Zhang Debiao stood before the large screens. Meanwhile, at the command center in Daman City, the trainee officers could also see him directing the combat operations. Thus, they were now acquainted with Zhang Debiao!
“Report! A telegram from His Majesty. He orders us to prepare the communication network; he wishes to have a video call with Hao-ge!” a staff officer approached Zhang Debiao and reported.
“Now?” Zhang Debiao raised his wrist to check his watch. It was already nearing 10:00 PM. To think the Emperor wanted a video call at this hour.
“Yes. His Majesty has been calling continuously before this, hoping Hao-ge would pick up, but Hao-ge simply refused to answer!” Mo Qin explained from the side.
“Why wouldn’t he answer?” Zhang Debiao looked at Mo Qin, puzzled.
Mo Qin immediately recounted the recent events to Zhang Debiao. After Mo Qin finished speaking, the engineering staff officer looked to Zhang Debiao for orders.
“Don’t answer. Tell him Er Lengzi has gone to the front lines and doesn’t have the time!” Zhang Debiao instructed after a moment’s thought.
“Is that a good idea? Sending a video call request means His Majesty has actually softened his stance a bit. If we continue this stalemate, I feel it will be disadvantageous for Hao-ge!” Mo Qin tried to persuade Zhang Debiao.
“Er Lengzi said he wouldn’t answer, so he won’t answer! Who cares if it’s advantageous or not? Damn it, to think he actually suspected Er Lengzi! If Er Lengzi wanted to rebel, could he even stop him?” Zhang Debiao glanced at Mo Qin and retorted.
“Yes! But…” Mo Qin still wanted to argue.
“No ‘buts’. Er Lengzi is already fighting on the front lines right now anyway. How are they supposed to communicate? Just tell him straight: Hu Hao is charging on the front lines and cannot take his video call. We’ll talk when Hu Hao returns!” Zhang Debiao declared.
“Yes, sir!” The staff officer behind him nodded and immediately left to execute the order.
Mo Qin, however, stared at Zhang Debiao in astonishment. He didn’t understand how Zhang Debiao dared to make the call on such a critical matter. By all rights, shouldn’t he at least call Hu Hao to ask first?
“You want me to call Hu Hao and ask him?” Zhang Debiao asked Mo Qin, as if seeing right through his thoughts.
“Wouldn’t that be better?” Mo Qin replied with a question of his own.
“Hah, then you call him!” Zhang Debiao told Mo Qin. Hearing this, Mo Qin grabbed a phone and began dialing Hu Hao’s number.
At that moment, Hu Hao was reloading his weapon.
“Hao-ge, Mo Qin is calling you!” Zhao Yang yelled to Hu Hao, holding out a phone.
“What the hell does he want? Why is he calling me? Can’t he just ask my brother?” Hu Hao asked Zhao Yang upon hearing this.
“I don’t know!” Zhao Yang shook his head. Hu Hao took the phone!
“Hey, Ink, what is it?” Hu Hao asked, leaning against a wall. (Note: Mo Qin literally translates to Ink Respect, hence the nickname ‘Ink’)
“Hao-ge, His Majesty wants to have a video call with you!” Mo Qin shouted.
“Video call my ass! Laozi is fighting a war on the front lines! What video call?!” Hu Hao yelled into the phone.
“But…!” Mo Qin tried to interject!
“Alright, alright, enough ‘buts’! We’re in the middle of a battle right now! Anything else?!” Hu Hao immediately cut him off.
“No!” Mo Qin replied.
“Then that’s it!” With that, Hu Hao hung up the phone.
Back in the command center, Mo Qin stood there and looked at Zhang Debiao.
“Got shot down, didn’t you? With that kid’s temper, you think he’d give a damn about the Emperor? Even if the Emperor’s father came back to life, it’d be useless! Don’t I know him best?” Zhang Debiao chuckled, seeing Mo Qin’s reaction.
“No, Biao-ge, you and Hao-ge… you two…?” Mo Qin asked, staring at Zhang Debiao.
“Hah, he’s my own little brother, closer than blood!” Zhang Debiao smiled and shook his head!
“No, then… then… then as his big brother, you should consider things for his sake!” Mo Qin urged.
“Consider what? Consider not offending the Emperor? Hmph. The Emperor is nothing but dog shit. Damn it, just thinking about him pisses me off. Running away without firing a single shot! Such a massive country, with such a complete industrial system and such a powerful military, yet he couldn’t even hold the line! Half the territory is lost, and he still has the face to be Emperor?!
Besides, anyone who makes Er Lengzi unhappy is definitely no good person. And since they’re not a good person, why give a damn about them?” Zhang Debiao explained to Mo Qin.
Mo Qin stared blankly at Zhang Debiao, completely unable to follow his logic.
“Alright, let’s leave it at that. Matters like this can wait until he returns to handle them!” Zhang Debiao told Mo Qin.
“You can’t handle them?” Mo Qin asked.
“Me handle them? If I handle them, I’ll just end up cursing the Emperor out myself!” Zhang Debiao stated plainly.
Meanwhile, at the Imperial Palace, the Emperor received the report from his subordinates that Hu Hao had gone to the front lines to fight and was not in the command center!
“What did you say?! An Army Group Commander went to fight on the front lines?! Who is he trying to fool?! With so many troops under his command, does he really need the Commander himself to go to the front lines?!” The Emperor paced back and forth, entirely unconvinced.
