additional labor, the workforce originally planned to be deployed there would be temporarily entrusted to the Agricultural Commission.

A considerable portion of the large population currently assigned to the Agricultural Commission consisted of such "temporary deposits." As the First Five-Year Plan entered its final two years with key projects nearing completion, large numbers of industrial workers would begin to be recruited from the agricultural population. And Yang Yun faced another competitor as well: the military—especially the Army.

Since its victory in the Second Counter-Encirclement Campaign, the Army had not undergone a single major expansion. Its current battalions had been fragmented into multiple detachments and squads, scattered across several thousand kilometers of isolated outposts from Jeju in the north to Hongji in Vietnam to the south. Forces were dispersed everywhere, defenses established throughout, and some squads had been deployed for nearly two years—separated from their original units for so long that it significantly impacted their regularization and military training. Although some auxiliary units had been established as replacements, improvement was limited. Ultimately, it came down to a shortage of manpower.

The planned National Army faced its own problems. The southern counties had too few people; only after Operation Engine began and migrants arrived could they barely complete the formation of county squadrons. The northern counties were slightly better off, but given their populations, the squadron organization was simply too small. The General Staff's recommendation was that northern counties should organize county battalions, with three squadrons per battalion, to basically meet requirements.

Meanwhile, the Army's field and fortress artillery, engineers, logistics, and cavalry—these specialized branches had previously been organized only as skeletal cadre and training units due to the shortage of horses and draft animals. After Operation Engine obtained large quantities of horses and mules from Shandong and Jeju Island, these units had begun filling out their establishments. Previously they had basically relied on temporarily conscripted militiamen and laborers during wartime; now they needed to bring personnel up to full establishment. Additionally, after the Joint Logistics Command was established, there was still a shortfall of several thousand logistics soldiers to fill...

Tallying all this up, without even counting the Navy's requirements—just to bring the Army, Joint Logistics Command, and National Army systems up to full establishment strength, even without adding new field infantry battalions—would require recruiting at least 10,000 soldiers. Not to mention that the Army had explicitly demanded an infantry battalion be organized at Hongji. Otherwise, they "cannot guarantee the security of Hongji coal supplies."

The Navy naturally wouldn't fall behind either. Naval expansion had been ongoing—besides commissioning new vessels, the Navy was also responsible for guard and garrison work at all ports under Council jurisdiction: marines, base defense units, and coastal artillery. These newly organized shore-based units had consumed large portions of new personnel slots. However, since a significant portion of 1632's Navy personnel and vessels had transferred to civilian enterprises like Pacific Shipping, Southeast Asian Shipping, and the Fisheries Cooperative General Society, the Navy's total personnel remained roughly level with the previous year.

But now the Navy was loudly demanding expansion of the Marine Corps, especially after the First Expeditionary Squadron's successful amphibious assault on Xiamen. The Navy had obtained ample justification, and their voice in the Council had grown considerably louder. Ignoring them was no longer an option.

"Old Wu is going to explode." Yang Yun sighed after running through the arithmetic once more. "The Army and Navy are going to be at each other's throats too."

The undercurrents of population competition were surging. From Liu Muzhou's "nice weather we're having, ha ha ha" deflections, Wu De's darkly circled eyes, and Yang Yun's increasingly haggard expression, everyone knew: there weren't enough people.

Once the official Operation Engine bulletin was released, all parties immediately launched active campaigns: some went directly to the staff handling matters; some approached Executive Committee members; others sought out Standing Committee members; still others attacked on multiple fronts, working to "win over" the heads of various factions within the Council, intending to use "public opinion" to achieve their ends. Naturally, there was no shortage of those who posted repeatedly on the internal forum to argue for the "importance," "urgency," and "crime against the Council if allocation doesn't follow submitted plans" of their own sector's population demands.

The private rooms at the Farm Teahouse were suddenly fully booked every day as various transmigrators gathered for meetings. Then one day someone mentioned "this is Wu Nanhai's turf," and the private rooms suddenly fell quiet again.

Amid all the clamor, commotion, and cursing, the final population allocation plan was eventually released. Generally speaking, like all similar resource allocation plans, everyone was dissatisfied but grudgingly accepted it. First, having something was better than having nothing; second, there was still much to do once they had their people, and no more time to waste arguing—they had too much to accomplish.

