Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 824 Guo Kang's Expansion Plan

Currently, Guo Kang's biggest problem is the lack of time. When the Black Death was largely over, he wrote to Tuohuan, saying that once the fight against the plague was successful, the court, as was customary, would certainly want to withdraw from wartime status as soon as possible and reduce troop deployments and investment. However, he believed that the current investment in Egypt was extremely worthwhile, a truly profitable venture. Therefore, he hoped Tuohuan could help him persuade the Khanate's high command to continue supporting his large-scale development plan.

However, during the meeting, others suggested that he prepare more documents to explain in detail the benefits of this "highly profitable" scheme. While persuading Tuohuan was easy, he couldn't simply ask for cooperation out of thin air for something of this magnitude.

Guo Kang's cousin, Guo Zhaowen, the commander of the 33rd Army Corps, had previously served as a local official. He was even more blunt with Guo Kang. According to him, these were the kinds of things that officials in all provinces and even prefectures would say.

He said that Guo Kang spent most of his time in Dadu (Beijing), and the things he did were not significant. His monastery, despite its apparent large investment and the establishment of many advanced workshops and equipment, was only a drop in the ocean compared to the annual expenditures of local governments. These fixed expenses constituted the vast majority of the imperial court's spending.

To secure these resources, local governments went to great lengths. He told Guo Kang that every year, each region had to compile documents reporting on the progress of various plans from the previous year; then, they had to write another report outlining the arrangements for the following year and the additional investment required. The former affected the performance evaluations of officials, while the latter affected next year's funding. Therefore, everyone wanted to exaggerate both the achievements and the difficulties.

However, the Khanate's central government wasn't stupid; they wouldn't believe you if you spouted contradictory statements. Therefore, all those intelligent people in the government racked their brains every day, trying to achieve a balance between the two while maintaining basic logic, and to sustainably secure more funding for the local area.

Guo Kang's efforts in Egypt were indeed fruitful, but others were also working hard and facing various difficulties, hoping to gain the support of the imperial court. Officials from other provinces might admire or even respect him privately, but as local leaders, they could not easily make concessions.

This may explain why Europeans have long believed that administrative and religious functions should be separated, or at least placed in two separate departments and operated by two distinct organizations. Religious demands are often highly emotional, requiring qualities like piety and fervor; however, an administrative organization prioritizes strict adherence to rules and regulations. Like the military, they value rationality and order, preferring ruthlessness to acting impulsively or without due consideration. Overly passionate individuals, like soldiers charging recklessly on the battlefield, can actually hinder overall efficiency. These two approaches are fundamentally incompatible.

In Persia and the Papal States, some religious orders have attempted to directly administer their organizations. Theoretically, if they can maintain the high moral standards required by their doctrines, sustain a religiously fervent enthusiasm in their work, and remain rational and restrained, then theoretically they could indeed keep operating, or even do it better, because such an organization would be almost like having only saints among its members.

But as everyone knows, in reality, such an assumption is meaningless. Only a very small number of people can meet this requirement, while others will quickly go from learning from and imitating saints to vying to perform their performance art. This has happened before in history, so most people are pessimistic about it.

Now, if Guo Kang wants to advance his policies, he needs to come up with something that follows proper procedures and that no one can refute. This isn't actually difficult, because the core region of Egypt is indeed surprisingly wealthy. The previous damage is also real, thus providing enormous room for improvement. Of course, how to present these facts in a way that the court is most willing to accept is another skill altogether.

Guo Kang was actually somewhat surprised by this. However, upon reflection, he realized that these procedures had indeed existed before, but he had simply not paid attention to them.

For a long time, Guo Kang had only been offering ideas. But as his uncle said, even he, and even Tuohuan, couldn't claim the power to dictate his thoughts. Guo Kang hadn't gone through these tedious processes, not because he was naturally good at persuasion, but because Tuohuan, Theodora, and even Joanna had done it all for him…

From this perspective, he also belongs to the type of person who has been "overprotected." So he was a little embarrassed when he said that.

Therefore, Guo Kang began to organize people, compile materials, and then personally took charge of writing the report. However, before he finished writing it, Tuo Huan sent a letter saying that he had already compiled the materials that Guo Kang had sent in previous meetings and then presented them to everyone at the court assembly.

However, Tuohuan stated that this matter was indeed very important, and even though everyone knew that the investment in Egypt would yield significant returns, it had to be postponed. According to the overall plan, the Eighth Army Corps would all be rotated back to China for rest and reorganization. Afterwards, the rest of the troops would be gradually disbanded, and the remaining veterans would be incorporated into the First Battalion, preparing to go to Crimea as a seed force and to conduct initial training for the newly recruited Russian soldiers there.

The Thirty-Third Army Corps also needed reorganization. Due to the changing situation, the Khanate urgently needed to expand its regular forces. Therefore, it was hoped that they would also be retained as a standing force. Consequently, this hastily assembled army also needed a series of reorganizations to achieve regularization.

Previously, when the Black Death broke out, Guo Kang planned to persuade Tuohuan and the sons of various noble families to return home. In the end, most of them left Egypt, and a significant portion of their household servants also left with their lord. The core officers will be filled by a new batch of personnel trained during this expedition. The court has already selected some people to supplement their ranks.

The Ross Battalion will continue to operate alongside Guo Kang, as the court has discovered his high authority and popularity among the people. Therefore, they intend to use him as the core to expand another legion. This would split the Thirty-Third Legion in two, allowing for more manpower.

This was equivalent to losing two legions, but maintaining the organization of one legion. Furthermore, Toghon's recruitment of the local lower and middle-class Mamluks was also very successful. The court believed that these forces were sufficient to defend the area.

