Chapter 42 Establishing Official Ranks

  Zeng Guofan received an imperial edict from Xianfeng, which read: "The former Minister of Rites Zeng Guofan, originally from Xiangxiang, has heard that he is a great talent. He must be familiar with the local conditions and people's feelings in Hunan Province. The governor (Hunan Governor) is ordered to pass on the edict, instructing him to assist in handling the affairs of the province's militia, village braves, and searching for bandits. He will certainly do his best and not betray the trust."

  Zeng Guofan took the imperial edict and found Luo Zeduan, Liu Xiang, Wang Kaiyuan, Li Xubin and others who were close to him.

  Li Xubin finished reading the imperial edict and excitedly said: "Now that's done, we can openly and properly handle the militia training."

  Luozaina carefully read the imperial edict, pondered for a moment, and shook his head: "The emperor still opposes the establishment of local armed forces that are not under the control of the court. The militia is funded by the gentry, so it doesn't have to listen to the officials, but rather is controlled by the gentry. The edict only allows us to establish a militia for border defense and civil security, but it doesn't mention whether we can go to other provinces to fight against the rebels."

  Zeng Guofan said with confidence: "The Taiping rebels were defeated in Changsha and fled to Hubei. I heard they are gathering boats in Jingzhou, planning to enter Sichuan from the west. At that time, Hunan will be attacked from both front and back, we can take advantage of this opportunity to reorganize several local militias into the Xiang Army and fight against the rebels."

  Wang Zhen smiled and said: "I think at that time the Emperor would also turn a blind eye, acknowledging the Xiang Army."

  Zeng Guofan looked at Luo Zhenan, Wang Xuan and Li Xubin and said: "After you all return, bring some of the local militia to Changsha. I plan to first organize three battalions with a total of 1,000 people. Zhongyue, you will be in charge of the middle battalion, Pingshan, you will temporarily take charge of the left battalion, and Kehui, you will be in charge of the right battalion."

  Several people nodded continuously, Luo Zhenan was a respected and esteemed teacher of several people, and the middle school principal was the most popular candidate.

  Wang Duan's literary and military skills were both excellent, and his governance of the army was strict. Once, when refugees caused trouble, Wang Duan gathered people from his hometown, adopted military methods to slightly reorganize and train them, and pretended to be government troops to drive away the refugees by intimidation and deception.

  Li Xubin himself even more so, personally recruited 200 village braves, taught them the tactics of combined attack, and coordinated with Jiang Zhongyuan to suppress Li Yuanfa's uprising.

  Jingzhou, the garrison of the Taiping Army

  Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing sat opposite each other, looking at the letters on the table with a jealous expression.

  Yang Xiuqing gritted his teeth and said, "I had long seen that Li Yunzhong's ambition was boundless. Letting us take Changsha was just a ruse to harbor evil intentions. He wanted us to hold off the Qing dynasty's demonic forces so he could seize the opportunity to head north. Who would have thought that now he has even taken control of Nanjing?"

  Hong Xiuquan's mind was filled with the beauties and treasures of Nanjing, and he envied saying: "He is really enjoying himself, if it were me, I would definitely spend all day indulging in pleasure within the imperial palace."

  Yang Xiuqing shook his head and said, "Now that Hubei has been deployed with heavy troops, Henan is said to have tens of thousands of Qing horsemen, we only have the route of taking a boat west to attack Sichuan."

  "These things, you decide for yourself, Xiū Qīng." said Hong Xiuquan.

  ……

  Since Li Yunzhong captured Nanjing, he has been busy compiling and training the army. His motto is: "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun." Li Yunzhong would not allow anyone to have more influence in the army than him. After dividing the troops, Li Yunzhong convened the first military meeting in Nanjing and appointed the commanders of the units.

  Li Yunzhong saw that everyone had arrived, handed out the compiled forms in his hand, and said without hesitation: "Now our Han army has a total of 58,000 people, divided into 6 armies. Next, I will announce the military division-level officers of each unit."

  The First Army was the Imperial Guard, defending Nanjing (Li Yunzhong changed Jiangning to Nanjing), with the 1st Division and 2nd Division. The army commander was succeeded by Su San Niang, with Li Xiu Cheng as the division commander of the 1st Division and Li Chun Fa as the division commander of the 2nd Division. Each division had three regiments, totaling six thousand men.

  The Second Army was led by Luo Dagang, under which were the 3rd Division and the 4th Division. The commander of the 3rd Division was Li Shixian, and the commander of the 4th Division was Huang San. Its main task was to defend against the Qing army north of the Yangtze River, with its garrison located in Yangzhou.

