Jiang Kai was still hesitant to approve Li Jingsong’s unprecedented request to demote himself and serve as Hu Hao’s subordinate. But after hearing Chief of Staff Sun Qinxue’s endorsement, Jiang Kai turned to Hu Hao.
“Hu Hao, what do you think? Tell me your thoughts,” Jiang Kai asked.
“Me? Like I have any say in this! He actually came to me this morning and proposed this exact idea. I certainly wouldn’t dare claim I can ‘teach’ him how to fight. There is no secret formula to warfare; everything I know, I learned at the same military academy he did!” Hu Hao deflected smoothly, unwilling to take the political responsibility for the decision.
“That’s absolute bullshit!” Li Jingsong interjected immediately. “What the hell does the academy actually teach us about real combat? Don’t act like I didn’t sit through the same classes you did! It’s blindingly obvious that our military academy textbooks are entirely outdated and completely useless on an actual battlefield!”
The other Generals in the room nodded in grim agreement. The theoretical knowledge taught at the academies had completely failed them when faced with the brutal reality of the Allied blitzkrieg.
“Very well. It’s decided, then. Li Jingsong, you will serve as Hu Hao’s Division Chief of Staff. Is that acceptable?” Jiang Kai finally relented.
“Thank you, Commander! Thank you, Chief of Staff! Thank you, everyone! Hahaha!” Li Jingsong cheered, snapping a crisp salute. He looked genuinely thrilled to have successfully demoted himself.
“You really are something else. Make sure you actually learn something!” Jiang Kai laughed, pointing a finger at him.
“Alright, let’s get down to business. We need to finalize the reorganization,” Jiang Kai announced, his tone turning serious. The room immediately fell silent.
“According to the direct orders from High Command, the Southwest Combat Zone will retain its original structural designation: 7 corps totaling 330,000 men, divided into 4 Class-A corps and 3 Class-B corps. His Majesty explicitly stated that because we currently lack capable General officers, he will not authorize the expansion of our force structure yet. We will stick to the original organizational chart.
Only when we have proven we have enough competent Generals will His Majesty authorize an expansion. Therefore, for this reorganization, we will simply absorb the newly arrived reservists directly into our depleted active-duty units to bring them back up to full strength. Once the units are replenished, they will immediately deploy to the front lines. I will outline the structural reorganization first, and then we will discuss garrison assignments,” Jiang Kai explained. The officers listened intently.
As Jiang Kai detailed the reorganization, Hu Hao learned that he was officially appointed as the Division Commander of the 87th Division. The 87th Division had originally been Li Jingsong’s command, but with Li Jingsong stepping down to become the Chief of Staff, the mantle naturally fell to Hu Hao.
The 87th Division remained subordinate to the 27th Corps. However, the other divisions within the 27th Corps were still assigned to the young aristocratic scions of the Li family. The other corps in the Zone also remained under the control of their respective aristocratic families.
After finalizing the structural assignments, Jiang Kai moved on to troop deployments.
Hu Hao’s 87th Division was ordered to garrison Bopa City. Bopa City was strategically located at the intersection of three provinces: Tianxiang, Tianhe, and Dingkang. It had a population of roughly 500,000.
More importantly, situated directly behind Bopa City was the city of Late in Dingkang Province. Late City was a massive industrial hub with a population of over 4 million, and it sat atop one of the Empire’s largest oil fields. The 87th Division’s primary objective in Bopa City was to block the Allied coalition from advancing on Late City and seizing the critical oil reserves.
Because of the urgency, the moment the reorganization orders were officially issued, Hu Hao and his men had to mobilize and march to Bopa City—a distance of over 300 kilometers—as quickly as possible.
The strategy meeting lasted from morning until noon, during which the specific officer appointments for each unit were finalized. Hu Hao proposed that Regimental Colonel Xiao Quan be appointed as his Deputy Division Commander, a request Jiang Kai readily approved.
After a quick lunch, Hu Hao and the newly appointed officers returned to the park where their troops were camp out, bringing a massive stack of official appointment letters with them.
When the veterans learned that Hu Hao had officially been appointed as the Commander of the 87th Division, the camp erupted in cheers. They swarmed him, offering excited congratulations.
