Sun Qinxue caught up with Jiang Kai and reminded him not to let Hu Hao come over, fearing the Crown Prince would kill him.
“Kill Hu Hao?” Hearing this, Jiang Kai immediately stopped and looked at Sun Qinxue.
“What do you think? You know Hu Hao has helped you a lot. And regarding the last incident, why did Tang Junjie lead the team here? They wanted to kill Hu Hao personally. This time, the Crown Prince came. I just heard you recommend Hu Hao to him. What did the Crown Prince say?
“He only mentioned the incident between Hu Hao and Zhang He’s grandson. For an officer who has achieved merit for the country, that’s a trivial matter, yet he brought it up. You can imagine the Crown Prince has no favorable impression of Hu Hao. Commander, you really need to be cautious about this!” Sun Qinxue warned.
“Yes, you’re right. I thought about it too simply before. Too simply. I thought he was really here to supervise the battle. It seems he’s here to help the Grand Marshal. But His Majesty clearly knows I will have a conflict with the Grand Marshal, so why did he let the Crown Prince come?” Jiang Kai asked.
“He is also afraid the struggle between the princes will lose control. Think about it. If you stand behind another prince, what should His Majesty do? Then wouldn’t the princes and the Crown Prince have to fight openly instead of in secret?” Sun Qinxue said.
Jiang Kai sighed. He knew Sun Qinxue was right. In the past, they were far from the capital, so the affairs there wouldn’t affect him as a Combat Zone Commander. After all, the position of Combat Zone Commander was hereditary.
But it was different now. The Allied forces had invaded, and the Emperor had so many princes. Which of those princes didn’t want to be the Emperor?
At this time, the stance of the Combat Zone Commanders became very important.
Especially the position of Grand Marshal, which could mobilize the troops of the entire country. If Jiang Kai ousted the current Grand Marshal Tang Long, the Crown Prince would definitely lose a lot of support. Then, the other princes would take action.
“Sigh, I really don’t want to think about these things. We’ve lost so much territory, yet those princes are still thinking about this. It’s as if the civilians have nothing to do with them!” Jiang Kai sighed, then walked toward the command center with his hands behind his back.
After arriving at the command center, Jiang Kai sat down and went over the things Sun Qinxue had just said in his mind. Thinking of this, he felt irritated, stood up, and walked into the main hall.
“Is there any new situation from Hu Hao’s side? Have the Allied forces in Santong County been wiped out?” Jiang Kai asked.
“Report! Not yet. It’s probably impossible during the day. The weather is too hot right now. If our troops attack, it will take a heavy toll on their stamina. Plus, Hu Hao’s troops fought all night yesterday; the soldiers might not be able to handle it. I estimate they are resting now. We might get good news tonight!” A senior staff officer stood up and replied.
“Mm, true. Fighting in broad daylight isn’t feasible. However, if we don’t finish them off during the day, doing so at night will be impossible. The Allied reinforcements will likely reach Santong County before dark. By then, Hu Hao won’t have a chance!” Jiang Kai nodded. He knew the Allied reinforcements would definitely speed up to support the troops in Santong County.
“Commander, should we call Hu Hao and ask about his current situation? After all, the reinforcements are still marching toward them!” the senior staff officer asked.
“No need. Don’t contact him for now. He might be resting. They fought all night, and the officers and soldiers are already tired. The situation on their end is already stable.
“Even under last night’s circumstances, Hu Hao managed to counterattack. Now that the Allied forces are sending a corps, it’s impossible for them to break through his defensive line. Right now, the place I’m least worried about is his sector!” Jiang Kai said.
“Report! Allied troops have been spotted in Nage City!” At this time, an intelligence staff officer stood up and reported.
“What? The Allied troops have already reached Nage City?” Jiang Kai asked in surprise.
“Yes! We spotted an Allied division coming out of Nage City, and several other divisions are heading toward it!” the intelligence officer stated.
“Damn it, how are they so fast!” Jiang Kai cursed. He didn’t expect the reinforcements to arrive so quickly.
Jiang Kai raised his hand and checked his watch, finding it was already around 2:00 PM.
“That means the Allied forces will likely reach Santong County around 5:00 PM. It’s time to have Hu Hao’s troops retreat!” Jiang Kai muttered.
“Someone, send a telegram to Hu Hao. Tell them the Allied forces have reached Nage City, and the troops in Santong County should probably choose to retreat. Fall back to their defensive line,” Jiang Kai instructed the staff officers.
