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Chapter 748 New Military System

In mid-March, the Ming Army was formally incorporated into the Ming army and placed under the management of the Ministry of War, which in name no longer served as the emperor's private army. However, the command was vested in the General Staff, and it was clearly stated that the supreme commander of all Ming military organizations was the emperor, known as the Grand Marshal.

The original ranks below the Grand Marshal were abolished and replaced with official titles, such as the Left and Right Commanders, the Commander-in-Chief, etc. They no longer have the functions of rank and salary, but are only used as an expression of authority. The original honorary officials, such as the Zhongwu Colonel, the Jinwu General, and the Ronglu Doctor, retained the functions of rank and salary.

For example, Sun Chengzong originally had a long list of positions and titles including the third-rank commander-in-chief, General Zhaoyong, Deputy Governor-General of the Army, Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, and Head of the Central Army Governor's Office. Now these positions and titles have been simplified to the third-rank general Shaowu and Right Governor of the Army.

His rank and salary were the Third Grade Shaowu General, and his position was the Right Commander of the Army. In the new military system, the power of civilian officials to lead troops was abolished, so he could no longer hold the position of the Ministry of War concurrently, and the Five Military Commanders' Office had been abolished.

There is only one purpose for this, which is to make it easier to assign specific people to specific tasks and determine their rights and responsibilities. It is clear who should do what, who can command whom, how much salary they get, how many honors they have, so that they cannot shirk responsibility or overstep their authority.

The historical phenomenon of Yuan Chonghuan beheading Mao Wenlong is impossible under the new military system. Both people have clear positions, and whoever is in charge obeys whoever is in charge. There is no possibility of two people in charge of one position.

Even if there are special circumstances, such as the troops being disbanded and temporarily merged, and the officers are no longer subordinate to each other and can no longer be distinguished by their positions, they can compare their ranks, and whoever is more senior will listen to whom, and of course, whoever is responsible will be in charge.

The Left Governor-General of the Army is the highest commander of the Army, and the Left Governor-General of the Navy is the highest commander of the Navy. Their respective subordinates include two Governor-General's Associate Governors, two Governor-General's Assistant Governors, and a total of 30 people including the Governor-General's Chief of Staff and the Governor-General's Staff, who assist in managing military affairs.

The Duzhihuishisi was the largest permanent organization in the army, with five guards under its jurisdiction and the Duzhihuishi in charge. Its subordinates included two Duzhihuitongzhi, two Duzhihuijianshi, two Duzhihuishi chiefs of staff and Duzhihuishi staff, a total of 5 people, who were in charge of operations, training, logistics, ordnance, intelligence, communications, accounts, etc.

Each guard was under the jurisdiction of 5 thousand households, and was held in charge of the seal by a commander. His subordinates included one command assistant, one command assistant, a command chief and command staff, a total of 10 people, who were in charge of operations, training, logistics, ordnance, intelligence, communications, accounts, etc.

Each Qianhu is in charge of 10 Baihu, and the Qianhu holds the seal. His subordinates include one Tongzhi, one Qianshi, and a Qianhu chief of staff and Qianhu staff, a total of 5 people, who are in charge of operations, training, logistics, ordnance, intelligence, communications, accounts, etc.

Each centurion is in charge of two teams, each team is in charge of five squads, and the centurion is in charge of the seal. He has two staff officers who are in charge of operations, training, logistics, ordnance, intelligence, communications, accounts, etc.

Each squad is composed of two squads, with a total of 2 soldiers. The squad leader holds the seal and has two squad leaders under him, who are in charge of combat, training, logistics, ordnance, communications, etc. There is no staff officer.

The rank of the officers from the chief of staff of the governor to the chief of staff of the centurion is the same as that of the military officers, but they adopt a dual leadership. The power of appointment, removal, reward and punishment lies with the General Staff and the Navy and Army Staff. No department may interfere beyond its authority. Under normal circumstances, the staff at all levels must obey the command of the officers holding the seal at the same level. In special circumstances, such as serious disagreements with the chief officer, the chief officer's command power can be temporarily deprived with the approval of all staff officers, and a temporary commander can be selected according to the official position. The General Staff will make the decision afterwards.

The first Left General of the Army under the new military system was Li Ruzhang, who was awarded the rank of General of Cavalry of the second rank; the Right General was vacant, and the General's Associates Du Song and Sun Chengzong were awarded the rank of Doctor Ronglu of the first rank and General Shaowu of the third rank respectively; the General's Secretaries Xiao Ruxun and Ma Chengen were awarded the rank of Doctor Ronglu of the first rank respectively; the General's Chief of Staff was still Ding Shun, who was awarded the rank of General Mingwei of the fourth rank.

Some people may ask, Sun Chengzong was the vice governor, so he was awarded the rank of Shaowu General, while Xiao Ruxun and Ma Chengzong, who were one level lower in rank, were awarded the rank of Ronglu Doctor, which was the rank of Ronglu Doctor. How can a third-rank official command a first-rank official?
In fact, this is the core of the new military system. When determining authority and responsibility, positions are compared first, and only when positions are the same, honorary titles are compared. Ranks only represent honors, contributions, and salary levels, and have no necessary connection with positions and authority and responsibility.

Why is it set up like this? The initiator Hong Tao answered that it was to facilitate work. If the title and position are not clearly distinguished, it is very likely that in the future an officer who has participated in many battles and made many contributions will have a higher rank than the current commander.

However, living a long life and having many achievements does not necessarily mean that the officer has excellent command ability and can lead more troops. It may also be due to long service time, participation in many battles, and a strong life that he gradually accumulated military merits and was promoted to a higher rank.

It is necessary to give such officers high treatment and honors, which is what they deserve. But their positions cannot be improved at the same time. Meritorious service and command ability are two completely different things and must be distinguished.

Only in this way can promotions and rewards and punishments be carried out more accurately and fairly, without allowing veterans who are brave and tough but lack command ability to hold high command positions, and without allowing warriors who have risked their lives for their country and have fought on the battlefield many times to shed blood and tears.

Theoretically, if a soldier serves long enough and is lucky enough, his honorary title may be promoted to the first rank of Special Advancement and Ronglu Doctor, but his position may also be just a small captain without rank.

Although he received more salary than the highest commander of the army, Li Ruzhang, he could only command one team. As a sixth-rank trial centurion, he had to do whatever he was asked to do as long as it did not violate military orders. Otherwise, he would be disobeying orders and punished by military law!
In addition, it is not the case that honorary officers can only be promoted but not demoted. If an officer makes a mistake that exceeds the level of criticism and education, but does not constitute imprisonment, according to military law, the case can be reported to the Ministry of War to revoke several levels of his honorary title and reduce his treatment.

Of course, if you die in battle or leave the army, your honor will be cancelled and converted into corresponding pensions and retirement subsidies. The Ministry of War is currently refining the specific algorithm and it will be released soon.

At present, the army has a total of 12 people, organized into guards and three thousand households directly under the governor. The original names of front, back, left, right and center guards were cancelled and replaced with the serial numbers of one, two, three, four, five, etc.

As the troop strength was slightly insufficient, the emperor ordered the transfer of 12 men from the new army to mix with 15 guards composed of veteran army soldiers. Eventually, the number of the army reached nearly , divided into guards, led by four commander-in-chiefs respectively, replacing the nine border army towns and stationed on the Great Wall defense line.

(End of this chapter)