After the battle, Li Wufeng and Ling Tianfang discussed the gains and losses of the battle and the shortcomings exposed by their own troops in the war. Finally, Li Wufeng decided to convene a week later, on February 2, 694, in Qingyang, and make arrangements for the work in 694.

On February 2, the meeting was held as scheduled. The main preparatory personnel of the four prefectures in Qingyang, Jinzhou, Guide, and Bonan County, as well as the heads of the four divisions of the Northwest Legion attended the meeting.

At the meeting, Xiao Tang announced Li Wufeng's appointment, appointing Mu Haoran as deputy director of the Northwest County Administrative Office and director of the Department of Culture, Education and Health, Jin Ning as director of the Northwest County Intelligence Office, and Luman as director of the Northwest County War Readiness Office. The remaining departments have not yet been decided.

Immediately afterwards, Ling Tianfang praised the achievements of the various troops in this battle against the rebellion, and announced the order to promote the military ranks of Liang Chongxin and 19 people.

Li Wufeng severely criticized the weaknesses and shortcomings exposed by the troops in the war, saying that the troops were still insufficiently trained at the stage, and the cooperation between the various units was not tacitly understood. In addition, at the end of the battle, the encirclement and annihilation of the remaining chaotic troops was particularly prominent. The first and the second divisions only care about themselves and ignored other troops, which led to the two chaotic troops rendezvous, causing our army to passively. If it were not for the inside line to play a role, a lot of vitality would be lost to the real battle. Liang Chongxin and Cui Wenxiu both made a review at the meeting.

While discussing the handling of the rebellious surrendered soldiers of about 60,000 people in Guide, fierce quarrel broke out between the military and political parties present.

Government officials led by Xiao Tang and Su Minshun strongly demanded that the 60,000 people be released as civilians, so that these people can return to their hometowns, so that they can go back to engage in industrial and agricultural production. The military led by Liang Chongxin firmly demanded that these surrendered troops be incorporated and the formation of the Fifth Division of the Northwest Legion and the direct troops of the Legion, so that the Northwest Legion becomes a complete legion, and the remaining troops will enrich the local security forces, and the Second Security Division can be formed in important prefectures and counties.

Li Wufeng sat in the middle of the hall listening to the debate between the two sides, and never expressed his opinion.

"Sir, the northwest is now in peace and everything is in trouble, and it is in need of a large amount of labor. The current population of Guide Prefecture is less than 400,000, and more than two-thirds of it are old, weak, women and children. Guide's economy is facing a great development opportunity. There are already many powerful businessmen interested in investing in the development of the Jingyan Mine in the north. I have reached a preliminary opinion with them on this matter. If this project is launched, a large number of strong labor will inevitably be needed. The existing population of Guide is not enough to meet this need. The grape plantations and winemakers in the south have also negotiated with me to further expand the scale, give full play to the brand effect, and to bring these advantages

The industry will grow bigger and stronger, and strive to enter the markets of the Central and Western Mainlands in large quantities this year, and also require a large number of labor. The development of these industries will bring us considerable tax revenue." Su Minshun, who was a little excited, turned red, "What's more, the adults want us to revive the economy during the period, and the construction of infrastructure such as abandoned roads and farmland water conservancy must also be carried out immediately, which also requires a considerable number of manpower. Therefore, I urge the adults to release these surrendered soldiers who were originally farmers and let them return to their original positions. I believe that under the current preferential policies, they will definitely work hard to repay the government."

As soon as he finished speaking, Liang Chongxin's deep voice sounded: "I don't agree with Lord Su's opinions, for two reasons. First, these 60,000 people surrendered were not farmers from Guide Prefecture as Lord Su said. A considerable number of them were bandits from the former Iron Cavalry Association and gang members from the former Changsheng Association. These people have adapted to military life. If they want to ask them to go back to engage in agriculture or work, it may be quite difficult. If they are not done well, it will become a security risk in the local area. Second, the situation in the northwest is still quite serious. The Luobei people and Mote people in the northwest seem to have no abnormal movements now, but they must not be taken lightly;

The Yinchuan Prefecture and the Xisluo Empire pose a huge threat to me, and the Taixuan Prefecture is the future trouble in the east. Yinchuan Prefecture has three elite divisions, and the Xisluo people are stationed in the southern fortress Nuremberg, and there is a trend of increasing. Taixuan Prefecture also has three elite troops of three divisions. The combined strength of these sides is far beyond our existing strength. Once they unite, the strength of Yinchuan Prefecture and the Xisluo people alone will be enough to defeat us. Therefore, I think the most urgent task is to strengthen combat readiness and enrich the army. These 60,000 people already have a certain combat power, and as long as they undergo necessary training, they can become qualified soldiers."

