Just as Li Chang embarked on the journey to find Yang Mingzhao, Yang Mingzhao was busy seizing territories.
Last year, Yang Mingzhao led the Taiping Army to capture Baoning Prefecture. This was initially part of the Taiping Army’s expansion plan, but it was like opening Pandora’s box, plunging the entire Bashu region into rebellion.
At the beginning of this spring, the rebel forces within Bashu started to expand aggressively.
First, the Nine Heavens King captured Wusa Prefecture, Zhenxiong Prefecture, and Wumeng Prefecture. Then, Commander Ma He of the Shunan Xingdu seized Shunan Prefecture, Dongchuan Prefecture, and Mahu Prefecture. Refusing to be left behind, the Black Tiger King directly captured the largest prefecture in Bashu, Yuzhou Prefecture.
With the addition of Yang Mingzhao, the Taiping Prince, Bashu fell into a state where the rebels from all sides were carving it up.
Given the situation, Yang Mingzhao naturally wouldn’t remain idle and also began a phase of aggressive expansion, heading west to occupy Long’an Prefecture and Songpan Prefecture, and sneaking south into Shuzhou Prefecture, Tongchuan State, and Shunqing Prefecture.
In just half a year, Yang Mingzhao had already occupied four prefectures. Of the six states and thirteen prefectures in Bashu Province, more than half had been divided among the rebel armies, leaving the court in control of less than three prefectures.
At this time, the Three Divisions government office in Bashu was like a little beast surrounded by wolves, shivering within the towering and grand city of Shuzhou, not daring to leave the city.
Inside the main hall of the Baoning Prefecture government office.
Yang Mingzhao was meeting with several high-level subordinates.
However, due to the territorial expansion, many of his subordinates were stationed in various places, leaving only a few civil and military officials by his side.
On the civil side, there were Ma Yan, Lu Wenchun, and Qi Zhang. On the military side, there were Li Dagui, Chen Buyu, and Li Baoshan.
"Young Master, we can no longer expand. We are short of officials under our command. Many current officials are merely filling in numbers; we need time to cultivate more reliable officials!" Ma Yan said.
Li Dagui nodded and said, "Exactly, it’s not just about officials; it’s also about soldiers. This year, our Taiping Army has expanded from three thousand to thirty thousand. Many are newly recruited youths who haven’t even completed basic training!"
"We need time to enforce military discipline and train soldiers, so we shouldn’t blindly expand anymore!"
Lu Wenchun stroked his goatee and said, "Lord Ma and General Li are both right. Our current situation is favorable, and there’s no need to continue expanding!"
"To our north, we have King Da Liang and his Da Liang Army, who are expanding from Han Zhong Prefecture towards Shanhe Province, and in the short term, they won’t think of entering Bashu."
"To the south, the officials of Shuzhou Prefecture City can only huddle within the city for self-preservation, unable to retaliate."
"To the east, there is no threat from Kui Prefecture. The only threat is to the west, from Anxi Town, but Anxi Town is currently in chaos and likely can’t concern itself with us now!"
To the west of Songpan Prefecture lies Anxi Town, one of the nine major border towns of Da Rong. Although the nine border towns vary in strength, each has numerous elite soldiers and generals. Even though Da Rong is now in decline, the elite of the border towns still possess considerable combat power.
Currently, the Taiping Army occupies Songpan Prefecture, so if Anxi Town intends to enter Bashu to quell the rebellion, Songpan Prefecture is on their path.
Thus, Anxi Town is the greatest threat to the Taiping Army right now and the direction they most need to defend against.
Although Yang Mingzhao was confident in his strength, he wasn’t arrogant enough to believe the Taiping Army could directly resist a border town.
After hearing the others, Yang Mingzhao agreed, "Next, we shall start internal reorganization."
"First, establish the government offices of all levels in Songpan Prefecture and Long’an Prefecture, begin surveying the fields, and distribute land to the people!"
"Then reorganize the Taiping Army. Let’s divide the Taiping Army into five camps: forward, rear, left, right, and center. They will train, reorganize, and defend various locations simultaneously!"
"Lastly, should we re-establish the organizational structure of the central government office?"
The Taiping Army currently is just a provisional setup, with positions and ranks established according to Da Rong’s system, with positions like Magistrate, Prefect, County Magistrate, Deputy Magistrate, County Deputy, Main Clerk, and clerk, all following Da Rong’s setup, with their own people appointed to these positions.
This setup isn’t problematic as long as the officials are their own people; Yang Mingzhao could control the territories occupied by the Taiping Army.
But the problem lies in the fact that their central government lacks a complete organizational structure.
Li Wenchun is the Magistrate of Baoning Prefecture, and under Li Dagui are three thousand soldiers responsible for guarding Baoning City, but he lacks an official title. People just call him General, but what kind of General is he?
"What does the Young Master mean?" Li Dagui asked.
Yang Mingzhao smiled and said, "Set up a Cabinet and Six Ministries, establish the Governor’s Mansion, and first build the framework, so our little court can function normally!"
Although they’ve only occupied four prefectures, they should establish central institutions.
Otherwise, with unclear roles and attributions, it would be chaotic and difficult to unify dispatches and command.
As for the Cabinet, Six Ministries, and Governor’s Mansion, Yang Mingzhao simply borrowed Da Rong Court’s setup out of convenience.
Da Rong’s problem isn’t about the organizational form of its central institutions but about officials who don’t dare to take charge.
Simply put, the system isn’t the problem; the issue lies with those executing the system. Thıs content belongs to novel•fire.net
If Yang Mingzhao could truly ascend to the throne as Emperor, he might need to modify the organizational structure of the central court, but having only occupied four prefectures, such complexity isn’t needed. A small central court is sufficient for now, and further adjustments can be made later.