Chapter 131: Chapter 126, Long Live the Governor!_2
Of course, this was a joke. What Gu Hang wanted was not those lowly pleasures.
Expanding the military, developing industry, constructing starships, and maintaining one or several combat regiments… his ambitions were grand indeed.
As for the present reality, once these inner city folks entered his new system, thanks to their own advantage in education level, professional skills, and past work experience, they naturally outperformed the impoverished people from the outer cities who might not even be able to recognize all the characters. They would easily strive for a higher starting rank and a faster promotion speed.
As long as they supported the governor, they would feel the benefits.
Restoring their past standard of living was not difficult, and it was inevitable with the increase in productivity. Moreover, better class mobility would give them opportunities they could never have had before.
The good days were still ahead!
…
Gu Hang’s divergent thoughts came to a close with the death of the last batch of executed convicts.
Next, another big event was to come: the award ceremony and the military parade.
These two events were combined.
In fact, the vast square was now occupied by only about ten thousand citizens, leaving open space for the upcoming parade.
The various units would one by one, accompanied by bugle calls and majestic music, set off from the outside assembly area, pass the main road outside the parliamentary square, and advance along the path made way by the audience to arrive here at the podium.
The commanders of the units would come to the platform to receive medals, military ranks, and more importantly, on behalf of the entire unit, accept the designation and the flags.
The military music had already started, with four bands in four directions of the square creating quite a din, along with trumpets arranged in various locations to further amplify the sound.
Then, a formation slowly approached.
Four ‘Strider V’ armored vehicles led the way, followed by tanks still not fully repainted, captured from the previous Alliance Legion, and then a column of Iron Bull trucks accompanied by Scout Rider Motorcycles advancing. Some of these trucks carried full loads of soldiers as troop transports, and others towed huge 155mm howitzers.
This was the 3rd Battalion of the original Governor’s Infantry Regiment. Among the leading officer vehicles, Perbov from the 2nd Battalion and the 3rd Battalion’s commanding officer were seated.
In fact, the 2nd Battalion should have been reviewed first and Perbov, as its commanding officer, was indeed the first. Unfortunately, he was a bit of a lone wolf; his main force was still recruiting and reorganizing in Weixing City, so he could only tag along with the 3rd Battalion’s formation.
As the entire formation arrived below the podium, whether riding in vehicles or marching on foot, all the soldiers shouted their slogans loudly!
It began with the officers at the front belting out “For the Emperor!” followed by all the soldiers chanting together.
Then came another “For the Governor!”
Gu Hang stood at the forefront of the viewing platform, watching his troops march past, his face expressionless, merely nodding slightly in acknowledgment.
The soldiers followed the directions to the space set aside for them in the square and took their positions. Perbov and the 3rd Battalion’s commanding officer went up to the platform together.
Gu Hang personally adorned them with the shoulder boards that signified the rank of Major; following that, he also presented them with medals.
Gu Hang had personally designed two styles of medals.
This moment, they were all being awarded the ‘Revival Medal’.
The design of this medal was roughly circular, featuring a fist clutching a hammer raised upward, surrounded by wheat ears.
The Revival Medal, Gu Hang intended as a foundational award to be given out. It was primarily meant for soldiers and officers who had displayed excellence in the series of battles involving Revival City.
Half of the awardees were either valiantly killed in action or wounded. The former needs no further mention, while the latter were generally expected to retire upon receipt of the medal.
These medals were not recognized within the entire empire, unlike military ranks. The titles from the Planetary Defense Force were acknowledged by the Imperial Military—although the prestige attached to them varied greatly.
But Gu Hang still needed to establish this system.
Soldiers fighting for their own should rightfully receive honor.
Moreover, aside from honor, the medals also had tangible benefits. The ‘Rejuvenation Medal’ itself equated to an E5-level allowance, a seemingly insignificant amount, but this was in addition to the basic allowance soldiers already received and would continue until retirement. In cases of disability or death, the pension would also be more substantial.
In fact, awarding medals to disabled retirees and fallen soldiers was also to provide additional consolation to the relatives of valiantly fallen soldiers.
For those without relatives, the military’s political department would arrange for an orphan—there were too many on the wastelands—to inherit these, but the precondition was that the orphan had to take up the hero’s surname.
They would be raised and educated by a specialized War Orphans Institution.
After Gu Hang had placed the ranks and medals on the two battalion commanders, the award ceremony for them concluded, and the formation of the 4th Battalion was already coming up behind.
The two battalion commanders and a few soldiers who had joined them on the podium hurriedly received a sizable box and many furled flags from the governor’s attendants, then quickly made space for their brothers in the approaching 4th Battalion.
In the boxes were several Rejuvenation Medals, to be later awarded by the commanders to their own battalion’s soldiers; the furled flags were the battalion and company red banners, which would clearly display the unit’s numerical designation.