Chapter 65: Colonel for Life

When Liang Wanyu marched into Jiang Kai’s command post, the Zone Commander was utterly dumbfounded. A young girl had actually led a team of war correspondents from the Propaganda Department straight to the active front lines. And this wasn’t just any young girl; her real surname was Ma, and she was the biological granddaughter of General of the Left, Ma Zhenling. She had simply adopted the alias “Liang Wanyu” to hide her illustrious background.

“Uncle Jiang, I brought the propaganda team here to film actual frontline combat footage,” Liang Wanyu explained crisply. “We need this material for national broadcast. The entire country is mobilizing right now, and the people need to see the reality of this war.”

“Alright, alright, alright. Just wait here. Wait right here. I am calling your grandfather right now!” Jiang Kai sputtered, reaching for his satellite phone.

“No! My grandfather doesn’t know I’m here!” Liang Wanyu objected quickly.

“What?! He doesn’t know?!” Jiang Kai’s jaw dropped in sheer horror.

“That’s right. I didn’t tell him,” Liang Wanyu nodded defiantly.

“Hold on a second!” Jiang Kai frantically dialed the secure line.

“Uncle Jiang, you can’t! I’m only staying for half a day! I swear, half a day and then I’ll head back! I just brought the team here to shoot some footage, it’ll be fine!” Liang Wanyu pleaded.

“Absolutely not! If anything happens to you, who takes the blame?! I certainly can’t shoulder that responsibility! Stand up straight! Yes, stand up straight, young lady!” Jiang Kai scolded her sharply while waiting for the call to connect.

“Hello? General Ma? It’s Jiang Kai!” Jiang Kai said the moment the line clicked. It was indeed Ma Zhenling himself.

“I was just about to call you! My granddaughter made her way to your sector, didn’t she? I apologize for the trouble; I only just found out myself!” a booming, hearty voice replied from the other end.

“You have no idea! General Ma, you have to order her back! The frontline here is an absolute meat grinder! It is incredibly brutal; this is no place for a young girl! Furthermore, she is your granddaughter! What is she even doing here?! Our defensive line could be overrun at any moment! General, please!” Jiang Kai pleaded desperately.

The General of the Left was effectively the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army. The General of the Middle commanded the Navy, and the General of the Right commanded the Air Force. Therefore, Ma Zhenling was Jiang Kai’s direct superior, and Jiang Kai had to treat him with absolute deference.

“Mmh. Let her stay. That girl has always been wild,” Ma Zhenling chuckled. “Don’t worry too much. I understand the realities of the battlefield. Just assign a few guards to ensure her safety.

Since she’s already there with her colleagues, she has a job to do, and I can’t just order her back. However, her safety is now in your hands. Oh, and don’t try to lock her up in the rear; she won’t accept that. If she wants to go to the front, let her. Just do me a favor and deploy a capable security detail to watch her back!”

“General Ma, I really can’t! It’s too dangerous! Do you know we suffered over two hundred thousand casualties yesterday alone?! I have no idea how many we’ll lose today! With artillery shells raining down everywhere, a security detail is completely useless!

General, she simply cannot go to the trenches! How about this: I’ll keep her here in the command bunker, and the rest of her team can go to the front to film. Would that be acceptable?” Jiang Kai begged.

“No! I am going to the front!” Liang Wanyu yelled in the background.

“Keep quiet!” Jiang Kai glared at her. Her presence was an unmitigated disaster for his stress levels.

“Ha! Forget it, Jiang Kai. Let her go. If anything happens to her, I swear I will not hold you responsible. It’s decided. Don’t burden yourself over this. Put the girl on the phone,” Ma Zhenling ordered.

“Yes, sir,” Jiang Kai sighed in utter defeat.

He handed the phone to Liang Wanyu so she could speak with her grandfather. Meanwhile, Jiang Kai frantically waved a staff officer over.

“Go to my personal Guard Division immediately. Select a full platoon of our best men to escort her to the front lines. Tell those soldiers that even if every single one of them dies, she cannot lose a single hair on her head! Do you hear me?! If anything happens to this girl, none of them will live to see tomorrow!” Jiang Kai ordered in a hushed, furious whisper.

“Yes, sir! But Commander… the front line is a genuine death trap right now. Even a full platoon of guards won’t guarantee her safety. Commander, you really need to think this through,” the staff officer warned hesitantly.

“Oh, my God, she’s going to be the death of me!” Jiang Kai groaned, furiously rubbing his bald head.

“Commander… what if we send her to Hu Hao’s sector? Hu Hao fights like a demon. He can definitely keep her safe, right?” the staff officer suddenly suggested.

“Yes! Yes, yes! Take her to Hu Hao! And tell Hu Hao this: if anything happens to her, he will never see the rank of General in his entire life! But if he keeps her perfectly safe… I’ll give him a hundred thousand credits! No, make it two hundred thousand! Tell him I’ll personally reward him with two hundred thousand credits to keep her safe for just one morning! Go! Hurry!” Jiang Kai agreed instantly, seeing a glimmer of hope.

“Understood!” The staff officer nodded and rushed off to organize the escort.

A few minutes later, Liang Wanyu finished her call and handed the phone back to Jiang Kai.

“Uncle Jiang, I’m heading out now. The correspondents need to be distributed across different sectors of the battlefield,” Liang Wanyu smiled brightly.

“Alright. Follow Staff Officer Ye; he has arranged everything for you,” Jiang Kai nodded weakly.

