Hu Hao carefully explained his strategic reasoning to Ye Zifeng, detailing exactly why the Allied forces were practically guaranteed to march on Santong County. Ye Zifeng nodded slowly, absorbing the information, before looking back at Hu Hao with a complicated expression.
“What is it? Spit it out. Why are you staring at me like that?” Hu Hao asked, noticing the look.
“Hao-ge, logically speaking, you aren’t that old. You just graduated from the military academy! How the hell do you know so much about actual warfare?! I’ve been in the military for nearly twenty years, and I didn’t see any of this!
Setting aside your prediction about the Allied advance, let’s just talk about the operations you commanded last night! I am certain I could never have orchestrated those maneuvers! How did you even conceive of that battle plan?” Ye Zifeng asked, his voice filled with genuine awe.
“Exactly, Hao-ge! I wanted to ask the same thing! I’m not an idiot; I know how to analyze a battlefield! But I could never have come up with those tactics!
I’ve been replaying last night’s engagements in my head over and over. I asked myself: ‘If I were in Hao-ge’s position, could I have issued those orders?’ The answer is absolutely not, because the foundational logic behind those maneuvers never would have crossed my mind!
In a single night, we marched from Santong County to Daman City, executed a flawless highway ambush, and then doubled back to Daman City! Just like that, an entire elite Allied Division—a force that previously seemed completely invincible to us—was utterly annihilated!
Hao-ge, seriously, how do you think of these things?!” Bo Gang chimed in eagerly.
“It’s actually very simple,” Hu Hao smiled. “Think about the tactical reality. Since I knew I couldn’t defeat a fully entrenched Division in a frontal assault, my only option was to find a way to draw them out into the open.
They occupied Santong County. If we wanted to attack them there, we would have been forced into a brutal urban siege. Santong was their chosen battlefield. But I refuse to fight on the enemy’s terms! I dictate where the battle happens!
So, the question became: how do I lure them out? That requires brains. Conveniently, Daman City was garrisoned by a much smaller force. If I launch a massive, overwhelming assault on Daman City, do you think they’ll radio for reinforcements?”
“Of course they will,” Ye Zifeng nodded.
“Exactly. And when they call for help, the Allied command in Santong will be forced to split their forces to relieve them! Splitting their forces is exactly what I wanted! Once they are strung out on the highway, I initiate the ambush! I’m using an entire mechanized Regiment to ambush two exposed Regiments. With the sheer volume of heavy weapons we brought, why the hell should I be afraid of them?!
Now, let me ask you a hypothetical question, if the Allied relief column had only consisted of two Regiments, that means one Regiment would have remained garrisoned in Santong County. In that scenario, how do you think I would have structured the attack?” Hu Hao asked, turning the question on them. He fully intended to teach his subordinate commanders how to think strategically; they were currently far too inexperienced.
“I would launch a frontal assault on Santong County, wipe out the garrison, and then pivot to attack the military base!” Ye Zifeng answered immediately.
“No, I would attack the military base first! Secure the munitions, then pivot to relieve the ambush force near Daman City!” Bo Gang offered his tactical solution.
“Sigh. I literally just told you: launching a frontal assault against an entrenched enemy is a losing proposition! Think about their psychological vulnerabilities! What is the most valuable asset in this entire sector to the Allied forces? The military base and its armory!
If I openly deploy a single Tank Battalion directly outside that armory, do you think the Allied garrison in the city would panic?! Let me remind you: it’s a Tank Battalion!” Hu Hao prompted them.
“I don’t think they’d panic. The Allied forces have their own tanks; they wouldn’t be terrified of a single Battalion,” Bo Gang argued.
“Are you an idiot?! Who cares if they have tanks?! I just said the armory is their most valuable asset! What is an armory most vulnerable to?! Explosions!
If I load AP rounds and start punching holes directly through the blast doors of the munitions warehouses, what do you think happens next?! Will they panic then?!” Hu Hao scolded Bo Gang loudly.
