Hu Hao explained that he would submit a first batch of promotions now, and a second batch later once the junior officers had gained more experience and maturity.
“Hao-ge, if we leave those positions vacant, won’t His Majesty simply appoint people from the Capital to fill them? It’ll be hard to refuse them if they show up with Imperial decrees!” Weng Tao pointed out.
“I’ll just tell him we haven’t recruited enough soldiers yet, so there’s no point in appointing division commanders for non-existent divisions. We’ll appoint them once the ranks are full. Besides, it’s not like we can recruit 300,000 men overnight anyway!
“If we did magically recruit them that fast, His Majesty would definitely get suspicious. So, this approach works perfectly. We just have to accelerate our officer training program. Sigh. Cultivating a competent division commander is no simple task. If we throw someone into that position without giving them the chance to develop independent command skills first, they’ll suffer catastrophic losses when they face a real battle!” Hu Hao sighed heavily.
“Indeed. If you asked me to command a full corps right now, I honestly wouldn’t dare. Forget about the division commanders lacking capability; we lack the capability!” Xiao Quan admitted frankly.
The others nodded in agreement. Even though they were essentially guaranteed corps command positions, they knew their own limitations. Without Hu Hao guiding them, commanding an entire corps was impossible. Hell, even commanding a division was currently stretching their abilities!
“Let’s put that aside for now. I will submit these 11 Major General nominations. I’ve also selected a few candidates for Brigadier General to staff the headquarters.
“Furthermore, I want to be transparent: I am promoting Dong Qipeng to Major General. I admit this is largely driven by personal bias, but that personal bias serves the greater good. Once you see the unit Dong Qipeng is currently training, you’ll understand just how formidable they are. Therefore, I am giving him a star now. Yes, his command capabilities are currently insufficient, but I will personally focus on cultivating him!” Hu Hao declared.
“Hao-ge, you don’t need to explain yourself to us! You’re a full General now; you decide who gets promoted. Besides, with so many Major General slots available even if you handed out a few stars as favors, none of the brothers would object. Moreover, you just said his unit is crucial, so we have even less reason to complain!” Xiao Quan reassured him.
“Hao-ge, you’ve already secured so many general positions for us brothers. We are all incredibly grateful to you!” Lu Guangsheng echoed.
“Mm. For the Brigadier General slots, I’ve also nominated Mo Qin and Wang Yao. Ha, they’re staff officers, and I plan to cultivate them as well.
“I admit I’m playing favorites. I won’t deny it. I just want them to survive. Having a higher rank offers more protection. Plus, they are combat veterans. They never acted like cowards on the battlefield, so I’m giving them a boost.
“We’ve been together for five years. If I didn’t promote them now that I have the power, I wouldn’t be able to look them in the eye!” Hu Hao admitted honestly.
“Hao-ge, really, you don’t need to explain. We have zero objections. None of the brothers will object. In fact, if you didn’t promote those three, that’s when the brothers would have a problem with you!” Li Jingsong laughed.
“How so?” Hu Hao asked, slightly confused.
“Think about it. If a commander won’t even promote his own closest brothers, who would he promote? Who would be willing to risk their lives for a man like that? Am I right, brothers?” Li Jingsong looked at the others on the screens.
“Exactly!” Xiao Quan and the rest nodded vigorously.
“Hao-ge, I need a Major General slot as well. Is that alright? Not for a relative, but for a subordinate!” Xiao Quan requested.
“Don’t worry, each of you gets one slot. I already factored that in. I’m reserving the Major General slots for your respective Guard Divisions! You nominate them!” Hu Hao knew exactly what they wanted. A corps commander needed a trusted subordinate to lead their personal Guard Division.
“Hehe, thank you, Hao-ge!” the others cheered.
“Mm. There is one more thing I must emphasize. Remember this clearly: from this day forward, I do not want to hear another word about ‘rebellion.’ Not from you, and not from the brothers below you!” Hu Hao ordered sternly.
“Rebellion? But Hao-ge, are you really going to take orders from His Majesty? I don’t trust him one bit. If he hadn’t given us these unit designations, I wouldn’t give a damn about him. Damn it, he deceives the common people, and he thinks he can deceive us too!
“Why is the Empire in this state? Because of him! He can’t even protect his own citizens, so what right does he have to be Emperor?!” Xiao Quan immediately protested.
“Exactly! He only promoted you because the nation is on the verge of annihilation! If he had promoted you earlier and given you these troops, we might have reclaimed several provinces by now! Does he think we don’t know your true capabilities?” Lu Guangsheng chimed in angrily.
“Hao-ge, I don’t care what His Majesty says. I follow you. If you say we rebel, I’ll go convince my father right now! If he refuses, I’ll force him out and take over his corps myself!” Li Jingsong declared fiercely.
