The formalization of the Confederacy and the evolution of the system demanded a similar evolution in our military. The ad-hoc, reactive force that had won the war needed to be forged into a permanent, professional institution worthy of a true nation. My new [GOVERNANCE] interface allowed me to manage this on a macro scale.
My first act was to officially create the Desert Rangers. This new, elite unit would be the long arm and the watchful eyes of the Confederacy. It was formed from the best of the Ashen horsemen and our most skilled Oakhaven scouts. Ren and Kai were appointed as its joint commanders, their skills perfectly complementing each other—Ren the master of infiltration and intelligence, Kai the master of mobile archery and desert warfare.
The Rangers were not a conventional military unit. They were our intelligence service, our special forces, and our border patrol, all rolled into one. Using my [Asymmetric Warfare Doctrine] and [Counter-Intelligence] knowledge, I designed their training regimen. They learned to operate in small, independent cells for months at a time, living off the land and our hidden supply caches. They learned advanced cartography, demolition, and the art of "recruiting" assets in the towns and caravans that dotted the kingdom's frontier.
We equipped them with the best our new industry could provide. Their bows were reinforced with steel, their arrows were tipped with perfectly machined bodkin points designed to pierce armor. Each Ranger was given a spyglass and a set of signal mirrors. They became masters of the 'Long Watch', a ceaseless, invisible patrol of the hundreds of miles of desolate land that separated us from the kingdom. They were our first line of defense, a silent, deadly network that ensured we would never again be surprised.
The second great change was the establishment of the Iron Guard, the new official designation for Grak's heavy infantry. They were to be the Confederacy's elite shock troops, our hammer. We used our burgeoning steel production to equip each of them with a full suit of heavy plate armor, far superior to the crude iron they had worn before. Their primary role in peacetime was to guard the capital and the trade routes, their formidable presence a powerful deterrent to any would-be raiders.
Finally, the Oakhaven Vanguard, under Borin's command, was formalized as the professional core of our army—the disciplined infantry that formed the anvil of our battle plans. Borin, now with the formal title of Lord Marshal of the Confederacy, established a permanent training academy in Oakhaven. Every able-bodied young man and woman, upon coming of age, was required to serve for two years in the Vanguard, ensuring a constant supply of trained, disciplined soldiers for our growing nation.
This professionalization of our military had a profound effect. It created a new sense of unity and shared identity. A young woman from Oakhaven might find herself serving in a squad next to a grim Ironpeak miner and learning tracking skills from an Ashen nomad. The army became the great melting pot of our new nation, forging a single Confederate identity from the disparate tribes.
The new [GOVERNANCE] tab allowed me to monitor it all. I could see troop readiness, equipment status, and patrol routes in real time. I could allocate resources with a thought, shifting a surplus of steel from the forge to the armory, or a surplus of grain from the granary to a Ranger supply cache deep in the desert. I was no longer just a general giving orders; I was the logistical brain of an entire military machine, my thoughts translated instantly into action. The Wastes Confederacy did not just have an army; it had a modern, integrated defense network, a living shield watching over our burgeoning civilization.