Royal Guards (Themiclesia)
| Royal Guards | |
|---|---|
 Gojun-era (15th – 14th c. BCE) inscription for "to surround, protect" | |
| Founded | Hexarchy |
| Current form | 1921 |
| Service branches | Infantry Cavalry Chariotry |
| Leadership | |
| Defence Secretary | Smlem Tswats |
| General of Royal Guards | Tong Ging |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 20 – 46 |
| Conscription | not in effect |
| Active personnel | 3,134 |
| Reserve personnel | 1,198 |
| Expenditure | |
| Budget | $401,200,000— |
| Percent of GDP | 0.02% |
The Royal Guards (衛士, gwrerh-dzrje′) are Themiclesian military units charged with the defence of palaces and certain institutions in them. Historically, the Royal Guards were selected from regional militias in one or more regiments in each palace, though there remain only two regular regiments and nine independent companies as of 2020. Their ceremonial commander is the Marshal of the Guards, usually a retired minister and a Principal Counsel.
Name
The name kuninkaanvartija was first used by Hallian visitors to the Themiclesian court, who noticed that the emperor's palaces were defended by distinct troops set apart; Anglians then translated the Hallian term as "Royal Guards". This is not a literal translation and introduces some shades of meaning that are not present in the Shinasthana term. In the Themiclesian canon, the guards defend the palaces occupied by royalty but not royalty themselves. Since palaces were constructed as heavily fortified citadels, the Royal Guards were expected in the first place to man fortifications, while personal protection was the proper jurisdiction of the royal retainers called Gentlemen of the Household. The pictosemantic word gwrerh (衛), though coined millennia before Royal Guards were attested, depicts four feet surrounding a circle, interpreted to mean pacing around a settlement in its defence.
This distinction, though trivial, can be enlightening when analyzing its role. Royal Guards regiments typically never leave the palace in which they were stationed, even if its occupant left it; if so, the local militias along a pre-arranged route would marshal to take up defensive positions when the royal carriage passed through their jurisdictions, and when he arrived at a different palace, it would be defended by the Royal Guards there stationed. As a result, some scholars suggest replacing its title with the more literal and descriptive "Palace Guards", though Themiclesian policy has been to retain foreign translations whenever possible, even if inaccurate, to reduce the likelihood of confusion between old and new translations of the same name.
History
Origins
In Themiclesian Antiquity, the protection of the royal residence was undertaken by the "gentlemen of the household" (舍人), a group of no fixed size usually supplied by families with close ties to the royal dynasty; its superintendents were drawn from both the ranks and from the dynasty's cadets branches. Gentlemen in service to the household were not only bodygaurds but also companions, secretaries, ushers, and messengers, amongst a diversity of other roles. During this period, the Tsinh state appears to have had no standing army of any kind, but the rulers of Kem appears to have developed one of considerable size already. Its primary garrison was apparently within the royal residence itself, and this fact may have given rise to the early notion that the princes of Kem lived impiously, in the midst of military installations rather than shrines.
In the maturer military policy of the Meng dynasty in Menghe, which exercised an outsized influence over Themiclesia, each prefecture/province was responsible for keeping its own forces, which specialized into infantry, crossbowmen, cavalry, and chariotry units. These units mostly consisted of militiamen serving a fixed number of days per year but also a smaller core of professional soldiers. Imperial palaces were not defended through a local militia of this type but dedicated units, answering to a government minister. Further, royal tumuli and mausolea were also protected by similar units raised the same way, since these edifices were considered palaces for decesased emperors. This system, mausolea excepting, may have been conceptually co-opted by Themiclesian rulers as early as the Tsinh hegemony in the late 4th century; however, their existence is only attested during wartime, an "important fact that marks them as temporary forces".
