Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 533 Rumors of Military Reform

Crash---

On June 12th, in Fuzhou, Fujian, it was raining heavily outside, but inside the back hall of the Fuzhou government office, a group of high-ranking generals from the Second Front Army were taking shelter from the rain and chatting.

Yesterday, Liao Yongzhong arranged military affairs in Quanzhou and immediately rushed to Fuzhou to join Zhu Liangzu, Feng Sheng and others. Fang Guozhen had also arranged for the fleet to enter the port to take shelter from the storm, and then came here with them.

Zhu Liangzu, sitting at the head of the table, slammed his teacup down on the table with a loud thud, then complained, "Sigh, this battle is so boring. I hadn't even fought in Pucheng yet when one route surrendered. And before I even reached Nanping, two more routes surrendered. All we've done is march on the road. I should have switched places with Feng Sheng and gone to fight the northern route."

Liao Yongzhong, who had just arrived, rolled his eyes upon hearing this. "Don't you even know what time it is now? We've already conquered most of the country, and we've even destroyed the Yuan Dynasty. Fujian has always been a strategically important place. If it weren't for the need to clean up those foreign cults and heresies, I would say that fighting in Fujian would have been unnecessary. We could have just sent a few eloquent scholars to persuade them to surrender."

"At this point, do you think they still have much of a will to resist? Apart from the real Tartars and Semu people, have the others lost their minds? Are they really planning to be buried with the Tartars?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Sheng muttered, "Even if the commander really goes to the northern route, isn't it pretty much the same? Now that you're the commander of an army group, do you really intend to personally charge into battle? Even I, as the general, can only sit in the central army and watch from the sidelines."

"With a cannon blast, a volley of gunfire, and a charge of armored soldiers, the Yisibaxi army was gone. Isn't that what you saw when you came here?"

"Speaking of which, I finally understand why His Majesty wanted to reform the military. Our Holy Martial Army has been fighting major battles for several years now. Have you noticed that the role of the long spear infantry phalanx is getting smaller and smaller, as if it has really become dispensable?"

Upon hearing this, several high-ranking generals of the army group frowned and nodded.

Liao Yongzhong immediately replied, "That's true. Of course, this is also related to the fact that our military's organization is different from that of traditional armies."

These generals had been fighting alongside Lu Jin for a long time, and without realizing it, they had learned a lot of new words from him, even using terms like "traditional army".
"If we follow the traditional army organization, swordsmen and crossbowmen would definitely occupy a large part of the organization. At least among the infantry, swordsmen and crossbowmen would account for 20-30%, crossbowmen would account for 10-20%, and the remaining 50-60% would be spearmen."

"But since our Holy Martial Army was formed, His Majesty has never paid attention to bows and crossbows. To this day, the General Armament Department has never produced a single bow or crossbow on its own, and we have never made a single arrow. We have used captured bows and arrows."

"Logically speaking, without the protection of swordsmen and the long-range suppression of archers, spearmen alone cannot form a battle formation, let alone fight any major battles. But His Majesty has introduced muskets, completely replacing archers and crossbowmen. In terms of long-range suppression, the range and power of artillery far surpass that of catapults. The key is that catapults cannot accompany the army on marches, but artillery can."

"As a result, our organization has become this incongruous mess. Without the cover of archers and swordsmen, each main force is left with only spearmen, who have no ability to fight independently. Whether it is field battles or sieges, we cannot fight with just spearmen."

"In comparison, although the Imperial Guard Division has a small organization and few soldiers, its combat power is too strong. In terms of attacking cities and destroying enemy lines, a single division has more than sixty cannons. In terms of field and street fighting, it has nine thousand heavily armored infantry and musketeers."

"In all the major battles we've fought, the Imperial Guards always led the charge. When attacking a city, we would first build artillery emplacements to suppress the defenders on the city walls, and then send the Imperial Guards' heavy armored assault troops to scale the walls and engage in hand-to-hand combat to seize the city gates. Only after the city gates were opened could we, the 'main force' spearmen, enter the city and fight in the streets."

"Even in street fighting, pikemen are not as agile as musketeers. Pikemen's spears are more than five meters tall, which is really advantageous when they are in formation in the field, but they are not so flexible in the streets and alleys of the city. If they encounter enemy archers on rooftops or other high places, pikemen are powerless to fight back and have no swordsmen to cover them. They can only stand there and take the hits."

