Li Jingsong stood there, urging Hu Hao to conscript troops privately. Hearing this, Hu Hao found Li Jingsong’s transformation incredibly strange; it was hard to understand how the descendant of an aristocratic family could undergo such a drastic change in mindset.
“To be honest, Li Jingsong, you’ve truly made me look at you in a new light. Really. I never expected you to think this way, let alone think it through so thoroughly!” Hu Hao said with a smile.
“Haha! Let me tell you, if you don’t conscript troops, I’ll stay by your side for about half a year, learn what I can, then go back to my old man, kick him out of his position, and conscript troops myself!
“Just like you and the brothers below said, we can’t rely on others; we can only rely on ourselves! Even now, His Majesty hasn’t opened the promotion channels. I reckon he’s definitely planning to eliminate us aristocratic descendants.
“If he did open the promotion channels, I imagine many aristocratic descendants would immediately apply to be discharged and give up their positions.
“I can actually understand this. After all, we enjoyed the benefits in times of peace. Now that war has broken out, His Majesty refusing to let us step down is only right!
“But look at what time it is, Hao-ge! We’re being invaded! We’ve lost seven or eight provinces, yet he’s still playing these political games?! Where does he place the civilians in all this?! Fine, in times of peace, we aristocratic families exploited the civilians. But in times of war, he’s sending those same civilians to their deaths! Motherfucker, is this something a human being would do?!” Li Jingsong fumed.
“Ha… it’s not seven or eight provinces. Over half of our Eastern Spirit Empire has fallen!” Hu Hao smiled bitterly. Li Jingsong still hadn’t heard the news.
“What?!” Li Jingsong sprang to his feet in shock, staring wide-eyed at Hu Hao.
“It’s true. The Headquarters’ Chief of Staff told me himself. It’s just that they’ve locked down the information, probably terrified the civilians will rebel. Right now, our civilians still place their hopes in the Empire’s military. They don’t know that our Empire’s military collapses at the very first contact with the enemy. Sigh!” Hu Hao explained.
Li Jingsong slowly sat back down, a wooden expression on his face. He closed his eyes and shook his head in agony.
“Bastards… they’re all bastards!” Li Jingsong suddenly roared in pure, unadulterated fury.
“Cursing them won’t change anything. There’s another matter I called you back to discuss today. I originally thought I’d have to spend some effort persuading you, but it turns out you’re on exactly the same page as us!” Hu Hao said, glancing at Xiao Quan.
“What is it? Conscription?” Li Jingsong turned to look at Hu Hao.
Hu Hao nodded.
“Good! Conscripting troops! However, Hao-ge, doing it here probably won’t work. You’ve offended Mu Zhifu, and this is his territory. He has eyes everywhere. Conscripting here is not a wise choice!” Li Jingsong advised.
“I know. That’s why I want to discuss our next steps with you. You will take command of Bo Gang’s tank units and your cousin’s 89th Division troops to encircle the Allied forces here. You don’t need to attack; just ensure they don’t break out.
“Before our main force moves out, we will subject Santong County to a massive bombardment, which will definitely kill a large number of them. After that, I will pull my troops back to Yuancheng and set up an ambush there. I’ll take our air cavalry units with me to ambush the Allied reinforcements from this direction.
“Once we’ve crippled the reinforcements, I plan to have our veteran units begin conscripting troops in Yuancheng, Xike City, Gunan City, Daman City, and Nage City. We will hide our troops in those areas! Simultaneously, we will follow the Commander’s orders and officially conscript 60,000 men right here. That 60,000 is just for His Majesty and the High Command to see. Our true strength will be hidden within the enemy-occupied territories!” Hu Hao laid out his grand strategy to Li Jingsong.
“Deal! Good! This is perfect! Hao-ge, this is exactly what you should do! I am from Tianyu Province too, and I hope our troops can reclaim Tianyu Province as soon as possible! If we rely on the High Command and the Southwest Combat Zone’s forces, I reckon it won’t happen for years!
“Hao-ge, tell me, if it takes that long, how many civilians will even be left alive in the enemy-occupied territories?!” Li Jingsong agreed with passionate excitement. He fully supported Hu Hao’s plan to secretly conscript troops.
“Mm. This time, we will conscript as many troops as we possibly can. However, absolute secrecy is required. Only the people in this room will know the full scope of this operation. I plan to send our trusted subordinate officers into the enemy-occupied territories to lead those hidden units. Furthermore, the officers sent must be those whose hometowns have already been occupied.
“Because if our secret is discovered, His Majesty will definitely come after us. If any of those officers still have family living in government-controlled areas, their families will likely be implicated. Sigh!” Hu Hao let out a heavy sigh after finishing.