The temporary character of the Tsinh Royal Guard, and that of the Stsungh Royal Guard after it, is elucidated by the attested titles of officials, such as "guard captain of the gate" (衛辭門) and "commissioner for guards" (衛令); on the contrary, officials like "captain" (辭馬), "captain of 500" (五百長), or "captain of 1,000" (千長) etc. were not associated with the Tsinh Royal Guards. The attested positions are obviously localized to the palace's geography, which was not only a refuge for the dynasty and associated lineages but also a large manufactory and repository of goods. The palace was therefore a stationary asset that needed defensive forces during wartime, though not as much during peacetime. Thus, it is possible that guard officers existed during peacetime but no men were assigned to them unless triggered by war; the men would likely have come from a general draft of nearby areas.
During the Rang hegemony, which lasted only two generations, years of consistent warfare seems to have resulted in the palace being permanently under by infantry and cavalry guard. This is corroborated by the observation by an essayist saying that the ruler has neglected to dismiss his guardsmen (久不遣), such as rulers in former times are implied to have done regularly. 47 years of King Ngywan's (元王) 55-year reign was spent in wartime, though motivations for keeping his palace garrisoned is unclear, since the frontlines were hundres of miles from it; his palace garrisons would have strained supplies rather than relieved them. His successor, King Gwits (惠王), abolished the palace garrisons but died after only a single year; his successor in turn, King Gwrang (衡王), re-garrisoned the palace. In his fourth year, he was deposed by courtiers in favour of the Emperor Wŏn of Chŏllo, and it seems the guardsmen were dismissed again.
Post-restoration
After Emperor Wŏn of Chŏllo was endorsed by the barons in 543 as their new sovereign, the emperor worked with a closed circle of Chŏllo advisors in his palace to secure his influence in the royal court. He did not consolidate his power until some years later; specifically in 558 he remodelled the palace after Menghean customs and spent a considerable amount of money, which suggests to historicans his finances have been secured by that time. In 562, to mark the inauguration of his remodelled palace, he appointed two new officials with Menghean titles Commissioner of Attendants (郎中令, rang-tyung-ringh) and the Marshal of Guards (衛㷉, ghwraih-'ut); these terms are certainly of Menghean origin owing to their pronunciations.
Modern era
In the 14th century and onwards, the Royal Guards have experienced a considerable recession in importance, as the Colonial Army sprang up. During Themiclesian Republic, only a single palace was occupied, and Royal Guard units dwindled in concert. When the monarchy was restored in 1513, the system of rotations was abolished in favour of professional units.
During the Maverican Wars, the Privy Council stubbornly refused to release four regiments of ready troops to the front, even though they were in vacant palaces. This reservation resulted in delays that the public believed was partly responsible for losses in Themiclesia-proper. As a result, vacant palaces lost their regiments under the Conservative governments of the early 1800s, aiming to reduce burdens on the public, in taxation and service. Under the commerce-focused Liberal government since the 1840s, the policy was continued; since only the palaces in Kien-k'ang were regularly occupied, the Royal Guards' presence was therefore limited to it.
Since the 1800s, the Hian-lang Palace and Middle Palace had two regiments of Royal Guards each, and the East, Gweng-hljunh, and Gwreng-ngjarh Palaces, one each. It was suggested in the 1830s to place them under some sort of unified command, or even to professionalize them, but the Conservatives prevented their further exploration. An alternate rationalization for the rejection is that the government found it a security risk. Situated in Hian-lang Palace, the government placed its two regiments under the supervision of the Cabinet Office, which did not have power to send instructions to the regiments without government permission, suggesting it was quite conscious of the matter of security. Furthermore, the two regiments were forbidden from communicating with each other and had limits in their respective jurisdictions. Their commanders were also, without exception, drawn from civil servants with experience in military administration; Tribunes supervised the activity of officers and intercepted their commands, and collective punishment was imposed to deter collusion.
