The next day, Qian Jiang, the new head of Bai Zetang, was summoned by Xiao Yungui to the Xiwang Mansion in Shanghai, and in the meeting room, Xiao Yungui asked straight to the point about Bai Zetang's intelligence officers' analysis of comprehensive intelligence after the Bohai Bay incident.

Bai Zetang and the Intelligence Department have always been both cooperative and competitive, but Qian Jiang never thought that one day he would be in charge of Bai Zetang, but he still conscientiously ran his own errands, fortunately, Bai Zetang and the Intelligence Department have many intersections, most of the leading people on both sides know each other, Qian Jiang is not bad, Bai Zetang's people are also very cooperative, less than a month after taking office, Qian Jiang has quickly taken over Tong Qiangsheng's errand.

The Bai Zetang and the Intelligence Department set up by Xiao Yungui have a common feature, that is, these two institutions are not only departments for collecting intelligence, but they also have an intelligence analysis section under their jurisdiction, which specializes in the analysis of the collected intelligence.

Engaging in intelligence errands is different from the military sending scouts to conduct reconnaissance and intelligence, and it comes from many sources, including information obtained from hidden insiders, information provided by informants, and news circulated by the people. At the same time, not every news is accurate, not every news is true, and not every news will be useful, intelligence analysis is to analyze all the information obtained, judge the authenticity, eliminate useless news, and according to the things shown by the intelligence, speculate or deduce the inside story or deeper things behind the things. Therefore, intelligence work is complex and heavy, and those engaged in it must be good at analysis and judgment, in short, they must be flexible.

After listening to Xiao Yungui's words, Qian Jiang breathed a sigh of relief. Although the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was now waging the Yunnan-Guizhou Campaign, the progress of relations between the Manchus and the foreigners in the north had always been the focus of Bai Zetang and the Intelligence Department. As early as when Tong Qiangsheng was still alive, a temporary section composed of more than 20 Bai Zetang elites was set up to be responsible for the intelligence analysis of the relationship between the Manchus and foreigners. After learning about the Tiehan incident, Qian Jiang had been analyzing intelligence with the people of this section group yesterday, and Xiao Yungui was not panicked when asked about him, he came prepared.

"Your Highness, after several rounds of analysis, judging from the information we have so far. This incident was directed and staged by people within the Manchu Qing Dynasty in collusion with foreigners, and the purpose was to sabotage the temporary peace agreement between Prince Gong and Britain and France, and prevent the two sides from facilitating the five-party talks. Qian Jiang said succinctly. He knew that Xiao Yungui didn't like to talk at length.

Xiao Yungui nodded very satisfied, Bai Zetang could quickly judge that this incident was deliberately arranged, which showed that Qian Jiang was competent, and after bowing his head slightly, he asked again: "What about the pros and cons for us?" ”

Qianjiang received the approval of the king of the west. Confidence is boosted. Clearing his throat and continuing: "In politics, we originally participated in the negotiations between the Manchus and Britain and France, just to sabotage and disrupt the situation, the five-party talks are a double-edged sword, if the Manchus really agreed to us to participate in the negotiations, of course, this is not very likely, but if we really agreed, we will be very passive in politics." Because it is impossible for us and the Manchus to sit down and negotiate, we must solve the problem through the guò military. Fortunately, there is now an incident with the Iron Man. We have achieved the goal of sabotaging the peace talks between Britain and France and the Manchus, and at the same time we do not have to bear the disadvantages of the five-party talks. ”

Xiao Yungui smiled slightly, under the influence of him and Westerners, the officials and generals of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom also began to distinguish between political and military, and many new words began to be used in large quantities, as a new regime, the ability to accept new things was already very strong, plus after Xiao Yungui took charge, he broke Hong Xiuquan's kind of worship-style superstition, coupled with the revival of Confucianism and the emergence of references such as applying what they have learned and applying it to the world, the thinking of the people of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom began to change somewhat, although most of the common people still have the old feudal ideasHowever, officials and generals like Qianjiang, as the leading collective of the regime and the high-level elite of the Heavenly Kingdom, naturally want to go further in their thinking, as evidenced by the use of a large number of new words.

