Upon returning, before Li Jingsong even had a chance to exchange pleasantries, he heard Hu Hao ask if he wanted to wipe out a fourth Allied corps. Shocked, Li Jingsong looked at Hu Hao, only to find him nodding with a smile. He then looked at Xiao Quan, who was also nodding with a smile.
“Why even ask?! Let’s do it! If we have the chance to wipe them out, why hesitate?! But where exactly is this fourth corps? You told me earlier that Allied reinforcements were coming, and that we needed to hurry up and finish off the Allied forces in Santong County, but you never told me where those reinforcements were!” Li Jingsong asked, looking at Hu Hao.
“In Jingge City!” Hu Hao replied.
“Jingge City? That far? That’s around 300 kilometers away!” Li Jingsong exclaimed immediately.
“Not bad. You knew that right away?” Hu Hao asked with a laugh.
“Of course! I had nothing to do these past few days, so I just stared at our map every day, memorizing the nearby provinces, major cities, and the main rivers in each region. I remember you doing the exact same thing, Hao-ge!” Li Jingsong boasted to Hu Hao and Xiao Quan.
“Not bad, you’ve improved! Come, let’s head into the meeting room. We need to discuss how we’re going to fight this next battle!” Hu Hao told Li Jingsong.
Li Jingsong nodded immediately and followed Hu Hao and Xiao Quan into the meeting room. Once inside, Xiao Quan detailed Hu Hao’s plan to ambush the Kabuguo 32nd Corps to Li Jingsong.
After listening, Li Jingsong didn’t express an opinion; he simply looked at Hu Hao.
“Do you have any thoughts on this? Feel free to share!” Hu Hao prompted.
“What thoughts could I possibly have?! I don’t know the first thing about this! If you say it’ll work, then it’ll definitely work! What’s there to discuss? Let’s fight!” Li Jingsong said excitedly.
“Ah?” Hu Hao was somewhat surprised by Li Jingsong’s reaction.
“What ‘ah’? You’re asking for my opinion, but what opinion could I have? I’m here to learn! Oh, right, Xiao Quan, have you prepared those materials on Hao-ge’s command decisions? Let me see them! I’m here to learn!” Li Jingsong turned to Xiao Quan and demanded.
“I’m still preparing them! You’re not the only one who needs them; the regimental commanders below need them too!” Xiao Quan quickly replied.
“Mm, hurry up and get them done! Hao-ge commanded this battle beautifully! We had everything planned out from the very beginning. Tonight’s counter-offensive felt amazing! When I led the 1st Regiment, the tank units, and the air cavalry charging into the Allied artillery positions, those Allied artillerymen had no idea what was hitting them!
“Tell me, haha, fighting a war like this is what feels truly amazing! Furthermore, Hao-ge calculated everything before the battle even began! That is true command! Try letting anyone else command this—they definitely wouldn’t have the skill for it!” Li Jingsong said to Xiao Quan from his seat.
“Alright, alright, stop showering me with praise. Right now, we need to discuss our unit’s development,” Hu Hao immediately cut him off. Otherwise, who knew how long Li Jingsong would keep bragging?
“Unit development? Can’t we just continue conscripting troops? Oh, wait, we can’t do it so blatantly anymore. That Mu Zhifu is definitely keeping his eyes glued to you right now. If you make a mistake like that again, I reckon it’ll be massive trouble!” Li Jingsong said, looking at Hu Hao.
“The Commander has authorized us to expand our forces to 60,000 men this time!” Hu Hao revealed.
“What?! Expand to 60,000?! Then haven’t we essentially become a corps?!” Li Jingsong’s voice rose sharply, staring at Hu Hao in sheer disbelief.
“Mm, we will have the troop strength of a corps, but we’ll remain a division in designation. A corps designation is probably out of the question,” Hu Hao clarified.
“That works! Who cares about the designation? As long as we have the troops, that’s what matters! Don’t you agree, Old Xiao? I’ve figured it out now: Corps Commanders, Combat Zone Commanders—it’s all empty titles! What we need are elite troops! Elite troops capable of winning battles!” Li Jingsong tapped his fingers on the table as he spoke.
“My, not bad! You actually came to such a realization?” Hu Hao was genuinely surprised. Having not seen Li Jingsong for just a few days, he truly had to look at him in a new light.
“Sigh, Hao-ge, I really thought long and hard about it. The world right now is in chaos! In chaotic times, what do you rely on to survive? Troops! We need troops! I won’t lie to you—my old man is a Corps Commander right now, but if I were the Corps Commander, I would train troops in secret!
“I wouldn’t just sit there guarding a single corps! What does a single corps amount to against the Allied forces? Dogshit! Absolutely nothing! Without a force of at least 500,000 men, you aren’t even worth looking at in the eyes of the Allied forces! And the Allied forces currently here are only the first wave of landings!
“What if more troops land later? Without enough troops, we’re just courting death! Hao-ge, let me tell you, we captured a massive amount of weapons this time. Do not hand these weapons over! Also, let me tell you something else: do you know whose hands the weapons we hand over ultimately end up in?” Li Jingsong asked Hu Hao.
“Didn’t they say they were for the training units?” Hu Hao asked.