"Compared to pikemen, musketeers are more flexible in street fighting. They can fight at both long and short ranges. Even if bayonets can't beat pikemen in close combat, they have muskets. Who would fight you with spears? They'd be shot down by volleys from dozens of paces away before they even get close. Even if the enemy outnumbers them, they can use grenades to scatter the enemy first."

"In open field battles, it goes without saying that if the two armies are arrayed, the artillery will break through the enemy's lines first, then the musketeers will fire volleys. After a few rounds of volleys, the enemy's lines will be routed. Finally, the pikemen will rush in to finish off the fleeing enemy soldiers."

"But then again, since the enemy formation was defeated with just cannons and volleys, it doesn't matter whether the pikemen are there or not. If they were all replaced with musketeers, the field battle would still be fought the same way. Instead, the pikemen would become the ones picking up the scraps."

"Hey, our army groups are officially called the main force of the army, but when it comes to actual fighting, they become the assistants to the Imperial Guards. The court spends so much money and grain to support hundreds of thousands of troops, but when it comes to actual fighting, we still have to rely on the Imperial Guards. No wonder His Majesty wants to carry out military reforms. Money shouldn't be wasted like this."

The people in the hall fell silent for a moment upon hearing this. After thinking about it carefully, it seemed to be true. Without the Imperial Guards, the main force could hardly fight. With the Imperial Guards, the main force became nothing more than doing odd jobs for the Imperial Guards. From this perspective, they really did become dispensable.

Zhao Zhongzhong, who had been silent until now, frowned and asked, "But what about military reform? How should it be done? Replace the entire army with firearms units like the Imperial Guard Division? That's not realistic. Although the Imperial Guard Division is powerful, it's not without its weaknesses."

Zhao Zhongzhong pointed to the rain outside the door and immediately said, "In this kind of weather, no matter how powerful your muskets and cannons are, can they still fire when it rains?"

Upon hearing this, Mao Gui chimed in, "But if it really rains like this, how many enemy soldiers would dare to fight us in the rain? Firearms can't be used when it rains, but the enemy's bows and arrows are useless either. If it comes to hand-to-hand combat, the Imperial Guards Division has a heavy armored vanguard battalion to keep watch. As long as we can hold off the enemy for a while, once the rain stops, won't we be overwhelmed by their firearms?"

"So, we spearmen are really useless?" Zhao Zhongzhong said with some helplessness.

"I'm afraid that's really the case." Although Mao Gui was somewhat reluctant, he still nodded.

However, it wouldn't be accurate to say they were resistant to the modernization of the entire army with firearms. How to describe this feeling? It's more like a sense of loss and disorientation. It's like a martial arts master who has practiced with broadswords and spears for decades finally completing his training and leaving the mountain, only to find that the outside world is now entirely equipped with firearms and cannons. Seriously, times have changed, and no one can accept it all at once.
Just then, Gao Yao, the chief instructor sitting next to Zhu Liangzu, also said, "Actually, you don't need to be like this. His Majesty has said more than once that we are probably the last batch of traditional generals. At least, there won't be any more fierce generals like those in history books. No matter how good you are at fighting, can you compare to artillery? Can you survive a volley of gunfire?"
"Military reform is definitely going to happen. If he can't keep up with His Majesty's pace, His Majesty will consider our past relationship, but he certainly won't keep him in the military as a hindrance. He'll probably be given some other position."

Upon hearing this, everyone's minds immediately stirred, and Hu Hai, the commander of the 50th Army, suddenly asked Gao Yao.

"Instructor Gao, did you hear something from His Majesty? Did His Majesty say what the specifics of the military reforms are?"

Gao Yao glanced at him, thought for a moment, and then said, "I have indeed heard His Majesty mention some things. Giving you a heads-up beforehand isn't a bad idea, so you can be mentally prepared. First of all, those of you who are commanders-in-chief or above don't need to worry too much. His Majesty is reluctant to cut so many high-ranking generals at once. No matter how the military reform changes in the future, there will always be a position for you." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Hu Hai then asked, "But I heard that His Majesty is going to cut troops this time. How many will be cut, and where will it start?"

Gao Yao immediately frowned and said, "I don't know exactly how many will be cut. As for where to start, since it's about reducing the size of the force and saving military spending, it will definitely start with the soldiers, who are the largest group of soldiers."

