Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 335 Military Arrangements
the Grand Council
The fifth floor of the central palace building is decorated and furnished in an antique style, with many of the items being extremely valuable and old, embodying a sense of low-key luxury.

This is where the King of Chu summons his ministers to discuss matters when he visits the Prime Minister's Office. In the entire Kingdom of Chu, no more than 16 people can enter this top-level conference room, and they are all top military and political officials.

This is not the King of Chu's Imperial Library, nor is it a palace for governing. It is just a temporary resting place, located right above the official office of Prime Minister Li Hezhang on the 4th floor.

At this time, King Zheng Guohui of Chu was sitting on the rosewood couch with a rather casual expression, discussing matters with Prime Minister Li Hezhang, Foreign Minister Zheng Xin, Interior Minister Dong Huanzhang, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Lieutenant General Huo Haisheng and other ministers in front of him, while Chief of Staff Wu Qingfeng was standing by to serve.

What had just been agreed upon between the monarch and his ministers was the post-war reorganization of the army, or what could be considered the fourth expansion, as well as matters such as the garrison and deployment of the army. There were many details to consider.

After this expansion, the Chu army's strength increased slightly from more than 8.6 to more than 10.5, and the Chu navy's strength increased slightly from more than 9700 to more than 1.22.

After all, the territory is large, with the addition of the three continents of East Malaya, totaling more than 20 square kilometers. Such a large territory must be guarded by an army, so it can't be left alone, right?
The agreed strength of the Royal Army was 6 expeditionary divisions, one Manila Garrison Division, one Royal Guard Division, plus 39 coastal defense battalions, totaling 10.5 people.

The authorized number of troops in each expeditionary division increased slightly from 7200 to 7600. The increase was mainly in artillery units. The new organization required that artillery squadrons be equipped at the infantry battalion level to strengthen artillery firepower output.

The 12-pound Parrot cannon produced by the Manila Arsenal today has advanced performance and performed very well in this war, making the British and French allied forces' -pound Napoleon bronze smoothbore cannon miserable, which made the Chu king and his ministers love it very much.

It is planned to fully equip the entire army with field artillery in 2 to 3 years.

After experiencing an unprecedentedly brutal war, the consumption of conventional weapons such as artillery and rifles was also enormous.

A large number of 10-pound Parrott guns had their rifling worn out and had to be melted down and recast. This also included some important coastal artillery batteries, 270-inch rifled guns equipped by the sailing fleet and the ironclad fleet, totaling more than guns, all of which were on the verge of being scrapped and needed to be replaced.

Especially the large-caliber rifled naval guns, the lifespan of each gun is only two to three hundred rounds. If they continue to be used, they will become time bombs, which will kill their own artillerymen before killing the enemy.

With so many heavy weapons needing to be updated, it would take two or three years for the Chu army to recover to its peak strength.

Each of these six expeditionary divisions had a mule and horse supply regiment and a supplementary regiment, but in peacetime, these two regiments were just empty shells, with each regiment having only a dozen officers and dozens of senior sergeants.

Each expeditionary division was equipped with a mule and horse supply regiment and a supply regiment. In peacetime, apart from some officers, there were not many soldiers under its command.

With this organization, in the event of war, the divisions that received the preparation order could urgently recruit civilian mules, horses, carts and laborers from the prefectures and counties where they were stationed without asking for permission, and urgently replenish the militia, etc. Each division could quickly expand to more than 10,000 people to enhance its combat strength.

The Chu State's First Expeditionary Division was stationed in Batangas Province, Hainan Islands; the Second Expeditionary Division was stationed in Davao Province, Tongzhou Islands; the Fourth Expeditionary Division was stationed in Cebu Province, Cebu Islands; the Third Expeditionary Division was stationed in Bandar Seri Begawan, three states in East Malaya; the Fifth Expeditionary Division was stationed in Donggang Province, Shangri-La Islands; and the Sixth Expeditionary Division was stationed in Tanjung Kapfu, Sumatra Island.

The above field divisions are the main organized divisions of the Chu Army. The Second Division was awarded the honorary title of "Devil's Division". The most distinctive feature of the officers and soldiers of this division is that there is a grinning devil on the armband with lightning in the background.

The Third Division was awarded the honorary title of "Shield of the Kingdom", abbreviated as "Shield Division". The characteristic of the officers and soldiers of this division is that there is a tiger head shield logo on the armband with a green jungle background.

The Malayan Expeditionary Force, with the 3rd Division as its core, inflicted heavy casualties on enemy troops in response to the successive attacks of the British and French forces, preventing the enemy from advancing to Bandar Seri Begawan.

A newly formed regiment of the division defended Kuching and fought a bloody battle with the British and French forces, killing and wounding a total of more than 7,000 enemy troops and making outstanding contributions.

Judging solely from the number of enemies killed, the Malayan Expeditionary Force, with the 3rd Expeditionary Division as its core, was second only to the Singapore Expeditionary Force and ranked second among all the divisions in the army.

It is well deserved to receive this honorary title.

from now on

The "Devil Division" (Second Division) in the Chu Army is the No. 1 main force, and the Shield Division (Third Division) is the No. 2 main force.

The 4th Division that once entered Saigon and made great achievements, the 1st Division that fought against powerful enemies in Batangas Bay, the 5th Division that swept across Australia, and the 6th Division that was stained with the blood of the Devil Division, all failed to be selected for various reasons. It is a pity.

In addition, a new Manila Garrison Division was added, and the Royal Guard was expanded to a division, totaling 8 reorganized divisions. The main force that could be used in large-scale warfare was about 6.

Besides
The Chu Royal Army also had 31 garrison battalions, dozens of coastal fortress batteries, three military academies and nine large war readiness warehouses, with a total of more than 4.5 second-line troops.

