Military Reform and Purging the Sect

The problems plaguing the Sun Moon Empire go beyond mere distribution and equipment; they are deeply rooted in operational philosophy and daily military training. In reality, the military doctrine of the Sun Moon Empire remains stuck in the era of infantry standing in rigid lines to trade volleys, artillery hiding in the rear to provide cover, cavalry roaming for flanking strikes, and Soul Master legions waiting to exploit enemy weaknesses or spearhead assaults.

This style of warfare might have been acceptable in the past, and daily training is naturally structured around these outdated rules. Even more absurdly, due to a lack of conflict and external threats, many within the military have even developed vices like gambling and alcoholism!

Situations where troops spend their time farming, working manual labor, or engaging in commerce have even received the tacit approval of the parliament and the military brass! Over time, some have even forgotten how to aim and fire their rifles!

More outrageously, many officers have begun forming cliques and engaging in corruption within the ranks! Veterans bully recruits, officers oppress soldiers, and those with family connections join the military solely to pad their resumes and coast through service. After a full tour, they haven't learned a single skill, but they have grown fat and successfully gilded their reputations!

Naturally, there are many other issues within the Sun Moon Empire's military that need not be listed one by one. Addressing these various problems, Xu Mochen has begun a comprehensive and in-depth analysis, with new reform plans being drafted into volumes under his meticulous planning.

Combining the military doctrines of Blue Star with the current situation of the Sun Moon Empire, Xu Mochen has conducted a holistic assessment. He expects that in a month or so, he will be able to formally present his plans to the officers and initiate a new round of transformation for the Sun Moon Empire's military.

In the blink of an eye, three months have passed since Xu Mochen transmigrated to the Sun Moon Continent, and he has not been idle. Beyond reaching the twelfth level of cultivation, through his full-force promotion and lobbying—coupled with exposing a few "malignant tumors" who were secretly obstructing his bills to serve as a warning to others—the Sun Moon Empire's Anti-Monopoly Law has been officially implemented. Although progress is slow, with the strong support of Xu Mochen, Ye Xingyun, and others, it has gradually begun to show results.

A large number of monopolistic alliance enterprises have been forced to relinquish a portion of their profits to withstand pressure from the upper echelons and public opinion from below. On the other hand, the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Guidance Steam Engine factories have been completed and are ready for mass production, with various derivative products of the Soul Guidance Steam Engine also finished and ready to roll off the assembly lines.

Consequently, Xu Mochen has decided that once his military reform strategy is formulated and approved by the Sun Moon Empire's General Staff meeting, he will formally introduce his Soul Guidance Steam Engine products to the entire continent at the annual national development summary conference!

If he can successfully persuade the high-ranking military and political officials at the summary conference, Xu Mochen will then formally submit his proposals to the parliament, pushing with all his might for the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Guidance industrial revolution and the expansion of military armaments!

The first priority is the military reform. Xu Mochen has spent nearly three months preparing for this. Now, all he needs to do is secure the recognition and support of the members of the General Staff meeting and finalize the plan alongside the high-ranking generals.

Thus, at today's General Staff meeting, Xu Mochen intends to point out the current situation and drawbacks within the military and propose his reform plan. However, before that, he needs to make some advance arrangements according to his plan. He believes this plan of his will surely give those petty scoundrels in the military a massive "surprise"!

Three hours later, at the Royal Military Headquarters of the Sun Moon Empire:

In the spacious operational conference room, Xu Mochen, acting as the de facto Commander-in-Chief of the Sun Moon Empire's three armed services, sits at the far end of a long table. Seated on his left and right are high-ranking officers, including the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the military, Xu Yuanding, as well as the Chief of the General Staff, the Chief of Equipment, the Chief of Logistics, the Army Commander, and the Navy Commander.

"I have invited you all here today to conduct a general summary and reflection on the series of problems currently existing within the Sun Moon Empire's military." Xu Mochen does not immediately present his reform plan; instead, he begins with a brief critique of the current state of the military.

"First, the Sun Moon Empire currently has about 800,000 standing troops and 1.6 million reservists. Divided into nine major military regions according to the empire's local deployment, the structure is far too fragmented and difficult to command. It is unsuited to the current national conditions of the Sun Moon Empire and has resulted in a surplus of redundant officials."

"Therefore, I intend to reorganize the military distribution, replacing the original nine military regions with five major theaters. This includes the Ming Capital Special District and the eight surrounding provinces forming the Central Theater, while the other four theaters—East, South, West, and North—will each consist of seven provinces. The specific allocation is as follows..."

Following this, Xu Mochen patiently explains his distribution plan to the officers present. The reactions vary; officers like Xu Yuanding listen intently to Xu Mochen's explanation, occasionally raising their own objections, but largely agreeing with most of the ideas Xu Mochen has proposed.

There are also some officers who initially paid little attention to what this six-year-old Crown Prince had to say. Although they had heard of the young prince's talents in politics, economics, and cultivation, they could not believe that Xu Mochen could also be accomplished in military affairs.

But as Xu Mochen delved deeper into his explanation and deployment, they began to shed their arrogance and listen seriously to the plans of this six-year-old. Of course, there were still a few who remained distracted from start to finish, even revealing faint expressions of disdain. Xu Mochen saw this, but he did not immediately lash out.

"This method of division is quite good. Not only can it significantly reduce military expenditures, but it can also greatly enhance communication and coordination between local and central military authorities," Xu Yuanding remarked with admiration, though he still harbored some underlying concerns.

