Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 212 Comprehensive Adjustment
Colonel and general are terms that have existed in China since ancient times.

The ranks of Shao, Zhong, Shang and Da are not out of place here. China already has titles such as Shao Shi, Shao Fu, Zhonglang Jiang, Five Tiger Generals, Tian Ce General and Da Jiangjun. Lu Jin just transplanted this system, so the three of them did not react too much.

Only Yang Heng asked, "General, is the rank of a lieutenant considered an official position or a grade? Or an official rank? Or a lord?"

Lu Jin immediately explained, "It doesn't count as a lordship, that's a different thing. It's not an official title or rank. The current military officer positions are based on the number of soldiers they lead and their appointments. For example, for the actual positions of regiment commander and military governor, they are given a position based on the number of soldiers they have.

"The ranks of military officers are the same as those of civil officials. We follow the old system of the Han dynasty and simplify it a little bit. We still use the nine-rank system. If we must compare them, the military ranks should be similar to the official ranks of the pre-Song Dynasty, such as so-and-so doctor, so-and-so official, and so on."

With this explanation, everyone understood that in addition to official ranks, officials in the Tang and Song dynasties would also award honorary ranks to meritorious officials, such as the highest rank of Kaifu Yitong Sansi, Tejin Guanglu Dafu, Chaoyilang, Chengyilang, Fengyilang and so on.

This official rank is only an honorary title, and it also has the function of assessing the level of etiquette and salary enjoyed, but it is not a real position and has no right to exercise government affairs.

The three of them looked at the comparison between military ranks and grades in the table again and felt that there was nothing wrong with it.

Historically, when Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, he valued military power over civil power and respected military power. How was this reflected in the specific aspects? For example, we can see from the ranks of civil and military officials. In the guard system established by Zhu Yuanzhang, a small flag officer who managed ten people was actually of the seventh rank.

In comparison, the civil servant county magistrate was only of the seventh rank.

This is quite outrageous. A squad leader is actually on the same level as the county magistrate. Can those ten soldiers defend a county?
Coupled with the huge size of the garrisons, one can imagine how much salary these military positions in the garrisons require. The number of high-level officials is too large, and the administrative expenses alone for paying salaries is a problem. This is one of the reasons why Zhu Yuanzhang set the salary so low when he founded the country, because he really couldn't afford to pay it if it was set too high.

Of course, the situation in which military officials were respected and civil officials were despised in the Ming Dynasty completely changed after the Battle of Tumu, when military power was taken away by civil officials. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, second-rank military officers had to bow and nod when meeting sixth-rank civil officials, which was pitiful and sad.

The standards for military ranks and grades set by Lu Jin did not overly raise the grades of military officers, but did not lower them either. They basically benchmarked the civil service system based on actual military strength and combat effectiveness.

Non-commissioned officers and squad leaders are of the ninth rank, second lieutenants and deputy platoon leaders are of the eighth rank, and first lieutenants and platoon leaders are of the seventh rank, which is the same level as the county magistrate.

The captain and company commander and deputy company commander are of the sixth rank, the major, lieutenant colonel and deputy battalion commander are of the fifth rank, and the colonel, senior colonel and deputy regiment commander are of the fourth rank, which is equivalent to the level of prefect of the civil service.

Major general, lieutenant general, division commander, army commander, are of the second or third rank, equivalent to the first level of the civil servant rank of provincial governor. The army group generals above are of the first rank, equivalent to the theater commander, or the governor of the Five Military Governor's Office.

In fact, in this system, the rank of military officers is still somewhat high. Normally, the battalion should be in charge of townships, the regiment should be in charge of counties, the division or brigade should be in charge of prefectures and cities, and the army/group army should be in charge of provinces.

But if this is done, it means recruiting a lot of soldiers. There are thousands of counties across the country, which means thousands of regiments. Even if each regiment is reduced to 1500 people, it will require nearly two million soldiers. How could an agricultural country with a population of no more than million in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty afford to support so many soldiers?

