Chapter 644 Politicians are all dirty To be honest, sometimes these military generals are actually quite naive. They always think that it is enough for them to be honest and upright and not get involved in any messy things. Therefore, they always go in this direction when doing anything. Sometimes when facing the people under them, they don’t think they should ask them to be serious and think that as long as they can get by, it’s fine. As long as you don't let me down when I'm commanding the army, that's enough. So in many cases, military commanders don't have that many thoughts and they have very few ideas. Sometimes I even feel that each of them is just the kind of person who can just get by. But it’s different when it comes to politicians. People like Chen Han and Xia Yuanji are both heading towards becoming politicians. So sometimes, what I do will not be as simple as those of the military generals. Sometimes, when doing things, I have to consider how to make my Ming Dynasty gain a foothold in this place in the future. I can even let others see that I am afraid and fearful, and this kind of fear and fear is definitely not just gained by showing off my weapons. Most of the time, it depends on means and conspiracy, so sometimes Xia Yuanji doesn't like to do this, but there is no other way. Because when we have no choice, we must let the other party know what the Ming Dynasty is like, let the other party know what kind of actions we are going to take, and let the other party know what kind of role they will have to obey in the future. I can talk to you with a smile, but when I don't smile, you should know that you are not far from death.

When this happens, you have to take yourself seriously. It is precisely because of this that those involved in politics seem to have some unclean hearts. This is the reason. Because there are so many interests involved, this is not just the interest of one person. If it were the interest of one person, then it could be given up at will. But when it involves the interests of tens of millions of people, we must take it seriously and do everything we can. Just like the rectification of those countries in Southeast Asia, the navy can indeed let the artillery bombard them directly, kill those people directly, and make those pirates never dare to show up again. Even if they want to have such an idea in the future, they must get rid of it quickly. But the question is, if these pirates are gone, what is the point of the navy's existence? To be honest, the Ming Navy came all the way here to make money? no. Do you really want to gain some benefit here? No, not really. I really don’t want to be appreciated by others here. The purpose is to take root here, to make sure that both the local people and the rulers here cannot leave the Ming Dynasty. In the future, when I put forward some suggestions, or even when I want all your economy to favor my Ming Dynasty, you won't dare to say a word. This is my real deterrent. In this situation, these pirates are useful. They can provide more targets for me to demonstrate my power. These pirates can help me harass the local people constantly. Do you want my Ming Navy to act as pirates to harass the local people and then bombard my own generals? This is impossible to do, so what is the point of these pirates' existence? It is to help the Ming Navy provide a target for them to harass those small countries, and then those small countries will have to invite the Ming Navy to garrison and help them defend. Only in this way can you have interests and the power to speak in the future. Otherwise, why would others compromise with you? These were what Xia Yuanji and Chen Han were thinking about, and it was not as simple as Lan Yu thought. Lan Yu’s thoughts were very simple. Even though he was a commander, he didn’t think as much as these politicians. The thoughts of these politicians are much dirtier than his. In the eyes of many generals, such conspiracies and intrigues are not worth it. In the eyes of many educators, are these things what a real man should do? This is understandable. Many generals are passionate people themselves, and even when they are old, they can still be full of passion.

Just like what the poem says, since ancient times beauties are like famous generals, who are not allowed to grow old in the world. It’s the same. Many generals are thinking that if I could die on the battlefield one day, it would be a lifelong honor for me. But this kind of honor cannot be substituted into real politics. Because once it is brought, it will be a disaster for the entire political situation. You can't have this kind of thought under such circumstances. Under such circumstances, politicians cannot be allowed to act like admirals and simply drive a ship to destroy all the pirates. It is precisely because of this that even if Lan Yu wants to understand the situation now, Xia Yuanji has to choose his words carefully when speaking to him if there is anything, so as not to let Lan Yu feel that he has so many thoughts on his mind. We can't let Lan Yu feel that there are so many worries in the future. Guo Gong also thought that many situations are not acceptable to these generals. Chen Han really has no way out. This is how politics works. If you don't want your country to be put into a passive state, you must let other countries know that the artillery of the Ming Dynasty is more than just a noise. So when Lan Yu thought about these questions, his heart skipped a beat, because he thought of a lot of things, and he was indeed not a stupid person. To be honest, he is very smart, extremely smart, but just like a military general who disdains to use despicable means to achieve victory. He was the same. He didn't want to achieve so many glorious victories by using despicable means. He really didn't want this result, but sometimes he also understood that he was different from Chen Han and Xia Yuanji. Even though he is much older than them, when thinking about things, he sometimes has to admit that he is not as flexible as these young people, nor as thoughtful as these young people. To deal with these small countries in Southeast Asia today, we need to do more than just deter them with military force. He understood it very well, but he had to convince himself, he had to convince the generals under him, and he had to convince the naval generals and soldiers. Whether or not you are willing to use this method to achieve your goal is one thing, and whether or not you are convinced is another. If the naval officers and soldiers feel dissatisfied, how can they carry out such a mission? Some of them know that the pirates may cause riots among the people along the coast. Sometimes, if you don't save them, you may take the lives of ordinary people. As a soldier, no matter what angle they are in, they want to save the dying and heal the wounded, although they are not doctors. But they also want to do such things, so when he heard Xia Yuanji say this, he actually had a bad premonition in his heart. He knew very well that once Xia Yuanji said it, he would have to understand that this was the way to do it, otherwise someone else would definitely intervene. It is true that he is the commander-in-chief, but he also knows that he has no right to interfere in what Xia Yuanji does. Xia Yuanji must have had a purpose for doing this, and he also understood that Xia Yuanji definitely did not do this out of a momentary interest. Xia Yuanji said in a low voice as he looked at it: "Actually, the Duke and I have already discussed this matter from the beginning. As for whether it can be achieved, I must ask for your opinion, but now it seems that I must explain it to you clearly." When saying these words, Xia Yuanji kept choosing his words, as he also felt that saying these words could be quite cruel at times. For a commander who has just taken command of an entire new branch of the military - the Ming Navy, Lan Yu now has to accept another method, which is to prevent him from directly eliminating the pirates by attacking them. He cannot use brutal methods to sink all those pirates to the bottom of the sea and make them die, nor can he use ordinary methods to make those pirates disappear from then on. This may be a very cruel thing for a commander.

