Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 941 Military Position and Rank
The military positions currently used by the Ming Dynasty, such as the general, deputy general (deputy general), lieutenant general, guerrilla general, and garrison, were originally temporary military positions, but later evolved into actual military positions. The military positions originally set up by Zhu Yuanzhang in the structure of the Five Military Commandery, such as the left and right military commanders, deputy governors, deputy governors, deputy governors, commanders, commanders, deputy commanders, deputy commanders, pacification envoys, thousand households, deputy thousand households, hundred households, deputy hundred households, general flags, small flags, all of which became nominal positions except for the local guards.

This also involved the division of powers between the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commission. The Ministry of War replaced the actual military positions of the Five Military Commission with the previously temporarily granted temporary military positions, thereby seizing power from the Five Military Commission. This also affected the emperor's control over military power, which was something Zhu Shenzui could not tolerate in any way.

If this situation is allowed to continue, it will not change at all. Therefore, it is extremely necessary to start with military positions and ranks and readjust and establish military positions and ranks in the military.

After many discussions and in light of the actual situation, Zhu Shenzhui had people come up with a specific plan. In the future, the military ranks of the Ming Dynasty will be divided into four levels, which are equivalent to the modern generals, colonels, lieutenants, and non-commissioned officers.

Among them, generals are divided into four levels, namely Jinwu General, Huoqi General, Dingguo General and Zhenguo General, which correspond to the four levels of modern general ranks of general, lieutenant general, major general and brigadier general. In addition, subsequent military ranks such as Longhu General (General), Jinwu General and Huoqi General (Marshal) are retained as promotions.

As for the actual military positions, the military positions of the garrisons and the border troops will be unified and merged into the levels of governor (admiral), general, deputy general (deputy general), lieutenant general, and guerrilla general. The commander's position will not be retained in the army directly, but will be transferred to military positions in local garrisons and future police departments, that is, the existing military positions will be transferred to reserve and police rank positions.

Among them, the governor-general (admiral) can lead one to three armies, which is equivalent to the current general-in-chief, and is equivalent to the commander of the army group in later generations. He is held by the General of the Imperial Guards (Admiral). The general can be the deputy of the governor-general (admiral) and lead one army, which is an ordinary general position, and is held by the General of the Cavalry (Lieutenant General).

The deputy commander-in-chief is the deputy commander-in-chief, leading a division, and is held by the general of cavalry or the general of state (major general). The lieutenant general can be the deputy commander-in-chief, leading a brigade, and is held by the general of state or the general of state defense (brigadier general). The guerrilla general can be the deputy commander-in-chief, and can also lead a brigade or four battalions, and is held by the general of state defense.

These are senior military positions. As for the military positions below the generals, they are colonel-level officers. Colonel-level officers are divided into three levels. The ranks of Anyuan General, Huaiyuan General and Dingyuan General in the military ranks were changed to Anyuan Colonel, Huaiyuan Colonel and Dingyuan Colonel, and their positions corresponded to the three levels of deputy garrison commander, deputy thousand-householder commander and deputy hundred-householder commander. Among them, Anyuan Colonel, that is, garrison commander or deputy garrison commander, can be the deputy of guerrilla general, leading three to four battalions as a regiment. Huaiyuan Colonel can be the deputy of Dingyuan Colonel, deputy thousand-householder commander, actually leading one battalion. Dingyuan Colonel can be the deputy of Huaiyuan Colonel, deputy hundred-householder commander, leading one officer or three sentries.

The lower-level officers are lieutenants, who are divided into three levels just like the colonels, namely, flying cavalry lieutenants, brave cavalry lieutenants and cloud cavalry lieutenants. The three levels of lieutenants correspond to the positions of sentry and team respectively. Among them, the highest-ranking flying cavalry lieutenant can be the deputy of Dingyuan Colonel, and so on.

As for the non-commissioned officers below them, they will still be set up with the current general flags and small flags, and remain unchanged. They are the grassroots soldiers in the army, with a higher rank than ordinary soldiers, but are not formal officers. They can enjoy most of the same treatment as formal officers, and can also be promoted to lieutenants through military merits or military academy assessments, so that they have a promotion channel.

The same is true for ordinary soldiers. According to their military merits, they can be promoted to small flags or general flags, and then promoted one after another. Of course, the speed of promotion is very slow. After all, it is not easy to be promoted based on military merits. If you can be admitted to a military academy or recommended for admission, and graduate and be awarded a rank after studying, then the lowest rank is Yunqiwei, which means you can directly enter the ranks of officers.

The classification of these military positions and ranks refers to the current military positions and ranks of the Ming Dynasty, and also adopts the combination of the Ming Dynasty's military honors and ranks and scattered ranks. It seems a bit cumbersome, but it is necessary. Moreover, for people of this era, such a classification is easier for them to understand.

In addition, it is stipulated that military rank is not equivalent to military position. Military rank as formal grade corresponds to the current official grade. The four levels of General Jinwu, General Huoqi, General Dingguo and General Zhenguo are the second rank, the second rank, the third rank and the third rank respectively.

The third-level colonels are of the 4th, 4th, and 5th ranks. The third-level lieutenants are of the 5th, 6th, and 6th ranks. The positions of the general flag and the small flag of the non-commissioned officers are the same as before, ranging from the 7th rank to the 7th rank.

The military rank of each officer is still reflected in the service, but in order to distinguish them better, Zhu Shenzhu also specially set up a method similar to the previous goldfish bag, adding military rank symbols to the military officers' service. Generals are gold, with gold stars as the distinction between high and low ranks, and colonels are silver, with silver stars as the distinction. As for lieutenants, they are also silver, but there is an extra horizontal bar in the silver star. NCOs have no stars, and are only distinguished by the number of silver bars. This rank model is almost copied from the ranks of modern armies in later generations. It looks clear at a glance and is easy to distinguish.