Therefore, the only option is to appropriately upgrade the military officer system and reduce the size of local military forces.

Moreover, a regiment of the Shengwu Army now consists of 4500 people, which should be comparable to the brigades of later generations. So it is not wrong to use the regiment to compare with the rank of the prefect.

The few people had no objection to the military rank arranged by Lu Jin, but Li Shanchang was in charge of finance and food, so he also asked, "General, if the soldiers are paid salaries in the future, will it be calculated according to military position or rank?"

"The salary issue is calculated based on military rank, not actual position," Lu Jin explained immediately.

Li Shanchang added, "If so, should civil officials from all regions also take out their official ranks now?"

Lu Jin frowned and thought about it, then shook his head and said, "The purpose of issuing military ranks at this time is to encourage the soldiers to make more contributions, and also to make it easier to expand the army after crossing the river.

"Our top priority is to make all-out preparations for crossing the river. If we can gain a foothold and establish a foundation after crossing the river, it won't be too late to issue official ranks to the civil servants then. If the crossing fails, then everything will be over. What's the point of giving all the civil servants the rank of first-rank official? It's just for our own amusement.

"The rank of military general is high because they actually have soldiers. As for the ranks given to civil officials, they are only magistrates and chief clerks of the seventh or eighth rank, and the highest is only the prefect of the fourth rank. We don't even have a province now, so what's the point of worrying about ranks?"

"I understand. Let's talk about it after we cross the river." Li Shanchang agreed after hearing this. He also knew that now was the start-up stage and real power was the most important. With real power, there would be opportunities to do things. If you can do things, you will have achievements in the future, and you will have confidence when it comes to rewarding people based on their merits.

After finalizing the military ranks and the deployment adjustments of various fronts, the meeting was considered over, and Lu Jin immediately assigned tasks to the three people.

"Mr. Baishi, Anqing Road is now included in our army's territory. From now on, it will be officially renamed Anqing Prefecture. Huaining County will be renamed Anqing Prefecture City, and the other counties will retain their old names. In addition, Anqing Prefecture is currently short of three county magistrates. Please urge the Ministry of Personnel to select people with outstanding political achievements from the existing county clerks and promote them to the position of county magistrate of Anqing Prefecture."

"Yes, I will finish it as soon as possible." Li Shanchang agreed immediately.

Lu Jin added, "There is one more thing. When I came back from Anqing, I told the three county magistrates to gather local talented people to take the exam in Luzhou before the end of the third month of the leap year.

"Now that our territory has expanded, we will have to cross the river in the future. After crossing the river, I will definitely take some officials with me and send them to Jiangzuo. In this case, our officials will be insufficient, so we should reserve more talents now.

"Sir, please help me spread the word to all the counties. All the places under the jurisdiction of our Shengwu Army are preparing for the second selection of talents. All scholars from all places can come to Luzhou to take the exam before the end of the leap month. It doesn't matter if they are Confucian students, but if they feel they have the talent to govern the people and the ability to break through the enemy lines, whether they are civil officials or military generals, they can come to take the exam and recommend themselves. Please help me preside over this matter."

"Yes, I will do it later."

"Well, that's it, Yang Heng." After explaining the matters to Li Shanchang, Lu Jin turned and looked at the newcomer Yang Heng.

Yang Heng quickly said, "I'm here."

"Director Feng of the Martial Academy is not here now. You have to help with the paperwork for the reorganization and redeployment of the various units of the Shengwu Army. In addition, you have to coordinate with Xu Jichuan of the Construction Department of the Academy of Literature, especially the current situation of the Feixi Iron Works, how many armors, swords, guns, and cannons are produced each month. You need to understand the production and inventory, and prepare for the replacement of our army's crossing the river corps, as well as the arsenal.

"You are the head of the Logistics Department of the Martial Academy. You have to take care of all these logistical and military preparation matters."

