Hu Hao returned to the command center. The artillery staff officer immediately came over to him and said with a smile, “Hao-ge, the Allied forces have no artillery left. Should we continue bombarding? After we finish bombing the Allied artillery, can we bomb other places too?”
“Nonsense, I already said it. The Allied forces won’t be getting any sleep tonight. Just keep bombarding them. Have you memorized those previous locations? If so, start the bombardment immediately.
Also, mark down the areas where the Allied forces deployed earlier. Let me see if I can find a few more targets for you to bomb. With so many Allied troops, they definitely have to hide. Once we find their gathering spots, we bomb them!” Hu Hao said to the artillery staff officer with a smile.
“Got it, I’ll bring it over right away!” The artillery staff officer smiled and ran back.
“Bring up the footage captured by our drones earlier, and bring over the map of the opposite bank!” Hu Hao ordered.
“Yes, sir!” A staff officer immediately nodded and went to get them.
Meanwhile, the engineering staff officer brought up the video footage Hu Hao requested. Hu Hao watched the footage and made marks on the map. Xiao Quan watched from the side. Several senior staff officers, along with some who had fought alongside Hu Hao before, also gathered around.
However, Wang Yao and his group didn’t go over. They stayed in the distance, seemingly busy with their own tasks. Seeing this, Hu Hao sighed inwardly.
Hu Hao marked the map while watching the footage, continuing this for about half an hour.
At this time, Hu Hao’s artillery was bombarding the areas where they had previously spotted large numbers of Allied troops. The drones in the sky were still recording. Through the flash of the explosions, they could see if there was anyone nearby. If there was no one, they would immediately change the parameters, adjust the artillery, and continue the bombardment!
After Hu Hao finished marking the map, he discovered that the Allied forces were spread across an area spanning over 60 li along the riverbank.
“Come, look at this. We just spotted Allied forces here. What is their target? Our 3rd Regiment. Their objective is the 3rd Regiment’s position. The Allied forces there might be a division; if not a division, then at least three regiments. That area is for a feint attack. They need troops to pin down our forces!” Hu Hao pointed to the flank of their own position as he spoke. The staff officers watched intently.
“Tell me, where are the Allied forces most likely hiding right now?” Hu Hao asked, looking at them.
“Ah, isn’t it near Yang Village here? They definitely need to set up a command center here, right?” Xiao Quan pointed at Yang Village on the map and said to Hu Hao.
“That’s right, their command center is definitely set up inside the village!” The other staff officers nodded in agreement.
“If we hadn’t opened fire tonight, they might have placed their command center there. But we did open fire, and our artillery is still bombarding them.
Do you think the Allied forces would be foolish enough to gather their command center and their troops in Yang Village? It’s summer right now, so they can sleep outside. They can rest in the open fields just as well!” Hu Hao stood there and explained.
“That’s true. Then it must be these farmlands. Our Empire is currently in the fallow period. We have to wait for the rainy season to continue farming!” A staff officer pointed to the farmlands along the riverbank.
“Hmm, it’s possible. It’s easy to dig positions here; it’s all dirt. The Allied forces might dig individual foxholes here. This way, if we bombard them, they might still survive!” Hu Hao nodded.
“Hehe!” The staff officer chuckled.
“However, think about it. If, before dawn tomorrow morning, when it’s just getting light, our spotters here can see the Allied forces on the opposite bank… At that moment, if we bombard them with infantry guns before they are ready to attack, they will be scattered. Do you think they dare to hide here?” Hu Hao continued to ask.
“Uh…” Hearing this, the staff officer didn’t know what to say.
“Here, 5 li from the river and 4 li from Yang Village, there is a poplar forest. Right, one of you staff officers, go to the woods behind us and see if there are a lot of mosquitoes. Go immediately!” Hu Hao ordered.
“Alright, I’ll arrange it right away!” A staff officer immediately went out to handle it.
“What does this have to do with mosquitoes?” Many staff officers looked at Hu Hao in confusion.
“If there are many mosquitoes, then the Allied troops definitely won’t enter the woods. They would be bitten to death. They are likely right here, on the clearing outside the woods. That’s where they are resting!” Hu Hao pointed to the open space in front of the woods.
“It’s possible!” Many staff officers nodded.
“Artillery staff officer, remember this. Later, when our soldier comes back and reports that there are many mosquitoes in the woods, bomb this clearing. If not, bomb the woods. It will definitely kill a lot of them!” Hu Hao said.
“Yes, sir!” The artillery staff officer quickly noted it down.