"I estimate that the old and weak will be laid off first, especially soldiers and junior officers over thirty years old with low ranks. I'm afraid a lot will be laid off this time. Otherwise, there won't be any major battles to fight in the future. These officers and soldiers who are neither high-ranking nor low-ranking will just waste their time if they stay."

Everyone frowned upon hearing this, and Liao Yongzhong immediately said, "His Majesty will surely give us a title, but those captains below will just be dismissed and sent home without any title or anything. After all, they have risked their lives for so long, they must feel bad about it, right?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Yao immediately said, "General Liao's thinking is a bit unnecessary. Reducing the army is a matter that affects the whole situation. Even if these veterans and captains are to be laid off, the court will definitely give them an explanation. I guess they will transfer them to local areas and arrange official positions for them."

Feng Sheng raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

Gao Yao immediately retorted, "You're unaware of His Majesty's reforms to the Six Ministries of the State Council?"

"of course I know."

"That's right. Putting aside everything else, this Ministry of Police, which was formerly the Ministry of Justice, is said to be setting up police departments and police bureaus in various provinces, prefectures, and counties. I heard that it's similar to the county magistrate in ancient times and the judicial commissioner in the former Song Dynasty. There are more than a thousand counties in the country, as well as the provincial and prefectural levels. How many people can be transferred back to local positions?"

"Besides, we still have the Internal Security Forces. Those who retire from the main force can transfer to local internal security forces as officers, and they can probably get promoted one rank, which would be considered a good promotion."

Everyone suddenly realized, "So that's how it is."

"So that's how it's arranged."

Zhu Liangzu then added, "Not only that, I've also heard that His Majesty intends to reduce the combat effectiveness of some troops, especially those prisoners of war from the Yuan army, or those troops that are only in the form of a provisional division and do not yet have an official designation. They will be removed from the main force and either converted into agricultural reclamation troops or engineering troops. I heard that they will be responsible for building bridges and paving roads in the future."

Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged bewildered glances again. This meant that the entire unit would be demobilized to build bridges and roads? They might as well have just retired. Wouldn't this be like doing hard labor? Fortunately, they were all generals of the main force, so they didn't have to worry about that.

However, Zhao Zhongzhong then said, "Do you have any news about the reorganization of the main force? Judging from what you two have said about this downsizing method, it seems that a lot of troops will be cut. Surely our main force won't be reduced too much?"

Gao Yao immediately shook his head, "I can't say for sure. Even His Majesty and the Privy Council may not have decided how to change it yet. If His Majesty can't give a definitive answer, how would I know?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Liangzu stroked his beard and said, "I do have some information on this."

Everyone immediately looked over and asked, "What news?"

"I only heard this secondhand. I heard that after all the wars in the country are over, His Majesty intends to set up several new war zone command headquarters to be responsible for the daily work of the main force of the Holy Martial Army in various regions and the local provincial guards, such as conscription, training, and retirement. They will have the power to command and train troops, but not the power to deploy troops, or only a limited power to deploy troops."

"It is estimated that each war zone is responsible for a major direction, such as one specifically responsible for Liaodong, Korea, and Japan, one for defending against the Mongolian Plateau and the Northwest, and one for defending against the Southeast, etc."

"In addition to the war zones, several new service command headquarters may be established to be responsible for the development of all services and branches of the military."

"The theater command and the service branch command?" Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

Feng Sheng asked curiously, "I can roughly understand the war zone. Didn't the Privy Council of the former Song Dynasty also divide the country into this room and that room, with each room specifically keeping an eye on the enemy in a certain direction?"

"But what's the point of these military branch commands? We already have war zones, isn't it redundant to divide them up again?"

Zhu Liangzu immediately said, "I don't quite understand it either. I've only heard some rumors, but there is a difference between the military branch command and the war zone. The war zone commander can command troops, and when there is a real war, the war zone will be deployed. The military branch is mainly responsible for construction, military academies, training, developing specialized equipment, and developing corresponding new tactics."

"For example, the navy and the army are further divided into musketeers, cavalry, artillery, and so on. I don't know much more."

Upon hearing this, everyone seemed to be deep in thought. Could it be that Lu Jin's division of power was intended to create checks and balances between them? However, this was not entirely impossible.

But at that moment, Zhu Liangzu spoke to everyone again.

"Ahem, don't think too much right now. Our domestic war isn't over yet. Even if there's going to be military reform, it won't happen so quickly. We might have to fight another war."

(End of this chapter)