These people are quite complex, including local officials and court officials. Although they have never really come into contact with a real thief, they have already heard about many "Southern goods". From the intricate network of relationships, they learned
After the Kun thieves captured Guangdong and Guangxi, officials from Guangdong and Guangxi who served outside Beijing tried their best to contact relatives and friends in the "enemy-occupied areas" to inquire about the safety of their relatives and property.
After the war subsided, some officials even sent people home to check on the situation. There were even officials who retired from their posts and returned home directly because they were homesick.
What they saw and heard was more naked and accurate than the information presented to the emperor that had been "falsified" by various relevant stakeholders for various purposes.
Maybe their feelings and judgments are different, but they know Kun Thief's ability very well.
The Kun thief is indeed a "barbarian", but he is a completely different "barbarian" from the past. Not only does he shamelessly want to "be equal to each other", but he also possesses destructive power.
This kind of power scares them, but also fascinates them. The thief's ability to "turn stone into gold" has never been a legend, but a reality.
The dynasty was in turmoil. The Ming Dynasty was almost three hundred years old. Since Zulong, except for the great Han Dynasty who had the Guangwu Zhongxing, no dynasty could survive the three hundred years.
The Ming Dynasty's life span is coming soon. This is something that many people have realized.
Although the Jin gentry are somewhat prepared for the revolution, things are unpredictable. Every dynasty revolution always brings violent social turmoil, and many prominent families decline. Not everyone can "return to the throne again"
As a vested interest group, it is obviously safer to maintain the existing court.
The Kun thieves were not a peasant army, so the imperial court could not suppress them; nor were they Donglu, who could be stopped by crowding people into forts, so "peace negotiation" became a reasonable choice.
This kind of thinking has already appeared before the mainland strategy, but the voice was still relatively weak at that time, just like Zheng Zhilong's "recruitment".
Xiong Wencan, who is now hiding in a corner of Guangxi, has seriously considered this issue and sent people several times to try to contact the Senate.
As the Senate's mainland offensive unfolded, the Ming Dynasty was completely defeated on the Guangdong and Guangxi fronts. In addition, the peasant army and the Qing Dynasty invaded the customs and were attacked by the three parties. Naturally, the voices of "peace talks" and "appeasement" in the anxious court also
He raised his head.
"...These people are headed by Wang Yehao, the Minister of War, also known as Shi Weng."
"I didn't expect Shi Weng to have really good taste."
"It's natural. He knows our strength far better than all the officials of the Ming Dynasty, and his desire for peace is probably more urgent." Xu Xu continued, "The fundamental reason for this kidnapping incident is also to seek peace.
It's just that he was led astray by his men. Therefore, the public opinion preparation in the court and the emperor's intention are actually already there. But..."
There are two biggest obstacles. One is that the emperor's face must be handled thoughtfully. Originally, it was not difficult for the bureaucracy to organize funerals. The key problem came from the second obstacle: party strife.
The party struggle in the late Ming Dynasty reached its climax under Chongzhen's mentality of "mostly disgusted with forming parties". Any policy would become a reason for criticism by political opponents, and it had reached a state of "not asking about right and wrong, only looking at buttocks". "Peace negotiation" such as
Once a major issue is brought up, it will inevitably arouse concentrated attacks from the hostile party. This fierce disagreement caused Ming Dynasty to waver in many major decisions, looking forward and backward, resulting in extremely high internal friction.
Guo Yi, who had remained silent, asked: "What reason do we have to think that the Ming Dynasty will unite to negotiate peace this time?"
"As for the decision of the Ming Dynasty, we actually have no ability to control it." Jiang Shan said, "Maybe we can influence it, but the final result is still a random number. The only thing that can be determined is that the Ming Dynasty will not be around for too long in the future.
——Probably next year, a comprehensive conquest will be launched against us."
"It would be a good thing if peace could be negotiated." Ran Yao commented, "What a pity!"
As the head of the public security department, he was particularly enthusiastic about peace negotiations. The war brought not only dividends, but also many social problems. Putting aside the Xinguang Fuzhou counties in Guangdong and Guangxi with complicated public security conditions, the senate alone
As for Hainan Island, our home base, there are many security problems caused by the war.
On the one hand, the newly established local government is in urgent need of police personnel, and on the other hand, the manpower is extremely tight.
"It would be best to restore trade. Now our foreign trade with Ming Dynasty has shrunk drastically." Skade said, "Can we use some means? For example, kill those who oppose it..."
The commercial sector is also eager to negotiate a peace. Although there are many channels to sell "Australian goods" to the mainland, the "illegal" status makes such trade often incur many additional costs.
