While the Allied forces were discussing their next offensive, Hu Hao ordered his troops to make preparations. The pressure on Hu Hao’s side was currently immense.
Although they still had over 20,000 men left, they were facing three entire Allied corps. Even though Hu Hao’s forces had crippled two of those corps, the enemy still numbered nearly 100,000 men at minimum.
Hu Hao stood in front of the map, staring at it intently as he thought. The staff officers nearby didn’t dare to disturb him.
“Motherfucker!” Hu Hao cursed out loud. Hearing this, the staff officers had no idea what had provoked his outburst.
“Hao-ge, what’s wrong?” Xiao Quan walked over and asked.
“Our strategic maneuvering space is too small! We absolutely must fight our way to the opposite bank. We absolutely have to! Otherwise, the cities behind us will fall within the Allied forces’ attack range. Many of our cities on this side have already been bombed. If the industrial cities are bombed too, our Empire will suffer catastrophic losses. Therefore, we need to push forward now.
“But I’m unwilling to just sit here! We’re helping them defend this industrial city, yet we get absolutely no benefit from it. Just thinking about it pisses me off!” Hu Hao said, standing there.
“Then what do you mean?” Xiao Quan asked, looking at Hu Hao.
“Steal! I absolutely must get my hands on these industrial enterprises! I absolutely must! Especially the arsenals; I must take control of them!” Hu Hao turned to Xiao Quan and declared with absolute resolve.
“That won’t be easy. You know as well as I do that the arsenals belong to the Empire. Chemical plants and power plants might be privately owned, but arsenals are all state-owned. How are we supposed to steal them?” Xiao Quan reminded him.
Hearing this, Hu Hao nodded. He naturally knew they belonged to the state, but he still wanted to bring them under his own control.
“Furthermore, Hao-ge, if we push to the opposite bank, as long as you remain under Jiang Kai’s command, you’ll still only have this many troops. How could you possibly control the area? So…
“…Hao-ge, either you drop this idea, or you lead us to fight our way across on our own. To be honest, we’ve already given up on the Empire. We’ve given up on it in our hearts!” Xiao Quan told Hu Hao.
“It’s not time yet. Right now, we still need to develop. With the few troops we have, how can we strike out on our own?
“Leave aside the Allied forces—even the Empire’s troops behind us would wipe us out! We can’t rush this. Unless we have absolutely no other choice, we shouldn’t take that step so quickly!” Hu Hao replied. Xiao Quan nodded; he naturally understood that the time wasn’t right yet.
“But how do you plan to develop right now? Under Jiang Kai, the size of our forces is strictly limited!” Xiao Quan pointed out.
“Ha, didn’t I just get away with expanding our forces this time? I’ll just expand again next time! If something happens, we leave on our own. If nothing happens, we continue expanding!” Hu Hao chuckled. Hearing this, Xiao Quan immediately broke into a delighted smile. He hadn’t expected Hu Hao to think this way.
“Hao-ge, are you serious? You aren’t just bluffing me, right?” Xiao Quan asked.
“Nonsense, didn’t this incident serve as enough of a wake-up call for us?” Hu Hao rolled his eyes at him.
“Deal! Hao-ge, following you truly saves me a lot of worry!” Xiao Quan smiled and nodded.
“Sigh, we must fight our way out and take control of those enterprises. That is our immediate goal. Only by breaking out and seizing those enterprises will our development no longer be restricted. Once our troops fight their way across the river…
“…tell me, who will know how many troops we have? This side of the river is the Central Combat Zone’s territory. It doesn’t surprise me that Mu Zhifu knew we expanded our forces here. But once we reach the opposite bank, no one besides us will know how many troops we have! Not even the Allied forces will know how many men I have! When the time comes, I’m going to scheme those Allied forces to death!” Hu Hao pointed at the map of the opposite bank.
“Good!” Xiao Quan nodded.
Meanwhile, in a hospital in Late City, Huan Xingtao and his men had just disarmed the guards protecting Mu Qian. They were currently carrying Mu Qian out and loading him into a vehicle.
“I recognize you! Just you wait! When my old man gets here, he’ll kill you!” Mu Qian pointed at Huan Xingtao, shouting threats.
“Hehe, your old man is coming? Fine! Let him come! If he doesn’t come, your daddy is my grandson!” Huan Xingtao laughed back.
“What exactly are you people trying to do?! Ah?! We already gave you the electricity! What is the meaning of this?!” Mu Qian yelled furiously.
“Hehe, ask your old man, and you’ll find out why. Get in the car! Let’s go! Hao-ge is still waiting!” After replying to Mu Qian, Huan Xingtao immediately ordered the soldiers to get in the vehicles. They needed to hurry back to the front lines.
It was already afternoon, and the weather was scorching hot. Sitting inside the armored vehicles, the soldiers were sweltering, but they could only endure it.
When the vehicle arrived at the front lines, several soldiers carried Mu Qian on a stretcher toward the command center. Both of Mu Qian’s legs had been broken by Hu Hao, so he could only be carried!
