When Hu Hao heard Jiang Kai say that if the bet was lost and Hu Hao survived, he would have to report to the Command Center to serve as a staff officer, he was genuinely stunned.
“What? Not interested in coming?” Jiang Kai asked from the other end.
Back at the Command Center, the staff officers were internally cursing. Anyone who refused such an offer was a fool—Headquarters was safe, and you wouldn’t have to face the front lines.
“Not interested. What would I do at a Command Center? I’m just a Captain. I’m not going. Let’s talk about something else!” Hu Hao replied, shaking his head immediately.
The staff officers at the Command Center all shook their heads in disbelief.
“You just said you’d do whatever I decided,” Jiang Kai pointed out.
“True, but I’ve got a flaw: if I went to your Command Center, I’d probably irritate you to death within a week. For the sake of your own safety, let’s forget it. Let me do something else!” Hu Hao said with a nod.
“Mmh. Then we won’t talk about that for now. I want you to immediately organize the fragmented units currently scattered in Sector 11. Launch a counter-attack and push the enemy back to the edge of the city. You said it yourself: only veterans know how to fight. The reinforcements coming in are fresh recruits; I doubt they can push the enemy back to the perimeter on their own!” Jiang Kai said over the phone.
“You want us to fight again? We’re a bunch of stragglers! We don’t even have supply replenishment. The men haven’t even eaten! Even an Emperor doesn’t send hungry soldiers to war! You expect us to fight on empty stomachs?” Hu Hao shouted.
The surrounding soldiers all turned their heads to look in his direction.
“Fair point. I’ll immediately order the logistics units to send food and ammunition to your position. In one hour, you take the lead in the assault, and the relief forces arriving later will assist you. How about that?” Jiang Kai asked with a nod.
“It’s a bad deal. I don’t want to fight anymore. I’m just a Captain—this has nothing to do with me!” Hu Hao said dismissively.
“How dare you speak like that!” Sun Qinxue, the Chief of Staff standing behind Jiang Kai, shouted in dissatisfaction.
“Be quiet!” Jiang Kai snapped, stopping Sun Qinxue.
“How should I speak? I’ve personally taken down over two hundred of the enemy as a Captain. How do you think I should speak? Mmh?” Hu Hao yelled back from where he sat.
“Fine. I saw your entire path today; I know you’re a beast on the field. But if we don’t push the enemy back to the edge now, the Allies will definitely attack again tonight. The fresh recruits won’t be able to hold, and the casualties will be massive. Hu Hao, I want you to lead those men and clear them out. If you can push them back, I’ll promote you to Major immediately. What do you think? By the way, how long have you been a Captain?” Jiang Kai asked.
“Haha! Stop trying to bait me with rank. I’m not falling for it. I’m not going!” Hu Hao laughed.
“You—Hu Hao! The Commander asking you to fight is a sign of respect!” Sun Qinxue roared.
“I don’t need his respect. I’m just a Captain, and the Commander is a General—the gap is a canyon! I just graduated from the military academy. I started as a Lieutenant, got in a bit of trouble a few days ago and was demoted to Private, and now I’ve just been promoted back to Captain! As for rank, I don’t care about it. I don’t even want to fight. I have no choice because I have a five-year service contract; otherwise, I’d have run long ago. Commander, I’m not afraid of offending you—if you kick me out of the service, I’ll give you every credit in my account!” Hu Hao said, completely fearless.
“So that’s how it is! Mmh! To be able to do all this right after graduation… you are indeed a talented man. But Hu Hao, don’t forget you are a citizen of our Eastern Spirit Empire. The Empire is being invaded. As a son of this nation, shouldn’t you contribute to its defense?” Jiang Kai asked.
“How am I not contributing? If everyone fought like me, the Allies would be finished by now. I’ve killed hundreds of them—how is that not contributing?” Hu Hao shot back instantly.
Jiang Kai stood there in silence, contemplating. He was trying to figure out how to convince Hu Hao.
“Commander, don’t waste your breath. Order the surviving Division Commanders at the front to lead their men in. Isn’t Li Jingsong right there? Order him to take the troops in!” Sun Qinxue suggested from the side.
“Hey, General! He says you should lead the troops in!” Hu Hao said with a grin, looking at Li Jingsong.
“And you?” Li Jingsong asked.
“I’m not going!” Hu Hao said immediately.
