Episode 26 Strategic Purpose

At 9:50 a.m. on May 9, in the Fengtian Temple of the Forbidden City of Nanjing, under the illumination of mercury lamps, nearly 100 Chinese and foreign reporters were crowded.

Everyone seemed excited. Reporters from the same newspaper and those who knew each other well were talking and inquiring about each other. If it was on other occasions, it would have been full of people at this moment. But this is the most important hall in the Ming Imperial Palace, where the throne of the Son of Heaven is located, and everyone is unconsciously infected by the solemn and sacred atmosphere here. It may be a moment before they throw up one sharp, even gunpowder-smacked political question, but for now, most are focused on two royal women:

Will the legendary princess of Liaoyang appear in public?

Also, will Her Majesty the Empress come?

Of course, the most heavyweight figure who appeared today is, of course, Shen Rongxuan, the minister of the Ming Empire. He is the political head of a country. The second eye-catching is Xiang Xiaoqiang, the commander of the People's Guard and the Earl of Jiang Xinzhou. However, although these two characters are big, they have appeared in front of the media many times before. On the contrary, the legendary princess of Liaoyang, if she really came today, it would be her first public appearance since she came to the Daimyo, and she would definitely steal most of the limelight from Shen Ge Lao and General Xiang.

Holding a press conference in the Forbidden City is a rare thing. It is generally only available when members of the royal family are present. The reporters are all guessing that if His Majesty does not come today, then the Fengtian Palace will be opened for Princess Liaoyang. That means that the Ming royal family really regards Princess Liaoyang as the Ming princess and as a member of their royal family.

At ten o'clock, the crowd in the hall was agitated, and the noise came from the door, and then hundreds of reporters automatically dodged a way, and the magnesium lights began to flash "bang".

Shen Rongxuan, the first minister, walked in.

He was followed by Foreign Minister He Ziguang.

Then there was the Minister of the Navy, Fan Yaochen.

Next are the three commanders: Wei Dongxin, commander of the naval aviation, Li Guoliang, commander of the army aviation, and Xiang Xiaoqiang, commander of the People's Guard.

The last person to walk in was the Empress's chief secretary: Miss Wei Zijin.

Under the flickering magnesium lights, the group sat down behind the podium in order of status.

At this time, a palace maid walked into the main hall and said in a clear voice:

"Her Royal Highness the eldest princess of Liaoyang in the Ming Dynasty has arrived."

Then stand in the doorway and bow slightly.

Suddenly, there was a "coaxing" in the hall, all the cameras were aimed at the entrance of the hall, and all the reporters stood on tiptoe, and even climbed on other people's shoulders and jumped up, all wanting to see the demeanor of Princess Liaoyang.

"Bang!" "Bang bang!" "Bang!" ……

The bright magnesium lights flashed non-stop, and large clouds of white smoke rushed to the roof of the main hall. Almost surrounded by a large group of reporters, a slender figure in the middle raised his right hand, trying to block the dazzling bright light, and squeezed in with difficulty.

The figure, dressed in a noble, delicate dress, bowed her head, raised her snow-white gloved hands to cover her eyes, and the diamond tiara on her head shimmered in the bright light, marking her status as a princess.

Dozens of cameras flashed one after another, far and near, and nearly a dozen camera lenses were unceremoniously pasted on, almost stabbing her in the face. At this time, a few palace maids ran in from outside, apologizing and forcibly separating the reporters on both sides, and letting Princess Liaoyang pass.

Fourteen Gege lowered his head and walked briskly through the "Journalists' Forest". Dozens of shots and hundreds of glances, like countless thorns, made her uneasy and uncomfortable.

When Fourteen Gege walked over, all the big people behind the podium, including Shen Rongxuan, stood up, bowed slightly, and whispered:

"The ministers have seen Her Royal Highness the Princess."

Fourteen Gege bit his lip, nodded, and sat down with his skirt straightened. When she was seated, the group sat down again.

Although Shen Rongxuan is the first assistant, one person is above ten thousand people, but after all, he is also a courtier, and on this formal occasion, the status of Princess Liaoyang is the most noble.

On the podium, the fourteen grids sat in the middle, and on the right hand side were Shen Rongxuan, the first minister, He Ziguang, the foreign minister, and Fan Yaochen, the minister of the navy; To her left are Xiang Xiaoqiang, commander of the People's Guard, Li Guoliang, commander of the Army Aviation, and Wei Dongxin, commander of the Naval Aviation.

The Queen's Chief Secretary, Wei Zijin, was apparently present on behalf of Her Majesty. At this moment, she sat on Xiang Xiaoqiang's side. That is, on the far left, next to the commander of the HNA Army.

In the center is the royal family, and on both sides are the military and political dignitaries. The seating arrangement is very knowledgeable.

Moreover, many reporters have noticed that Xiang Xiaoqiang sat in a position commensurate with Shen Rongxuan, as the highest figure in the military and political circles respectively. Of course, the highest figure in the military circles is certainly not Xiang Xiaoqiang, this is just what was present. But this subtle implication is seen by many people.

Xiang Xiaoqiang, as a close minister of the Son of Heaven, can now also be called "one person under ten thousand people", and his status is faintly able to compete with Shen Rongxuan.

