Chapter 1237: The Zhao Family Army

This sort of military council held no real secrecy; everyone was discussing, everyone was offering advice and strategies. They said the Xuzhou rebel rabble was so cut off and ignorant that they couldn't possibly know anything anyway. Even if they did find out, they'd be scared out of their wits and either surrender to the imperial court or scatter on their own — which would actually save a good deal of effort.

Amidst this boiling clamor, the newly appointed Fengyang Governor Zhao Yan submitted a memorial confessing his crimes, stating that his failed amnesty efforts made him guilty and begging to be allowed to retire to his hometown. No one paid any attention to this out-of-favor drowned dog; if he didn't want to hold the post himself, that was all for the best. His request was immediately approved, but the position of Fengyang Governor was left vacant and temporarily filled by the Yingtian Governor, which also facilitated the northward advance of the various Jiangnan forces and allowed for adapting to circumstances on the ground.

Edict after edict and dispatch after dispatch issued from the capital. The Brocade Guard riders carrying the orders galloped at top speed toward the border garrisons and military towns, and every relevant government office and bureau in the capital operated at full capacity.

On the twenty-seventh day of the third month of the fourth year of the Tianqi reign, a censor from the Jiangxi Circuit of the Chief Surveillance Bureau submitted a memorial, saying that the eastern Mongol brutes and the western Jurchen brutes were the great calamities of the state, while the Xuzhou rebel rabble were, after all, lost subjects of the Great Ming. Defending against external enemies was the critical matter; for the gentry and commoners in the heartland, pacification and amnesty should be the primary approach.

"To repel external threats, one must first pacify the interior!" Grand Secretary Ye Xianggao gave a resounding and forceful reply. At this very moment, the urgent dispatch from the Zhao Camp Internal Guard, sent from the capital, had already reached Xuzhou.

On the second day of the third month of the fourth year of the Tianqi reign, Zhao Jin of Xuzhou proclaimed himself General and established the Xuzhou General's Office.

Within the Xuzhou General's Office, a single Chief Clerk was appointed, filled by Wang Zhaojing. This was also the only subordinate general-official title that could be found in the classical records.

The Zhao Camp was renamed the Zhao Family Army. Household Troops were renamed Soldiers. The separately drawn-out Militia were renamed Army Troops. The Militia remaining stationed at the farming estates were renamed Farming Garrison Patrol Troops. Aside from the Personal Guard Brigade, the designations and basic structures of the First Brigade, Second Brigade, and Third Brigade remained unchanged, with only adjustments made to the details. Among these, the Second Brigade's Soldier Regiment was increased by one, making it four regiments, the same as the other two brigades.

Originally, the First Regiment of each brigade was a large formation, consisting of one thousand pike Soldiers plus four hundred arquebus Soldiers, along with standard-bearers, buglers, and commanding officers. The other regiments were mixed formations of eight hundred to one thousand Soldiers plus one hundred arquebusiers and archers. In this reorganization and expansion, all were strengthened.

The arquebus Soldiers in each brigade's First Regiment were increased to six hundred. All other regiments were organized into ten companies of pike Soldiers and two companies of arquebus Soldiers. The existing archers remained unchanged but were permitted to retrain with arquebuses.

Each brigade added one artillery company. The number of cannons for the three externally stationed brigades became sixteen, including six six-pounder cannons and four nine-pounder cannons. The number of mounted Soldiers in the Second and Third Brigades remained unchanged, but the First Brigade's mounted Soldiers were increased by four companies, bringing the First Brigade's mounted Soldiers to a total of nine hundred riders.

In addition, the Xuzhou Patrol Regiment, the Qingjiangpu Patrol Regiment, the Yutou Town Patrol Regiment, and the Jining Patrol Regiment each established a new Xuzhou Ironclad Patrol Battalion.

The Ironclad Patrol Battalions were organized according to the Soldier Regiment structure and equipped to Soldier Regiment specifications, totaling eight companies: one company equipped with arquebuses, one company of mounted Patrol Troops, and six companies of pike Patrol Troops. They did not participate in local law enforcement but served as emergency response and mobile forces, assigned to their parent brigades and regiments for campaigns in wartime.

