Kelly and Jasman, having received the intelligence regarding Hu Hao, now knew their opponent was the newly minted full General.
Based on their analysis of the intel, they deduced that Hu Hao possessed only a single corps. He had previously been a corps commander, and now, as a Group Army Commander, he was tasked with forming new units from scratch.
Therefore, they concluded that they had been entirely deceived by a small token force. Even if Hu Hao was actively recruiting, he couldn’t possibly have a massive army at his disposal right now.
Meanwhile, Hu Hao had just submitted his list of promotions to High Command. This included nominations for Lieutenant General, Major General, and Brigadier General slots. As for the field-grade officer ranks—Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, and Major—Hu Hao possessed the authority to approve them himself. He merely needed to submit the names to High Command for their records.
This meant that the moment Hu Hao submitted the field-grade list, those officers were officially promoted; they didn’t have to wait for High Command’s approval. Having handled the administrative nightmare of promotions, Hu Hao finally stepped out of his office. He had been so consumed by the personnel issues that he had momentarily set aside the situation in Yonghe City.
Glancing at his watch, he saw it was approaching 3:00 PM. The Allied offensive was looming; they would likely attack before nightfall.
“Any changes?” Hu Hao asked the staff officers monitoring the feeds.
“No changes, Hao-ge. It’s still scorching hot out there. The Allied forces haven’t moved; we can’t detect any shifts in their deployments,” a staff officer reported, standing up.
“Mm. Pull up all the orders issued by our frontline commanders. I want to review them,” Hu Hao instructed.
He had previously mandated that every single order issued by the regimental commanders in Yonghe City must be transmitted to his headquarters for review.
“Yes, sir!” The staff officer quickly brought up the log of orders and displayed them on the main screen. Hu Hao stood silently, reading through them.
“By the book. Acceptable,” Hu Hao muttered after reviewing the deployments.
He could tell the regimental commanders were hesitant, unsure of exactly how to fight this battle. It was understandable; a dozen regimental commanders were facing down an entire heavy mechanized corps. Consequently, their troop deployments were extremely conservative, focusing entirely on defense. Hu Hao nodded; under the circumstances, this was an acceptable approach.
“How are your war games progressing?” Hu Hao turned to the junior officers studying in the room.
“Honestly… every simulation ends with us failing to hold the city,” one officer replied with a bitter smile.
“Oh? Failing to hold it?” Hu Hao looked at him with interest.
“Yes, sir. We are heavily outnumbered, and they are a heavy mechanized force. Once they begin a massive artillery bombardment of the city, our troops’ mobility will be severely restricted.
“If they then push in with tanks and armored vehicles escorting their infantry to divide and conquer our sectors, our forces will be in critical danger!” the officer explained his analysis.
“Divide and conquer? Mm. You thought of that?” Hu Hao asked, impressed.
“Yes, sir,” the officer nodded.
“You’re Long Yagu, right? A former Captain?” Hu Hao asked, recalling the young man’s file.
“Yes, sir!” Long Yagu straightened up, thrilled that the Commander remembered his name and rank.
“Good. Tell me, if the Allied forces divide our sectors, does that mean we can no longer fight?” Hu Hao smiled encouragingly.
“It will be incredibly difficult. We only have one tank division inside the city. Relying on our air cavalry to suppress their heavy infantry will be tough, because any assault will undoubtedly include anti-aircraft cover.
“My simulation indicates that if we deploy the air cavalry, we can achieve a 1-to-2 kill ratio. That means for every helicopter we lose, we destroy two tanks or armored vehicles. But we only have fifty helicopters there. Sacrificing them all would only destroy a hundred Allied heavy vehicles.
“It wouldn’t be enough to halt their advance!” Long Yagu concluded, looking at Hu Hao.
“Mm. And the tank division?” Hu Hao nodded, prompting him to continue.
“The tank division can achieve a 1.5-to-1 ratio. But the Allied forces simply have far too much armor!” Long Yagu added.
“Mm. Based on those numbers, you concluded we will be divided, encircled, and devoured?” Hu Hao asked.
“Yes, sir. Our frontline commanders are all regimental commanders. They haven’t established a unified, cohesive command structure. Furthermore, a large portion of our troops are new recruits. Once the intense fighting begins, panic is likely to set in. If two experienced division commanders were leading the defense, the outcome might be different. But with just the regimental commanders, they won’t even know who has ultimate authority in the chaos!” Long Yagu explained his reasoning.
“Mm. Very logical. Your considerations are all sound!” Hu Hao nodded approvingly.
“However, your conclusion is wrong. You failed to consider the entire picture!” Hu Hao smiled gently.
“Yes, sir. Please instruct me!” Long Yagu bowed his head respectfully.
