Iron Dynasty Chapter 993

In the Imperial Study, Xiao Ming was looking at the battle report from the grassland.

In front of him, Pang Yukun and Fei Ji were beaming with joy. For them, this victory was more substantial than the annihilation of the combined fleet in the Battle of Dengzhou, after all, they were people who lived in the era of barbarian terror and had a natural hatred for the barbarians.

“140,000 barbarian cavalry were killed, and 20,000 surrendered. In this battle, the main force of the barbarian cavalry was annihilated. The remaining barbarian tribes will not be a threat!” Pang Yukun was overjoyed.

Fei Ji agreed, “Niu Ben proposed to increase the number of rifle cavalry to 30,000 to completely control the grassland. I think this plan is feasible, and to save expenses, only cavalry can wipe out the remaining barbarian tribes.”

Xiao Ming nodded. Niu Ben and Luo Quan’s mission was over. It was not a wise choice to lead the infantry to encircle and annihilate the barbarian tribes on the grassland. Just as Qi Guangyi suggested, only by building up the rifle cavalry could they control the grassland at the lowest cost.

He said, “In that case, the production of Han-style rifles will be temporarily suspended, and priority will be given to equipping Qi Guangyi with carbines. The barbarians are not completely dead and will surely return, so this time we must annihilate the barbarians in one fell swoop.”

After a pause, his eyes shifted, remembering a serious issue in the battle report. He then said, “Niu Ben and Luo Quan both proposed to retire from the military. What are your opinions?”

Pang Yukun had already read the battle report. He sighed and said, “Niu Ben and Luo Quan are both old. Since they are unwilling to serve in the court any longer, it is better to grant their wish.”

“Your Majesty, Niu Ben unilaterally ordered the execution of hundreds of thousands of barbarians this time, causing us to lose so many slaves! How good would it have been if these slaves were used to build railways? I believe that even if Niu Ben does not retire, he should be dismissed.” Fei Ji said with great regret.

Pang Yukun glanced at Fei Ji when he heard this. He frowned and said, “Elder Fei’s words are probably biased. The battle report clearly states that Niu Ben and Luo Quan jointly discussed and made this decision. How did it become Niu Ben’s fault alone in Elder Fei’s eyes? Moreover, in my opinion, Niu Ben’s inaction this time is not only without fault but also meritorious. I ask you, how did the barbarians invade the Great Yu Empire ten years ago? At that time, the barbarians would first slaughter a city to make other cities give up resisting. So Niu Ben is merely giving them a taste of their own medicine.”

“Chief Grand Secretary Pang is trying to clear Niu Ben, isn’t he? Is it more cost-effective to use these hundreds of thousands of barbarians to build railways, or to kill them? Can’t the meticulous Chief Grand Secretary Pang figure that out?” Fei Ji latched onto Niu Ben’s waste of manpower.

While the two were arguing, Xiao Ming’s eyes darted back and forth between them. At this point, he spoke, “You two don’t argue anymore. General Niu Ben and General Luo Quan had already intended to retire before they set off for the grassland, and I also agreed to their request. Moreover, their past war experiences can no longer keep up with the rapidly changing military reforms of today. Handing over their positions to the right people was also their original intention. As for the matter of killing captives, Niu Ben’s merits and demerits are equally balanced, and even if the battle report were sent to me, I would agree to it.”

Fei Ji said in surprise, “Your Majesty, why is this?”

“To destroy the will of the barbarians. If the barbarians continue to resist, we will sacrifice more soldiers. Therefore, if this killing of captives makes the barbarians lose their will to resist, we will defeat them without fighting,” Xiao Ming said solemnly.

Fei Ji fell silent. He had originally intended to protect Luo Quan, as the two had a very close personal relationship, but now it seemed impossible. He sighed and said, “It was I who was too short-sighted.”

Pang Yukun, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief. When Fei Ji spoke, he had already guessed Fei Ji’s thoughts. However, Fei Ji was right about one thing: what would happen to the Grand Council if Niu Ben and Luo Quan both resigned at the same time?

He said, “Your Majesty, since both Niu Ben and Luo Quan intend to retire, then what about the Grand Council?”

“Abolish it!” Xiao Ming said decisively. “This Grand Council was a temporary institution before the North-South War began. Now that the North and South are unified, and the northern grassland is about to be recovered, the name ‘Chinese Empire’ will live up to its name. In order to further leverage the power of the army, I will divide the imperial army into six military regions. Firstly, the Siberia Military Region, with Ye Qingyun as the military region commander. This military region will be responsible for Japan, Goryeo, Siberia, and the war with Tsarist Russia.”

After a pause, he continued, “The second military region is the Northwest Military Region, with Qi Guangyi as the military region commander. This military region will be responsible for the war with the Golden Tent Khanate on the northwestern grassland, and also defend against the various countries in the Western Regions, especially the power vacuum left after the demise of the Golden Tent Khanate. I do not want the Ottoman Empire to take advantage of it.

“Thirdly, there is the Southwest Military Region, with Luo Xin as the commander. This military region will be responsible for the security of the southwestern region of the Great Yu Empire and participate in the control of Tibet, Southeast Asia, and the bordering countries in South Asia.

“The fourth military region is the Southeast Military Region, with Lei Ming as the commander. This military region will be responsible for the defense of the southeastern coast south of the Yangtze River and the war against Australia, the Philippines, and other island nations in Southeast Asia.

“The fifth military region is the Central Military Region, with Lu Fei as the military region commander. This military region will be responsible for the security of the capital and the Central Plains.

“The sixth military region is the Eastern Military Region, with Zhu Sansi as the commander. This military region will be responsible for the defense of the coastal areas north of the Yangtze River and south of the Yellow River, as well as the war against the American continent.”

As he spoke, Xiao Ming drew the areas of responsibility for each major military region on the map with a pen. For him, this military reform could be considered the ultimate military reform, because for a long time in the future, these six major military regions would strive to fulfill their missions.

Pang Yukun and Fei Ji were dumbfounded. Throughout history, they had never seen such a military reform, but since things like machine guns had appeared, what else was impossible?

Moreover, from this military region division, they saw the ambition of the emperor in front of them. Xiao Ming wanted to compete with the West for colonies globally.

However, what was even more thought-provoking for the two was Xiao Ming’s appointment of the six commanders: Lu Fei, Ye Qingyun, Luo Xin, Zhu Sansi, Qi Guangyi, and Lei Ming.

Pang Yukun was not surprised by five of them, after all, these five had fought all the battles in the past ten years. However, in his opinion, Zhu Sansi’s qualifications were indeed shallow.

Fei Ji was also puzzled. This Zhu Sansi was currently only a division commander, and he had no background. How could he command the Eastern Military Region?

“Your Majesty, Zhu Sansi’s promotion to commander of the Eastern Military Region might make it difficult to convince the public,” Fei Ji said first.

“Elder Fei, who do you think is suitable?”

Fei Ji pondered for a moment. He said, “In terms of qualifications, Luo Hong is certainly the most suitable, and it is also what everyone expects.”

Pang Yukun’s expression immediately changed. If Luo Hong became the commander of the Eastern Military Region, wouldn’t the Luo family occupy two of the six major military regions? He said, “Your Majesty, I believe that Zhu Sansi is young and promising and is worth cultivating.”