Chapter 219: Lacking Everything

Vitali stood there, pondering the immense tank presence and speculating whether there might be two entire Eastern Spirit corps stationed in Late City. Vostok shook his head in disbelief. “Impossible. That area simply isn’t large enough to deploy two corps! Even if there are troops there, they must be remnants retreating from other sectors.

“They were likely cut off by our advancing forces and, unable to retreat further, were forced to consolidate there. Two corps? Impossible! Our prior reconnaissance never detected such massive troop concentrations in that sector!”

“But… they swallowed an entire corps of ours last night, and they swallowed another corps today! Without sufficient troops, could they possess such combat capability? Furthermore, with so many tank units and such a massive Air Cavalry presence, there must be a substantial force garrisoned there!” Vitali insisted.

“True. The scale of their Air Cavalry definitely warrants our attention! How could they possibly have so many helicopter units?!

“Logically, it’s impossible. According to Eastern Spirit military structure, a corps is only allocated a single Air Cavalry regiment, and a Combat Zone only has two Air Cavalry divisions! Judging by the scale of the Air Cavalry they just deployed, they possess far more than two divisions!” Vostok nodded in agreement.

“Mm. Should we dispatch reinforcements to that sector?” Vitali asked.

“What? Worried your 1st Corps won’t be able to win?” Vostok smiled at his Chief of Staff.

“No, no, they will definitely win! But as you know, Late City is a critical industrial hub for the Eastern Spirit Empire. It houses a massive amount of military production equipment! If we can secure it, it will save us a tremendous amount of resources!” Vitali shook his head.

“Let your 1st Corps engage them first. Right now, our primary forces must maintain their rapid advance! The rainy season in the Central Region is fast approaching; once it hits, advancing will become incredibly difficult!

“We must see if we can shatter the Eastern Spirit defensive lines and push further north before the rains begin! Once we do, our Air Force can begin bombing the Eastern Spirit capital! Although they will undoubtedly deploy fighters to intercept us initially once we whittle down their Air Force, Dongling City will become a defenseless target, and we can bomb it with impunity! As for Late City, there’s no rush! We can still attack it after the rainy season begins!” Vostok outlined his broader strategic vision.

“Mm, that makes sense. The priority right now is to annihilate the Eastern Spirit main forces. However, with Dongxian and Dongjun dispatching reinforcements, our advancing troops will inevitably face more resistance!” Vitali nodded.

“What threat do they pose?! The rainy season is almost here! Once it passes, our forces will launch a full-scale offensive across the entire Central Region! Do you honestly think their troops will be able to hold their ground here then?! They won’t even be able to protect their own countries! You think they’ll still be helping Eastern Spirit defend its borders?!

“Therefore, I don’t care how many troops they send! The Central Region belongs to our Allied coalition!” Vostok declared with a confident smile.

“Indeed. As long as we sustain our offensive, I am confident our nations will eventually conquer the entire Central Region! The nations of the Central Region occupy the best land in the world, yet they are too weak to hold it! Haha!” Vitali laughed heartily.

“However, I’ve heard the nations of the Northern and Western Regions are currently negotiating with us, hoping to join the coalition. They are facing severe food shortages as well. Sigh… it all comes down to food. If there was enough food to go around, who would willingly fight a war?!” Vostok sighed heavily.

“If they join too, there won’t be enough spoils to go around! Nations from four different regions dividing the Central Region? How much will each nation actually get?! Our populations are still growing rapidly! Even if we slaughter every single person in the Central Region, food will become a critical issue again in a few years! We must implement population control!” Vitali argued.

“Which nation dares to implement population control right now?! Do those Kings have the courage?! This is a matter of national stability! If we control the population, whose population do we control? The commoners might accept it, but what if we apply it universally? Will the aristocratic families accept it?!

“They currently occupy so many advantageous positions in society. If they don’t have enough descendants, how will they maintain control over the masses? Let me ask you: would your family be willing to implement population control? Would you accept a law dictating that every woman in your family can only bear two children?!” Vostok challenged Vitali.

“Well… if everyone else did it, I would too!” Vitali chuckled awkwardly.

“Exactly! Everyone says that! But has anyone actually stepped forward and said, ‘I agree’?” Vostok scoffed mockingly.

“Let’s set that aside for now. I still find the situation in Late City deeply suspicious. How could there be so many troops stationed there? We must conduct a thorough investigation!” Vitali changed the subject, returning to the pressing military issue.

“Indeed, we must investigate and uncover the truth. Furthermore, we cannot allow the Eastern Spirit Empire to possess such a capable fighting force! Allowing this unit and its commander to develop further will be disastrous for our coalition! The Eastern Spirit Empire possesses abundant resources, a massive population, and plenty of weapons. What they lack are capable generals! If a truly brilliant general emerges from their ranks, we will be in massive trouble!” Vostok agreed grimly.