Hearing this, Li Jingsong and Xiao Quan both understood. Hu Hao’s own family lived in the province right next to the capital, which was currently secure.
If the High Command discovered Hu Hao’s private conscription, his family would undoubtedly be implicated. Yet, Hu Hao currently lacked the power to extract them and bring them here. As for what the future held for this region, no one could say for sure.
“Hao-ge. Once we’ve stabilized the situation here, we’ll bring your family over. We’ll extract them secretly,” Li Jingsong promised. Hu Hao nodded in appreciation.
“Then Hao-ge, it’s getting late. It’s already past 2:00 AM. It will take our troops about 3 hours to reach Nage City, while the Allied forces will need around 11 hours to get there. I’m a little worried… are we really going to set up the ambush near Nage City? It’s too close to the enemy lines,” Xiao Quan voiced his concern.
“No, we must go there. But we won’t ambush them inside Nage City; we’ll ambush them in a small county town just outside it. I estimate the Allied forces have established supply depots in Nage City, which means there are definitely garrison troops stationed there. If we move into the city, the Allied forces will undoubtedly detect us.
“We can only ambush them outside. The Allied reinforcements won’t delay in Nage City for long. As long as they believe there is still hope of rescuing the troops in Santong County, they won’t slow their march. That is the critical factor!
“Furthermore, I need to personally scout the area to determine the exact ambush location and see what terrain is suitable!” Hu Hao explained to Xiao Quan and Li Jingsong.
“Alright, do we head out now?” Xiao Quan asked.
“Yes. I’m leaving things here to you two. Remember: as long as they don’t attempt a breakout, do not attack the city! Wait until I return, or until you receive my orders!” Hu Hao instructed Li Jingsong and Xiao Quan.
“Understood!” The two of them nodded.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!” Right at that moment, Hu Hao’s artillery commenced their bombardment of Santong County. The artillerymen had rested for a long time and were ready to unleash hell once more.
“Then we’ll proceed as planned?” Hu Hao asked them.
“Alright, leave things here to us. We’ll handle sweeping the battlefield and collecting the weapons,” Xiao Quan nodded. The group then exited the meeting room.
Once outside, Hu Hao and Li Jingsong boarded separate helicopters and flew toward Santong County. Upon reaching the outskirts, Hu Hao called Ye Zifeng and ordered his regiment to begin marching toward Daman City.
Simultaneously, he ordered the Artillery’s 1st and 2nd Battalions to pack up their guns after completing their two-hour bombardment and follow Ye Zifeng’s marching column.
Upon receiving their orders, the soldiers mounted their vehicles, disengaged from the battlefield, and headed toward Daman City. Upon reaching Daman City, Hu Hao’s forces would turn west and march toward Nage City.
Meanwhile, Hu Hao flew ahead in a helicopter to scout for an ambush site—a place capable of burying the vast majority of an entire Allied corps. Helicopters were fast; in less than an hour Hu Hao and his escort were nearing Nage City.
Hu Hao ordered the pilot to fly along the main road connecting Nage City and Daman City. Sitting in the helicopter, Hu Hao constantly cross-referenced the map with the terrain below.
“Mm?” After observing for nearly twenty minutes, Hu Hao spotted a location beneath the helicopter. It was a highway. On one side was a dense forest, and on the other was a river. The river wasn’t wide, and although it was marked on the map, Hu Hao didn’t know its depth.
“Take us down!” Hu Hao ordered the pilot.
“Yes, sir!” The pilot immediately began the descent. Once the helicopter landed safely, Hu Hao stepped out, walked to the edge of the highway, and inspected the small river below.
“Hao-ge, the current is very fast! With the weather like this, how is there still so much water here?” A staff officer shined his flashlight onto the river, noticing the rapid current, and remarked to Hu Hao.
“Mm, this is a perfect spot for an ambush! Come on, tell the pilot to fly along this highway. I need to see exactly how long this stretch is!” Hu Hao instructed the staff officer, then climbed back into the helicopter. He ordered the pilot to take off and follow the highway while he observed intently.
“Not bad. It’s over 30 kilometers long. Based on the Allied forces’ current marching density, we can definitely trap at least three divisions in this stretch!” Hu Hao estimated after a careful comparison.
“That sounds about right. However, there’s a forest on this side, and we don’t have any fixed defensive positions. If we fight like this, we might not have much of an advantage, right?” the staff officer pointed out.
“Hmph, no advantage? My first strike is going to beat them completely senseless! By the time they react, our forces will have already swallowed the vast majority of their troops!” Hu Hao sneered.
He then ordered the helicopter to land again. After dismounting, Hu Hao walked into the forest. The trees here were very dense, and the terrain was extremely flat. If the ambush wasn’t executed perfectly, the Allied forces could easily turn around and charge right into the forest.
(End of Chapter)