As the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial military, Xu Yuanding knew full well that implementing this plan would inevitably lead to the dismissal of a batch of redundant officers in the local military, which would likely offend a large group of vested interest groups! However, thinking of the foolproof plan he had formulated with Xu Mochen, he felt much more at ease.

"Wait a moment, Your Highness the Crown Prince, I have a question." At this point, Li Fengduo, Commander of the Imperial Internal Guard, stood up and asked with a skeptical tone: "May I ask, Your Highness, the division into nine military regions has been the Sun Moon Empire's unchanging military strategy for a thousand years, and it has functioned without issue until today. Is it not inappropriate for Your Highness to suddenly make such a drastic change?"

"If something goes wrong, who will take responsibility? Furthermore, once the plan is implemented, I fear many elite soldiers and capable generals will lose their jobs. May I ask how Your Highness intends to arrange for them?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Mochen sneered inwardly, while Xu Yuanding shook his head to himself and offered a silent prayer; he was not at all surprised that Li Fengduo would jump out to oppose him.

In fact, this Li Fengduo represents the Li family, which is no less powerful than the ten great families of the empire. The disciples of the Li family have served in the military for generations. Although they followed the emperors of the Sun Moon Empire on campaigns and achieved great merit in the past, today, many Li family disciples in the military spend their days eating, drinking, and waiting to die.

Relying on the title of Internal Guard Commander held by the Li family head, Li Fengduo, many disciples use connections to obtain diplomas from the Royal Army Academy and then secure high-ranking positions in the Internal Guard. Once they are in the military, they find it incredibly easy to form cliques, swear brotherhood, and engage in collective corruption.

Even if other officers see this, they either try to stop it and are targeted in retaliation, or they pretend not to see it and join in! This situation is common throughout the entire military!

It is evident that while the Sun Moon Empire's economy, technology, and industrial-commercial systems are booming, the military has become increasingly degenerate—something Xu Mochen absolutely cannot tolerate.

"I wonder if there are others among you who share the same thoughts as Commander Li?" Unexpectedly, Xu Mochen did not get angry; instead, he furrowed his brows slightly and asked.

"I also object. This plan requires more discussion."

"I also object. I hope Your Highness will reconsider."

"Object..."

"..."

Many other high-ranking officers who were in cahoots with Commander Li heard this and naively thought that this six-year-old child was afraid and was about to compromise. They began to clamor one after another. Looking around, more than two-thirds of the high-ranking officers had stood up.

Xu Yuanding did not care about the chattering of these crows; instead, he turned his gaze slightly toward Xu Mochen. In fact, days before the meeting, Xu Mochen had already revealed his thoughts to him. As the second-in-command of the military, Xu Yuanding, who is loyal to the empire, was also disgusted by the behavior of these parasites.

However, he lacked the authority to conduct a "great purge" of these high-ranking officers at will. Furthermore, the Sun Moon Empire had not faced external enemies for a long time, and acting rashly might trigger uncontrollable events. Thus, Xu Yuanding could only turn a blind eye to their behavior.

But now, the Crown Prince had been preparing for this day for a long time, and all that was needed was a suitable opportunity. Judging by the playful smile on Xu Mochen's face, the fate of these people would likely be miserable indeed.

Sure enough, Xu Mochen scanned the room. Instead of the panic and compromise everyone expected, he spoke with surprising calm, instructing Xu Yuanding: "For everyone who just stood up, one by one, bring out all the 'good deeds' I found regarding them."

At this moment, Xu Yuanding felt an immense sense of satisfaction. He immediately retrieved from his storage soul tool a massive stack of intelligence he and Xu Mochen had prepared, and began to read aloud all the evidence of their crimes. From corruption and collusion with local officials and tyrants to oppress the people, to forming cliques and inciting public disturbances, to alcoholism, gambling, and sexual assault...

The intelligence was so detailed that it included specific dates, the locations of witnesses and physical evidence, the names of the primary offenders, and the number of people involved! Everyone present broke into a cold sweat!

As for how Xu Mochen could have collected such detailed intelligence, a terrifying name immediately surfaced in the minds of many high-ranking officers: the Shadow Guard! It seemed the Crown Prince had not been preparing for this for just a day or two; he had come fully prepared!

"Gentlemen, you have all heard it, haven't you?" Xu Mochen gave a grim smile, his young face flashing with a cold light that made everyone present shiver. Without wasting any more time, Xu Mochen waved his small hand and shouted sharply: "Since the evidence is conclusive, act according to military law! Shadow Guard and Military Police, take them all into custody!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the doors of the conference room were blown open. Led by Mo Wuying, several elite members of the Shadow Guard and the Military Police rushed into the room. Xu Yuanding immediately flashed to Xu Mochen's side and released his martial soul. These officers were not weak, with the lowest being at least level 50 or 60; Xu Yuanding dared not gamble on whether these guys would act like cornered dogs.

To be safe, he immediately revealed his soul rings. Accompanied by the appearance of nine soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black—the pressure of a level 96 powerhouse descended upon those officers who had harbored ulterior motives!

With a terrifying golden-red sun manifesting behind Xu Yuanding, all the officers who had intended to resist were completely crushed by the terrifying pressure, unable to even catch their breath. They had no choice but to abandon their resistance and obediently become captives of the Shadow Guard and the Military Police.