My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 412 Military System Reform
Currently, Liu Feng's army has over a thousand sets of full-body ironclad cavalry armor and over four thousand sets of heavy infantry iron armor. There are also over two thousand sets of iron-trimmed leather armor, mainly prepared for the light cavalry.

Although there are only two cavalry battalions and five infantry battalions, the cost of the two cavalry battalions is more than twice that of the five infantry battalions combined.

It is evident that the cavalry battalion was extremely wasteful and extravagant.

"My lord, is such a large supply corps really necessary?"

Before the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there was no clear distinction between combat soldiers and auxiliary soldiers; or rather, auxiliary soldiers had the same status as combat soldiers.

However, during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, armor reached its peak, but production plummeted due to years of war.

As a result, humanoid tanks began to grow wildly. With their excellent armor and mounts, it became fashionable for one person to ride alone and dominate the battlefield. Military strategists began to realize that light infantry could no longer serve as the main force on the battlefield.

From this point on, the battlefield became entirely dominated by humanoid tanks.

However, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, the work of auxiliary soldiers was mostly performed by laborers, which is why most battles required the conscription of civilian laborers.

Taishi Ci was unaware of this, which is why he was surprised that the war camp had to reserve one-fifth of its manpower for logistics and supplies.

But Liu Feng knew better than anyone that a well-developed logistics system could not only multiply the combat effectiveness of soldiers, but also effectively reduce the mortality rate of soldiers from injuries and illnesses.

Nightingale reduced the British army's mortality rate of 44% in the Crimean meat grinder to 2% with just basic hygiene measures and a smile with a lantern—a terrifying difference.

Liu Fengjun's current recovery rate has consistently been over 85%, thanks to basic nursing care and a clean and hygienic recovery environment. This is why Liu Fengjun's veterans keep increasing in number.

As Liu Feng's trump card, the Vanguard Army was the elite of the elite, the vanguard of the vanguard. Every soldier was an extremely valuable warrior, so Liu Feng naturally had to do his best in logistics to ensure that these people could exert their strongest combat power and receive the best medical treatment.

After explaining it to Taishi Ci for a long time, Taishi Ci finally understood.

He looked at Liu Feng with a complicated expression, his heart filled with admiration.

It's no wonder that Taishi Ci felt admiration. In this era, everyone talks about putting the people first, but how many people can truly care about the lives and property of ordinary soldiers and civilians?
Taishi Ci had traveled to a large part of the Han Dynasty, and the only people he had seen were Liu Feng and his son.

"Your lord is so benevolent that your mother is ashamed."

Moved to tears, Taishi Ci immediately rose from his seat, knelt down, and kowtowed, saying, "I am willing to serve my lord with utmost loyalty, even unto death!"

Liu Feng was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter, mistakenly thinking that Taishi Ci was recommending himself.

However, Liu Feng had no qualms whatsoever. Instead, he stepped forward to help the other up, saying, "Teacher, why bother? The leader of the Cuifeng Army is between you and Fourth Uncle."

Upon hearing this, Taishi Ci knew that Liu Feng had misunderstood. He opened his mouth to explain, but the words failed him.

Just before he was about to speak, Taishi Ci suddenly thought, "I am the leader of the Cuifeng Army, so this can't be considered a false accusation against myself."

In this way, he couldn't bring himself to explain, and instead of trying to explain with empty words, he should repay Liu Feng's trust and affection by making achievements on the battlefield.

Subsequently, Liu Feng also revealed his plans to Taishi Ci, stating that he would need Taishi Ci to suppress the generals during the military council a few days later.

Liu Feng made this arrangement not because he lacked prestige, but because as a lord, it was best for him to make decisions from the shore rather than to engage in the struggle.

Taishi Ci immediately understood and declared that he would follow Liu Feng's orders without question.

********
Several days later, the military conference was held as scheduled.

Generals such as Taishi Ci, Zhou Yu, Zhang Liao, Pan Zhang, Zhou Tai, Dong Xi, Xu Huang, Jia Kui, Gao Shun, and Sun Ce gathered, but unfortunately Zhao Yun's troops were far away in Houguan and could not return for a while, so he had to be absent.

Besides the military generals, Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, as scribes, were naturally also present.

In addition, Zhong Yao, as the chief secretary of the shogunate, Dong Zhao, as the deputy chief secretary of the shogunate, Zhao Yan, the clerk of the Ministry of War, Jia Xi, the clerk of the Ministry of the Inner Guard, Chen Duan, the acting clerk, Wei Jing, the clerk of the Ministry of War, Yuan Ba, Fan Qin, and others, who were all under their jurisdiction, were also required to attend.

