The King of the South frowned, but his eyes shone even brighter: "The military merits confer rank system..."
The monkey adviser noticed this and raised his tone: "Your Majesty, if the reform truly happens, then military power will be maximally controlled by His Majesty."
Although all present were their own apes/monkeys, this monkey adviser dared not speak too directly.
The transformation from the military merits awarding nobility system to the military merits conferring rank system will inevitably accompany the weakening of noble privileges. Otherwise, who would want to acquire a military rank?
Still better to neither change nor not change.
And when the authority of the nobility is weakened, it means their control over the Imperial army will greatly diminish. Although the Empire no longer has what you might call private noble soldiers, how can the soldiers recruited from noble territories ignore the nobles who might threaten their families/clans?