“Then I’m not leading a damn thing! Who’s going to listen to me? Tell them I can’t do it. The boys don’t trust officers right now. Let the other Division Commanders try—I’m out!” Li Jingsong shouted.
“Hear that?” Hu Hao said into the phone.
Sun Qinxue stood there, his face turning ashen with rage.
“Listen, Officer on the other end—I don’t know who you are and I’m not afraid of offending you. We are all living with our heads tied to our belts. Maybe a shell will land here in a minute and we’ll all be dead. So don’t take it personally. The boys just want to live. Especially those who survived this battle. They want to stay alive.
Officer, you know as well as I do that in our Empire, it’s harder for a commoner to become a General than it is to climb to heaven. There’s no reward for it. If you die, you’re just dead, and they throw a bit of pension at your family. Who wants to throw their life away for that? Mmh? Officer, don’t blame me for not giving you ‘face.’ When it comes to staying alive, ‘face’ is dog shit!” Hu Hao said.
The staff officers in the Command Center, Jiang Kai, and Sun Qinxue were all silent.
“Commander, anything else? If not, I’m hanging up. I’m not leading the boys to the slaughter. I’m just a Captain; I can’t take the responsibility for their deaths. Sorry!” Hu Hao concluded.
“Mmh. Fine. When you rotate out, come to my Headquarters. Both you and Li Jingsong. Consider that a direct order!” Jiang Kai said.
“Yes, sir!” Hu Hao barked the acknowledgement and hung up.
“Commander! He—he’s just a Captain! This is rebellion!” Sun Qinxue demanded as soon as the line went dead.
“Was he wrong?” Jiang Kai asked, turning to his Chief of Staff with his hands behind his back.
“Was he wrong?” Jiang Kai didn’t wait for Sun’s reaction; he looked at the other staff officers.
They all lowered their heads, suddenly very busy with their own tasks.
“He’s right about everything, including his judgment of the war! They are common soldiers and junior officers; they’ve already done more than enough. What more can we demand? Nothing!
We can order him to go, but he’s at the front. How he fights is up to him. Whether he fights at all is up to him. Is the Command Center going to prosecute a Captain? If the battle is lost, are we going to blame a Captain?” Jiang Kai said, staring at the monitor.
“True, but his attitude… it’s like this war has nothing to do with him!” Sun Qinxue argued.
“He’s done enough. As he said, he’s personally killed more of the enemy than most, and the men he leads fight exceptionally well,” Jiang Kai noted.
“Report! Sector 9 is requesting support! Their casualties are critical; they’re about to buckle!” a staff officer stood up and asked.
“Has the 29th Army arrived?” Jiang Kai asked.
“They just got off the train; the troops are still at the station!” a Brigadier General reported.
“Order one division to Sector 9 immediately. And send another division to Sector 11!” Jiang Kai commanded.
“Yes, sir!”
“Commander, you said earlier that Hu Hao was right about everything. Does that mean…?” Sun Qinxue looked at Jiang Kai.
“We can hold for a week at most. After a week, we’ll likely have to retreat,” Jiang Kai admitted.
“But High Command wants us to hold for two months!”
“Whether we can hold is something they don’t know. Our casualties are right here—don’t they know how many troops we have left?” Jiang Kai said with clear irritation, though it wasn’t clear if his anger was directed at the Chief of Staff or the High Command.
Back at the front, Hu Hao leaned against a wall and stared at the drone. After a while, it finally buzzed away.
“Bastards… sending a drone to spy on us!” Hu Hao cursed once it was gone.
“What do you think the Command was thinking, trying to send us back in? Screw that. We’ve barely got anyone left!” Li Jingsong sat beside Hu Hao, handed him a cigarette, and lit it.
“Hmph. Not bad. At least you knew to refuse!” Hu Hao took a drag and looked at him.
“Heh. I’ve realized it too. If the High Command doesn’t change their strategy, it won’t matter how many people die. Dammit, the 27th Corps and my 87th Division… we’ve become their sacrificial lambs!” Li Jingsong cursed.
“Hao-ge! What now? What’s the plan?” a Battalion Commander called out from a distance.
“REST!” Hu Hao roared back.
“You got it!” The order rippled through the ruins. The remnants of the 28th Army and the 27th Army’s 88th Division all settled in. They were done for the day.
“You’ve got some nerve, defying the Commander like that. I bet there will be consequences,” Li Jingsong noted.
“Can they shoot me?” Hu Hao asked with a grin.