In the middle of the night, the Emperor summoned Tang Long to the Imperial Palace. He wanted to ask for Tang Long’s opinion of Hu Hao. The Emperor himself no longer knew how to view Hu Hao. The generals at High Command—Luo Xin and Liang Kuan—along with Jiang Kai out in the field, all trusted Hu Hao.
However, Hu Hao’s behavior over the past few days led the Emperor to believe that Hu Hao wasn’t nearly as loyal to him as they claimed. Therefore, he thought of Tang Long, the first person to voice doubts about Hu Hao.
“Hmm. Forcing a link-up isn’t impossible, but Hu Hao and Jiang Kai’s forces are currently engaged in combat elsewhere. If we order them to link up now, they might refuse!” the Emperor considered before speaking to Tang Long.
“It is wartime; battles can break out at any moment. If they use that as an excuse, then Hu Hao and Jiang Kai will never link up! Right now, Jiang Kai has only mobilized forces from the middle and eastern sections of the central front. Hu Hao has only committed four corps to battle. Based on his current troop strength, he still has enough forces to deal with the Allied troops lying between them.
I believe it is entirely feasible to issue the order to Hu Hao and Jiang Kai!” Tang Long stood and offered his suggestion.
“Hmm. We will order them to link up in a couple of days. Let us not command them to do so right now. Hu Hao is currently highly dissatisfied with us. I have not treated him poorly, and I have granted him sufficient trust. I simply cannot understand why Hu Hao has changed so drastically recently!” The Emperor sat there, expressing his confusion over Hu Hao’s recent shifts in behavior.
“Indeed. Therefore, dealing with such a person requires sending someone mature and experienced to his side!” Tang Long immediately seized the opening.
“Do you have a good candidate?” the Emperor asked, looking at him.
“I do. Ma Xiongjin, the second son of Ma Zhenling. He currently oversees our Empire’s intelligence apparatus and holds the rank of Lieutenant General. I believe he is the most suitable candidate to serve as Hu Hao’s Chief of Staff!” Tang Long replied promptly.
“Oh, Ma Xiongjin. I know him. However, why do you recommend him? From what I know, you and Ma Zhenling do not get along. Furthermore, if you send his second son to Hu Hao’s side, Ma Zhenling won’t let the matter rest easily.
Another thing: why him? Your second son, Tang Yinghao, is also a Lieutenant General!” The Emperor smiled and questioned Tang Long.
The Emperor knew full well that going to Hu Hao’s side wasn’t necessarily a good thing. If things went poorly, Hu Hao could easily arrange for his Chief of Staff to meet an untimely end.
In the First Army Group, Hu Hao was the founder and absolute master. If Hu Hao wanted someone dead, he wouldn’t even have to do it himself.
“Your Majesty, I truly hadn’t considered that. Of course, if Your Majesty wishes to send Yinghao, that is acceptable as well. However, I still feel Ma Xiongjin is the most suitable.
Because he specializes in intelligence, he will definitely be far sharper at detecting any movements from Hu Hao and Jiang Kai than an ordinary person.
Most importantly, I’ve heard that Hu Hao was classmates with his daughter, Liang Wanyu, and that she once did Hu Hao a massive favor. Therefore, Hu Hao wouldn’t lightly kill Ma Xiongjin!” Tang Long explained quickly.
“Oh, I see. Very well, sending him truly is the best option!” The Emperor nodded in agreement.
“Yes. Furthermore, from what I know, Jiang Kai still owes Ma Zhenling a massive favor! Therefore, Jiang Kai won’t dare make a move against Ma Xiongjin either!” Tang Long continued.
“What favor? Let’s hear it!” the Emperor asked with immediate interest.
“Years ago, after Jiang Kai’s father died, Jiang Kai originally couldn’t be promoted to Full General because he was too young—barely 25 years old. It was Ma Zhenling who single-handedly approved his promotion and persuaded the rest of High Command to agree.
That allowed Jiang Kai to succeed his father and become the Southwest Combat Zone Commander. This is an immense favor, so Jiang Kai would never dare lay a hand on Ma Xiongjin!” Tang Long explained from his seat.
“Oh, so that’s what happened. Alright, let’s settle on him for now! Very well, it’s getting late. You should return and rest!” The Emperor nodded and dismissed Tang Long.
“Yes, Your Majesty. You must force them to link up so our people can get there! This is beneficial for Hu Hao and for our Empire. If Hu Hao were to stray down the wrong path, that would be the Empire’s greatest loss!” Tang Long declared with righteous indignation as he stood up.
“Hmm, very well!” The Emperor nodded. Tang Long cupped his hands to the Emperor and the Crown Prince, then left the office. Now, only the Emperor and the Crown Prince remained.
“Imperial Father, I still don’t believe Hu Hao will become uncontrollable. I know part of the reason he was angry earlier: our forces haven’t produced any presentable combat results, yet we constantly suspect him!” the Crown Prince said, looking at the Emperor.
“Hmm. Just because I suspect him, he gets to act like this? This world belongs to our Royal Family! I can trust anyone I please, and I can suspect anyone I please!
