The Emperor sat on his throne and asked if there were any further objections to appointing Hu Hao as a Group Army Commander. By this point, everyone in the room knew that attempting to block the promotion was futile. The Emperor’s mind was made up.
“Since there are no objections, it is decided. At present, Hu Hao’s combat merits undoubtedly rank first among all mid-level officers. Therefore, I hereby appoint Hu Hao as the Commander of the 1st Group Army and promote him to the rank of full General.
“Furthermore, order Hu Hao to leave the position of Chief of Staff vacant for now. Instruct him to submit a list recommending five Lieutenant Generals for his corps commanders and twenty-eight Major Generals for his division commanders. All Chief of Staff positions at the corps and division levels will also remain vacant; High Command will dispatch personnel to fill those roles later,” the Emperor announced, seeing no further opposition.
“Yes, Your Majesty. However, Li Jingsong currently meets the criteria for promotion to Lieutenant General. I propose appointing him as the Chief of Staff for the 1st Group Army. Li Jingsong is, after all, a member of the military clans!” Grand Marshal Tang Long immediately suggested.
“Mm. Am I to understand you still object to Li Tianyuan’s promotion to full General?” the Emperor, sharp as ever, instantly saw through Tang Long’s maneuvering.
“Yes, Your Majesty. I object to Li Tianyuan being given command of a Group Army. If that happens, Jiang Kai will effectively control nearly a third of the Empire’s armed forces. That is unsafe!” Tang Long admitted readily.
“Unsafe? How is it unsafe? Commander Jiang Kai’s loyalty to the Empire is absolute!” the Emperor retorted sharply.
“Indeed, Commander Jiang Kai is loyal. However, several other Combat Zones are currently engaged in brutal fighting. Even if they lack glorious victories, they have bled for the Empire. Many outstanding generals have emerged from their ranks as well. I believe we must consider them.
“In fact, those other Combat Zones are in far more desperate need of Group Armies to stabilize their collapsing defensive lines!” the Crown Prince hurriedly interjected, rushing to Tang Long’s defense.
The Crown Prince absolutely could not allow Jiang Kai to gain control of another 300,000-strong Group Army. It would pose a massive threat not only to the Grand Marshal but to his own position as Crown Prince. If Jiang Kai decided to throw his support behind one of the other Princes, that Prince would instantly become a formidable rival for the throne!
“Mm. Then deliberate amongst yourselves. Let us see who you recommend for the Group Army commands. My sole stipulation is this: of the five Group Army Commanders, at least three must be promoted from commoner backgrounds!” the Emperor decreed.
“Your Majesty, that is impossible! Among the commoner officers, only Hu Hao has demonstrated the capability to command hundreds of thousands of troops. The others are barely capable of commanding a division, let alone a corps. Leading a Group Army requires a gradual process of development and experience!” Tang Long immediately protested.
“Then what do you propose?” the Emperor asked, staring at the Grand Marshal.
“We should select the most outstanding Lieutenant Generals from the military clans to serve as the Group Army Commanders. The Lieutenant General vacancies they leave behind can then be filled by promoting capable commoner officers!” Tang Long suggested.
“I agree. Hu Hao is a singular exception. The other mid-level commoner officers simply do not possess the ability to command a Group Army at this time!” General of the Left Ma Zhenling added his support.
“Then submit your list of candidates. Ah, draft an imperial decree: Let it be known throughout the Empire that I, the Emperor, hereby promote Hu Hao to the rank of full General and appoint him Commander of the 1st Group Army. Also, inform Commander Jiang Kai that I wish to speak directly with Hu Hao via video link later today!” the Emperor instructed a nearby guard, ignoring the generals’ protests for the moment.
“Yes, Your Majesty!” The guard bowed and hurried off to execute the orders.
Hearing this, the generals realized the Emperor was prioritizing securing Hu Hao’s position before dealing with the rest.
As for the other Group Army Commanders, if the Grand Marshal continued to resist, the Emperor might concede one or two positions to the military clans. But the Emperor clearly intended to give the remaining commands to commoner generals, thereby reasserting his direct control over the military!
This realization infuriated the Army generals of High Command. To make matters worse, the Navy and Air Force generals offered no support. The Army’s monopoly on power was being threatened, while the Navy and Air Force remained relatively stable. Furthermore, this wave of promotions would see many commoner officers elevated within their own branches, a prospect they welcomed.
“Deliberate amongst yourselves. Submit your list of recommended candidates, and I will consider whether to approve them,” the Emperor told the Army generals.
“Shall we return to High Command and discuss the candidates immediately?” the Grand Marshal asked.
“Mm, you may. Ah, one more thing. In this upcoming wave of promotions, commoner officers must account for eighty percent of the new generals. My primary goal this time is to elevate the commoners!” the Emperor declared.
“Ah… yes, Your Majesty,” Tang Long agreed, his heart sinking further.
“Instruct every Combat Zone Commander to submit a list of commoner officers eligible for promotion. For Jiang Kai’s Southwestern Combat Zone, I intend to promote forty commoner generals: three Lieutenant Generals, twelve Major Generals, and the rest Brigadier Generals,” the Emperor continued.