“I will arrange for a thorough investigation immediately!” Vitali nodded.

…

Meanwhile, Hu Hao sat in his command center, meticulously planning his massive military expansion.

His current headache wasn’t a lack of manpower, but a severe shortage of competent officers. He didn’t have nearly enough qualified commanders. Many of his Regimental Commanders were merely Majors, yet Hu Hao had entrusted them with regiments of 4,000 men!

The most glaring deficiency was at the division level. Hu Hao simply didn’t possess a single mature, experienced Division Commander! He had been forced to promote a few Regimental Commanders and senior Battalion Commanders to Division Commanders, placing 12,000-man forces entirely in their hands!

Bo Gang had previously been a Tank Battalion Commander, yet Hu Hao had promoted him to Tank Division Commander! Huan Xingtao had been a mere Squad Leader before the war began, yet Hu Hao had promoted him to Commander of the Guard Regiment!

These promotions were born of absolute necessity. Judging purely by competence and experience, not a single one of them was truly qualified for their current position. Even Li Jingsong and Xiao Quan’s abilities fell short of what a true Division Commander required!

“Sigh!” Looking at the officer roster in his hands, Hu Hao couldn’t help but sigh heavily.

“Report! The Air Cavalry has successfully disengaged and withdrawn! Very few Allied forces remain!” a staff officer reported to Hu Hao.

“Order the Air Cavalry to conceal themselves thoroughly! The Allied forces will undoubtedly send reconnaissance aircraft! If their recon planes spot our helicopters, they will immediately dispatch fighters and bombers! And… fuck… we don’t have any anti-aircraft units either!” Hu Hao rubbed his head in frustration. He didn’t even have a single organized anti-aircraft division or brigade!

“Hao-ge, we’re lacking in almost everything right now. But we must take it one step at a time. We’ll definitely find a way!” a staff officer comforted him.

“Report! Our radar has detected 10 fighter jets approaching Late City! They belong to the Allied forces, and they will arrive in 30 minutes at most!” Mo Shui hurried over with a telegram.

“Order Wang Yao: he has exactly 10 minutes! 10 minutes to finish off the remaining enemy main force! Ignore the stragglers! Withdraw with maximum speed! Retreat deep into the forest! Transmit the orders immediately!” Hu Hao snapped.

“Yes, sir!” The staff officer immediately rushed to notify Wang Yao.

Hu Hao stood up and walked over to the main monitors. The battlefield was virtually cleared of Allied forces; only a few scattered remnants remained, vainly attempting to resist from behind the burning wreckage of their vehicles. It was futile. The Limaguo 11th Corps was finished!

“Tell Wang Yao he can withdraw early! Do not let the Allied fighter jets spot them!” Hu Hao added another command.

“Yes, sir!” The staff officer immediately relayed the addendum over the radio.

“Motherfucker… Air Force! I need an Air Force!” Hu Hao gritted his teeth.

Lacking air cover put him at a massive disadvantage. When he faced the Mara Empire 1st Corps, he knew the Allied forces would undoubtedly deploy bombers and fighters to support their advance! In a direct confrontation, his Air Cavalry and tank units would be sitting ducks without air superiority!

“Hao-ge, didn’t we find over a dozen pilots? We will definitely build an Air Force!” Mo Shui tried to reassure him.

“It’s not that simple! Yes, they are veteran pilots, but there are only a little over ten of them! We have a massive fleet of aircraft but no one to fly them! Furthermore, what good are ten pilots?! Could they possibly survive an aerial dogfight against the full might of the Allied Air Force?! Sigh!” Hu Hao sighed heavily.

“Take it slowly! Not long ago, you only commanded a single division, yet now we have an army of hundreds of thousands!” Mo Shui reminded him gently.

“Ha! Hundreds of thousands of troops! Let me tell you, Mo Shui, the only reason we’re surviving is because the Allied forces still don’t realize the true scale of our presence here! If they knew, they would concentrate four entire corps and sweep us from south to north! Our hundreds of thousands of troops would be annihilated in an instant!

“We don’t lack soldiers; we lack Division Commanders, Regimental Commanders, and Battalion Commanders!” Hu Hao smiled bitterly and shook his head.

“Hao-ge, you shouldn’t be so pessimistic. Think about it: isn’t the entire Empire facing the exact same problem? How many generals in the Empire actually know how to fight?! I dare say you are undoubtedly ranked number one in the entire Empire!

“However, you haven’t been placed in a position of true authority. The brothers here can only follow you and kill the enemy locally! If you were given command of the nation’s entire military, I believe the situation would drastically improve!” Mo Shui declared with absolute conviction.

“Me? Ha! Even if a god descended from the heavens, it wouldn’t matter! Brilliant command is useless if the subordinates cannot execute the orders effectively! If execution fails, even the best plans are worthless!” Hu Hao chuckled and shook his head dismissively.

(End of Chapter)