“Are you all out of your minds?! I said don’t talk about it! Damn it, did you forget His Majesty is sending his own Chief of Staffs to our units? If they hear you talking like this, do you think you’ll live to see tomorrow?!” Hu Hao cursed at them.
“Hao-ge, are you saying… we can’t talk about it, but we can do it?” Xiao Quan asked, catching Hu Hao’s true meaning.
“Do what?! With our paltry forces, you want to rebel?! Wait for the right opportunity, understand?! We wait until our strength is overwhelming!
“I told you before: the entire Central Region is in massive trouble. Our only priority right now is to build our own strength. We just need to maintain a facade of loyalty for His Majesty! Will I actually listen to him? I decide how we fight! Remember this phrase: ‘Build high walls, store abundant grain, and claim the throne slowly.’ Understand?” Hu Hao quoted a famous ancient maxim.
“What does that mean?” They had never heard the phrase before.
“Think about it. What can we actually accomplish with our current strength? Set aside His Majesty’s retaliation; the Allied forces alone are enough to crush us. We need to expand our territory, which requires massive armies.
“Since His Majesty has granted me the title of Group Army Commander and authorized seven corps, we will wait until I have those seven corps fully trained and equipped before considering our next move. For now, our objective is rapid expansion! Expand in every direction except north! We use that newly conquered territory to recruit and support more troops.
“Simultaneously, we must continuously cultivate wave after wave of our own officers. With enough officers, raising armies is easy! Isn’t it wonderful that we can use His Majesty’s official support and resources to build our own personal strength?
“If the day ever comes when His Majesty discovers our true intentions and tries to eliminate us, then we rebel! Why run our mouths and play the tough guy now when it only invites disaster?” Hu Hao explained his grand strategy.
“Hao-ge, so you’re saying we focus entirely on building our own power, and only act if His Majesty forces our hand?” Ye Zifeng summarized.
“Exactly! If he leaves us alone, we just keep growing stronger! Let me tell you, an era of true chaos has arrived. No one knows when this war will end. Our only goal is to survive until the very end. No one can predict how things will unfold!” Hu Hao warned them.
“Understood. If anyone mentions rebellion again, I’ll beat them half to death!” Li Jingsong nodded firmly.
“Exactly! No one mentions it! We focus on development. As I said, we expand in every direction except north. Rescue as many refugees as possible!
“We all came from the common people. If we treat the people poorly, we are treating ourselves poorly. Without the support of the people, we are nothing!” Hu Hao reiterated his core philosophy.
“If we have the capability to expand in other directions, won’t His Majesty demand we push north? To re-establish a supply corridor with Commander Jiang Kai’s forces?” Wu Kexiao asked.
“I already convinced His Majesty that staying isolated here allows us to act as a magnet, drawing the Allied forces’ attention away from the main defensive lines!” Hu Hao chuckled.
“Haha! Hao-ge, you really have everything calculated perfectly!” Wu Kexiao laughed.
“Indeed. Our next phase is pure development. We must absolutely guarantee the security of Late City. The factories there, especially the military arsenals, must resume full production before the rainy season ends!” Hu Hao ordered.
“But what if the Imperial Chief of Staffs arrive and discover the truth about Late City?” Li Jingsong asked, worried.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. In the meantime, remember this: scavenge any industrial machinery you find—broken or intact—and ship it to Late City. I don’t care what it is, just get it there. When they ask, we’ll claim we rebuilt the arsenals ourselves from scavenged parts!
“Then, we’ll casually detonate a few random bombs in the ruins and point to the twisted metal, claiming those were the original machines destroyed by the bombing. I refuse to believe those pampered clan scions can tell the difference between a lathe and a milling machine anyway!” Hu Hao grinned wickedly.
“Brilliant! We’ll play them like fiddles! We’re encircled; relying entirely on the Air Force for airdrops is impossible anyway. We have to produce our own munitions. That’s a perfectly valid excuse to give His Majesty!” Li Jingsong gave Hu Hao a massive thumbs-up.
“Mm. Anyway, brothers, do not go making enemies unnecessarily. We don’t have the qualifications to openly challenge His Majesty yet. Endure it for now. I know you all harbor hatred toward His Majesty because your families are trapped in enemy territory, their fates unknown.
“But the moment we have the opportunity, we will absolutely find them and bring them back! I’ve already ordered Mo Qin to begin searching!
“So, brothers, it’s not that I don’t want to lead you in rebellion. It’s that we truly lack the strength right now. Look at us: we can’t even scrape together enough officers to command our divisions! How are we supposed to fight the entire Empire?” Hu Hao reasoned with them.
“Hao-ge, say no more. We understand perfectly!” Xiao Quan nodded gravely.
“Yes, Hao-ge. We understand!” Ye Zifeng and the others agreed.
“Good. Now, let’s discuss your upcoming operational objectives!” Hu Hao nodded, his expression turning serious.
(End of Chapter)