In the late 1800s, Crown Prince Djêng (太子成, djêng-l′adh-tsje′; 1857 – 1885), who was entitled to his own regiment at the East Palace (東宮, tong-kjung), took a rather unusual interest in military affairs. He compelled the Director of the East Guards to have regular reviews of the guards and took to speaking with his guards and designing exercises for them on palace grounds. While his father, Emperor Mjen, was not suspicious, like some courtiers, of Djêng's motives, he did not approve of his close contact with soldiers. Nevertheless, with parliamentary backing, he was granted a cavalry regiment in 1878. This is unconventional, as palace guards were traditionally infantry and chariotry, not cavalry. Despite slowly-changing attitudes, his courtiers found his interests intolerable. In 1879, a picture of him holding a rifle, with his guards in the background, was published to the chagrin of the empror and Conservatives leaders. The editor of the tabloid was arrested and sentenced to a €100 fine for lèse-majesté. The Liberals, though more tolerant of his eccentricity, did not defend him. The emperor required Djeng to censor his activities. Djêng continued his exercises after this but died suddenly in 1885. His cavalry regiment was disbanded, while the infantry regiment continued to defend the East Palace and its new occupant, the future Emperor Goi.
1932 Nationalist revolt
During the Nationalist Revolt of 1932, the Royal Guards were instrumental in its suppression. On the day of the incident, the Hian-lang Left Guards were stationed in the palace, east of the Constellation Gate (閶闔門, tl′jang-gap-men), and the Hian-lang Right Guards south of the West Side Gate (西掖門, sner-ljak-men), against the palace's outermost walls. The palace's gates were opened, as customary, after the assent of the Under-Secretary of State of the Hall (殿中郎, ntenh-trjung-rang) and the Secretary of Protonotaries (the clerk of the house) was obtained as usual, around 3 o'clock in the morning, well before the demonstrators arrived. As usual, a detachment of 200 guardsmen were sent to line each passage in the Constellation Gate, and the courtyard the gatehouse formed with the nearby walls. As the demonstrators arrived at about 6 o' clock, they started to unravel their banners and signs and congregate in the courtyard; this was normally not allowed, since the courtyard regularly saw ceremonies. However, the Royal Guards did not prevent them from occupying it, since it was not a day on which ceremonies were expected. While the rallying began with megaphones, it was soon apparent that the messages delivered through megaphones that day were appealing for revolution, since the Nationalists have already staged demonstrations there for four consecutive days. The Gate Captain (門司馬, men-slje-mra′) took note of this matter and relayed it to the Cabinet Office, whereupon the Secretary of the Right, with the assent of the Under-Secretary of State of the Hall, ordered the Gate Captain to monitor the demonstration closely.
About an hour later, the assembly burst forwards into the gatehouse, which alarmed the Royal Guards, who were commanded to form a tight line, a dozen men deep, in each of the three passages to bar the demonstrator's entry. The development was dispatched to the Cabinet Office again, which was thrown into confusion. Themclesian ministers lived within the palace, in the quarters for the Council of Correspondence. This section was less than a kilometer away from the commotion, and ministers were notified of the disorder and advised to assemble at the Court Hall, over the breezeway connecting their quarters to their offices. However, before all Cabinet ministers arrived, push gave way to shove and punches in the passageway, with apparently several members of the Royal Guards unconscious and crushed by the demonstrators. The Gate Captain was hesitant to order them to open fire and instead asked for instructions from the Cabinet Office again; in the meantime, he ordered the guardsmen to leave their rifles inside the gate and push outwards, confident that he had more manpower than did the demonstrators. In later recount, he also said this would prevent the demonstrators from taking hold of the guardsmen's arms while they were pushing against each other. However, that the guardsmen were disarmed may, according to some, have encouraged the demonstrators to push even harder, resulting in a stalemate. The Secretary of the Right reported the latest and advised that only two fortified gates stood between them and "the rioters". At 7:45, reports from the Royal Guards asserted that the rioters demanded the dissolution of the government. Then, another message was sent stating that the demonstrators intended to rescue the emperor from his "corrupt, traitorous ministers" and join the "Hemithean cause".
