Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 508 Deployment of Northern Defense Forces
On the first day of the tenth month, after dealing with the captured Goryeo people and those Yuan Dynasty traitors, all that remained were a group of students from the Imperial Academy of the Great Yuan Dynasty and some Yuan Dynasty officials.

As for these people, apart from those involved in the Xuanzheng Yuan (Qinghai-Tibet Plateau) and Goryeo, Lu Jin was too lazy to re-examine the others. He sent them all back to Jiankang and prepared to place them under the jurisdiction of Xinjin Prefecture on Sulawesi Island in the South Seas.

"Bian Guan" was a form of punishment in the Song Dynasty, similar to exile, but with some differences.

Although both were forced immigration, exile was relatively more free. Not only could one retain the official position and salary (if one already had one), but one could also choose one's place of residence. There were no mandatory requirements regarding household registration. As long as you didn't run back, you could basically do whatever you wanted once you arrived at the place of exile.

But being exiled was different. Once you arrived at the place of exile, you had to settle down there immediately, either to be conscripted into the army or registered in the local household register. In any case, you could never go back for the rest of your life. You would also be deprived of your political rights for life, forbidden from becoming an official or taking the imperial examinations, and required to report to the local government regularly to prove that you hadn't run away. It was essentially an upgraded version of exile.

Regarding this decision, Li Shanchang also advised Lu Jin, "Your Majesty, many of these former Yuan officials and students of the Imperial Academy are outstanding individuals. Is it not a waste of talent to assign them all to govern Southeast Asia?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin said, "At this point, those who would rather stay as prisoners than live or die with the Yuan court in Dadu are all die-hard traitors who are loyal to the Mongol Yuan. Keeping them here will only corrupt the morals."

"On the contrary, exiling them to Southeast Asia, where they are among foreigners, will remind them that they are Chinese. It just so happens that most of the Chinese in Southeast Asia are descendants of immigrants one or two generations ago, and they no longer have much affection for China. Some of them have never even been to their motherland in their entire lives. Exiling these people to live among the other Chinese in Southeast Asia can also strengthen the sense of belonging of the Chinese in Southeast Asia to their motherland."

“That makes some sense.” Li Shanchang nodded upon hearing this.

Seeing this, Lu Jin said, "The dynasty has just been established, and the court is indeed short of talent, but that's alright. We can continue to hold the imperial examinations and select talent ourselves."

“In the previous imperial examinations, the candidates were all from Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. They had already taken the exams for two consecutive years and occupied too many official positions. We can’t let them occupy them all.”

"In that case, please draft an edict for me, sir, that the imperial examinations will continue next year, but students from Anhui, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces will boycott the exams for two years. In the autumn examinations of next year and the year after, only scholars from Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Liaoning, Jiangxi, and the two lakes regions will be allowed to take the exams."

"Let's conduct the exams for two sessions first to balance the origins of the officials in the court. We'll talk about the rest later."

Li Shanchang quickly cupped his hands in praise, saying, "Your Majesty is wise. I was just about to mention this matter. This move can not only balance the origins of court officials, but also win the hearts of the people in the newly annexed territories. It is truly a good policy that kills two birds with one stone. I will go and draft the edict now."

"There is one more matter. Now that the Northern Expedition has concluded, when will His Majesty return to the capital?"

Lu Jin thought for a moment and immediately said, "We have conquered Yanyun, but how to defend it is also a problem. I will go back after I have adjusted the troop deployment in the north."

"Moreover, four of the five main forces of the imperial army are currently in the north. The north cannot use so many troops. If too many troops are stationed there, supply will be difficult. In the south, there are still Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and other places that have not yet been recovered, which also require a large number of troops. Let me first see how to deploy troops and defenses."

"Understood. Shall I go and draft the imperial examination edict?"

"Well, let's go."

For the next few days, Lu Jin stayed in Beijing to collect reports on the advances of the various armies of the Northern Expedition, and then discussed the deployment of troops and defenses with Xia Yu and Bao Yu, holding maps.

At the Privy Council next to the Imperial Palace in Dadu, Lu Jin, Xia Yu, and Bao Yu were gathered together analyzing the defense deployment.

Xia Yu immediately said, "In the south, there are still Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi, as well as Sichuan and Yunnan that have not yet submitted. Sichuan currently has no enemy troops. Miao Daheng's Fourth Army Group is enough to pacify Sichuan. So, only Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi, and Yunnan remain."

