Hearing Jiang Kai say there wasn't enough ammunition, Hu Hao immediately began questioning him.
"Yes, there isn't enough ammunition. The army is expanding and requires a massive amount of it, so our reserves are low. If we want to launch an offensive now, we need a huge amount of ammo. However, His Majesty will be sending people to deliver it immediately!" Jiang Kai said to Hu Hao, sitting in his office.
"Hah! Commander, you must be joking. A Combat Zone force defending against an attack from over 600,000 troops, and you're telling me there's not enough ammunition?! Our supply lines haven't been destroyed; tell the rear echelon to hurry up and deliver it! The Allied forces will retreat soon; they're not going to just sit there waiting for us to come kill them!" Hu Hao stood there, laughing bitterly.
"I know. The troops are already attacking. We've sent all our surplus ammunition to the combat units. Don't worry, we'll definitely chew up a portion of their forces this time!" Jiang Kai replied over the phone.
"Who's in charge of the ammunition?" The question popped into Hu Hao's mind, and he asked immediately.
"Tang Long. As the General of the Left, he manages the Army's ammunition, and the arsenals we had before were also under his control!" Jiang Kai answered.
"Tang Long? Commander, you can forget about it, then. Who knows if that ammunition will even make it here? With a good-for-nothing like Tang Long, do you really think he prioritizes the big picture?" Upon hearing Tang Long's name, Hu Hao immediately shot back at Jiang Kai.
"He will. His Majesty has strictly ordered him to deliver it! It should arrive soon. By the way, Hu Hao, how long can you guys hold out over there?" Jiang Kai asked.
"Don't worry. We blew up quite a few roads and bridges, buying you at least half a month's time for your offensive. Even if I retreated from Tonglong City right now, you'd still have half a month!" Knowing why Jiang Kai was asking, Hu Hao answered directly.
"That's good, that's good! Hu Hao, His Majesty has granted you the designations for three new corps. Have you received the notice?" Jiang Kai asked again.
"I received it. Designations for three corps!" Hu Hao nodded.
"His Majesty believes in you. You should return his call. His Majesty truly values you, I absolutely believe that. The ones claiming you're rebelling are just petty individuals at High Command.
To speak plainly, it's Tang Long. He's got his eyes fixed on the two of us; it's understandable. What I mean is, don't be stubborn. Just give His Majesty a call back, or a video call works too!" Jiang Kai tried to persuade Hu Hao.
"Commander, what's the point of me calling back? What use is it? They just watch my every move all day! Afraid of me doing this, afraid of me doing that. I don't want to call back. If he wants to dismiss me, then he can dismiss me!
I can't be bothered dealing with this nonsense. I have enough on my plate just fighting this war. I don't even have veteran units; they're all fresh recruits. Forget it, let him do whatever he wants!" Hu Hao stood there, speaking with extreme reluctance.
As far as he was concerned, the Empire wouldn't last long anyway; there was no way it could hold off the Allied forces. Hu Hao held zero hope for the Empire or for himself. He was simply holding on, unsure if he could even win. He had no idea how this would end!
"Hu Hao, a man has to look at the long term. You're so young; you could enter High Command at any time. If you have a bad relationship with the Royal Family, how are you going to become Grand Marshal?" Jiang Kai continued trying to convince Hu Hao.
"Commander, I don't want to be any Grand Marshal. I just want to keep myself alive. Commander, as a soldier, I'm doing my duty. At the very least, if I kill one Allied soldier, I haven't lost anything.
If I can kill a few more, I'll have avenged the citizens of the Eastern Spirit Empire. As for Grand Marshal, General of the Left, General of the Right... whoever wants to be one can be one. I'm just here to fight the war, to fight the Allied forces!
If His Majesty wants to call me a traitor now, fine. If he wants to say I'm fighting for the country, fine. I don't want to think about it anymore! If I listened to them every day, I wouldn't even be able to fight a war. If that happens, all my troops will be dead once the rainy season ends!" Hu Hao stood there, speaking indifferently. He didn't want to deal with those people anymore. Not only did they not help, but they also created endless problems!
"Hu Hao, you can't say that. The Empire needs to unite right now. And you are a general who knows how to fight. The citizens of the Empire are all hoping you win battles, and the soldiers are hoping you can enter High Command so our Empire can win this. Hu Hao, I know you're angry.
But as a general of the Empire, we can't be at odds with His Majesty. If you're angry with Tang Long, I support you. It's fine if you're angry with Luo Xin. But being at odds with His Majesty isn't good. No matter what, just give him a call. I think a lot of things can be cleared up once you talk. It'll be fine!
If talking doesn't work, then you can do as you said. Don't worry about your family; I will definitely protect them. You don't have to worry about retaliation. I, Jiang Kai, still have the ability to protect your family!" Jiang Kai said over the phone.
