Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Seeing the possibility of developing the percussion cap rifle, Zhu Youjian could not wait and convened a meeting of the Privy Council in the Wuying Hall.

This meeting was attended by Privy Council officials such as Yuan Keli, as well as court ministers with the title of Privy Councilor such as Shi Fenglai and Xu Guangqi.

The Military Affairs Department's Secretary also attended the meeting because he was responsible for reviewing imperial edicts and orders related to military affairs.

Zhu Youjian first paid attention to the progress of the establishment of the Privy Council, especially the establishment of various ministries.

After learning that the General Staff had established an Operations Division, led by Yang Sichang to formulate an operational plan, he nodded with satisfaction and praised Yuan Keli:
"The purpose of establishing the Privy Council is to facilitate better combat."

“The Operations Department is the top priority, and all organizations must be established with the goal of facilitating operations.”

Once again emphasized the importance of the Warfare Department and confirmed its status as the first department of the Privy Council.

The director of this department is now also the deputy chief of the general staff, and this will become a common practice in the future.

In addition to the Operations Department, the most important department of the General Staff is the Communications Department.

As the agency in charge of military orders, the Communications Department is of vital importance to the General Staff. All military orders must be issued through the Communications Department. Its subordinate agencies include the Department of Secret Affairs, the Department of Communications Management, the Department of Communications Training, the Archives Office, and the Communications Research Institute.

Zhu Youjian originally planned to place this agency in the Intelligence Department under the charge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but it was taken away by Yuan Keli, who also served as the Chief of the General Staff.

Considering the reliance of the General Staff on communications, Zhu Youjian agreed to this and planned to let the Communications Department be responsible for normal military orders and the Intelligence Department be responsible for secret communications.

In addition, there is the Zhifang Division, which was transferred from the Zhifang Division of the Ministry of War. Compared with the original duties, it is slightly smaller and is mainly responsible for maps and military systems.

Its responsibilities can be seen as an organization department, which determines the organization and defense zones of the local troops.

Zhu Youjian ordered the Military Affairs Department to determine the serial numbers for the local armies, stipulating that all formations above the battalion level must have numerical serial numbers in addition to their original names:

"The Rites of Zhou says: Five soldiers make a brigade, five brigades make a division, and five divisions make an army."

"The future Ming army will be organized into army divisions and brigades."

"Army numbers are one digit, divisions are two digits, and brigades are three digits, followed by a digit representing the battalion under their jurisdiction."

"For example, the first brigade of Dongjiang Town is numbered 331 Brigade, and the first battalion under it is numbered 3311 Battalion."

"And so on, number all troops above the battalion level."

"Camp names that use the commander's surname are no longer allowed to be used."

"The Privy Council should issue flags to each army in the future. Don't use new flags just because the commander changes."

"When issuing military orders, they must also be referred to by their military titles."

This is to dilute the influence of the commander-in-chief in the army. Since the officials of the Privy Council are mainly civil servants, they naturally agree with it.

Yuan Keli asked again:
"If we take the border towns as our division, how should we set up the army?"

Zhu Youjian had already considered this and responded:

"The military is not a permanent organization and is only set up during a major war."

"In normal times, the town is still the highest level organization. The town can be regarded as a division with greater authority and the ability to independently guard a region."

"Now that Liaodong is at war with the Jianlu, the troops in the Liaodong area can be organized into the Liaodong Front Army, and the Liaodong Town can be abolished."

"The troops under the command of the former Liaodong garrison commanders Ningyuan, Jinzhou, and Tashan can be organized into divisions."

"The troops of Shanhaiguan and Dongjiang are still set up in independent towns. The towns have greater autonomy and are under independent jurisdiction in peacetime, and only obey the command of the Liaodong Front Army in times of war."

Now the ministers understood that the emperor was going to add a military-level organization above the town level.

The troops directly under the army were called divisions, and the troops independently stationed outside were called garrisons. They were of the same rank and were both led by a general.

Both the division and the town have brigade-level organizations under them, which are under the jurisdiction of the brigade commander who was transferred from the deputy general.