After a few brief pleasantries, Liang Wanyu departed. Jiang Kai slumped back into his chair, rubbing his temples. He was already drowning in crises, and now Liang Wanyu had shown up to add to the chaos. This was exactly what he didn’t need.

Out on the front line, Hu Hao and his men were eating breakfast in their trench. Between bites, Hu Hao kept a sharp eye on the opposite bank.

“Motherfucker. They’re going to attack again,” Hu Hao muttered, spotting movement and the massing of Allied troops across the river. They clearly hadn’t given up.

“Hao-ge, we have to fight again?” Sima Xuankong asked, finishing his ration.

“Are you blind? Tell the brothers to keep their heads down! The enemy is definitely going to open with an artillery barrage. As long as we survive the shelling, our odds of survival go way up. Once the bombardment stops, it’ll just be an infantry assault. We’re dug in; we have the massive advantage now!” Hu Hao instructed.

“Got it! I’ll pass the word down the line!” Sima Xuankong nodded and hurried off.

A short while later, several civilian-style vans pulled up behind Hu Hao’s trench line. Hu Hao didn’t pay them any mind; the battlefield was littered with scavenged civilian vehicles, so a few more arriving wasn’t unusual. However, a moment later, a heavily armed platoon of over forty elite guards marched toward Hu Hao’s position, escorting a single figure.

“Hu Hao! Is Hu Hao here?!” a staff officer jogged ahead, calling out.

“Who?!” Hu Hao yelled back, popping his head over the trench. Seeing him, the staff officer immediately ran over.

“Hu Hao, I’m Staff Officer Ye from Zone Command. Listen, the Commander has assigned you a critical mission. High Command sent a propaganda team here to film the battle. The team leader is a Captain from an incredibly powerful aristocratic family. The Commander’s explicit order is for you to guarantee her safety,” Staff Officer Ye explained urgently, jumping down into the trench.

“You said what?! Guarantee her safety?! You look around and tell me who the hell is safe here! Is he out of his damn mind?! Which spoiled aristocrat brat decided to come play war tourist on an active frontline?!” Hu Hao exploded, cursing loudly at the officer.

“The Commander tried to keep her at the command post, but she refused, and High Command backed her up!” Staff Officer Ye pleaded helplessly.

“Fuck! Why does this bullshit always happen?! The Empire is in ruins specifically because of these pampered aristocratic idiots!” Hu Hao raged.

“The Commander said it’s only for half a day! If you keep her perfectly safe, he will personally reward you with 200,000 credits! But if anything happens to her… you will never become a General. You will be stuck as a Colonel until the day you die!” Staff Officer Ye relayed the ultimatum.

“Phone! Give me the damn phone! I’m calling the Commander right now! Why the hell does it have to be me?!” Hu Hao screamed, feeling completely shafted. Of course this would fall on his lap.

“There’s no point calling! The Commander won’t answer! He has no other choice!” Staff Officer Ye insisted.

“He’s just screwing me over! He’s gotten so used to screwing me over that it’s a habit now, hasn’t he?! I pitied the old bastard last night and gave him all those brilliant tactical plans, and this is how he repays me?! Fine! I’ll remember this! Motherfucker, when there’s glory to be had, he never thinks of me, but the moment there’s a disaster waiting to happen, I’m his first choice!” Hu Hao fumed, pacing angrily in the dirt.

At that moment, the heavily guarded VIP finally arrived at the edge of the trench.

“Hu Hao, please calm down. The Commander genuinely favors you! Really! Whenever he talks about you, he’s incredibly happy,” Staff Officer Ye tried to soothe him, well aware of the massive contribution Hu Hao had made the previous night.

“Happy my ass! I’m not happy! Take him away! I don’t care who he is; it’s none of my damn business! I’m not playing bodyguard! Piss off!” Hu Hao shouted, waving his hands dismissively.

“Hu Hao?”

The VIP stepped forward. She was dressed in full combat fatigues and wore a heavy ballistic helmet, obscuring her face. Hu Hao couldn’t immediately recognize her, but the voice was unmistakably female.

“Holy shit! It’s a woman?! Is she insane?! Get her out of here immediately!” Hu Hao yelled at Staff Officer Ye.

“Hu Hao, are you asking for a death wish?!” Liang Wanyu shouted angrily, glaring at him.

“Who the fuck dares to say I have a death wish?!” Hu Hao roared, his eyes going wide as he spun around.

“Wait… holy shit. You… Liang Wanyu?!” Hu Hao gaped, finally recognizing the face under the helmet.

“Well look at you! Huh? Haozi! You dare tell me to piss off? Hmm?” Liang Wanyu grinned, clearly thrilled to see him. Everyone back at the academy had assumed Hu Hao was dead; seeing him alive and kicking on the front line was a massive relief.

“Son of a bitch, what are you doing here?! Have you lost your mind?! I thought the rumors said your family had insane political connections! How did you end up in a meat grinder like this?! Is your family actually useless?!” Hu Hao demanded, his tone softening significantly.

“I’m here to film for half a day. Staff Officer Ye, you can head back now; I’m staying right here. Hu Hao, you’re responsible for protecting me. Wait, no… are you protecting me, or am I protecting you?” Liang Wanyu teased, suddenly remembering that Hu Hao hadn’t exactly been a top-tier combat student back at the academy.

“Perfect! I won’t protect you then! Please, just leave with Staff Officer Ye! Seriously, I’m begging you!” Hu Hao immediately clapped his hands together in a pleading gesture, desperately hoping she would leave.