After having his men handle the bodies of the Allied Corps Commander and several Major Generals, Lu Guangsheng immediately mobilized his troops. With tanks clearing the way, they boarded their armored vehicles and headed toward Nage City. Word had it that an Allied battalion—primarily logistics and support personnel—was still stationed there. Lu Guangsheng intended to wipe them out.
Furthermore, per Hu Hao’s instructions, Lu Guangsheng’s unit was to conscript troops in Nage City. The target was over 30,000 men; more would be even better!
Sitting in his vehicle, Lu Guangsheng reviewed the recent casualty report. In the last battle, his unit had suffered minimal losses—fewer than 300 men. They still had over 4,000 soldiers remaining, which greatly pleased him.
“Hao-ge is truly formidable. We just completely annihilated 3 to 4 Allied divisions, yet our regiment suffered such light casualties. I’ve noticed that whenever Hao-ge takes the initiative to attack, our casualties are low. But in passive defense, even Hao-ge can’t control the losses. He shouldn’t listen to the High Command’s orders. Leading us out to fight like this is the best!” a staff officer sitting behind Lu Guangsheng remarked.
“What do you know? Can we really afford to ignore the High Command right now? If we disobey them, they’ll just send troops to wipe us out. Where do you think our weapons and ammo resupplies come from? For now, we still have to play along. As for how we play along, Hao-ge definitely has a plan. He doesn’t need you pointing it out,” Lu Guangsheng told his staff officer.
“True, Hao-ge definitely has a plan!” the staff officer nodded with a smile.
“Regimental Commander, a call from Hao-ge!” the communications officer in the front seat handed the phone to Lu Guangsheng.
“Hello, Hao-ge. I’m currently leading the troops toward Nage City. Any instructions?” Lu Guangsheng asked with a smile.
“Mm. Once you arrive, wipe out the Allied forces there immediately, then begin conscripting troops. Do not recruit students. Do not recruit young men who are the sole male in their families. Do not recruit men with many children. And no one over 40. Go there and start conscripting. I previously told you to recruit 30,000 men; I am cancelling that order. Recruit as many as you possibly can.
“Also, compile a list of the soldiers in your regiment who have earned merit and send it to me. Your regiment has over 4,000 men left right now, correct?” Hu Hao asked.
“Yes, over 4,000. But we still have 5,000 to 6,000 men in the hospital. Once they recover, they’ll be returning to our regiment too!” Lu Guangsheng quickly added.
“I know. Here’s what we’ll do: have your subordinate soldiers—and I mean the regular soldiers—each recruit 11 men. They will be responsible for training them. Any officers capable of being promoted to Platoon Leader, promote them. All other officers will be promoted by one rank. At the same time, give me a list of anyone in your companies capable of serving as a Battalion Commander. Do not make blind recommendations. You must be responsible for the brothers below you. Promoting someone to Battalion Commander when they lack the ability will only get the brothers killed and ruin the man himself,” Hu Hao instructed.
“I understand. Don’t worry, Hao-ge, I know what I’m doing!” Lu Guangsheng replied.
“Additionally, as you know, we don’t officially have that many designations. The Commander gave us the authorization of a corps. Therefore, you will act as a Division Commander, and your former Battalion Commanders will act as Regimental Commanders. Set up each regiment with around 4,000 men. I don’t care how many regiments you have under you. Set up each battalion with 1,000 men, subdivided into 8 companies. Each company will have 120 men. Organize it like this! I will take however many you can get!” Hu Hao said.
“Yes, Hao-ge! Don’t worry, I will definitely get the conscription done right!” Hearing this, Lu Guangsheng was ecstatic!
“Mm. Regarding weapons, we are currently doing an inventory and will distribute them later. I anticipate there won’t be any issues. Since we are expanding into a corps, I believe the Commander will resupply us with weapons. Combined with our existing arsenal and the weapons we just captured, we’ll be fine.
“We have the individual weapons of 4 enemy corps, after all. As for heavy weapons, we’ll have to figure something out; we haven’t captured many. But I will definitely find a way. For now, focus on conscripting the troops and getting them trained quickly.
“Nage City cannot fall back into Allied hands. Any city we control must not fall to the Allied forces. Only then will the civilians trust us. This is a matter of principle. Even if we are forced to retreat, we must ensure the civilians evacuate first!” Hu Hao instructed.
“Don’t worry, Hao-ge. I promise Nage City won’t be lost. As long as we remain, the city remains. Even if we die, the city will remain!” Lu Guangsheng vowed.
“Good. Go wipe out the Allied forces in Nage City and conscript troops there. We have a lot on our plate right now. Not only do we have to hold our own defensive line, but we also have to help other units fight their battles. Sigh, damn it!” Hu Hao cursed.
