Chapter 1339: Chapter 77: Rebuilding the Nation (Part 5)
[Maplestone City]
[City Hall]
Early morning, Colonel Gais Adonis arrived punctually at Maplestone City Hall.
As one of the four “Supre Committee mbers” of the “Supre Committee” of the “State Establishnt Supre eting,” for nearly half a month, Colonel Gaisa and his “supre colleagues” have spent most of their days in the town hall eting rooms, discussing and negotiating “matters related to state establishnt.”
Staying even longer than the four supre committee mbers at the town hall are the allied military officers and provincial governnt officials selected for the “Establishnt eting” because they stay overnight as well.
After all, the General Assembly of All Free n is about to convene, and many issues must be decided quickly.
But even with the “Establishnt eting” working day and night, tirelessly pushing forward, with the opening of the assembly looming, many specifics are still queued for final decisions.
Once the decision to “recreate the republic” is made, much of the existing structures are viewed like old furniture in a new house, inciting a strong urge to overturn and start anew.
Take the military matters, which form the bulk: from the official na of the military, flag and uniform colors, to the organization, command hierarchy, and political status, all will need revision if the old ways are not to be employed.
According to the “Four-Person Committee,” if stepping into a new era, then there must be a fresh outlook.
The myriad of tasks hence burden the entire mbership of the “Establishnt eting,” involving not just formal matters like “which color to use for the uniforms,” but also critical issues affecting the tangible interests of all parties involved.
For example, how are the “unofficial officers” under Winters to be integrated into the formal officer system? And what rank should they be granted?
In the past, an officer eligible to independently command an infantry battalion or cavalry squad was at least a major.
Even the original aning of the military rank “Major,” or “a person of higher status,” refers to a professional officer fully responsible for commanding a subunit within the big formation system.
However, within the Iron Peak County Military, there are not enough unofficial officers to count on one hand that et these criteria.
If ranks were granted based on the actual scale of command, directly giving them the rank of major, what then becos of Winters Montagne who commands them?
It should be known that the esteed Blood Wolf is officially just a “captain.”
Not only in the Iron Peak County Military, other regional forces also face severe rank and duty mismatches.
In these forces, situations are common where a second lieutenant or lieutenant commands a battalion, and newly appointed officers are often directly responsible for hundreds of lives without having ever held a gun.
The old seniority-based promotion system can no longer adapt to current realities.
The new republic’s military needs a completely new training and promotion system to end this absurd situation.
To address this issue, the military officers of the “Establishnt eting” have co up with a plan.
After going through several cycles of “debate — revision — intense debate — radical revision — even more intense debate — starting over,” it finally gained the understanding and approval of all parties.
What the plan specifically involves will not be elaborated on here.
Although during the finalization of the plan, representatives from various county military forces argued fiercely for their own interests, and negotiations almost reached an impasse, achieving consensus seed nearly impossible.
However, reaching consensus through negotiation and not through arms is in itself the greatest consensus.
Decisions like the [rank granting program] that went through many trials to be passed are but the ornate structures built on this foundation.
Yet, although “negotiation” has borne many gratifying fruits,
there remain so beautiful and grand ideas which must bow to reality.
For instance, Winters strongly advocated for establishing a comprehensive logistics departnt for the new republic’s military, centrally managing all resources from weaponry to supplies, and fully responsible for providing everything needed by each unit.
This would free field units from the heavy burden of resource requisition and dispatch chores, allowing them to focus on combat and training.
Also, it would allocate resources more rationally, preventing situations like “the White Mountain County and Thunder Group County troops, while fending off large enemy forces in River Valley Village, had only a pitiful amount of iron shell grenades, whereas the Iron Peak County Military had more than they could carry while climbing the mountain.”
Winters also candidly inford the other three committee mbers that having a comprehensive logistics departnt is also a form of restraint.
“Since it’s the country’s military, it should be supported by the country.”
The existence of a central logistics departnt can prevent anyone from turning the nation’s military into their personal property.
Colonel Gaisa, Colonel Skul, and Lieutenant Colonel Magash agreed with Winters’ viewpoint, acknowledging that a unified logistics system would benefit the military.
Yet, they also candidly expressed their concerns — logistics concerns the life and death of the military; surrendering it just like that, they were uneasy.
At present, the three officers prefer maintaining the current “each county supports its military” system.
As for the resource allocation imbalances due to differences in county production, they believe these can be resolved through trade — just like before.
With four votes (White Mountain County, Thunder Group County, Riverside County, and Mirror Lake County) against two votes (Iron Peak County and Vernge County), Winters’ proposal to establish a unified logistics system was turned down.
Although Winters could accept and compromise on the rejection of a “unified logistics system,”
there was one issue he was unwilling to concede under any circumstances.
That was the matter of command authority — how should the military exist within the new republic?
This question sounds significant, yet is difficult to practicalize; it seems epheral, yet consensus appears elusive.
…
The “Alliance Charter” clearly states: The command authority of all ard forces of the various republics belongs to the Alliance and each mber state.
However, there are two issues with this statent.
Two issues that did not seem like issues at the ti but beca major problems later.