“Yes, sir!” the staff officers immediately replied.
“Report! The 25th Corps is under fierce attack by the Allied forces! Our troops are suffering heavy casualties, and they are requesting reinforcements!” a staff officer stood up and reported.
“Requesting reinforcements just like that? They are only facing an attack from 1 corps, and the 25th Corps is a full-strength unit! They want support already?! What kind of battle are they fighting?! Ask them for the specific situation!” Jiang Kai shouted angrily.
“Yes, sir!” The staff officer sat down and contacted the 25th Corps. The Allied forces were still attacking Jiang Kai’s defensive line, but the intensity wasn’t high, so his troops hadn’t encountered any real crises.
However, the 25th Corps requesting reinforcements surprised Jiang Kai. Previously, the Allied forces’ main attack direction was Hu Hao’s sector. Had they shifted their focus?
“Do you think it’s possible the Allied forces have shifted their attack direction? Are they making the 25th Corps the main target now? But behind the 25th Corps are just a few large cities without any major industrial enterprises. Are they really trying to break through from there?” Jiang Kai asked Sun Qinxue.
“We can’t judge right now. The 25th Corps hasn’t sent specific intelligence, so we have no way to evaluate. If Allied reinforcements have arrived there, then it’s possible. If not, then our commander made an error in judgment. Otherwise, the Allied forces wouldn’t have much of a chance,” Sun Qinxue replied.
Jiang Kai nodded.
…
Meanwhile, Hu Hao and his men were watching the Allied tank units pass in front of them. Hu Hao lay prone, carefully observing the distant tanks. The Allied tanks, whether in terms of armor protection or fire control systems, were not as powerful as those of the Eastern Spirit Empire.
In a normal confrontation, 1 Eastern Spirit tank could single-handedly take on 4 Kabuguo tanks, and potentially wipe them out. Kabuguo was a poor nation in the Northern Region. Its population was almost as large as the Eastern Spirit Empire’s, and its landmass was even larger, nearly 20,000,000 square kilometers.
However, its arable land was very small. Most of it was mountainous or frigid zones. Because of this, it had always been a poor country plagued by continuous internal turmoil. The fact that they had sent troops to the Central Region to invade the Eastern Spirit Empire didn’t surprise the people of the world at all. Every year, millions of people starved or froze to death in their country!
“Hao-ge, look! They’re all using transport trucks, and those trucks belong to our country!” a senior staff officer whispered to Hu Hao.
“They aren’t pure infantry, are they? Are they really relying on walking?” Hu Hao said in surprise.
Currently, on Planet Yuanling, civilian technology was highly developed, but in terms of weapon technology, their research and development direction had always been unclear. Primarily because there hadn’t been any large-scale wars, the investment in weapons R&D by various countries wasn’t significant.
Therefore, while every country had satellites, they didn’t have missiles—not even the concept of them. They still preferred using conventional weapons for combat, relying on tanks, fighter jets, rifles, artillery, and battleships to fight wars.
War serves as a massive catalyst for weapons R&D. The war had just broken out, and no one knew what kind of formidable weapons might appear later. However, right now, the various countries hadn’t started exploring those avenues yet.
“Rumble—!” The tanks quickly drove down the highway. Behind them were trucks packed with Kabuguo soldiers, followed by armored vehicles and logistics transport vehicles.
Hu Hao and the other soldiers lay prone, not daring to move an inch for fear of being spotted by the Kabuguo soldiers.
Actually, they were overthinking it. The Kabuguo soldiers were currently dizzy from the heat. They had been marching in vehicles, and the temperature inside the cabins was very high. Sitting inside, they were practically on the verge of fainting from heatstroke.
If not for the orders urging them to march toward Santong County quickly, they never would have traveled during the day. They came from the Northern Region, where the maximum temperature was more than 10 degrees lower than in the Central Region, and it wasn’t nearly as dry. Therefore, this climate was pure torture for the soldiers of the Northern Region.
“Hao-ge, Hao-ge, a call from Liu Shuyi!” a staff officer whispered, bringing the phone to Hu Hao. Hu Hao immediately picked it up:
“Liu Shuyi, it’s Hu Hao!” Hu Hao kept his voice low.
“Hao-ge, the Allied infantry forces have moved out! It looks like the entire corps is mobilizing!” Liu Shuyi whispered.
“Good! Let them come! The more, the better!” Hu Hao smiled.
(End of Chapter)