Chapter 386: Conferring Offices and Appointing Generals

From the fourth day of the fifth month, the new city resounded with gongs and drums, a general-appointing platform was erected on the parade ground west of the city, and the conferring of offices and generalship lasted four full days.

The four Han military battalions, four military-farming battalions, two training battalions, and one guard battalion established by the Marshal's Manor assembled in order, with the Grand Marshal granting each battalion its camp banner, gold tablet, official seal, and drums and music.

Liu Chengzong in one burst conferred forty-four generals, three hundred and twenty colonels, one thousand three hundred commandants, and awarded soldier honors to over ten thousand soldiers in the army.

The generals, colonels, commandants, and soldier honors here all belong to honorary ranks — like the Dragon-Tiger General of Nurgaci of the Jianzhou Guard — they are traditional Chinese military ranks and do not represent actual posts.

Ming dynasty official positions were composed of substantive post, honorary rank, merit rank, and noble title; every official necessarily had a substantive post and an honorary rank, and could also hold a merit rank and a noble title.

Honorary rank corresponds to official or military rank, substantive post is the actual duty, merit rank is for major achievements, and noble title is for hereditary major achievements.

Honorary ranks and merit ranks are both products of the evolution of the Qin-Han twenty-order noble ranks; when the twenty-order ranks were over-conferred, merit ranks developed; when merit ranks were over-conferred, they were further refined in Song dynasty reforms, becoming the later honorary ranks and merit ranks.

The Great Ming had an honorary rank and merit rank system, and this set of institutions was extremely mature.

Liu Chengzong considered transplanting the simpler military ranks from his mind, but after careful thought he abandoned the idea.

Even if he transplanted them, it would merely be changing Biaoji, Jinwu, and Dragon-Tiger Generals to full general; State-Suppressing, State-Stabilizing, and State-Upholding Generals to lieutenant general; and Illustrious-Brave, Illustrious-Resolute, and Illustrious-Martial Generals to major general — not very meaningful.

The improvements Liu Chengzong could make were, first, to reduce the number of general ranks and increase the proportion of colonels, to avoid the Ming phenomenon of high rank with low post, and to extend the honorary rank and merit rank system downward from generals and colonels to the soldier ranks, thereby making the honorary rank and merit rank system more complete.

According to the characteristics of the Marshal's Manor, soldiers were divided into three grades and nine classes: Skilled Soldier, Tiger Guard, and Valiant Rider, corresponding respectively to the three stages of training in the training battalion, studying in the central army battalion, and serving as squad leaders in the various battalions, appropriately lengthening the training time for junior officers and enhancing soldier pay and sense of honor.

Mo Yujing's relay riders, starting from Eight Corner City northward, crossed the Yellow River at Sala Station, entered He-Huang, and passed through Gaodianzi Camp and Xining City, delivering the urgent report to Ju'erwan New City.

Faced with the most urgent military intelligence, Liu Chengzong, while completing the conferral of honors, ordered Dai Daozi to lead relay riders out from South Mountain and Guide toward the Heka Grasslands to scout for information.

On the fourth day after the conferral of honors was completed, the thirteenth day of the fifth month, he summoned officers of Illustrious-Brave General rank and above, assigning tasks to idle personnel without substantive posts and preparing for war.

Just as Mo Yujing had guessed, Liu Chengzong had miscalculated.

His analysis of the war's development was indeed built on the assumption that Khundulen had thirty thousand troops, and therefore he had never paid much attention to the war itself, though he was very concerned with controlling the situation.

As for how things had come to this, Liu Chengzong, seated in the hall, raised a hand and lightly tapped his forehead — Khundulen Khan had let his troops scatter, who could have imagined that!

The Chahar and the Oirats, having already dashed four or five thousand li to reach Qinghai, then dashed back and forth another three or four thousand li within Qinghai — after such a long march, even if the Oirats were relatively strong, they lacked the ability to catch up with the Khan and beat him.

But that still couldn't stop Khundulen Khan from running his troops into nothing, which instantly hit a blind spot in Liu the Lion's knowledge.

He spoke: "According to the original plan, the army should rest for some more days, to allow the officers and men of each battalion to familiarize themselves with each other and the Marshal's Manor to establish its six bureaus. But now the situation has changed; the Marshal's Manor must complete its preparations as quickly as possible. Relay reports have come back from the front — distribute them among you all to read."

The intelligence came mainly from three sources.

First was the news Mo Yujing had sent back from Eight Corner City.

