In Chengguan Town, Dongfang County, the Army Club was filled with smoke, and a group of officers in regular uniforms were holding meetings.

This is the tactical command room on the ground floor. At the only gate, six fully armed soldiers stood at the door, commanded by a military police sergeant. Since there was a confidential meeting today, the military police sergeant who was holding the door received instructions: If anyone who was not invited approached the conference room without permission, they would be arrested immediately without asking for instructions. If the other party resisted, they could be shot and killed on the spot.

At this time, the meeting had already reached the middle stage. The people who presided over the meeting were Peng Zhicheng, the retired army veteran and Liao Meng, the current army minister. The attendees were the generals of the army stationed in the local area, the chief and deputy company commander of the brigade of the militia brigades of various counties, the chief and deputy principal of the Dingyuan Army Officer School, and some members of the fortress of the Corps. From the composition and lineup of the personnel attending the meeting, it can be seen that this was an enlarged meeting of the army system, with the main purpose of unifying thoughts, speaking with a voice, and winning greater benefits for the army system.

To be honest, the Army had a difficult life in the past few years. Over time, coupled with the obstruction of some civil servants within the government, the Army's military expenditure dropped sharply and the treatment was generally not high, which was incomparable to the wealthy navy. The government led by the civil servant approved the Navy's shipbuilding plan after shipbuilding, while the finances were not sufficient. As for the plans to expand professional engineering barracks, baggage battalions, and reconnaissance companies proposed by the Army, they all rejected them on the grounds that military expenditure was tight and the budget was not listed.

In addition, the Army proposed several plans such as the conference exercises of tens of thousands of people (including militia brigades in various counties) and large-scale field confrontation exercises, which were all rejected. This made the heads of the Army almost skewed their noses. Of course, the entire Army was also very dissatisfied with this. Especially with the navy as a setback, the Army's fragile self-esteem was ruthlessly trampled on, so everyone was in a hurry, which was actually a major inducement of the outbreak of the barracks.

After the war broke out, the long-planned army quickly vented its anger on the Spanish in La Plata. The momentum of siege in cities and land made the people in the whole country boil. Even as the navy successively eliminated the Spanish fleet of La Plata, the army that brought back a large amount of property and livestock from La Plata was still supported by the vast number of farmers who received affordable (Bonus) and their momentum was extremely impressive, sweeping away the low-key and bad luck a few years ago.

However, as the war lasted for two years, the trend of ending the war as soon as possible in domestic public opinion began to rise. Although the sea and army of the East Coast continued to win on various fronts, the huge gap in national strength with the Kingdom of Spain still made many people frightened - this includes some time travelers - so they hope to stop when they see the good, and to sign a peace agreement with the enemy as soon as possible under the current conditions and situations, and then focus on development. Because in their ideas, major European countries will be entangled and fight fiercely in the future. The East Coast can completely observe success or failure and rise peacefully, just like the United States did back then.

What's more important is that this argument is now quite popular among the members of the Executive Committee. The military department has won at most 4-5 support from the 11 Central Executive Committees. This is undoubtedly not enough for them to exercise their will. At this time, they often need to win one or two allies. If they can't fight, haha, the military leaders in front of and behind the army system may take risks. Of course, when things come to this point, the army itself will have to pay a huge price, and the country may even be divided. Therefore, no one will use this trick to hurt others and yourself unless they have to. What's more, with the increasing number of graduates from the Corps Fort, the number of students united around the Executive Committee cannot be underestimated. In other words, the executive committee now seems to be less "easy to bully" as before. If the army wants to express its opinions, it is best to follow the rules.

"Xiao Liao, tell me honestly, is the problem with the navy big? If the war continues, will they have any problems? I mean, if the Netherlands and Britain intervene in the war, can the navy maintain our maritime transportation line?" Peng Zhicheng pressed the tobacco in his pipe while looking at Liao Meng sitting opposite him.

Liao Meng is the Minister of the Army and also serves as the Chief of Staff of the National Armed Forces. He often deals with the Navy. After all, even the Minister of the Navy himself is his nominal subordinate. Of course, in the eyes of the arrogant army, the Navy is just a fuck, just the army's transport fleet. Although Liao Meng is not as disliked by the Navy because of various complex interest relations like other army officers, his attitude towards the Navy is indeed not very friendly.