"What am I supposed to say to him? Do you think having ten corps here is enough? Twenty corps wouldn't be enough! Sigh. Talk, talk, talk. Talk about what?!" Hu Hao said irritably.
He had already decided to ignore His Majesty and expand the army himself. For no other reason than for the citizens of the Empire, to kill more Allied soldiers and avenge the people. He didn't dare think about anything beyond that.
"Just contact him. Listen to me, alright? Contact him, give me some face. Hu Hao, His Majesty truly values you!" Jiang Kai continued to press over the phone.
"Fine, fine, fine. I'll find some time to contact him later. I don't want to talk right now!" Hearing Jiang Kai insist so much, Hu Hao finally nodded.
"Alright, that's a promise then! We'll leave it at that. I'm busy here too, and I know you're busy over there. That's all!" Hearing Hu Hao agree, Jiang Kai immediately hung up the phone, terrified that Hu Hao might go back on his word.
"Take it!" Hu Hao handed the phone back to the staff officer who had brought it over. As the staff officer took it, Hu Hao smacked the top of his helmet.
"Next time you take a call, try to be a bit sharper, alright?" Hu Hao scolded the staff officer.
"Yes, Hao-ge! My mouth really just moved too fast. They called so many times, I was getting annoyed answering them!" the staff officer replied, looking miserable.
"Go back to work!" Hu Hao waved him off, then walked over to the map. The combat staff officers in the command center, along with Dong Qipeng, followed him.
"Damn it, our territory is too small! If we wipe out the Allied forces in Tianxi City and Liangyuan City, we can extend our southern border by 300 kilometers. The Allied forces don't have many troops down there; not enough for us to kill. The main issue is the north. We can't rely on Commander Jiang Kai anymore. What kind of war is this?! Not even enough ammunition! How are they supposed to fight?!" Hu Hao said as he stood there.
"Could the Allied forces on the central front push down to our location from the north?" Long Yagu asked, standing nearby.
"They definitely will. Even if they don't attack immediately, they'll amass around our perimeter. Once they replenish their ammunition, they will attack us at once!" Hu Hao nodded and explained to the staff officers.
"Hao-ge, that's going to be trouble. 600,000 troops!" Dong Qipeng said, looking at Hu Hao.
"Even 6 million would be useless! Without enough ammunition, what good are they?!" Hu Hao muttered, staring intently at the map and gesturing across it. Seeing Hu Hao like this, the other staff officers stood by quietly.
"Send a video call request to Li Jingsong and Xiao Quan. I need to speak with them!" After gesturing over the map for a while and pondering, Hu Hao instructed the communications officer behind him.
"Yes, sir!" The communications officer immediately went to prepare.
"Bring it on. I'm short on weapons anyway!" Hu Hao muttered to himself.
"Hao-ge, we aren't short. We still have massive stockpiles of weapons in our warehouses, and we have the arsenals!" Dong Qipeng chimed in.
"That amount of weapons is nowhere near enough. How many troops do we have now? When our numbers grow in the future, we'll still have to rely on Allied weapons!" Hu Hao nodded and replied.
"Report! Urgent call from Corps Commander Wu Kexiao!" A staff officer ran over with a phone and reported to Hu Hao.
"Give it to me!" Hu Hao immediately took the phone.
"Old Wu, what's happened?" Hu Hao asked into the receiver.
"Hao-ge, we've discovered a civilian-organized armed group in the city. They've scavenged a massive amount of our weapons. We tried to confiscate them, but they refuse to hand them over!" Wu Kexiao blurted out the moment he heard Hu Hao's voice.
"A civilian-organized armed group?" Hu Hao pondered for a moment. Wasn't this exactly an enemy-rear guerrilla force?
"Yes, an armed civilian group. They've been operating in Tonglong City for a long time and have killed quite a few Allied soldiers. One of my division commanders went to check it out. He estimates there are about 3,000 of them, all veterans.
Previously, they only had about 300 guns, which they looted from the Allied forces, along with some homemade crude firearms. The majority of them were using spears. Now, when we ask for our weapons back, they refuse. They say we might retreat at any time and abandon them again! So they need weapons!" Wu Kexiao explained.
"Hold on, hold on!" This was the first time Hu Hao had heard of such a force. He hadn't encountered armed groups like this in any of the other cities.
"Their leader... can you invite him over to my headquarters? I want to meet him personally. Invite him politely. If he doesn't trust you, then gift them 1,000 rifles. I want to meet the leader!" Hu Hao instructed Wu Kexiao.
"Ah? Gift them 1,000 rifles? Hao-ge, this...!" Wu Kexiao was shocked. Right now, many of Hu Hao's own troops were using Allied rifles because their expansion was too rapid and many standard-issue Eastern Spirit weapons hadn't arrived yet.
"Yes, we need to gain their trust. Arrange for it and send him to me immediately!" Hu Hao nodded and told Wu Kexiao.
(End of Chapter)