Chapter 562: Army Expansion and Reorganization! (Thanks to the book friend 09018 for the reward!)

Yijing, Governor-General's Office Study

Looking at the letter Yuan Song wrote to him, Ye Mingsheng smiled and shook his head. Yuan Song had now completely learned from Wang Jian. Not only did he ask Ye Mingsheng to reward him with more gold, silver, jewelry, fertile land and beautiful houses, he also told Ye Mingsheng that he was very tired from the continuous battles, so he begged Ye Mingsheng to allow him to rest for a while...

Ye Mingsheng knew that this was Yuan Song's way of showing him that he had no ambitions and would not always hold the military power, and could hand it over at any time. Ye Mingsheng also admired Yuan Song's honesty for this.

Not only in this expedition into the Pass, but also since he followed him to Liaoyang and in the process of establishing the Fengwu Army, Yuan Song has made considerable contributions. Ye Mingsheng saw all of this and kept it in mind. This time, he also prepared a generous reward for Yuan Song and is waiting for Yuan Song to return!
In order to reassure Yuan Song, Ye Mingsheng also comforted Yuan Song with a few words in his reply to the memorial, saying that he knew Yuan Song's character and was confident in you, and that he would agree to his request, so he didn't have to worry!
After approving the instructions, Ye Mingsheng pondered for a while, then picked up a new memorial and started reading it. This memorial was presented to him by He Jingyun. Since Ye Mingsheng conveyed his idea of ​​expanding the Fengwu Army to He Jingyun a few days ago, He Jingyun also expressed his deep agreement and put forward some very constructive suggestions. Therefore, Ye Mingsheng asked him to come up with a specific plan.

And now this memorial is the specific plan for reorganization that He Jingyun and other staff members of the General Staff came up with after working through several nights.

Looking at the words on the memorial, Ye Mingsheng studied it carefully. In simple terms, He Jingyun’s plan was to rearrange the existing organization of the Fengwu Army. More than half of the Fengwu Army’s captains, sentinels, and commanders would be transferred. For example, Sun Chengxiang, the commander of the Third Division, would be transferred to the First Division to be the commander, and so on...

In addition to adjustments in personnel appointments, some troops also need to be re-divided. For example, a battalion of the First Division will be incorporated into the newly formed Seventh Division of Ma Zhongjun, and two battalions of the Second Division will be incorporated into the newly formed Seventh Division of Zhang Meng, which will also bring changes in defense areas.

When Ye Mingsheng proposed to set up army-level combat units, He Jingyun also came up with his plan. He planned to recruit new soldiers to the First Division, and then establish the First Army on the basis of the First Division, and incorporate Peng Ce's unit of the Fourth Division into the combat sequence of the First Army. In this way, the total strength of the First Division will reach about 40,000 people, and it will be stationed in Zhuo County, becoming the main force of the Fengwu Army's future southward advance.

Secondly, the Second Army was established on the basis of Lin Huaiwu's Second Division, and Gu Shouting's Sixth Division was incorporated into the combat sequence of the Second Army. The total strength was about 50,000 people, mainly stationed in Jizhou and Liaoyang areas, serving as a strategic reserve to stabilize the rear of the Fengwu Army.

Third, the Third Army will be established on the basis of Guo Zhiping's Third Division, and Ma Zhongjun's newly formed Seventh Division will be incorporated into the Third Army. The strength of the Third Army will reach about 40,000 people, stationed in the Yuyang area to monitor the movements of the Luobi people and serve as the first line of defense for the Luobi people moving south.

In addition to the two battalions of Ye Tie's Fifth Division in Dongning as the garrison troops, the remaining more than 10,000 people and Zhang Meng's newly formed Eighth Division will be stationed in Yijing to undertake the protection of Yijing···················

After reading He Jingyun's plan, Ye Mingsheng made a rough calculation. If this plan was implemented, the total strength of the Fengwu Army's front-line troops would reach about 170,000, which was about 15,000 more than the previously estimated scale of military expansion. Realizing this, Ye Mingsheng frowned slightly and fell into deep thought.

Since the capture of Zhuo County and the control of the entire territory of Youyan, Ye Mingsheng immediately ordered the provincial governor to send officials to the south to preside over the work of the local government, because he knew that Zhao Fuqu had plundered the southern part of Youyan very ruthlessly in order to fight against him, and did his utmost to protect the people's livelihood and avoid the tragedy of famine and cannibalism from happening again in Youyan.