Lu Jin said, “Guangdong and Guangxi are not difficult to conquer; they can even be pacified with a simple proclamation. However, Fujian must be thoroughly plundered. It is the stronghold of the Semu people, especially the Pu family in Quanzhou, as well as various foreign cults in Fujian, which are rampant with illicit worship. We must use swift and decisive measures to clean it up. In this way, Fujian will need at least the strength of an army group.”

Bao Yu and Xia Yu frowned upon hearing this, and then Xia Yu said, "Then at least two army groups need to be transferred back."

Bao Yu immediately said, "Only half of the Fifth Front Army is in the north. We can transfer Commander Chang's Ninth Army Group to Jiangxi to join forces with General Liao Yongjian's Tenth Army Group, and then they can fight together in Guangdong and Guangxi. This way, we won't have to mobilize too many troops."

Lu Jin nodded upon hearing this. The Northern Expedition front has now occupied the entire southern part of the Gobi Desert. Lu Jin has no intention of continuing the Northern Expedition to the north in the short term. It would be a waste to leave a fierce general like Chang Yuchun in the north to guard the gate. It would be better to let him continue to shine in the south.

Then he thought for a moment before saying, "How about this, let Liao Yong'an's Third Army Group guard Shanxi and the Hetao region."

"Among them, Xu Da's 47th Army was stationed in Shanxi, Jinning Road in southern Shanxi was changed to Linfen Prefecture, and Zhang Liang's 121st Division had three regiments stationed in Linfen, Taiyuan and Datong Prefecture respectively. Each of the three basins in Shanxi was assigned a regiment, so the number of troops was not too large, just enough to stabilize the rear."

"Xu Da personally led the 119th Division to garrison Fengzhou (Hohhot), Yunneizhou (Tumd Left Banner), and Dongshengzhou (Tuoketuo County), responsible for the defense of northwestern Shanxi and eastern Hetao."

"Yin Congdao led 120 divisions to guard the three cities of Pingdi, Jining, and Weining (Ulanqab region).

"Liao Yong'an and Hou Zheng, the newly appointed commander of the 101st Division, led the 101st Division to guard Baochang Prefecture (southwest of Taipusi Banner), Heng Prefecture and Shangdu Kaiping (Zhenglan Banner), as well as Yunxu Prefecture (Guyuan County).

"Gu Cheng's Fifth Imperial Guard Division is stationed in Xinghe Prefecture (Zhangbei) and is left as a mobile force in Shanxi and the Hetao region. Wherever there is an alarm, they will rush from Xinghe (Zhangbei) to provide support."

As they listened, the two marked the defenses Lu Jin described on the map. Then Xia Yu immediately asked, "Your Majesty, according to the frontline military reports, Yingchang Road has also been captured by General Yu's Second Army Group. Are there no troops left to garrison Yingchang?"

Bao Yu also said, "Not only must Yingchang be defended, but only the Fifth Imperial Guard Division is available. Is it too little to use one division as a mobile rescue force? The Hetao and Monan areas are sparsely populated, and the cities are far apart. The Imperial Guard Division is purely infantry. If there is an early warning in the surrounding area, will the Imperial Guard Division be able to rush to support in time?"
"In my opinion, we should strengthen our cavalry."

Lu Jin nodded upon hearing this, "That's what I think too. It's impossible to defend the northern frontier without cavalry. So I plan to send Zheng Yong's independent cavalry division to Kaiping and put it under the command of Liao Yong'an to strengthen the defense capabilities of the Hetao and southern Mongolia regions."

"As for Ying Chang," Lu Jin said after thinking for a moment.

"Didn't the central army capture a lot of Yuan soldiers when it attacked Shanxi? It has both cavalry and infantry. We also formed two agricultural reclamation divisions and relocated them to the area around Yingchang and Kaiping. They were responsible for garrisoning Yingchang. We also formed a cavalry regiment and handed it over to Zheng Yong to lead, responsible for supporting all sides."

"In this way, the entire Shanxi, Hetao and southern Inner Mongolia region will have eight divisions plus one regiment, and there should be no worries in the short term."

