Chapter 2340 - Comprehensive Adjustment

The Wuzhou Incident finally drew to a close after weeks of vigorous debate. This resolution came partly from behind-the-scenes maneuvering by various factions, and partly because the Southward Advance Faction chose this opportune moment to make their move, quickly diverting the Senate's attention elsewhere.

Although Xie Erren was condemned in print and thoroughly disgraced, his ultimate fate proved tolerable enough. He was reassigned to the Propaganda Sector, given responsibility for "Material Review" work in the Ministry of Truth—essentially relegated to an idle position on the sidelines.

The Organization and Political Security departments, though they endured concentrated criticism during the hearings, suffered no substantive damage. After a round of tense negotiations and deal-making among all parties, they agreed to a series of proposals Ma Jia had put forward regarding personnel changes in Political Security and the expansion of local branches. The Senate promptly passed emergency budget bills to fund both the Political Security Bureau and the Bodyguard General Bureau. The latter, which had existed as little more than a name on paper, finally became a functioning reality. Though the budget increases were expected, they still left the Finance Department frowning.

Yet the consequences of the Wuzhou Incident ran deep. While Xie Erren's downfall meant little in the grand scheme, it confirmed what many in the Senate had long suspected: they simply lacked the resources to execute a Continental Strategy.

Confronted with this living "tragedy," Senate opinion shifted from "Expanding Our Victories" to "Strengthening Our Foundations." The Yao uprisings blazing across Guangdong and the lingering plague in Guangzhou already strained their capacity—and now they faced Guangxi, with its far more complex terrain and politics. Any attempt to attack on all fronts would stretch the military thin, but the pressure on civil administration, supplies, and finances had already reached the breaking point. Cheng Dong had submitted multiple reports to the Cabinet warning that excessive printing of Silver Yuan Coupons had made it impossible to maintain unrestricted currency exchange within Hainan and Guangzhou Special City.

Paradoxically, the current trade embargo with the Ming Dynasty and plague-related restrictions on commerce in Guangzhou had actually saved the new currency, preventing the shortage of Silver Yuan reserves from becoming exposed.

After prolonged deliberations, the Senate convened an informal General Assembly in November 1635 to chart the next phase of the Continental Strategy.

Though many Senators had been transferred or were away on business, leaving attendance below half, the General Office had transmitted the main agenda items to every Senator via telegram beforehand, allowing them to express their views on each topic in advance.

Perhaps because the hearings had exhausted everyone's fighting spirit, and all sides had achieved roughly acceptable outcomes, this General Assembly was remarkably free of fierce debate. The various factions discussed the situation and ultimately reached agreement on a new Continental Strategy Plan.

The new plan differed little from the old in substance, but it clarified one crucial point: the endpoint of Continental Strategy operations would be "Complete Control of Liangguang." After achieving this strategic objective, no further comprehensive offensives would be launched on the mainland.

Beyond this, the Senate explicitly stated that over the next "three to five years," they would drastically reduce brigade-level military operations. Both the scale and frequency of combat actions would decline significantly. The Fubo Army and Navy would cease expansion. Priority would shift to building security forces composed primarily of National Army troops.

In essence, the new strategy transformed from "Opening Frontiers and Expanding Territories" to "Deep Governance."

The plan's classification system—Core Zone, Pacification Zone, and Security Zone—remained unchanged, along with the corresponding administrative guidelines. However, the Core Zone now expanded to encompass five main areas: Guangzhou Special City, Foshan Experimental Zone, Wuzhou City, Nanning City, and Guilin City.

Except for Foshan, all these cities had been converted directly from Ming Dynasty prefectures. Apart from their attached counties (the prefectural seats), most suffered from excessively large jurisdictions. Consequently, Core Zone governance would concentrate mainly within the attached county—the prefectural city itself—spreading to other jurisdictional counties only as circumstances permitted. This meant that although Guangzhou Special City was designated a Core Zone, "Deep Governance" would actually be practiced only in Nanhai, Panyu, and Sanshui counties. The other Core Zones followed a similar pattern.

Beyond these five Core Zones, important regional transportation hubs, commercial centers, and newly established industrial-mining centers throughout Liangguang would also be subject to "Deep Governance." These regions would adhere to the overall principle of "Quality Over Quantity," with "Jurisdictional areas not exceeding one county."

For cadre appointments, the proportion of naturalized cadres would decrease progressively according to zone classification—highest in Core Zones, lower in Pacification Zones, and lowest in Security Zones. The intensity of institutional and social reform would follow the same pattern. The plan expanded the identification and deployment of "Retained Personnel." Original Ming officials who had surrendered, provided their reputation and performance assessments were acceptable, could all be transferred for employment elsewhere. In regions that were difficult to govern or had complex situations, original officials with relatively outstanding governance records could, after inspection, be retained in their original posts.

Land surveys and the implementation of the new tax system would be limited to Core Zones. Pacification and Security Zones would continue to be taxed according to the old Ming Dynasty quotas.

