Chapter 177: The Tianwu Army

After Sun Yingyuan led the cavalry camp back to Fengyang, Zhu Cilang summoned all officers of Company Commander rank and above from the Yongwei Camp in the Fengtian Hall of the imperial city, convening a major military council.

In the great hall, bursts of laughter rang out as the assembled generals crowded around Sun Yingyuan and the other cavalry commanders, listening to them vividly recount the day's pursuit of the roving bandits.

Huang Degong said enviously, "Old Sun, you lot got the easy pickings this time. And you, Li Shaoyou, you've scored another great merit!"

"All credit goes to General Sun's fine command!" Li Shaoyou scratched his head and let out two sheepish chuckles.

Gu Wei of the Military Law Department, standing alone at the side of the hall, suddenly bellowed: "His Highness the Crown Prince arrives!"

The crowd immediately dispersed, and amid the clatter of armor plates, everyone had already formed ranks, solemnly saluting Zhu Cilang: "Your subordinates pay respects to Your Highness!"

Zhu Cilang stood at the head of the hall, raised his hand, and said: "Rise!"

Amid the rustling of armor, the generals straightened up one by one, waiting for the Crown Prince to speak.

Zhu Cilang was very pleased with the generals' conduct. Ever since the Military Law Department had been established, these military officers had become increasingly disciplined. He smiled and nodded at everyone in the hall, then sat down on the dragon throne with a smile. The previous dragon throne had long since been burned by the roving bandits; this one had been newly crafted by Zhu Dadian according to the regulations for a Prince.

As Zhu Cilang sat down, Sun Yingyuan was the first to step forward from the ranks, reporting to everyone the details of the first engagement with the roving bandits.

Zhu Cilang listened very carefully, then said: "General Sun fought well. All officers and soldiers who rendered meritorious service, as well as those who committed errors, must be verified one by one. Be sure to achieve fairness in rewards and punishments!"

The generals shouted in unison: "Your Highness is wise!"

Zhu Cilang continued: "On this journey south, I intend to expand the army, and I also wish to make adjustments to the Yongwei Camp. What do all of you think?"

The moment Zhu Cilang finished speaking, Wu Zhong and Qiu Zhizhong beside him carried a large stack of documents and distributed them to the generals.

Zhu Cilang went on: "On these papers are the reform regulations I have drafted for the Yongwei Camp. The new organizational structure, troop type allocations, and numbers are all explained. Everyone, take a look!"

The generals received the documents and read them carefully, seeing the densely written military organization:

The Yongwei Camp was renamed the Tianwu Army, with the squad as the basic unit. Each squad consisted of ten men, with one squad leader and one deputy squad leader.

Three squads formed a platoon, commanded by a Platoon Commander, with one principal and one deputy. Additionally, a five-man mess squad was attached, totaling thirty-seven men.

Three platoons formed a company, commanded by a Hundred Commander, with one principal and one deputy. Additionally, a ten-man Night Scout squad and a five-man medical squad were attached, totaling one hundred twenty-eight men.

Three companies formed a battalion, commanded by a Battalion Commander, with one principal and one deputy. Additionally, several Military Law Department soldiers were attached, totaling four hundred men.

Three battalions formed a regiment, commanded by a Regimental Commander. Additionally, one artillery company was attached, along with regiment-directly-controlled Night Scouts and the Regimental Commander's guard company, totaling over one thousand three hundred men.

Three regiments formed a brigade, commanded by a Mobile Corps Commander. Additionally, a brigade-directly-controlled cavalry regiment of one thousand men was attached, along with the brigade-directly-controlled Night Scout squad, staff officer squad, guard squad, and mess squad. The entire brigade totaled five thousand men.

The Tianwu Army was established with three brigades of fifteen thousand men, a military-directly-controlled Longxiang Night Scout unit of three hundred men, a military-directly-controlled heavy artillery regiment of one thousand men, a military-directly-controlled reinforced cavalry regiment of three thousand men, plus the army headquarters guard squad, staff officer squad, sniper squad, mess squad, and others. The entire army totaled twenty thousand men.

Each company's Night Scout squad was responsible for reconnaissance and intelligence, transmitting military orders, and collecting documents. The staff officers were responsible for advising on military matters and devising strategies for the generals — they were the staff officers of later generations. The staff officer posts were temporarily filled by the Regimental Commanders under each brigade.

The mess squads were responsible not only for cooking but also for escorting the grain and fodder of each platoon. In this way, the entire army's logistical capability would be greatly enhanced.

The Tianwu Army did not use traditional unit designations; the entire army was uniformly numbered, such as the Royal First Brigade, Royal Second Brigade, Royal Third Brigade, Royal Heavy Artillery Regiment, and Royal Cavalry Regiment.