“Hao-ge, can’t we just ignore them? Our single division wiped out so many Allied troops. They have entire corps over there! Even if they can’t counterattack, they should at least be able to hold their ground! With so many troops, having us help them just doesn’t make sense, does it?” Lu Guangsheng reasoned.
“It’s not that simple. We are currently surviving in the cracks. We still need to maintain appearances and avoid giving anyone leverage against us. Otherwise, with the meager forces we have now, the Eastern Spirit army will wipe us out before the Allied forces even get a chance. Let’s leave it at that for now.
“By the way, once you reach Nage City, be careful. Remind our brothers that we all came from the common people. Before putting on these uniforms, we were just ordinary civilians. Do not let anyone cause trouble like robbing civilians or harassing women! If I find a single one doing so, I will shoot him myself! Do you hear me?!” Hu Hao warned.
“Hao-ge, you don’t even need to say it. If anyone dares to harass our civilians, I’ll handle them myself before you even have to!” Lu Guangsheng replied instantly.
“Good, I leave things there to you. I still need to finish off the remaining enemy troops here. If we don’t wipe them out, the Allied forces will still think there’s hope. We need to sever their hope entirely!” Hu Hao said.
Lu Guangsheng quickly reassured him. After hanging up the phone, Lu Guangsheng let out a sigh: “Hao-ge truly has it rough. He has to lead our development while keeping it hidden from the higher-ups. If the higher-ups find out, Hao-ge will be the one bearing the brunt of it. Once we reach Nage City, you must tell the brothers not to cause any trouble for Hao-ge. If I find out they did, I won’t spare them!” Lu Guangsheng told his staff officers.
“Mm, as long as we make it clear to the brothers, I’m sure there won’t be any problems!” a staff officer nodded.
Meanwhile, Hu Hao was watching the soldiers clear the battlefield on the highway.
“Report! Hao-ge, the Air Cavalry is ready. They can deploy again now!” a staff officer approached and reported.
“Deploy them! Wipe out that tank division! Also, order Li Jingsong: he is cleared to attack the forces inside Santong County. Tell him not to rush in blindly. Take it slow, consolidate at every step, and compress the Allied forces’ operational space.
“Then let the artillery bombard them. Santong County only has a few air-raid shelters, barely enough for the Allied forces to place their wounded. The rest of their men have nowhere to hide; they are definitely exposed outside the shelters. Also, call Ye Zifeng and Wu Kexiao over!” Hu Hao instructed.
“Yes, sir! I will notify them immediately!” The staff officer turned and hurried off.
Soon, the Air Cavalry units in the rear lifted off, resuming their pursuit of the Allied tank division.
Meanwhile, Bo Gang was also rushing toward the area. Upon learning that the Allied tank division was severely depleted of tanks, Bo Gang immediately ordered his troops to accelerate. He wanted to intercept and destroy the tank division before the Air Cavalry caught up to them, ensuring he secured a substantial piece of the merit.
“Hao-ge, you called for us?” Ye Zifeng and Wu Kexiao ran into each other on the way and arrived together.
“Mm, come sit down. Time is tight, so I need to make some arrangements for you two!” Hu Hao nodded and gestured for them to sit—which in this case meant sitting on a fallen log.
“Ye Zifeng, your troops haven’t participated in much combat this time, so you probably don’t have many veterans. Therefore, in our upcoming expansion, your unit might not be able to expand as much. You currently have 10,000 men; expand to 30,000 first. Promote any capable officers under you.
“You will act as Division Commander. How many Regimental Commanders you have under you is up to you. Just remember: one regiment is 4,000 men, and one battalion is 1,000 men. Promote as many Regimental Commanders as you need. But if an officer lacks the ability and you force a promotion, I will hold you accountable if things go wrong. Moreover, if the soldiers refuse to respect you as a result, you will bear the consequences yourself!” Hu Hao warned Ye Zifeng.
“Hao-ge, don’t worry. I wouldn’t dare mess around with something like that. I know our soldiers aren’t afraid to shoot useless commanders in the back! I definitely don’t want to get shot in the back by my own men!” Ye Zifeng quickly replied.
“Your troops will head to Xike City. It’s a major city with a substantial population left. Furthermore, I will transfer some recovered wounded soldiers from the hospital to you. Not right now, of course; they still need time to heal. Once they’re recovered, I’ll send them your way.
“I have one requirement: Xike City must not fall back into Allied hands. After your troops finish attacking Santong County tonight, march there immediately. Travel through the night and begin conscripting troops tomorrow. I suspect that once we wipe out these Allied corps, the Allied forces definitely won’t dare attack our sector for a while. They’ll need time to gather intelligence on our situation!” Hu Hao concluded.
(End of Chapter)