Chapter 2313 - Making Use of the Subject

"Currently, most Senators are dissatisfied with the Political Security Bureau deploying Hidden Cadres everywhere. But honestly, the previous few incidents failed to bring them down completely. Though they've been keeping a low profile since then, their work of placing Hidden Cadres hasn't stopped for a moment. Now this massive incident erupts in Wuzhou—Elder Xie certainly bears responsibility, but what about the Political Security Bureau? Isn't their responsibility even greater? Since this worthless bureau was established, there's been no achievements, only troubles. It should have been abolished long ago—otherwise, what's the point of having police?"

Wang Qiyi recognized his wife's "borrowing a knife to kill" mentality. He understood that while the Political Security Bureau was irritating, its status was transcendent—essentially uninvolved in the Senate's internal struggles. If they opened fire on the PSB now, leaving aside whatever trump cards the other side might hold, this would forge lasting enmity.

From any angle, the PSB didn't impede the Finance and Tax Bureau's work, and Wu Mu in Guangzhou was quite cooperative with them. Going against them merely because of "dislike," "annoyance," or "incompatible views" was, frankly, a form of political infantilism.

He coughed lightly. Just as he was about to speak, Ai Zhixin was already shaking his head vigorously. "Director Zhang, this won't do. The PSB hasn't offended us. What benefit do we get from opposing them? It's pointless..."

Wang Qiyi quickly added, "I agree—it's unnecessary. Many cases we handled in Guangzhou involved their coordination, and everyone cooperates pleasantly on various matters. If anyone's going to open fire, it should be those notorious troublemakers in the Senate who go first. We'll just nudge things from the sidelines."

Zhang Xiaoqi had been acting on impulse. Thinking it through now, it wasn't appropriate. When Chu Xiaoran committed suicide back then, Wu Mu's side had been very cooperative. If she took the lead in stabbing them now—leaving aside what Zhao Manxiong and others would think—other Senators would also feel chilled seeing it.

"Since that's the case, how about leaking some relevant content to Shan Liang and the others..."

"No, there's no need." Wang Qiyi shook his head. "A goose leaves a sound when it passes. Someone will definitely leak these reports to them actively—we don't need to do it ourselves."

"That works too." Ai Zhixin nodded. "Since that's settled, let's just archive it and pretend we don't know anything..."

Wang Qiyi suddenly remembered something and asked his wife, "You mentioned last time that much of the PSB's funding goes through off-budget special channels—Guangdong must also have such allocations, right?"

"Of course." Zhang Xiaoqi nodded. "Essentially everything in Guangdong goes through special funding channels..."

"Has it all been disbursed?"

"Of course." Zhang Xiaoqi found the question strange. "What use is there in keeping that money sitting in the account? Besides, the PSB's funding in Guangdong is already quite small—personnel costs alone take up most of it."

"It's good that it's been disbursed." Wang Qiyi muttered to himself. "I'm afraid there's going to be a major storm in the Senate."

Sure enough, as Xie Erren's report passed up through the layers, every Senator who read it was shocked. A prefectural city had been raided and breached, and a Senator had been temporarily captured—a groundbreaking first since D-Day. Although the overall situation had suffered little lasting damage, many people recognized the deeper problems this exposed.

For the entire Liangguang Campaign, from a purely military perspective, the Volte Army had been unstoppable—splitting bamboo, invincible, conquering everything. Since entering August, they had not only taken the whole province of Guangdong, achieving the campaign's goals, but progress in Guangxi had also been rapid. Two-thirds of the prefectures and counties under regular official rule established by the Ming Dynasty in Guangxi had been occupied. The rest, held by a handful of Ming troops, were merely lingering. Though Xiong Wencan's situation remained unknown, his life or death was now meaningless to the war. Tusi in parts of the Liangguang region had already sent envoys to the Senate expressing submission. Even the bandit riots and Yao rebellions that had once erupted everywhere showed signs of easing under timely suppression. Although battles in various locations had not subsided, overall, no Ming army or other force possessed the capability to threaten the entire Liangguang strategy.

But beneath this brilliant exterior lay increasingly weak logistical support, and military strength and cadres diluted across vast territories. Now, whether it was Xi Yazhou commanding operations, Bei Wei sitting in Guangzhou responsible for security across both provinces, or Hong Huangnan handling logistics—all deeply understood what the Japanese devils experienced in China, the Soviet army in Afghanistan, and the Americans in Iraq.

The battle line was stretched too long, transportation and resupply too weak, military strength too scarce. At almost any point, the South China Army found itself with insufficient troops. In the rear, large numbers of National Army squadrons—hastily formed to fill gaps—were routed and severely damaged in batches. Though a core of excellent units had been forged through fire, the loss of personnel and equipment was undeniably real.

The occupied cities, lacking sufficient cadres and garrison troops, mostly struggled to carry out any meaningful work and could only protect themselves. This meant many newly occupied areas not only failed to provide resources but actually consumed them in massive quantities.

