Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 489 Rebuilding the Nation (Part 5)
Maplestone City
[Municipal Office]
At dawn, Colonel Gaisa Adonis arrived at the Maplestone City Hall.

As one of the four "Supreme Members" of the "Supreme Committee" of the "Supreme Conference for the Establishment of the State," Colonel Gaisa and his "highest colleagues" have spent most of their daytime hours in the city hall's meeting room for the past two weeks, discussing and negotiating "matters related to the establishment of the state."

Those who stayed longer in the city hall than the four Supreme Councilors were the Allied military officers and provincial government officials selected for the "Preparatory Meeting," because they were there in the evenings as well.

After all, the General Assembly of Free People is about to convene, and many things need to be finalized as soon as possible.

Even though the preparatory meeting worked day and night, with the opening day of the conference fast approaching, many specific matters were still waiting to be decided.

Once the determination to "rebuild the republic" is made, many existing things will become like old furniture in a new house, an eyesore no matter how you look at them, making you want to simply tear them down and start over.

Take military affairs, which account for the largest proportion, for example. From the official name of the army, flag insignia and uniform colors, to the organization, command sequence and political status of the army, everything has to be changed if you don't want to copy the old ways.

According to the opinion of the "Four-Person Committee", since we are moving into a new era, we should have a new look.

A myriad of tasks fell on the shoulders of all the members of the "preparatory meeting," including not only formal matters such as "what color military uniform to wear," but also many important issues involving the actual interests of all parties.

For example, how would Winters' "informal officers" be integrated into the formal officer system? And what rank would they be granted?
It should be noted that in the past, an officer qualified to independently command an infantry battalion or a cavalry squadron was at least a major.

Even the original meaning of the military rank "major" as "a person of higher status" refers to "a professional officer who is fully responsible for commanding a small square formation in the large square formation system".

However, in the Iron Peak County Army, the number of unofficial officers who met this criterion could not be counted on one hand.

If they are directly awarded the rank of major based on the actual size of the troops they command, then what about Winters Montagne, who commands them?
It should be noted that the highly respected Lord Blood Wolf's official military rank is only "Captain".

Not only the Tiefeng County Army, but also the troops in the other three counties had a serious mismatch between rank and position.

In the various county troops, it was common to see second lieutenants and first lieutenants commanding a battalion, and it was also not uncommon for commissioned officers who had never even touched a gun to be directly responsible for the lives of hundreds of people.

The old seniority-based promotion model is no longer suitable for the current reality.

The army of the new republic needs a completely new system for training and promotion to end the current absurd situation.

To solve this problem, the officers at the "Preparatory Meeting" racked their brains and came up with a solution.

After going through multiple cycles of "debate - revision - heated debate - sweeping revision - even more heated debate - starting over", it finally gained the understanding and recognition of all parties.

The specifics of the plan will not be discussed here.

Although during the finalization of the plan, representatives of the armies from each county argued for their own interests, and the negotiations were deadlocked at times, with almost no consensus being reached.

However, reaching a consensus through negotiation rather than through weapons is itself the greatest consensus.

Resolutions such as the [conferment of ranks], which were passed only after going through many twists and turns, can only be considered as pavilions and towers built on this foundation.

However, the "negotiation" has indeed yielded many gratifying results.

There are still some beautiful and ambitious ideas that have to bow to reality.

For example, Winters strongly advocated for the establishment of a comprehensive logistics department for the army of the new republic, which would centrally allocate all resources from armaments to provisions and be fully responsible for providing all the necessary supplies to each unit.

This freed the field troops from the heavy burden of material collection and distribution, allowing them to focus on combat and training.

At the same time, resources should be allocated more rationally to avoid a recurrence of situations like "the troops of Baishan County and Leiqun County who were resisting the enemy's army in Hegu Village only had a pitiful number of iron-cased grenades, while the troops of Tiefeng County who were carrying an inexhaustible supply of iron-cased grenades were climbing the mountain."

Winters also made no secret of telling the other three committee members that the existence of an all-encompassing logistics department was also a constraint.

"Since it is the country's army, it should be supported by the country."

The existence of a General Logistics Department can prevent anyone from turning the country's military into their private property.

Colonel Gaisa, Colonel Skul, and Lieutenant Colonel Matthias agreed with Winters's view and recognized the benefits a unified logistics system could bring to the military.

However, they also frankly expressed their concerns—logistics is a matter of life and death for the army, and they were not at ease handing it over like this.

At present, the three officers still hope to maintain the current model of "each county supporting its own troops".

As for the uneven distribution of resources due to differences in the products of each county, they believed that it could be resolved through trade—just like before.

Winters' proposal to establish a unified logistics system was rejected with four votes (Baishan County, Leiqun County, Bianjiang County, and Jinghu County) against two votes (Tiefeng County and Vone County).

The idea of ​​a "unified logistics system" was rejected, but Winters could still accept and compromise.

There was only one thing he absolutely refused to compromise on.

That is, the question of who holds command authority—how should the army exist in the new republic?
This is a big problem, but it's hard to put into practice. It sounds vague and unrealistic, but we just can't reach a consensus on it no matter what.

……

The Charter of the Union clearly stipulates that the command authority over the armed forces of all republics belongs to the Union and its member states.

