Just as Huan Xingtao was about to leave, he immediately heard Hu Hao call him back. Unsure of what else was needed, Huan Xingtao looked at Hu Hao.
“Hao-ge, what’s up? Just give the order!” Huan Xingtao said, looking at him.
“No, wait a second. I just thought of something. Repeat what you just said to me!” Hu Hao instructed.
“Ah?” Huan Xingtao looked at Hu Hao, utterly confused. He hadn’t really said anything significant.
“Repeat it, quickly!” Hu Hao urged.
“Oh, I just said… did we win the artillery battle last night?” Huan Xingtao offered.
Hearing this, Hu Hao thought for a moment, then shook his head. “No, not that sentence. What about before that?”
“Before that? Before that, I just told you the air conditioners arrived, and you told me to distribute them to the soldiers so they could install them themselves!” Huan Xingtao quickly replied.
“Right, air conditioners! Air conditioners! Hehe! I’ve got it!” Hu Hao slapped his thigh in realization, shouting happily.
“Old Xiao! Old Xiao, get over here! And get the artillery staff officer!” Hu Hao yelled excitedly.
“Ah?” Hearing the commotion, Old Xiao walked over. The main artillery staff officer had already gone to rest!
“The artillery staff officer went to rest. Whatever you need, I’m on the day shift. I’m from the artillery staff office!” A staff officer came running over. Hu Hao recognized him; he was a recent graduate from the military academy. Xiao Quan had also arrived.
“Hehe, I’ve got an idea. We’re going to make them roll!” Hu Hao smiled, pointing at the Allied forces outside.
“Make them roll? How are you going to make them roll?” Xiao Quan asked with a laugh.
“Huan Xingtao just reminded me. Motherfucker, it’s hot right now, isn’t it? I refuse to believe it. They might be hiding in the trenches to escape the sun, but tell me, isn’t it still miserable in there?” Hu Hao asked, looking at Xiao Quan with a grin.
“What? Can you control the sun now?” Xiao Quan joked.
“As if. I wish I had that kind of ability. Tell me, they’re hiding over there—it’s hot, right?” Hu Hao pressed.
“Of course it is! Let alone hiding in a trench, even hiding in the shade of a tree is hot. The temperature is too high; even the wind is hot!” Huan Xingtao chimed in from the side.
“Did you hear that?” Hu Hao smiled.
“What’s your idea? Let’s hear it!” Xiao Quan asked, looking at Hu Hao.
“Incendiary bombs!” Hu Hao declared, looking right at Xiao Quan.
“Incendiary bombs? They won’t burn to death right now; they’ve all dug trenches. Besides, the incendiary bombs our infantry use don’t pack enough punch. When they detonate, the blast radius isn’t very large—it’s about the same as regular artillery shells. And who can guarantee that every incendiary bomb will land precisely inside a trench?” Xiao Quan argued.
“Oh, you don’t get it. It’s hot. It’s already a sweltering day. Think about it. If I drop incendiary bombs, where else can they hide? I’ll roast them alive! If they don’t run, I’ll bake them to death! We’ll use the infantry guns to launch incendiary bombs!” Hu Hao explained to Xiao Quan with a wicked grin.
“Holy shit!” Xiao Quan’s eyes widened as he stared at Hu Hao.
“Will it not work?” Hu Hao asked, seeing his reaction.
“How could it not work? But Hao-ge, you really love screwing people over, don’t you? The Allied commander is going to die of anger. Who fights a war like this?” Xiao Quan said, looking at Hu Hao.
“Hehe. Tell me, how should our heavy machine guns prepare? Once we drop the incendiary bombs, they’ll definitely run. That’s when our heavy machine guns come into play. We just open fire and sweep them. We’ll definitely mow down a lot of them. The Allied forces already have three or four divisions up front; using heavy machine guns to strafe their retreating troops will definitely be highly effective!” Hu Hao said with a laugh.
“Alright, alright, it really will. I concede. Serving as your Deputy Division Commander, I’ve truly learned a lot. You manage to come up with all sorts of underhanded tactics. But the results will definitely be excellent!” Xiao Quan conceded to Hu Hao.
“Then let’s do it. Don’t attack yet; it’s too early, and the weather isn’t hot enough. We’ll wait until after 11 o’clock. By then, the Allied troops hiding in the trenches will already be miserable. Firing incendiary bombs at that point will give them a real taste of hell.
Notify our troops and have them prepare the heavy machine guns. I’m going to fuck them up. Motherfuckers, actually daring to loiter right under my nose—isn’t that just bullying?” Hu Hao said, sitting back down and addressing Xiao Quan.
“Hao-ge, they aren’t the ones bullying; you’re the one doing a bit of bullying!” Huan Xingtao laughed.
“Right, right, right. Huan Xingtao is right. Last night, you used a few cannons to trick them out of five artillery regiments. Today, you’re going to torment them again. But… I like it!” Xiao Quan nodded with a smile.
“I like it too!” Huan Xingtao agreed.