First, the interests of the Alliance and the Republic are not always aligned.
Second, there is no independent consciousness known as the “Alliance” or “Republic.”
In other words, the command of the army belongs to the Alliance and the mber states, but neither the “Alliance” nor the “Republic” can actually exercise command.
In the end, the actual command of the army naturally falls back into the hands of the military, as if a horse were holding its own reins.
Thus, in the na of “for the Alliance and the Republic,” the military “has the right” to do anything.
This is the reason The Federated Provinces and Palatu have co to this point today, and it’s a historical grievance that many Venetian jurists lant.
At the inception of the Alliance, the Royalists and the nobles had deep-rooted influence in the local areas—especially in rural regions.
They eyed the fledgling Alliance, whose influence mainly existed in the cities, and repeatedly incited ard rebellions, attempting to snuff out the nascent republican governnt in its cradle.
However, the Allied Army, reford by Ned Smith, was far more powerful than the old noble armies.
Therefore, whenever an Earl or Baron raised a rebellious flag and was gathering allies and recruiting soldiers, the Alliance military would arrive promptly and rcilessly suppress them.
The battered Royalists and old nobles mostly fled to the Empire, becoming completely reliant on royal power as court nobles and robe nobles.
Those who remained within the Alliance realized that ard resistance was suicidal, so they leveraged their accumulated influence to join local councils, transforming themselves into “national representatives” of the broad masses.
Thus, in this complex backdrop, to prevent the Royalist old nobles from taking over the Grand Council and then retaliating,
The carefully worded “Alliance Charter” left this loophole concerning the “command authority.”
At that ti, people viewed the Alliance military as the last barrier protecting the republican system.
Only the Sea Blue People, always wary of tyrants and ambitious individuals, insisted on adding a clause to the Vinea Republic’s charter stating, “The Grand Council represents the Republic and the Alliance to exercise command authority.”
And today, another Venetian finds himself seemingly at the sa crossroads.
…
When discussing how the military should exist in the New Republic, Lieutenant Colonel Magash Colvin, who seldom expressed his opinion clearly, stated:
The Parlatu Army in the New Republic should continue to retain all the rights and powers it had in the old Republic.
Winters could see that Lieutenant Colonel Skur klen did not completely agree with Lieutenant Colonel Magash’s viewpoint.
But as an ally of Lieutenant Colonel Magash, especially when Winters and Colonel Gaisa each had two votes, and he and Lieutenant Colonel Magash together had two votes, on this “inconsequential” issue, Colonel Skool could only side with Lieutenant Colonel Magash.
After all, compared to the issue of command authority, filling the vacancies in the Thunder Group County forces was a more pressing concern for Colonel Skool.
To everyone’s surprise, Winters, who had previously been the most amicable during negotiations, fiercely opposed Lieutenant Colonel Magash’s proposal.
Winters argued strenuously, even saying so heavy words:
“If we keep things as they are, we’ve only established a poor imitation of the old Republic of Paratu.”
On the other hand, Lieutenant Colonel Magash Colvin, who rarely expressed strong opposition, refused to back down on this issue.
Lieutenant Colonel Magash cited many reasons, including compelling practical considerations.
“Look at the people outside, what do you see?” Lieutenant Colonel Magash asked and answered himself: “Soldiers! Soldiers! Still soldiers! They’re the reason we can sit here. Stripping the military of its rights is equivalent to digging our own grave! If you’re determined to do this, then your subordinates will be the first to stand against you! With The Federated Provinces threatening, how can we disrupt our own ranks at such a ti?!”
Neither side could persuade the other, and neither was willing to back down.
Faced with this situation, Colonel Gais Adonis, holding the decisive two votes, cautiously refrained from taking a stand on the spot.
For Colonel Gaisa, the rift between Winters and Lieutenant Colonel Magash was more concerning than the issue of command authority.
Therefore, Colonel Gaisa earnestly tried to play the diator role.
Before departing for Maplestone City’s city hall today, Colonel Gaisa had communicated with Colonel Skool, hoping to persuade Winters to compromise.
In Colonel Gaisa’s view, Lieutenant Colonel Magash’s argunts were more reasonable.
The issue of command authority was too taphysical and detached from reality.
Adding the “Vinea Supplent” to the Republic’s constitution would not solve practical problems; removing it wouldn’t create more problems either.
What’s more, as a mber of the military, deep down, Colonel Gaisa was reluctant to let his own rights and power be restricted.
So upon arriving at Maplestone City’s city hall, Colonel Gaisa didn’t enter the door directly; instead, he remained on the steps, waiting for Winters’ arrival.
Not long after, the sound of hooves echoed at the street corner, and a black carriage emblazoned with the Winged Lion emblem erged from the mist, appearing in Colonel Gaisa’s view.
The carriage stopped beneath the steps with a glimr, its door opened, and the footrest extended.
Colonel Gaisa smiled and stepped down to greet, just about to say hello, but saw an unexpected face.
The colonel’s expression froze, his brows furrowing slightly: “Kai Morland, what… are you doing here.”
“Colonel Gais Adonis.” Kai Morland stepped out of the carriage, managing a slight smile: “Long ti no see.”
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