"Cheers!"

In a private room at the Farm Teahouse, the clinking of glasses was followed by a burst of laughter. A group of transmigrator officers in Army uniforms were drinking heartily.

The table was littered with empty bottles of fruit wine, beer, rum, kvass, and soda water. Several large Xuande-style blue-and-white porcelain platters held braised duck tongues, duck necks, duck feet, and other drinking snacks, while gnawed bones covered the table.

The Army was the most satisfied party in this allocation. The expansion plan submitted by the Army Department had been largely approved. Not only were previous unit shortfalls filled, but they also received quotas for one new infantry battalion, four cavalry squadrons, one field artillery battalion, and one siege artillery battalion.

This was a huge relief for an Army that had long suffered from personnel and equipment shortages, forced to watch the Navy's warships swagger about on the seas. The Army's Young Officers' Club had gathered here to celebrate their "victory."

Attendees were not limited to Young Officers' Club members; all transmigrator Army officers currently in Lingao had been invited. Dongmen Chuiyu, strictly speaking, was not an Army officer, but since he worked at the General Staff, he was included in the invitations.

Of course, not everyone came. The more senior transmigrator officers generally didn't participate in such "wild drinking party" gatherings, lest it damage their image before the Council. So this was essentially a gathering of the younger set.

"Come, Chief of Staff Dong! A toast to you!" Zhang Bailin's collar was open and he was tipsy, holding a glass of rum mixed with soda water.

The one addressed as Chief of Staff Dong was none other than Dongmen Chuiyu, secretary to the General Staff. He wore his staff officer's aiguillette and was already somewhat intoxicated himself. He shook his head and said: "First, my surname is Dong; second, whether I'm Chief of Staff or not..."

"Who says your surname isn't Dong? Your surname is Dong!" Zhang Bailin was getting a bit rowdy from the drink. "If you're not the Chief of the General Staff, who is?" He suddenly snapped his heels together at attention and rendered a hand salute: "Salute to you! Chief of Staff Dong!"

Several other somewhat tipsy transmigrator officers followed suit, coming to attention and saluting. One even rendered a hand salute.

"Stop messing around!" Though Wei Aiwen had also drunk quite a bit, his mind remained fairly clear. He wanted to discuss something with Dongmen.

"Dongmen, have you heard about Huang Xiong's case?"

"I have." Though Dongmen Chuiyu was a bit unsteady on his feet, his mind was still sharp. "Isn't that the one about privately messing around with women? Shouldn't your department be handling this?"

"My recommended disposition is ready. I wanted to hear your thoughts." Wei Aiwen chose his words carefully. "After all, this matter can be treated as either serious or minor, and will set an example for the entire military. Whether it's handled well or poorly affects morale."

"Alright, let's hear it."

"My recommendation is demotion by one rank and transfer to the Korean Security Army for duty," Wei Aiwen said. "The Korean Security Army is expanding rapidly now and needs experienced officers. Let him train there for a while. If he performs well, he can return to the regular forces. The soldiers under him who violated discipline will also be transferred to the Security Army as non-commissioned officers." He paused. "After all, their violation this time was quite serious..."

Dongmen Chuiyu replied without hesitation: "I think that's a bit harsh." Having drunk too much, he was getting a bit excited and felt an urge for lengthy discourse. He set down his glass and said:

"Regarding the Huang Xiong case, we need to establish certain facts. First: Huang Xiong's squad did not sell, privately divide, or arbitrarily dispose of Council assets. The food they provided to the women they seduced was entirely from the allowance the Council 'permitted them to freely choose distribution targets for.' Second: the women Huang Xiong's squad seduced all met the requirements for said food distribution—that is, unplanned refugees who arrived on their own. Therefore, Huang Xiong's squad faithfully executed the Council's instructions in their food distribution process, and there is nothing to criticize them for."

Wei Aiwen assumed a posture of listening attentively. Actually, this was exactly what he thought too. Wei Aiwen had never intended to punish Huang Xiong severely. His posturing served two purposes: first, to do Dongmen Chuiyu a favor; second, because quite a few transmigrator officers were devotees of PLA-style puritanical military culture, so he needed to find support from this General Staff Secretary. With Dongmen's remarks to back him up, his own disposition decision would be much more persuasive.

(End of Chapter)