"Go on." After getting Xiao Yungui's affirmation again, Qianjiang also let go, and said eloquently at the moment: "Politically, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, but militarily it is the opposite, since the peace talks cannot be reached, Britain and France will definitely send the expeditionary force stationed in Hong Kong to the north to wage war with the Manchus, and the battlefield is very likely to be the Jintang area, which can directly threaten the capital of the Manchus, which is a small benefit for Britain and France, so they will definitely do this." Once the Anglo-French army joined the northern battlefield, although it could contain a part of the Manchu Qing forces, which was beneficial to our military, it was an unpredictable thing for a strong army to join the war, and there were too many changes that could occur, and it was also a potential threat to our army. Originally, our army intended to take Yunnan and Guizhou, and then it could recover Sichuan in May and June next year, and then it would be to send troops out of Shaanxi and Gansu, and at the same time gather naval ships to transport large-scale troops to land on the Shanhaiguan and Ningjin lines, and then quickly attack westward, form a large-scale strategic mobile pincer offensive with the Shaanxi-Gansu Corps, completely encircle the main force of the Qing army in the north in Zhili, Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, and other regions, and finally carry out a strategic decisive battle, so that the great cause of the Northern Expedition can be completed. However, once Britain and France attacked the Manchu heartland in advance, it was very likely that the Manchu summit would be sent to the west or north, which would not be extremely unfavorable to our strategy. At the same time, if the Manchus were persecuted too much, it was very likely that they would join forces with Russia in the north to fight against Britain and France, and drive wolves at the front door and tigers at the back door, so that it would very likely evolve into a complicated situation of confrontation between the military and political forces of the three parties and six countries on our territory. The Russians have recently strengthened the garrison forces in Nebuchu and other places, and from the perspective of the small-scale battles that Tan Shaoguang and the Russians have not stopped, the Russians' military strength has been strengthened in the northeast, and it is very likely that the Manchus will reinforce the Manchus, and the Manchus will definitely sell some interests in exchange for Russian support in order to find allies, and in the future, if we want to recover these interests, we will inevitably break out into a greater war with Russia, so it is militarily disadvantageous. ”

After Qian Jiang said a big call in one breath, Xiao Yungui smiled and poured him a cup of tea and handed it over, Qian Jiang was flattered and thanked him, Xiao Yungui nodded slightly thoughtfully: "You think about it well, what I'm worried about is that it will scare away the head of the Manchu Dynasty." In fact, according to our current military strength, we will launch the Northern Expedition with all our might. It is very high to form a three-way army from northern Jiangsu, Hubei, Anhui, Henan and other places to invade the Central Plains and directly take Beijing, but it is very likely that the Russians in the north will take advantage of the fire to loot. At the same time, it may also scare away the two girls and the little emperor of the Qing Demon, whether they run to the northwest, Mongolia, or escape from the customs, it will be unfavorable to our next military operations, so I want to carry out a large-scale strategic encirclement, which is more beneficial. ”

Qian Jiang took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "Actually, Your Highness still has two benefits that have not been said, like we are now, a little bit of encroachment on the Manchu Qing Dynasty, starting from the Southern Nine Provinces." Finally, a strategic encirclement, such as Jiangnan and Yunnan-Guizhou, can sweep away some local forces through military operations, which is extremely beneficial for consolidating the rule of our heavenly kingdom in the future. Like the two Guangzhou, after the war and the suppression of bandits and other battles. The local forces were basically eliminated, and the system of village officials in the Kingdom of Heaven was transferred to the villages, which was an unprecedented initiative in all dynasties, and laid a solid foundation for the better rule of our Kingdom of Heaven. ”