“Holy shit… you can do that?!” Ye Zifeng gasped, his eyes widening in realization.
“Will the Allied garrison in the city deploy to relieve the base or not?” Hu Hao pressed.
“They will!” Ye Zifeng nodded vigorously.
“And while they are rushing to relieve the base, I deploy my remaining forces to strike their exposed flank on the highway! Do you think they’ll panic then?! Do you think they’ll be able to maintain combat cohesion?!
I use the exact same strategy: I devour the relief column near Daman City, and then I devour the garrison rushing to defend the base! Do you understand now?!” Hu Hao asked, looking at them intently.
“Understood!” both commanders nodded enthusiastically.
“You have to use your brains! Warfare isn’t just about yelling ‘Charge!’ and running headfirst into machine guns! You must attack what the enemy is forced to defend! If the enemy holds the tactical advantage of terrain, you must draw them out! We choose the battlefield! And the easiest way to draw an enemy out is to threaten a high-value target they cannot afford to lose!” Hu Hao lectured them earnestly.
“Hao-ge, you are terrifyingly brilliant! But tell me… do you really believe the Allied Corps will send exactly two Divisions here?” Ye Zifeng asked, returning to the immediate threat.
“Do you think they’re terrified of me annihilating another one of their Divisions? I’m not boasting, but if they only send a single Division… I wouldn’t even need to detonate the explosives we planted in the city! I could slaughter them in a conventional engagement!
Mark my words: if only one Division arrives, I won’t touch the detonators! I’ll just park a few dozen heavy transport trucks near the perimeter of the military base and make sure their scouts see them! Once they realize we are actively emptying the armory, do you think they’ll just sit back and watch?! They’ll charge out to stop us!
And when they charge, they’ll completely expose their rear! Bo Gang will sweep in from behind with over a hundred main battle tanks, and I will slaughter them!” Hu Hao sneered confidently.
“Hao-ge, I yield! I completely yield! Hao-ge, you must teach us these strategies! I am in complete awe!” Bo Gang begged earnestly.
“Hao-ge, how does your mind even work?! I’m starting to seriously question what the hell I’ve been doing in the military for the last ten years!” Ye Zifeng sighed, shaking his head in respect.
“Both of you, memorize this principle: in war, you must know yourself and know your enemy! You must relentlessly gather intelligence on the enemy’s capabilities and dispositions! Analyze that intelligence, identify their critical weaknesses, and when you strike, you strike those weaknesses with absolute, lethal force!” Hu Hao imparted the core philosophy of his tactic.
“‘Know yourself and know your enemy’…? Why wasn’t this taught in our academy tactics courses?! Sigh… the Imperial military academies are a complete joke!” Bo Gang complained bitterly.
“Exactly! It summarizes the entire philosophy of warfare so perfectly! ‘Know yourself and know your enemy’! Meanwhile, what did our instructors teach us? ‘Understand the opponent’s logistical capabilities.’ Motherfucker!” Ye Zifeng cursed the outdated Imperial curriculum.
“Hao-ge! Hao-ge! The forward observation posts near Daman City just reported movement! An Allied vanguard element has deployed from Daman and is advancing toward us! It appears to be roughly a Regiment in strength!” a radioman sprinted over and reported.
Hu Hao checked his watch. It was roughly 15:20 hours.
“A vanguard Regiment? That means the Allied main body is likely scheduled to deploy at 15:30. Given the sheer size of the column, they won’t reach Santong County until after 17:00 hours. Haha! They are literally marching into their graves!” Hu Hao laughed, leaning back against the tree.
“Why are they marching into their graves?” Ye Zifeng asked eagerly, desperate to absorb every ounce of Hu Hao’s tactical reasoning.
