Hearing Dong Qipeng trying to persuade him, Hu Hao looked at him. Dong Qipeng immediately admitted that it was Zhang Debiao who told him to say it.
Hu Hao didn’t speak. Instead, he lit a cigarette and thought carefully.
“Hao-ge, I think Biao-ge makes sense. The entire country needs to unite right now; only then is there hope! If the Allied forces weren’t slaughtering our citizens—if they just wanted to occupy us, or if their forces weren’t this powerful— I imagine many Combat Zone Commanders would have rebelled a long time ago.
The reason they haven’t made a move yet is probably because they know rebelling right now is a dead end. Forget about dealing with the Empire, we can’t even handle the Allied forces! Haozi, I know you don’t want to have deep conversations with the Emperor anymore, but can’t you at least maintain appearances?” Dong Qipeng whispered to Hu Hao.
Hu Hao naturally knew that rebelling now would not only fail but could also doom the citizens. He knew this perfectly well. Therefore, he was furious—furious that the Emperor constantly worried about this. If he had wanted to rebel, he would have done it ages ago!
“You understand all this?” Hu Hao asked, looking at Dong Qipeng.
“I listened to Biao-ge, thought about it myself, and realized it makes sense. Biao-ge also seemed to be cursing the Emperor out, but in the end, he still asked me to persuade you!” Dong Qipeng replied.
“Hmph, my brother has always been an honest man, afraid of this, afraid of that. But Laozi isn’t afraid of anything! I’m not going!” Hu Hao chuckled and refused.
“Hao-ge! Don’t you respect Biao-ge immensely? What’s going on? You’re not even listening to his advice anymore?” Dong Qipeng asked.
“I know what kind of person my brother is. He… sigh… he always prioritizes the big picture! The big picture! Screw the big picture! I can’t even take care of myself, and I’m supposed to prioritize the big picture?
Let me tell you, the Emperor wants to talk to Jiang Kai and me this time to ask why we’re acting like this, and then he’ll promise us some benefits. But the reality is, High Command won’t change one bit! Tang Long will still be General of the Left, and Luo Xin will still be Grand Marshal. Someone with an Air Force background commanding the entire nation’s ground forces—is success even possible?
And Tang Long is a fucking incompetent fool! Tell me, with him in High Command, who knows how many more disasters will happen? Unless there is a fundamental change in High Command, no matter how nicely I talk to the Emperor, it’s useless, understand?” Hu Hao explained to Dong Qipeng.
“Then… then you should suggest the Emperor change High Command!” Dong Qipeng offered.
“Hah, you make it sound so simple. Me suggest the Emperor change High Command? Look at the people in High Command—they are all from aristocratic families! Military aristocratic families! Even if I asked the Emperor to replace them, would he dare?!” Hu Hao sneered.
“True. Without the support of the aristocratic families, he probably wouldn’t be able to stay Emperor!” Dong Qipeng nodded in realization!
“Exactly. So, there’s no point in talking. Let him do whatever he wants; I’m not going to worry about it. We’ll fight our own battles. Right now, we aren’t short on weapons, ammunition, food, or medicine. We have nothing to fear; we can keep fighting. However, Jiang Kai is in trouble. His logistics depend on supplies from the rear. He’s going to have a hard time holding on!” Hu Hao said from his seat.
“Mhm, we have it better. We have our own arsenals!” Dong Qipeng nodded!
Meanwhile, in Zhongzhou Province, Jiang Kai waited a long time but received no telegram from Hu Hao. Unable to wait any longer, he called Hu Hao again. Hu Hao answered.
Hu Hao explained his reasoning to Jiang Kai. However, he suggested that Jiang Kai should proceed with the video call with the Emperor, while he himself would abstain. After all, Jiang Kai’s forces still needed the Empire’s support! Hearing Hu Hao’s advice, Jiang Kai thought it over and agreed. At 8:00 PM, he would connect with the Emperor via video call.
After finishing the call with Jiang Kai, Hu Hao immediately began organizing his equipment. The Special Operations soldiers also started preparing their gear. The reconnaissance units of the Special Operations Regiment had set out long ago.
By now, they had nearly reached a county town southwest of Dingze City, located barely 30 kilometers away.
Tonight, Hu Hao planned to lead his troops to wipe out the forces in this county town first. Then, using it as a base, they would continue reconnoitering all the small peripheral cities around Dingze City and clear out the enemies within them. This would serve the dual purpose of training the Special Operations troops and clearing the path for the regular infantry’s offensive!
At 8:00 PM, the Emperor sat in his study. Soon, Jiang Kai appeared on one of the large screens. Hu Hao, however, did not.
“Commander Jiang Kai, where is Hu Hao? Is he not coming?” the Emperor asked from his seat.
“He has an operation tonight. The Allied forces retreating from the central front are all pressing toward his position. Therefore, for the foreseeable future, Hu Hao must personally direct the combat operations,” Jiang Kai replied calmly. The Emperor nodded upon hearing this.
“Hmm. Jiang Kai, I wish to have a heart-to-heart talk with you. Just you, me, and the Crown Prince. How about it?” The Emperor nodded and addressed Jiang Kai.