  The commander of the Third Army was Zeng Shuiyuan, under which were the 5th Division and the 6th Division. The commander of the 5th Division was He Lü, and the commander of the 6th Division was Zhou Guotai. After the reorganization of the Third Army was completed, it advanced to attack Jiangxi.

  The Fourth Army Commander is Hong Xuanjiao, under which are the 7th Division and the 8th Division. The commander of the 7th Division is Yang Changmei, and the commander of the 8th Division is Xiao Yunmei. The two divisions of the Fourth Army take turns defending the Imperial Palace, with each division having two regiments totaling 2,000 people.

  The Fifth Army, led by Ling Shi Ba, was under the jurisdiction of the 9th Division and the 10th Division. The commander of the 9th Division was Chen Cheng Yao, and the commander of the 10th Division was Lin Shao Zhang. After reorganization, they advanced towards Suzhou and Zhejiang.

  The Seventh Army was led by Li De-sheng, under which were the 13th Division and the 14th Division. The commander of the 13th Division was Liu Cai, and the commander of the 14th Division was Lin Qi-rong. The Seventh Army defended Anhui.

  The Sixth Army is a naval force, with Tang Zhengcai as the army commander, 10,000 sailors, divided into two brigades and ten regiments, with Wang Gang and Wang Xin as brigade commanders.

  Except for the First Army and Fourth Army, each of the other armies had 8,000 men, with two regiments in each division and 2,000 men in each regiment.

  "That's how it is compiled, any other questions?"

  Jiao Liang saw that his name was not on the list, feeling depressed, and planned to question Li Yunzhong after he finished speaking. However, seeing Li Yunzhong's sworn brothers smiling across from him, he had a sudden realization - their names weren't on the list either. His heart felt a mix of emotions, both sweet and sour. It seemed that he still hadn't been fully integrated into Han Wang's inner circle. He must have promised them greater benefits, while Jiao Liang was treated the same as them, only without prior notice.

  Zhou Guoyu said: "Your Highness, I still don't understand the ranks of these military commanders and division commanders. What rank is a division commander exactly?"

  Li Yunzhong smiled and said: "Division commander? Brigadier general rank. Army commander? Major general rank."

  "What's this 'accurate general'? 'Lesser general'? I don't understand."

  Li Yunzhong saw that it was not just Zhou Guoyu who was puzzled, but everyone present did not understand the meaning of Major General and Lieutenant General. He thought to himself: It's not good to be too ahead of time either. Then he asked again: "Then what do you think should be done?"

  Zuo Zongtang said: "Since the Wei and Jin dynasties established the nine-rank system, each dynasty has followed this system. Why shouldn't we use it?"

  Xu Shang rebuked: "When the Han Dynasty was first established, it cannot have the same place as the Qing Dynasty. The system, official names, and army should all be changed. Only in this way can the different atmosphere of the Han Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty be shown."

  Zuo Zongtang was as stupid as a wooden chicken, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't understand what Mong Shangsheng meant. Wasn't this just nonsense? He also saw many people nodding in agreement. Considering that he had only recently joined their side, it wasn't suitable for him to argue with them, so he kept a straight face and stopped speaking.

  Li Yunzhong also disagreed with Meng Shang's words, saying: "This sounds too extreme. I think the nine-rank system is very good, easy to understand, and it was created by us Han people, so we can use it."

  He Lu also wanted to know what kind of official he was. Seeing that the King of Han agreed with the nine-rank system, he immediately asked: "What rank is our commander?"

  Jiao Liang glared at Zhou Guoyu and He Lu, feeling utterly humiliated. All the other high-ranking military officers had remained silent, yet these two division commanders kept popping up to question His Highness repeatedly! If His Highness were to think that this was intentional, it would be unbearable! As soon as he thought of this, Jiao Liang immediately shouted at He Lu: "Shut your mouth! What's your rank? The Han King will make the announcement later. What's your hurry?"

  Li Yunzhong waved his hand and smiled: "Director Jiao doesn't have to be like this, it's a common human feeling. This commander is of the fourth rank, as big as the prefect."

  "Then that means I'm the Magistrate, haha, I've brought honor to my ancestors... Waaaahhh... Father and Mother, I'm the Magistrate!"

  As she spoke, she suddenly burst into tears.

  He Lu sneered: "You're just a county magistrate, look at how pleased you are with yourself."

  No matter how happy and excited you look.