“Ah?” Tang Long was utterly stunned. He hadn’t expected the Emperor to have already decided the exact number of promotions for Jiang Kai’s forces. Tang Long had planned to use his authority to bottleneck Jiang Kai’s recommendations and severely limit his new generals.
“Mm. Furthermore, the generals promoted under Hu Hao’s command will be entirely separate from Jiang Kai’s quota. I am handling Hu Hao’s promotions independently. Since his forces are currently encircled, I must bestow heavy rewards upon them to inspire the men to fight to the death!
“Therefore, Hu Hao’s list will not be included in Jiang Kai’s. When I speak with him later, I will instruct him to submit his list directly to me!” the Emperor added, driving the final nail into Tang Long’s plans.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Tang Long replied, no longer daring to object.
He realized that Hu Hao had become the Emperor’s favored champion. If he continued to oppose Hu Hao now, the Emperor might retaliate by rejecting every single one of Tang Long’s recommendations for the remaining Group Army commands.
“You may all take your leave. My royal sons, remain here,” the Emperor dismissed the generals.
“Your Majesty, what about the official petition to open the promotion channels?” Tang Long asked hesitantly.
“Once you have finalized the lists of candidates, I will approve them all together!” the Emperor replied.
“Yes, Your Majesty. We will finalize them as quickly as possible and order the Combat Zone Commanders to submit their lists immediately!” Tang Long nodded.
“Very well. Bring me the lists as soon as they are ready,” the Emperor waved his hand.
“Yes, Your Majesty! We shall take our leave!” The Grand Marshal bowed. The Emperor nodded, and the other generals bowed before filing out of the study.
The group walked down the palace corridors in silence, the Grand Marshal leading the way with the other generals trailing behind. Suddenly, the Grand Marshal stopped dead in his tracks.
Seeing him stop, the other generals halted as well. Tang Long slowly turned his head and glared daggers at Luo Xin.
“Grand Marshal, I know you blame me. But Hu Hao absolutely had to be promoted!” Luo Xin stated calmly, perfectly aware of why Tang Long was glaring at him.
“Who is he to you? A relative?” Tang Long demanded.
“We have absolutely no connection. I’ve never even met the man!” Luo Xin shook his head.
“Are you close with Jiang Kai then?” Tang Long pressed, his implication clear: Have you thrown your lot in with Jiang Kai?
“Commander Jiang Kai and I are merely colleagues. Grand Marshal, let me ask you one question. I know you fully support the Crown Prince. But if the Empire is utterly destroyed, what use is a Crown Prince? I will take my leave now,” Luo Xin said flatly, before walking past the Grand Marshal, flanked by several other Air Force generals.
“Wait!” Tang Long was momentarily stunned by Luo Xin’s bluntness. Realizing Luo Xin was already walking away, he quickly called out to him.
“Grand Marshal?” Luo Xin stopped and turned back to face Tang Long.
“The rest of you, return to High Command. General Ma, you stay,” the Grand Marshal ordered the other Army generals.
“Yes, sir!” The other generals nodded and hurried off, leaving only Luo Xin, Ma Zhenling, Tang Long, and the distant palace guards in the corridor.
“Do you think Jiang Kai’s rise benefits you? He will have to purge a massive number of people to solidify his control over High Command. By helping Hu Hao, you are helping Jiang Kai. When Jiang Kai eventually seizes power, do you really think you’ll get to keep your position as General of the Right?” Tang Long asked, staring intensely at Luo Xin.
“Grand Marshal, it seems you completely missed the point of my question. I, Luo Xin, desire wealth and power as much as anyone. But I also know that if the nation falls, everything else is meaningless!” Luo Xin smiled bitterly.
“The Empire will not fall! Several allied nations have already dispatched troops to our borders. Once their reinforcements arrive, we will launch our counter-offensive!” Tang Long insisted.
“Is that so? Do you honestly believe the Allied forces mobilized three million troops solely to invade our Empire?
“This alliance consists of over a dozen nations, and more are joining them. The combined population of those nations exceeds ten billion! Allied reinforcements from neighboring countries? Let me tell you: those ‘reinforcements’ might soon be rushing back to defend their own borders!” Luo Xin scoffed disdainfully.
“Impossible. There is absolutely no sign of that happening!” Tang Long argued.
“Impossible? Grand Marshal, use your brain! If over a dozen nations divide our Empire among themselves, how much land will each actually get? Will it be enough to solve the severe food crises in their own countries?
“What about the nations in the Southern, Eastern, Western, and Northern Regions? Is there a single one among them that isn’t facing starvation? Do you think they will just sit idly by and not join the feast? Grand Marshal, now that the gears of war have begun to turn, I have no idea when they will stop. Perhaps not until half the population of this planet is dead.
“Do you still not understand why the Allied forces are massacring our citizens? Do you think they just enjoy killing? Let me spell it out for you: they are exterminating the people of the Eastern Spirit Empire to make room for their own people!” Luo Xin declared grimly.
“Isn’t that just alarmist fearmongering?” Ma Zhenling scoffed, standing beside Tang Long.
(End of Chapter)