Chapter 772

The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/caleredhair

“Kill them and hang them outside the Shanhai Pass city gate.”

In the council hall, Xiao Ming’s cold voice was like the biting wind of winter.

As his voice fell, a brief silence descended upon the court. The ministers exchanged glances, then a resounding “Long live!” rang out.

Xiao Ming looked down at his ministers. He mused for a moment and then understood why the officials reacted in such a way.

Just six years ago, the Great Yu Empire was still in a subservient position, pledging allegiance to the Golden Tent Khanate. Any matter involving the Great Yu Empire and the Golden Tent Khanate was considered an extremely important national affair.

Especially for something like capturing Golden Tent Khanate generals, often, to avoid escalating conflicts, they would send all the Golden Tent Khanate generals back.

But now, he was treating the barbarians just as the Golden Tent Khanate had treated Great Yu Empire captured generals back then, showing absolutely no respect to the Golden Tent Khanate.

After all, dying in battle was still understandable, but he was directly executing captives.

Such an action was a blatant humiliation to the Golden Tent Khanate and would certainly provoke their wrath.

However, if it had been before, there might have been dissenting opinions in the court, but in the two years since his ascension, he had established his absolute authority in the Great Yu Empire and in the court through continuous victories in foreign wars.

Because in the hearts of the ministers, he was now the guiding star of the Great Yu Empire. As long as they diligently carried out any order he issued, they would be able to achieve revival.

It was precisely because of this slight collision between two mindsets that the ministers, after a moment of hesitation, let out a deafening cheer.

A smile appeared on his face as Xiao Ming looked at his ministers.

As an emperor, one must firmly hold power in one’s own hands. Moreover, he came from modern times, possessing a far more long-term vision than the Great Yu Empire or even the West.

He knew very well what was in line with the times and what was going against the tide.

Having settled the matter of the barbarian captives, Xiao Ming had Qian Dafu announce the adjournment of court, but kept Niu Ben and Luo Quan behind.

After the ministers dispersed, Xiao Ming said to the two, “You two generals were once vital ministers of the Great Yu Empire, and you remain my left and right arms. I hope you two generals can assist me in eliminating this great northern threat.”

Niu Ben and Luo Quan, hearing this, bowed simultaneously and said, “It is our duty to pacify the northern threat for the Great Yu Empire.”

Hearing this, Xiao Ming nodded.

In fact, he had brought the two over this time for the final step of the military reform. Now, the British and French were interfering in the internal affairs of the Great Yu Empire.

For him, it might not be long before he went to war with these Western powers. Therefore, the most crucial step to achieving victory now was to implement the reform of the modern army.

After a moment of thought, he said, “Today I kept you two generals behind for the matter of military reform. In my opinion, the current military system of the Great Yu Empire can no longer adapt to the command of firearm troops. So, before the war, I plan to implement a new military system…”

Then, Xiao Ming elaborated on his ideas to the two.

Combining the modern army system, Xiao Ming planned to establish corps, armies, divisions, brigades, regiments, battalions, and companies within the infantry.

One corps would consist of two armies, and one army would consist of four infantry divisions and two cavalry regiments, with one commander for each army.

A division would have two or three brigades, a brigade would have two regiments, each regiment would have three battalions, and each battalion would have nine companies.

A company would have one hundred and twenty men, and these one hundred and twenty men were precisely the standard complement for a musket formation. This would ensure coordination from top to bottom, allowing firearm units to be commanded effectively.

His old organizational structure was sufficient for use within the Great Yu Empire. There was no need for anything more. But now, the Great Yu Empire was about to embark on the path of overseas colonization, and he did not want to be at a disadvantage in any aspect.

Besides the army, the cavalry also adhered to the army-division-brigade-regiment-company system, and the artillery’s system was also changed accordingly.

This meant equipping different levels of armies with different numbers of cannons. According to his idea, a battalion would be equipped with eight field cannons, a regiment with twenty-four field cannons, a division with seventy-two field cannons, and an army with two hundred and eighty-eight field cannons.

While Xiao Ming explained, the effect of the technology crystal allowed the two to understand this structure more clearly, and even explained the advantages of this structure.

Niu Ben and Luo Quan felt strange, but they deeply agreed. Previously, the Great Yu Empire’s military system was designed for cold weapon warfare.

Because both sides needed large formations for battle.

However, with the equipping of the Conqueror Musket, such a flexible organization was more suitable for the flexible application of tactics on the battlefield.

“Your Majesty, if that’s the case, what will be the official ranks of Lu Fei, Luo Hong, and others?” Niu Ben asked.

Xiao Ming took a sip of tea and said slowly, “Corps commander is a position established only during wartime. As for Lu Fei, Ye Qingyun, and Luo Hong, they are now equivalent to army commanders, and the number of soldiers under their command is roughly equivalent. As for any shortages, they will be supplemented during this conscription.”

Luo Quan said, “Thus, the generals under their command will be given official ranks according to division, regiment, battalion, and company.”

“Precisely,” Xiao Ming said.

Niu Ben and Luo Quan exchanged glances. In fact, after the Great Yu Empire army’s innovation in weaponry, they were already mentally prepared for other changes in the army.

Moreover, in the military academy, they had also learned about the organization of Western armies, and the organization Xiao Ming now proposed had little difference from Western armies in general.

“Your Majesty, I will return to the Grand Council and begin preparing for this matter,” Niu Ben said.

Xiao Ming nodded. At this point, he looked at Luo Quan. Luo Quan had just been brought back into service, and his status was still somewhat awkward.

Promoting him to the Grand Council now would probably draw objections from some, after all, Luo Quan had not participated in the wars of the past few years.

So he said, “There is one more matter. Besides the need for military reform, another office needs to be added under the Grand Council, named the General Staff Department.”

“General Staff Department?” Niu Ben looked puzzled.

In fact, the prototype of the General Staff Department appeared in Prussia in the mid-17th century.

At that time, the Swedish army in Europe was highly regarded by various countries. So, when Prussia formed its troops, it emulated them and established a Quartermaster General’s Department, which was the earliest form of the General Staff.

At that time, the Quartermaster General’s Department’s main duties were to handle engineering services, select marching routes and campsites, construct defensive positions, and so on.

By the era of Frederick the Great, the Quartermaster General’s Department also added the tasks of relaying orders, guiding marching troops, and drafting reports and documents for generals and marshals.

In the first partition of Poland and the War of the Bavarian Succession in 1778, the Quartermaster General’s Department also undertook the planning and leadership of reserve forces. It wasn’t until 1817 that Prussia’s Quartermaster General’s Department was officially renamed the General Staff.

Although Xiao Ming was now in the 18th century, Europe at this time was far ahead in terms of culture and military affairs. So, in his opinion, it was necessary to establish this General Staff Department to coordinate the army’s actions.