"Yes, I will definitely get these things done as soon as possible." Yang Heng quickly agreed.

Lu Jin glanced at him and said, "You just arrived. I heard that your family didn't get any big house. Now the Marshal's Mansion is in Luzhou. The population is increasing day by day, and there are many families of important officials and generals. Even if we build a new house, it will be too late. Besides, we can't stay here for long. At most, we may have to move in a few months. Please be patient for now. If you have any shortage of food, clothing and daily necessities, please tell me." Yang Heng was stunned when he heard this, and hurriedly said with fear and trepidation, "Thank you for caring about my family. The house is just a shelter from the wind and rain. It can be clean and usable. It doesn't need to be too luxurious. It is rare to be able to provide a place for my wife, children and old mother. I am already satisfied."

Lu Jin waved his hand again and said, "Your mother is ill. There is a doctor in Luzhou named Chi Renping, who is a disciple of the famous doctor Ge in Suzhou. I have invited him to come to your house to treat your mother. I will pay for the consultation. Don't worry."

When Yang Heng heard that Lu Jin had found a doctor for his mother, he was deeply moved and immediately knelt down and said, "Thank you for your concern, Marshal. I will definitely work hard for you until my death."

Lu Jin hurriedly stepped forward and helped him up. "Stand up, since you surrendered voluntarily, I will forgive you for the past, but you need to do your best in the future. I have a clear distinction between rewards and punishments. I will reward those who have made contributions and punish those who have made mistakes. As long as you do well, I will not hesitate to reward you."

"Yes, I will keep it in mind." Yang Heng bowed again.

Lu Jin then took out a set of handwritten Gongshu Secret Classics and handed them to him. "This is a book passed down in my family. You can read Gongshuzi. You need to study Gongshu Suanjing by yourself. Otherwise, you may not understand the things in the iron factory. As for the other books, if you are interested, you can also take a look. If you don't understand something, you can also ask me for advice.

"In addition, there is a training camp here in the Marshal's Mansion. The children of many important generals and officers study here. If your children have no one to take care of them, you can also send them here to study."

Yang Heng had only heard of Lu Jin Gongshu's identity, but was not sure. After reading the book handed over by Lu Jin, he finally confirmed the rumor. He immediately held the book in his hand and said, "Thank you for the book, Marshal. I will read it carefully and learn the arithmetic as soon as possible."

"You don't have to learn everything. Just learn the basics. Go do your work first and read it later when you have free time."

"Yes."

"Go."

"My minister retire."

After Yang Heng left, only Lu Jin and Bao Yu were left in the field. Lu Jin then said to Bao Yu, "Do you have any important intelligence recently? Have you figured out the situation of Taiping Road and Jiqing Road on the other side of the river? How many Yuan troops are there and who are the generals?"

"We have roughly figured it out. The total number of Yuan troops in Jiqing Road and Taiping Road combined is probably no less than 200,000. If we want to capture these two places, we may need careful planning." Bao Yu immediately introduced the situation.

"Two hundred thousand? Hiss—" Lu Jin took a breath of cold air when he heard it. He had worked so hard but still couldn't gather an army of 100,000, while the two prefectures in Zhejiang on the other side had pulled out an army of 200,000. It was really frustrating to compare oneself with others.

However, it can also be seen from this that the population of Jiangsu and Zhejiang is really large, so it is even more necessary to take them down.

Lu Jin immediately asked Bao Yu for the details.

Just as they were discussing the troop deployment of the Yuan army on the other side, orders were issued from the Marshal's Mansion.

Zhao Yong moved the 105th Regiment to Lu'an and transferred Yu Tingyu's nd Regiment stationed there to Luzhou to form the th Division.

At the same time, the military rank system was also implemented. Yu Tingyu was promoted to major general commander of the 105th Division and concurrently served as the commander of the second regiment. Zhao Yong was promoted to major general deputy commander of the 105th Division and concurrently served as the commander of the 11th Regiment.