At 7:59, the Gate Captain reported that forty of his men were dead or unconscious and asked for further instructions. The Home Secretary noted that the Royal Guards' casualties were mounting, but he was heckled for mentioning "irrelevant facts". He would later recount that he meant to suggest the police be sent for, but the minister (whose identity he could not recall) who heckled at him silenced his suggestion. The Prime Minister opined that Foreign Secretary, whose portfolio included the palace, must "either advise the Cabinet to some course of action or consider his position [i.e. resign]". The Foreign Secretary, initially reluctant, was compelled by "hear, hear" from other ministers to state that he believed the demonstrators should be "effectually removed". Hearing this, the other ministers vocally supported the resolution, and the Gate Captain was informed that he was to use any means to remove the demonstrators immediately. However, the Secretary of the Right interpreted this resolution to mean that all the Royal Guards were instructed to remove the demonstrators and passed the message to the Hian-lang Right Guards as well, which was on stand-by but not actively invovled at the Constellation Gate. The Gate Captain (with units of the Hian-lang Left Guards) ordered the rifles to be passed back to the troops who were bearing the brunt in the passage and begin firing into the crowd. This stunned the rioters at the front, who began to push backwards; however, those behind continued to push forwards at the behest of their leader. Soon, the Hian-lang Right Guards rushed from the West Side Gate out of the palace and to the outside of the Constellation Gate and began firing on the protesters from behind. The Left Guards fired to expel the intruders, without advancing through the passage, but the Right Guard surrounded and compressed the intruders towards the gatehouse with gunfire.
Faced with gunfire from both directions, panic ensued amongst the demonstrators, but the Left Guards and Right Guards were unable to see each other and continued to fire in each others' direction. According to most sources, the leaders of both regiments were unaware of each others' presence. Several minutes later, a stray bullet from the Left Guard killed a member of the Right Guard, which mistook this as a sign the demonstrators were armed. Alarmed, the Right Guard dropped their rifles and switched to machine guns. This accelerated the injuries sustained by the demonstrators immensely. Detecting automatic fire, the Left Guards also became concerned that the protestors may have heavy weapons, and they temporarily retreated from the line of fire but mounted the gatehouse's superstructure. From inside, the fired downwards through peepholes onto the demonstrators. Only the presence of guardsmen on the gatehouse itself informed the Right Guard that the Left Guard was responsible for the gunfire in their direction. Soon, the understanding spread, and gunfire ceased. By this point over 500 had died in the crossfire. That the two regiments had forced the demonstrators into an enclosed space without cover and continued to fire from both exits massively exaggerated the casualties in a group of protesters who were, by all accounts, unarmed.
Pan-Septentrion War
Menghe entered the Prairie War against Themiclesia in 1933, as a consequence of the Hian-lang Guards' massacre of Nationalist demonstrators. This turn of events transformed a relatively minor war into a national emergency. While the Ministry of War submitted a proposal to impose nation-wide conscription in 1934, after it became apparent that militia units maintained by the prefectures were insufficient to halt the Menghean advance, the Foreign Office believed a peaceful resolution was still possible and blocked the conscription proposal, fearing it would provoke Menghe into increasing commitments as well. As the government discussed conscription internally, suffrage protests combined with general strikes against the Liberal government's alliance with Conservatives to reduce union rights threatened to make conscription a fatal policy for the government. Thus, it conscripted organized men in other departments to supplement the regiments at the front via the Special Conscription Act, 1934.
During the passage of the Act, the Privy Council, the board of neutral advisors to the emperor, was not consulted at length. This led to some Privy Councillors expressing concerns for the security of the palace, deprived of its troops, but the government proceeded contrary to the Council's monitions. The Prime Minister personally met the Privy Council (consisting mostly of his predecessors) and persuaded them that the "mistake of the Maverican Wars" must not repeat, meaning that ready troops should be used, lest the emperor be seen as protecting himself and his palaces before his country. In the Privy Council's duty to uphold the emperor's public image, dissenting voices were quieted. The Hian-lang Left Guards and Right Guards, who were virulently attacked in press for its absurd shooting of protesters who already surrendered, were sent in Mar. 1934 to the front, along with the other guard regiments, the Middle Left Guards, Middle Right Guards, and the South Guards. The Progressive press, the Weekly Telegraph, considered this an atonement for its wrongs, but other newspapers decried the Telegraph's characterization as political. Two months later, they were joined by the Royal, Inner, Middle, and Gweng-hljuns Engineers, reserve Metropolitan policemen, and the Navy's marines.
