While Liang Wanyu was trying to contact Hu Hao, he was occupied with the tasks at hand. There was so much to do, and he was currently the sole person running the command center.
He also had to monitor the situations in Yonghe City and Lu Guangsheng’s sector.
He wasn’t worried about Lu Guangsheng. He commanded many veteran units, and after the Allied fighter jets departed, Hu Hao had dispatched 50 armed helicopters to support him. Those helicopters would undoubtedly play a decisive role in the battle over there.
Therefore, Hu Hao was primarily busy with routine administrative matters. He sat at his desk, working diligently.
Around 5:30 PM, a staff officer approached him with a phone. “Hao-ge, there’s a call for you. It’s Lieutenant General Ma from the General Staff Intelligence Center. He says he has something to discuss with you!”
“Lieutenant General Ma?” Hu Hao was quite surprised. He didn’t know any Lieutenant General Ma, let alone one from the General Staff.
“Hello, General Ma. This is Hu Hao!” Despite his suspicions, he picked up the receiver.
“Hehe, it’s me!” Upon hearing the familiar voice on the other end, Liang Wanyu immediately spoke up.
“Liang Wanyu?” Hu Hao asked, unable to believe his ears.
“At least you remember me. If you didn’t, you’d be in for it!” In the Imperial Capital, Liang Wanyu sat in an office with her feet propped up on the desk, grinning as she spoke to Hu Hao.
“It really is you! How did you get my number? And Lieutenant General Ma? You didn’t trick my subordinates, did you?” Hu Hao sat down, laughing.
“Trick them? This is Lieutenant General Ma’s phone. I’m calling you from it. Couldn’t your staff officers verify that?” Liang Wanyu replied smugly.
“You’re amazing, actually managing to use a Lieutenant General’s phone to contact me,” Hu Hao shook his head helplessly.
“By the way, I need to ask you something. Are you surrounded? Can you break out?” Liang Wanyu asked, pulling her legs off the desk, her tone turning anxious.
“Are you worried about your sweetheart? Relax. Who am I? Hu Hao. Hao-ge. If I couldn’t break out, would I still be Hu Hao?” Feeling much more relaxed, he began to tease her.
“How did you change so much? You used to just be thick-skinned, but now you’re completely shameless! But seriously, you have to come back alive, do you hear me? Out of all our classmates, you’re the most capable. You’ve actually accumulated so much military merit,” Liang Wanyu said.
“Don’t worry. If I want to break out, who could stop me? But right now, I have many brothers with me, and I can’t just abandon them. By the way, why did you call? Did you contact my grandfather?” Hu Hao quickly asked.
“I did. I told them not to worry. But Haozi, you really need to be careful.
“The commander you’re following, Jiang Kai, is currently locked in a power struggle with the Grand Marshal. The Grand Marshal’s family has stood tall in the Eastern Spirit Empire for centuries; a mere combat zone commander won’t be able to topple them. Don’t let yourself become cannon fodder in their fight,” Liang Wanyu warned.
“Haha, where did you hear that?” Hu Hao laughed it off.
It wasn’t that he wanted to intervene in the conflict between Jiang Kai and the Grand Marshal. However, he was Jiang Kai’s soldier and had already been marked as one of his men. Moreover, Jiang Kai had treated him quite well.
“Don’t worry about where I heard it. Just remember my words. And come back alive, you hear me?” Liang Wanyu insisted through the phone.
“Alright, I’ll definitely come back alive. I’ve told you before, sooner or later, I’m going to get you into my bed!” Hu Hao laughed.
“Get lost, you hooligan!” Liang Wanyu cursed, her face flushing red.
“Alright, if there isn’t any official business, don’t use the satellite phone. It’ll delay my work here. Don’t worry, I will definitely survive and return!” Hu Hao told her. This line was his direct link to his superiors; any incoming orders would come through it.
“Mm, I can talk to you more once you get back alive. If you return alive, I’ll let you pursue me!” Liang Wanyu lowered her standards once again. Previously, he had to become a general. Now, he just had to come back alive.
“Alright then. Prepare yourself to become the daughter-in-law of the Hu family!” Hu Hao laughed.
The two chatted for a little while longer before hanging up. After ending the call, Liang Wanyu smiled.
She believed Hu Hao’s words. If he said he could come back alive, he definitely would. She knew just how formidable his combat skills were.
She sat at the desk, waiting for the heat to fade from her cheeks before standing up to open the door. Standing outside were several generals: a Lieutenant General, two Major Generals, and two Brigadier Generals.