“Bullshit! Motherfucker, for the training units?! Our armories are packed with massive amounts of weapons, and our weapons are superior to what the Allied forces use! Right now, the training units are definitely using our own domestically produced weapons; otherwise, how would the arsenals make money? The weapons we hand over will, for the most part, end up back in the hands of the Allied forces!” Li Jingsong revealed.
“What?!” Hearing this, Hu Hao immediately shot to his feet, glaring at Li Jingsong in fury.
“It’s true, Hao-ge. Those weapons will ultimately flow back into the hands of the Allied forces. Don’t be angry, Hao-ge. Right now, not everyone in our Eastern Spirit Empire is so patriotic. On the surface, those weapons are sold to neighboring countries…
“…but the ultimate buyers are all Allied nations! The people selling them know exactly what’s happening, but the prices are astronomically high! We’re only getting a tiny fraction; the vast majority of the profits are pocketed by them!” Li Jingsong said, looking up at Hu Hao.
“Motherfuckers! This is treason! Do you understand?! Treason!” Hu Hao roared in absolute fury.
He never imagined that there were actually people selling weapons to the enemy, allowing the enemy to use those very weapons to arm their troops and continue slaughtering the civilians of the Eastern Spirit Empire! And anyone capable of selling those weapons had to be in a position of immense power and authority. Thinking of this, Hu Hao felt a suffocating tightness in his chest.
“That’s exactly why, Hao-ge! Don’t hand them over! We’ll use them ourselves! Hao-ge, with your abilities, forget 500,000 troops—even commanding 300,000 troops would definitely be no problem for you! Hao-ge, we’ll use these weapons to secretly arm our own troops!” Li Jingsong urged.
“You make it sound so simple! If His Majesty finds out, he’ll have us shot!” Xiao Quan interjected deliberately.
“Scared of what?! Hao-ge, if you have 300,000 troops in your hands, I’d like to see who dares to attack! Hao-ge, wouldn’t you just wipe them out? Hmph, if they send the High Command’s Military Police, we’ll just kill them! Don’t tell me you two are actually afraid of that?!” Li Jingsong looked at Xiao Quan and Hu Hao with disdain.
“Wouldn’t that be rebellion?” Xiao Quan pressed.
“Who said anything about rebellion? We aren’t fighting our own country’s troops; we’re fighting the Allied forces! We’re conscripting our own troops to fight the Allied forces, to protect the civilians of the Eastern Spirit Empire! Do you honestly expect them to seek revenge?
“Right now, the only troops truly capable of fighting are our Southwest Combat Zone forces! The troops from the other Combat Zones are useless! They ran before even encountering the Allied forces! What kind of fighting is that?! Who among them has ever considered the civilians?! Aside from you commoners, who else would actually think of the civilians?!
“To be completely honest, if I hadn’t seen so many of our civilians being slaughtered in Nanlin City, I wouldn’t even know how commoners lived! All I knew was that if I wanted money, I had money! In Tianyu Province, I could ruin anyone I wanted to ruin!
“But after seeing those civilians, I knew I had to atone. I truly have to atone. I don’t know how many aristocratic descendants are like me. I feel that while I might be a bastard, I still have a conscience! Whether they have one or not, I don’t know!
“And I don’t want to know! I don’t rely on them; I rely entirely on you, Hao-ge! Hao-ge, continue conscripting troops privately! If His Majesty wants to take you down, I can’t guarantee my old man will stand with you, but I definitely will! I need to do something. I truly need to do something!
“When I sleep at night, I constantly dream of the scenes in Nanlin City. Every time, I wake up filled with fury, wanting to rebel, wanting to kill! But then I wake up and realize I don’t have a shred of real ability. It fills me with regret! I keep asking myself why I didn’t study military command properly in the past! If I knew how to command troops in battle, I could lead them to slaughter the Allied forces and avenge our civilians!” Li Jingsong spoke with his head bowed. Hu Hao listened silently, his eyes fixed on Li Jingsong.
“Hao-ge, you cannot let the current situation bind your hands! In truth, you don’t need to rely on anyone! You don’t even need the rank of General! You just need us brothers! As long as we can kill the Allied forces, that’s enough! I refuse to believe His Majesty is so blind that he can’t even recognize your immense talent! If he truly doesn’t recognize it, then so what if we rebel?! He isn’t fit to sit on that throne!” Li Jingsong raised his head, staring at Hu Hao with absolute resolve.
“You… how did you change so drastically? You have to understand, the aristocratic families and the Royal Family are supposed to be one entity!” Hu Hao couldn’t fathom why Li Jingsong had changed so much and finally couldn’t help but ask.
“Exactly. We enjoyed all the benefits, but the moment the civilians are in danger, we run away! Can we even be called human?! If His Majesty doesn’t promote you, then it proves he isn’t a qualified Emperor! It proves he isn’t an Emperor who considers the civilians!
“Then why the hell should I listen to him?! What right does he have to demand my obedience?! At the very least, I live a more open and honorable life than he does! I will not have the civilians cursing my name behind my back! As for him? Hmph, the civilians probably wish they could eat him alive!” Li Jingsong sneered.
(End of Chapter)