Hu Hao arranged for them to watch at the observation post while he returned to the command post. The artillery staff quickly calculated the firing parameters and began calling Artillery Position No. 3 to prepare for the barrage.
A minute later, shells whistled through the air. Many soldiers in the bomb shelters heard them and ran outside, especially the veterans; they could tell where the shells were coming from and knew their own side was opening fire.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The sound of the cannons firing echoed from the distance.
“New recruits, all of you, get out here!” many platoon and squad leaders shouted. It was time for them to witness real combat. Even if they couldn’t see exactly where the enemy was, they would certainly see the fire from the explosions.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Flares of light erupted on the opposite bank, followed by massive explosions.
“Yes!” the veterans shouted, cheering at the sight.
“See that? We fired first! We’re the ones hitting them! Dammit, finally we get to see our side opening fire first!” a veteran platoon leader said excitedly to the soldiers.
The new recruits didn’t understand why their platoon leader was so happy. They didn’t know that these veterans had all retreated with Hu Hao from Tianyu Province, being shelled by enemy artillery the entire way. Now that their side was firing first, it meant they no longer feared the Allied forces!
“It’s better following Hao-ge. He’s not afraid of offensive; if you need a lesson, he’ll give you one. This feels great!” a company commander laughed in the distance.
“Blast them to hell! They dare attack the position Hao-ge is watching? Teach them a lesson!” many veterans shouted with laughter, while the reservists watched in confusion.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The explosions in the distance continued. Although the soldiers couldn’t see if they were actually killing the enemy or how effective the bombardment was, seeing the veterans so happy made them hesitant to spoil the mood.
“I feel like we’ll be fine this time. What’s two corps? As long as Hao-ge is in charge, there’s no problem!” one platoon leader said to another.
“Exactly. We fired first. I bet the Allied commanders are wondering who the hell is actually attacking! Hahaha!” the other platoon leader laughed. They felt a sense of relief because they were now the ones taking the initiative.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The artillery continued its barrage. The staff officers at the command post used drones to observe the results of the shelling and relayed adjusted parameters to the batteries.
On the Allied side, the soldiers and commanders never expected the Eastern Spirit Empire forces on the opposite bank to dare open fire, especially just as they arrived.
“Dammit! Get down! Everyone out of the vehicles and get down!” the Allied junior officers shouted. The shells falling among them killed many. The drones were capturing everything, pinpointing exactly where the Allied units were.
“Report! The enemy on the opposite bank has opened fire!” a staff officer reported to Abusai at the Santong County command post.
“I know! I’m not deaf!” Abusai roared. He could clearly hear the explosions from where he stood.
“Dammit! Order our men to find their drones. They must have deployed drones. Air Cavalry, get out there and find them!” Abusai ordered.
A staff officer immediately picked up the phone to contact the helicopter units. Abusai knew that without drones, the Eastern Spirit Empire wouldn’t know where his troops were. Even with headlights on, the distance was too great; drones had to be involved.
He had previously warned the units to watch for drones in the sky and shoot them down immediately, but the soldiers on the ground had failed to notice them.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The explosions continued as if they would never stop.
“Commander, should we contact our bomber units? We could send them in to take out their artillery. Firing now is a death wish for them!” a senior staff officer asked Abusai.
“It’s useless. It would take over an hour for our bombers to take off and reach us. Plus, once the enemy knows our bombers are in the air, they’ll deploy fighters.
“We’d have to send our own fighters, and it would turn into a massive dogfight.
“Right now, we are both just probing each other’s strength. We don’t need to involve the Air Force yet,” Abusai shook his head.
The Colonel nodded. Abusai didn’t mention that the bombers didn’t dare come anyway, as air superiority had not yet been seized.
“Dammit, they’re still shelling!” After a few minutes, Abusai cursed as the explosions showed no sign of stopping. He had thought the artillery would only fire for a moment and then stop, but they seemed intent on continuing.
