Zhang Debiao stood before the map and declared the situation troublesome. Hearing this, Hu Hao immediately asked where they should strike.
“I don’t know the troop deployments in other areas yet, but Gunan City is in extreme danger. How many troops can you pull out right now?” Zhang Debiao asked Hu Hao!
“There shouldn’t be any danger, right? What danger could there be in Gunan City?” Wu Kexiao interjected. Gunan City was the location of his corps headquarters, so he was very familiar with the situation in that area.
“Er Lengzi, how much do you know about the Allied forces’ current situation? Especially the units attacking our nation’s central front. How much do you know?” Zhang Debiao ignored Wu Kexiao, directing his question squarely at Hu Hao!
“The Allied forces have 600,000 troops there, and they might be preparing to retreat right now. I suspect they will fall back toward our position. They might not necessarily dare to attack, but they will definitely put pressure on our forces!” Hu Hao explained.
“Not just pressure—they will attack! Our forces are wedged right in the middle; you think the Allied forces don’t want to wipe us out?!
You have to realize, to the east, we threaten the central front’s supply lines; to the west, we threaten the western front’s supply lines. Unless the Allied commander is a complete idiot, there is no way he won’t attack us!” Zhang Debiao stated firmly.
“Right now, I can pull out roughly three divisions, a little over 50,000 men. The troops in other areas cannot be moved. I’ve deployed a little over two corps around Late City, and they are directly facing three Allied corps.
Additionally, there are another four Allied corps in the surrounding areas, so those troops can’t be touched. The forces in Xike City and Nage City can’t be moved either; they have combat missions and are currently attacking in other directions. That leaves us with about two corps over here!” Hu Hao explained his deployments to Zhang Debiao.
“If the Allied forces want to attack Gunan City, especially a sneak attack, they will likely secure Dingze City first. I estimate that out of their 600,000 troops, it’s entirely possible for them to pull out 200,000 men and scrape together enough ammunition.
Once they control Gunan City, our forces here will be surrounded, and our logistical supply lines will be severed. We need to prepare troops in this location!” Zhang Debiao pointed at Dingze City in Dingli Province as he spoke.
“Mhm!” Hu Hao looked at the map and nodded. He now realized the threat as well.
“We need a corps. Can you pull one out?” Zhang Debiao asked Hu Hao.
“It’s difficult. I don’t have that many troops, and the ones I do have are fresh recruit units!” Hu Hao shook his head.
“You… you… what kind of Commander are you?! Nothing but fresh recruit units!” Zhang Debiao scolded Hu Hao upon hearing this.
“Brother, my First Army Group has only been formed for about a month. Not only do I have mostly fresh recruits, but the biggest problem is a lack of officers!
Even now, I have many division commander vacancies. Plus, the Emperor just gave me the designations for three new corps, and I don’t even have candidates for the corps commander positions yet!” Hu Hao explained.
“Oh, I see. So you’re saying you only conquered this territory recently?” Zhang Debiao asked, pointing at the map.
“Exactly, brother! Tell me, is it easy for me? I have to train troops, cultivate officers, fight wars, and manage the logistics for the entire army!” Hu Hao immediately followed the flow of the conversation, listing his grievances.
“Hmm, it really hasn’t been easy for you!” Hearing this, Zhang Debiao nodded in deep agreement. He knew Hu Hao’s character all too well—this was a guy who would lie down if he could, and sit if he couldn’t lie down!
“Right! Have the staff gather all the files on our units and bring them to my brother!” Hu Hao ordered the staff officers.
“Yes, sir!” The staff officers nodded and replied!
“Hao-ge, the corps commanders are online!” The engineering staff officer walked over to Hu Hao and reported.
“Brother, let’s go. Oh, Wu Kexiao, Dong Qipeng, you two come as well!” Hearing this, Hu Hao immediately called them over. Soon, Zhang Debiao, Hu Hao, Dong Qipeng, and Wu Kexiao entered the conference room!
“Hao-ge!” Li Jingsong and the others immediately called out upon seeing Hu Hao enter.
“Still as flashy as ever!” Zhang Debiao shook his head and chuckled upon hearing them call Hu Hao “Hao-ge.”
“Hehe!” Hu Hao laughed, then gestured for Zhang Debiao to sit in the center seat. Zhang Debiao didn’t decline in the slightest and sat right down. Seeing this, the others stared at Hu Hao in confusion.
“Brothers, this man is my big brother! Everything I know about fighting wars, I learned from him. Now that I’ve found him, from this day forward, all matters in the Army Group, big or small, are under his management. You will obey his orders!
Brothers, it’s not that I’m looking down on you, but you guys really don’t have the skills to fight a war. Even though you’re all corps commanders now, in front of my brother, he could wipe out your entire corps with just a single division!” Hu Hao sat down, kicked his feet up onto the table, and leaned back in his chair.
“You brat, can you be serious for a moment?! We’re in a meeting! Put your legs down!” Seeing Hu Hao like this, Zhang Debiao immediately glared at him and scolded!
“Brother, I’m the boss now! It doesn’t matter if I act like this!” Hu Hao replied, remaining reclined.
Hearing this, Zhang Debiao grabbed a chair beside him and raised it. Swish! Hu Hao instantly snapped upright and sat perfectly properly, leaving everyone else utterly dumbfounded.