Furthermore, Tuohuan suggested that Guo Kang recruit a group of local Egyptians to form a new legion. He even suggested making an exception and including largely untrained individuals to fill the ranks, who could then be used for logistical work. This, like the previous plan to include the Rus', was primarily a political statement. The court valued the participation of Egyptian soldiers in the expedition to reclaim Rome. Upon hearing this news, Guo Kang felt his efforts had been in vain.

However, others felt that since Dadu had taken this stance, the rest would be easier. They even suggested that since the court was providing manpower, they should send more this time.

Initially, Guo Kang was reluctant to launch a large-scale operation because there was still much work to be done in Egypt. Those currently available for the war effort were the most loyal to Rome, possessed the highest discipline and organizational skills, and were the core force enabling the provinces to implement various policies. Removing them would undoubtedly weaken management capabilities, and the progress of many tasks might not be as smooth.

However, Wu Han and others suggested that things weren't so absolute. Organizing labor here was a form of organizational training, which could consolidate the regime. But going to Rome and fighting alongside everyone was also a way to consolidate the regime. Because the Mediterranean world was different from the Central Plains, there wasn't that kind of self-evident sense of national identity here. Getting people to accept that they were Romans required long-term cultivation. Moreover, this was a mutual process, not something that could be achieved simply by staying in Egypt and farming.

In theory, anyone with citizenship was considered Roman. However, citizenship had long been rampant. Although the rise of the Purple Horde essentially created a new system of citizenship, the number of citizens continued to grow over the years. Compared to earlier times, obtaining citizenship was much easier, and this ease of acquisition weakened the sense of belonging among Roman citizens. New citizens might be there solely for various benefits, completely indifferent to Rome; existing citizens, both openly and covertly, rejected them, distrusting their identification with their nation and state.

Therefore, even if Guo Kang tries to gain citizenship for his supporters here, the effect will likely be limited.

In contrast, if the military could acknowledge it, it would be much more useful.

Rome was essentially a legion-based state. The key was that Egyptians could form legions, and their membership was accepted by soldiers elsewhere. More important than fancy definitions of identity and legal statutes was legionary recognition—the true standard for whether someone was considered "one of us." And the best way to gain recognition was, of course, to participate in a significant war and demonstrate one's worth, because for the Roman army, comrades-in-arms were the strongest bonds.

Previously, the Rus' soldiers were quickly accepted into the army because they were lucky enough to be caught in the chaos of the Great Dubhan Rebellion. Although this event was far from a normal war, and the Rus' soldiers' performance in battle was frankly not very good, their attitude towards Rome and their courage to stand up and fight alongside Guo Kang to the death against the enemy in crucial moments still earned them the recognition of others. So later, when the Ministry of War allowed these men to be formally incorporated into the legions, veterans from other places would at most tease them, calling them foolish greenhorns. Although it might not have been a pleasant way to put it, within the legions, this was considered a gesture of goodwill…

The situation in Egypt was even more severe than in Rus'. Afterwards, when the Ministry of War wrote its report, it still managed to offer some plausible explanations, claiming that the Rus' people, after their baptism and conversion, had continuously served Rome, were pillars of the state, and were not outsiders at all. While the true history is probably not so rosy, both sides clearly enjoyed hearing these words and were happy to use them as evidence that "the Rus' people have been loyal to Rome since ancient times and have now finally fully returned," spreading this message far and wide.

As for Egypt... they can't even come up with jokes like this.

In most people's minds, the last time Egyptians served in the military was around the time the pyramids were first built. Throughout that long period, with so many regimes changing hands, they all tacitly avoided military service. Even if politically incorrect actions like participating in the Roman civil war, killing Pompey, and supporting Antony are all lumped together as "participation in major Roman domestic affairs," that's the Macedonian people's business, and has nothing to do with ordinary Egyptians today. After all, if the Ptolemaic dynasty can be considered Egyptian, then Genghis Khan and the Golden Family must be Han Chinese…

Therefore, after much hesitation, Guo Kang decided to agree to their suggestion. After agreeing on the procedures, he issued an order to first recruit volunteers from the public. This served as a survey to gauge public opinion and adjust future strategies accordingly.

According to the plan, once they have a clear understanding of the situation here, they will begin to expand their staff. They will first recruit additional staff under the pretext of a shortage of manpower.

The government itself needed at least a thousand literate people, a requirement that Egypt, with its current level of education after centuries of Mamluk rule, was unlikely to meet. Therefore, they would continue to expand the schools. However, at this time, a county clerk named Ali wrote to Guo Kang, suggesting that he not recruit students from the public.

Ali's documents state that regardless of the language used as the standard, it would be impossible to recruit enough people in Egypt, and most of those recruited would be local powerful families. Even if public schools were established, with opportunities for full-time work, tuition fees, and even bribes to officials in charge, the students would still be sent in by wealthy and influential families. These people knew that the government was desperately short of personnel, and that as long as they studied diligently, they would definitely get an official position. Over time, they would gain control of the government's talent cultivation system.

He suggested that the issue of fairness should not be considered for now—because the conditions for fairness were not present in the area. Instead, the principle should be loyalty to Rome, allowing those who had served Rome during the war and those who had made clear contributions during the plague to attend school. If they did not wish to attend school for any reason, their places should be given to their sons.

This means that for many people, getting into school and becoming an official will depend on their family connections. But given the current situation, the only way to prevent local powerful families from infiltrating and controlling the government is to fight fire with fire.

Guo Kang himself hadn't really thought about these things seriously. After he said that, he hesitated for a moment.

(End of this chapter)