Glory Expeditionary Force

(Bonus chapter for Song Yixue, the ranking expert)

Han Mingxuan returned to his residence, and the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.

Military Reform is far more complicated than political reform; if it were to inadvertently trigger a mutiny, it would be a very troublesome matter for the entire Imperium.

However, judging from the current progress, it seems that there is not much resistance to the investigation of the Departmento Munitorum. After all, the Adeptus Mechanicus has already agreed to cooperate, and if the Military Department does not cooperate, it would be pure treason.

What those old nobles feared most was being accused of disloyalty, which makes no logical sense, but Han Mingxuan always felt something was amiss.

"Where exactly did things go wrong?"

Human history in the Warhammer World is nearly 30,000 years old, but Han Mingxuan still believes that many things can be traced back to historical prototypes.

So he was thinking, trying to figure out exactly what was making him uncomfortable.

"Report! Nemiel of the First Legion requests an audience!"

Nemiel?

Nemiel?

Nemiel?

Hiss!

Yes!

The Lion Flying Head Punch meme originated from this.

I was wondering why something seemed off.

So that's where the problem lay.

When the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away; when the cunning rabbit is dead, the hunting dog is cooked.

This is what you fear most when marching and fighting; no wonder I always felt something was off.

Han Mingxuan opened the door and saw Nemiel standing outside.

"What do you need, Dark Angels?"

"Lion El'Jonson Leon would like to invite you over. There are still many details regarding the Military Reforms that need to be discussed with you."

"Lead the way."

He was also planning to go to the Departmento Munitorum anyway, so this saved him the trouble.

Upon arriving at the Departmento Munitorum once again, Han Mingxuan spoke first.

Now that he's getting older, sometimes if someone changes the subject, he finds it hard to remember what happened.

So he should speak first.

"Lion El'Jonson, regarding the Imperium's Military Reforms, what do you intend to do about those problematic nobles and their armies?"

"Eliminate evil completely, Uncle. Those Vermin must not be allowed to live."

Indeed, this is the Lion's style of doing things.

"We can't do that, Lion El'Jonson."

"Why?"

"When the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away; when the cunning rabbit is dead, the hunting dog is cooked."

"Uncle, I don't understand."

Simply put, don't kill meritorious officials indiscriminately.

"But their corruption is a fact. You also said during the Imperium Anti-Corruption campaign that there is no conflict between the corrupt and the loyal; if a loyal person becomes corrupt, they must also be punished."

"Of course, Lion El'Jonson, but when it comes to Military Reform, we must be mindful of our methods and approaches; we can't just resort to killing, killing, killing."

"Methods and approaches?"

"Yes, military and Civil Servant are two completely different systems. Their ways of thinking are worlds apart. No matter how many Civil Servant we kill, as long as we leave them a branch, they will have some reservations."

"But military officers are different. If we kill them as ruthlessly as we do Civil Servant, they will mutini."

"They betrayed their country, so they deserve to be killed even more; this undoubtedly proves that their loyalty was flawed."

"Their loyalty is undoubtedly flawless; what is flawed is their hearts. And you know what the Imperium is like now, and what the Warp is like."

Hearing Han Mingxuan's words, the Lion calmed down.

Yes, their loyalty can be acknowledged and respected, but their hearts are riddled with flaws, to put it mildly; otherwise, they wouldn't have become corrupt.

If they push too hard, coupled with the Corruption of the Warp, it could very well plunge the entire Imperium into turmoil.

The Imperium is mostly Mortals. If a large-scale Horus Heresy were to break out among Mortals, even if we used Exterminatus as firecrackers every day, we could exhaust them to death.

"Then what do we do? We can't just stand by and watch them embezzle, can we?"

Han Mingxuan shook his head.

"Lion, you are the eldest son of the Imperium, and you are now the Departmento Munitorum Minister. Now that you have taken office, it's time for a fresh start."

You have to get this first fire burning.

How to cook it?

"Burn them in their glory, give them the most magnificent funeral."

You mean the suicide squad?

"No, no, no, I call this the Honor Expeditionary Force."

Honor Expeditionary Force?

"Just imagine, this Expeditionary Force will be sent to the most dangerous battlefield in the entire Imperium."

"At the same time, there are very high requirements to join this Expeditionary Force."

"First, they must be Hereditary Nobility, and nobles who have risen through the ranks based on military merit; second, they must have their own Scions; and third, they must have the determination to repent."

"Only in this way can they join this team, and only in this way can their expeditions bring more glory to their descendants!"

You want them to fill in the lines?

"Why not?"

"If internal strife breaks out within our Imperium, then a mutiny is only a matter of time."

"But if we throw this contradiction at the Xenos, the bombs will only blow Xenos to pieces."

"Moreover, the pace of Military Reform will accelerate like never before."

"Of course, there's also the most important point: anyone who survives this Expeditionary Force is undoubtedly a reformed and meritorious military talent. It's a win-win situation, so why not?"

Lion El'Jonson fell silent, staring at his Uncle quietly, a chill running down his spine.

My Uncle's suggestion was too ruthless.

"Does it feel very dark?"

"It's really dark, Uncle, but that's politics."

Aren't you angry with me?

"What's wrong with you, Uncle?"

"You blame me for sending people with military achievements and honors to the front lines, treating them like expendable resources. To put it bluntly, what I did could even be called betrayal. Don't you hate me?"

After thinking for a long time Lion El'Jonson said this.

"Perhaps I had doubts in my heart before, Uncle."

"And now?"

"I am the eldest son of the Imperium, the Primarch of the First Legion. I am not a rigid tool. Just as you said, Uncle, one must be more flexible."

Han Mingxuan was stunned for a moment after hearing Lion El'Jonson's answer.

He then burst out laughing.

"Haha! Good! Lion El'Jonson, I knew I hadn't misjudged you. It's wonderful that you've come to your senses!"

He never expected Lion El'Jonson's change to be so rapid.

Han Mingxuan had originally planned to use this incident to teach Lion El'Jonson a lesson, but now it seems his worries were unnecessary.

"Now that you've thought it through, let's discuss the specifics of this Honor Expeditionary Force."

"Perhaps we don't need too many specific details, Uncle."

Oh?

"Having an idea is a good thing. Tell us about it."

"We need Medals, we need enough Medals."

Medals?

Okay, okay.

Lion El'Jonson grasped the essence of it immediately.

"You're doing very well, Lion El'Jonson. You learn quickly, that's excellent. Keep going, speak your mind!"

Isn't that just Warhammer Medallion?

Let's do one!