The battalions set up under the brigade are the basic combat units.

This is also the lowest level of organization that the current Privy Council may have jurisdiction over.

Li Banghua, who was in charge of the training of the Beijing Camp, asked:
"If the border troops are like this, how should the Beijing troops be organized?"

"How should the three major camps and their subordinate smaller camps such as the Lieutenant General's Camp, the Guerrilla Camp, and the Assisting Strike Camp be changed?"

Zhu Youjian had already figured out the organization of the Beijing Camp over the past year and responded:

"The Beijing Camp can be called the Beijing Army or the Imperial Army. It is called the First Front Army, and its numbers start with 1."

"The three battalions are considered as division-level organizations. The three old names of the Fifth Army Battalion, the Divine Shu Battalion, and the Divine Machine Battalion can be retained. The official numbers are the 11th Division, the 12th Division, and the 13th Division."

"The troops directly commanded by the three battalion commanders and deputy commanders can be organized into brigades, with a maximum of 10,000 troops."

"The Adjutant General's Battalion still commands 6,000 soldiers, while the Guerrilla Battalion and the Auxiliary Strike Battalion command 3,000 soldiers as independent battalions directly under the jurisdiction of the three major battalions."

"When Li Qing conducts training, he can divide these battalions into two categories: A and B. The battalions with strong combat power will be organized into A-class battalions, and the battalion commanders can be promoted to lieutenant general or even higher. The battalions with weak combat power will be organized into B-class battalions, and the battalion commanders will be assistant generals or guerrilla generals."

"Next year, after the southwest troops have won the battle and surrendered their captives, I will hold a review to determine the A-class and B-class camps."

Zhu Youjian was very cautious in the training of the Beijing Camp, in order to avoid making random changes that would cause instability among the people.

Therefore, he did not make any major changes to the organization of the Beijing Battalion, but simply added numbers to it and continued to train the Beijing Battalion in the same way as before.

Although this would not completely transform the Beijing Army, its combat effectiveness would at least not decline, thus avoiding a major reorganization and a loss of combat effectiveness in the short term.

After hearing this, Li Banghua had an idea in his mind. He knew that the emperor had no intention of making major changes to the Beijing Camp as he had done to the Patrol Camp, but only wanted him to undergo training.

Yuan Keli then asked:
"If the border troops and the capital troops are like this, how should the local guards be organized?"

"And how should the battalions of governors and governors-general in various places be organized?"

Zhu Youjian had already considered this thoroughly and responded:

"In my opinion, the garrison system and border defense system must be clearly defined."

"Now, each town in the nine borders is basically guarded by a general, assisted by a deputy general, and some are guarded and defended."

"This is the garrison system of generals, a common organization used by border troops."

"The guards have long been a source of soldiers. Only officers of the guards, such as the commander and the thousand-householder, can serve as the captain in the garrison system."

"From now on, I will make it clear that the main function of the garrison is to provide soldiers and also have the responsibility of guarding the local area."

"Officers, sergeants, and military households of the garrisons who need to serve will be incorporated into the local defense forces."

"The defense forces, like the border troops, are appointed according to the general garrison system. They will be collectively referred to as the border defense forces from now on and will be trained and managed by the Border Defense Department."

As he spoke, he turned to Qin Shiwen, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, and appointed him:

"The Minister of Border Defense will be Qin Shiwen, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, who will be given the title of Second Rank Privy Councilor."

"It consists of the Training Department, Infantry Department, Cavalry Department, Artillery Department, Chariot Department, and Engineer Department, which are responsible for the training management of each branch of the military."

Then he said to all the privy ministers:

"In the future, the local Dusi will be merged with the military protection agencies such as Bingbei Dao and unified as Duhusi or Duhushisi."

"The Protector-General had the same rank as the Provincial Governor and the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, and was uniformly set as the third rank." "The Guards were under the jurisdiction of the Protector-General's Office, which had the Guards' Office and the Military Preparation Office."

"The officials of the former Dusi and Bingbeidao were changed to officials of Duhusi."