"Mr. Liang's words are a bit alarmist. I personally think it seems that after this war on rebellion in the northwest, although the world is not peaceful, at least the overall situation has been settled, and nothing else can shake Lord Li's position in the northwest. The threats from Yinchuan Prefecture and the Xisluo people mentioned by Lord Liang are not very likely to collude. Everyone knows that although these two parties still maintain the airs of alliances on the surface, they have long dreamed of the same bed and dreams. Sun Yuanliang is not unclear about the ambitions of the Xisluo people. He cannot cooperate thoroughly with the Xisluo people without any precautions, which will not be of much benefit to him. With Yinchuan Prefecture in the middle, the Xisluo people will never be able to move south freely. As for Taixuan Prefecture, for now, it is impossible. After all, it is nominally subordinate of Lord Li, and his master has not yet

I have made up my mind. Luo Bei people have reached an agreement with us that is beneficial to both sides. There will be no changes in the near future. The Mots can be ignored at all. Their biggest enemy is the Sithro people rather than us. Now the northwest is facing an urgent task. It is not to expand the military, but to develop the economy. Only when the economy develops and the people's living standards improves will they sincerely support us and the status of adults will be more stable. Only in this way can our fiscal revenue gradually increase and we can have more funds to support the development of military strength. Therefore, I personally advocate releasing these 60,000 surrendered soldiers for the people and allowing them to enrich themselves in the development of industrial and agricultural production." Xiao Tang's words were organized and well-founded, not only won the strong support of government officials, but even the military officials who strongly opposed it felt a little difficult to argue.

"Mr. Xiao, although your words make sense, have you ever thought about it? The economic foundation of the northwest region is weak, and it is not a matter of overnight development. However, now the enemies around us are blind and the situation in the empire is unstable. Once the situation changes greatly, we have few soldiers and generals and will be unable to deal with it. Everyone knows that the empire is now full of diseases, and a little disturbance may trigger great unrest. We must be prepared for danger in times of peace, prepare early, and not be content with the status quo. Moreover, the military's training cannot be achieved in one or two days. These surrendered troops have already had certain combat effectiveness, and only a certain amount of combat effectiveness must be carried out.

The training can be a qualified army. If they are released for the people, it would be a pity not to mention whether they can adapt to the lives of civilians. "Although Cui Wenxiu's words are relatively tactful, it also expresses the willingness to include these soldiers as the army. "And I think that as long as we have a strong army, retreat can defend our country, advance can expand our territory, and seek greater development space. This is also consistent with your wishes by Lord Xiao." The following words full of expansion ambitions, even Li Wufeng and Ling Tianfang, who had never spoken, could not help but smile at each other, obviously speaking in their hearts.

"Yes, Lord Cui's words make sense. If there is no strong army to protect it, even the most prosperous economy may be ruined. With a strong army as a backing, it can not only protect the smooth development of the local economy, but also seize the favorable opportunity to obtain greater benefits. This is a good thing to kill two birds with one stone." Kamapov spoke immediately.

"I do not agree with the views of the two adults. The strength of the army is a good thing, but it also depends on whether the local finance can support it. Now the population of the four northwest governments under Lord Li's direct jurisdiction is less than 2.5 million. The number of the army has reached four regular army divisions and four guard divisions, with a number of nearly 200,000. The military-civilian ratio has reached an appalling 1:13. This is unacceptable. Moreover, our northwest economic foundation is weak, and the finances are even more difficult, which is the burden. The army before the addition was already stretched. Now, three local security divisions have been added in this battle to suppress the rebellion, which makes the finances even more overwhelmed. If the military organization is added, the finances may be really hard to bear." James, who spoke, served as the Director of Finance of Jinzhou for a long time, was very familiar with the financial situation in the entire northwest, and put forward his own views on the financial burden.

Both sides expressed their opinions one after another. Under Li Wufeng's intentional guidance, both sides refuted each other's opinions, and no one could convince anyone.

While listening to the opinions of both sides, Li Wufeng was also thinking. The opinions of both sides were actually focused on one focus, that is, the future policies should focus on cultivating and maintaining the economy or expanding the military and preparing for war, which is also a problem that Li Wufeng has been considering for several days.

Logically speaking, the situation in the northwest is basically calm now, and it is a good time to seize the time to concentrate all your energy on developing the economy. However, the idea of ​​"I am eager to use force to seize greater benefits" has been lingering in Li Wufeng. Of course, Wufeng also knows that economic development and expansion of the army are a complementary relationship. Only a strong army can protect local vested interests, and only a prosperous economy can maintain the operation of a strong army. Both are indispensable.

The upcoming chaos in the Central Plains of the Empire and the relative weakness of its surrounding forces made Wufeng always hope that he could find a suitable opportunity to further expand his power, but this must require himself to have strong enough force to guarantee it. However, the real difficulties are also in front of him, and the financial burden has reached its limit. If he fishes in the pond again, it may not be worth the gain. On this issue, he has discussed it with Ling Tianfang several times and exchanged opinions with Xiao Tang. He has never found a better solution. It seems that nothing is perfect. There must be gains and losses, and we cannot force it.
Chapter completed!