However, the design of epaulettes or collar badges is not possible at present, because they are not in harmony with the different costumes. They can only be distinguished by chest badges and patches. However, it is expected that with the continuous changes in the military system in the future, the uniforms of the army will be unified one after another, and then they can be gradually transformed into the appearance of later generations. Wu Xiang was officially awarded a rank soon after meeting the emperor. His rank was not low, and he was directly awarded the rank of Jinwu General (General). Touching the four gold stars on his chest, Wu Xiang was very happy. He did not understand the purpose of this rank before, but after reading the division of military ranks and military positions given by the emperor, he quickly figured out the difference between these things. The emperor was able to give him such a rank, even if he did not have an actual military position now, which was very good for Wu Xiang.

Moreover, there were not even ten people in the entire Ming Dynasty who had the same military rank as him. Apart from Wang Jinwu, Zhou Anmin, Hei Yunlong, Qin Liangyu, Zheng Zhilong and three other veteran nobles, he was the only one.

Needless to say, Wang Jinwu is the undisputed number one in the Ming army, and controls the most powerful army in the Ming Dynasty - the New Army. This rank is not only well-deserved, but also a little too low for him. You have to know that with Wang Jinwu's status, he could be the Dragon and Tiger General or even the Jinwu General, but the emperor deliberately suppressed his rank and only awarded him the Jinwu General rank. This is not suppression, but also protection for Wang Jinwu. If only Wang Jinwu surpasses others, this will not be a good thing for him. The first bird to come out will be shot, and I don't know how many people will stare at him. Anyway, there will be opportunities for promotion in the future, so why bother about this empty name now?

The same goes for Zhou Anmin. Although he no longer controls the Jinyiwei, it is not an exaggeration to get this rank in terms of identity and status. Hei Yunlong has been following Zhu Shenzhui for a long time, and now he is the general of Xuanfu, controlling the most elite border troops of the Ming Dynasty except for the New Army and the Liao Army. There is no problem in terms of qualifications.

Although Qin Liangyu was a woman, she had made outstanding contributions and had been granted a title. Moreover, she was now old, and this military rank was more of an honor than a real position. No one objected to granting her the title of Jinwu General.

Zheng Zhilong had a different identity and a special status in Fujian. Although his actual military rank was not high, he was a pirate leader who traveled all over the world. When the Zheng family's warships were at their strongest, they controlled the entire South China Sea. After Zheng Zhilong recruited them, they played a huge role in stabilizing the South China Sea for the Ming Dynasty. In addition, because of Zheng Hongkui, it was natural for Zheng Zhilong to grant him this military rank.

The other three veteran nobles were appeased. After all, this was just a military rank, not a military position. Bringing these nobles in was equivalent to creating a balance, and at the same time it also told the nobles the emperor's attitude.

Apart from these few people, the rest, such as Zu Dashou, Wu Sangui, Li Hu, Li You, Zheng Hongkui, Zuo Liangyu, Cao Wenzhao, Cao Bianjiao, Huang Degong, He Renlong, Gao Jie, etc., were awarded the title of General of Cavalry. Liu Liangzuo, Liu Zeqing, Lu Yisheng, Hu Lin, etc. were awarded the title of General of Dingguo, and even more were awarded the title of General of Zhenguo and other grades of officers and lieutenants.

Of course, these titles were not awarded all at once. They were first awarded to the new army and the border army, and then gradually extended from the capital to all parts of the Ming Dynasty. Wu Xiang and others were already in the capital, so they were the first batch of people to be awarded titles. In the next few years, the Ming Dynasty's changes to the military system would gradually unify the division of military positions and ranks, and at the same time, a series of adjustments would be made to the current Ming Dynasty military structure from top to bottom.

Wearing a brand new official uniform with four golden stars shining on his chest, Wu Xiang took a sedan chair and went directly to the General Senate Office.

The General Senate Office is located to the west of the Imperial Palace, separated from the Palace by the Lake. It originally belonged to the Forbidden City. The Leopard House during the Zhengde period was very close to here. From the middle of the Jiajing period, when people no longer lived in the Palace, they would often move to live outside the Palace to practice Taoism, and their residence was not far away.

When they arrived at the place, Wu Xiang got out of the sedan chair. There were fully armed guards standing guard at the gate of the yamen. The guards here were all palace guards, most of them were children of nobles, and there were also many outstanding children of military households. These guards wore distinctive armor and had goose feather knives hanging around their waists. They stood straight with their backs straight, and there was a sense of momentum behind them.

Wu Xiang walked towards the main gate. When he reached the gate, the guards stood at attention and saluted him without saying a word. Wu Xiang returned the salute solemnly, feeling that these guards were well-trained. Even his elite servants were slightly inferior to them. It was said that these guards were trained by the emperor himself, and most of them were serving in the new army. In the future, many of them would directly enter the military academy for further study. Where has the Ming Dynasty seen such a situation in all these years? It must be the current emperor, otherwise there would be no such change.

After entering the gate, Wu Xiang walked straight in. He had been here several times and was very familiar with the layout inside. He soon arrived near the meeting room in the third courtyard. His office was not far ahead. Just as he was about to go around the corridor and continue walking forward, he suddenly heard someone talking in the meeting room. The voice sounded very familiar, and it seemed that they were debating something. Wu Xiang couldn't help but stop, listen for a while, then turned and walked towards the meeting room.

(End of this chapter)