Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 690 Vigorously Promoting Military Reform
A group of tech fanatics finally settled on a preliminary design that involved adding a gun turret to the fore and aft decks, trying to fit two 75mm guns into each turret.

Thinking about it carefully, the army is really in a bad situation. They can only operate with small pipes, otherwise they are difficult to maneuver. Especially the mules and horses in East Asia, they really can't pull large pipes, let alone carry them.

Speaking of artillery caliber, the French made a joke of having a single-caliber artillery throughout their army before World War I.

It's truly a case of a young lady from a family of seventy-five ruling the world, and she's truly stuck in her past experiences of night battles, unable to break free.

It seems easy to become path dependent.

The modern army's cannons, thanks to advancements in propellant technology, are far more powerful than the bronze cannons Napoleon used.

If history had not changed, the Zhou Empire's advanced weaponry technology could have remained for roughly seventy years.

In the late 19th century, Europe experienced a major explosion in military technology due to the threat of war.

It was the beginning of the century, and in Jia Lian's view, the Zhou Empire's military technology was not advanced enough. In any case, he wanted to develop a combination of a recoil-propelled cannon and an internal combustion engine in his lifetime.

In short, the expansion on both the eastern and western fronts could not stop. Even if there were no external threats, they would find one: the United States to the east and Tsarist Russia to the west.

Upon returning from Tianjin, Fang Song reported the results of his negotiations with the British minister. As expected, the minister denied the allegations, only promising to relay the message back to China and instruct the government to restrain the navy.

Jia Lian knew the outcome but didn't care much. Instead, he went to see Li Yuan and reported the matter.

Upon hearing the report, Li Yuan said with great dissatisfaction, "Sir, you have indeed foreseen the British reaction. Since they have no shame, then let's not give them any face. Send a fleet to Malacca regularly to escort our merchant ships. I am extremely confident in you handling this matter. However, the matter of military reform should not be delayed for too long. Sir, please take the trouble to come up with a new plan."

Unable to refuse, Jia Lian took his leave and returned home. He then spent several days compiling an outline for military reform.

Everything should be prioritized. In Jia Lian's view, the core of military reform lies in how to improve the cohesion of the army and how to raise the social status of soldiers.

The Sanwan Reorganization is impossible; we can only develop an alternative narrative. Secondly, there is the issue of soldiers' treatment, and we must reverse the past phenomenon of soldiers having low social status.

Therefore, Jia Lian's initial military reform plan first emphasized improving the treatment of active-duty military personnel, and gave two directions: economic treatment and social status.

While mentioning the benefits, Jia Lian also emphasized two points: the military, after improving their benefits, must absolutely not interfere in local government affairs, and must absolutely not engage in business.

Secondly, the existing military model should be reformed. It should be argued that the current Ministry of War is no longer suitable for the complex warfare of today's world. All officials of the Ministry of War should either leave or be integrated into the military system. The reformed Ministry of War should be an army directly under the emperor, with the cabinet having no jurisdiction over it, only the right to supervise it.

The Ministry of War (which can be viewed as the General Staff Headquarters) was composed of the Army Department and the Navy Department. The Army was further divided into military regions, and the Navy into major fleets.

Regarding the selection mechanism, Jia Lian emphasized that graduates of the Royal Military Academy must be given priority.

After drafting an outline, Jia Lian went to the palace to present it to Li Yuan in person.

After reading it, Li Yuan earnestly asked, "Our dynasty has always treated military merit well, so why is it necessary to raise the status of soldiers? Please enlighten me, sir."

Jia Lian patiently explained: "The combat effectiveness of an army is not only determined by the high command, but more so by the bravery of the officers and soldiers at the grassroots level. People consider it shameful to join the army, and soldiers are weak before they even fight. The army that I want to build is not only an armed force for wartime combat, but also a people's army for disaster relief in times of peace."

Whether we can do it without saying it or not, we must definitely strive in that direction. We can't go back to the past, where bandits passed by like combs and soldiers like fine brushes.

Li Yuan continued reading, and when he saw that the position of "Virtue Official" was to be established above the rank of Lian, he was even more astonished and asked, "What is this 'Virtue Official'?"

Jia Lian continued patiently, “The official in charge of moral education is responsible for the daily life of the army, educating them to be loyal to the emperor and love their country, to know propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of honor as soldiers. In addition to education, they must also care about the soldiers’ lives and supervise the enforcement of military discipline. I believe that the new military system must include a prohibition against officers beating or scolding soldiers. I haven’t elaborated on this point yet, but I hope Your Majesty will bring it up.”

Li Yuan's eyes lit up immediately. He nodded silently and continued reading about the reforms to the Ministry of War. The reforms included establishing departments for the Army, Navy, Logistics, Equipment, and Military Police. Each department was to have a corresponding oversight mechanism.