Looking down at the large group of civil and military officials below, Liu Feng couldn't help but feel a sense of感慨 (gan3kai3, a complex emotion encompassing both admiration and reflection), realizing that he was no longer just a small group of people.

The reason for establishing the headquarters at this time was firstly because Liu Feng finally had a territory that truly belonged to him—Yangzhou.

This is a place where Liu Feng can freely and freely implement reforms, so naturally he needs trusted confidants to manage it.

Secondly, Liu Feng's conquest of Jingzhou is inevitable, and he may even take action before Jiaozhou.

Jingzhou is not a small prefecture; it now comprises nine prefectures and one hundred and two counties. Moreover, once Jingzhou is taken, Jiaozhou will practically be given away for free.

Although Jiaozhou was located in a remote area at this time, its population had increased dramatically due to the war in the Central Plains, reaching more than two million, close to three million.

This means that taking over Jingzhou would require adding eighteen more prefectures and nearly one hundred and sixty counties.

Liu Feng needs to cultivate talent in advance so that he will have enough manpower to take over these territories and integrate them into his own base.

Before the meeting began, the generals had heard the news of the expansion of the army and the selection of elite troops. Many of them, relying on their seniority, merits and connections, went to Liu Feng to sound him out.

Pan Zhang even threw a tantrum, begging for a position in the new army, even if it was just a battalion commander.

It's no wonder Pan Zhang made this choice, since he had never led an army independently before. Although the Ironclad Battalion had been under his command for many years, everyone knew that it was directly under Liu Feng's control and was merely nominally under his name.

The selection of elite troops will inevitably lead to the disbandment of the Ironclad Battalion, which will be completely depleted of its elite veterans and supplies such as ironclad armor.

If all of these are taken away, what's the point of Pan Zhang being a captain? He would be better off as a battalion captain in the new army. After all, even a fool would understand that the new army would definitely be used in the most dangerous situations, and he would surely gain merit.
However, Liu Feng was very tight-lipped, and even Pan Zhang couldn't sway him.

Liu Feng simply kept Pan Zhang in his residence, held a welcoming banquet for him that evening, and generously bestowed upon him many valuables, such as snow salt, sugar, sesame oil, and white paper, to show his favor.

However, the matter of the new army was out of the question. Everyone immediately understood Liu Feng's thoughts and had to put away all their scheming ideas. Therefore, when the meeting actually began, everyone was already incredibly excited.

Even before Liu Feng arrived, the generals were already engaged in a lively discussion.

When Liu Feng appeared in the main seat, the hall quieted down, but the fervor in the eyes of the generals only increased, and they all looked at Liu Feng with great interest.

When Liu Feng announced that the army would be expanded by at least 100,000 men, the generals' breathing became rapid.

As a military general, what could be more exciting than having more, stronger, and more elite soldiers under your command?
Therefore, what the generals were more concerned about was the news of selecting elite troops and forming a new army.

Most of the generals were preoccupied with this, and only a very few were able to remain calm.

Liu Feng's eyes swept around the crowd below, and as he had expected, only a handful of people, including Jia Kui and Gao Shun, were truly able to remain calm.

Even Zhou Yu's heroic spirit and profound wisdom, and Sun Ce's awkward surrender with his face bound and holding the jade, could not conceal their excitement. It is clear that they still had ambitions for the future, not to mention the others.

Liu Feng didn't delay and directly presented his plan for training the new vanguard army.

The Cuifeng Army was temporarily organized into 20,000 men, with ten battalions under its command. Half of the troops were drawn from the existing armies, and 30% were former troops of Liu Feng. The other 70% were elite soldiers selected from the former troops of Yuan Shu, Sun Ce, Liu Yao, and the Yellow Turban Army.

Of the remaining vacancies, half were selected from elite warriors among prisoners of war from the Yue and Jingman tribes, while the last quarter were recruited from various regions, with a particular emphasis on soldiers from Danyang.

In this way, the Vanguard Army's combat power is reliable, and the balance of its internal composition can be guaranteed, thereby ensuring the Vanguard Army's loyalty and organization.

At the same time, in order to strengthen the loyalty of the Vanguard Army and improve its organization, Liu Feng also used an experimental system, namely the Eastern Han version of the political and commissar system.

Each battalion has one supervisor, with the same authority as a colonel, who is the chief political officer of the battalion and is responsible for a series of duties such as the soldiers' life, food, salary distribution, and merit recording.

Basically, its command authority overlaps with that of a captain, and at first glance, it seems redundant and almost unnecessary. But there are only two differences that make one realize the importance of this position.