“Think about the timeline! If they arrive here after 17:00, are they going to launch a massive, coordinated offensive operation? Absolutely not! The sun will be setting soon. They will order their smaller vanguard elements to rapidly secure the urban center of Santong County, and then they will dispatch patrols toward the military base to assess the situation!” Hu Hao explained.
“Oh, right! It’ll be getting dark; they won’t risk a major maneuver!” Ye Zifeng nodded in understanding.
“Tell the recon detachments to maintain strict observation! I need to know exactly how many troops are marching in that main body!” Hu Hao ordered the radioman.
“Yes, sir!” The radioman saluted and jogged back to the comms array.
Roughly half an hour later, the forward recon elements transmitted their final assessment. Based on the sheer volume of tanks, APCs, and infantry transport trucks pouring out of Daman City, they confirmed with certainty that the advancing Allied force consisted of two full Divisions!
“They’re coming. Two Divisions. Order the combat engineers to man the detonators! When I give the order, they push those plungers!” Hu Hao growled, his eyes cold.
They settled in to wait for the Allied forces to arrive. Ye Zifeng and Bo Gang were now completely spellbound by Hu Hao. His prediction had been absolutely flawless. They were incredibly eager to see the horrific devastation the subterranean explosives would unleash upon the two Allied Divisions once they settled into the city.
…
At that very moment, hundreds of young Imperial officers were pouring out of a military transport train at a heavily guarded railhead near the 27th Corps Headquarters.
They were quickly guided into the Corps logistics center, where their deployment orders were formally announced. Every single one of these newly commissioned officers was being assigned directly to frontline combat units. After a brief wait, a fleet of vehicles arrived to transport them to their respective Division headquarters.
Wang Yao, Mo Qin, Dong Qipeng, and the rest of Hu Hao’s close friends from the academy were among the group. They already knew they were being assigned to the 87th Division; Liang Wanyu had successfully pulled the necessary strings. Sure enough, their official deployment orders directed them to report to the 87th Division HQ in Bopa City.
The boys piled into several civilian minivans and began the drive toward Bopa City. They didn’t dare travel in easily identifiable military transports; civilian vehicles were much safer. Allied bombers rarely wasted expensive ordnance on scattered civilian traffic, and the Imperial Air Force still maintained relative air superiority in this immediate sector anyway.
“Hey, Haozi is a Major now! Does that mean we have to salute him when we see him?! He’s a Field Grade officer, and we’re just First Lieutenants! Haozi got promoted way too fast!” one of the classmates joked from the back of the van.
“Salute him? Bullshit! If he dares demand a salute, we’ll drag him into an alley and beat his ass!” Wang Yao laughed from the passenger seat.
“Exactly! Salute him?! I burned hundreds of credits worth of spirit money for his funeral! He owes me a refund!” Mo Qin chuckled.
“That’s entirely Wang Yao’s fault for spreading fake intel!” Dong Qipeng pointed out.
“Piss off! I genuinely dreamed he died! I bought spirit money too! I’m going to demand a refund right alongside you!” Wang Yao defended himself loudly.
“But seriously… I’ve watched that video Liang Wanyu sent us a dozen times,” Mo Qin’s tone turned slightly more serious. “Haozi… he really isn’t afraid to die. He was standing completely exposed, manning that heavy machine gun, while his assistant gunners were literally dying right next to him. He didn’t even flinch. I’m not going to lie, guys… I don’t think any of us have that kind of raw courage.”
“Yeah, I noticed that too. And his accuracy with a heavy machine gun is insane! The recoil on those things is massive, but he was firing precise bursts! That guy is a monster!” another classmate agreed.
“Hey, do you think Haozi knows we’re arriving today?” Wang Yao asked the group.
“He’s just a Battalion Commander; how would he know the Division’s deployment roster? We’ll report to the Division HQ first, ask the Division Commander where Haozi’s Battalion is stationed, and then we’ll go find him once we get our specific platoon assignments!” Mo Qin concluded confidently.