Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 545: Adding rewards to war zone soldiers
“Capital cannot expand disorderly, and the national wealth gap must be controlled by the government and within a reasonable range. The collection of asset tax shall be formulated through consultation between the Legislative Yuan, the House of Representatives, the Judicial Yuan and other departments, and we will strive to pass review and formally promulgate it before the date of the preparatory constitution.”

Li Mingyuan instructed: "In addition to tax reform, the government and military must also make changes based on the needs of economic and social development. Chief Liu, please introduce to everyone the preliminary reform plan."

"Yes, Your Majesty"

The Minister of Commerce stood up and said, "According to your Majesty's instructions, in order to clarify the functions of the government, army and navy, improve work efficiency and strengthen supervision, we are preparing to carry out the following reforms:

23. Expand the number of first-level administrative agencies of the central government to , namely

1 Ministry of Civil Affairs (Ministry of Revenue), 2 Ministry of Finance, 3 Ministry of General Affairs (formerly Ministry of Personnel)

、4宣传部（礼部）、5教育部、6司法部（刑部）、7工业部、8外交部、9商业部、10督察院、11立法院、12众议院（由退役士兵推选代表和各地方百姓推举代表组成）、13铁道部、14审计部、15水利部、16国家银行兼金融管理部、17国土资源部、18农业部、

19海军部、20陆军部、21警务部、22交通运输部、23卫生部，各部主官统称总长，主官副职统称次长。

Second, in order to strengthen the command of the army and navy and the training of young officers, the aide-de-camp was established. The aide-de-camp was directly responsible to His Majesty and was responsible for assisting His Majesty in handling military-related affairs. The aide-de-camp had one chief aide-de-camp and 10 to 30 aide-de-camp staff. The aide-de-camp had a staff of 300 to 500 people.

Third, the military shareholding policy was abolished. The commercial shares of the army and navy originally held by the royal family and the government were redeemed by the government at market prices and converted into military expenditures for the army and navy.

Fourth, in order to strengthen military management and improve its combat effectiveness, non-combat functional departments such as inspection, smuggling, local security, and mineral resource exploration will be separated from the military and integrated into the Ministry of Police, the Maritime Guard, the Ministry of Land and Resources and other departments.

Fifth, in order to meet the needs of national expansion and development and to deal with external military threats, additional war zone and garrison zone organizations will be established.

The Gyeonggi Security Command was established, with jurisdiction over Gyeonggi Province, Gangju, and Gwangju.

The Northern Theater Command was established, with jurisdiction over the entire territory of the Kingdom of Paraguay.

The Eastern Theater Command was established, with jurisdiction over the four prefectures north of the Yangtze River.

The Central Theater Command was established, with jurisdiction over Anzhou, Songzhou, Zhenzhou and other areas.

The Western Theater Command was established, with jurisdiction over Haeju and the Iju Islands in the South Pacific.

The six Parana states were renamed Minzhou.

The Seventh Army Officer Academy was renamed the Imperial Army University, and the Naval Academy was renamed the Imperial Naval University. The scale of recruiting young officers for the Army and Navy was expanded, and the training of junior officers was strengthened. It was planned that by 1900, the number of recruited and graduated students would be tripled from the current level.

Eighth, to support the development of high-tech industries, His Majesty has decided to establish a Royal Development Fund, which will include all industries under the name of the royal family, and will take out 10% of the profits each year to invest in the research and development and application of emerging industries such as internal combustion engines, electrical, and chemical industries. "

"Your Majesty has set an example, and we cannot fall behind. Chief Liu, what are the rules for development fund donations? After the meeting, I will also ask my wife to sign up for donations."

As soon as Liu Pu finished speaking, an officer immediately expressed his opinion.

"The Royal Development Fund also accepts donations from the public. If you are interested, you can consult Director Chen who is in charge of the operation of the fund."

Liu Pu replied.

"I understand."

"The development fund mainly relies on the dividends of the royal family's industries. If you are interested in supporting the development of emerging industries, you can also donate, but you must do so within your means. Although the salary and benefits offered by the imperial government and the military are better than those of ordinary people, they are limited after all. Don't cause conflicts with your family because of your desire to stand out, which will affect your normal life. That would go against the original intention of establishing the development fund."

After Liu Pu's explanation, most people in the spacious conference room expressed their willingness to donate funds to support the development of emerging industries. Li Mingyuan saw the reactions of the crowd and kindly reminded them, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. We will certainly do what we can."

Everyone agreed.

"Okay, let's continue the meeting. Chief Liu, please continue to introduce the arrangements for the next step."

Li Mingyuan waved his hand and spoke.