The surviving officers of the original 87th Division were especially thrilled; knowing Hu Hao was taking the reins gave them an immense sense of security. Hu Hao immediately set to work announcing the junior officer appointments. For the most part, every surviving field officer and NCO below the rank of Major received a one-grade bump. Huan Xingtao and his old squadmates were all officially promoted to First Lieutenant and appointed as Company Commanders.
…
At that exact moment, every major television network and internet news portal across the Eastern Spirit Empire was simultaneously broadcasting the uncensored drone footage of the Nanlin City massacre.
As the citizens of the Empire saw the apocalyptic devastation and the mountains of corpses, a shockwave of absolute, volcanic fury swept across the nation.
International news outlets around the globe also picked up the footage, broadcasting the Allied coalition’s atrocities to the world. Numerous foreign governments issued formal condemnations, but realistically, harsh words did nothing to stop the slaughter.
“My God… those… those aren’t human beings! They’re animals! How could they slaughter people like that?!”
“How could they do this?! We are just civilians! We don’t even have weapons! Why would they massacre us?!”
The citizens of the Empire stared at their screens in absolute terror and disbelief. For the first time, a profound, icy fear gripped the populace. They couldn’t help but wonder: if their own city was invaded, would this be their fate? Would they be systematically slaughtered too?
“No. This isn’t safe. We have to go back. We are packing up and moving back to our hometown in the countryside. If we’re going to die, we die together as a family!” Hu Xingjun declared, his face pale as he watched the news broadcast in his living room.
“Okay. I’ll go pack our bags right now,” Wang Xueying agreed, nodding rapidly, her hands trembling.
Sitting on the sofa, Hu Hui and Hu Jing stared blankly at the television. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing. The towering mountains of corpses and the horrific, brutalized bodies of the civilians slammed into their young minds with devastating force.
“Dad… I want to drop out of my current major and switch to medicine. Can I?” Hu Jing asked, slowly turning to look at her father. “I heard the military is desperately recruiting volunteer doctors and nurses. I want to join the army. I want to do something to help!”
“Are you joking?! You’re a young girl! What the hell are you going to do on a battlefield?! The General Mobilization Order explicitly exempted university students! You are not going anywhere!” Hu Xingjun snapped, glaring at his daughter.
“But… but I heard there are hundreds of thousands of wounded soldiers on the front lines! They desperately need medical staff! I have to help!” Hu Jing pleaded.
“Jing-er! Your older brother is out there right now, and we don’t even know if he’s dead or alive! If you run off to the front lines too, do you want your mother to die of a broken heart?! Jing-er, listen to me. When the semester starts, you are going back to school and staying there! Do you hear me?!” Wang Xueying begged, tears welling in her eyes as she grabbed her daughter’s hand.
“Dad, I’m dropping out too. I’m enlisting. I’m going to the front to fight!” Hu Hui suddenly declared, standing up.
“Have you both lost your damn minds?! Are you actively trying to get yourselves killed?!” Hu Xingjun roared, jumping to his feet and glaring furiously at his son.
“Dad, what’s the point of studying right now? Look at the TV! The Allied forces are exterminating our people! If I enlist and pick up a rifle, at least I can try to protect someone, right?” Hu Hui argued softly, his eyes burning with a newfound resolve.
“Shut your damn mouth! It is not time for you students to march into the meat grinder! If it ever comes to the point where the Empire truly needs children to fight, I will take you to the recruitment center myself! But until then, you stay put!” Hu Xingjun bellowed.
This exact scene was playing out in millions of living rooms across the Empire. The horrific reality of the massacre had ignited a burning, desperate need within the youth of the nation. They felt they had to do something.
Meanwhile, in the Imperial Capital, Liang Wanyu sat by the edge of an opulent swimming pool. She lived alone in a massive luxury villa located in the most exclusive district of the Capital—a gift from her father on her eighteenth birthday.
She lay on a sun lounger, her phone in hand, reviewing the private video compilation she had edited of Hu Hao. She had meticulously ensured that no footage of him appeared in the official propaganda broadcast. She didn’t want anyone to know he was on the front line, especially since he had explicitly asked her to lie to his grandparents to keep them from worrying.
