Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1662 Startup
"Imperial Edict." Wen Zhong read aloud the part that needed to be read to the Embroidered Uniform Guard responsible for relaying the order.

"The Imperial Guards' 1st Column [Shenji Battalion], 29th Armored Column [Longyuan], 19th Armored Column [Fuxiao], 38th Armored Column [Tian Ce Wan Sui], 51st Armored Column [Baihu], the 1st and 4th Armored Jinyiwei Columns, and the Longjiang Navy are ordered to be reorganized into the 'Longxiang Army Group' and begin assembling at the Qingpu Camp in Songjiang. Minister of War Li Yinchang will be appointed as the Commander-in-Chief, with the additional title of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, and will be granted the Imperial Decree Banner."

"The 2nd Army Group [Yulong Unit], the 8th Army Group [Luntai Unit], the 12th Army Group [Loulan Unit], the 19th Army Group [Yebu Shou], and the 1st to 4th Mountain Divisions of the Korean Auxiliary Army were drawn and mixed into the 'Tiger Wing Army Group' and began to assemble at the Hezhong Camp in the Western Regions. Yuan Zhao, the Grand General of Beiting, was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief, with the additional title of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, and was granted the royal command banner."

"The Lanfang Navy was drawn to form the 29th Joint Expeditionary Fleet, which was assembled at the Longyamen Naval Base. The Marquis of Yanping was granted the title of Admiral of the Navy, the title of Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, and was given a royal command flag."

"Another edict: The Yingtian Tangshan Camp and the Shuntian Yanshan Camp shall remain in place, awaiting further instructions."

"The official appointments will be sent along with the royal command banner. In addition," he added, "the above-mentioned troops will be under the command of the Grand Marshal of Demon Subduing after their formation, and detailed instructions will be sent later."

This imperial edict was oral, meaning the written document would not be sent immediately. Because in such cases, strict adherence to administrative procedures is unnecessary; the written document can be completed later.

The army groups and expeditionary fleets of the royal army were not permanent units, but were only formed during wartime.

Generally, the first army group will be named "Dragon Soaring," the second "Tiger Wing," and usually there are only these two, advancing along two separate strategic routes. If there is a third, it will generally be named "Eagle Soaring." Because these are temporary designations, relevant identification information will be issued after the group is formed. For example, the words "Dragon Soaring" and "Tiger Wing" will be painted directly on the tanks, and soldiers will wear different colored armbands to distinguish their identities.

In principle, the imperial court commanded the Imperial Guards and the Army differently. The Imperial Guards were the emperor's personal troops and could be directly deployed. The Army, however, consisted of troops from various regions, such as the Protectorate General of the Western Regions and the Protectorate General of Beiting, whose direct superior was the Five Military Commissions. The emperor generally did not command above his level, so deployment required official documentation from the Ministry of War. The same applied to armies from tributary states, which required the cooperation of the Ministry of Rites.

However, these are merely administrative procedures. In terms of troop deployment, all these units are under the unified command of the General Staff Headquarters at Yuhuatai, which can simultaneously command the Imperial Guards, the Army, and the Navy to carry out missions.

Commanding the imperial army was an extremely complex task. The Imperial Guard, Army, and Navy were actually only different in name; they all possessed complete land, naval, and air forces. For example, the Imperial Guard, Army, and Navy all had their own air corps, though their focuses differed.

The Imperial Household Air Force was primarily responsible for long-range airlift and independent air force missions, including large-scale airdrop operations; the Army Air Force specialized in close air support and had the capability to deploy field airfields at the front lines; and the Naval Air Force relied on aircraft carriers and naval bases.

Their naval forces were also complete. The Imperial Guard fleet comprised a small portion of its capital ships, used to support the Imperial Guard in combat. The navy fleet contained the majority of its capital ships, which goes without saying. The army fleet also had a considerable number of capital ships, which meant that the army did not actually need to coordinate its various branches when carrying out amphibious operations; its own battleships and aircraft carriers could complete the mission, just as the navy's armored divisions could also complete their amphibious missions.

Although the three differed in their military-building philosophies, they were generally quite similar. For example, although the expeditionary fleet was called a fleet, it could actually deploy more than 70 land troops, more than the total number of the Imperial Guard, and was fully capable of undertaking missions in a strategic direction.

Their biggest difference lies primarily in their chain of command. The Imperial Guards were subordinate to the Emperor, the Army to the Five Military Commissions, and the Navy to the Ministry of War. The court had considered combining the Army, Navy, and Air Force according to their branches of service. However, this force was simply too vast; even the Emperor himself could not guarantee its control. If the entire Army were combined, its total number would exceed 600 million—an extremely formidable figure. The same applied to the Air Force and Navy.

Therefore, in accordance with historical precedent and the current situation, the royal army was roughly divided into three evenly divided parts. Similarly, when the "Final Solution" was used against Rome, it was also composed of three separate forces.

The three armies were assembled to eliminate the threat from Rome.

If three Roman armies were to attack, then the Imperial Guard would fight one group, the army another, and the navy a separate force—from a simple and brutal perspective, this approach would be feasible.

After all the arrangements were completed, he called the emperor again.

The plan had been formulated long ago, but such an order still needed to be read aloud by someone. This person couldn't be the emperor, because it wasn't yet time for the emperor to take action.

Therefore, as planned, this imperial edict was to be kept and delivered by Grand Secretary Wen. He had already completed his task.

"An interdimensional invasion?" Elder Wen was thinking about this when he relayed the order. "What's going on?"

"Shangluo said that Rome might summon a large army from a parallel world to invade our world."

"This is simply unbelievable, unbelievable. Where did this army come from that can be mobilized in a parallel world? But it's always good to be prepared."

When this plan was formulated, its execution was already essentially confirmed—because even without this event, the plan would inevitably have been activated to maintain world order when Rome collapsed. However, what would have been activated then would have been a different plan, a larger-scale mobilization plan, rather than the rapid mobilization plan currently being announced.

"So, did Shangluo mention where the otherworldly Rome would land? At sea? At the North or South Pole? Or from the sky?"

"It's unclear for now. However, we've already taken precautions on all fronts. For example, in the air, the Colombian Automaton Nation can provide early warnings, and they've also deployed outposts to the North and South Poles. They should be able to maintain the front line as soon as possible, and then we can deal with the problem when we arrive—so what if they're invaders from another dimension? Watch me push them back with my heavy combined arms brigade!"

(End of this chapter)