The Fengpei Regiment, Suzhou Regiment, and Pizhou Regiment were expanded into reinforced regiments. The original main body of each regiment was reorganized into ten companies of pike Soldiers plus two companies of arquebus Soldiers. In addition to its main body, each regiment had one independent Army Troop Battalion. Each battalion comprised six Army Troop companies: one mixed company of arquebusiers and archers, and five companies of pike Army Troops. Each reinforced regiment was equipped with two cannons, all three-pounder field guns.

Three new regiments were established. The Teng County Regiment, with Regiment Commander Jiang Mutou, had eight companies of pike Soldiers, one company of arquebus Soldiers, and one company of mounted Soldiers. The Yizhou Regiment, with Regiment Commander Cheng Daqi, had six companies of pike Soldiers, three companies of mounted Soldiers, and one company of arquebus Soldiers. Additionally, the Haizhou Garrison Regiment was established, with Regiment Commander Yan Heilian. The Haizhou Garrison Regiment was divided into three parts: the Haizhou Regiment main body, with eight companies — two companies of mounted Soldiers and six companies of pike Soldiers; the Salt Patrol Army Troop Battalion, with Deputy Regiment Commander and concurrent Battalion Commander Qi Erkui, comprising six companies — three companies of mounted Army Troops and three companies of pike Army Troops.

In Haizhou, a separate Zhao Family Army Maritime Instruction Regiment was established, with Regiment Commander Louis Crawford and Deputy Regiment Commander Cai De. The Maritime Instruction Regiment was divided into four battalions: the Yellow River Battalion, the Grand Canal Battalion, the Maritime Instruction Battalion, and the Haizhou Port Garrison Battalion. It had four artillery companies, four pike companies, and two mounted companies, with an unfixed number of vessels.

Apart from the brigades, regiments, and teams directly under Zhao Jin, each brigade, regiment, and battalion was assigned a logistics battalion, logistics detachment, and logistics company. These were built around veteran Soldiers and Army Troops as the backbone, supplemented by local civilian laborers, to maintain logistics and supply for each brigade and regiment. However, these logistics units were subject to multiple layers of leadership from the local farming and trade operations as well as the Household Troop brigades and regiments.

The units directly subordinate to Xuzhou General Zhao Jin also underwent changes and adjustments. In the First and Second Regiments of the Personal Guard Brigade, the arquebus companies in each regiment were increased to eight, while the number of pike Soldier companies remained unchanged.

The Firearms Battalion was elevated to an Artillery Regiment, with over fifty field guns in total. It also had three companies each of pike Soldiers and arquebus Soldiers to guard the artillery, plus one directly subordinate logistics cart and horse battalion. Zhao Jin continued to concurrently serve as Regiment Commander, with Meng Zhiqi as Deputy Regiment Commander.

The Mounted Household Troop Regiment, now renamed the Mounted Soldier Regiment — which everyone habitually called the Xuzhou Knight Regiment — was expanded into two regiments, each with eight companies: four armored companies and four light cavalry companies. The First Knight Regiment was commanded by Xu Yong, and the Second Knight Regiment by Bayin.

In the horse troops of the Zhao Camp, aside from Zhao Jin's several brothers, the man with the greatest seniority and the highest rank was Tao Gui. No one expected that he would not be given a regiment commander's position.

But everyone's doubts were soon completely dispelled. A new Instruction Brigade was established, with Zhao Jin concurrently serving as Brigade Commander and Tao Gui as Deputy Brigade Commander. The Instruction Brigade was divided into three parts. The Ironclad Cavalry Battalion, comprising six companies and one detachment: each mounted Soldier was assigned two horses, wore iron armor, and was equipped with an arquebus and a long halberd; all had served in the Zhao Camp for over three years. The detachment was an artillery detachment, equipped with four two-pounder light cannons and two one-pounder light cannons, with specialized gun carriages and specialized horses. Tao Gui directly commanded this Ironclad Cavalry Battalion. The second part was the Cadet Company, directly commanded by Zhao Jin, comprising four companies in total, staffed by cadets from the martial academy and selected Soldiers and Army Troops from the various brigades and regiments, rotating at all times. The third part was the Personal Guard Battalion, comprising eight companies, directly commanded by Zhao Jin, with specific affairs handled by Zhao Wan, Niu Jinbao, and Sun Dalin, responsible for the protection and guard duties of Zhao Jin and wherever the headquarters was located.

Among the eight companies of the Personal Guard Battalion, there were two companies of mounted Soldiers, two arquebus companies, and four pike companies. However, the organization of each company was not strict and often exceeded its authorized strength.