"The local garrisons are managed by the Duhusi, and the defense forces selected from the garrisons are managed by the Bingbeidao and garrison districts in coordination with the generals."

"The standard camps under the governor-general shall be managed as frontier troops."

"Subordinate brigades or battalions are commanded by brigade generals or lieutenant generals."

When this decision was announced, the Privy Council officials in the court were all excited.

Although the powers of the Dusi had long been hollowed out, it was still one of the three local offices and had jurisdiction over the Weisuo.

Now the emperor has merged the Dusi and Bingbeidao, representing the power of the civil officials, and has thoroughly penetrated into the garrisons. The military officers who originally served in the Dusi have no ability to compete with them for power.

They had a premonition of this when the emperor established the Zhuolu Garrison, which was also the reason why many civil officials agreed to establish the Privy Council.

From then on, the Privy Council and the local Protectorate completely replaced the original system of the Five Military Commands and the local governors. After unremitting efforts, the civil officials finally infiltrated power into every aspect of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Youjian knew the consequence, but he was even more clear that if the Dusi and Bingbeidao were not merged, the Dusi would be just an empty shell.

It would be better to set up a Protectorate-General to regain real power.

In this way, the military generals could at least enter the Protectorate-General's Office and have some say in local military affairs.

At the same time, the jurisdiction of the garrisons was also consolidated, so that hereditary military officers could not oppress the military households with impunity.

After the establishment of the Protectorate-General, the military power it held could be used to restore the balance with the Provincial Administration and the Censorate. This was an inevitable evolution of local power in the current Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Youjian had previously changed some military governors into military commanders in preparation for the establishment of the Protectorate-General's Office.

In this way, the civil servants serving in the Duhusi would have the status of civilian military officers, distinguishing them from other civil servants and not being completely monolithic.

The Privy Council was very excited after receiving this gift package. Yuan Keli was still somewhat calm and asked:
"What is the difference between the Duhusi and Duhufu? Your Majesty, please give me some advice?"

Zhu Youjian responded to him:
"The provinces in the interior that are governed by the three divisions are called the Duhu Division."

"The place where the frontier is under military control is called a Duhufu. It can be an independent government office with three offices: the Administrative Office, the Court of Justice, and the Guard Office. It governs the people while governing the army."

"The Protectorate General is headed by the Protector General, and the Protectorate General is headed by a military commander."

"If a military governor is established, the military governor will be the first."

The civil officials were very satisfied with this, because now almost all the protectorates had established military guards.

They were determined to appoint more military guards in the future and not allow the Protectorate to be headed by a military general.

At this point, the promotion system for civilian officers was completely determined. They could be promoted from a Colonel of the Garrison Area to a Commandant of the Garrison in the Military Preparations Road, then to a Protector General of the Protectorate, and then to a Protector General of the Frontier Protectorate.

The Protector-General was also called the Upper Protector-General because he was usually awarded the rank of the Third Grade Upper Light Cavalry Commander.

The military governor who was in charge of the Protectorate was also known as the Grand Protector.

When one reaches the level of Guardian of the Army, his status is equivalent to that of a Governor-General. He can be transferred to become a local governor-general, or to become a minister of the imperial court or a minister of the Privy Council.

It can be said that all civilian officers have a clear career path.

This was also Zhu Youjian's intention, to try to make the civilian officers an independent system. In the future, they would replace the military commanders and separate the civil and military officials from the other civil officials.

After these were confirmed, Zhu Youjian looked at the excited expressions of the Privy Council ministers, worried that they might be greedy for merit and make rash advances, so he reminded them:

"Don't rush to set up the local protectorate."

"First, we will complete the reform in Zhuolu District, and then extend it to other areas in northern Zhili."

"The Ministry of War has set up a General Affairs Department, under which the Zhili Office will be established to manage the garrisons in Northern Zhili. It is necessary to plan the military preparation roads and garrison areas in Northern Zhili."

"The defense forces of Northern Zhili are trained directly by the Border Defense Department of the Privy Council. After obtaining my permission, they will be deployed by the General Staff."