As a result of this post-war reward system, more than 3 veterans will be retired from active service. This is part of the veteran retirement work that is carried out every year and was implemented last year and this year.

Due to the war, these veterans who have survived to this day have made great contributions. Almost all of them own hundreds or thousands of acres of meritorious land, which means they are more than 3 small and medium-sized landlords.

The small and medium-sized landlord class was the solid foundation and the most loyal class for the King of Chu to implement feudal constitutional rule, and it was also the main reason why he insisted on promoting the annual demobilization of soldiers.

After these veterans who have been trained in the army for several years retire and are distributed throughout the kingdom, they will greatly strengthen the solid foundation of the royal power and form a unique Chinese military aristocracy class in the Chu State.

The military aristocracy and the vast class of small and medium-sized landlords are the two pillars supporting the rule of the Chu state, and neither is dispensable.

Just after June this year

Approximately 2,200 outstanding veterans selected from across the army will attend the Tongzhou Army Academy for a year and a half of advanced training, graduating with the rank of second lieutenant. The Tongzhou Army Academy will serve as a training ground for junior officers in the Chu State.

The Fifth Expeditionary Division is now an empty shell. Except for dozens of core officers, most officers need to be transferred from all over the army, and soldiers need to be recruited and rebuilt.

The Royal Guard Division, Manila Garrison Division and the 6th Expeditionary Division need to be supplemented with elite soldiers and generals, so there is a big gap in officers.

In the next two years, more than 5.5 new recruits and more than officers will be needed.

The navy saw a slight increase of more than 390 people, mainly in preparation for the five to six ironclad ships that were about to be commissioned. Each ship was equipped with approximately 410 to crew members and artillery.

This batch of purely propeller-powered steam ironclad ships has a displacement of approximately 2300 tons and adopts a two-forward and one-back gun turret arrangement. They are currently under construction in the shipyard.

The first ship "Huashan" has been launched and installed. After the installation is completed, it will also undergo sea trials. It is expected to be put into naval service in more than three months.

The second ship "Hengshan" and "Huashan" are under construction on the slipway and are at different stages of construction.

Early funding for the construction of subsequent ships "Songshan" and "Hengshan" has been issued. The shipyard is preparing materials and will soon enter the slipway for construction.

It is expected that the submarines will be launched sometime at the end of next year and will be put into service in the Royal Navy in 1871.

The Chu Royal Navy was an emerging maritime force that had taken advantage of the benefits of ironclad ships. The navy attached great importance to the construction of new types of ironclad ships and focused its funding on them.

According to the Admiralty's plan

We will ensure that three ironclad ships with a displacement of more than 2300 tons are put into service every year, and strive to have four, to gradually replace the aging sailing fleet and enhance the decisive combat capability of the maritime formation.

This batch of ironclad ships was named "Huashan" class ironclad cruisers. They were built in batches of three and improved in small steps. Their displacement ranged from 2300 tons to more than 2700 tons, leaving room for gradual improvement.

In this way, after 4 to 5 years of construction.

The Chu Navy will have more than 18 new ironclad ships. These are not just armored ships, but authentic ironclad ships with independent gun rooms and thick iron armor. The designed speed can reach 12 knots.

Although it is not as fast as a sailing warship, it is much faster than the old steam ironclad ship which has a snail's speed of only five to six knots, and has considerable flexibility.

The Huashan-class ironclad cruiser was in line with the current strength of the Chu State. It had moderate construction costs and technical difficulty. While enhancing the strength of the Royal Navy, it would not impose a heavy burden.

The State of Chu was temporarily unable to build large steam ironclad ships. The construction costs of large ironclad ships weighing four to five thousand tons, or even six to seven thousand tons, did not increase proportionally, but skyrocketed.

With the national strength of Chu, it could only watch the British build on a large scale, but it was temporarily unable to follow suit.

After the military deployment is discussed, the General Staff will then issue an official document in the form of a government order for implementation. There is no need to mention this again.

Navy Minister Lieutenant General Huo Haisheng mentioned the Royal Manila Naval Academy under preparation. After more than three years of preparation and enrollment training, it is now ready for formal enrollment.

This kind of good thing was mentioned at the meeting and was approved by the king, and a government decree could be issued to implement it at an appropriate time.

Taking advantage of the King of Chu's good mood, Prime Minister Li Hezhang also took the opportunity to propose the preparation status of higher education institutions such as the University of Manila, Cavite Administrative College, Royal College of Medicine, and Batangas Institute of Technology, and asked Your Majesty to approve it.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu approved all of this with a wave of his hand, showing great generosity.

The construction of these institutions of higher learning and their subsequent annual funding will require part of the government's fiscal expenditure and part of the assistance from the Royal Household Department, and must be approved by His Majesty.

Otherwise, they would not get a single penny from the Imperial Household Department, and the documents requesting government funding would be thrown directly into the trash by the Imperial Household Department.

If you want to get money out of the Imperial Household Department, getting the King’s approval is a necessary hurdle.

Now that everyone has gotten what they wanted, they are naturally happy, and the atmosphere is even more relaxed with laughter.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu did not care about this drizzle. After the war, according to statistics, 7.62 tons of wool and more than 19 cattle and sheep were shipped from Australia. The latter were directly exchanged for more than 330 million silver dollars, filling the last gap in military expenditure.

The deal for these 7.62 tons of wool was also agreed upon, and it would be shipped directly to the Port of Chennai under the jurisdiction of the British Governor-General of India. This would not only earn a generous shipping income, but also sell it at a good price.

The import revenue from wool alone was worth over 75 pounds, plus 9.2 pounds in transportation costs, totaling 84 pounds, or about 416 million silver dollars, most of which went into the royal treasury.

The more you spend, the more you earn.

(End of this chapter)