Chapter 2045 - Making a Fuss about a Minor Issue

Ordinarily, the incident should have passed unremarked—neither was the peripheral Elder's personal safety genuinely threatened, nor was his itinerary delayed. But upon returning to Lingao, he refused to let it rest. And after hearing his embellished account, the other peripheral Elders likewise refused to let it rest. They demanded the Administration Council Standing Committee convene an expanded meeting to thoroughly interrogate the Navy: Is this Navy the Council of Elders' military force or certain individuals' private army? How dare they elevate regulations above an Elder's safety! A battle clearly avoidable, yet they insisted on dragging an uninvolved non-military Elder into peril merely to satisfy their belligerence. Where had the principle of "Elder Supremacy" vanished? As the matter fermented, increasing numbers of non-peripheral Elders joined the chorus. After all, given the Council of Elders' current configuration, long-distance travel inevitably involved maritime transport. And Navy vessels, being armed with superior personnel, had always constituted the preferred choice for Elder travel. But if "engage upon sight" was genuine policy, wouldn't they become sacrificial lambs aboard ship, their lives entirely at a naturalized captain's discretion?

The Navy argued vehemently that naval warfare differed fundamentally from land combat—in maritime encounters, attacking proved superior to fleeing. This drew mockery from Army Elders, particularly the young officers. They noted that with the Council of Elders' technological superiority, medium and large vessels could ensure detecting enemies first, and ship speeds exceeded native craft. This differed fundamentally from the circumstances the British Navy confronted in the old timeline. The Navy's mechanical imitation served merely to establish pretensions making them appear superior to the Army—like wearing white gloves, driven by impure motives. The Navy then declared that an Elder aboard ship represented the Council of Elders; displaying cowardice upon encountering enemies and fleeing at the mere sight of danger amounted to disregarding both the Council's and the Elder's own dignity, rendering naturalized citizens' trust impossible to sustain. But this infuriated many Elders further: What did we cross timelines to endure suffering for? If we perish, we lose everything—what the hell does dignity matter?

"If you desire glory, fight yourselves, Navy! What manner of heroes are you, dragging us along? Using non-military Elders' blood to dye your Navy cap buttons crimson?"

The Navy's advisor, pillar, and patron Wen Desi was distant in Liangguang. Lacking robust upper-echelon support, the Navy found the situation increasingly untenable, losing ground in this grand debate. Naturally, this also resulted from accumulated resentment various factions harbored toward the Navy over years. The Navy, this gold-devouring beast, consumed innumerable resources. Various departments inevitably nursed grievances—now presented the perfect opportunity to seize upon and magnify them.

"During the recent Shandong inspection, critical documents were damaged due to combat while being transported to Lingao. You understand—current ledgers are ruined if they get wet and aren't cleaned immediately." Cheka's Yi Fan raised his hand at some juncture—evidently, the Wudaokou cohort stood in solidarity. His tone remained mild, not accusing the Navy like previous speakers, but anyone perceptive could discern his words expanded the accountability the Navy must shoulder.

"Several batches of parts transported to the Hangzhou Filature were also lost en route due to combat..." This contribution came from Han-Supremacists in the Industrial Sector, adding fuel to the conflagration. Honestly, these losses were negligible—merely making mountains from molehills. They'd always advocated for the Army to campaign north against the Manchus rather than the Navy venturing south to fight "monkeys," so they naturally wouldn't forgo this opportunity to create difficulties for the Navy.

Observing the Navy about to be overwhelmed by the crowd, Xiao Zishan, who had been restraining himself with concentrated focus, suddenly spoke.

"Everyone, please quiet for a moment—can you hear me out? I've been listening to all opinions, and they're all valid; these are indeed urgent problems requiring resolution... Why do I wish to speak? Because the core issue concerns everyone's personal safety, which is a problem our General Office must address. We cannot have everyone conducting arduous business trips while fearing for their lives... I believe we can resolve this from two perspectives. Can you listen and evaluate whether this works?" Seeing Xiao Zishan confidently and deliberately extending two plump fingers, the hall's clamor immediately dropped by dozens of decibels.

"Is Director Xiao going to smooth things over again?"

"Shh... hear him out before criticizing."

"First, we must affirm the Navy's operational principles. An army sufficiently brave and daring to fight constitutes a good army." Before his voice faded, a wave of "Boo..." swept the venue, and the sparse applause from a few Navy personnel seemed profoundly awkward. However, Xiao Zishan remained unperturbed, sipped tea, expelled a tea leaf with a soft fft, then slowly continued: "But, but! We must recognize the principal contradiction. It's neither the Navy's fault nor yours, but that when the Navy engages in combat, they bring you along, correct? Here, as General Office head, I must first apologize to everyone. We didn't consider Elders' travel and official trips thoroughly... In the past, we possessed limited resources and heavy burdens, with expansion as our primary objective. Many matters were handled expediently. Who among you seated here doesn't perform multiple roles? Many facilities and equipment, including Navy ships, are identical—they must fight, patrol, and transport. This was genuinely unavoidable, and I request everyone's understanding."