“And you call yourself a soldier acting like that?! If you weren’t my little brother, I would have broken your legs long ago!” Zhang Debiao pointed at Hu Hao and cursed.
“Hehe, you’d have to catch me first! Alright, alright, alright, let’s drop that. Listen up, all of you! My brother’s orders are my orders! If you disobey my orders, it’s fine, I’ll just chew you out.
But if you disobey my brother’s orders… Laozi won’t be so forgiving! Do you hear me?!” Hu Hao addressed Li Jingsong and the others.
“Yes, sir!” Li Jingsong and the others nodded.
“Brother, let me introduce you. This is the Commander of the 100th Corps, Li Jingsong!” Hu Hao pointed at Li Jingsong’s feed and said to Zhang Debiao.
“Uh, Hao-ge, how should we address your brother?” Li Jingsong asked Hu Hao.
“Oh, look at me! Come, come, come, a formal introduction! My big brother, Zhang Debiao! Don’t let his full beard fool you into thinking he’s 80; he’s actually just 26 and single! If you know any good girls, remember to introduce them to him!”
Smack!
“What nonsense are you spouting?! If you’re going to introduce me, do it properly!” Hearing this, Zhang Debiao slapped the back of Hu Hao’s head.
Hu Hao rubbed his head and looked at Zhang Debiao innocently, feeling immensely helpless inwardly. If he counted his past life, he was a man well over a hundred years old—how was he still getting hit?
But then he remembered how, in their past life, even when he was in his eighties, Zhang Debiao had chased him several blocks with a walking stick. Hu Hao was left speechless.
“What are you looking at?! Speak properly!” Zhang Debiao glared at Hu Hao.
“Yes, sir!” Hu Hao replied, rubbing his head!
“Hao-ge, uh, hello Biao-ge!” Seeing that even Hu Hao didn’t dare speak back after getting hit, Li Jingsong immediately addressed Zhang Debiao.
“Mhm, hello. I just saw that your troops are garrisoned in Xiwan City, Luotang City, and the Yonghe City area, is that correct?” Zhang Debiao sat there, smiled, and looked at Li Jingsong.
“Yes, sir!” Li Jingsong replied immediately.
“How many troops do you have there right now in that corps? Knowing this kid, a corps definitely isn’t the standard five divisions, and each division definitely isn’t 12,000 men!” Zhang Debiao pointed at Hu Hao as he spoke to Li Jingsong.
“Ah, yes. According to our organization, our entire corps consists of six divisions, with roughly 16,000 men per division. Among those, there are six reserve divisions, but they haven’t been fully recruited yet. Our total troop strength is around 110,000.” Li Jingsong answered Zhang Debiao.
“Hmm. How many of them are capable of fighting—meaning they’ve undergone training?” Zhang Debiao asked.
“Report: the troops of five divisions, roughly 80,000 men!” Li Jingsong continued.
“80,000 men… that’s not enough!” Hearing this, Zhang Debiao pondered for a moment and shook his head.
“Brother, do you want his troops to advance west?” Hu Hao asked.
“Yes. Li Jingsong’s forces have to deal with the Allied forces to the north while also attacking to the west. At the same time, they are guarding the northwestern gate to Late City. They cannot move recklessly!” Zhang Debiao nodded.
“Mhm!” Hu Hao nodded!
“What do you mean ‘mhm’?! Think of a solution!” Zhang Debiao glared at Hu Hao.
“You want me to think of a solution?” Hu Hao looked at Zhang Debiao.
“Am I supposed to?!” Zhang Debiao glared furiously at Hu Hao.
“Alright, I’ll think of one!” Hu Hao nodded upon hearing this.
“That’s more like it! Li Jingsong, have your troops immediately fill the ranks of those six reserve divisions and begin training them! Your veteran units can launch small-scale probing attacks to the west. As long as you don’t encounter large enemy forces, there’s nothing to fear!” Zhang Debiao instructed Li Jingsong.
“Yes, sir, I am already doing that. However, the Allied forces have roughly a division stationed in every city to the west, so attacking them won’t be that easy!” Li Jingsong nodded and explained.
“A single division isn’t many troops. Use your head a little, and you can chew them up!” Zhang Debiao said.
“Yes, sir!” Li Jingsong nodded.
“Report! I am the Commander of the 101st Corps, Xiao Quan! Greetings, Big Brother, Biao-ge!” Xiao Quan stood at attention. Seeing that Li Jingsong’s introduction was finished, he immediately took the initiative to introduce himself.
They would be fools if they hadn’t realized by now just how high Zhang Debiao’s status was in Hu Hao’s heart. Furthermore, judging from the way Zhang Debiao spoke just now, he was clearly a man who knew how to wage war.
“Mhm, Xiao Quan. 101st Corps, stationed in Jinhe City and Jukou Town. Your troops are too close to Late City; you must expand eastward! How many combat-capable troops do you currently have?” Zhang Debiao asked.
“Also roughly 80,000!” Xiao Quan replied promptly.
“And the troops that haven’t seen combat?” Zhang Debiao pressed.
“Roughly 60,000!” Xiao Quan thought for a second before reporting to Zhang Debiao.
(End of Chapter)
The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair