Chapter 138: A Discussion on Sounding the System

Wen Desi was back. He had originally planned to wait until the ship construction was finished, but upon hearing about the attack on Bopu, he hurried back on a supply transport.

It seemed that implementing phalanx training was the right move. After inspecting Bopu, Wen Desi couldn’t help but feel a little proud of the battle’s outcome. Although the phalanx training and the line and column tactics were primarily determined by the level of their weaponry, the results were so good that Xi Yazhou, who had first proposed the idea, was ecstatic—this was an experience worth promoting in the future.

Bairen dispatched a Beijing 212 jeep to pick him up. Ma Qianzhu happened to be returning to Bairen as well and rode with him.

Along the way, he had a deep conversation with Director-General Ma about the lessons learned from the battle. Although Wen Desi was also worried about the growing independence of the army, they both agreed that military expansion was the most pressing issue.

“If the enemy had come in two prongs, one by sea and one by land, with twenty large ships and two to three thousand ground troops, this battle wouldn’t have been so easy.”

“Fortunately, we were strict with the military training for the transmigrators in the past. They served as the main force and backbone in this battle.”

“Exactly, and that’s what worries me. The New Army’s combat effectiveness is poor.” Ma Qianzhu’s face was grim. Unlike the jubilant masses, he wasn’t happy at all. The post-battle investigation revealed that some New Army soldiers, far from fighting bravely, couldn’t even put up a front to boost morale. They basically ran as soon as the cannons fired. “Their political education is still insufficient,” he concluded.

Wen Desi snorted with laughter. Ma Qianzhu said, “I know you’re going to talk about my ‘political education is invincible’ theory again. What better idea do you have? Isn’t it just the old ‘the petty man is moved by profit’ routine?”

“If you ask me, religion is the best. The ultimate weapon.”

“You want to be the Archangel, don’t you!” Ma Qianzhu was well aware of Wen Desi’s ambitions. “Absolutely not! That’s too much like a cult.”

Wen Desi smiled helplessly. “I know not everyone agrees. For now, I’m still talking about the army’s political and ideological problems.”

“Go on.”

“One man joins the army to earn a living; another joins to survive and get ahead. Their fundamental purpose determines their subjective initiative,” Wen Desi said. “The composition of our New Army right now is mostly men looking for a meal. They see us as a kind, wealthy master who provides good food and clothes, and that’s it. They’re not going to risk their lives for a good meal.”

“There’s also housing and land—”

“True, but to them, it’s just a pie in the sky,” Wen Desi said. “I think the soldiers recruited from the communes are much more resolute because they know we keep our word. But the newly recruited ones from outside? It’s hard to say.”

“High salaries? I don’t approve of that. We already pay them enough. And if soldiers fight for money, you won’t be able to use them later when you don’t have money.”

“It doesn’t have to be a pay raise. We can give out bonuses.” Wen Desi gripped the jeep’s handrail. “Director-General, after such a great victory, how can we not have some kind of reward? I heard that after the battle yesterday afternoon, the soldiers were just given a meal of horse meat?”

“The infantry didn’t even fight. The battle was won after a dozen cannon shots.”

“But didn’t they form up and charge? Besides, the transmigrators made huge contributions in the second battle. If the Executive Committee shows no appreciation, won’t that be disheartening?”

That was indeed an oversight. In Ma Qianzhu’s original plan, he wanted to use this opportunity for honorary commendations, recording merits, and even awarding medals, but he hadn’t considered giving money and rewards to the transmigrators. At this moment, he had a sudden realization: transmigrators are people too!

This conclusion made him smile wryly. It seemed that once you got used to being a leader, you forgot many things. People like Dugu Qiuhun, Wang Ruixiang, and Lin Shenhe had all contributed greatly this time. If there was no recognition, it would definitely be disheartening.

“You’re right, but I have reservations about giving cash bonuses.”

“Bonuses don’t have to be cash. For example, cigarettes, cola, and the like. For the natives, we can give rice, salt, or cloth.”

Ma Qianzhu nodded. That was something to consider.

“The army’s technological advantage isn’t big enough.” With such heavy losses for the New Army, if they were to fight the official army in the future, wouldn’t they lose all their capital?

“If we had machine guns and grenades, we would be much stronger,” Wen Desi said. “But we won because of our system—”

“Damn, you’re a ‘system-is-everything’ guy too?”

“I guess so. It’s obvious that our combat system is better than any army’s in this time period.” Wen Desi stretched. “I got on the boat at the crack of dawn. I’m going to take a nap when I get back. Too bad there’s no secretary to hold.”

“I’m worried about two things right now,” Ma Qianzhu said. “First, that military expansion will affect production by taking up too much labor; second, the problem of controlling the army.”

“I’ve thought about that too,” Wen Desi said. “Director-General, what are your thoughts?”

“Establish an internal affairs department, expand the internal security forces to counterbalance the army, and implement a political commissar system when the time is right.”