“Hao-ge, I brought the guy back for you!” Huan Xingtao, shirtless and drenched in sweat, walked into the command center and reported to Hu Hao with a grin.
“Good work. Bring him over, then let the brothers go rest!” Hu Hao smiled.
“You got it! Bring him in!” Huan Xingtao shouted to the men outside. Immediately, Mu Qian was carried in by the soldiers.
“My, aren’t you getting the royal treatment? Even having my soldiers carry you in?” Hu Hao laughed as soon as he saw Mu Qian.
“It’s you! Hu Hao!” The moment Mu Qian saw Hu Hao, he glared at him viciously.
“It’s me. You remember clearly, huh?” Hu Hao crouched down, looking at Mu Qian lying on the floor.
“Hao-ge, I’m going to send the brothers back to rest. It’s too damn hot!” Huan Xingtao requested.
“Mm, alright. Tell the soldiers I said thank you!” Hu Hao turned to Huan Xingtao.
“What’s there to thank us for? Grabbing this kid was a piece of cake!” Huan Xingtao laughed as he walked out to dismiss his men.
“Why did you capture me?!” Mu Qian asked, glaring at Hu Hao.
“You probably didn’t know, but our troops are expanding. I felt that you were a rare talent, so I decided to recruit you into my unit. Look how nice I am. Even though you hate me so much, I still went out of my way to conscript you. I just love talent!” Hu Hao said with a smile, pointing at Mu Qian.
“Bullshit! Even if I wanted to be a soldier, I would never join your—”
“Fuck your grandfather! You still dare to curse?! You dare to call yourself ‘Laozi’ in front of us?!” A staff officer standing nearby kicked Mu Qian hard, causing him to immediately curl up in pain.
“Hehe, watch your mouth. The reason you’re here is exactly because your old man couldn’t watch his mouth!” Hu Hao smiled, looking down at Mu Qian. Mu Qian lay there, enduring the pain for a moment before finally falling silent.
“Alright, I won’t waste words with you. Either you call your old man and let me speak to him, or forget it. Tonight, the Allied forces will attack our position. I will tie you to this stretcher and stand you upright, letting you contribute your strength to our defensive line too!” Hu Hao stood up and walked over to a nearby chair, taking a seat.
Mu Qian continued to glare viciously at Hu Hao. Having grown up pampered, he had never suffered the slightest grievance. Yet, upon encountering Hu Hao, he had first been shot twice, and now he had been kidnapped and dragged here.
“Hao-ge, phone call! It’s the Commander!” At this moment, a staff officer walked over with a phone and handed it to Hu Hao.
“The Commander?” Hu Hao felt a bit surprised but took the phone anyway.
“Hello, Commander!” Hu Hao said immediately upon answering.
“What are you doing now?! Ah?! I just finished cleaning up the mess from your last incident, and now you’re causing trouble again?!” Jiang Kai yelled over the phone. However, Hu Hao could hear laughter beneath his tone.
“Hehe, I’ve been perfectly well-behaved! What trouble did I cause?” Hu Hao asked with a grin.
“Why did you kidnap Mu Zhifu’s son? Mu Zhifu just called me and said you captured his youngest son. What exactly is going on?” Jiang Kai asked.
“How is that possible? Why would I kidnap his son? I don’t even know him well. However, I did just issue an order to recruit some talent for my unit. You know how it is—I have a lot of troops here, but very few true command talents. So I told my soldiers to go find some! They couldn’t have accidentally grabbed Mu Zhifu’s youngest son, could they?” Hu Hao said, looking at Mu Qian lying on the floor. Hearing this, Mu Qian glared at Hu Hao furiously.
“Whatever it is, I’m going to give Mu Zhifu your phone number shortly. If there’s a misunderstanding, just clear it up with him directly! Don’t escalate the conflict, alright?” Jiang Kai instructed.
“Alright! Tell him to call me!” Hu Hao smiled and nodded.
The call quickly ended. Hu Hao looked at Mu Qian and remarked, “Your old man reacts pretty fast. He already knows you were captured?”
“Hmph!” Mu Qian snorted coldly.
“Hmph my ass! If you piss me off, I’ll tie you to the front line and let the Allied forces blast you to pieces with artillery. Motherfucker, don’t reject face when it’s given to you. Later, when I’m speaking with your old man, if you dare to make a single sound, my bullet will come flying right at you.” Hu Hao drew his pistol, racked the slide, and placed it on the table beside him.
Hearing this, Mu Qian broke out in a cold sweat. He knew perfectly well that Hu Hao dared to shoot. His two broken legs were proof of that. He didn’t doubt Hu Hao’s threat for a second.
“Did you hear me?” Hu Hao asked calmly.
Though unwilling, Mu Qian nodded fearfully.
“Eh, that’s more like it. You keep going against me, knowing perfectly well that I have a gun. Isn’t that just plain stupid?” Hu Hao praised Mu Qian with a smile.
(End of Chapter)