Wu Kexiao quickly returned to his corps headquarters. Because Weng Tao was going to lead troops to attack Mengshui City, Wu Kexiao needed to oversee things here. Originally, Wu Kexiao had wanted Hu Hao to go to the headquarters, but when Hu Hao heard this, he gave Wu Kexiao a severe scolding. He had finally managed to escape from a command center; going to Wu Kexiao’s headquarters now would mean there was something wrong with his head.
After Wu Kexiao left, Hu Hao and the Special Operations soldiers went to an underground air raid shelter to sleep. Currently, battles were still raging in the city, but they weren’t intense. Hu Hao’s fresh recruit units were launching probing attacks against the Allied forces, applying constant pressure on them!
When Hu Hao woke up, it was already past 4:00 PM. He stood up, stretched lazily, and walked to the entrance of the air raid shelter. Outside, it was still raining—a steady, moderate downpour!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Explosions still echoed outside!
“Hao-ge, the troops are already attacking! They launched a full-scale offensive at 3:00 PM, pressing down on the Allied forces. Today, at the cost of over 10,000 casualties, we completely annihilated roughly three Allied divisions! Various other units also wiped out quite a few enemies. Right now, the remaining Allied forces are desperately defending their supply depots!” Seeing Hu Hao approach, Zhao Yang immediately brought a map over. A Team Leader handed Hu Hao some food, and Hu Hao began eating right away!
“We must seize those supplies, or we’ll take a massive loss. Tonight, organize a squadron to fight alongside me. We’re going to raid the Allied warehouses and grab those supplies!” Hu Hao said between bites.
“Yes, sir!” Zhao Yang nodded.
“Hao-ge! Hao-ge!” Just then, someone arrived from outside. Hu Hao looked up and saw it was Xu Hui, along with the other three Squadron Leaders.
“Why did you guys come over?” Hu Hao asked immediately upon seeing Xu Hui.
“Hao-ge, this is unfair! Yangzi went with you to capture all those generals last night. Do you see how smug he is right now? This won’t do! We are also the Special Operations Regiment. You can’t just take Yangzi’s squadron on operations; we want to go too!” Xu Hui walked over and complained.
“What’s going on here? Coming here to demand answers? That’s out of line, isn’t it?” Zhao Yang immediately challenged the four of them.
“Tsk, step aside!” Another Squadron Leader, Jiang Bin, immediately waved Zhao Yang away.
“Cocky, keep being cocky!” Hu Hao smiled at Zhao Yang.
“I… I… I was just stating facts, how is that being cocky? They’re jealous, do you know that? They’re jealous! Yes, jealous!” Zhao Yang argued anxiously!
“Oh, come on! Who was it that bragged to me this morning, holding up four fingers saying ‘Four Lieutenant Generals, four!’? Wasn’t that you?!” Xu Hui pointed out, gesturing with four fingers!
“Sigh, this big mouth of mine!” Zhao Yang slapped his own mouth.
“Alright, since you’re here, come over!” Hu Hao called out to them, then gestured for Zhao Yang to spread the map on the ground. Taking a red pen, Hu Hao drew five circles on the map.
“See this? These five locations are the most likely spots for the Allied supply depots. Tonight, we must break through these areas and seize those supplies!” Hu Hao pointed at the circles he had drawn, while the others crouched around him, watching attentively!
“We will coordinate with the infantry units to launch attacks on these locations. First, I will lead Xu Hui’s troops to assault here and take this warehouse. Zhao Yang, your troops will attack here…” Hu Hao proceeded to assign targets to the five squadrons! Currently, their squadrons each consisted of roughly four squads. When Weng Tao led the troops to Mengshui City earlier, he had drawn three squads away.
“Hao-ge, you’re only operating with Xu Hui and not us?” Jiang Bin asked Hu Hao.
“Yeah, Hao-ge?” Another Squadron Leader, Dong Wenjun, also crouched there and asked.
“Look here. The Allied forces at Xu Hui’s target are currently the weakest, so we need to clear them out one by one. Once we finish clearing out the Allied forces on Xu Hui’s side, I imagine the Allied troops in your assigned areas will have been sufficiently battered by our regular forces. Then I’ll come over and lead you guys in the assault!” Hu Hao explained to them.
“Makes sense!” They nodded in agreement.
“Tonight, capture these locations with warehouses. As for the rest of the city, just establishing control is enough. There’s no need for fierce attacks; simply preventing them from converging is sufficient,” Hu Hao instructed them.
After giving them a few more instructions, Hu Hao and his team set out. Starting with Xu Hui’s unit, it took them four hours, coordinating with regular forces, to successfully annihilate two divisions and locate the Allied warehouse, which was packed with grain. Upon receiving the news, Zhang Debiao immediately ordered the logistics units to transport the grain. It was a massive amount—enough to feed several corps for two months. Hu Hao then led the troops to continue the assault.