At this time, he only heard him ponder for a moment, and then said, "I'm afraid I'm not sure. I've talked about this issue with Guo Zili, Li Yi and other major naval generals. They said that if they fight with all their might, they can probably maintain the smooth flow of maritime traffic within one or two years. After this time, they may have to completely abandon the European market and shrink the defense line to the southern part of the New World. In short, the situation is not optimistic. Britain's maritime power may be very average, but the Netherlands is very strong. If they are determined to intervene, it will be unsolvable for us, and the result will be both sides."

Hearing that the Navy had to hold on to the enemy for one to two years, Peng Zhicheng's face immediately became cold. He stood up with a gloomy face, walked around the house, and then said in a hoarse voice: "No matter what, the existing negotiation conditions are unacceptable. What a joke, the territory is limited to the area east of the Wujiang River? Then, thousands of loyal and brave soldiers who conquered La Plata after fighting bloody battles will give up. What kind of stylistic is this? Are those people in the Government Department worthy of the ghosts in the Chenghuang Temple in each county? And the Navy is also, that Lu Ming is also an incompetent guy. I heard that the civil servants are preparing to support him as the Minister of the Navy when the war is over and the government is re-elected, and even to win the position of Chief of Staff of the National Armed Forces. This is a very bad signal for us."

When everyone here heard Peng Zhicheng's words, they were a little worried. Everyone is now a whole, with their backs on the army. If the army system weakens, then everyone will be in trouble, which is something that everyone cannot tolerate. Therefore, they need this war to continue now. Otherwise, once the war is over, the government re-elects, and the navy forces dominate the military headquarters, everyone's life will probably be very sad.

By then, the military expenditure ratio that had been unfairly distributed (the army and navy were 46 and six) would probably be further tilted towards the navy. Not only that, there is a rumor that now there is a rumor that the State Council is quite dissatisfied with the annual military expenditure accounting for 60% of the total fiscal expenditure. They intend to disarmament to cut funds and then invest the saved money in the domestic infrastructure industry. After all, once the war is over, there seems to be no reason to continue to maintain a huge navy and army army.

Since the disarmament is no longer a secret, if the naval officer Lu Ming, who is very close to the civil servant, can the army still have good results? At this time, it is a bit exaggerated to say that everyone in the army system is in danger, but it is also a fact that everyone's sense of crisis has increased greatly, and this undoubtedly provides some veterans of the army with sufficient operating space.

"La Plata cannot be returned in full. Except for the Port of Blanca, the Patagonian Plateau must also be ceded to the East Coast Republic of China!" Peng Zhi said endlessly. The Patagonian Plateau is also called the wasteland. Although the natural environment here is harsh and there is not much precipitation, it is better because of its vast area. Cereal cultivation can be developed in most areas, and animal husbandry can also be developed in most areas. It is located at the northern end of the Strait of Magellan. It has a critical geographical location and still has considerable strategic value.

Everyone knows the diplomatic letters brought back to the country by the Navy, and at the same time, they have conducted in-depth research on some of the terms. In the Army's view, if the Executive Committee approves these conditions of Mosan, the probability of reaching a peace agreement with the Spaniards within one year will be a high probability event. And at that time, how should the Army handle itself? Therefore, ending the war at this time is not very in line with the interests of the Army. The conditions for ceding the Patagonian Plateau that Peng Zhicheng just proposed are the product of this mentality.

If the Spaniards had broken their heads and agreed to ced the Patagonian plateau to the East Coast people, then it was just right. This was proposed by the Army and the result of the Army's power of victory in every battle that forced the Spaniards to surrender. At this time, the scale of the army's withdrawal would be unreasonable. The Army could also win a lot of sympathy at this time, and the disarmament would probably be ruined. If the Spaniards did not agree, the possibility would be the greatest, then the war would undoubtedly continue, which was undoubtedly in the interests of the Army. Therefore, no matter what, the Army is unwilling to cease the war now, unless their conditions are met (i.e., the issue of post-war disarmament) are met, otherwise the war between the two sides may continue for many years.

Peng Zhicheng's suggestion sparked heated discussions with the congregation. Everyone carefully analyzed the various directions that might occur, and then discussed them one by one. Peng Zhicheng and others didn't speak, just watching everyone discussing enthusiastically. At this time, the army needs to unify their thinking and speak out in a voice, otherwise it is likely that the interests of the group will not be effectively protected.
Chapter completed!