“Finished your call?” the Lieutenant General asked with a smile.
“Dad, you weren’t eavesdropping, were you?” Liang Wanyu asked, looking at him.
“What are you talking about? Why would I eavesdrop? We were just chatting out here!” the Lieutenant General quickly denied.
“If I find out you were eavesdropping, I’ll tell Mom about the woman you’re keeping on the side. Don’t think I don’t know! Hmph!” Liang Wanyu declared smugly before walking away.
“Is she really your biological daughter?” A Major General behind him teased with a grin.
“Of course she is! I kept that hidden so well; how the hell did she find out?” The Lieutenant General pointed in the direction Liang Wanyu had left, addressing his subordinates in disbelief.
“How should we know?” the generals shook their heads immediately.
“I’m doomed. From now on, whatever this girl wants, her old man is going to have to buy it for her!” he grumbled, extremely depressed.
“Then just get a new one and hide her better this time!” the other Major General suggested.
“Easy for you to say! Heaven knows how that girl found out. Maybe she bribed one of my guards!
“Do you want me to change all my guards? If I do, she’ll just threaten the new ones, and they’ll surrender just as quickly. Forget it. It was just a phone call. By the way, look into this Hu Hao for me. I want to know exactly what kind of person my daughter is contacting!” the Lieutenant General ordered.
“Yes, sir!” one of the Major Generals nodded.
Meanwhile, after speaking with Hu Hao, Liang Wanyu was in a much better mood. Humming a tune, she hopped into her sports car and drove straight home.
Hu Hao, on the other hand, went back to his work.
By a little past 7:00 PM, he was still writing. He wanted to compile some training materials on combat command to use for instructing his officers later, or at least to let them read beforehand.
He had barely started writing when a staff officer rushed in and reported, “Commander, the vanguard of the 1st Corps has arrived!”
“That fast!” Hu Hao put down his pen and stood up.
“They’ve sent a tank regiment, two armored infantry regiments, and an engineering battalion. They are likely here to clear the path. The main force is still behind them!” the staff officer confirmed with a nod.
Hu Hao walked over to the large screen. Sure enough, in the northwest corner, he spotted the Allied convoy advancing toward their position.
“Are the units below ready?” Hu Hao asked.
“They are ready. They have eyes on the Allied forces from various positions,” the staff officer replied.
“Connect me to Wu Xunqi!” Hu Hao ordered.
“Yes, sir!” The staff officers immediately established communication.
“Commander, the Allied vanguard has arrived, and they are still advancing toward us!” Wu Xunqi reported.
“Order your artillery to fire a warning shot. That will make them halt. Remember, our goal here is to train the troops, not to annihilate them. If we wanted to wipe them out, we would just let them in!” Hu Hao instructed.
“Understood!” Wu Xunqi immediately ordered his artillery battalion to fire into the distance. After about five minutes, explosions echoed from within the city.
“Gather all the cadets from the training regiment here. Tell them to bring their bedding and mats. Then, move those large screens outside for me!” Hu Hao instructed a staff officer.
“Yes, sir!” The staff officers immediately rushed to carry out the orders.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!” Explosions lit up the distance. Through the flashes of fire, Hu Hao could see several Allied vehicles had been hit.
“Those artillerymen are quite good. Very accurate!” Hu Hao smiled.
“Our artillery is indeed quite formidable. They are all veterans who have transitioned to the artillery units, and their training has been excellent. They gained plenty of hands-on experience during the defense of Bopa City,” a staff officer standing behind him commented.
“Mm!” Hu Hao nodded.
“Hao-ge, the artillery fired, and the Allied forces have halted. They likely won’t advance for the time being!” Wu Xunqi reported.
“They won’t launch an attack within the next three hours tonight. After three hours, they might attempt a probing assault. By the way, have Bai Ye’s troops arrived?” Hu Hao asked.
“Division Commander Bai’s troops will probably take another hour or so!” Wu Xunqi answered.
“Good. It will be fine once they arrive. Next comes the troop training. Your units will be rotated in and out of combat. Also, whether you acting regimental commanders become official depends entirely on your command performance from here on out.
“All orders will primarily come from you. I will only step in and give commands if you ask me to. Otherwise, fight as you see fit. I will remind you if I spot any major errors, but feel free to fight boldly. This is your time to train!” Hu Hao told Wu Xunqi.
“Thank you, Commander. In that case, I’ll handle the command myself?” Wu Xunqi asked with a smile.
“Handle it yourself!” Hu Hao nodded, returning the smile.
(End of Chapter)