“Has Hu Hao truly gone too far? Does he actually dare to brush us off like this?” The Crown Prince’s expression also soured as he looked at the Emperor.
“Send a telegram to Hu Hao’s command center! Ask the personnel there who is currently in charge! I want to speak with the person in charge! Furthermore, didn’t they say Hu Hao went to fight on the front lines?
Fine! Zhili, call Hu Hao immediately! I refuse to believe Hu Hao truly dares to disregard me completely!” the Emperor roared furiously.
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Zhili immediately grabbed a satellite phone and dialed Hu Hao’s number. However, Hu Hao hadn’t taken his phone with him; it was still sitting in the command center! The call was quickly answered by a staff officer!
“I am the Crown Prince. Where is Hu Hao right now?!” the Crown Prince demanded.
“Report! Hao-ge is currently fighting on the front lines. According to secrecy regulations, I cannot disclose his exact location!” the staff officer replied.
“What? He’s really fighting on the front lines?” The Crown Prince was somewhat incredulous and glanced at the Emperor.
“Yes, he is currently fighting on the front lines!” the staff officer reiterated!
“Then who is on duty at the command center right now?!” the Crown Prince continued.
“Report! Biao-ge!” the staff officer replied.
“Biao-ge? Who is Biao-ge?” The Crown Prince was utterly bewildered!
“Biao-ge is Biao-ge! His name is Zhang Debiao, and he is our Hao-ge’s big brother! He is currently directing the combat operations here! Hao-ge is fighting on the front lines!” the staff officer explained.
“What?! Hu Hao’s big brother, Zhang Debiao?! Are you joking with me?! One’s surname is Hu, the other is Zhang, and you’re telling me Zhang Debiao is Hu Hao’s big brother?! What exactly is going on over there?!” Feeling his intelligence had been insulted, the Crown Prince immediately scolded.
“It’s true! That’s what Hao-ge said anyway!” the staff officer replied, feeling a bit wronged!
“Put your Biao-ge on the phone! I want to speak with him!” the Crown Prince yelled loudly.
“Yes, sir!” The staff officer took the phone over to Zhang Debiao.
“Biao-ge, the Crown Prince wants to speak with you!” the staff officer informed him.
“Speak with me? I don’t even know him, what’s there to speak about?” Zhang Debiao was slightly confused, but he took the phone anyway.
“This is Zhang Debiao. Hello, Your Highness the Crown Prince!” Zhang Debiao greeted.
“No, what is going on?! Hu Hao isn’t in the command center, and you, some ‘big brother’ who popped out of nowhere, are actually directing the frontline troops?! Where exactly did Hu Hao go?!” the Crown Prince shouted angrily, completely unable to grasp the situation at the First Army Group.
“Hu Hao is fighting over in Tonglong City. If you wish to speak with him, I can have someone provide you with a new number!” Zhang Debiao offered.
“And who exactly are you?!” the Crown Prince demanded.
“I am Hu Hao’s big brother!” Zhang Debiao replied.
“Your surname is Zhang!” the Crown Prince pressed!
“So what if we’re sworn brothers?” Zhang Debiao answered casually.
“Fine. Send me Hu Hao’s number immediately! I’d like to ask him just how exactly he’s managing his position as the First Army Group Commander, to the point where his command center has actually been hijacked!” the Crown Prince shouted, highly dissatisfied.
“Sigh, I didn’t want this either. You just don’t know that Er Lengzi. When it comes to slacking off and passing the buck, no one can beat him! I was left with no choice either!” Zhang Debiao sighed over the phone. Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince simply hung up.
“Hmph. The nerve of that guy, coming here to question me!” Zhang Debiao handed the phone back to the staff officer beside him.
“Transmit Zhao Yang’s number to the Crown Prince. If we don’t, he won’t be able to sleep tonight, thinking Er Lengzi has rebelled!” Zhang Debiao instructed the staff officer before turning his attention back to the large screens!
“Remind Wu Kexiao to ensure his rear units keep up! Do not halt! They must use Hu Hao’s location as the breakthrough point to slowly pierce through the Allied defensive lines and sever their forces!” Zhang Debiao ordered Mo Qin beside him.
“Yes, sir!” Mo Qin nodded and immediately contacted Wu Kexiao.
“Call Zhao Yang and have him tell Hu Hao to pay attention to the movements of his rear units! Tell him not to charge too fast!
If we can punch through the Allied defensive lines tonight, we’ll sever their forces! If that happens, the Allied troops retreating from the north might have to divert even more men to Tonglong City. That will significantly reduce the pressure on Gunan City. If we can completely wipe out the enemy forces in Tonglong City, then it’s possible no Allied troops will advance on Gunan City at all!” Zhang Debiao explained to Dong Qipeng.
“Yes, sir!” Dong Qipeng nodded and began contacting Zhao Yang. Upon receiving the call, Zhao Yang immediately relayed the message to Hu Hao.
“Hehe, that’s exactly what Laozi was thinking! We’ll screw them over! Even if we can’t completely annihilate them, we’ll cripple them! They want to take our Gunan City? Then we’ll take their Tonglong City! We’ll see who hurts more!” Hu Hao declared smugly.
Zhao Yang nodded upon hearing this. Just then, his phone rang again. Zhao Yang immediately answered it.
“Hao-ge, it’s His Highness the Crown Prince!” Zhao Yang yelled to Hu Hao over the sound of gunfire as Hu Hao fired his weapon.
(End of Chapter)