After carefully reviewing the document, Li Yuan was deeply shocked. This reform completely overturned the old military system. From the emperor's perspective, this military reform undoubtedly made it easier for him to control the army.

"Your Excellency suggests that I draft an outline, submit it to the Ministry of War for refinement, and then implement it throughout the army?" Li Yuan had some doubts, after all, Jia Lian was the Grand Secretary, and he shouldn't have betrayed the civil service group.

Jia Lian said calmly, "Your Majesty, that is exactly what I mean. The Ministry of War should take the lead, with military academies cooperating, and officers with European military study experience should be selected from the army to participate in improving the content of the military reform."

Li Yuan couldn't help but ask curiously, "In your opinion, there are advantages in European military construction that are worth learning from?"

Jia Lian said, "It can serve as a reference for improvement!"

Li Yuan nodded: "I understand, but first we need the support of the cabinet, and secondly, the approval of the expanded cabinet meeting. Otherwise, even if the plan is finalized, it will be difficult to implement."

Jia Lian immediately stood up and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, please rest assured, I will do my utmost to help Your Majesty accomplish this task."

Impatient, Li Yuan immediately convened a meeting of the Imperial Cabinet the next day and presented the outline prepared by Jia Lian to the cabinet ministers.

With Yue Qi absent, the cabinet unanimously passed the resolution without objection. It was announced that an expanded imperial conference would be held three days later, attended by the heads of the six ministries, the chief censor of the Censorate, the chief justice of the Court of Judicial Review, and the chief minister of the Court of State Ceremonies. The heads of the Research and Development Bureau, the Railway Bureau, the Statistics Bureau, the Banking Regulatory Bureau, and the Central Bank were also required to attend. This could be considered a meeting of all ministers.

Because this military reform was proposed and presided over by the emperor, Li Yuan spoke first at this expanded meeting. He spoke for more than an hour, from his personal ambitions to the harsh realities that made military reform necessary.

The core idea of ​​this military reform was to transform the Ministry of War from a civil service department into a military department, directly under the emperor's command. This was a huge shock to the cabinet and ministers at all levels.

Since the emperor has brought this up for discussion, it's no wonder everyone is speaking freely.

Debate was inevitable, and scholars readily cited classical texts.

The first day of the meeting concluded that military reform was necessary; it was both the emperor's will and a practical necessity.

The meeting continued on the second day. Yue Qi, who claimed to be ill at home, insisted on attending after seeing the outline personally prepared by the emperor. After five days of meetings, all the relevant contents of the outline submitted by Li Yuan were approved, except for one point: whether the Ministry of War should be incorporated into the military system and placed directly under the emperor.

The reason it failed to pass was simple: all civil servants except for cabinet ministers strongly disagreed.

To put it simply, they can accept that the Minister of War is a military officer, but they cannot accept that the Ministry of War is incorporated into the military system, let alone accept losing so many civil official positions in the Ministry of War.

Despite the disagreement, Li Yuan wasn't in a hurry and slowly dragged out the meeting until the tenth day, when he announced that the proposal would be temporarily shelved.

The following day, Li Yuan suspended the expanded meeting and instead convened a cabinet meeting. After the cabinet approved the proposal, he announced the establishment of a new department, the General Staff Department.

The General Staff was directly under the Emperor and consisted of five major departments: Army, Navy, Logistics, Equipment, and Military Police. This department was in charge of the national field army and navy.

This proposal caused a stir throughout the land; it meant the emperor was trying to bypass the Ministry of War to carry out military reforms. This was tantamount to overturning the table!

With the emperor in charge, the Ministry of War became virtually useless. There are historical precedents for this, such as the Six Ministries of the Song Dynasty.

Today the emperor can sideline the Ministry of War; tomorrow he can follow the Song Dynasty's example and sideline the Six Ministries. With the support of the cabinet, he can completely render the uncooperative existing departments ineffective.

If officials lose their positions of real power, wouldn't that be the end of them?

Seeing Li Yuan's unwavering resolve, the ministers of various departments all expressed their support for the emperor's military reforms. "It's just the Ministry of War, right? Here you go!"

Throughout the expanded conference, the cabinet did not express its opinion, but instead, when faced with difficulties, it joined the emperor in proposing to establish a separate military system.

Once the officials below understood the cabinet's attitude, they all lost all hope and quickly backed down, determined to bring the emperor back.

After all, emperors in history, once they got carried away, could have really outrageous things. Emperor Wu of Han set up an inner court to consolidate power.

In short, civil officials can only operate within the rules, while the emperor can break free from them, creating an asymmetrical struggle.

The expanded imperial council was restarted, and this time Li Yuan's attitude was even more resolute. He believed that the Ministry of War's system was too rigid and no longer suitable for the needs of current military development.

