When Zhang Liangqiang’s grandfather, Zhang He, learned that while his grandson’s life had been saved, his “lineage” had not, it felt as though the boy had died anyway. Zhang Liangqiang was the sole male heir of the Zhang family. To have his virility snatched away was, in Zhang He’s eyes, an act of familial execution.
Soon, a Lieutenant Colonel handed a phone to the General.
“Hello, this is Commander Zhang He of the 19th Army. I need to speak with Commander Li Tianyuan!” Zhang He barked into the receiver.
“Hello, General Zhang. Our Commander is currently in a high-level strategic meeting. It might be some time before he’s available, and we cannot interrupt him. Shall I have him return your call once he’s out?” an aide on the other end replied.
“Fine. Tell Commander Li that Zhang He has an urgent matter. He must call me back immediately!” Zhang He hung up, knowing that with a war brewing, Li Tianyuan wouldn’t step out of a briefing for anything less than a national emergency.
“Father,” Zhang Liangqiang’s father, Zhang Qikun, stepped forward. “Should we have the Military Court go after Hu Hao? We need to make sure he dies.”
“The Military Court?” Zhang He turned to stare at his son, his face contorted with rage. “Will they execute him? The Empire abolished the death penalty decades ago. They’re useless to me. I want him dead.”
“Understood,” Zhang Qikun nodded.
Meanwhile, Hu Hao had arrived at the 27th Army Headquarters by taxi.
On the plane, he had swapped his insignias. At the academy, he wore cadet tabs, but now that he had graduated, he pinned on the bars of a First Lieutenant.
“Hello, reporting for duty!” Hu Hao announced at the guard post.
“Oh, welcome. Sign in here. Someone will take you to the Personnel Department,” a Sergeant at the guardhouse said.
After the paperwork, an escort led Hu Hao to the Personnel office, where a Lieutenant Colonel sat behind a desk.
“Good day, sir. First Lieutenant Hu Hao, reporting for duty,” Hu Hao saluted, handing over his file and appointment letter.
“Hu Hao? From the Royal Command Academy… fresh graduate?” The Lieutenant Colonel looked up from the papers and smirked. “Who did you piss off?”
“Heh,” Hu Hao remained silent.
“Someone really wants you dead. What did you do to deserve this?” the officer asked as he processed the registration.
“Nothing much, sir. Just a regular disagreement,” Hu Hao replied with a smile.
The Lieutenant Colonel chuckled but didn’t press further, though he suspected the “disagreement” was anything but regular.
As Hu Hao waited for transport to the front, the headquarters was a hive of activity. Officers were coming and going—some returning from leave, others receiving new assignments.
Deep within the underground bunker of the headquarters, the meeting finally adjourned. A sea of Generals streamed out of the briefing room.
“Commander, we just received a call from General Zhang He of the 19th Army. He said it’s urgent,” a Major reported, handing a phone to Li Tianyuan.
“Zhang He? What does he want? I barely know the man,” Li Tianyuan muttered, his face etched with exhaustion.
“He didn’t say, sir. Only that it was imperative you call him back.”
“Dial it. I’ll talk while we walk,” Li Tianyuan ordered.
The call connected quickly. “Brother Li! You’re a busy man these days,” Zhang He’s voice boomed through the line.
“Don’t even start. The South Seas are a mess. Our Navy has several carrier groups engaged with the Allied Fleet, and the losses are staggering. If the Navy can’t hold them, it’s going to fall on us—the Army,” Li Tianyuan said grimly.
“I hear you. Listen, brother, I need a personal favor,” Zhang He said, cutting straight to the point.
“Go ahead.”
“My grandson was assaulted at the academy today by a classmate. The kid fled and has been assigned to your army. He should be reporting in right about now. Can you hand him over to me? I’ll owe you one,” Zhang He requested.
“Assaulted? And he’s in my army now?” Li Tianyuan’s interest was piqued.
“By my calculations, he should have arrived.”
“Alright, let me check. What’s the name?”
“Hu Hao. A fresh graduate from the Royal Command Academy, First Lieutenant,” Zhang He provided the details.
“Ah, him!” Li Tianyuan recalled the name immediately. “I remember now. He’s the first graduate in years to be sent straight to a front-line combat unit instead of my staff office. What did he do to your grandson to get kicked to the front lines like that?”
“Ah, just some schoolyard scuffle,” Zhang He lied, not wanting the embarrassing truth to leak. “If he’s there, keep him at headquarters. I’ll send my people to pick him up.”
“I’ll look into it. Stand by,” Li Tianyuan hung up and headed toward his office.
“Dad! Dad! Huge news!” A Major General came running up. It was Li Jingsong, Li Tianyuan’s son and the commander of the 87th Division—Hu Hao’s new superior.
“What is it?” Li Tianyuan stopped.
“Look at this. A friend in the capital just sent it. It happened a few hours ago,” Li Jingsong handed over his phone.
Li Tianyuan scanned the screen. “So that’s why he wants him.” He handed the phone back. “Order the Personnel Department: if a man named Hu Hao shows up, bring him to my office immediately.”
“Yes, sir!” an aide replied.
Li Tianyuan entered his office, followed by a trail of high-ranking officers.
“Report!” a Lieutenant Colonel entered. “The commander of the 2nd Regiment, 86th Division, just ‘tripped’ on the defensive line and broke his leg. He’s being evacuated to the hospital.”
“He ‘tripped’? Why didn’t he just trip into a grave?!” Li Tianyuan exploded. “Three days! Seven Regimental commanders, twelve Battalion commanders, and seventeen Company commanders have all ‘broken their legs’! Are they all made of glass?”
The surrounding Generals lowered their heads in silence.
“In peacetime, they eat and drink on the Empire’s dime. Now that a war is starting, they’re breaking their own legs to avoid the fight? Their cowardice is rotting the morale of every man under them! Those bastards!” Li Tianyuan roared.
This was the reason for the emergency meeting. A massive wave of “accidental” injuries among mid-level officers was crippling the chain of command.
The other Generals remained quiet. If they could get away with it, many of them would have broken their own legs too. They were facing an Allied Force from over a dozen nations. The enemy’s ground forces alone exceeded 3 million—to say nothing of their air and naval superiority.
The Eastern Spirit Empire only had 3 million active troops. The writing was on the wall. The Empire had already begun mobilizing its 6 million reservists, ordering them to report to provincial stations.
“Commander, calm yourself,” a Major General said—Li Daowen, the Army Chief of Staff and Li Tianyuan’s cousin. “Let them go. It’s better they desert now than lead a whole regiment into a disaster later.”
Meanwhile, Hu Hao was intercepted by Li Tianyuan’s aide at the Personnel office.
“Dammit, things are moving fast,” Hu Hao thought as he followed the Major. Why would a regional Army Commander want to see a lowly Platoon Leader? He knew trouble was knocking, but there was no turning back now.
He was led into the underground command center. The air was thick with the frantic energy of a looming war.
“Go on in,” the Major said.
Hu Hao stepped into the office. He was met with a wall of stars—the room was packed with Generals.
“Good day, Commander. Good day, sirs!” Hu Hao saluted sharply.
“You’re Hu Hao?” Li Tianyuan asked, eyeing him.
The other Generals looked on, wondering why their Commander was taking time out of a global crisis to interview a First Lieutenant.