"After the reform of Northern Zhili is completed, it will be tried out in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Shandong and other places."

"The agencies under the Duhusi should also give serious consideration."

When Li Banghua heard this, he immediately said:
"I, under the order of Your Majesty, have established the Military Guard Department in the Beijing Camp, which is under the jurisdiction of the Office of Staff, the Office of Staff, the Office of Logistics, the Office of Equipment, the Office of Training and other institutions."

"The Privy Council now has the General Staff Department, Logistics Department, Equipment Department and other departments. I request that this be changed."

This was something he had wanted to bring up a long time ago, and he wanted to coordinate with the various departments of the Privy Council.

Zhu Youjian had not thought about this problem before because these institutions were running well in Jinyiwei Nansifang. Now, after hearing Li Banghua's suggestion, he realized that the army fighting was different from Jinyiwei.

After discussions with other Privy Councilors, Li Banghua planned to change the Training Department into the Operations Department, which would be responsible for operations and training and would connect with the General Staff and the Border Defense Department.

Zhu Youjian felt that the power of the Military Guard Department was too great and was encroaching on the power of the generals to command troops and fight, so he separated the Training Office and established a separate Staff Department, with the Chief of Staff as the chief officer, under the leadership of the generals, and with departments such as combat, training, communications, and reconnaissance.

The Official Positions Office was still under the jurisdiction of the Guards, responsible for the selection of junior officers and sergeants, and was in charge of the Ministry of War.

The Logistics Department is connected to the Logistics Department, while the Equipment Department was downgraded to the Ordnance Department because its weapons procurement and maintenance were assigned to the Logistics Department, and became a subordinate agency of the Logistics Department.

Regarding this point, Zhu Youjian made it clear:
"The Logistics Department consists of the Finance Department, Quartermaster Department, Arms Department, Construction Department, Transportation Department, and Health Department."

"The procurement and maintenance of military equipment is the responsibility of the Logistics Department."

“The Equipment Department is responsible for the development and production of military equipment, and does not have local equipment agencies.”

"The Equipment Department established the Daming Equipment Group and set up local companies and workshops to be responsible for equipment production."

"The Ordnance Research Institute was changed to the Equipment Research Institute, which is responsible for equipment research and development."

"The Equipment Department has set up the Equipment Planning Department, General Equipment Department, Arms Equipment Department and other departments to be responsible for equipment planning and standard setting."

This was an institution he set up after learning from the lessons of future generations.

After the establishment of the General Armaments Department, local and military equipment departments were established. However, they did not have the ability to develop and produce equipment, and were only responsible for equipment support. The various materials needed for equipment support were inseparable from the responsibilities of the logistics department.

Therefore, some places merged the Equipment Department and the Logistics Department into a joint logistics department. It was not until the military reform that it was officially merged into the Support Department.

In view of this, when Zhu Youjian established the Logistics Department, he assigned the procurement and maintenance of military equipment to the Logistics Department.

It is now more clear that there will be no equipment departments in local areas or the military, only ordnance agencies under logistics agencies.

Min Mengde, the left vice minister of the Ministry of War, was appointed Minister of Logistics and was given the title of second-rank Privy Councilor.

The Minister of the Equipment Department would undoubtedly be Bi Maokang, the former Minister of Armaments.

The first task Zhu Youjian gave to Bi Maokang was to organize the production of heavy and light muskets that had been finalized and put into service, and to develop spring-wheel muskets and flintlock muskets with changed ignition mechanisms in accordance with the requirements of "produce one generation, develop one generation, pre-research one generation, and explore one generation."

At the same time, preliminary research should be carried out on nitrates such as nitrocellulose, mercuric nitrate, and nitroglycerin, and new gunpowder and firing devices such as percussion caps and primers should be explored.

The ultimate goal of the exploration was the metal fixed bullet he drew:
The firing pin ignites the primer, igniting the gunpowder in the cartridge case and pushing the bullet to fire.

It can be said that this is Zhu Youjian's ultimate goal, to develop metal fixed bullets and increase the firing speed. (End of this chapter)