The Wuzhou Incident was merely representative of the Senate's current predicament in Liangguang. This was as clear to Wen Desi in Guangdong as it was to Wang Luobin, Ma Qianzhu, and Wu De in Lingao.

"In my view, the war situation in Liangguang is starting to resemble Iraq." In a conference room of the Guangdong Regional Government, Bei Wei frowned.

"Let's not jinx ourselves." Wen Desi said. "In my opinion, it's time to end this war with some dignity..."

Hong Huangnan remarked, "President Wen, if you say that, the war hawks in the Senate will definitely slap a 'Surrender Faction' label on you."

"To be honest, if Chongzhen were willing to negotiate peace with us right now, I wouldn't oppose it—at least during negotiations we wouldn't have to fight, and the army could catch its breath. If we keep fighting like this, troop consumption is too severe," Wen Desi said. "We aren't barbarians. What meaning does chopping off more heads have for us?"

"The Ming army isn't the problem now—the key is that our battle line is stretched too thin." Bei Wei explained. "The number of National Army squadron designations we've authorized has exceeded three hundred, far surpassing the planned one hundred fifty—and even so, every location keeps requesting more security forces." He paused. "However, that's not the biggest problem. What worries me more is the Senate itself..."

"Another uproar." Wen Desi nodded. "Needless to say, some people who thrive on chaos will get excited again."

Those present naturally understood whom Wen Desi meant.

"Xie Erren is nothing," Wen Desi continued. "He poked this hole—he probably understands that. It's not difficult for us to send another capable Senator to clean up Wuzhou's mess. At worst, things won't deteriorate further. However, I suspect he didn't tell the whole truth..."

"You mean..."

"I've learned through certain channels that the circumstances of Xie Erren's capture are quite complex. These details aren't currently in his report. I worry that once this news spreads, the Senate won't just see an uproar—it'll be a tidal wave."

The Senators present knew very well that if things were stirred up and the root of the Wuzhou Incident was dug deep, almost none of them would escape untouched. Not just those present—even Xi Yazhou on the front lines, and numerous ministries in Guangzhou and Lingao, would all get dragged in.

"We cannot let people exploit this situation to push their own agendas!" Bei Wei frowned. "The atmosphere in the Senate has become too toxic—a glass-hearted mentality that can't tolerate a grain of sand!"

"The current situation is probably more complicated than before," Hong Huangnan said. "Actually, I'm not too worried about those few named opposition members. What concerns me more is that certain forces might use this as an excuse to completely repudiate the national policy of marching north to the mainland and capturing Liangguang."

"You mean the 'Southbound Faction'?" Liu Xiang interjected.

The so-called Southbound Faction had been advocating since before the landing for the Senate to invest resources in Southeast Asia, developing colonies to acquire the region's rich natural resources.

This call had always existed, of course. But after the mainland strategy began, the Southbound Faction's public opinion offensive had grown increasingly fierce, recruiting supporters everywhere. Undoubtedly, they would absolutely not let go of this excellent opportunity.

"Exactly," Hong Huangnan confirmed. "Some days ago, they besieged Si Kaide at a Senate hearing, leaving him thoroughly humiliated. Their intention is too obvious. Now that Xie Erren's matter has come to light, I'm afraid they'll use this to repudiate the Northbound plan entirely..."

"Ridiculous! We bled and sweated to conquer Liangguang, and a few Senators sitting comfortably in the rear want to repudiate it? Who do they think they are?!" Bei Wei said angrily.

"Old Bei, whether they have the right is another matter. Right now, the Wuzhou Incident is definitely a major scandal. Though Xie Erren is safe, who knows how many people in the Senate are waiting to devour his flesh. Let's first think about how to weather this storm."

"Old Hong, I think you're worrying too much." Liu Xiang said. "The Northbound Plan originally had the occupation of all Liangguang as its endpoint. No matter how much fuss they make, what can they do? We're not going to retreat entirely back to Hainan, are we? I don't think anyone has the guts to say that!"

"Mayor Liu, you've been too comfortable as mayor and know too little about the current situation in Lingao." Hong Huangnan said. "Giving up Liangguang is naturally impossible. But using the enormous cost of the Liangguang strategy as an excuse to halt construction in Liangguang—that's the most serious consequence this matter could bring."

"What?!" Liu Xiang had been dreaming of becoming the "Governor of the Capital," scheming about his "Greater Guangzhou" plans in his mind. Old Hong's words were like a basin of ice water poured over his head.

"Presumably you're aware that the Government Administration Council proposed shifting the construction focus to the Pearl River Delta region after the Liangguang strategy concluded—specifically including relocating the Senate capital to Guangzhou entirely and transferring part of industrial production. There was considerable resistance within the Senate at the time. Although these Senators aren't Southbound Faction, they would be happy to use this opportunity to veto the capital relocation and industrial transfer. At this juncture, they may very well merge forces."

(End of Chapter)