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But Qiu Xingxun didn't do any of that, and Chen Qian didn't care about it either. Qiu Xingxun himself didn't consider himself a soldier, and Chen Qian certainly wouldn't treat Qiu Xingxun as an ordinary general in the National Defense Army.
"It's too cold outside, in the dead of winter. Why don't you go inside and sit down? Deputy Chief Chen, you've been waiting all day, you must be freezing! Come inside and warm up with me!" Qiu Xingxun kindly advised, seeing Chen Qian's red cheeks from the cold.
"No, no! Let's just sit outside and chat, no need to go in!" Chen Qian immediately refused. What a joke! Going inside the National Security Intelligence Agency's office for tea would be too unlucky!
Chen Qian, the Vice Minister of National Defense and a Lieutenant General in the Army, stood frozen in the courtyard for most of the day, unwilling to go inside for tea. Otherwise, given his status, he would have been given a chair even if he went to the Imperial Study.
The National Security Intelligence Agency is just too special; no one dares to go in for tea. If Chen Qian can't find someone elsewhere, he can urge them or even directly inquire where they went.
But when Chen Qian arrived at the National Security Intelligence Agency, even though he was the Vice Minister of National Defense, he didn't dare to ask a single question, for fear of saying something that might cause trouble.
“That’s fine then. Deputy Chief Chen is freezing. Is there anything our Security Bureau can do to help you?” Qiu Xingxun didn’t extend the invitation further. He understood that his place was similar to the imperial prison of the Ming Dynasty or the imperial jail of the Qing Dynasty.
Chen Qian cut to the chase and said directly, "It's still that damn military budget issue. The Ministry of National Defense has a huge budget shortfall this year, so we need to ask your Security Intelligence Bureau for help."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Xingxun was dumbfounded and said incredulously, "You've come to my sinister and treacherous Security Bureau to embezzle military funds?"
But then Qiu Xingxun suddenly realized something, and his face became even more shocked. His master was truly a prophet; the military had actually come looking for them.
Sitting opposite, Chen Qian rubbed his hands and laughed, "It's not that we're looking for you to make money, it's that we're looking for you to find a way to make money. As the saying goes, a horse won't get fat without night grass. Last year, it was thanks to the money from the Kong family that the Ministry of National Defense was able to have a good New Year. This year, we went to the Ministry of Supervision again, hoping to see if there were any fat pigs in the country. The people at the Ministry of Supervision didn't even give us the time of day. It's really infuriating."
"Your Security Bureau has connections everywhere; you must have ways to make money."
Qiu Xingxun quickly shook his head: "No, don't talk nonsense! Our Security Bureau is a legitimate department, we don't do those shady things. If you want to fleece someone, go find someone else!"
"Besides, doesn't your Ministry of National Defense have a slush fund? Just sell some real estate and the money will come flowing in."
Chen Qian complained, "Brother Qiu, you don't know the cost of firewood and rice when you're not in charge of the household. You should have sold everything you could in the last two years. Otherwise, do you think an army of 800,000 could have survived until now with that little military budget?"
The remaining assets are all reserved for future military expansion. The Ministry of National Defense's slush fund has long been defunct, and the remaining real estate is all for future military expansion and base construction; it cannot be sold.
"You're also an army brigadier general, practically a soldier. The Ministry of National Defense is like your own backyard. Stop talking about 'yours' and 'ours,' and hurry up and come up with a solution!"
Civil servants would never involve the military in any opportunities to make money; they would keep it all a secret, even from the local garrison. So, they would only look for opportunities with the National Security Intelligence Service.
The military has its own intelligence systems, but those are only for combat. In peacetime, it's not feasible to send out scouts and staff officers in disguise to spy for money. Wang Chongshan wouldn't dare to do that.
"This matter is difficult and not easy to handle." Qiu Xingxun stroked his chin, his brows furrowed.
"If it's difficult to handle, then it's possible to handle it." Chen Qian's face became even more enthusiastic: "Brother Qiu, the Ministry of National Defense is retiring another batch of skilled personnel this year. They are all battle-hardened. It would be a waste to assign them to local positions. If your Security Intelligence Bureau has any needs, the Ministry of National Defense will definitely give them priority."
