Hu Hao was still somewhat concerned about the ammunition issue on Jiang Kai’s end. However, upon hearing that Jiang Kai had already seized control of the arsenal in Zhongzhou Province, Hu Hao was slightly surprised.
“Commander, you’ve got quite the nerve! Daring to seize the Emperor’s arsenal?” he asked.
“I learned it from you! Don’t think I don’t know that the Late City arsenal is definitely operational by now!” Jiang Kai chuckled.
“Of course it is! If it wasn’t operational, how would I supply so many troops for battle?” Hu Hao laughed in return.
“Hmm. You should contact your family tonight or tomorrow. I will send someone to pick them up shortly. Leaving them in your hometown is unsafe. I know Tang Long; he is extremely narrow-minded. If he sets his sights on you, your family and clansmen will be in grave danger!” Jiang Kai advised, turning the topic to Hu Hao’s family.
“Alright. However, I have no direct way to contact them. How about this: once your subordinates arrive, have them call my phone directly. I will speak to my parents then!” Hu Hao nodded, feeling a twinge of gratitude toward Jiang Kai.
“Very well. By the way, tell me the truth: exactly how many troops do you have right now? The territory you control keeps expanding. By all rights, your current troop numbers shouldn’t be enough to hold it all, right? His Majesty previously approved your expansion to seven corps. Including the three corps he just granted you, your theoretical troop strength is 600,000. Roughly how many do you have now? Have you already reached full capacity?” Jiang Kai inquired.
“Not yet. I haven’t finished forming those three new corps; I don’t have candidates for the corps commanders yet. However, my total troop strength has likely surpassed 600,000,” Hu Hao admitted.
“What?! Without even establishing the organizational structure for the ten corps, you’ve already amassed 600,000 troops?! What’s going on?! Did you recruit troops privately?!” Jiang Kai asked, staring at Hu Hao in shock.
“What else was I supposed to do?! Operating independently out here, if I didn’t recruit troops privately and my forces suffered casualties, who would I ask for replacements? You have reserves to replenish your ranks, but who do I have?” Hu Hao countered.
“True. However, Hu Hao, try to do this as little as possible. You can justify disobeying His Majesty and High Command; as long as we are fighting on the front lines, His Majesty won’t dare touch us. Furthermore, we haven’t given His Majesty or High Command any leverage over us. But recruiting troops privately is a massive taboo for generals! If His Majesty finds out, he will definitely not let you off the hook. You must be careful!” Jiang Kai warned him.
“I know. Thank you, Commander. I need to prepare for combat operations now, so I cannot chat any longer!” Hu Hao replied.
He didn’t want to say more to Jiang Kai. Although Jiang Kai had given up on High Command, he still harbored hope for the Emperor and the Empire. He hoped the Emperor could rally, reform High Command, and enable it to fulfill its role of directing the nation’s combat operations! Therefore, Hu Hao had no intention of trying to persuade Jiang Kai otherwise. Such things couldn’t be forced; Jiang Kai remained deeply loyal to the Empire.
After hanging up, Hu Hao sat in the vehicle, pondering his next moves and the future of his army. Now that his big brother was here, he could completely wash his hands of logistics and troop training.
As for combat operations, with Zhang Debiao overseeing the command center, no major disasters would occur. His primary tasks now were to cultivate officers—especially mid-to-high-ranking ones—train the Special Operations Regiment, and focus on weapons research and development!
“Call the command center! Get my brother on the line!” Hu Hao instructed Dong Qipeng.
Dong Qipeng immediately dialed the command center. Moments later, he handed the phone to Hu Hao.
“Hello, this is Hu Hao!” Hu Hao spoke into the receiver.
“Er Lengzi, what happened?” Zhang Debiao asked the moment he heard Hu Hao’s voice.
“What could happen to me?” Hu Hao replied, sounding depressed.
“You wouldn’t call me if nothing happened. Spit it out!” Zhang Debiao prompted.
“Hehe. Big brother, I was thinking about how we should deal with the Emperor from now on. Didn’t you say you would handle it before? I feel like there’s no need to handle it anymore!” Hu Hao said, leaning back in his seat.
“What do you mean, ‘no need to handle it’?! That won’t do, Er Lengzi! I know what you’re thinking, and I feel the same way. But don’t forget, we are currently facing an Allied invasion! We must unite to defeat them!
Otherwise, it’s our citizens who will suffer! Er Lengzi, we might not need to consider ourselves, but we must consider the citizens!” Zhang Debiao urged.
“I understand. But brother, think back to the past. Think back to our time…” Hu Hao hinted to Zhang Debiao.
Because there were others in the vehicle, Hu Hao couldn’t speak too plainly.
“Our time… hmm! Hold on, let me think!” Zhang Debiao instantly understood Hu Hao’s meaning. He was referring to the Anti-Japanese War back on Earth!