As these people were dispatched, Ye Mingsheng also received more information about the southern part of Youyan. The situation in Zhuo County was worse than he had imagined. It would take at least several years of recuperation before it could recover. Before, after he captured Yijing and other northern areas of Youyan, he implemented a series of tax reduction policies and even tax exemption policies in some areas in order to appease the people and win their hearts and minds more quickly.

Although these policies helped the Fengwu Army win the support of the people and won the love of the people of Youyan, they also put considerable pressure on the finances. If the current plan to expand and reorganize the army by 170,000 people is implemented, it will put even greater pressure on the finances!

Of course, maintaining such a large army, although it puts a lot of financial pressure, will also greatly enhance the strength of the Fengwu Army. After all, although the Fengwu Army has completely captured Youyan, Ye Mingsheng will not be satisfied. The Fengwu Army, a well-organized war machine, will continue to advance under his leadership...

Previously, the Chief Secretary and the military had a big discussion organized by Ye Mingsheng, and there were three issues discussed!
First, how many troops can be supported by the territories of Youyan and Liaoyang?

Second, given the current security situation of the Fengwu Army, how many troops are needed to meet the needs of homeland defense?
Third, on the basis of homeland defense, what is the minimum number of troops needed to support outward expansion?
After several days of intense discussion, the two sides barely reached a consensus on these three questions. The answer to the first question was 200,000 people, the answer to the second question was 100,000 people, and the answer to the third question was 150,000 people! And now this 170,000-man reorganization and expansion plan is somewhat close to the limit of Youyan and Liaoyang's ability to support the army, so after thinking about it, Ye Mingsheng made a decision and wrote a note to He Jingyun's plan, telling He Jingyun that the overall size of the Fengwu Army must strictly adhere to the red line of 150,000 people.

On this basis, we must also strengthen the training of reserve forces. We can expand the annual training volume of reserve soldiers from 30 days to 40 days or even 45 days. Reserve soldiers must ensure that they can step up and win battles when the front-line troops need them!

In addition to this, Ye Mingsheng also planned to make some minor adjustments in personnel appointments. Gu Shouting's Sixth Division would be incorporated into the battle sequence of the First Army, Yuan Song would serve as the commander of the First Army, and the vacant position of the General of the First Division would be taken over by Ma Zhongjun. The plan to establish the Second Army and the new Eighth Division would be temporarily cancelled, and Peng Ce's Fourth Division would be incorporated into the battle sequence of Guo Zhiping's Third Army. As for Zhang Meng, he would be appointed as the General of the Seventh Division...
After doing all this, Ye Mingsheng just felt a little tired. This kind of personnel transfer is the most mentally exhausting. Every position is interconnected, and there are various interests involved behind it. After this reorganization, the combat effectiveness of the Fengwu Army will inevitably decline temporarily.

However, this is also what must be done. Although Ye Mingsheng, who made his career with the help of the army, has absolute authority in the Fengwu Army, he also has to take precautions against the emergence of small factions in the army. After all, a thousand-mile dike is destroyed by an ant hole, so we must always be prepared for danger.

Fortunately, Zhao Fuqu was destroyed, and the Luobei people and the Cumans were entangled together. The two biggest external threats to the Fengwu Army have basically disappeared, and Ye Mingsheng can focus his main energy on himself.

It is believed that the combat effectiveness lost by the Fengwu Army due to the reorganization can be restored through re-running. During this period of time, in addition to giving Lin Huaiwu a chance, the Fengwu Army will no longer have large-scale military operations. Only after the territory of Youyan is completely digested, Ye Mingsheng will start to move south again!
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Yunbing, Jinzhong City
In the Governor's Mansion, Zhao Jianan gathered all his trusted subordinates. Although the Yan army was in a difficult situation during this period, Zhao Jianan himself seemed to be in high spirits. As he wished, he inherited Zhao Fuqu's position of governor and the remaining Yan army troops. He then began to carry out a new round of transformation of the Yan army according to his own ideas.