At this point, Chen Qian also revealed his bargaining chip. Although the National Security Intelligence Agency is in charge of intelligence, there are some scenarios that require combat and there is a certain demand for armed personnel. However, the number of people trained by the National Security Intelligence Agency itself is really unusable.
At this point, the military can provide tremendous assistance. They may not be good at other things, but when it comes to murder and arson, they have plenty of experts in that area.
Qiu Xingxun hesitated for a moment before speaking: "There is a way, but it's quite risky. I don't know if your military dares to do it?"
Chen Qian said anxiously, "Brother, look at my eyes, they're practically green with envy. There's nothing I wouldn't dare to do. Just tell me, and the Ministry of National Defense will definitely not treat you unfairly."
Qiu Xingxun said, "There's a way in India, high risk, high profit, a one-off deal, and it's done right under the British noses. If it succeeds, the profit will be at least this much!"
Qiu Xingxun held up his hand and made an eight. Chen Qian hesitated and said, "Only eight million, and we have to go abroad to work, and it's British territory. The risk is too great, and the returns aren't high."
Eight million is actually quite a lot, but Chen Qian said it this way to raise the price so that he could get a bigger share when dividing the spoils.
Qiu Xingxun scoffed, "What eight million? Is eight million worth me, the director of the Security Bureau, thinking about? It's at least eighty million, and all of it is hard currency like gold and gems."
Chen Qian slammed his fist on the table and stood up: "Let's do it! Damn it, if we have that many, I'll lead an entire army and charge in!"
"But brother, explain yourself clearly. What exactly is going on? You don't mean I'm supposed to lead a group to rob the British treasury in Delhi, India, do you? That would be a huge deal, like slaughtering a fat pig, something that can't be done in the light of day!"
Qiu Xingxun said, "Don't worry, it's an Indian temple, not far from the coastline."
"When my senior brother Wu Zifu led his army to conquer Burma, the Security Intelligence Bureau sent agents to infiltrate India to spy on British intelligence. The Indians sold all sorts of random information for money, and that's how they found out about some kind of treasure."
We didn't pay much attention at the time, but after the war ended, someone went to confirm it. Our agents infiltrated the temple and confirmed the location. There was indeed an underground treasure vault, and it was filled with an astonishing amount of gold and gems, at least tens of tons.
My men can't lift it, but if your military does, they could probably swallow it whole.
"Tens of tons of gold and jewels?? Are you kidding me? Even the capital's national treasury doesn't have that much, and an Indian temple has it?"
Chen Qian was speechless. This intelligence was really too outrageous. Wasn't India a British colony? How could a mere temple have tens of tons of gold and jewels?
The Republic's national treasury doesn't even have that much money now; its pitiful gold reserves have all been used to pay off debts.
Qiu Xingxun guaranteed, "There are more than enough. My men saw a golden elephant and countless gold coins inside."
"But there were too many people there, and the religious situation was chaotic. There was also a port nearby where British naval vessels were docked, so the risk was extremely high. Therefore, I never dared to consider it."
Chen Qian laughed and said, "This is easy to handle. We can just take advantage of the chaos and create a few disturbances to completely mess up the situation. Then we can sneak in and kill them to cover our tracks. The rest is just looting and stealing treasures."
Our military has an archaeological team that's experts at this. Let's have them pull off one last job before they're completely disbanded!
"Yes, this is indeed your specialty. After it's done, split the profits 30/70. Make sure to do it discreetly and don't let the British find any fault with you. Otherwise, if things get out, no one can withstand the consequences," Qiu Xingxun instructed.
Chen Qian was somewhat displeased: "Your Security Bureau only provides one piece of intelligence, and you want 30%? Isn't that a bit too much?"
Qiu Xingxun's eyes widened as he said, "You want 70%? Dream on! 30% is yours!"
Chen Qian slammed his fist on the table: "Huh? What does your Security Bureau plan to do with so much money? Do you also have an army of 800,000 to support?"
Qiu Xingxun explained: "You think 70% of the time our Security Bureau will take it all for themselves? Don't you think the Presidential Office and the Prime Minister's Office need to be bribed? Do you think such a big thing can be handled by just the two of us discussing it?"