"It's not that it's impossible, but it would be very difficult to reverse the situation by just killing a few people - and the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty are quite stubborn..."
"It is not impossible to consider using war to force peace!" Xu Xu said, "We cannot simply defend. This will not hurt the enemy. We must give them a few severe blows, so that the Ming Dynasty's monarchs and ministers will truly feel that the country will be destroyed if there is no peace.
If it is dangerous, they will sit down and negotiate regardless of the issue of face. For example, we can directly land in Tianjin and fight to the capital!"
"Building the Beijing Treaty? That's an idea."
"I'm afraid Chongzhen won't be as soft as Xianfeng."
"The military has also mentioned this matter. However, the move is too big. I'm afraid the Senate will have to discuss it before making a decision..."
…
There were divergent opinions in the conference room, and everyone was making suggestions on how to force Ming Dynasty to negotiate peace.
"After all, we are not omnipotent. Some things still depend on the development of the situation." Jiang Shan interrupted the heated discussion. Then he said, "Now we will ask Comrade Xu from the General Reconnaissance Bureau to discuss the relevant matters related to the Shi Weng Group in this operation.
Give me an explanation."
Everyone was shocked. Over the years, the Shi Weng Group has become a lingering fly on the head of the Senate. Although it does not cause much damage, it is very annoying. Moreover, the fact that there are suspected time travelers within the Shi Weng Group is also troublesome.
With everyone.
Xu Xu immediately explained the circumstances involving the Shi Weng Group in this operation.
"...We have every reason to believe that Mr. Le, a suspected time traveler, is the most critical figure in the entire Shi Weng Group. Due to his arrest, the Shi Weng Group will no longer pose a major threat to us in the future."
"Is he a time traveler? If so, how did he get here?" Selina was very interested in this person's identity and asked for the first time.
"We have no way of knowing his specific identity. However, the person has been handed over to the comrades of the Political Security Bureau. I believe the truth will be known soon. As for how he arrived if he is really a time traveler, I think it is very likely that he is the same as the time traveler.
Lando is the same thing."
When Selina heard that the Political Security Bureau was responsible for this matter, she raised her eyebrows in disgust. However, she controlled her emotions very well, and then asked: "If he is, what will be the attitude of the Senate?
"
"Well, the Senate has a relevant resolution." Xu Xu avoided the question in a cunning manner.
"I think it would be a very troublesome thing if he really is." Ran Yao slowly spoke, and he asked: "Xicheng, you said in the previous report that he is from Cantonese..."
"Yes, it's in a village outside Guangzhou."
"Okay, let's say he is a time traveler and he traveled in the suburbs of Guangzhou. Let's also refer to the situation of Lando and his group being involved in the time and space storm in Dongsha. What does this mean?" Ran Yao said, "It means
Taking the Qiongzhou Strait where we are crossing as the center, time and space teleportation may have occurred within hundreds of kilometers around it!"
"You mean, maybe there are more than just these time travelers?!" Jiang Shan was stunned.
"It's very possible! Lando and Hale can be explained by chance. If there is another one...how else can we explain it?"
"Jesus!"
Everyone here felt uneasy about this prospect, because none of these was a fuel-efficient lamp. If there were a few more, the Senate would be in trouble.
"Should we ask the Senate to conduct a large-scale investigation of suspected travelers from Guangdong and Hainan?"
Guo Yi coughed lightly and said, "I think there is no need for everyone to be nervous. After all, it is not yet confirmed whether Mr. Le is a time traveler. He has some knowledge about the old time and space, which may not mean that he comes from the old time and space. This will have to wait for the result of the interrogation.
Only then can we make a conclusion; secondly, after traveling for more than ten years, our intelligence sources have been very extensive and are not limited to the southeast corner. If they really exist, their whereabouts must have been revealed in the pod. But we have never gotten such information.
News, this shows that there is a high probability that there are no other time travelers - to say the least, even if they exist, they have not made any noise in these years, and they are either mediocre in ability or have no ambition. It is not a problem. "
These words calmed everyone's emotions to some extent. Guo Yi continued:
"Focusing on whether there are other time-travelers is one of the key tasks of our intelligence and governance agencies, but it should not be the main task. Otherwise, the goal of this work is too huge, and it will be suspected of making false claims."
Jiang Shan nodded slightly, thinking that Comrade Guo still had some ideas. Indeed, it would be a huge waste of resources to really spend effort to track down the "suspected time traveler" who has no clues. And even if it is found, what can be done?
What? You can't just eliminate them just because they are "potentially dangerous". This would be too cruel.
"I agree with Comrade Guo Yi. The most important task at present is to confirm the origin of Zhou Lezhi and at the same time grasp the inside story of Shi Weng Group."