Li’er, we are the Royal Family. You are the Crown Prince, and I am the Emperor. No matter how capable Hu Hao is, he must obey my arrangements and yours. Yet he actually dared to give me an attitude! It is obvious he no longer holds any reverence for our Royal Family in his heart. You must guard against such a person!” the Emperor lectured the Crown Prince.
“Yes, I know. But… but currently, Hu Hao is the only general in the Empire who truly knows how to fight. If we remove him, it would be a massive loss for the Empire!” the Crown Prince argued.
“I haven’t considered removing him just yet. However, keeping an eye on him is an absolute must. I don’t want to remove him either. It’s not easy for the Empire to produce a capable general. As long as he talks things out, I can give him all the wealth and glory he desires.
But I must be the one to give it; he cannot demand it. Do you understand?” the Emperor stared intently at the Crown Prince.
“I understand!” The Crown Prince nodded.
“Hmm, it’s getting late. Go rest. Sigh!” The Emperor stood up, and the Crown Prince followed suit.
“Actually, I should be happy. After all, Hu Hao won battles in the south, and Jiang Kai is actively attacking the Allied forces right now, which should at least wipe out some of their troops.
Especially Hu Hao. He’s attacking Tonglong City right now. As long as he captures it and destroys the railways and highways, the pressure on the central front will be light during the early stages after the rainy season. So why can’t I feel happy?” the Emperor asked, leaning on the Crown Prince as they walked.
“Hu Hao being uncontrollable truly is a massive hidden danger. However, I doubt Commander Jiang Kai will act as Tang Long described!” the Crown Prince offered.
“Li’er, remember this: people change. Just because Jiang Kai won’t do it now doesn’t mean he won’t in the future. We must nip problems in the bud!” The Emperor patted the Crown Prince’s hand.
“Yes!” The Crown Prince nodded.
Meanwhile, back in Tonglong City, Hu Hao was leading the frontline troops in a fierce assault against the Allied forces. Without their senior commanders, the Allied forces couldn’t coordinate effectively. If they didn’t seize this opportunity to wipe out a chunk of the enemy, there would never be a better chance.
The Allied forces also realized their predicament. Knowing their corps commanders had been captured, several nearby divisions began converging to form a consolidated defense.
According to orders from their Supreme Command, they had to hold the warehouses. Losing the railway station was acceptable, but the warehouses could not fall.
Vostok had deduced that Hu Hao’s troops definitely had their eyes on the supplies inside those warehouses. Since Hu Hao’s forces had been operating surrounded by enemies, they desperately needed those supplies to replenish themselves.
Therefore, Vostok believed Hu Hao wouldn’t casually bombard the warehouses unless he was certain he couldn’t capture them. Whether shelling would actually destroy the supplies was another matter entirely.
Because right now, the Allied forces had already transferred a massive amount of supplies into underground air raid shelters and the subway tunnels below. Furthermore, an even larger stockpile of supplies was located in Mengshui City, the station right before Tonglong City!
After a night of fierce combat, Hu Hao’s forces finally halted their full-scale offensive around 7:00 AM. The soldiers were utterly exhausted and began resting in the underground parking garages of large buildings, subway stations, and air raid shelters.
Hu Hao was currently resting on the ground floor of a large building. The ground floor was relatively safer; even if the building were to completely collapse, it would take time, giving Hu Hao’s team a chance to escape!
Hu Hao sat with several Team Leaders, eating breakfast brought from the rear. Spread out on the ground before him was a map of Tonglong City. Hu Hao studied the map as he ate.
“Damn it, there are still quite a few troops left. Scattered about, there are probably still over 100,000 of them!” Hu Hao remarked, studying the map.
“Hao-ge!” Wu Kexiao arrived. Hu Hao’s current position was in the center of the city, a slight distance from the front lines, where some of the Special Operations Regiment troops were resting.
“Why are you here?” Hu Hao asked immediately upon seeing Wu Kexiao.
“Old Weng is on duty. I couldn’t sleep, so I came over to take a look. Damn it, fighting all night… we achieved massive results, but our casualties aren’t small either!” Wu Kexiao sat down beside Hu Hao!
“Want a portion?” Zhao Yang asked Wu Kexiao.
“Sure. I haven’t eaten yet either!” Wu Kexiao nodded. Zhao Yang immediately waved to the rear.
A soldier quickly brought over a lunchbox. Wu Kexiao opened it and began eating with a spoon.
“How heavy are the casualties?” Hu Hao asked.
“At least 20,000 dead, and roughly the same number severely wounded!” Wu Kexiao replied.
“Hmm. Do you know how many Allied soldiers we killed?” Hu Hao pressed.
“That’s a massive number, impossible to count right now. Our logistics cleanup crews are currently using bulldozers to scoop up the corpses into trucks to bury them outside the city. With this temperature and the heavy rain, if we’re not careful, a plague will break out!” Wu Kexiao told Hu Hao.
“Mhm!” Hu Hao nodded. He knew the casualties would be severe!
“Hao-ge, I want to ask you a question,” Wu Kexiao said, looking at Hu Hao!
“Ask away!” Hu Hao nodded.
(End of Chapter)