“I won’t give you the answer directly. You’ll see it when the fighting starts. The Allied forces will not be able to divide our sectors tonight. Forget our heavy equipment; even if we had none, they still wouldn’t be able to wipe us out. Your simulation is based purely on raw data.
“But real warfare requires considering the terrain, troop morale, and the fact that we hold the initiative. Watch the battle tonight, and you will understand.
“Not only will they fail to divide us, but they will suffer catastrophic casualties. They will be forced to retreat, reassess our combat capabilities, and beg for even more reinforcements,” Hu Hao predicted confidently.
“Hao-ge, I don’t understand,” Long Yagu admitted.
“Think about it slowly. All of you, listen carefully: the outcome of your simulations is not what matters. What matters is that you compare your simulations to the actual battle and identify the discrepancies. You must figure out what crucial factors you failed to consider in your command decisions!
“Why did the actual result differ from your prediction? Furthermore, look at your current defensive plans. If you continually refine them, is there a possibility of achieving victory, or even a decisive victory? That is what you need to be thinking about right now!” Hu Hao encouraged the group of officers.
“Yes, sir!” the officers shouted in unison, their eyes shining with determination.
“Good. Keep thinking. Keep studying the materials I provided. They are all derived from real combat experience. When you find yourselves commanding troops in battle, you will find the answers you need within those pages!” Hu Hao smiled.
He knew perfectly well that these young officers were the true foundation of his future power!
“Yes, sir!” the officers saluted. Hu Hao nodded and returned to the main command area.
“Hao-ge, High Command just issued a public broadcast about you. You need to see this!” a staff officer said, handing him a printed transcript of a telegram.
“Oh?” Hu Hao took it and began reading.
“What the…?” Hu Hao’s eyes widened. The broadcast had laid his entire background bare, down to his marital status!
“Are they insane?!” Hu Hao roared, his voice echoing through the command center. The staff officers stared at him in shock.
“Damn it! Get the Crown Prince on the line right now!” Hu Hao ordered, his face dark with fury.
“Yes, sir!” A staff officer immediately scrambled to dial the secure line to the Imperial Capital.
At that exact moment, the Crown Prince was sitting in High Command, chairing a meeting with the senior generals to review Hu Hao’s submitted promotion list.
“Your Highness, Hu Hao is on the line!” a royal guard approached and whispered to the Crown Prince.
“Oh? Hu Hao?” The Crown Prince was surprised. He hadn’t expected Hu Hao to call him so soon.
The senior generals around the table all turned to look at him.
“Hu Hao, this is the Crown Prince,” he answered, glancing at the generals before speaking.
“Principal! Who authorized this broadcast?!” Hu Hao roared through the phone, dispensing with formalities.
“Broadcast? What broadcast?” The Crown Prince was genuinely confused.
“The broadcast about my promotion to full General! Not only did they expose every detail of my background, but they explicitly listed every single one of my combat achievements! Are they trying to get me killed?!
“The Allied forces will instantly piece together that I am stationed in Late City with only a single corps! And because of that list of achievements, they know exactly how dangerous I am!
“Furthermore, the broadcast announced I am forming a Group Army here! Do you think the Allied forces will just sit back and watch me raise an army of 300,000 men right on their flank?! They are going to hurl massive reinforcements at me to wipe me out!
“Is the intelligence regarding our Imperial generals really this easy to obtain?! They just broadcast it to the entire world?!” Hu Hao bellowed, his voice vibrating with rage.
“What? They broadcasted detailed intelligence? That’s impossible!” The Crown Prince was shocked.
“Find a copy of the broadcast and read it yourself! Whoever authorized this is trying to murder me! If I find out who it is, I will kill them myself!” Hu Hao threatened before slamming the phone down.
“Hold on, let me check. Wait for my call!” The Crown Prince realized the severity of the situation. He hung up and glared at the generals around the table. “What is this broadcast about Hu Hao? Why was such detailed intelligence released to the public?”
“Oh, the detailed broadcast?” the Grand Marshal asked smoothly.
“Yes! Not only his personal information, but a comprehensive list of his combat achievements! That is more than enough for the Allied forces to deduce his current location and troop strength! Who approved this broadcast?!” the Crown Prince demanded angrily.
“What does it matter, Your Highness? Hu Hao is the Empire’s first commoner general. If we didn’t broadcast his achievements in detail, how could we convince the clan scions of his merit? Furthermore, he is the first commoner in a century to reach the rank of full General! Naturally, we must heavily publicize his glorious deeds!” the Grand Marshal replied, feigning complete innocence.
“Foolish!” the Crown Prince barked, realizing he had been played.
“Your Highness, is there perhaps some misunderstanding with General Hu Hao?” Ma Zhenling asked mildly.
(End of Chapter)