During the early stages of the war, the Royal Guards were known for their ineffectiveness, and some field commanders believed their privileged and sheltered position robbed them of proper discipline and courage. However, into 1936, the five guard regiments had become roughly on par with regional militia units and were, by their experience, "a cut above" some of the less motivated and newer conscript units. Regardless of their performance, the front crawled towards the Themiclesian heartland and came to Kien-k'ang in 1940. At this point, the Hian-lang Guards were placed under the 142th Infantry Division and the Middle Guards and the South Guards the 82nd. They participated in several battles close to the capital city but never directly in the Battle of Kien-k'ang. In 1936, the emperor evacuated his court to Blem-hme' Palace. The Privy Council privately suggested that a regiment be raised from nearby militias as the Blem-hme Guards. While the government refused, citing the emperor's desire "not to be especially defended", about a company's worth of conscripts exempted from direct engagement for various causes were assigned to the defence of the Blem-hme' Palace. They were not officially given the title of "Blem-hme' Guards", but historians have usually identified them as such. The extensive premises of the palace overwhelmed the company, and their lack of training invulnerated the palace to invasion, such as by Yamabe Oshimaro and Anabe Matakoshi.
The Themiclesian retreat was reversed in 1941, and the Royal Guards continued to press with the Army westwards, until the end of 1943, when the Menghean and Dayashinese forces were cleared from Themiclesian territory. As the 1936 conscription law covered only territorial defence, not permitting conscripts be deployed abroad, the Themiclesian Army began in 1943 to persuade some conscripts to become professional soldiers. This is largely because of Hallian and Tyrannian pressure for Themiclesia to join the invasion of Menghe itself, expected for their assistance in the defence of Themiclesia. The Royal Guards, which did not consist of conscripts but continued to induct volunteers throughout the war, were thus earmarked for the East Expedition Force. However, breaches at the palace have caused the emperor to be hidden in alcoves for prolonged periods of time, which the Privy Council was desperate to rectify; as a result, the Middle Left Guards and Hian-lang Right Guards were ordered to return to Blim-tsi, where the emperor resided. Their return effectively countered any further attempt at infiltration, as D/ISOG assassins were unable to sneak pass the Royal Guards on duty and at full strength.
Recruitment
Delinquents
The association of "delinquents" (惡少年, nhrak-smu-ning) with the Royal Guards is a phenomenon that began after the Restoration of 1531 and continued until the start of the 19th century. The archetype of a "delinquent" in Themiclesian literature is a young male person, usually under 30, who is unmarried, has no connection to any family or employment, and behaves in a lawless and reckless manner; this terminology is specific to male persons, and a female person of similar description is not termed a "delinquent".
It seems there was a large number of delinquents in the capital city following the Restoration of 1531, for reasons that are not completely unknown. Prior to 1531, most of the capital city's population would have belonged to a family with a recognizable head who held land from the crown, and a person under such a landed family's authority, no matter how idle in reality, would not have been described as a delinquent. After the restoration, many such extended families apparently lost cohesion and dissolved into more nuclear units, and some individuals thereby fell out of the family authority. Additionally, it is known that Emperor Mer granted many minor officers in his army plots of land near the capital city, and some of his soldiers never left the capital city after it was disbanded. There was thus a considerable demographic change in the area that contributed many "delinquents" under the traditional definition.
Thus, many such delinquents entered the Emperor's service as members of the Royal Guard (衛士), which took up the title that fell into disuse over a century ago. In contrast to the draft-based system that the old Royal Guard relied upon, this was a professional unit whose members would serve until death or retirement at the age of 56. For at least the reigns of Emperors Mer, Kep, and Tan (roughly 1531 – 84), the Royal Guard were garrisoned not only around the Sqin-lang Palace but also cities with other palaces. This is a key evolution because members of the Royal Guard were no longer local to the palace in which they served. The new policy to some extent centralized defence to a greater degree than before, though the old draft system was not abolished.
