After Hu Hao hung up the phone, Xiao Quan originally wanted to ask him about the conversation, but restrained himself since Li Jinghe was present. However, Xiao Quan knew the Commander must have authorized Hu Hao to expand his forces further, considering Hu Hao had just stated that the more troops, the better.
“Hao-ge, almost all of our troops have crossed the river! Our forces are currently pressing toward Santong County!” a senior staff officer reported.
“Mm. Launch the drones! We can’t see anything from here right now! Without knowing the specific situation at the front, we can’t make effective judgments,” Hu Hao instructed the engineering staff officer.
“Yes, sir!” The engineering staff officer immediately contacted the subordinate engineering units to launch the reconnaissance drones.
Hu Hao remained seated, looking out at the opposite bank with a smile on his face.
“Hao-ge, your merit is massive this time! Your division swallowed three entire corps!” Li Jinghe said, looking at Hu Hao with a smile.
“Your brother’s merit isn’t small either. He’s currently leading his troops on the opposite bank to cut off the Allied forces’ retreat. Whether we can completely annihilate this enemy force depends entirely on his side!” Hu Hao replied with a smile.
“Um, Hao-ge, doesn’t your division have a vacancy for Deputy Chief of Staff? Do you think I would be a good fit?” Li Jinghe asked.
“What?” Hearing this, Hu Hao was somewhat surprised.
“Hao-ge, my brother has achieved immense merit serving under you. When the time is right, he will definitely be promoted to Lieutenant General. And right now, my uncle is still in his position.
“That means my brother will likely become the Commander of another corps. As for my uncle’s position… hehe, I have a few ideas!” Li Jinghe confessed his true thoughts to Hu Hao.
Anyone with eyes could see that once Li Jingsong was promoted, he wouldn’t remain as the Commander of the 27th Corps; he would definitely be assigned to command a different corps. Thus, Li Tianyuan’s position would undoubtedly be filled by another descendant of the Li family.
The Li family had several Major Generals, all of whom coveted that position. The younger generation of the Li family all knew that following Hu Hao guaranteed both military merit and the opportunity to learn real combat skills. Therefore, when Li Jinghe learned he would be leading the reinforcements, he was ecstatic and hoped to build a good relationship with Hu Hao.
“I can’t make the final call on that! You’d have to ask your uncle and our Commander!” Hu Hao replied with a smile, understanding his intentions.
“I know, but I need your approval first, Hao-ge! If you agree, my uncle definitely won’t object. And the Commander will certainly grant you this face!” Li Jinghe persisted with a smile.
“Mm, we’ll talk about it later. There’s no point discussing it right now. Your uncle’s sector is also short on generals. If you transfer away, what happens to those troops? Besides, your brother is still with me for now!” Hu Hao pondered for a moment before giving a non-committal answer.
He needed to ask Li Jingsong for his opinion on this matter. Hu Hao wasn’t very familiar with Li Jinghe yet and didn’t know what kind of person he truly was!
“Alright! My uncle won’t have any issues with it. I’ll be counting on your help when the time comes!” Li Jinghe wasn’t discouraged by Hu Hao’s response and continued to smile.
“Hao-ge, the drone feed is up!” the engineering staff officer announced. Hearing this, Hu Hao turned his attention to the screens.
Currently, Hu Hao’s forces were driving the Allied troops into Santong County. The Allied forces were fighting a fighting retreat. Even now, they still couldn’t comprehend what was happening. They had been on the verge of breaching the Eastern Spirit defensive line, so why were they suddenly being counterattacked? Furthermore, during this counter-offensive, their own artillery hadn’t fired a single shot, which infuriated them to no end.
“Save me! Save me!” A shot soldier lay on the ground, calling out to the retreating Allied soldiers running past him.
Several Allied soldiers ran by, acting as if they hadn’t heard him. They had to run as fast as they could right now. As long as there were people behind them, they were safe.
The Allied soldiers were currently exhausted and starving. They had been engaged in high-intensity combat for nearly five hours since the offensive began. Now, being relentlessly pursued by the Eastern Spirit forces, their only option was to run. Another massive headache was that due to the sudden bombardment earlier…
…many of their soldiers were practically out of ammunition. The ammo they had brought with them had been mostly depleted, leaving them unable to mount any effective counterattack.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!” Meanwhile, the artillery bombardment continued to chase the fleeing Allied forces, the blast zones constantly extending forward.
Trailing behind the bombardment zones were Hu Hao’s armored units, consisting of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. The heavy machine guns mounted on the armored vehicles mercilessly swept over the Allied soldiers lying on the ground—shooting them regardless of whether they were dead or alive.
“Feels good! Motherfucker, we finally made it through!” Sitting in his command vehicle, Wu Kexiao lit a cigarette, took a drag, and exhaled as he watched the situation outside.