"As for the future, we will definitely need to continuously migrate people to the Hetao and southern Mongolia regions to build cities and cultivate land, gradually improve the defense line, and continue to strike at the remaining Mongol forces in the northern Mongolia region in order to achieve long-term stability in the north. However, this is not something that can be accomplished overnight."

The two nodded, and Xia Yu pointed to the map again and asked.

"Your Majesty, north of Yinshan there are also Dening Road, Jingzhou Road, and the Shajing General Administration Office. Don't you want these places anymore?"

Lu Jin looked at the three cities and thought for a long time before saying, "First, send people to pacify them and temporarily stop stationing troops. If any enemy tries to seize them, we will send cavalry and imperial guards to fight them. In the short term, we should focus on managing the Hetao region and the area around Kaiping. If we really can't hold those three places, we can give up on them for the time being."

Both of them nodded upon hearing this, without saying anything about insisting on keeping it.

Lu Jin was unaware of the situation in the north before, and was wondering why the Ming Dynasty in the original history abandoned the Hetao region. It wasn't until he personally led the Northern Expedition and learned about the situation that he understood.

At present, the Yuan Dynasty's rule in the Hetao region basically only covered the area around Fengzhou (Hohhot) and Dongshengzhou (Tuoketuo County), occupying only the easternmost edge of the Hetao Plain.

The vast Hetao region west of Hohhot, north of Yulin in Shaanxi, and north of Yinchuan in Ningxia, that is, south of the Yinshan Mountains, plus the Kubuqi Desert and the Ordos Plateau, is an uninhabited area.

In other words, apart from the easternmost part near Shanxi, the western part of the Hetao region is basically deserted. Without people, how can it be defended? So, the only option is to give up.

The three places mentioned by Xia Yu—Dening Road, Shajing General Administration, and Jingzhou Road—are located in the Baiyunebo mining area and the Siziwang Banner area in later generations. They haven't even finished occupying the Hetao region yet, let alone the grasslands north of Yinshan. Lu Jin has no choice now. Even if they want to relocate people to the Hetao region, it won't be a matter of a day or two.

In short, let's focus on gaining control of the Hetao region first, and then consider the grasslands north of the Yinshan Mountains.

After setting up the defenses in southern Mongolia and the Hetao region, the three turned their attention to the east.

"Let's leave Liaodong to Commander Yang's Third Army Group. That way, their entire army group won't need to be transferred back," Xia Yu immediately suggested.

Lu Jin nodded upon hearing this, then pointed to the Xilamulun River Valley and said, "A city should be built here. This place is the junction of the Yanshan Mountains and the Greater Khingan Mountains. By sealing off this place, the nomads in the southern and northern deserts can be separated from the fishing and hunting Jurchens in the northeast, preventing them from merging. The court can then divide and rule, which will greatly reduce the pressure on the border defense."

"What do you think this city should be called?"

Bao Yu immediately said, “I remember this is a river valley. The river here was called ‘Zuo Le Shui’ during the Western Han Dynasty and ‘Rao Le Shui’ during the Eastern Han Dynasty. Later, because the river water gradually turned yellow, it was shortened to ‘Huang Shui’. In Mongolian, it is called Xilamulun River, which also means yellow river. The Yuan court also set up a town north of this place, called Linhuang.”

"I think we can move the name of Linhuang here, and the new city can be called Linhuang County, or we can follow the old name of the Han Dynasty and call it Raole County. What does Your Majesty think?"

Lu Jin immediately shook his head. "No, Linhuang cannot be moved south. Instead, it should be expanded into a county, and a city should be built there. Let's call this new city on the Huangshui River Raole County." Seeing the two looking puzzled, Lu Jin immediately pointed to the place called Linhuang and said, "Look carefully. In fact, there is not only the Huangshui River Valley, but also a canyon here that leads from the southern grasslands to the east of the Greater Khingan Mountains. Therefore, Linhuang cannot be withdrawn. Instead, a town should be built to guard it, blocking both the north and south passages."

"I see, Your Majesty is very perceptive." The two of them suddenly realized.

However, in reality, Lu Jin had never been to that place either. But he saw on the map that the Jining-Tongliao Railway actually passed through Linhuang (Bairinzuo Banner), connecting Jining all the way to Tongliao. Moreover, this line was later the main railway line of Inner Mongolia. Since the railway could be used, marching must be no problem either. There must have been a passage here originally, so we had to be on guard.

