Hu Hao sat there, fuming, while Li Jingsong continued to pester him. It was driving Hu Hao’s patience to the brink.
“Will you just shut up!” Hu Hao glared at Li Jingsong and cursed.
“Fine, Hao-ge. This time it was… fine, fine, I won’t say another word!” Li Jingsong saw the look in Hu Hao’s eyes and immediately silenced himself.
“Dammit, what a mess. How did I get saddled with a Division Commander like you?” Hu Hao stood up and prepared to walk out.
“Hao-ge, where are you going?” Li Jingsong shouted after him.
“Back! We’re moving out at ten, dammit!” Hu Hao barked without looking back as he stormed off.
“Right, right! Look at me—it’s already almost nine o’clock!” Li Jingsong realized the time and went running after him.
Back at the Command Center, Jiang Kai stood listening to his aide’s report. “They left?”
“Commander, what exactly does this Hu Hao have that makes you value him so much?” Sun Qinxue asked, looking at Jiang Kai with bewilderment.
“What does he have? He has the men,” Jiang Kai replied. “The veterans all listen to him. If he doesn’t go, no one goes. You tell me if that’s ‘having something.’
I don’t understand it. We have plenty of graduates from the Royal Command Academy, so why is there not a single one like him? You graduated from there too, didn’t you?”
“Yes, sir. But he’s just a Captain. At most, he’ll be a Colonel by the time he’s done. What’s the use?” Sun Qinxue argued.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Jiang Kai said. “Do you know how many Major Generals my family has lost so far?”
“Uh… six!” Sun Qinxue answered quickly.
“Six from my family alone. In this theater, we’ve lost over thirty Generals. Who is going to fill those positions? Our family members? Will they go? Do they even know how to fight?
The High Command has to consider the frontline officers. If we don’t give them a path to advance, who is going to fight? As this continues, our casualties among the Generals will only grow. More vacancies will open up. We can fill one wave with our own people, but what about the next? Does our family even have that many people left?” Jiang Kai questioned him.
“You mean… the High Command might actually open the channel for commoners to become Generals?” Sun Qinxue stared at him.
“It has to open sooner or later. If it doesn’t, it becomes a major liability. Right now, the Regimental Commanders aren’t complaining because the war just started. But if the Allies keep pushing and our Empire’s forces have to keep fighting, and those Colonels have all the merit while the Generals have none—do you think they’ll stay loyal?
Look at Li Jingsong today. He was begging a Captain. Why? Because he’s lost control of his troops. Even the units from our own family are starting to have this problem. The Generals can no longer command. How are we supposed to fight like this?” Jiang Kai explained.
“I see… then Commander, if Hu Hao really goes tonight, are you really going to promote him? He’s only been out of school for a week. To jump two ranks from First Lieutenant to Major… people might not be happy about that,” Sun Qinxue noted.
“If I don’t promote him, that’s when people won’t be happy. The soldiers are all watching Hu Hao. If I don’t give him the rank but give it to someone else, the men will revolt. Do you understand now?”
“That makes sense,” Sun Qinxue nodded.
“As long as they go, it’s fine. I hope our troops can win. If they don’t, we’re in trouble. We might really have to retreat,” Jiang Kai sighed.
“Report! The money has been transferred to the account of Hu Hao, 3rd Regiment, 87th Division, 27th Corps!” an aide announced.
“Good. As long as it’s sent,” Jiang Kai nodded.
“Dad, transfer a million to Hu Hao’s account right now! Hurry!” Inside the car, Li Jingsong was on the phone while his guard drove.
“What? A million? For what?” Li Tianyuan was stunned when he heard the request at Army Headquarters. Li Jingsong quickly explained the reason. Li Tianyuan immediately ordered the transfer; he knew Hu Hao had essentially saved their entire family’s future.
“My dad says it’s being sent!” Li Jingsong handed the phone back to his guard and turned to Hu Hao. “Hey, what’s with the face? You just got paid and you’re still unhappy?”
“Happy? I’m trying to figure out how to drive the enemy out of Sector 9, and you’re talking about being happy? And another thing—how am I supposed to tell the brothers we’re going back in? You tell them!”
“Ah, no, no, no! It won’t work if I say it. You do it!” Li Jingsong waved his hands frantically.
“You bastard. It’s like I’m the Division Commander,” Hu Hao cursed in frustration.
“Just act like you are. I’ll be your assistant,” Li Jingsong said shamelessly.
Hu Hao didn’t bother replying. He sat there in thought while Li Jingsong sat bored, not daring to disturb him.
Soon, the convoy reached their shelter. Hu Hao noticed a large number of troops there—remnants from the 28th Army.
“They’re already here!” Li Jingsong said in surprise.
“Hao-ge is back! Hao-ge is back!” The moment Hu Hao stepped out of the car, the soldiers standing near the entrance began to shout.
“Hao-ge, are we going back up?” “Hao-ge, is it another fight?” “We just finished today; why again tonight?”
A crowd of soldiers surrounded him, waiting for an answer.
“Sigh. How did you all find out?” Hu Hao asked the men.
“The brothers from the 28th told us. Their units are regrouping over there, look!” A soldier pointed to a park in the distance where the 28th was massing.
“Yes. We’re going back in. The General and I went to Command and argued with the Commander, but it was no use. He says there are no other troops left. We have to go. So, brothers… get ready. I know you don’t want to go, and neither do I. But we’re soldiers on the payroll. The order is in, and we have to follow it,” Hu Hao told them.
“Dammit! They just want us dead! Why are they so obsessed with using us stragglers?” a soldier cursed.
“Hao-ge, someone sent food! Lots of it—real dishes!” another soldier called out.
“Then eat! Eat your fill before the fight. And do we still have the buns?”
“Yes! They’re frozen in the fridge!”
“Good. After you eat, every man carries a few on him. Dammit, this might last the whole night. Take flares—lots of them—and extra ammo!” Hu Hao roared.
“UNDERSTOOD!”
Soon, several Division Commanders from the 28th Army arrived to find Hu Hao. They wanted to coordinate the assault.
“Get me some food!” Hu Hao told a nearby private. “I’ll eat while we plan.”
They huddled inside a command vehicle and spread out a map of Sector 9. Most of the buildings were already ruins, so the map was purely for basic orientation.
“How many men do you have left in the 28th?” Hu Hao asked.
“We have 8,200 men. All veterans who survived today’s fighting,” one General replied.
“And us?” Hu Hao looked at Li Jingsong.
“Combined? No more than 3,500, and that includes remnants from four different divisions of the 27th,” another officer stated.
Hu Hao nodded. “So we have roughly 12,000 men. The enemy has two infantry divisions and an armored division in that sector. They’ve been thinned out, but they’re still a massive force. The Commander wants us to push them out completely. To be honest, I don’t like our odds.”
“We know that,” a 28th Army General said dejectedly. “But Command says go.”
“Tell the men to carry armor-piercing rounds for the armor and plenty of grenades. In the ruins, a grenade is better than a rifle,” Hu Hao instructed.
“Understood!”
“Two infantry divisions and a tank division… how are we going to do this?” Hu Hao rubbed his temples.
It was a night battle, the enemy had superior numbers, and the men’s morale was only being held together by necessity. The Generals stared at Hu Hao. Even though they were Major Generals in their forties, they had forgotten everything from the Academy. They were hereditary officers—their fathers were Generals, so they became Generals. Without this war, they would never have seen a front line. They were waiting for the Captain to give them a plan.