On the Ganjia Grasslands west of Eight Corner City, the Oirats had been confirmed to have built four fortified camps and sixteen mountain outposts, with a total strength of around ten thousand, constructing siege equipment, grazing, and resting.

Second was from Dai Daozi's direction at South Mountain Fort; relay riders spread across the Heka Grasslands and the Yellow River South Bend had sent back intelligence.

Likewise, the Oirat allied forces had split into several groups, some as small as a few hundred, others as large as several thousand, encamping along the rivers on the grasslands. Dai Daozi had recruited Mongol boatmen from the Naval Office and was attempting to follow the Mongol scouts racing back and forth, to locate their main force and grain supplies.

As for the last intelligence source, it was a letter sent to South Mountain Fort by the State Preceptor Khan of the Khoshut tribe.

The State Preceptor Khan's words were even more humble than before: on one hand he relayed the joyous news that the Chahar Khan was nearly finished, and on the other he requested submission, hoping Liu Chengzong would allow him to graze in Yellow River South, Heka, Ulan, Dulan, Golmud, and Greater and Lesser Chaidan, open tribute markets, and issue gold tablets — the Khoshut tribe was willing to submit with ten thousand cavalry and pay annual tribute.

Yang Yao and Wang Wenxiu, seated to the left and right in the hall, finished reading the intelligence and the letter. The two State-Stabilizing Generals of the Marshal's Manor exchanged a glance, both faces struggling to suppress laughter at the State Preceptor Khan's letter, holding back their mirth and saying nothing.

To the officers of the Marshal's Manor, the phrasing of this damn letter was all too familiar — their invincible Grand Marshal had written to the Chongzhen Emperor in exactly this way to ask for Qinghai.

Now the Oirat State Preceptor Khan was writing to the Grand Marshal in the same way to ask for land — wasn't this just daydreaming?

It was Zhang Tianlin, seated to the side, who couldn't hold it in. He slapped his thigh and immediately cupped his fists toward Liu Chengzong: "Fighting early has its advantages, and fighting late has its advantages too. Marshal, give the order!"

The assembled generals all nodded in agreement. The situation was very clear, and their resolve for war was very firm; only the arrangements for setting out remained.

Zhou Riqiang, a lifelong civil official, had also been forced into military attire upon being conferred the rank of Huaiyuan Colonel. He performed a salute in the hall and said, "Marshal, the Naval Office is rushing to prepare army provisions; within three days they can be transported to South Mountain Fort, enough to supply ten thousand troops."

Wang Kun, the steward of Ju'erwan, who had likewise been conferred the rank of Huaiyuan Colonel, was unwilling to be outdone. He saluted and said, "Ju'erwan can also rush to prepare army provisions — we are closer."

A smile appeared on Liu Chengzong's face.

The benefits of establishing honorary ranks were obvious: honorary rank was a way to distinguish grades, equivalent to what level of treatment one enjoyed, meaning the Marshal's Manor finally had an official rank system, giving even these non-combatants a greater drive for advancement.

However, this was also a symptom of administrative chaos: Ju'erwan had cattle, sheep, rice, and grain; the Naval Office had fish, meat, and butter — they ought to have been consolidated in one place for coordination.

The various generals, too, should have their tasks assigned under the unified management of the Ministry of War and the brigade commanders.

But a military council like this might be the first and the last; as long as the Marshal's Manor could get over this hurdle, once his elder brother Liu Chengzu and younger brother Liu Chengyun were transferred back from the Hekou front, there would be people to manage the Marshal's Manor's six bureaus.

Liu Chengzong already had candidates in mind for the six bureau chiefs: the Personnel Bureau to his father, the Revenue Bureau to Chengyun, the War Bureau to his eldest brother, the Works Bureau to Shi Chengwo, the Justice Bureau reserved for Yang Dingrui — as for the Rites Bureau, he had no suitable candidate yet, which made him somewhat regretful.

He should have tied Yang He up and brought him along.

He rose and walked to the map in the center of the hall, saying, "For this campaign's army provisions, all will be under the unified management of Xining Prefecture. Each department is to step up transportation and planning. We tentatively set three routes for garrison and two routes for the offensive."

As he spoke, Liu Chengzong pointed to the two strongholds of South Mountain Fort and Guide City on the map, saying, "The central army field headquarters will be established at Daotang River on Sun Moon Mountain. Left Brigade Commander Yang Yao with two battalions will advance to South Mountain Fort and, when opportune, sweep the enemy forces on the Heka Grasslands. Right Brigade Commander Wang Wenxiu with two battalions will advance to Guide City, threaten Yellow River South, and assist the Left Brigade in crossing the Yellow River."