Without support from above, who would dare send someone to India to provoke a tiger? If this mission flops, the higher-ups will have to clean up the mess. Without a hefty bribe, who would help you?
Upon hearing that the Prime Minister's Office also had a share, Chen Qian's face immediately turned red with anger, and he said angrily, "Brother, you just need to provide the information on this matter. You'll get half of the money, the Head of State's Office will take 10%, and you don't need to worry about the rest."
Those white-shirted traitors among the civil officials dare to share the spoils! I'll chop off whichever hand they extend!
The military is known for its efficiency and thoroughness; there's no need for cleanup. Once the people are killed, there's no way to prove anything.
Chen Qian instructed Qiu Xingxun to send the detailed intelligence to the Ministry of National Defense as soon as possible, then ignored Qiu Xingxun's advice and rushed back to gather manpower to get things done.
Chapter 228 The Military Spending Dilemma
"You, Old Wang, are utterly useless. We sent you to a meeting at the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and all you brought back were six points, totaling a mere 70 million in military spending. Is this all the face you, a dignified Army General and Minister of National Defense, are worth?"
"Even if they sent a colonel, they wouldn't have gotten this many people back! They're treating you like a beggar!"
Inside the Ministry of National Defense, Sa Zhenbing was slamming his fist on the table, glaring and berating Wang Chongshan. The other generals in the room were also gloomy and depressed, smoking cigarettes, and the whole room was filled with an atmosphere of despondency.
Even the army generals tacitly approved of Sa Zhenbing's table-slamming behavior. If a naval vice admiral dared to slam his table in front of so many people, Sa Zhenbing's old bones would probably be torn apart on the spot.
But now no one is saying a word, and no one is in the mood to pay attention to Wang Chongshan, who was being criticized. This top military official is really incompetent; he only asked for 6% of the military budget this year.
Since Wang Chongshan took over as the top leader of the Ministry of National Defense, everything has been good except for this one thing.
The proportion of military spending has plummeted from 13 percent at the beginning to 6 percent now, more than halved.
In peacetime, the only role of the Minister of Defense is to secure military funding. What use is a Minister of Defense who cannot secure military funding?
After fighting a round of wars in the Far East, this group of proud and fierce soldiers of the National Defense Army were not afraid of anyone except the head of state. Wang Chongshan only secured his position as the top leader because he was a founding member of the uprising and his father rose to prominence through his son.
Other things can be tolerated and will pass, but the issue of military spending is simply unbearable.
Before, we tightened our belts to make ends meet, then we wore our belts around our necks to survive, and now we don't even have money to buy belts!
"You, Sa Zhenbing, are talking without any sense of the pain. I had to risk everything to get those 70 million in military funds back. You didn't ask for a single penny, so what right do you have to criticize me? You have no respect for your superiors and are making baseless accusations against them. Do you really think I wouldn't dare to deal with you under military law?" Wang Chongshan also had a temper, and he got angry when his subordinate confronted him like that.
Instead of being afraid, Sa Zhenbing mocked, "You still know you're our superior? You know how to show off your power when you see us, but why are you so scared during meetings?"
"You're so tough with an old man like me, but why can't you even fight those civil officials?"
Wang Chongshan stood up angrily: "Do you think I haven't tried it? I was the only military officer who went to a meeting, and there were a lot of civil officials. My pistol was taken away before I even entered the room!"
"No matter what I say, it's just a bunch of them messing with me. Do you think I'm Zhuge Liang, capable of debating with a group of scholars?"
"Still want to fight? You think those civil officials are easy to mess with? Many of them used to wield broadswords back in the day!"
Upon hearing this, the army generals present covered their faces, kept smoking, and no one dared to look up. The military officers were actually afraid to fight with the civilian officials, and even said that the other side had more people. They had completely lost face.
Lieutenant General Jeong Bai-yao, Chief of the General Staff, said with a cigarette between his fingers, "Old Wang, save your breath. You were a notorious inflexible coward during the Korean War, and you're still inflexible now that you're back."
You're even using linear defense in the imperial court? This isn't war, it's about robbing military funds! You have the most stars on your shoulders, so you're the only one qualified to sit in that row at meetings.