After finalizing the two new cities of Linhuang and Raole, Lu Jincai spoke again.

"With Raole County as the boundary, the area east of the Greater Khingan Mountains and Yanshan Mountains is under the unified command and defense of Yang Jing's Third Army Group, while the western part, closer to Raole, is under the responsibility of Yu Tonghai's Second Army Group."

"Yu Tonghai personally led the 114th Division to guard Raole, Quanning, and Linhuang, with the division headquarters temporarily stationed in Quanning."

"Wu Fu led the 130th Division to guard the three cities of Songzhou, Daning, and Hezhong (Lingyuan). The division headquarters was temporarily stationed in Daning Prefecture."

"Cao Liangchen led the 131st Division to guard Huailai (Juyong Pass), Xingzhou (Chengde) Gubeikou, and Zunhua (Xifengkou), and control the three passes of Junduxing, Pinggang Road, and Lulong Road. The division headquarters was stationed in Xingzhou (Chengde).

"Zhang Desheng led the 115th Division and Li Jun's 2nd Imperial Guard Division to be stationed in Dadu as a mobile support force for the entire army group, going to provide support wherever there was an alarm."

Upon hearing this, the two quickly marked the troop deployment on the map. After they finished memorizing it, Lu Jincai spoke again.

"In Liaodong, Ye Sheng led the 116th Division to guard the three cities of Chuanzhou, Xingzhongzhou (Chaoyang City), and Fushu (Jianping), with the division headquarters located in Xingzhong (Chaoyang)."

"Xu Yong led the 110th Division to guard Yizhou (west of Zhangwu and north of Fuxin), Guangning (Beizhen City), and Jinzhou. The division headquarters was located in Guangning (Beizhen)."

“Pu Ying led the 103rd Division to guard Xianping (Kaiyuan), Ningchang (between Faku and Zhangwu), and Shenyang, with the division headquarters located in Ningchang.”

"Yang Jing personally led Guo Tianjue's 117th Division and Li Wang's First Imperial Guard Division to Liaoyang to support the various front lines."

"Also, I heard that Yu Tonghai has acquired nearly 10,000 horses. Is that true?"

Upon hearing this, Bao Yu immediately said, "The Liaodong side has nearly 10,000 horses, of which 3,000 were purchased by Guan Tianjie, the head of the Liaodong intelligence station, but have not yet been transported south."

"When General Yu marched into Songzhou, he took two thousand horses from him. Later, when he captured Tuoguan Temur at Pinggang Road, he seized more than two thousand horses from his Kheshig army. In addition, when he captured Quanning Road and Shangdu, he bought more than five thousand horses on credit from the local herdsmen. Adding the one thousand horses left in Jinzhou, it came to exactly ten thousand horses."

Lu Jin nodded, and then said, "Since we have so many horses, how about this: promote Shen Ren, the commander of the 48th Regiment of the 116th Division, to the position of 116th Superintendent. Ye Sheng, the former Superintendent of the 116th Division, will be in charge of forming a new cavalry division, called the 1st Cavalry Division. Zheng Yong's independent cavalry division will be renamed the 2nd Cavalry Division. The 2nd Division will be responsible for southern Mongolia, and the 1st Division will be responsible for Liaodong."

"It just so happens that Liaodong has plenty of horses, and Ye Sheng is a cavalry general by training. He even taught me how to ride. I feel at ease having him lead this cavalry division."

"Another 10,000 warhorses are definitely not enough. Ye Sheng can continue to buy them and set up several more horse farms in Liaodong. With that, plus more than 10,000 cavalry, there shouldn't be much of a problem in supporting Liaodong."

Xia Yu immediately nodded in agreement, saying, "That's right. Liaodong is a vast region, and it's definitely not enough to not have a cavalry force as a mobile force."

Bao Yu also said, "Commander Yang only has one Imperial Guard Division and one infantry division stationed in Liaoyang. This time, with the addition of a cavalry division, there are cavalry, infantry, and firearms. The three divisions total nearly 40,000 men. Even if the enemy has a force of 100,000, as long as they are not all cavalry, this general reserve force will be able to fight. In this way, Liaodong will be secure."