“In the military, the six newly established institutions, namely the Military Affairs Office, Gyeonggi Garrison Command, Northern Theater Command, Eastern Theater Command, Central Theater Command, and Western Theater Command, have been upgraded to group army level, with the corresponding government rank being senior officials, and the basic military rank of the heads of the institutions being lieutenant general.

In order to reward the soldiers who have made meritorious contributions in the Paraguayan War and to boost the morale of the entire army, the positions and titles of some personnel are now adjusted and appointed.

1. Appoint Lieutenant General Wang Jianhua (formerly known as Wang Dashan), commander of the th Division, as the first chief of staff of the aide-de-camp, with his military rank unchanged.

Wang Shizhen, commander of the Iju Islands garrison, was appointed as the Army Aide-de-camp of the Aide-de-camp, with the rank promoted to colonel. Shen Dehui, the combat staff officer of the 1st Mixed Brigade, was appointed as the Army Aide-de-camp chief of staff of the Aide-de-camp, with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Rong Yaoyuan, Pan Mingzhong, Tan Yaoxun and 13 others were appointed as Army Aide-de-Camp, with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Xu Zhixuan was appointed as the naval attaché in the aide-de-camp and his military rank was promoted to colonel.

Yang Guangzong was appointed as the Chief of Staff of the Navy in the Aide-de-Camp, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Chen Jurong, Huang Xibao, Wu Yingke and 11 others were appointed as naval aide-de-camp with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

2 Appoint Chen Zongbai as the commander of the Gyeonggi Garrison Command and the commander of the st Division, and his military rank was promoted to lieutenant general.
Pang Zhenyun, commander of the 1st Mixed Brigade, was appointed as commander of the 10th Division and commander of the Northern Theater Command with the rank of major general. He will be promoted to lieutenant general after reaching the term of office.

Wu Fengdian was appointed commander of the Eastern Theater Command and commander of the Fifth Division, and his military rank was promoted to lieutenant general.

Qiu Mingzhang was appointed Commander of the Central Theater Command and Commander of the Second Division, with the rank of Lieutenant General.

Liu Yongfu was appointed as the commander of the Western Theater Command and commander of the Third Division, and his military rank was promoted to lieutenant general.

After Liu Pu introduced the changes in the positions of some generals within the army, he continued: "In terms of titles, Chen Zongbai has made great contributions in planning and coordinating the entire army, and his title has been promoted to hereditary marquis.

In the Battle of Villarrica, Pang Zhenyun commanded the 2st Mixed Brigade, the th Guard Brigade and other units, and with a weak force, wiped out more than main enemy forces. He made outstanding military achievements and his title was promoted from hereditary viscount to hereditary earl.

Hu Kunshan, commander of the 4th Guard Brigade, and Shen Dehui, combat staff officer of the 1st Mixed Brigade, were awarded the hereditary title of baron.

In the Battle of Wuzhou, the participating officers and soldiers of the Imperial Navy fought bravely and severely damaged the main force of the Brazilian Navy. In the subsequent battles, they captured and annihilated the remaining fleet of the enemy navy in Rio de Janeiro, which was of great strategic significance. In order to commend the military exploits of the participating officers and soldiers of the Imperial Navy, the hereditary title of Earl was awarded to Hou Taiyuan, Commander of the Atlantic Fleet of the Navy, the hereditary title of Viscount was awarded to Chen Shiding, Captain of the Chaoyang, the hereditary title of Baron was awarded to Xu Zhixuan, Captain of the Pioneer-class armored cruiser, the hereditary title of Baron was awarded to Yang Jiannian, Captain of the Victory-class cruiser, and the hereditary title of Baron was awarded to Yang Guangzong and He Linshu, Captains of the Yangwu-class cruisers. ”

Liu Pu read for more than ten minutes before he finished reading the list.

In the Paraguayan War, the Han army had an overwhelming advantage, and the navy also had a clear advantage over the Brazilian Republic. Both the army and navy achieved major victories in the war. Therefore, the number of soldiers and navy officers who were awarded titles and rewards was not small. The number of officers who received hereditary noble titles reached 23, and the number of non-hereditary noble titles reached 31.

Among them, excluding the 11 people who were granted titles during the founding war and continued to be promoted, the number of hereditary nobles in the empire increased from 51 when it was first granted to 66. The number of non-hereditary nobles also increased to 167.

Unlike the first time, this time, young officers with overseas study backgrounds accounted for half of the total number of people who were awarded titles. Xu Zhixuan, Yang Guangzong, Shen Dehui and other young officers, who were generally around 30 years old, were awarded hereditary noble titles. Although baron is the lowest hereditary title, not as high as the marquis and earl titles awarded to Chen Zongbai and Pang Zhenyun, it is also a hereditary noble title. In the Han Empire, there are only 66 hereditary nobles, which shows how valuable it is.

(End of this chapter)