Phi-Fic Chapter 1265 Argument
Chapter 1265 Argument
Mountain City Military and Political Department Conference Room
“These defeated soldiers are utterly lawless. They need to be taught a lesson and ordered to leave the mountain city within a specified period. It was a mistake to let them rest in the mountain city in the first place; you didn’t consider the actual situation there. There are currently nearly 3 people left in the mountain city, half of whom are wounded or sick. We simply don’t have enough doctors and medicine. We need to disperse them to various places so that they can receive unified treatment, instead of putting all the pressure on the mountain city.”
Commander Liu, the military police commander, was a local. In truth, he had originally been part of the Sichuan warlord faction. His current position as the military police commander of the mountain city was a result of his early defection. He held these defeated soldiers from outside in utter contempt. In his view, their arrival had made their lives extremely difficult. Without these soldiers, they would be living as usual.
"Commander Liu makes a very good point. When these people came, your Ministry of Military Affairs only issued us an official document, telling us to procure food. But the problem is, we've been fighting for so long, where are we going to procure food? Almost all the warehouses in Sichuan are empty, and next year's grain hasn't come yet. We can't just rely on the weather for food, can we? You're only thinking about entertaining these soldiers, but the problem is we have no resources. Sichuan is a poor place, and if the central government doesn't provide the funds, we can't solve this problem on our own."
Mayor Fang of the mountain city immediately stepped forward. According to the central government's orders, they needed to raise nearly 600 million silver dollars to resolve the problem of these defeated soldiers. But now, let alone 600 million, not even 100 million had arrived; only 50 had been received so far. How much of that money was actually used to help these defeated soldiers? It was hard to say.
"So, according to you two, we deserved to be in such a state on the front lines, and it's normal that no one cares about us once we get to the rear. In that case, when the Japanese come, we might as well just retreat and let them have a good chat with you. Besides the mountain city, we can continue to retreat southwest; there's plenty of room anyway."
An army lieutenant general returning from the front lines immediately objected. Upon hearing the news, he was so angry he slammed his fist on the table at the Ministry of Military Affairs. But the problem was, his voice carried little weight. Without the cooperation of the local people, we had no way to resolve this issue; saying these things now only made him feel better.
Minister He convened this meeting to discuss and resolve issues, not to have everyone argue. Looking at the people here, each offering their own opinion, they're ultimately failing to reach a consensus. Minister He sighed and tapped the table. They'd been arguing for half an hour already; this wasn't a marketplace, it was time to stop.
Li Shaoyi sat third to the left of Minister He, a position befitting an army group commander. However, the problem was that Li Shaoyi's army group was no small force. The combined military strength of everyone present probably couldn't match the formidable military power under Li Shaoyi's command, making this position seem somewhat inappropriate for him.
However, Li Shaoyi wasn't here to seek a higher rank; his main concern was figuring out how to resolve the situation with these people. After all, they had made contributions on the battlefield, and no matter how poor our country was, we couldn't let these heroes live in the open, barely scraping by.
If things continue like this, just as the general said, when everyone knows how miserable the brothers in the rear are, even worse off than those on the front lines, who will fight well? Who won't want to preserve their health? When the Japanese invade, everyone will push and shove, and who will be able to continue fighting the Japanese?
"Commander Li, do you have anything to say about this?"
When Minister He said this, he looked directly at Li Shaoyi, which surprised Li Shaoyi. Didn't Minister He know what he was saying? He had said it many times before, but they had always rejected it. But now, in this setting, Minister He had brought it up himself, which meant that the matter was starting to change.
"Of course I had something to say. I said it half a month ago. But it was no use. I said back then that the seriously wounded should be transported back to the north, and the lightly wounded should be transported back to the north in batches. I would take care of the people you don't care about, and I would use the people you don't use. But the problem is, does anyone listen to me? Aren't I just invisible in Shancheng? Apart from trading some weapons and equipment, it seems like there's nothing for me to care about?"
Li Shaoyi crossed his legs, lit a cigarette, and showed no signs of nervousness about the meeting. Some of the people present, especially the locals from Shancheng, lit up when they heard Li Shaoyi speak; they were eager to hand over this hot potato to him.
The generals leading troops in other regions shared this view. The 72nd Army had previously taken in many of their defeated soldiers. In their eyes, these men were all a burden. But Li Shaoyi saw them as a treasure.
You simply don't understand the importance of veterans. You think that if these people have suffered defeats or been wounded on the front lines, they're not of much use. But for the new recruits in the rear, their first understanding of the situation on the front lines comes from these veterans. And they're different from the raw recruits from military academies in the rear; they've actually been on the battlefield, they know how to ensure their own safety, and they know which weapons are best for sniping the Japanese in which locations.
Therefore, the defeated soldiers, whom everyone else looked down upon, were a valuable asset to Li Shaoyi. That's the meaning behind his words now: if you can't handle them, leave them to me; I can manage them. But the question is, do you dare give them to me?
After listening to Li Shaoyi's words, Minister He tapped the table again with his pen. Seeing Minister He's stern gaze, Li Shaoyi stubbed out his cigarette, straightened his uniform, and sat down properly. One should still give the Minister of Military Affairs some face.
"Commander Li, your garrison is located in the same area as the former Northwest Army. How about we hand over some officers and soldiers from the former Northwest Army and their ancestral home in Northeast China to you?"
Minister He's words still held some reservations; he didn't hand over all the personnel to Li Shaoyi. There was still suspicion about Li Shaoyi from above. If this kind of thing became a precedent, then Li Shaoyi would have a lot more troops to incorporate.