After taking control of the Yan army, the first thing Zhao Jianan did was to gather the remaining soldiers of the Yan army. Although Zhao Fuqu had lost a lot of popular support due to his excessive taxes and extortion, he had been running Youyan for decades after all, and he had to fight against the Luobi people's halo as a hero, so some people in Youyan still respected him very much. Therefore, after retreating to Jinzhong, Zhao Jianan, under the name of Zhao Fuqu, gathered the scattered soldiers of the Yan army in Youyan, hoping to restore his strength as soon as possible!
After this period of hard work, Zhao Jianan also gathered thousands of Yan army remnants in Jinzhong. Up to now, the Yan army in Jinzhong has reached nearly 20,000 people, and at present, the number of Yan army remnants who have fled to Jinzhong is still increasing. According to the predictions of Zhao Jianan and his staff, they believe that they can eventually have an army of more than 25,000 people in Jinzhong!

In addition to gathering the defeated troops, Zhao Jianan also stepped up his efforts to seize power. He sidelined Jin Zhengrui and Huang Wen Ze, one a civil official and one a military official, two of the most important ministers of the Yan army left to him by his father Zhao Fuqu, and took away the power from them.

Since escaping from Yijing, the frustrated Zhao Jianan has been silent for a while. During this time, he has been reflecting on why the Yan Army, which has been dominating Youyan for decades, has been defeated in battles by the newly established Fengwu Army...
Not only Zhao Jianan was thinking about this question, but the top leaders of the entire Yan army were also reflecting on it. The answers they came up with were mainly concentrated on two points. The first was that the Fengwu Army chose a good time to launch a sneak attack on the pass, and the second was that the Fengwu Army's firearms were sharp and powerful.

However, Zhao Jianan believed that these two points were only superficial reasons. The deeper reason was that the Fengwu Army was all united around the evil thief Ye Mingsheng, and the entire organization ran very efficiently and quickly. Ye Mingsheng had the final say, and once he said something, the entire Fengwu Army was in action. On the other hand, the Yan Army had many internal conflicts and intrigues, and a lot of its strength was lost in internal friction!
In addition, Zhao Jianan also believed that because the Fengwu Army was a newly formed emerging force, their senior leaders like Ye Mingsheng, He Jingyun, Gu Sansi and others were relatively young and very competitive, while the Yan Army leaders like Jin Zhengrui, Huang Wenzhe and others were already old and calm but lacked the enterprising spirit. They were all at the age of enjoying their grandchildren and had lost the passion and competitive spirit of their youth!
Therefore, Zhao Jianan also learned from Ye Mingsheng and wanted to form a young and efficient leadership, so he made the decision to sideline Huang Wenzhe and Jin Zhengrui. After all, these two veterans had served in the Yan army for their entire lives and had a very high prestige.

If they were allowed to continue to hold power, when he, Zhao Jianan, disagreed with them, these two old guys would definitely use their seniority to lecture him and stop his ideas, so Zhao Jianan simply took the initiative and kicked these two out of the core of power...

Of course, in addition to this reason, Zhao Jianan also had his own personal reasons. Jin Zhengrui was a veteran in the Yan army and had many students and former officials in the Yan army. Although he was generous and loyal, he was Zhao Fuqu's right-hand man.

But Zhao Jianan still felt that it was most reassuring to hold the military power in his own hands. If he allowed Kim Jong-seo to continue to be in charge of the military power, what if this old guy had any evil intentions after seeing his father's death? Zhao Jianan would not even know he was dead!

As for Huang Wen Ze, it was even simpler! Although Zhao Jianan and Zhao Jianwen were half brothers, after years of fighting overtly and covertly, they had long been enemies of life and death, with no family affection at all, and Zhao Jianwen's existence would pose a threat to his rule!

Therefore, what Zhao Jianan wanted to do most was to kill Zhao Jianwen, both to vent the hatred he had accumulated over the years and to eliminate future troubles once and for all!
However, Zhao Jianan searched secretly for a long time but could not find any trace of his "good brother". Finally, he got some information from his father's favorite concubine, Hu. It turned out that when his father, Zhao Fuqu, decided to give the position to him, he thought of Zhao Jianan's narrow-mindedness. After inheriting the Yan army, he would definitely not let Zhao Jianwen go!

As a father, Zhao Fuqu certainly did not want to see the tragic situation of Zhao Jianan and Zhao Jianwen killing each other after his death. His initial idea was to force Zhao Jianan to swear a blood oath in the ancestral hall not to harm Zhao Jianwen. However, considering that Zhao Jianan was hypocritical, forbearing, and narrow-minded.

Even if he swore a blood oath, Zhao Jianan would definitely take action when Zhao Fuqu was no longer around, so Zhao Fuqu had no choice but to give up doing useless work····························
(End of this chapter)