“Regimental Commander, if we completely annihilate the Allied forces this time, our 87th Division’s merit will be astronomical! Hao-ge should be getting a promotion, right?” a staff officer asked Wu Kexiao.
“Sigh, don’t count on it. Keep dreaming. Do you honestly expect the Empire to actually open the promotion channels? Motherfucker!” Wu Kexiao retorted immediately.
“Still not happening? Didn’t we hear they were going to open the promotion channels at any moment?” another staff officer asked.
“Yeah, ‘at any moment’. But who knows if that ‘moment’ is today, this year, or next year?! Who knows! We shouldn’t worry about that. As long as we can kill these Allied bastards, that’s enough. Regardless, don’t hold your hope for any promotions!” Wu Kexiao told the staff officers, who sighed and nodded in agreement.
“Call from Hao-ge!” A communications officer handed the phone to Wu Kexiao.
“Hao-ge!” Wu Kexiao answered.
“Advance your troops approximately another 3 li, then order the soldiers to dismount. The Allied forces ahead are extremely densely packed, so be careful; they might try to form defensive positions. Suppress them with heavy machine guns. Our artillery will also provide heavy bombardment. Stay alert!” Hu Hao instructed over the phone.
“Understood, Hao-ge! I’ve got it!” Wu Kexiao nodded immediately.
“Stay safe. Don’t take your command vehicle too far forward; stay behind the tanks!” Hu Hao advised, his eyes still on the large screens.
“Yes, I’ll remember that! I’m right behind our tanks!” Wu Kexiao smiled.
“Alright, that’s it!” Hu Hao hung up.
“Attention all units! Advance approximately 3 li to Area 401, then halt! Soldiers will dismount and advance on foot under the cover of tanks and armored vehicles!” Wu Kexiao ordered into the command vehicle’s radio.
“Understood!” The battalion commanders and acting battalion commanders immediately acknowledged the order.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!” The explosions ahead continued. The Eastern Spirit soldiers were fighting with increasing ferocity. The Allied soldiers were completely surrounded…
…and routed. Furthermore, Hu Hao’s veterans provided excellent examples for the 89th Division’s troops. The veterans constantly shouted instructions, teaching the newly arrived soldiers exactly what to do on the battlefield.
“Prepare to dismount! Check your equipment!” Dong Qipeng shouted loudly. He was now an Acting Battalion Commander. His Battalion Commander had been sent to the hospital, making him—a First Lieutenant—the only officer left in the entire battalion with actual command experience.
“Prepare to dismount! Uh, Platoon Leader Wang, you tell the brothers what to do! I’ve never encountered a situation like this before!” Dong Qipeng yelled.
He had never experienced an offensive battle before, but he wasn’t afraid of being mocked. He knew that pretending to know what to do when he didn’t would only get his brothers killed.
“Everyone, follow our armored vehicles closely! Keep your heads down! Keep your eyes on the entire forward sector! Prioritize taking out Allied soldiers with rocket launchers and heavy machine guns! We must ensure our armored vehicles aren’t destroyed!
“Also, do not spare a single Allied soldier you see—including the corpses! Unless you clearly see their head has already been blown off, shoot them in the head!” Platoon Leader Wang roared.
“Did you hear that?! You must aim for the head! If you see an Allied corpse, shoot its head off first!” Dong Qipeng echoed the order immediately.
“Understood!” Many squad leaders and acting squad leaders shouted in acknowledgment.
“Dismount!” Seeing his troops enter Area 401, Dong Qipeng immediately gave the order. The soldiers threw open the rear doors of their armored vehicles, rapidly dismounted with their rifles raised, and began advancing alongside the vehicles.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
“Rat-a-tat-tat!” There were many wounded Allied soldiers and stragglers ahead of them. The moment the Eastern Spirit soldiers spotted them, they opened fire without hesitation.
“Corps Commander! We must figure something out right now! The Eastern Spirit infantry has caught up, and their artillery barrage is extending toward us! We need to decide where to break out immediately!” Hakes’ Chief of Staff yelled at him, deeply anxious.
Ren Kefu and Abusai also glared at him furiously. Currently, their forces were also under Hakes’ command. If he didn’t issue the order to break out, the other units couldn’t move.
“No breakout! We hold our ground right here! We have reinforcements arriving from the rear. As long as we can hold out for one day, our reinforcements will arrive! Right now, our fighters are engaged in a decisive battle with the Eastern Spirit Air Force in the southeast!
“Once we secure air superiority, our bomber fleets will come and bomb them! For now, we do not retreat! Order all soldiers to enter the city! We will fight the Eastern Spirit forces in brutal street combat right here! I refuse to believe they can completely annihilate us in a single day! Hmph!” Hakes declared with absolute resolve.
(End of Chapter)