Zhu Cilang's purpose in doing this was to prevent soldiers from feeling that this was like a private army, where they knew only their general and not the court. He did not want to see a repeat of soldiers surrounding the Chengtian Gate.

If there had to be a single designation and a commander to believe in, it was the Tianwu Army — and it was himself, the Crown Prince, the future Emperor of the Great Ming!

Zhu Cilang would not place the entire army under the sole command of Huang Degong. He understood very well that no matter how loyal a subject was, once the power in his hands reached a certain level, his state of mind would also change accordingly. Most powerful ministers in history were like this, and the military officers of the late Ming even more so.

The art of controlling subordinates lay in balance — this was crucial. Therefore, every time Zhu Cilang dispatched troops, he would have Huang Degong and Sun Yingyuan take turns leading the army, never allowing either one to become dominant and difficult to control.

In Zhu Cilang's plan, the Tianwu Army would continue to expand. Above the brigade level, divisions would be established, and beyond the combat units, a vast logistics and baggage train force would be set up separately, in preparation for future long-distance campaigns.

Zhu Cilang swept his gaze over the crowd and said: "Every level of command shall have a principal and a deputy. If the principal dies, the deputy takes over. If the deputy dies, the commander of the next subordinate combat unit steps up!"

Everyone nodded in succession. The new organization was indeed much better than the previous one. The Tianwu Army could operate with the company as a combat unit, and also with the regiment as a combat unit. The larger the combat unit, the more complete its troop types.

Huang Degong asked with some confusion: "Your Highness, is the designation of the Yongwei Camp going to be abolished?"

The generals had deep feelings for the Yongwei Camp. Its reputation had been earned through their battles along the way. If the designation were removed, they would find it very hard to accept.

Zhu Cilang replied without hesitation: "The name of the Yongwei Camp was earned by all of you together. I naturally would not abandon it. I plan to rename the Eastern Palace Guard as the Yongwei Camp, and select seasoned veterans from the original Yongwei Camp to join it. What do you all think?"

Sun Yingyuan bowed and said: "Your Highness is the backbone of us all. For the veterans of the Yongwei Camp to be able to guard Your Highness is naturally the best arrangement!"

Huang Degong also felt this was reasonable, and promptly said: "Your subordinate also agrees!"

The generals said in unison: "Your subordinates agree!"

"Since everyone agrees, I shall now appoint the principal commanders of each brigade of the Tianwu Army!" Zhu Cilang nodded and handed the appointment document beside him to Gu Wei, the head of the Military Law Department.

Gu Wei bowed and received the appointment document, then turned to face the crowd and opened it, announcing in a loud voice: "By decree of His Highness the Crown Prince!"

With a great clatter of armor, the generals' expressions turned solemn, and they all knelt on one knee to receive the decree.

Gu Wei read aloud: "By order! Huang Degong is appointed Mobile Corps Commander of the Royal First Brigade of the Tianwu Army, Sun Yingyuan is appointed Mobile Corps Commander of the Royal Second Brigade, Zhou Yuji is appointed Mobile Corps Commander of the Royal Third Brigade, Yang Qili is appointed Regimental Commander of the Longxiang Night Scouts, Wan Junjie is appointed Regimental Commander of the Royal Heavy Artillery Regiment, and Li Shaoyou is appointed Regimental Commander of the Royal Cavalry Regiment!"

"Your subordinates receive the decree!" The several men acknowledged the order in unison.

Zhu Cilang nodded and declared in a clear voice: "The creed of the Tianwu Army: Uphold the Way of Heaven, follow the people's will, pacify the world with force, and purify the realm! Love the common people, strictly enforce military discipline, serve the country with utmost loyalty, and charge forward with courage! Fear not death, covet not wealth, obey orders without fail, and share life and death as one!"

"Share life and death as one!" The generals' blood boiled as they shouted in unison, while inwardly feeling a surge of excitement — the Crown Prince was going to lead the Tianwu Army to pacify the realm!

Zhu Cilang looked at the spirited generals, his own heart stirring as well. Now that the army's organization was settled, the next step was to address the issue of troop sources. Huaixi had always produced formidable soldiers — Grand Ancestor Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang had originally led the Twenty-Four Generals of Huaixi out of Fengyang to conquer the realm.

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It has now been a full three months since this book published its first chapter, and I have written a full four hundred thousand characters of free chapters. Now it has finally made it onto the Sanjiang recommendation!

This book got its first cold-gate trial push at one hundred sixty thousand characters, and after five rounds of advancement, it has now reached the Sanjiang recommendation.

Along the way, I thank everyone for their continued support. If it weren't for everyone's reading and voting, there would be no hard man's success today.

I also extend my great thanks to editor brother Xuxu, for all the care and guidance!

This book's military organization is not modern organization — it all follows the naming conventions of ancient Chinese military organization. The terms division and brigade both existed as early as the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties of China, and even the names haven't changed.