“The political commissar system is meaningless for the current army. You want transmigrators to monitor other transmigrators? That would cause an immediate uproar!” Wen Desi pointed out. “And if the internal security forces expand too quickly, the intention would be too obvious. The military leaders aren’t idiots.”

“Your idea?”

“I don’t think we’re at the point of needing a counterbalance yet. The key is to establish a system and then strictly enforce it. That way, no one can complain, and no one will say it’s targeted at them.” Wen Desi thought for a moment. “We still need to govern by law. This is very important. We can’t engage in political maneuvering, or the consequences will be endless. For example, the current weapons and ammunition management system is too lax. Although most weapons are centrally managed, it’s too easy to get a gun. We need to formalize weapon allocation. Which department gets how many guns and how much ammo needs to be properly established, with responsibility assigned to individuals. Ammunition must be strictly managed under a centralized storage system.”

“The authority for mobilization, deployment, and dispatch of troops—”

“Exactly. No matter what kind of system our country becomes in the future, no one wants to see a society where the words of a few people are law. So we must start now to establish rules and regulations, and cultivate the habit of acting according to the system. This is the most troublesome, but also the most important thing.” As Wen Desi spoke, he felt a pang of regret. He actually preferred a dystopian state, but there were too many powerful individuals in this group, so it was better not to go down that road.

Wen Desi continued, “About military expansion, although it’s necessary, I’m afraid expanding too much will affect production. Should we try to reduce the number of recruits in each batch?”

“The plan is to reach 1,000 men in three months. That’s not too high. And you don’t have to worry: the army can also support production.”

Wen Desi smiled. “That’s right! We can also have ‘Three Supports’!” He realized his slip of the tongue. “I mean, ‘Two Supports’.”

[Note: The so-called “Three Supports” of the army during the Great Leap Forward were: support the left, support industry, and support agriculture.]

“No need to be so sensitive!” Ma Qianzhu also laughed. “Two supports it is. Although I’m a leftist, I still agree with the nationalization of the army. Mixing violence with political struggle will also lead to endless trouble.”

The Security Group was busy again today. The two battles, one in the day and one at night, had yielded several hundred prisoners. The massive amount of screening and interrogation work was starting to overwhelm Ran Yao. He quickly called Mu Min back and pulled translators who understood various dialects from different departments. Zhou Dongtian also readily returned to serve the Security Group.

Today, the real work finally began. The first batch of selected prisoners was brought to the Security Group’s office.

The Security Group office had also gotten an upgrade. It was originally located in the Executive Committee compound within Bairen City. Later, the Executive Committee grew tired of their lights burning all night and the occasional screams, which also attracted protests from certain humanitarians. Furthermore, bringing un-“purified” locals into the city was not appropriate. So, during the infrastructure boom, the Security Group moved outside the city walls, building a compound on the site of the original prisoner detention camp. The compound was protected by barbed wire, trenches, and watchtowers. Inside was a two-story building housing the Security Group’s various offices. To the left of the yard was a separate, walled courtyard—the prison.

The interrogation room was located in the main building of the prison courtyard. The windows and door were deliberately covered with black cloth to create a black-room effect. As for the inside, there were no “Ten Great Tortures of the Manchu-Qing Dynasty” or anything of the sort, just a fixed chair with manacles and leg irons, a few tables, and a desk lamp.

The prisoners captured during the day had already undergone a preliminary screening. Overall, there wasn’t much to gain from them. They were mostly temporary hires, and even the most senior among them couldn’t provide any useful information, only insisting that Zhu Cailao had sent them. But the Executive Committee clearly didn’t believe this. The prisoners captured at night were much more complex. Although there were only about fifty of them, their appearances were diverse: there were Chinese, natives from Southeast Asia, a few who looked like they were from India, and two with curly hair, deep-set eyes, and pale skin, who were clearly foreigners.

This gave Ran Yao a bit of a headache. The various dialects in this time period were already troublesome enough, and now he had these people. The foreigners were one thing; they could find transmigrators who spoke English, Spanish, and the like. But what languages did the Indians and Southeast Asian natives speak?

After thinking for a long time, he decided to start with the Chinese pirates.

The initial screening of the prisoners was mainly based on their clothes. Those in rags with malnourished faces were certainly not leaders, so they first picked out those who looked the healthiest and were best dressed for interrogation.

Outside the interrogation room stood several policemen with batons, led by Dugu Qiuhun—they were on temporary loan. There were also soldiers with bayoneted rifles. Dugu Qiuhun had been a star in the battle of Bopu. The pirates were terrified of him. Seeing this baleful star, grinning menacingly and inspecting them one by one with a machete in hand, sent a chill down the necks of the pirates who were tied together in a line, sitting in the courtyard waiting to be questioned.

Inside the interrogation room, Ran Yao personally conducted the questioning. There were also three translators who could speak Cantonese, the Lingao dialect, and Minnan. After setting up the guards, Dugu Qiuhun also put on his full gear, preparing to…