“Alright, alright, stop kissing my ass. Go get busy. We’ll do it exactly like this. Requisition the incendiary bombs. Also, notify our frontline infantry artillery. When the time comes, they shouldn’t just bombard the Allied positions in front of us; when they see the Allied troops running toward the woods, they need to bombard the woods too.
Worst case scenario, we burn the whole forest down. I want to see where they can hide. Even if they don’t want to retreat, they’ll have to!” Hu Hao ordered with a smile.
“Alright, we’ll do as you say!” Xiao Quan nodded.
At that moment, a staff officer approached with a telegram and reported to Hu Hao, “Hao-ge, the Allied forces in other sectors have begun attacking our defensive lines!”
“The fighting has started?” Hu Hao immediately stood up, took the telegram, and read it carefully.
“It really has started!” After finishing the telegram, Hu Hao handed it to Xiao Quan, who also read it closely.
It was a warning telegram from Command, stating that the Allied forces had begun probing attacks against the defensive lines of the Southwest Combat Zone. The defensive lines of three corps were already under attack. Command was reminding the entire army to be ready for battle at a moment’s notice.
“Motherfucker, fighting in this weather is going to kill people!” Hu Hao muttered, pacing the command center with his hands behind his back.
“Good thing we have air conditioning! Honestly, without these air conditioners, our soldiers wouldn’t be able to get any rest at all!” Xiao Quan said from behind Hu Hao.
Hu Hao nodded but remained lost in thought.
“Hey, Old Xiao, do you think our other units can hold the line?” Hu Hao stopped and turned to ask Xiao Quan.
“You’re asking me? How should I know? I didn’t go to the Command meeting, nor did I attend our Corps command meeting!” Xiao Quan replied with a wry smile.
Hu Hao chuckled as well, but his mind was racing. Logically, their side held the geographical advantage, having established defensive lines along the river. Furthermore, they had built fortifications, and the artillery was prepared.
They also had some veteran troops, and those regimental commanders knew how to fight. If a division commander was useless, he would definitely be sidelined by his regimental commanders, who would then direct the combat themselves.
That was exactly what Hu Hao was worried about. If the regimental commanders took charge and could coordinate well, it would be fine. But if they couldn’t coordinate, gaps would appear.
In military command, there can only be one voice. Whether right or wrong, as long as the subordinate units execute the orders, it will yield some result.
But if there are multiple voices, problems arise. The subordinate units won’t know what to do, and the enemy will seize the opportunity to tear the defensive line wide open.
“Sigh!” Hu Hao stood there and let out a sigh.
“Why are you sighing? We definitely won’t have any problems here. Stop worrying so much!” Xiao Quan said upon seeing Hu Hao sigh.
“It’s nothing, I just thought of some things,” Hu Hao replied.
He didn’t know when the Empire would finally open the channels to promote capable regimental commanders. If those capable officers could step up, he wouldn’t guarantee they could launch a counter-offensive, but holding the defensive lines was certainly possible.
The Empire’s weaponry and equipment were highly advanced, and they had a complete industrial system. As long as competent officers and soldiers were promoted, they could absolutely fight a war of attrition against the Allied forces. The Allied forces couldn’t afford a protracted war!
However, Hu Hao had no idea what the higher-ups were thinking. Why hadn’t the Emperor opened the promotion channels yet? Hu Hao knew that if the Emperor insisted on doing so, the High Command would definitely agree.
Even though the Emperor didn’t handle day-to-day affairs, the royal family surely had its own methods and its own people within the High Command after all these years. Yet, the Emperor simply refused to act, leaving Hu Hao completely helpless.
Moreover, Hu Hao had no idea what kind of person the Emperor truly was. Judging from Jiang Kai’s situation, the Emperor was likely quite formidable. Hu Hao suspected the Emperor was currently playing a game of “borrowing a knife to kill”—using Jiang Kai’s knife to eliminate the disobedient elements within the High Command, and using the Allied forces’ knife to eradicate the scions of the military aristocratic families.
Thinking of this, Hu Hao felt a deep chill. By acting this way, the Emperor showed absolutely no regard for the citizens of his own country. His only concern was power.
Hu Hao sat in his chair in the command center, his mind constantly turning over these thoughts. Time slipped by unnoticed.
Soon, it was past 10 AM. Hu Hao’s infantry artillery had been hauled into position, the incendiary bombs were prepped, and the heavy machine guns were ready to fire at a moment’s notice. They were just waiting for the weather to heat up. The moment it got hot enough, they would open fire.
“Hao-ge really came up with something wild. Firing incendiary bombs on a scorching hot day isn’t to burn them to death, but to smoke them out!” a Battalion Commander remarked with a laugh, looking toward the opposite bank.
“Hehe, this is how you fight a war. I heard that last night, our artillery wiped out a massive amount of the Allied forces’ artillery, while we only lost a few cannons and suffered fewer than fifty casualties!” a nearby Company Commander chimed in.
“That’s standard. Following Hao-ge means we won’t get screwed over, and our chances of surviving are much higher!” The Battalion Commander laughed, feeling grateful. Fortunately, he was an officer in the 87th Division. If he were in any other division, who knows how long sheer luck would keep him alive. Maybe one day his luck would run out, and he’d be dead.
(End of Chapter)