But now Xia Yuanji had to tell him that he had to do it this way, otherwise the Ming Dynasty would suffer great losses in the future. This process may not be pleasant. It is a huge test for your navy. It will be a bucket of cold water on the passionate impulse deep in the hearts of all naval officers and soldiers. But for some reason, Xia Yuanji feels it is necessary to say something at this time. Because he could see from Lan Yu's eyes that Lan Yu seemed to understand that this was the case. So Xia Yuanji said: "Now that we have annihilated Chen Zuyi's large army, without Chen Zuyi's control, the pirates have become scattered and vagrants. They will definitely not behave themselves and will definitely harass the cities along the coast. But do we really want to do this and destroy them directly? No." When Xia Yuanji said this, Lan Yu knew that it must be as he imagined. Chen Han and his men had no intention of the Ming Navy to eliminate all the pirates in the entire South China Sea because it was not in the interests of the Ming Dynasty. In this way, there will be nothing to fear among the countries in Southeast Asia. To put it bluntly, without Chen Zuyi, the Ming Navy would actually raise another Chen Zuyi, because this is none of the business of the Ming people. Even if these pirates may harm innocent people, it doesn't matter to these politicians. As long as they don't kill the people of the Ming Dynasty, it's fine. To put it bluntly, for the Ming Navy or for a soldier, people like Lan Yu still have some universal values. They did not have such cruel hearts, nor did they feel that they had to abide by the rules of saving only the people of the Ming Dynasty and not other people. These hot-blooded and impulsive soldiers are unable to make such a clear distinction. They just think that as long as they are weak and not enemies on the battlefield, they must be respected. This is the lowest quality for them as soldiers. Why did Lu Meng's crossing the river in white clothes receive so much criticism and disgust from so many people? It was because Lu Meng was an immoral person that he directly dragged ordinary people and businessmen to the battlefield. It is precisely because of this that many people in later generations dislike this person and have a low opinion of him. Even if his methods allowed him to enter the Temple of Martial Arts, so what? Such a person is not allowed to exist because the moral constraints on the battlefield are very high. If morals are not high, it will be a disaster for ordinary people. Not allowing such an army to exist is something every country must do. But now what Chen Han and Xia Yuanji are doing is really a bit contrary to what they intended. This is the lowest principle in the hearts of Lan Yu and his men as soldiers. If they don't even save ordinary civilians, how can they feel at ease as soldiers and what they have done all their lives. In order to save the common people from danger, I have always wanted to be at the front, blocking those swords and spears, so as to prevent the common people from being hurt. All his life he thought that his flesh and blood could withstand countless injuries and keep the people behind him safe. Why do the common people on the frontier battlefields admire the generals and soldiers so much? Because only they can truly see the cruel blood and flesh flying around, and only they can see the soldiers using their own flesh and blood to block the damage for themselves. Why do the common people hope to have such soldiers so much? Because only such soldiers can make them feel at ease standing behind them. Lan Yu wanted to be such a commander, and Lan Yu wanted his soldiers to become such soldiers as well. So after listening to Xia Yuanji's words, Lan Yu found it a little hard to accept. "Have you ever thought about the common people in the small countries in Southeast Asia? They are also common people. They watched the pirates burn, kill and loot, but we stood by and pretended not to see it, and then waited for those small countries to come with gold, silver and jewelry to invite us to live in. Is this the price they have to pay?" Lan Yu asked. Xia Yuanji did not feel uncomfortable because of Lan Yu's words, because he knew very well that any normal person would think so. Any normal person would have a little sympathy, but he also had to make one point clear, "General, you should understand that our Ming navy is not that large in number. How difficult is it to completely clear out the pirates in such a large area?

"Once we open our mouth, if we fail to do so in the future, do you think the people of Southeast Asian countries will be grateful to us? Or will they think we are incompetent? "Tell me the truth, do you think our current Ming Navy has the ability to clear out the pirates from the entire ocean?" After hearing this, Lan Yu was speechless for a moment. This really could not be guaranteed, not even possible. Because this is impossible, it is already very difficult for the Ming Navy to wipe out Chen Zuyi's entire pirate gang. Because the Ming Navy now only has advantages in warships and weapons, it actually does not have much advantage in terms of ground situation. Chen Zuyi also suffered this loss and was wiped out in one fell swoop. However, it is impossible to let other small groups of pirates engage in direct combat with him on the battlefield. They will definitely launch a guerrilla war, and they will definitely use roundabout methods to attack you on the vast ocean. If this is the case, it will be very difficult to deal with these people. Seeing that Lan Yu's face was not looking good, Xia Yuanji said, "You also feel that it is difficult, so don't think that we made this plan simply to make those small countries in Southeast Asia grateful." …… (End of this chapter)