The two generals immediately rose to accept their orders, and rising with them were Left Brigade Assistant Commanders Zhang Tianlin and Yang Chengzu, and Right Brigade Assistant Commanders Gao Yingdeng and Wei Qian'er.

Once the six were seated, Liu Chengzong continued issuing orders: "Military-Farming Left Brigade Commander Xie Erhu, lead two battalions to guard the South Mountain Fort supply route; Military-Farming Right Brigade Commander Basang, guard the Guide City supply route."

The two generals rose accordingly, and likewise their subordinates Wasi and Xiao Daiqing, and Aliu and Buchi, rose to accept their orders.

This Xiao Daiqing was Mergen Daiqing, the Mongol chieftain who had first occupied Haibei and had contributed considerably in the southern campaign with Liu Chengzong.

On the northern return from Nangqian, because he had been an early Qinghai vanguard leader for Choktu, Xie Erhu had stripped him of his followers, and he had been unable to participate in the subsequent operations; only now, with the conferral of rewards for this campaign's merits, was he reactivated.

Having assigned them their tasks, Liu Chengzong then looked to the last two troop-leading assistant commanders, Huang Shengxiao and Feng Rang, and said, "The two Skilled Soldier battalions will move with the central army field headquarters to Daotang River on Sun Moon Mountain."

The Skilled Soldier battalions were the former training battalions.

It was just that the most elite training battalions once under Yang Yao and Wang Wenxiu had had their soldiers distributed among the newly organized two brigades and four battalions; the current Skilled Soldier battalions were merely ordinary units after reorganization.

"Skilled Soldier" itself was originally a term for local reserve troops in the Qin-Han system, as well as a designation for infantry, but in Liu Chengzong's Marshal's Manor, Skilled Soldier was the lowest of the three grades of soldier honors.

In Liu Chengzong's conception, the future army of the Marshal's Manor should be composed of five tiers: the central army Tiger Guard battalions, the veteran field battalions, the overseas military-farming battalions, the recruit Skilled Soldier battalions, and the He-Huang five garrison battalions.

With elite veterans as the foundation, after retirement they would be assigned to the He-Huang five garrisons to train civilian militias; civilian militias with outstanding evaluations would be recruited and enter service in the recruit Skilled Soldier battalions as third-class Skilled Soldiers.

Once they met the standards for regular troops through evaluation, they would be granted second-class Skilled Soldier rank and transferred to the overseas military-farming battalions to serve as one of the four squad-level leaders; passing evaluation would promote them to first-class Skilled Soldier and transfer them to the field battalions for service as soldiers.

After further evaluation and selection, they would be promoted to third-class Tiger Guard and transferred to the Tiger Guard battalions at Liu Chengzong's side for study of culture and military methods.

Upon completing the Tiger Guard stage of study, they would be granted Valiant Rider soldier honors and serve as squad leaders in field battalions, platoon commanders in military-farming battalions, or centurions in the five garrisons. The entire soldier-stage duration would be five years, after which they could serve as deputy platoon commanders in field battalions and step into the officer ranks.

Once this entire system was fully established and operating normally, Liu Chengzong's army would no longer be the single-use army it was today, and would not suffer crippling losses of vitality from any single major defeat.

It was just that for now, this system was more like Liu Chengzong's ultimate fantasy — he could not afford to maintain more troops, and moreover, because the Gansu border army to the north was the next target for conquest, it was very likely that in the future he would also be unable to cultivate his own army.

Liu Chengzong shook his head slightly, set the puzzle aside, and asked Shi Chengwo, "Master Shi, what's the situation with the shortfalls in armor and firearms across the battalions?"

Shi Chengwo sat behind, his face full of unease, apparently having spaced out during the council of war.

Only when he heard Liu Chengzong call his name did he hurriedly rise. After a moment's thought, he said, "Reporting to the Grand Marshal, the eleven battalions are fully equipped with armor, but for firearms, the seven battalions are short four heavy cannons and twelve light cannons yet to be cast; nine hundred jingal muskets and eight hundred heavy arquebuses are yet to be made. Clay molds are sufficient, and the cannons can be delivered to the battalions within a month... but the jingal muskets and heavy arquebuses will be delayed until the Start of Autumn before they're finished."