"Director Xiao, don't shoulder all responsibility. We all comprehend what conditions were previously. Complaints over the years amounted at most to grumbling among brothers privately."

"Precisely, precisely."

"Director Xiao, continue..." Observing his delaying tactic succeed, Xiao Zishan suppressed his emotions and assumed a heartbroken expression, but someone below began creating disturbance.

"Today's matter differs. In the future, not merely business trips—perhaps I'll desire to take wives and children to Nha Trang or the Maldives for vacation. Good heavens, if you Navy insist on dragging an entire family of elderly and young into life-and-death combat regardless, how can that function? I don't care about other matters—the Navy vessel carrying me must heed my commands. Safety first!"

Who is that? Playing the supporting role so adeptly? Xiao Zishan rapidly surveyed the room—it was actually him!

"This constitutes the second aspect I intended to mention," Director Xiao beamed radiantly. "We need to strengthen the Elder Security Bureau. Every Elder is supremely precious; nothing surpasses Elder safety in importance. We cannot afford to lose a single individual seated here. I propose we select one or several suitable warships from the Navy as Elder-exclusive vessels responsible for everyone's maritime travel."

He glanced at Wei Aiwen, who was preparing to stand and speak, and hastily added: "Naturally, these ships will no longer belong to the Navy but be exclusively deployed by the General Office. Thus, there are dedicated vessels at sea and dedicated carriages on land. Regarding sailors and soldiers aboard, they'll be selected from the Navy according to General Bodyguard Bureau standards. Following selection, their establishment will transfer to the General Bodyguard Bureau and no longer belong to the Navy. This arrangement guarantees the Navy's 'engage upon sight' while vastly improving everyone's travel safety and comfort. Changing to different Navy ships each trip, even occupying the captain's cabin, cannot compare to an Elder-exclusive vessel with dedicated service personnel... Henceforth, whether on land or sea, whether for official or private purposes, Elder travel will be uniformly scheduled and managed by Elder Salina of the Security Bureau. What does everyone think?"

Xiao Zishan's proposal received his anticipated response. Just as accolades of "Director Xiao is truly our intimate confidant" circulated, Cheng Dong, predictably, spoke after conferring with Wu De briefly—very perceptively.

"I've taken Navy warships several times. Honestly, they are warships ultimately—uncomfortable. Transport ships? Excessively slow." Cheng Dong scanned his surroundings, observing Elders revealing expressions of "I feel precisely the same," and continued:

"I suggest constructing one or two Elder-exclusive ships with appropriate armament, superior speed, and elevated comfort standards, rather than directly receiving and modifying obsolete Navy vessels." He deliberately emphasized "obsolete." "Regarding funding, I've communicated with Wu De. We can list it as extra-budgetary expenditure for this year. Preliminary estimates indicate it won't compromise overall fiscal security. Besides, everyone's safety constitutes genuine security..."

"How long from design to launch for such a vessel? Moreover, the shipyard is already at capacity. Your idea is distant water incapable of quenching present thirst." Someone penetrated Cheng Dong's "empty promise" instantly.

"Why list it in the budget! It's been seven or eight years since crossing—where are my shares and dividends? Except for showing me a slip with numbers semi-annually, what has your Finance Ministry accomplished with the funds..."

"Everyone's funds are in dedicated accounts; we absolutely won't touch a single cent! Don't you utilize this money when purchasing special supplies?" Under the transmigrators' special supply policy, various taken-for-granted "income" schemes formulated at crossing time became the Finance Ministry's most troublesome burden. Transmigrators' daily expenditure on special goods and services wasn't substantial, so most of their income currently existed as paper assets. To the beleaguered finance personnel, this money accumulating on the ledgers was an enormous monetary explosive. But Cheng Dong dared not articulate this explicitly. Expending a portion to construct ships now was an excellent solution. "If you wish to build private vessels, naturally, we possess no authority to prevent anyone from spending their own funds."

However, as soon as this was uttered, faces in the Industrial Sector elongated. Constructing a ship constitutes a lengthy-cycle project; even a modest yacht requires months. Considering Elder safety and comfort, this yacht would minimally approach the Haitian-class scout ship level. This would occupy formal slipways and require specialized equipment—particularly steam engines and boilers, which current production capacity couldn't accommodate. Let alone dozens of Elders building them; even constructing one or two proved difficult. But stating "no" directly would redirect the Navy's fire toward themselves...

"I don't care how your Finance Ministry handles it. Regardless, I've decided to utilize my own funds to construct a private yacht..."

"Correct, we'll build our own. I desire the same model as the Feiyun!"

"That's fabricated from fiberglass; we cannot construct it at all!"

"Don't provide us a Xiaocang-class to placate us."

"I recall Landu's vessel was excellent..."

"Shh! That matter should remain confidential."

"Confidential my ass—it's been years. Even the Spanish in Manila know about it, yet you're keeping it secret from us? Director Xiao, don't worry. If required in the future, we can lend our private ships for public use—what do you think?"

"..."

(End of Chapter)