ushernet Chapter 103 Iron Ship
Chapter 103 Iron Ship
If it weren't for the fact that large steel ships belonging to Westerners had once docked in the Wu Commandery in the south, Xun Yu and others might not have known that large ships could sail in the middle of the sea.
"My lord, I really don't know much about the navy. But the navy and the navy are just different names, right?" Xun Yu said.
Chen Er shook his head and said, "What is a navy? The empire's naval power is really too backward. Didn't you also hear about these Westerners' iron ships from Ying Xiong and the others? Think about it, if our navy were equipped with such large ships, who could stop us from attacking southward from the sea?"
Hearing Chen Er's words, Xun Yu understood a little. It seemed to make sense. According to Chen Er, the navy was indeed very useful. However, Xun Yu was a little confused: "My lord, how do these iron ships float on the water? Iron is so heavy, how can it float?"
“Wenruo, I have no way to explain this problem either. But if Westerners can build such large steel behemoths, I think our autonomous region can also build ironclad warships, and we should equip them with the most advanced general cannons.” Chen Er said to Xun Yu, “Didn’t Ma Jun say two months ago that he had built a ship of more than 500 tons? He also said that the research on ironclad warships has made some progress, and we should have results soon.”
“If we can make progress, the strength of our autonomous region will be greatly enhanced,” Xi Zhicai, who had just walked in, said to Chen Er.
Chen Er asked with a smile, "Why isn't Zhicai busy at the General Staff Headquarters today? Why has he come here instead?"
Xi Zhicai bowed to Chen Er and said, "My lord, I've come to inform you of the progress of the conscription."
"How is it going?" Chen Er asked, his eyes fixed on Xi Zhicai. The implementation of the conscription system was Chen Er's biggest concern at the moment. After the population census at the beginning of the year, Chen Er finally realized how huge the population under his command was—a full 11 million people! This was close to one-third of the empire's population. Moreover, the autonomous region's population had another major characteristic: the proportion of young adults was relatively large. This was because a large number of refugees from the south had joined the Ji and You regions. Most of these refugees were young adults, because older people who were physically weak simply couldn't have fled to Ji or the original You.
Furthermore, there are very few elderly people among ethnic minorities, most of whom died in the wars of the past. After the census, Chen Er emphasized one thing again: the policy of ethnic equality. Of course, this was just talk about ethnic equality. In reality, all ethnic minorities received Han Chinese education. Their languages and scripts, such as Xianbei, Xiongnu, and Turkic, were not included in the autonomous region's education system. According to the calculations of Xun Yu and others, in this way, these ethnic minorities could be completely integrated into the Han Chinese system in less than ten years.
The autonomous region has also officially included the Xiongnu people in the reserve conscription system. The Turks and Xianbei people are still under investigation and are temporarily still in the mercenary system.
Even so, the autonomous region's maximum mobilization force during wartime had reached 700,000! If they wanted to wage war to the bitter end, a million would be no problem, but that would be a ten-to-one conscription ratio, which was truly terrifying.
Of course, this is only the worst-case scenario. In peacetime, the autonomous region's standing army currently numbers 250,000, including 150,000 elite musketeers, 30,000 cavalry, and 70,000 mixed infantry.
After Bingzhou and Qingzhou joined the autonomous region, the entire autonomous region established a three-dimensional defense system. 100,000 troops were stationed in the southern part of the autonomous region, mainly relying on the cities along the river for defense, while the remaining 150,000 troops were scattered and stationed in various places.
Since Gongsun Du of Liaodong had surrendered a year ago and become a wealthy man, and the threat from the Xianbei people had disappeared, Yan Rou and Tian Yu's Third Army Corps had been split into two corps. Tian Yu used one-third of the Third Army Corps' strength to form the Fifth Army Corps.
From then on, the autonomous region had a total of five army corps. Each army corps consisted of three armies and one division. All units were organized in a three-three structure. However, in peacetime, units above the regimental level were organized in pairs, and the remaining unit was just a skeleton without any personnel, which was the reserve unit.
The advantage of this organizational structure is that it does not affect the overall combat effectiveness, and at the same time, it can replenish all the organizational structure in a timely manner after the start of a large-scale war, thus maintaining the overall combat effectiveness of the troops.
Therefore, the existing twenty-five men are actually only two-thirds of the force Chen Er planned, which is also the purpose of Xi Zhicai's visit today.
"My lord, according to the previous plan, the conscription offices in each county have been prepared. Each conscription office will be assigned a company of local troops to provide military deterrence during the conscription period, and the police station will also provide manpower." Xi Zhicai said to Chen Er, "According to the preliminary statistics in June, there are currently about 1.27 million able-bodied men of conscription age in our autonomous region. According to my judgment, there should be some servants and young masters from aristocratic families who have not registered at the conscription office."
"Hmph." Chen Er snorted coldly and said, "They really don't know what's good for them. I clearly stated that they could be redeemed with money, yet some people still refuse to register. Is the reputation of their aristocratic families that important?"
"This..." When it came to the struggles between powerful families, Xi Zhicai was a little embarrassed to talk about it. After all, he was the plaintiff in this matter and couldn't let his own judgment influence Chen Er.
"Alright, tell Yu Jin that this matter is under his jurisdiction," Chen Er said to Xi Zhicai. "Find a powerful and influential family to deal with!"
Yu Jin is truly pitiful. After all the twists and turns, he has now become the Commander-in-Chief of the Military Police Command, holding the rank of Major General, only one rank below the current highest military rank of Lieutenant General. The Commander of the Military Police Command wields real power. Apart from the lieutenant generals and corps commanders' staff officers, no one in the entire military dares to directly offend Yu Jin. Even lieutenant generals wouldn't dare to offend him, after all, Yu Jin has the imperial sword! Arresting generals with problems is a privilege granted to the Military Police Command by Chen Er. However, the Military Police Command does not have the power of trial; everyone must be tried by a military court before they can be dealt with.
The military tribunal was a completely independent entity, directly under the dual leadership of the General Staff and Chen Er. No one could interfere. It was a Damocles' sword hanging over the heads of all generals.
"Yes, my lord!" Xi Zhicai said, bowing.
Xi Zhicai accepted the order and left.
"My lord, it must be you who placed a military talent like General Yu Jin in the position of military police commander." After Xi Zhicai left, Xun Yu said to Chen Er with a smile.