Xia Yu said again, "In the Northeast now, the only one with the strength to gather tens of thousands of troops is Liao King Azashili, who is entrenched in the Taining Road area. Now that the Yuan Dynasty has been destroyed, we may try to appease him. After Liaodong is stabilized, we can decide whether to abolish the native chieftain system and replace it with centrally appointed officials. If he is not convinced, we can just destroy him."

Lu Jin nodded and said, "We can give it a try, but it's only to keep him in check temporarily. He won't listen unless we completely subdue him."

Few people may have heard of the Liao King Azashili, but those familiar with the history of the Ming Dynasty will know that the Doyan Three Guards were very famous. The leader of the Doyan Three Guards was this Liao King Azashili.

In the original history, the Ming army led by Zhu Yuanzhang only drove the Yuan court north of Yanshan, but the Northern Yuan still existed. Nahachu, whom he had released in Dangtu, also returned to Liaodong.

Under the command of the Northern Yuan court, Nahachu actively recruited remnants of the Yuan dynasty and its troops in Liaodong, amassing an army of 200,000 men. At that time, there were three forces entrenched in southern Mongolia: Nahachu, the Northern Yuan court, and the Liao king Azashili in the eastern Xing'an League and Qiqihar area.

Later, Fu Youde, Lan Yu, and Feng Sheng led 200,000 Ming troops to attack Nahachu. Nahachu was forced to surrender and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Haixi. Then, Zhu Yuanzhang forced him to go to fight in Yunnan. Nahachu, who was over 60 years old at the time, died of illness on the way to conquer Yunnan.

Then Lan Yu and Wang Bi led the Ming army to defeat the main force of the Northern Yuan court at Buyur Lake. After that, two of the three forces in southern Mongolia and Liaodong were gone, leaving only the Liao King Azashili, who was unable to hold out and was eventually forced to surrender to Zhu Yuanzhang's Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang established three tributary guard posts in the territory of Liao King Azashili: Taining Guard, Doyan Guard, and Fuyu Guard. Among them, Doyan Guard was the most powerful, so the three guards were often referred to as the Three Doyan Guards. The people of Doyan Guard also called themselves "Wuliang'an" people, which, after transliteration from Mongolian, became "Uliangha". Therefore, the Three Doyan Guards can also be called the "Uliangha Three Guards". This is the origin of the Three Doyan Guards in history.

Those familiar with Ming Dynasty history will certainly recognize the famous Doyan Three Guards of Azashili, but there are also many rumors about them. The most outrageous one is that the Doyan Three Guards helped Zhu Di to quell the rebellion. This rumor comes from the Qing Dynasty's compiled history of the Ming Dynasty, which in turn used unofficial histories of Jiangnan from the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty. The emergence of these unofficial histories of Jiangnan was mainly due to the reign of Emperor Jiajing.

In order to move his father into the Imperial Ancestral Temple and make room for him, Emperor Jiajing changed Zhu Di's temple name from Taizong to Chengzu. After that, a wave of public opinion arose in Jiangnan to commemorate Emperor Jianwen and slander Zhu Di. Jiangnan literati fabricated a lot of rumors, the most outrageous of which were Zhu Zhishan's fabricated "Do not let me bear the name of killing my uncle" and "Execute Fang Xiaoru's ten clans".

There are even more rumors about the Doyan Three Guards and the Jingnan Rebellion. When the Qing Dynasty compiled the History of Ming, they deliberately included many unofficial histories, and the resulting History of Ming could be read like a fantasy novel.

For example, the "God of War" Li Jinglong leading 100,000 Jianwen troops travels over a hundred years into the future and attacks the South Gate of Beijing, which didn't even exist at the time. However, the southern city (outer city) of Beijing was only expanded during the Jiajing era. How could Li Jinglong possibly attack the South Gate of Beijing during the Jianwen era, unless he possessed the ability to lead 100,000 people through time travel?
There were also the Doyan Three Guards, who had always been entrenched in the Xing'an League and Qiqihar area of ​​eastern Inner Mongolia. The Doyan Three Guards moved south to the Daning area, which was a matter of the late Ming Dynasty. Those Jiangnan literati in the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty had never seen what Yuan Dadu looked like, and did not know where the Doyan Three Guards of the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasty came from. They could only make up unofficial histories based on what they saw of the southern city of Beijing and the Doyan Three Guards in Daning.