“Let’s look here, right in front of us. There are several villages directly ahead, but they still won’t dare stay inside the villages.
However, after we bomb the wilderness, they might move into the villages. We will have to adjust our bombing locations based on the actual situation. Right now, they are likely here, in the central area between these villages. The troops that arrived… I just checked, and I estimate it’s a main force division. There are also quite a few armored units, and tanks have been spotted!” Hu Hao explained.
“Yes, tanks were spotted!” Many staff officers nodded in agreement.
“Artillery staff officer, bomb here first. Then, if there is still time, bomb these villages!” Hu Hao instructed.
“Yes, sir!” The artillery staff officer took notes again.
Hu Hao continued to lead the staff officers in analysis, working with them to figure out where the Allied troops might be. Hearing Hu Hao’s insights, the staff officers were thoroughly impressed. This was anticipating the enemy’s moves and bombing them preemptively.
It took them more than half an hour to finish the analysis. Hu Hao designated five bombing locations for the artillery. As soon as they finished bombing the previously set targets, they were to immediately bomb these new enemy positions.
Meanwhile, the soldier who went to the forest to test the environment returned and reported that there were far too many mosquitoes in the woods; it was impossible to stay there. The soldier even held out his arm to show them—it was covered in red mosquito bites.
“Mm, then there’s no mistake. Bomb the clearing!” Seeing this, Hu Hao nodded and told the artillery staff officer.
“Yes, sir!” The artillery staff officer nodded with a smile.
“Alright, it’s getting late. The artillery staff group will continue working. The rest of you, get ready to rest. We have to keep fighting tomorrow during the day, and we can’t do that without proper rest. Go get some sleep!” Hu Hao said to the other staff officers.
“Hao-ge, wait a moment. We still need to compile everything you just said. It will definitely be useful!” one of the staff officers said.
“Right, if we organize it, it will definitely be useful in the future!” another staff officer chimed in.
“Oh, what’s there to compile? I’ll just tell you guys next time. I’m going to sleep; I can’t be bothered with you all!” Hu Hao laughed.
He then headed to an adjacent air-raid shelter to rest. The lights were on over there. The resting quarters for Hu Hao, Xiao Quan, and several other senior staff officers were located there. The protection there was the safest; that section of the command center was reinforced several levels higher than the other air-raid shelters, which was why Hu Hao and the others dared to rest there together.
Over in Santong County, Abusai couldn’t rest. The artillery on the opposite bank was still firing. They seemed to have made up their minds. After the Allied forces lost their artillery, there weren’t many cannons firing from the opposite bank—only about ten or so.
However, these howitzers fired extremely fast, capable of launching five or six shells a minute, and they concentrated their fire on a single location. Sometimes, the Eastern Spirit Empire’s artillery would perfectly hit where their soldiers were resting, causing massive casualties to their infantry units.
The armored troops could still hide inside their armored vehicles or tanks to sleep, but it was sweltering hot. If they slept outside, they risked being hit by shrapnel. Most crucially, with the constant booming of explosions and the uncertainty of where the next shell would land, the soldiers couldn’t sleep soundly anyway.
“Damn it, this is bullying!” Abusai stood there, glaring at the bombarded areas on his side, and cursed loudly.
The Chief of Staff stood beside him but didn’t know what to say. After all, they only had one artillery regiment left. They could counterattack, but Abusai was worried about unforeseen accidents. If the Eastern Spirit Empire still had leftover artillery, they would be in serious trouble.
“Corps Commander, we can’t let this bombardment continue. I think we should still call General Ren Kefu and ask him to send his artillery over right now. Let’s just bombard their artillery positions tonight and wipe them out completely. What do you say?” A staff officer standing in the back thought for a long time before speaking up.
“It’s already close to 1 AM. By the time the rear artillery arrives and sets up their positions, it will probably be dawn. What’s the use of them coming now? Those artillerymen haven’t even rested properly!” Abusai stood there and turned his head to tell his Chief of Staff.
“Yes, but are we just going to let them keep bombing us like this? If there’s no other way, let’s use our remaining artillery regiment to wipe them out!” the Chief of Staff urged again.
“No, no. They are bombing us right now, but they still can’t actually see us. If dawn breaks and we don’t have artillery, their artillery will really go wild. We can’t bombard them now. Even if we do, we have to wait until it’s almost dawn!” Abusai explained.
He was worried that once it was daylight, the Eastern Spirit artillery would bomb them even more aggressively if there was no artillery on his side to suppress them.
(End of Chapter)