“Hmm, that’s doable. We could handle it that way. However, we are too weak right now! Standing on our own two feet will be incredibly difficult!” Zhang Debiao said after a moment’s thought.
“It won’t be any harder than it was back then!” Hu Hao stated with certainty.
“You brat! Have you even considered how many enemies we’re facing now?! The Allied forces are comprised of over seventy nations! Even if we mobilized the strength of the entire nation, winning would be difficult! With only the territory we currently control, is it even possible to defeat them?! They could flatten our entire country just by burying us in sheer numbers!” Zhang Debiao argued.
“If that’s the case, then there’s even less reason to listen to the Emperor! Since we can’t fucking win anyway, we might as well fight on our own terms! What am I afraid of? Him throwing dirty water on my name?” Hu Hao replied nonchalantly, leaning back.
“Sigh, you brat! Can’t you give me a moment’s peace?! If we do as you say, I’ll be worked to death!” Hearing this, Zhang Debiao knew exactly what Hu Hao wanted to do.
“Brother, you’re just silly. Can’t you cultivate your own people? Look at me! I’m cultivating officers and the Special Operations Regiment right now. Once they’re ready, we won’t be nearly as tired, right?” Hu Hao laughed.
“Get lost! You think you’re so smart! Have you even considered that since I arrived at the command center, I haven’t even slept five hours in total?! And you call yourself my little brother?! You’re just trying to screw me over, aren’t you?!” Zhang Debiao cursed.
“It’s fine, hehe! Things will get better once we get past this busy period!” Hu Hao chuckled.
“Hah, you brat. Fine, we’ll do it your way! I know asking you to obey their orders is asking too much. Alright, I’ll indulge your madness this once! Anyway, damn it, we’re in the Eastern Spirit Empire now! We brothers answer to no one!” Zhang Debiao laughed in agreement.
“Awesome! Brother, when the time comes, I’ll find you ten wives!” Hu Hao cheered happily!
“Screw off! I don’t need you worrying about my affairs! Just manage your own!” Zhang Debiao laughed and scolded him.
“Hehe! Big brother, moving forward, you can return to Daman City. Command Lu Guangsheng, Ye Zifeng, Xiao Quan, and Weng Tao to expand west, southwest, south, and east! Leave this area to me. Additionally, once you get there, have them continue recruiting troops. Select a batch of division commanders from the regimental commanders who performed well in this recent operation!” Hu Hao laid out his plans to Zhang Debiao.
“Hmm, heading to Daman City is a must. Daman City is the First Army Group’s general headquarters. From there, I can oversee the combat operations of the entire army. However, Er Lengzi, we need to select people to manage those cities. Do you have any ideas?” Zhang Debiao nodded and asked.
“I don’t know! They’re all under military administration right now. I don’t have anyone suitable!” Hu Hao replied, sounding troubled. He hadn’t managed local affairs much.
“This won’t work in the long run. Such matters must be handed over to local administrations. Our army should solely focus on fighting wars. I think you need to select a batch of mayors so every city can resume normal production! Er Lengzi, if we truly intend to rely on ourselves to counterattack the Allied forces, local production is paramount! It is the guarantee that we can sustain continuous combat operations. You must prioritize this!” Zhang Debiao advised.
“Brother, you manage it! How about that?” Hu Hao smiled.
“Me manage it?! Just work me to death, why don’t you?! Seriously, Er Lengzi, are you taking revenge on me?!” Zhang Debiao demanded.
Back on Earth, it was always Zhang Debiao issuing orders and assigning tasks to Hu Hao, and Hu Hao would complain every single day. Now that they were here, the roles seemed to have reversed! Hu Hao was dumping everything onto his head!
“Then what do you suggest we do? If you don’t manage it, I’ll just leave things as they are!” Hu Hao declared shamelessly.
“Alright, alright, alright! I can’t count on you for anything! I’ll figure something out!” Zhang Debiao sighed in utter resignation.
“Great! Then you can head back to Daman City tomorrow! Oh, right, can you concurrently hold the position of Commander of the 107th Corps? Will that work?” Hu Hao asked!
“Fine. The remaining three corps must be established as well, and quickly. The Allied forces won’t give us much time!” Zhang Debiao nodded.
“Excellent!” Hu Hao was thrilled to hear his agreement.
After hanging up, Hu Hao resumed studying his map.
Around 11:00 PM, Hu Hao’s troops arrived at a small county town outside Dingze City.
To his surprise, the advance unit he had sent earlier was already engaged in a fierce firefight with the Allied garrison inside the town. The Allied forces had stationed an entire division here, whereas the advance unit was merely a single squad.
“Are they crazy?! A single squad fighting an entire division?! What is going on?!” Arriving at the entrance to the county town and watching his troops charge in to secure vantage points, Hu Hao immediately demanded answers.
(End of Chapter)