After all, there's a saying that goes, "You can't imagine what you haven't seen."

Historically, the Liao king Azashili was already struggling alone and was forced to submit to the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, Azashili was a descendant of Temujin's younger brother Temuge, and the Liao kings had been hereditary rulers for generations.

As a result, after surrendering to the Ming Dynasty, even Nahachu, a descendant of Muqali, was granted the title of Marquis of Haixi by Zhu Yuanzhang, while Azashili, the hereditary King of Liao, was only given the title of Commander of Taining Guard by Zhu Yuanzhang, without even a count. It would be a miracle if Azashili was satisfied with that.

Therefore, in the early Ming Dynasty, the Doyan Three Guards were unwilling to move south. In addition, the Ming army was relatively strong in the early Ming Dynasty. Even if you asked them to relocate to Daming, they might not dare to come. Helping Zhu Di to quell the rebellion was even more absurd.

Therefore, when Lu Jin heard Xia Yu's suggestion to pacify Azashili, he thought that this time he should definitely give Azashili a title, at least a marquis. Titles are not worth much, since Lu Jin would not pay him a salary anyway. Even if he was made a king, it would only be an empty title. If he wanted a salary, he could move his whole family to Nanjing and Lu Jin would pay him a salary. It just depends on whether he dares to ask for it.
Having finalized the deployment of the Third Army, all that remained was Dongning Prefecture. Lu Jin looked eastward from Liaoyang, all the way to the border of Goryeo, and after a moment's thought, he spoke.

"The Dongning Road area was assigned to the Provisional Eleventh Army Group under Liu Futong for garrison duty."

"At the mouth of the Yalu River, the Yuan court set up the Posuo Inspection Office. Based on this inspection office, they planned to build a city and cultivate the land. The new city was called Dandong Prefecture. In addition, two new counties, Fengcheng and Kuandian, were added. Luo Wensu of the 141st Division of Liu Futong's 47th Army was stationed there, and the division headquarters was located in Dandong."

"In addition, we must also have a city opposite Xichuan in Goryeo, to keep an eye on them one-on-one. We can set up three new counties, Ji'an, Jiangjie and Jiangyuan, opposite Xichuan, and entrust them to Ming Yuzhen's 143rd Division to garrison. The division headquarters will be located in Ji'an Prefecture."

"There is also the Shuangcheng General Administration on the east side of the Goryeo Peninsula. Goryeo used to call it Hamheung County and Yeongheung County. In the future, it will be changed to Fuju County and Xuantu County. All the place names will be changed to the place names from the Han Dynasty. The two counties will be called Xuantu Prefecture and will be garrisoned by Guan Duo and Pan Cheng's 144th Division."

"In addition, a naval force will be stationed here. A new North Sea Fleet First Detachment will be established and stationed in Xuantu Prefecture."

"Finally, there is Wang Xianzong's 142nd Division left. Let them garrison the Liaodong Peninsula. The Jinfuzhou Wanhu Prefecture, which the Yuan court set up here, will be divided into Jinzhou and Fuzhou counties in the future. In addition to Gaizhou, there will be a total of three counties, which will be handed over to the 142nd Division to garrison."

"Moreover, the Liaodong Peninsula is in the rear, and the 142nd Division can be used as a reserve force. If Goryeo dares to invade Liaodong, the 142nd Division can be sent to provide support."

"In addition, there is a military port in Jinzhou with an excellent location, which should not be wasted. We should establish a new Lushun County here and form the first detachment of the East China Sea Fleet to be stationed in Lushun Port."

After the two of them had memorized the troop deployment, Xia Yu asked the question again.

"Your Majesty, there is no problem with the troop deployment. However, I am somewhat confused. Your Majesty always says that you want to reorganize the navy into a navy. So how exactly is the navy structured, and how is it different from the original first, second, and third regiments of the navy?"

"What are the First Flotilla of the North Sea Fleet and the First Flotilla of the East Sea Fleet that Your Majesty just mentioned? What are their respective officer ranks? How should these fleets be managed? How should we understand these questions?"

"Also, the domestic naval battles are almost over. If we were to establish a navy, it would be time to do so now. How should these three naval forces be reorganized?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin immediately took out a spreadsheet and placed it in front of the two of them.

(End of this chapter)