724 Headquarters (1/2)

Chapter 724-Headquarters

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

Gaia 3rd year, 9th month, 6th day.

Three days had passed, and the work of the various organizations regarding Chengdu had come to an end. Although the matter was rushed and sudden, it did not cause too much chaos.

As the problems faded, the problematic noises disappeared too.

...

Nanjiang Governor-General House, Wuying Palace.

Wuying Palace was the side palace of the west side of the main palace, which was usually used for military meetings. This was because the main hall was too official and Ouyang Shuo was not used to discussing matters with the generals while being so high above.

The layout of the Wuying Palace was similar to that of the barracks tent so it fit Ouyang Shuo's tastes.

Zhou Yu, Lu Su, the Jiangdong Generals, Ma Teng, Strategist Jia Xu, Military Affairs Director Du Ruhui and Deputy Director Zhao Kuo, Nanyang Navy Admiral Zheng He, and the City Protection Legion Legion General had all arrived.

The fierce general Xu Chu stood beside Ouyang Shuo like an iron tower.

Long before the meeting, their appointments had already been approved by Ouyang Shuo.

Zhou Yu was appointed as the fleet general of the Beihai Bay Squadron and would take the job tomorrow. At the same time, Gan Ning was appointed as the chief general of the second squadron.

The first squadron chief general was Pei Donglai.

Zhou Tai was moved into the Jiaozhou Squadron, which was led by Shi Lang and became the chief general of the first squadron. Old General Huang Gai was moved to the Xingzhou squadron, which was led by Yanhuo Yaonie, acting as the deputy fleet admiral and chief general.

Huang Gai and Yanhuo Yaonie, one young and one old; it was truly suitable.

Lu Meng was moved into the Mediterranean Squadron, which was led by Alvaro and would become the deputy fleet admiral and chief general. With the help of a smart and courageous general like Lu Meng, Ouyang Shuo could totally be at ease with Alvaro.

Out of all the navy generals, probably only Lu Meng would be a good fit with this old fox. Lu Meng had the strength of non-stop learning and improvement, so learning navy tactics from Alvaro would help him a lot.

Hence, arranging him there was both to keep Alvaro in check and for Lu Meng to learn.

Adding in the Yashan Squadron chief general, the five squadrons all had at least a King Rank general in charge for the chief general role, finally breaking away from the awkward situation of lacking navy generals.

Of course, when compared to the stellar line up of the army, this was not much.

Out of the seven Jiangdong Navy generals, only Lu Su temporarily had not received an appointment.

Lu Su could be considered a strategist-type general. If one put him into the squadron that would be a waste of a treasure, so Ouyang Shuo really could not dare to do that. After discussing with Zheng He, he decided to move Lu Su to Zheng He's side.

It could be said to be truly exceedingly weird that the Nanyang Navy had not set up a headquarters to date.

Making use of this chance, Zheng He took the lead and Lu Su helped. At the same time, he moved a group of officials from the five squadrons, the Military Affairs Bureau, and the army military academy to build the headquarters.

The headquarters would not be built in Shanhai City but in Lion City in Xingzhou Prefecture.

The Nanyang Navy would cover the entire trade route and Lion City was in the middle of this trade route; it was an important chokepoint in the ocean. Building the headquarters there would make it easy to command the five squadrons.

At the same time, it was to make a strong indication to the world that the target of the Nanyang Navy was not within the country.

The construction of the headquarters would mean that the Nanyang Navy would break away from the control of the Military Affairs Bureau and officially separate, directly led by Ouyang Shuo.

The greater meaning was to reduce the number of battle commanding levels, giving Zheng He more authority to make battle commands more flexible and quicker.

The organizational structure of the Nanyang Navy would follow the structure of the Military Affairs Department, having a Combat Logistics Department, a Military Intelligence Division, a Military Law Division, a War Division, etc.

At the same time, the various military ports and the military used shipyards would be under the control of the headquarters. The Nanyang Navy would also slowly build up logistical supply systems and resource bases along the way.

After all of this was built up, they could finally be considered a complete navy.

...

After hearing the news about building the headquarters, Zhou Yu and the other navy generals were stunned.

During these past few days, they had been welcomed by surprise after surprise, causing them to exclaim in awe. Even Zhou Yu could not help but say that he was like a frog looking at the sky from a well.

Their loyalty stat had risen to the safe value of 70.

Zhou Yu did not expect that the first time he joined a military meeting he would be able to witness the charm and far-sightedness of the Monarch. Only insiders could understand the strategic meaning behind a navy building a navy headquarters.

To say that it was a groundbreaking matter was not an understatement.

Ouyang Shuo had totally broken the structure of the Nanyang Navy, giving them a wider platform to perform and allowing them to roam the vast oceans.

Such ambition was truly a sign of an emperor.

The ambition in Zhou Yu's heart rose once more.

Orginally, based on the Monarch's request, Lu Meng, Huang Gai, Gan Ning, and Zhou Tai needed to enter the army military academy to study for two months.

Zhou Yu and Lu Su could immediately take up their roles.

Now Zhou Yu had changed his mind and was prepared to study at the academy and would take up his role after he graduated.

This was the charm of Shanhai CIty.

Ouyang Shuo did not want a bunch of rule followers who could not proceed forward but rather a people who could truly help the territory grow.

Zheng He's growth had proven this point.