In 1624, the Royal Guards were even sent to garrison Camia, which attracted ridicule because there was no palace in the barely-settled Camia.
In the 19th century, most authorts who commented on the association between delinquents and the Royal Guard settled on the interpretation that its members caused disorder and broke laws in service, to the chagrin of the residents of the capital city. This is very much influenced by the fact that many military units of the era were recruited from convicts, the unemployed, and orphanages, and such individuals often exhibited poor behaviour at least in the view of those who wrote about them. The curious issue, as raised by historians of the next century, is that the Royal Guards were not associated with any major mutiny or civic disturbance but still attracted the description of an army of delinquents. When armies garrisoned the capital city, crimes like stealing were nearly inevitable, but the Royal Guards were not particularly given to these issues, not even in comparison with the Capital Defence Force.
Rank structure
The Royal Guards possessed idiosyncratic rank structures throughout their history, because of their proximity to the royal palace. While this was substantially harmonized with the remainder of the Army during the Pan-Septentrion War, their rank titles continues to be particular in name.
Enlisted
| OR-1 | OR-2 | OR-3 | OR-4 | OR-5 | OR-6 | OR-7 | OR-8 | OR-9 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank name | Private | Private 2nd Class |
Private 1st Class |
Corporal | Sergeant | Staff Sergenat |
Sergeant 1st Class |
1st Sergeant |
Sergeant- major |
| Shinasthana | 衛卒 | 衛卒 | 長衛卒 | 衛士 | 衛士長 | 衛僕 | 衛正 | 衛小史 | 衛士廷史 |
| gwrer- tsut |
gwrer- qwang- dzreq |
trang- qwang- dzreq |
gwrer- dzreq- drang |
sle- drek |
dzip- dzreq |
gwrer- dzre′- tingh |
ling- smuq- sreq |
ling- sreq | |
| Grade | — | — | — | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 | 80 |
Officers
| OF-1 | OF-2 | OF-3 | OF-4 | OF-5 | OF-7 | OF-8 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank name | 2nd lieutenant |
Lieutenant | Captain | Major | Lieutenant- colonel |
Colonel | Major-general | Lieutenant-general |
| Shinasthana | 官吏 | 計吏 | 衛官將 | 衛侯 | 衛𤔲馬 | 衛令 | 嬖衛將𠣞 | 衛將𠣞 |
| kwar-reqs | kips-reqs | tsangh | gwa | sle-mraq | ′uts | piks- tsang- qwir |
tsang- kwir | |
| Salary | 250 | 300 | 400 | 500 | 600 | 700 – 1,000 | 2,000 | |
Organization
Because the Royal Guards were, effectively, a type of militia service, their organization was not greatly different from ordinary militias. However, since each palace received its own regiment, there were necessary modifications to adapt to the each palace's geography and to discharge functions that ordinary militia units did not have. Generally, at the head of each palace, there was a Marshal of the Guards (衛尉, gwrjaih-'judh), and the name of the palace would be prefixed to the title, e.g. the Marshal of the Hên′-lang Guards (顯陽衛尉, hên′-lang-gwrjaih-'judh). The Marshal would be in control of all regiments assigned to the palace's protection, no matter how many, though this figure has generally never exceeded four. Under the Marshal there were two species of officers—operational and pastoral—that administered the men. The Marshal also had his own Chief of Staff (衛尉長史), who customarily exercises his powers, since most marshals did not have military background.
In the pastoral category, there was the much-honoured position of Colonel of Royal Chariots (公車司馬), who was responsible for the initial reception and registration of documents and goods submitted to the palace; as this made him a vital juncture in the lines of communication, he was invariably an officer with much administrative experience. Upon reception of a document or petition, he issues a receipt for the submitter's records. Corresponding to each gate on the palace's outermost walls, there was stationed a Gate Captain (門司馬), who was responsible for positioning the guards and supervising their duties. At the Hên′-lang Palace, there were five gates; other palaces had as many as ten or as few as one. In the pastoral category, each regiment of guardsmen were assigned to the control of one Director of Guards (衛士令).