Liu Chengzong, seeing his uneasy expression, nearly laughed out loud.

The newly formed Garrison Farm battalions were not equipped with heavy cannons, and their firearms and cannons were all captured old-model Ming army weapons — the Marshal's Headquarters had an abundance of those in its armories.

But the Tiger Guard, Elite Troops, and the seven field battalions were all crack units, designed on the model of the old training battalions. Apart from cold weapons and armor, all their other firearm equipment was self-manufactured.

On paper, each battalion was supposed to have four thousand-catty heavy cannons, eight three-hundred-catty light cannons, three hundred jingal muskets, six hundred heavy arquebuses, and six hundred birding guns.

With the Marshal's Headquarters suddenly expanding and reorganizing its forces, massive shortfalls in self-manufactured weapons were inevitable, and the interval before the campaign was far too short — it was very difficult to finish equipping all the battalions in such a brief time.

In fact, that all the jingal muskets and heavy arquebuses could be finished by the Start of Autumn already exceeded his expectations; he had thought it would drag on until the New Year.

Therefore, Liu Chengzong did not rebuke him, but merely asked, "Is the arsenal facing any difficulties?"

Shi Chengwo shook his head with a wry smile. "Reporting to the Grand Marshal, no difficulties. We have multiple mountain workshops, materials are sufficient, and craftsmen are now adequate. It's simply that the interval before the campaign is too short... but that can't be counted as a difficulty for the arsenal."

Liu Chengzong was the first to laugh, and the assembled commanders, no longer holding back, burst into a roar of laughter.

None of the Marshal's Headquarters commanders took the firearm shortage seriously, because every one of them knew full well: a jingal musket took ninety man-days, a heavy arquebus took forty-five — over a hundred thousand man-days of work were sitting right there. If it couldn't be made in a short time, it simply couldn't be made.

Even if you killed Shi Chengwo, it still couldn't be made.

"The weapons we have now will suffice. I hear the Oirat have many muskets, but not many cannons." Liu Chengzong, having finished laughing, said to everyone, "Each battalion, go pick through the warehouses for birding guns. Try to bring firearms up to half of your total troop strength, but don't take too mixed a variety — be careful of having too many types of lead shot. I'll ship you lead ingots directly and have you cast your own balls on the battlefield."

Liu Chengzong smiled and turned his head to look at his father. "Da, the warhorses for the participating units are sufficient, but the army has only a little over thirty thousand donkeys and mules. We need to requisition more from Xining Prefecture and must round up a full seventy thousand head."

His father, seated beside him, took the pipe from his mouth and, amid pale blue smoke, nodded gravely. "Mm. Xining has over twenty thousand, Nianbo still has some Lanzhou donkeys, and we can buy more from Hehuang. Half a month — in half a month we'll have the donkeys assembled. Won't delay your campaign."

He Huchen, Yang Qi, and Wang Cheng'en were dumbstruck. Watching the Marshal's Headquarters commanders all taking this as a matter of course, the three of them looked at each other in bewilderment.

What on earth were these two, father and son, talking about?

They had always considered the rebels to be dirt poor. Even though Liu Chengzong had occupied Qinghai, Qinghai wasn't exactly a wealthy region.

Compared to the Great Ming, the Qinghai Marshal's Headquarters was still dirt poor.

Until this moment — watching the Marshal's Headquarters mobilize fewer than forty thousand combat troops yet requisition seventy thousand donkeys and mules, and everyone treating it as perfectly normal — they finally recognized the enormous gulf between the Marshal's Headquarters and the government army.

In the past, when fighting wars for the Great Ming, Regional Commanders, as the grand commanders of a garrison sector directing operations, understood war to mean the Ministry of War issuing an order, and the Regional Commander, based on what he had on hand, scrimping and scraping to figure out how to fulfill that order more or less adequately.

But in that simple exchange between the Liu father and son, they discovered that the Marshal's Headquarters did not fight wars that way.

It was plainly this: Liu Chengzong possessed an army, occupied Qinghai, and had only grudgingly created the miniature court of the Marshal's Headquarters for the purpose of allocating all kinds of war materiel.

How could the Great Ming possibly compare to this freak of a state where everything served the war?

Liu Chengzong did not notice the three old Regional Commanders' astonishment. He merely rose once more, his expression solemn, and said, "Once the donkeys and mules arrive, everything will be in place. Brothers, lead your troops and occupy the forts. When we return victorious, I will richly reward the army. I wish to bestow upon you all new titles and generalships!"