Xiao Yungui laughed dryly. This benefit was said by Qian Jiang. That's what he planned, an old regime fell, but the old forces did not necessarily fall, as a stubborn feudal remnant is bound to lie dormant in the vast land, the biggest is the local rich gentry. The best, most direct, and quickest way to eradicate these local forces is war. War can destroy a qiē and then rebuild, what Xiao Yungui is doing now is to destroy the old forces and then rebuild order, rebuild forces, and achieve the purpose of reshuffling. In the future, the top of the pyramid in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will be the big capitalists, and the middle class will be in the middle. Therefore, it is necessary to get rid of these local forces that are now above the national law.

At the same time, the war will take a toll and will cause a large amount of land to become ternullius. It will also create a large number of civilians who have become refugees as a result of the war. War can change the local land structure, so that the Sufu New Deal can be quickly implemented in these war-baptized places, the ownerless land can be redistributed to solve the land contradictions, a large number of refugees are undoubtedly cheap labor into the factories, and the destroyed production relations undoubtedly provide unlimited opportunities for capital to enter. At present, such changes are being carried out in Guangdong, and the Guangdong Military and Political Department led by Lu Xianba has implemented a new policy while eliminating local "remnant bandits", and the system of township officials and township soldiers has been lowered to the township level, changing the situation in which the Manchu Dynasty has not been allowed to go to the countryside for thousands of years before the Manchu Dynasty, and at the same time, new local capitalists and foreign capitalists from Shanghai, Ningbo, Jiangsu and Zhejiang and other places have flocked to the city to start the reconstruction after the vigorous war, and the people who have lost their interests are the old forces and those poor people.

Xiao Yungui laughed dryly twice and asked, "What's the other benefit?" ”

Qianjiang was even more open-minded, and continued: "If we launch the Northern Expedition directly through the Central Plains, once the Manchu Qing Dynasty and Beijing are occupied, the rest of the provinces where we have not used swords will definitely raise their banners and stand on their own, or take refuge in us. Whether it is self-reliance or refuge, presumably the king of the west will not be happy, self-reliance is bound to have to be requisitioned, and it is not easy to take refuge in the sword, which will bring huge disadvantages to the reintegration of the whole country, it is better for us to go on step by step, and realize the recovery of the whole country within three to five years, so that it is the most beneficial to the country. Although this may be cruel to the people of the world, this is also the only bloody way to peace, and it is better to have a short pain of three to five years than a long pain. ”

Xiao Yungui didn't smile this time, his face became a little ugly, because Qian Jiang was completely right. When discussing the general strategy of the world with Hong Yun'er, the two took the Northern Expedition that occurred during the Republic of China in the later generations as a reference, and it was not advisable to directly carry out the Northern Expedition, there was no consolidated territory, no absolute power, and the local area could not be completely controlled, and the Northern Expedition was launched after the Wuchang Uprising, and the Qing Dynasty was indeed dead, but it left a situation of warlord division and chaos, which lasted for more than 20 years, bringing a more tragic price to the entire country and the people. Although the Taiping Army's current war in one province after another seems to be a harm to the country, this damage is short-lived, and once it is recovered, there will be no more wars, and it will not be repeatedly ravaged by wars like the warlords.

In contrast, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang's approach is more appropriate, he first defeated Chen Youliang and other southern separatist forces, consolidated the rear, and then launched the Northern Expedition, at that time Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang also fought viciously in Jiangxi, Hunan and other places south of the Yangtze River, which also caused great damage to the place, but after defeating Chen Youliang, there was no more war in the south of the Yangtze River, and finally developed into a land of wealth in the Ming Dynasty. It can be seen that what Qian Jiang said is right, long pain is better than short pain, and in any period, facing an era of heavy change, it is always the weak and ordinary people who suffer, this is unavoidable, and all Xiao Yungui can do is that long pain is better than short pain. (To be continued......)