This round of military reorganization involved three field legions, totaling more than 200,000 soldiers. It was another huge military expenditure for the territory.
According to estimates, just the one-time military expenditure would reach 1.5 million gold coins if one included pensions.
Even more terrifying was the daily military expenditure.
After the three major armies were reorganized, the number of Shanhai City's field legions would reach thirteen. Just the monthly military expenditure would reach a staggering 500,000 gold coins.
Together with the five fleets of the Nanyang Navy, as well as the military's monthly expenditure on rations, weapons and equipment replenishment and upgrading, as well as war pensions, Shanhai City's monthly military expenditure would exceed a million gold coins.
More than 60% of Shanhai City's financial income was invested into the military. After deducting other financial expenditure, Shanhai City's monthly tax revenue exceeded a million, but it still did not have a single bit of net financial income.
It could even be said that some of the territory's major projects had to be completed with loans from the Bank of the Four Seas.
The one-time expenditure for the military expansion was paid out of Ouyang Shuo's own pocket. He took out 1.5 million gold coins from his savings. If not, the finance department would have to seek another loan from the Bank of the Four Seas.
As such, Ouyang Shuo's personal wealth had shrunk to 6.5 million gold coins. If the promised 500,000 gold coins for the Seventh Research Institute were deducted, he would only be left with 6 million gold coins.
For Gaia's fourth annual global auction, Ouyang Shuo needed to prepare at least 5 million gold coins. This also meant that Ouyang Shuo did not have much money at his disposal.
This was Shanhai City. Not only did it have developed commerce, it also had the support of shipbuilding, military, textile, banks, and steel industries.
If it were any other territory, they would have long been dragged down by such a huge military expenditure.
As such, it was not difficult to understand why Ouyang Shuo wanted to promote ocean trade. If not for the huge profits from ocean trade, Shanhai City would not be able to support such a large army.
If he really expanded the military, the territory's various constructions would come to a standstill.
Shanhai City was able to lead the territory's industrialization while expanding its military, accelerate the territory's infrastructure, and improve basic education and basic medical care. It could be considered a miracle in the wilderness.
Therefore, if the territory were to blindly wage war without considering the territory's internal affairs, solidify the territory's foundation, and promote the development of various industries, the result would be being completely exhausted by the army.
This was the situation described by being militaristic.
With the implementation of the military reorganization plan, the various corps would also begin to mobilize.
Needless to say, the City Guards would set off for home after the battle. The main army would first head to Oceanward City, then board the battleship and return to Shanhai City by sea.
Ouyang Shuo did not leave a reserve force for the Lingnan battle, which was a very risky choice. If there was any emergency in the Western Region or the Northern Region, it would be too late to rescue them.
The city guards stationed outside Shanhai City were the main reserve force, and they could be teleported to the other provinces at any time to reinforce the frontlines.
After the country was established, the city guards could no longer be mobilized as they wished in order to protect the capital. Unless the situation was dire, the city guards would be permanently stationed outside the city to protect the safety of the capital at all times.
Similarly, it was not advisable for the Imperial Guards to go out to battle often.
Otherwise, if the vast capital city did not have a powerful army to protect it at all times, it would easily cause unrest in the imperial court, destabilize the hearts of the people, and cause turbulent undercurrents.
The slightest carelessness could lead to the downfall of the empire.
This had been the case for every dynasty in history. Even at the juncture of life and death, the Emperors would not easily move the City Guard or Imperial Guard out of the capital.
This was the reason for this.
Besides the City Guard, the First Imperial Guard Army and the Second Dragon Stallion Army Army would rest and reorganize before setting out. They would travel by land through Zhaoqing County, Wuzhou County, Xunzhou County, and Zhenan County to return to the battlefield in Yunnan.
The entire journey would probably take one month.
The drawbacks of mobilizing soldiers on such a large scale were obvious. More than half of the time was spent on the road.
This was precisely why a war zone was needed.
In the future, wars would generally be handled by war zones, and it was very rare for an army to be moved across war zones.
As for the Second Imperial Guard Army and the Fourth Dragon Stallion Army Army, they would follow the same route to the battlefield in Yunnan.
The time needed to reorganize was estimated to be around one month.
Thus, by the time the armies were reorganized, the commanders of the three countries would have finished their studies in the Martial Lecture Hall, and they would have just enough time to join up with the rest of the army.
The four armies of the Dragon Stallion Army and the two armies of the Imperial Guard made up a total of four hundred and twenty thousand soldiers. This would be all the soldiers that would be sent to conquer the City of Yunnan.
After the Third Army of the Leopard Army was reorganized, they would set out for the Withering Stronghold.
In the end, the armies would disperse, and the defense of Southridge Province would be handed over to the Brave Tiger Army. Only the Southridge War Zone that had been set up previously would be worthy of its name.
According to Sun Bin, the commander of the Brave Tiger Army, the headquarters of the war zone would be set up in Shaozhou County. The First and Second Armies of the Brave Tiger Army would be stationed in Shaozhou County.