……

Several people sat down, Shen Rongxuan smiled and nodded to both sides, then faced the reporter and said with a smile:

"Okay, let's get started. I believe that you have also learned more or less about what happened in the past day in the Bohai Sea and North China. In order to give you a more complete impression, I would like to give you a complete account of this event. ”

Then, Shen Rongxuan didn't read the script, propped his elbows on the podium, smiled and talked eloquently, from the uprising of the workers of the Baoding Arsenal, to the fleet advancing into the Bohai Sea yesterday, to the airdrop of the planes to the Taihang Mountain, to the big air battle when returning home, and then to the fleet leaving the Bohai Strait the next day to return...... A series of experiences, which took only ten minutes, were explained concisely and comprehensively.

Xiang Xiaoqiang noticed that Shen Rongxuan's eloquence was really not ordinary, and he said this story vividly, and there was no subjective evaluation. This is important. Xiang Xiaoqiang felt that if he let himself speak, he might be mixed with a lot of personal opinions. It is precisely in front of journalists that this is relatively taboo.

After Shen Rongxuan finished speaking, the reporters were still lowering their heads, "rustling" records. Immediately afterward, many people raised their hands.

"Okay, let's get into question time," Shen Rongxuan smiled and gestured, "This gentleman in the middle of the second row, please." ”

One reporter stood up and said:

"I'm a reporter for the Jiangnan Observer. May I ask Shen Ge Lao, now that the Ming and Qing dynasties have not long since the armistice, the Ming army has organized such a large-scale operation this time, and it is taking the initiative to attack. And. What is the strategic purpose of the Ming government? What do you want to get? ”

This first question is also the question of all the journalists present, and it can also be said that the whole world is questioning. This is the first question that could be raised in the whole press conference, and arguably the most important question that could be raised in the whole press conference.

Shen Rongxuan nodded and said solemnly:

"It can be said that this military operation is not the result of a long period of planning, but after the Baoding uprising, we decided on an impromptu basis and arranged for its implementation within a few days. It can be said that there is no strategic purpose. Purely to support the Baoding Rebel Army. Legally speaking, they are all the people of our Ming Dynasty, and the people of the Ming Dynasty resist the invaders, and the Ming government must of course vigorously support them. Emotionally speaking, it is very heartening that the workers of the Baoding Arsenal have resisted the long period of dark rule of the puppet Qing government.

"Everyone knows how dark the rule of the puppet Qing is. Under the rule of the puppet Qing Dynasty, people's uprisings occurred frequently, and everyone knows this. But there are some numbers that people don't know. How many uprisings took place under the puppet Qing dynasty in the last year? As far as we know, there are 206 times in total, an average of once every 1.8 days. But how many of these 206 uprisings numbered more than 500 people? Only 5 times. How many of the 206 rebel teams persisted for more than a month without being exterminated? …… There are only 4 sticks.

But in this uprising in Baoding, the number of people who participated in the uprising reached 6,000. This is unprecedented. They had weapons, but no food, nothing else. We can't afford to leave them to fend for themselves, we need to do everything we can to help them survive and thrive. This will give hope to the suffering people of that dark land, and show them that even if they rise up to resist, they are not doomed. The people of the free world will see their struggles, and the people of the world who fight against oppression and fight for liberation will see their struggles. If we have a strategic purpose, it's this. ”

After Shen Rongxuan finished speaking, a whisper mixed with admiration sounded in the hall.

Xiang Xiaoqiang lowered his head, recalling Shen Rongxuan's words. He knew that Shen Rongxuan could not say such words at this moment. He can completely guide reporters to question himself as the specific planner and commander. This action was approved by Xiang Xiaoqiang directly through Zhu Yourong, completely bypassing Shen Rongxuan, and he didn't even say a word to him. Xiang Xiaoqiang thought that if he was replaced, he was the first minister and Shen Rongxuan was the commander of the People's Guard, and he would definitely not be able to stand it if he bypassed himself to make such a play, and he would definitely take advantage of this press conference to lead all the questions to the other party and take the opportunity to suppress political enemies.

If this was a very brilliant victory, it would be good for Shen Rongxuan to rush to the past, but now this is obviously an action not to try. A large fleet, more than 100 warplanes, and so many planes were lost, just to airdrop supplies to a 6,000-strong insurrectionary force in the Northern Qing Dynasty. It's still the money of Daming taxpayers who spends. Although it is said that the people of the north are also the people of the Ming Dynasty, few people really think so.

Although Xiaoqiang did this with a useful intention to prepare for the future Northern Expedition to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, in the eyes of the current ordinary generals and the people of the Ming Dynasty, the gains outweighed the losses.

However, Shen Rongxuan completely recognized it, and tried his best to circle it with some righteous and strict words, but he didn't give the outside world a chance to see through it.

Xiang Xiaoqiang had a complicated taste in his heart, and he couldn't say it. On the one hand, I feel that Shen Rongxuan should never be infighting when he is external, and he really has the bearing of being the prime minister of a country; In addition, I am also faintly worried that such a politician, as a political enemy, is really bottomless in his heart.