Regarding social transformation, the new plan adopted a notably softer tone. These reforms would be strictly enforced only in Core Zones.

For Pacification and Security Zones, the operative term was now "Improvement." Only "prostitutes," "beggars," and "broker houses" would be subject to comprehensive transformation and remediation. The language concerning clans—which had previously drawn fierce resistance—was also dramatically toned down. The plan explicitly stated that in Pacification and Security Zones, the goal was to "Prohibit clan interference in justice and administration, and gradually reduce clan influence," deleting previous emphatic phrases about "Key Strikes" and "Gradual Elimination of Clan Forces."

This approach inevitably sparked debate within the Senate, though the arguments remained subdued. Their earlier understanding of clan power and function had been limited, and their easy success in dissolving local clans on Hainan Island had bred a certain contempt. But months of reality in Guangdong had taught them a profound lesson. Clan power not only enjoyed broad social foundations but also performed many social service functions that government couldn't manage. More importantly, in many regions of mixed Han-Yao habitation and unstable security, clans served as vital social stabilizers.

Destroying the clans would require massive resources. The greater danger was that the Senate currently lacked the resources to fill the void that eliminating clans would create.

Idealism had finally yielded to reality. To establish a firm foothold in Liangguang, they had to tolerate the clans. Therefore, except in Key Zones where old guidelines would continue, all other areas would adopt the new policies.

Fortunately, this adjustment carried no real impact for naturalized cadres—they mostly couldn't understand why the Senate had been so anti-clan in the first place, and the situation in Liangguang left them absolutely no time to pursue such work anyway.

Regarding concerns some Senators raised about whether such comprehensive contraction might embolden local criminal elements, the new countermeasure was to establish specialized Special Search Task Forces. These units would draw capable personnel from the Armed Forces, Reconnaissance General Bureau, Political Security, Intelligence, and Civil Administration departments, operating under Senator command. Each team's core would number around one hundred people, with the authority to dispatch local garrison and police forces for support as needed.

Six such Special Search Teams would be established, each responsible for a designated region.

These Special Search Task Forces would conduct independent investigative operations in Pacification and Security Zones, carrying out precision strikes against various criminal elements that had provoked significant public grievances and seriously harmed local communities. This approach would serve three purposes: effectively demonstrating Senate authority while supporting local administrative efforts, winning popular support, and naturally, capturing spoils of war.

On the military front, the plan authorized the Third Wave Mobilization of the National Army, with new squadrons to be trained in Hong Kong. Based on current attrition rates, the squadrons from the first two waves were expected to be exhausted by security operations in the coming months. Squadrons that had performed well and maintained strong combat effectiveness would be replenished and refitted; those suffering excessive losses with undistinguished combat records would be disbanded on the spot, their personnel used to reinforce other units. The ultimate goal was a standard configuration of one squadron per county and one battalion per prefectural city, with additional mobile squadrons deployed at key transportation points.

Newly organized squadrons would no longer be equipped with standard spears. All would carry Nanyang Rifles. Mobile Squadrons would upgrade to Minié Rifles and shotguns for enhanced firepower. All Mobile Squadrons would undergo mountain warfare training. Simultaneously, massive new recruitment would draw from Guangdong's Yao and Zhuang peoples to supplement the forces.

In construction, priority was given to two major projects and their supporting facilities: Foshan Steel and Danzhou Chemical. The "Guangdong Agricultural Reform Plan" would also be launched to fully exploit Guangdong's agricultural production potential.

The Guangzhou Urban Renovation project also gained approval. The original proposal called for moving the Senate and all regime organs wholesale to Guangzhou, but this met opposition from Senators concerned about limited living accommodations and those staying in Lingao who worried about being marginalized. A compromise was reached: a new Guangzhou Base Camp (Dai Hon Ei) would be established as the General Organ for Continental Construction, Administration, and Strategy. The Central Reserve Bank, Taxation General Bureau, Customs General Bureau, and Monopoly Bureau would relocate entirely to Guangzhou. Other departments would establish offices there.

Clearly, this plan was far more modest than earlier versions. The various arrangements had become pragmatic. Those responsible for various departments, who had been overwhelmed and at their wits' end, secretly breathed sighs of relief. The only ones still frowning were those in the Finance and Tax Department.

The Southward Advance Faction's proposal to acquire resources in the South Seas also received partial approval. Though the new draft didn't provide direct resource support from the Senate as the faction had envisioned, following the principle of "Giving Policy Rather Than Resources," the Senate approved renaming the Southeast Asia Company to the Nanyang Company as a First-Class National Policy Mixed-Ownership Enterprise. The Nanyang Company would have considerable operational autonomy, with the freedom to raise shares and organize trade, mining, and colonization activities independently throughout Southeast Asia.

All properties owned by the original Southeast Asia Company would be injected as capital into the new company. The equity distribution would be as follows: State-Owned Shares 51%, Senate 5%, Senator Personal Shareholding 15%, with the remaining 29% allocated to a newly established "Southeast Asia Development Co., Ltd." These shares would be sold through public offering.

(End of Chapter)