What are you afraid of? Just do it! Do you think the military will just stand by and watch the Minister of Defense get beaten up? If the civilian officials dare to make a move, they won't even be able to leave the palace. We, the generals of the Ministry of National Defense, will let them in upright and be carried out horizontally!
"Now look what's happened! The meeting's over, and the military budget is only 70 million, not even enough to pay salaries!"
"Every day, when I think about the 800,000 strong, fully armed soldiers who are trained to the point of screaming every day, I don't know what will happen if they don't receive their pay at the end of the month."
Wang Chongshan said, "Then what do you want me to do? Are you suggesting that at the end of the month you issue an order: pay will be distributed at the drill ground tomorrow, and we don't need to bring guns?"
"You, you..." Chief of the General Staff Zheng Baiyao's face turned pale with anger, so he simply turned his head away and remained silent.
The other lieutenant generals and major generals also kept their heads down and continued to smoke heavily. Originally, after the general meeting, the military would hold their own small meeting behind closed doors to discuss how to distribute the resources internally.
The generals of both the army and navy were eager to try their luck, but they didn't expect Wang Chongshan to be so incompetent, bringing back such a small amount. What's the point of dividing it? Seventy million in military funds is nothing to fight over for an army of eight hundred thousand. It's just basic salary. What's the point of fighting over it?
No one expected that this year's military budget would be so small. Those civil officials, those traitors, are just like the scholar-officials of the Song Dynasty in their words and deeds. They're giving so little to an army of 800,000. Do they think they're all convicts?
They're still bringing up the Ministry of National Defense's slush fund. That slush fund is almost empty. It's been three years since the war ended, and the army survived the post-war hardship by selling real estate and land. Military equipment upgrades, personnel salaries, retirement resettlement, building warships, and purchasing new uniforms—each of these is a bottomless pit.
The old resources are all gone, and now the navy has started smuggling. The army is also using all sorts of methods. The grasslands rely on animal husbandry, the army in the northwest relies entirely on burning, killing, and looting to sustain the war, and the army in the northeast has started cooperating with local authorities in Jilin Province to smuggle goods against Japan. The troops stationed in many provinces inside the Great Wall can only survive on meager funding.
Some garrison troops and troops stationed in impoverished areas have started selling their old stockpiled weapons directly to the civilian market. This kind of thing is punishable by death, but given the current situation, the Ministry of National Defense can only tacitly approve it and turn a blind eye as long as they don't sell active-duty weapons.
But if we really can't get through this year, someone around the Republic will definitely be in trouble. After all, even the Qing Dynasty imperial tombs have been excavated. Unless we rob ordinary people, there's really nowhere left to make a fortune.
As everyone racked their brains with worried expressions, Zheng Baiyao thought of Vice Minister Chen Qian, who had gone out to find unorthodox methods, and wondered if he had made any progress.
"Good news, everyone! We're saved!" The conference room door was pushed open, and Vice Minister Chen Qian walked in with a big smile on his face, his voice full of joy.
All the pairs of green eyes looked over, saying nothing, but it was incredibly frightening.
Chen Qian didn't dare to keep anyone in suspense and just blurted out all the unofficial information he had obtained from the National Security Intelligence Agency. After all, everyone present was at least a major general, and given the rank of the attendees, they all had the right to know.
"Let's do it! We absolutely can't let this deal slip by!"
"That's right, we'll kill gods if they stand in our way, and we'll kill Buddhas if they block our path."
"If you don't dare to do this, my Fourth Army will!"
"Who the hell wouldn't dare? They're just the British and Indians, it's not like we haven't fought them before. There are tons of gold right there, if we can't bring them back, nobody's going to have a good year!"
The group of generals were indignant and abandoned Wang Chongshan to start discussing things on their own. Not one of them was cowardly; they were all clamoring to do it. Their men needed food, drink, and wages. If they didn't get this gold back, they would be starving after at most six months. If they could get it back, they would have enough for this year's budget.
Seeing that his men were about to abandon him, Wang Chongshan quickly got up and squeezed in as well.
"Old Wang, if you don't want to do it and aren't willing to take responsibility, then don't spout such discouraging words, or don't blame us for not giving you face!"