However, there are two problems with this statement.

Two issues that seemed insignificant at the time, but later became major problems.

First, the interests of the Alliance and the Republic are not always aligned.

Secondly, there is no independent consciousness in the world that is called a "League" or a "Republic". In other words, the command of the army belongs to the League and its member states, but neither the "League" nor the "Republic" can actually exercise command authority.

In the end, the actual command of the army naturally fell back into the hands of the army, just like a horse biting its own reins.

Therefore, in the name of "for the Alliance and the Republic," the military has the "right" to do anything.

This is why the United Provinces and Platt have come to this point, and it is also a historical case that causes great distress to many Vinetta jurists.

At the beginning of the alliance, royalists and nobles held deep-rooted power in local areas—especially in the vast rural regions.

They coveted the alliance, whose influence was primarily concentrated in the cities, and repeatedly launched armed rebellions in an attempt to nip the nascent republican regime in the bud.

However, the Allied army, after undergoing Ned Smith's reforms, was far more powerful than the old aristocratic army.

Therefore, the situation is often that as soon as a count or baron raises the flag of rebellion and is still calling on his friends and recruiting soldiers, the allied forces arrive and ruthlessly suppress him.

The royalists and old nobles, who had suffered greatly, mostly fled to the empire and became court nobles and robe nobles who were completely dependent on the imperial power.

Those who remained within the alliance's territory also realized that armed resistance meant certain death. So, leveraging their accumulated influence, they joined local councils, transforming themselves into "national representatives" representing the general public.

Thus, against this complex backdrop, in order to prevent the old royalist aristocracy from seizing control of the Grand Council and then launching a counterattack,

The carefully worded Charter of the Alliance left this opening regarding the "command authority".

At that time, the Allied forces were seen as the last bulwark to protect the republican system.

Only the people of Hailan, who have always been wary of tyrants and ambitious individuals, insisted on adding a clause to the charter of the Republic of Veneta that "the Grand Council exercises command authority on behalf of the Republic and the Alliance."

And today, another Venetian finds himself seemingly at the same crossroads.

……

When discussing how the army should exist in the new republic, Lieutenant Colonel Matthias Korwin, who rarely expressed a strong opinion, stated:
The Paratul Army should retain all the rights and powers it held in the old Republic within the new Republic.

Winters could tell that Colonel Skul Mekren did not entirely agree with Lieutenant Colonel Matthias's views.

However, as an ally of Lieutenant Colonel Matthias, especially given that Winters and Colonel Gaisa each had two votes, while he and Lieutenant Colonel Matthias had a combined total of two votes, Colonel Skull could only side with Lieutenant Colonel Matthias on such a "trivial" issue.

After all, Colonel Skull was more anxious about when the vacancies in the Minefield County troops could be filled than about who would take command.

To everyone's surprise, Winters, who had previously been the most amicable in negotiations, vehemently opposed Lieutenant Colonel Matthias's proposal.

Winters argued his case forcefully, even using some very strong language:

“If we leave it as it is, then we will only be creating a poor imitation of the old Republic of Palatine.”

On the other hand, Lieutenant Colonel Matthias Korwin, who rarely expressed strong opposition, was also unyielding on this issue.

Lieutenant Colonel Matthias cited many reasons, including some very persuasive practical considerations.

"Look at those people outside the door, what do you see?" Lieutenant Colonel Matthias asked himself, answering his own question: "Soldiers! Soldiers! And more soldiers! They are the reason we can sit here. To strip the army of its rights is to uproot ourselves! If you insist on doing this, your men will be the first to stand up against you! With the United Provinces' troops pressing in, how can we afford to lose our composure at a time like this?!"

Neither side could convince the other, and neither was willing to back down.

Faced with this situation, Gaisa Adonis, who held the two decisive votes, cautiously refrained from making a statement on the spot.

For Colonel Gaisa, the rift between Winters and Lieutenant Colonel Matthias was more worrying than the question of who would take command.

So Colonel Gaisa tried very hard to play the role of peacemaker.

Before heading to City Hall today, Colonel Gaisa spoke with Colonel Skull, hoping to persuade Winters to back down.

Colonel Gaisa believed that Lieutenant Colonel Matthias's statement made more sense.

The question of who commands the command is far too metaphysical and detached from reality.

Adding the "Veneta Supplement" to the Charter of the Republic will not solve the real problems; removing the "Veneta Supplement" will not create any more problems.

Moreover, as a member of the military, Colonel Gaisa was unwilling, deep down, to have his rights and powers restricted.

So upon arriving at the Maplestone City Hall, Colonel Gaisa did not go straight through the gate, but remained on the steps, waiting for Winters to arrive.

Before long, the sound of hooves echoed through the streets, and a black carriage adorned with a winged lion emblem rumbled out of the mist and came into Colonel Gaisa's view.

The carriage stopped at the bottom of the steps, the door opened, and the footboard was lowered.

Colonel Gaisa greeted him with a smile as he descended the steps, but before he could say hello, he saw an unexpected face.

The colonel's expression froze, and his brows furrowed slightly: "Kay Morland, you... how did you get here?"

“Colonel Gaisa Adonis.” Kai Morland stepped down from the carriage, forcing a smile. “Long time no see.”

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(End of this chapter)