The 35th Army on the southern front had just been reorganized, so their deployment did not need to be adjusted, but they just took this opportunity to fill in the military ranks.

Liao Yongan was appointed commander-in-chief of the 35th Army, awarded the rank of lieutenant general, second rank, and concurrently served as commander-in-chief of the 101st Division and commander of the 35rd Regiment. Miao Daheng was appointed deputy commander-in-chief of the 104th Army, awarded the rank of major general, third rank, and concurrently served as commander-in-chief of the 12th Division and commander of the th Regiment.

The newly promoted Han Qinglu of the 15th Regiment, Lu Ding of the 16th Regiment, and Miao Youzhen of the 3rd Navy Regiment were only colonels in regiment commanders, while the "old-school" 101th Regiment under Guo Zixing got a colonel in regiment commander, who also served as deputy commander-in-chief of the st Division.

This appointment and military rank made Guo Zixing feel much better. It seemed that Lu Jin had not completely given up on him and gave him the position of deputy commander-in-chief. Although it was only a nominal position and Liao Yongan still had the final say in the 101st Division, this also made him see hope again and prevented him from giving up on himself.

As soon as the reorganization and redeployment order for the northern front arrived, all the generals became excited.

The new 36th Army Headquarters was established, with Zhu Liangzu as the commander-in-chief of the 36th Army. He was awarded the rank of lieutenant general, the second rank. It was under the command of the 102nd and 106th Divisions. The 102nd Division had the 5th, 14th and two cavalry regiments under its command, and its headquarters was located in Haozhou.

At the same time, Lu Jin ordered Liao Yongzhong to separate from the Fifth Regiment with his battalion, and then give him the remaining few Anqing surrendered generals, Xia Xingzu, Chen Shida, and Zhou Wen, the three thousand-household battalion officers, to form the newly formed 18th Regiment.

Liao Yongzhong served as the deputy commander-in-chief of the 36th Army, was awarded the rank of major general, the third rank, and concurrently served as the commander-in-chief of the 106th Division, which was in charge of the 18th Regiment, Yu Tongyuan's th Regiment, and Zhao Zhongzhong's th Regiment. The division headquarters was located in Chuzhou.

Yu Tongyuan and Zhao Zhongzhong were both awarded the rank of major general and served as regiment commanders. Yu Tongyuan also served as deputy commander of the 106th Division.

Xia Xingzu, Chen Shida and Zhou Wen were somewhat unhappy when they heard that Lu Jin was going to transfer them to Chuzhou to form a new 18th Regiment to directly confront the Yuan army. They thought that Lu Jin was going to use them, the surrendered generals, as cannon fodder, and they generally felt resistance.

But soon, their attitude changed, because Lu Jin asked them to change their clothes in Luzhou before they were transferred. They had new armor made by the iron factory, four combat battalions, more than three thousand sets of bright red cloth armor, silver helmets, and dragon-scale-like ring arm armor. The whole set of armor weighed no less than forty kilograms.

Not only do the combat soldiers have armor, but the auxiliary soldiers also have the same style of armor, except that the armor of the auxiliary soldiers is indigo blue.

The entire regiment has a total of 4500 sets of new armor, and even their weapons have been unified. Everyone is equipped with a spear that is more than five meters long, and they can choose to use a knife or a bone sword as their secondary weapon without any restrictions.

After such luxurious weapons and armor were distributed, the three men had nothing to say. It didn't look like they were going to be cannon fodder at all, but more like elite troops.

Moreover, the three of them made some inquiries and heard that the iron factory in Feixi could produce 4,500 sets of armor per month, enough to equip a regiment. Then, looking at Lu Jin's guards, they were all wearing a variety of captured armor. How could they not understand Lu Jin's intention?

After all, who would give rags to the elite and replace the cannon fodder with new armor? The three of them didn't dare to think about it anymore, took their equipment and went to Chuzhou honestly.

(End of this chapter)