Outside the Zhao Family Army's main body and its various brigades, two Army Troop Regiments were established, primarily composed of core Militia. The Fengyang Army Troop Regiment, with Regiment Commander Zhong Gongxian, had twelve Army Troop companies and was stationed at Guzhen in Fengyang Prefecture. The Guide Army Troop Regiment, with Regiment Commander Li Sen, had twenty Army Troop companies and was stationed at Shangjiazhuang in Yucheng County, Guide Prefecture.

The Fengyang Army Troop Regiment and the Guide Army Troop Regiment each had their own missions and did not independently garrison and fight. Companies and detachments from the Zhao Family Army's various Soldier brigades, regiments, and battalions would be continuously mixed into their ranks and go into battle together with them. The Fengyang Army Troop Regiment's mission was to nail itself down near the Fengyang Central Capital and consolidate the expanding Fengyang Prefecture farming zone, while the Guide Army Troop Regiment's mission was to sweep away the forts, stockades, and earthen strongholds within Guide Prefecture, turning the subjects of local strongmen into the common people of Xuzhou.

At the same time, ten thousand new government troops had been recruited in Henan. The Guide Army Troop Regiment's mission was to serve as the first line of defense, making the necessary forward preparations for a counterattack or offensive by the Xuzhou main body.

These two Army Troop Regiments were in fact directly commanded by Zhao Jin; all of their movements were subject to his direct orders.

Most of the reorganization and expansion proceeded as a matter of course. Aside from matters related to firearms and the increases and decreases in Zhao Jin's directly subordinate units, most of the other units had already been fully assigned, and some had even already begun garrison and patrol duties. It was merely a matter of formalizing the structures and designations. The Household Troops and Militia were not particularly enthusiastic about this; everyone already had a pretty good idea of who could be promoted to company commander or team commander.

What truly stirred excitement was the newly established Army Troop Garrison structure. In the prefectural and county cities, road passes, and various secondary strategic locations within the Zhao Camp's controlled territory, one Army Troop Garrison was to be placed. Each Army Troop Garrison consisted of four companies of pike Army Troops, and could additionally call upon two nearby Farming Garrison Patrol Troop companies for protection.

There were twenty Army Troop Garrisons in total, which meant there were twenty Garrison Commanders and forty Deputy Garrison Commanders. The team commanders and company commanders were merely routine promotions, but these Garrison Commander and Deputy Garrison Commander positions were different — these were military officers who would independently hold a small sector of territory.

Given the current situation, whether looking within or without, anyone could see the boundless future ahead of the Zhao Family Army. Everyone knew that today's positions represented future prospects. Even if it wasn't their own turn, they still needed to understand where others were headed.

The company commanders and team commanders in these Zhao Family Army brigades, regiments, and battalions were mostly Household Troops from the First and Second Regiments back in the founding days. Those who had risen to positions like Battalion Commander and Regiment Commander, however, primarily came from the hundred or so men who had followed Zhao Jin from the very beginning. The few exceptions were either men like Zhang Hubin, who had repeatedly performed extraordinary deeds, old-timers like Lu Da and Li Wu, or surrendered officers and local strongmen like Li He.

In private, people did not refrain from discussion and calculation. Drawing parallels to the founding of the Great Ming, not even mentioning the several Brigade Commanders and senior Regiment Commanders, if the great enterprise succeeded, those Battalion Commanders and Regiment Commanders would at the very least be treated to the rank of marquis.

Unlike the low-key and modest Zhao Jin and his companions, years of battle and victory had given the Household Troops — now called Soldiers — an immensely strong self-confidence. They felt they could already sweep across the realm. The Zhao Camp's current scale was already sufficient; the subsequent troop expansion and reorganization would be limited, which meant the possibilities for promotion were also limited.

The treatment of the company commanders and team commanders was certainly good, and their future was well worth anticipating, but eminence and nobility were not guaranteed. At present, the only ones who seemed to have this hope were these Garrison Commanders and Deputy Garrison Commanders.

After all these years, the Zhao Camp had developed an unspoken standard for measuring the status of a military officer: commanding more than one company and independently garrisoning a locality. The commanders and deputies of these twenty garrisons met that standard.

What further confirmed this was that Zhao Jin would personally promote these twenty Garrison Commanders and give them face-to-face encouragement and a send-off.

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