Therefore, the Ministry of War should be renamed the General Staff Department, and the military reform should also be carried out in accordance with the emperor's outline.

Having failed to gain cabinet support and realizing that the civil service group was likely to turn against the cabinet, they had no choice but to accept reality and pass the outline for military reform.

The sweeping military reforms began under Li Yuan's leadership, and the replacement of the Ministry of War with the General Staff became a settled matter.

As the end of the eleventh year of the Qianzheng reign approached, a series of urgent reports came back from Anxi. Upon receiving the reports, Jia Lian immediately went to the palace.

Looking at the urgent report from the Emperor's Independent Mixed Brigade, Li Yuan angrily shouted, "The Prince of Anxi is like a regional warlord, disobeying the court's orders. He not only refuses to obey orders but also refuses to listen to proclamations. Is he planning to establish his own regime and rebel?" Li Yuan, who had won a great victory against the counterattack of the civil official group during the military reform in the second half of the year, was dealt a heavy blow at the height of his success.

Jia Lian remained silent, patiently waiting for Li Yuan to vent his anger and calm down.

After a long while, Li Yuancai calmed down and said, "Sir, you foresaw this long ago, which is why you set up military stations in Lanzhou and Dihua to stockpile military supplies. I suppose this is to facilitate our army's entry into Anxi. Among all the officials in the court, you are the one who understands military affairs! The others are not worth mentioning!"

Upon hearing this praise, Jia Lian remained calm and said, "It's just a matter of being prepared for a rainy day. The late emperor used the Prince of Xining to expand into Anxi, and he should have foreseen this turn of events. Speaking of which, the Imperial Guards, as the intelligence department, failed to send back news from Anxi in a timely manner, which is indeed out of touch with the situation. In the future, a dedicated intelligence department should be established within the army."

Li Yuan hadn't expected that Jia Lian's first thought was to mend the fence after the sheep were lost, and he immediately nodded and said, "What you say makes sense, sir!"

One good thing about Li Yuan is that when he knows he's wrong, he really corrects it.

At this moment, Li Yuan truly felt a sense of unity between ruler and subject when facing Jia Lian.

"I intend to transfer another garrison of the new army to Anxi. What do you think, sir?" Li Yuan asked for his opinion.

Jia Lian nodded: "That's fine, but we should first station troops in the new province, recruit soldiers locally, and reorganize the local garrison into the new army. We should adopt a posture of being ready to march on Anxi at any time, and then decide what to do based on the movements of the Anxi army. As for the independent mixed brigade, I believe they have the ability to survive. Another point is that we need to speed up the road construction in the northwestern provinces. Where railways cannot be built for the time being, we should build highways first."

By establishing military farms in Hexi and Xin Province, the problem of military food can be largely solved locally. The current difficulty is that it is hard to build an industrial system locally, so as to produce and supply locally.

After the emperor and his ministers quickly reached an agreement, they immediately began to plan where to mobilize troops. Considering that Shenji Town was the ballast of the capital, they decided to draw a brigade from Shenji Town, a brigade from Tongzhou Town, artillery from Nanyuan Town, and cavalry from Xishan Town to form the Western Expeditionary Army, which was then set off urgently to Xin Province.

This army not only shoulders the task of supporting the independent mixed brigade, but also the responsibility of the new province's military reform.

Prior to this, Li Yuan ordered the immediate mobilization of 10,000 tons of military rations from the Tongzhou granary to Lanzhou, and then to be transported by land to the new provincial supply depot. For safety, local garrison troops were dispatched to escort the rations.

Jia Lian, on the other hand, demanded that the railway bureau expedite the construction of the railway to Yumen Pass. He further pointed out that the railway bureau should not only construct the railway but also ensure its protection against wind and sand erosion through tree planting activities.

........................

The global fleet rounded the Cape of Good Hope, continued north into the Mediterranean, and arrived in Istanbul, the first stop of this global goodwill visit.

Following the end of the Seventh Russo-Turkish War, Ottoman Pasha died, leading to numerous changes within the empire. However, with the support of a powerful faction led by Ibrahim, a new Pasha smoothly ascended to the throne, and the situation returned to stability. The young new Pasha was less adept at wielding power than his predecessor, hence the current Istanbul's enthusiastic reception of the visiting Globe Fleet.

The reason is simple: the previous Pasha allied with France and cooperated with Napoleon in the war, but failed to gain any advantage in the war against Tsarist Russia. After Ibrahim and other powerful figures came to power, they changed course and decided to follow the old path, continuing to strengthen military cooperation with the Zhou Empire. This time, however, they no longer pursued technology imports, but simply sought to purchase equipment—the latest and most advanced equipment.

However, due to the previous discord, the current enthusiasm is only the first step in easing tensions. A special delegation will be sent to the capital of the Zhou Empire to explain the changes within the Ottoman Empire.

(End of this chapter)