“I have a video to show you guys!” Liang Wanyu typed into the private group chat she shared with Wang Yao, Dong Qipeng, and the other boys from her academy cohort.
“What kind of video, Class President?” Mo Qin replied almost instantly.
“Hu Hao is alive. And he’s already a Major!” Liang Wanyu announced in the chat. She deliberately held back the fact that he was actually a Lieutenant Colonel who was about to be promoted to full Colonel; she figured dropping too many bombs at once would break their brains.
“Are you serious?! Haozi isn’t dead?!”
“Haozi is alive?! And he’s a Major?! Holy shit! Class President, tell us everything!”
The chat instantly exploded as Hu Hao’s closest friends flooded the channel with messages.
“Just watch the video!” Liang Wanyu replied, uploading a short, curated clip of Hu Hao in combat.
The video opened with the deafening roar of explosions, gunfire, and agonizing screams. Through the chaos, the boys saw a familiar figure manning a heavy machine gun, viciously sweeping the river and mowing down a massive wave of Allied infantry with terrifying accuracy.
“Assistant gunner!” the figure in the video suddenly turned his head and roared over the gunfire.
“Holy shit… that’s Hu Hao!” They all instantly recognized the face and the voice.
“Motherfucker! He’s really out there fighting on the front lines!”
“Jesus, look at him! He’s fighting like a demon!”
The boys watched the video in absolute awe, typing frantically as the clip played.
“That’s insane! He’s actually manning a heavy machine gun during an active assault! Wait… who filmed this? Whoever filmed this was standing directly behind him while he was shooting!” Wang Yao noticed, quickly typing out his realization.
“I filmed it. I just got back from the front lines this morning. I stood right behind him yesterday and filmed the counter-offensive. I have a lot more footage, but I can’t show it to you yet.
By the way… I need to ask you guys something. Did you manage to find any political connections to avoid the draft?” Liang Wanyu asked, shifting the topic to the looming threat.
“You went to the front lines?!”
“Connections? What connections? We’re just waiting to see where the military assigns us. It’s in God’s hands now.”
“Wait, you actually went to the front and saw Haozi in person?!”
The chat became a chaotic mess of overlapping questions.
“Yes, I saw him. He is currently serving in a frontline combat unit, and he fights with absolute, terrifying ferocity. The veterans there all call him ‘Hao-ge.’ Even his Division Commander calls him Hao-ge!” Liang Wanyu typed, a proud smile playing on her lips.
“Whoa! Haozi became ‘Hao-ge’?! Damn, I guess we’re going to have to call him Hao-ge next time we see him!”
“Bullshit! He’ll always be Haozi to us!” The boys joked, trying to lighten the mood.
“I asked you a question! Did you find any connections?!” Liang Wanyu pressed again.
“No connections. We’re commoners; who would we even ask? But honestly, I’ve made peace with it. I saw the news today. The civilians in Nanlin City were massacred. If High Command sends me to the front, I’ll go. If I have to die in the mud, fine. As long as I can kill just one Allied soldier before I go, I break even. If I kill two, I’ve avenged a civilian!” Wang Yao declared passionately.
“Exactly! That’s exactly how I feel! Honestly, after seeing the news, I want to march to the front line right now! Motherfuckers! The Allied coalition are a bunch of animals!” The others immediately echoed Wang Yao’s sentiment.
“Listen to me. I need to tell you something important,” Liang Wanyu typed, her expression turning serious. “When I was with Hu Hao, I told him that High Command was likely going to draft our cohort and send you all to the front.
He explicitly told me to tell you this: he hopes you get assigned to the 27th Corps, or the 28th Corps. At the very least, you must be assigned somewhere within the Southwest Combat Zone.
He said the Southwest Combat Zone has hardened veterans who actually know how to fight and how to survive. If you go there, you can actually learn something, and having veterans around will vastly increase your chances of survival.
I need to know your thoughts. Do you want to be assigned to the Southwest Combat Zone?” Liang Wanyu relayed Hu Hao’s urgent plea.