General of Royal Guards
The position of General of Royal Guards (衛將軍, gwrjaih-tsjang-kwjen)...
Current units
The Royal Guards currently consist of two line regiments and nine independent companies. The line regiments are both infantry units.
- Sk′ên′-ljang Regiment
- Middle Regiment
The nine independent companies are garrisoned separately close to the locations they are attached. The Middle Guards and the two South Guards companies evolved from separate regiments in the military cuts of the Lord of Gar-lang during 1801 – 2. The Dreng Hall, Kaw-men Hall, and Angiosperm Woods comapnies originate from the Left Gaurd Regiment, and the Protonotaries, Privy Purse, and Annexe companies, from the Right Guard Regiment.
- Middle Guards (also called Empress' Guards, in the Middle Palace)
- South Guards I (Gweng-l′junh Palace)
- South Guards II (Gwreng-ngjarh Palace)
- Dreng Hall (Dreng Hall, the seat of the Appellate Committee and Judicial Council of the House of Lords, Sk'ên'-ljang Palace)
- Kaw-men Hall (Kaw-men Hall, the seat of the House of Lords, Sk'ên'-ljang Palace)
- Angiosperm Woods (Angiosperm Woods, a large park in the Sk'ên'-ljang Palace)
- Protonotaries (Court of Protonotaries, the seat of the House of Commons, Sk'ên'-ljang Palace)
- Privy Purse (Department of the Privy Purse, the place where important royal possessions are stored, Sk'ên'-ljang Palace)
- Annexe (A Casaterran-style complex within the Sk'ên'-ljang Palace)
Former units
This list covers the fate of units active in 1800.
- Sk′ên′-ljang Left Guards (split into companies in 1954)
- Sk′ên′-ljang Right Guards (split into companies in 1954)
- East Foot Guards (merged with South Guards 1916)
- East Horse Guards (disbanded 1881)
- Middle Left Guards (now part of the 14th Division)
- Middle Right Guards (disbanded 1802)
- Gweng-l′junh Guards (merged with Gweng-hljuns Left Guards in 1872)
- Gwreng-ngjarh Guards (renamed South Guards in 1810)
- Dzrjung-mrjang Guards (disbanded 1802)
Analysis
The Royal Guards have been viewed by historians as an institution that has very little character or history. Their placement as defensive troops in palaces have very effectively shielded them from conflicts, which generally occurred abroad or in border regions. During crises, however, exceptions have occurred. When mounted Mavericans incurred in the 6th century, regional militias could not be summoned in time to marshal at the capital city, and thus the Royal Guards were ordered to defend the city. In the Siege of Kien-k'ang in 1385, the Royal Guards also took to battlements, against Menghean forces laying siege to the city. Despite these facts, the Royal Guards were absent from pivotal conflicts such as the Battle of Sgrjem-tju (1198), which heralded the recession of Themiclesian power in Columbia, and the Maverican Wars (1765–67; 91–96). This absence "supports its characterization as a purely defensive institution", in the words of Arthur Ashley Ascott.
Historians have tended to take the institutional approach studying its relationship with the government, other forces, and external actors. Continuing the Meng dynasty's tradition, each Themiclesian palace possessed one or more regiments (校, krawh) of guards. During the earlier dynasties, when palaces were few, this was tenable; however, their number swelled to over 20 in the 7th century, which created an unprecedented pressure on local militias to remit troops for guard duty, amounting to about 20,000. This was not a problem for the Meng government, as it imposed compulsory service, but in the following Dzi dynasty, when militia service was voluntary, the govenrment resorted to moving regiments periodically between palaces. Eventually, several palaces were abandoned to fund military activity in Columbia, and the discharge of the guards at those palaces appeared to be an economy. This seemed sensible to contemporaries as each palace was defended regardless in use or not, though by custom the emperor, empress, crown prince, and empress dowager(s) each occupied one palace. After the Dzi dynasty ended, the Meng-era practice of having guards at every palace resumed.
Notes