assigning nobles look as micromanagement to me, and if sponsors are accountable for army effectiveness, than why bypassing them.
general can make directions how armies to be structured, which can be fully or partly accepted, and he currently has overview of all assignments, and in last step, he can create army himself if he has particular wish for taking some of sponsor duties.
information about army orders, which i am trying to advocate, does not allow general to micromanage, but to make overview. general who would use such information for chasing marshals for any commas in orders would be plainly dull, but some sort of mentoring young marshals would also be available, as currently if they are not army veterans, marshals can hardly get such useful advice.
using army as force of secret rebellion, as someone mentioned, does not look so fit in rp-ing sense. rebelling and rogue plans fit secret societies, even open guilds with limited membership.