By dawn the next day, they had successfully captured all five locations, discovering that one of them did not actually contain a warehouse.
…
Meanwhile, in Mengshui City, Weng Tao had launched a fierce offensive throughout the night. He successfully annihilated the defending garrison and began transporting the captured supplies back toward Xingqiao City.
In the Allied command center, Vostok sat utterly stunned. His plans had been declared bankrupt before they even had a chance to unfold. He had originally intended for the Tonglong City troops to hold out for five days.
Instead, the frontline command center had been taken out in less than five hours, followed by catastrophic losses for the Tonglong City defending forces! He then wanted to mobilize troops from the coastal military camps to Mengshui City, intending to use it as a staging base to reinforce Tonglong City.
Yet, barely after the troops had mobilized, Mengshui City fell to Hu Hao’s forces. This was quickly followed by the fall of the warehouses in Tonglong City to Hu Hao as well.
“Supreme Commander, in our campaigns against Hu Hao, we haven’t gained a single advantage so far. I think we need to seriously reflect on how to eliminate him,” Vitali stated from his seat.
“It’s the rainy season! Massing a large-scale force to eliminate him is simply impossible right now. Furthermore, Hu Hao’s troops are currently fighting on all fronts. As of now, the territory controlled by Hu Hao’s forces exceeds the area of three provinces. There is still over a month until the rainy season ends, yet many of our units deployed around him have already been crippled. The only forces currently capable of threatening Hu Hao are the ones on the central front. But those troops still have to face Jiang Kai’s attacks, and delivering supplies to them will likely prove difficult! Damn it, we have no choice but to admit defeat to Hu Hao’s combat prowess!” Vostok sat there smoking, speaking in a low, somber voice.
“Right now, Hu Hao’s forces in Nage City, Xike City, and Luotang City have all launched operations. The Nage City troops have already reached Liping City, capturing several surrounding cities in the process.
Meanwhile, the forces from Xike City and Luotang City have converged, capturing both Linshui and Renshui cities. Additionally, their troops have begun threatening Licheng City. If they break through Licheng City, they will pose a direct threat to Tianjin Province.
The troops in Xiwan City have also recaptured Renhe City, which we previously controlled, and are currently threatening Xinshan City. If Xinshan City falls to Hu Hao, and he immediately attacks Malin City, our forces in Liangchuan City will be completely surrounded.
Hu Hao’s forces are fighting on all four fronts. Only the troops in Yonghe City and Jinhe City remain stationary; they must defend against our forces to their north. Therefore, there must be at least two corps stationed in those two locations.
If we allow Hu Hao’s forces to continue expanding, they will eventually threaten our troops in Jinxi Province. Our troops in Jinxi Province are currently attacking the Eastern Spirit Empire’s western front.
Once Hu Hao’s forces defeat our troops in Liangchuan City, the entire offensive force in Jinxi Province will be forced to retreat!
If that happens, the arrangements we made with Tang Long might fail to achieve their objective. Tang Long’s forces are also located at the border of Jinxi Province and Zhongzhou Province. We must reinforce our troops in Liangchuan City and Malin City in Jinxi Province immediately!
As for our forces intended to attack Gunan City, I am no longer optimistic. Hu Hao’s forces have already captured Tianyu City and Tiantong City. Even if we capture Gunan City, we won’t be able to sever his forces.
On the contrary, our forces might be devoured by his! My recommendation is that once our troops reach Dingze City, they should halt. They should simply maintain a threatening presence against Hu Hao’s forces from that direction!” Vitali briefed Vostok on the recent developments.
Over the past few days, Hu Hao’s forces had launched a full-scale offensive, recapturing a dozen major cities. This placed immense pressure on the Allied forces while simultaneously securing a massive amount of living space for Hu Hao’s army.
“I am not worried about Hu Hao expanding his territory. He doesn’t have many troops, so the more he expands, the more dispersed his forces will become!” Vostok replied.
“Supreme Commander, your thinking is flawed. Do you even know how many troops Hu Hao has right now?” Vitali challenged immediately.
“Isn’t it just seven corps? Oh, right, it’s ten corps now. But those three new corps probably haven’t even finished forming yet!” Vostok looked at Vitali.
“Wrong! I just ran some calculations. Hu Hao’s forces far exceed seven corps, and they far exceed ten corps as well!” Vitali shook his head.
“What?” Vostok stared at Vitali in shock.
“Calculate it yourself. There are roughly three corps fighting in Tonglong City. In Nage City, Xike City, and Luotang City, there are roughly five corps combined. Then there’s Yonghe City and Jinhe City. And what about the reserve forces Hu Hao has prepared for them?
Don’t forget the city defense forces Hu Hao has stationed in every city. Hu Hao currently controls over 20 medium and large cities. Even assuming just one division per city, calculate how many troops that is!” Vitali reminded Vostok.
(End of Chapter)