“Order our vehicles to turn off all lights! No lights allowed!” Abusai shouted.
Another staff officer went to relay the message, while Abusai walked to the observation post to watch the fire from the explosions in the distance.
“It’s toward our 2nd Division and the direction of the enemy’s main position. The forces on the opposite bank actually dare to use their artillery now? I don’t know whether to call them stupid or incredibly stupid!” Abusai could roughly tell where the shells were coming from.
“They likely know their artillery won’t hold out for long, so they might as well fire first,” the Chief of Staff added from behind.
“Has our artillery arrived yet?” Abusai asked.
“They’re here and are currently setting up their positions,” the Chief of Staff replied.
“Dammit. If they haven’t stopped in a few minutes, have our artillery shell their positions. Wipe them out!
“There’s only an infantry division across from us; that’s about how many howitzers they should have. Take them out!” Abusai ordered.
“But Commander, that would expose our own artillery positions!” the Chief of Staff cautioned.
“What is there to fear? We have so many artillery regiments!
“Since this Li Jingsong dares to fight like this, I’ll be a bit self-indulgent for once.
“We’ll see who has more cannons.
“The audacity to fire at my side first! I’m the one who’s supposed to be attacking, yet he actually dares to open fire first!” Abusai stood there, speaking sternly.
“Understood. I will order the artillery regiment under one division to fire. We’ll save the other regiments for the main offensive,” the Chief of Staff nodded.
“Mhm.” Abusai nodded. He then turned back to the Chief of Staff. “Tell me, is that really the unit that wiped out three divisions of the Limaguo 7th Corps? It doesn’t look like it.”
“Why do you ask?” the Chief of Staff asked, puzzled.
“Think about it. My troops haven’t even deployed yet. If his small number of cannons get wiped out by us, what will he have left to stop us from crossing the river?
“We have an entire corps with over 100 cannons. How many do they have?
“By firing now, he’s exposing his artillery positions. Is he really that stupid? Or is there something we don’t know?
“Furthermore, I find it strange that only a single division is holding this line. The Eastern Spirit Empire is being far too arrogant.
“We’ve prepared two corps. Even if they aren’t at full strength, they still outnumber a single division, right?
“And yet they actually dare to hold. Tell me, is this Li Jingsong being arrogant, or does he actually have something to back it up?” Abusai mused.
“We don’t know for sure yet. But if the data General Ren Kefu gave us is accurate, this Li Jingsong is no fool. If that’s the case, he must have some confidence,” the Chief of Staff considered.
“I feel the same. He must have some confidence,” Abusai nodded, his expression growing more somber as the enemy artillery continued to fire without pause.
“Go! Order our artillery to take them out! They’re still firing—what is the meaning of this? Do they have a death wish?” Abusai shouted. He felt like the Eastern Spirit Empire forces were slapping him in the face.
“Yes, sir!” the Chief of Staff replied and left.
In Hu Hao’s command post, Wang Yao and the others had returned and were watching the drone footage.
“Hao-ge, the Allied helicopters are here. They’re looking for our drones,” an artillery staff officer said.
“Bring our drones back. And have the soldiers move into the bomb shelters. If those Allied helicopters dare cross the river, shoot them down!” Hu Hao ordered.
“Yes, sir!” the Chief of Staff left to order the troops into the shelters, while another staff officer recalled the drones.
Wang Yao and the others watched the footage. When the shells landed, they exploded immediately, and the flares showed Allied soldiers being thrown into the air. They had seen similar shots in Imperial propaganda films, so they didn’t think much of it.
“Hao-ge, the Allied vehicles have all turned off their lights,” a staff officer noted.
“Continue the bombardment. Do they think I won’t know where they’re hiding just because they turned off the lights? You artillery staff, remember this: shell the areas where we know they were, and from now on, if you see a single light, blast it. Tonight is all about shelling! I’m going all out!” Hu Hao said with a grin.
(End of Chapter)