Wang Chongshan angrily said, "I wouldn't dare to have a meeting in the Hall of Supreme Harmony with the President there. Now that the President isn't in India, what am I afraid of? Let's do it!"
Wang Chongshan made the decision himself. Even if he were stupid, he wouldn't go against the grain at this time and provoke public anger. Chen Qian had spent most of the day getting the route back. If he were to sit here and oppose it, even Vice Minister Chen Qian would probably beat him up, and no one else would help him.
With tens of tons of gold lying there, it was enough to make the generals in the Ministry of National Defense risk their lives; everyone treated it like a battle.
The navy decided to let them procure ships. Sending warships would be too conspicuous and would easily expose their location. Instead, they decided to send a few merchant ships with people to do the work.
The Navy promised to handle the transportation and routes, while the Army would provide the thugs. The armed archaeological team would definitely participate, and several hundred more people would be added specifically to kill and silence witnesses.
As for creating chaos and muddying the waters, that was the responsibility of the National Security Intelligence Bureau. Qiu Xingxun had inside contacts there, so they used a two-pronged approach, impersonating people from the Comintern to create marches, demonstrations, and rallies, and then stirring up the powder keg of conflict between Hinduism and Islam.
Once chaos erupts, the military's henchmen can sneak in at night, empty the temple, blow up the cellar, melt down everything inside, and take it all away. That would be the end of it.
Simple and straightforward, without too many frills, the simpler the better.
If things go well, Zhao Yan won't say much, and might even praise them for doing a good job. But if things go wrong, Zhao Yan's personality means he won't stand idly by. He'll definitely step in to clean up the mess.
The generals even understood that Zhao Yan's tacit approval must have been behind this. The National Security Intelligence Agency was directly under the Presidential Office, responsible only to President Zhao Yan, and only obeyed Zhao Yan's orders.
If Zhao Yan hadn't tacitly approved and pushed this forward, no one would believe that Qiu Xingxun would dare to leak such intelligence without authorization and even encourage the military to do such dirty work!
Even the generals could guess that the spying and reconnaissance of the temple was most likely ordered by Head of State Zhao Yan. Otherwise, the temple was located on the east coast of India, thousands of miles away from the Chinese border. Why would the Security Bureau go so far to conduct reconnaissance?
It's no surprise that this was Zhao Yan's doing. This isn't the first time. If Zhao Yan says there's something there, there definitely is. Every time he points on the map, there's always treasure in that place!
However, Zhao Yan couldn't directly step forward to push things through this time, as it was risky and dirty. He could only pretend not to know and tacitly approve it, so that he could clean up the mess later.
Zhao Yan wasn't the kind of person who would forget his old subordinates once he became successful. He also understood that 70 million yuan in military spending was simply not enough to support the army. It was less than 100 yuan per person. Even if you split the money in half, it wouldn't be enough to cover food, drink, training exercises, purchasing equipment, and building warships.
But he had no choice. Other sectors needed the money more, and infrastructure, education, industry, and government finances couldn't be cut. He could only make do with the military.
But while he might appear aggrieved on the surface, Zhao Yan was never stingy when it came to what he should give. If he couldn't get money domestically, he would go abroad to do it.
Let's take a big risk and get through this year first. We can figure out a solution next year or the year after that. Maybe the economy will improve and six percent of the military budget will be enough for the army to live on?
Chapter 229 Development Through Debt
Inside the Imperial Study, Zhang Mingqi rushed over to confront him.
"Your Majesty, you should control those arrogant and unruly soldiers under your command. How can you treat them like this?"
"To send troops to cause trouble in the Indian Ocean, thousands of miles away, on British territory, is unauthorized. If something goes wrong, who can bear the consequences?"
Upon meeting Zhang Mingqi, he launched into a tirade of accusations. The military thought they had acted discreetly, but the Prime Minister's Office was not to be trifled with. After all, it was the head of the civil service system and might not have time to deal with minor disturbances in local towns and villages.
However, the military secretly assembled two to three thousand troops at the port of Tianjin, and the navy also requisitioned several merchant ships. Such a large-scale operation could not have been kept secret from the Prime Minister's Office.