“Very well!” Jiang Kai nodded, looking straight ahead.
“Jiang Kai, the fact that this operation did not meet expectations is my mistake. I truly did not anticipate that the logistics units would fail to deliver the ammunition on time,” the Emperor began.
“Your Majesty, if you are going to say that, then there is nothing left to discuss. Everyone knows Tang Long is intentionally choking my supply! I’ve inquired; the arsenals a mere 300 kilometers from my position hold massive stockpiles of ammunition!” Jiang Kai interrupted the Emperor.
“What? Impossible! Didn’t Tang Long say there wasn’t enough ammunition there?” The Emperor looked at Jiang Kai in shock.
“Hmph. You believed his words?!” Jiang Kai sneered coldly.
“Damn it… I truly did not know!” The Emperor muttered, sounding somewhat dazed.
“Originally, we could have recaptured five provinces this time, and we could have linked up with Hu Hao’s forces. But all because of Tang Long—for his own selfish interests, he completely disregarded the lives of the frontline soldiers, and he disregarded the lives of the citizens in the enemy-occupied territories even more!
Your Majesty, I, Jiang Kai, will not rebel against the Empire. However, High Command can also forget about directing my troops! If you do not want my troops to fight, you can relieve them. If you don’t relieve them, then send the ammunition! If you don’t send it, I will not bear the consequences!
I, Jiang Kai, cannot fight a war with soldiers but no ammunition! If the central front is breached, there is nothing I can do!” Jiang Kai sat there, speaking with utter calm!
“Wait a moment, Jiang Kai! This matter was mishandled on our end. But if you refuse to obey High Command’s orders, are you still a general of the Empire?! The citizens of the Empire are counting on you to win battles!” the Emperor pleaded.
“Your Majesty, tell me yourself: who in High Command knows how to fight a war?” Jiang Kai sat there, lit a cigarette, and asked.
The Emperor fell silent!
“A group of generals who don’t know the first thing about warfare controls the Empire’s most vital department, yet you still expect our frontline troops to win battles?! Is that possible? Isn’t that a joke?! Why did Hu Hao stop contacting you? Because he has given up hope!
Your Majesty, do you know? In the past three days alone, the territory Hu Hao controls has expanded to cover over four provinces! Four! He has annihilated roughly six Allied corps, captured four Allied Lieutenant Generals, and seven or eight Major Generals!
And right now, he is dealing with the troops retreating from the central front! Your Majesty, a general like that is a peerless commander! And the result? Tang Long attacks him every single day! Every day he claims Hu Hao will rebel!
Is Hu Hao stupid? Every citizen in the country knows that the Allied forces must be eliminated first! As long as the Allied forces are not driven out, the Empire will never know a day of peace!” Jiang Kai mocked the Emperor.
“What did you say?! Hu Hao controls that much territory now?! And he has achieved such massive combat results?! Why didn’t he report this?! Right, right… he no longer wants to maintain contact with us!” The Emperor was utterly shocked. He wanted to demand why Hu Hao hadn’t reported this, but recalling Jiang Kai’s previous words, he could only offer a helpless, bitter smile.
“I just called Hu Hao and urged him to join this call. Hu Hao told me he no longer wants to deal with you. You can call him a rebel, or you can call him a loyal servant of the nation—he doesn’t care. He will just keep fighting the Allied forces and recapturing lost territory. He doesn’t want to care about anything else.
Until High Command is replaced with generals who know how to fight, Hu Hao will refuse to contact High Command! Furthermore, Tang Long’s current behavior is highly suspicious! Aside from him constantly claiming we will rebel, no one else is saying it!
Everyone knows that rebelling right now would make one a sinner against the nation! We are facing a foreign invasion, and this invasion is different from those in the past. In previous invasions, they just wanted land, and the citizens could still continue living there. But not this time!
The Allied forces want to slaughter us all! Who would rebel?! Even if someone wanted to rebel, now is not the time! Yet Tang Long repeatedly brings this up. Is he an idiot? I don’t believe he’s an idiot. Then why is he doing this?
Hu Hao said something to me: Tang Long’s behavior is highly suspicious! Yet, Your Majesty, you still trust Tang Long so deeply! The entire Empire’s military-industrial complex is under Tang Long’s control; it hasn’t even been handed over to the Grand Marshal!
This is incredibly dangerous! Once the rainy season ends and the frontline battles intensify, if there isn’t enough ammunition… Your Majesty, whose world will this be then? It won’t belong to the people of our Empire; it will belong to the Allied forces, carved up by them! Tang Long is capable of doing this!” Jiang Kai sat there, looking at the Emperor with rising agitation.
“Tang Long? Impossible. He would not betray me; I know this for a fact. The reason he is doing this is because he has conflicts with the two of you!” The Emperor waved his hand in dismissal.
“Hah, perhaps. I have said my piece. Whether you believe it or not is up to you, Your Majesty!” Jiang Kai chuckled.
“Jiang Kai, I… I do not understand. I have not treated you poorly. Why are you treating me like this? I ask myself… Tang Long was attacking you, yes, but I have always trusted you! Why are you acting this way?” The Emperor looked at Jiang Kai, genuinely failing to understand this point.
(End of Chapter)