First, it is explicitly stipulated that for all military decisions, the commanding officer has the final say. This means that if a captain and an inspector disagree on a military matter, the captain has the final say. Similarly, when the two disagree on administrative matters, the inspector has the final decision-making power.

Of course, these two permissions are only available when there is no way to report it.

Secondly, the most important task of the supervisory committee is to go deep among the soldiers and explain the policies and orders issued by the General of the Left, so that the soldiers understand that they are fighting for themselves, for the people, and for the Han Dynasty.

The supervisory committee has instructors and instructors under its jurisdiction, who are respectively regarded as military commanders and military officers.

The battalion is organized with one supervisor, five political instructors, and ten instructors, for a total of sixteen people.

The army consisted of ten battalions, totaling one hundred and sixty men, all of whom were selected by Liu Feng from Liu'er's camp.

This is both a pilot project and a starting point.

Liu Feng has great confidence in the supervisory committee system. As long as the pilot program is successful and there are enough people, it will definitely be promoted to the entire army.

This system naturally curbs the expansion of military leaders, ensuring that the personal lives, future prospects, and achievements of soldiers, junior officers, and officers are no longer closely related to those of middle and senior officers, but are completely tied to the other party.

Although nepotism still existed in later generations, the supervisory committee system could indeed significantly improve the loyalty and organization of the army. Of course, the premise was that it had to be reformed in conjunction with the final decision-making power of the military commander on military issues, and it was best if these political officials could also graduate from military academies in the later stages.

However, these issues are premature. Nowadays, even military commanders are not college graduates, so considering these matters is meaningless.

As Liu Feng had predicted, almost no one objected to the issue of manpower for the Cui Feng Army. Even if there were objections, they were mainly about the proportion of troops or concerns about how to maintain combat effectiveness after so many elite troops were being drawn from the old units and the army was to be expanded by 100%.

The focus of everyone's attention fell on the supervisory committee system. Although Liu Feng had assured them that the military commander had the authority to make decisions on military matters, the generals were still filled with suspicion and distrust towards this supervisory position.

Liu Feng could understand; he knew these warriors would react this way.

However, despite his understanding, Liu Feng still used his prestige to suppress the opinions of the generals and made a clear statement that he would forcefully carry out the reforms.

Seeing Liu Feng's resolute attitude, the generals softened their stance.

The biggest problem with the supervisory committee system is the struggle for power with military commanders, especially military command. Now, Liu Feng has precisely ensured that this power remains in the hands of the military commanders, which makes most generals feel that this has crossed a line. Some truly simple-minded individuals, like Pan Zhang, even think that they can simply treat the supervisory committee as a figurehead.

Zhou Yu, Jia Kui, Sun Ce, and others, possessing both talent and experience, could naturally see the hidden secrets within the supervisory committee system. However, they would not reveal these secrets.

Liu Feng has clearly stated his intention to promote it. If you point that out now, what's the difference between that and undermining him?
Anyone who doesn't intend to rebel would never do such a thing.

Thus, under Liu Feng's tough stance, the somewhat sensitive reform of the supervisory committee system was finally implemented amidst the hesitation of the generals.

Next comes the main event – ​​the reorganization of the various armies.

The strength of the vanguard force (20,000 men) and the navy (40,000 men) has been determined; more is acceptable, but less is not.

Today, Liu Feng's main territory is in the south, while Liu Bei's territory is located in the Central Plains, but it also has many rivers and is interconnected with the rivers in the south. In addition, with trade and tax transportation, the navy is an indispensable part.

After careful consideration, Liu Feng concluded that a naval force of forty to fifty thousand men was indeed indispensable.

Whether it was attacking Jingzhou, supporting the Central Plains, or threatening Jiaozhi, the navy was indispensable.

Therefore, he set a quota of 40,000 soldiers for the navy, which was divided into four units of 4,000 men each, commanded by Zhou Tai, Jiang Qin, Dong Xi, Gan Ning, Zheng Bao, Xue Zhou, Ling Cao, Chen Wu, Huang Gai, and Zhu Huan.

The "部" here refers to a unit called "部曲" (bùqǔ), not the "部" (bù) level unit of the "营下军司马" (yíngxià jūn sīmǎ). In fact, there is a connection between these two "部曲" (bùqǔ), and the term "部曲" (bù) originates from the "部" (bù) of the "军司马" (jūn sīmǎ) and the "曲" (qǔ) of

The requirements for naval soldiers are quite high. For combat soldiers, they must be able to fight on water and on land, while auxiliary soldiers must be skilled in boat handling and sailing. The highest requirements are naturally for naval commanders. Mid- to high-ranking commanders must have the basic ability to read hydrographs and understand the course of major rivers.

(End of this chapter)