The Third Army led by Fan Lihua would be stationed in Chaozhou County. Ouyang Shuo still felt that there was a need to station a field army on the border of South Min Province.
As for what the Dragon Seeking Acupuncture Point would do once they learned of it, Ouyang Shuo did not care. Ouyang Shuo would not be lenient in the slightest when it came to defensive measures.
The other counties of Southridge Province would be handed over to the local guard divisions, and no field army would be stationed there.
The Brave Tiger Army's main area of defense would be the City of South Xiangnan to the north. As for the City of North Xiangnan's neighbor, the City of North Xiangnan, it would be the responsibility of the Leopard Army.
As the Dragon Stallion Army moved, the Leopard Army would be responsible for the defense of the entire Southridge Province. In truth, they only needed to defend the north. To the east of Southridge Province was the Southridge Province, and to the west was the Yunnan Province, so there was no need to worry.
To the south, Zhili County was guarded by the City Guard Corps and the Imperial Guard Corps, so there was no need to worry.
At the same time, the establishment of the Southridge War Zone was only natural.
To the Leopard Army, their most important mission was to recapture Southridge County as soon as possible. At that time, the army would no longer need to hole up in the Withering Strongholds. They could collectively move to Southridge County.
Southridge County's vast border bordered both the North Sichuan Province and the South Xiangnan Province. Thus, even if they only needed to defend one side, it would not be easy for the Leopard Army.
As for how to take Southridge County, the General Administration of Military Affairs had already made a comprehensive plan. Based on the time that had passed, Han Xin was probably already making his move.
With the conclusion of the battle of Southridge, the headquarters of the Dragon Stallion Army led by Bai Qi would be moved to Lingxi City.
At the same time, the General Administration of Military Affairs would establish the Yunnan War Zone ahead of time. The war zone commander and the Dragon Stallion Army headquarters would be two sides of the same coin.
Bai Qi would be appointed as the commander of the Yunnan War Zone, also known as the Yunnan Commander.
Similarly, Sun Bin would be appointed as the Southridge Commander, while Han Xin would be appointed as the Southridge Commander. The three Divine Generals would each be responsible for a war zone, commanding a field army and managing the garrison divisions of the various counties in the war zone.
At the same time, Huo Qubing would be officially appointed as the commander of the Imperial Guard.
Using this opportunity, Ouyang Shuo would officially fix the title of the commander of the Shanhai Army to the position of 'commander'. Henceforth, the commander would be the highest position a general of Shanhai City could reach.
The four commanders would be second only to Ouyang Shuo, and they were truly the four heavyweights of the army.
In the future, when the time was right, Ouyang Shuo planned to establish a military organization of a higher level than the General Administration of Military Affairs, similar to the Military Council or the Grand Council.
This organization would transcend the boundaries of the army and navy, as well as the territorial boundaries of the war zones. It would become the highest military authority of Shanhai City, responsible for the highest level of military affairs.
There was no doubt that the commanders of the army would be permanent members of this organization.
After the military conference concluded, Ouyang Shuo began to truly get busy.
As the supreme ruler of Shanhai City, there were some responsibilities that Ouyang Shuo had to bear. For example, he had to meet the surrendered generals of the allied forces and accept their allegiance.
The surrendered generals here did not only refer to Feng Yi, who had been appointed as the commander of the army, but also the five generals who had been confirmed to be promoted to division commanders.
In addition, Ouyang Shuo also had to meet the generals with potential recommended by Huo Qubing and the other generals. He had to inspect and question them one by one, so that he would have a good idea of what was going on.
Ouyang Shuo had to meet them at least once, so that the generals could get to know him and leave an impression.
In addition, Ouyang Shuo had to personally inspect the surrendered troops, visit every camp of the prisoners of war, convey the territory's condolences, solve their problems, and boost their morale.
If not, how could Ouyang Shuo make the reorganized army completely loyal to him?
Subjectively, none of the generals had thought of turning the army under their command into their own private army. But objectively, if Ouyang Shuo did not constantly remind the soldiers and show his presence, there would be all sorts of hidden dangers.
After commanding the army for three years, Ouyang Shuo deeply agreed with this.
In addition to strengthening his control over the army, Ouyang Shuo also had to travel all over the three counties and inspect every city. At the very least, he had to visit all the major cities.
If he did not do this, he would not be able to appease the people, let alone the various local forces.
Although the wilderness was not like reality, the situation was still complicated. If Shanhai City wanted to take over the three counties in a short period of time without any twists and turns, Ouyang Shuo had to be at the forefront.
His appearance as the Lord often had a greater symbolic meaning.
Ouyang Shuo's role was not something that the various prefectural governors and officials could replace.
In this way, Ouyang Shuo would have to stay in Lingnan Province for at least a month. This month would be Ouyang Shuo's busiest month. Just the number of people he had to meet and the banquets he had to attend were countless.
At the same time, it was also to give the territory some breathing room.
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