Chapter 221: Reorganizing the Troops

Hu Hao’s declaration to expand the troops, specifically by about thirty divisions, left them astonished. They all knew the army lacked enough officers. With so many new divisions, the shortage of commanders would be severe.

“Hao-ge, even if not every unit is a combat force, we still don’t have enough officers!” Li Jingsong said, looking at Hu Hao.

“I know. That’s why you, and the regimental commanders under you, need to fight well and learn how to wage war. As long as you have the capability, I have plenty of division commander positions waiting for you.

“Also, let me clarify. Wu Kexiao, Lu Guangsheng, Ye Zifeng. Each of you will immediately form two main combat divisions. These units will be at full strength and have the best equipment. I will provide all the necessary weapons.

“However, the troops’ combat effectiveness must improve. Meanwhile, each of you needs to prepare three reserve divisions.

“One will be a comprehensive division focused on training anti-aircraft units, engineers, artillery, armored infantry, and tank crews.

“The other two divisions will train regular infantry and armored infantry as your direct reserves. You three, fight well. As my primary combat generals, don’t embarrass me!” Hu Hao said from his seat.

“Don’t worry, Hao-ge. We wouldn’t dare embarrass you!” The three immediately stood up and replied.

“Good. Bai Ye! Bo Gang!” Hu Hao called out.

“Here!” Bai Ye and Bo Gang stood up and shouted.

“The two of you will form a super tank division. Let me be clear: this super tank division will eventually be split into two. For now, you will lead and train them together, which is why I’m having you assemble so many tank units.

“Once the time is right, your force will divide into two standard tank divisions. Bo Gang, your troops will deploy to the west and north of Late City. That will be your operational zone.

“Bai Ye, your troops will garrison here in Daman City to defend against enemies from the east and south.

“At the same time, each of you will form another tank division to act as your reserves. The moment you find suitable commanders, I will immediately upgrade those reserve units into official main forces!” Hu Hao told them.

“Yes, sir!” The two nodded.

“As for the infantry units, each division must form its own tank regiment equipped with 60 tanks! These will be under the command of the infantry division commanders. If they perform well, they might be promoted to tank division commanders. As you know, the one thing we aren’t short of right now is tanks!” Hu Hao laughed.

“Heh heh!” The others chuckled upon hearing this.

“Weng Tao!” Hu Hao called out with a smile.

“Here!” Weng Tao immediately stood up.

“Form two artillery divisions. Each artillery division must include two anti-aircraft regiments. These will be our main anti-aircraft forces. Once the time is right, they will be spun off to form independent anti-aircraft divisions.

“You will also establish a reserve artillery division with the same configuration as the main forces, including anti-aircraft regiments. Every infantry unit must also have an anti-aircraft battalion. In the future, these battalions will be upgraded to regiments!”

“Yes, sir!” They nodded again in agreement.

“Xiao Quan, Li Jingsong!” Hu Hao called out.

“Here!” The two quickly stood up.

“Sit down, what are you two standing up for?” Hu Hao told them.

“No, Hao-ge. You are now the supreme commander of this army. I’ll put my words out there right now: if anyone disrespects you, I, Li Jingsong, will be the first to take issue.

“Brothers, think about it. How many men did we have a month ago? How many do we have now? Setting aside the expansion plan Hao-ge just outlined, we currently have 200,000 troops. Ask yourselves, who else could achieve this?

“Furthermore, these 200,000 troops are a victorious army. Since last night, we’ve annihilated two Allied corps. So many division commander positions have opened up, and there will be corps commander positions in the future.

“Brothers, most of us have lost our homes. Hao-ge is different. He still has a family, yet he placed them in danger for our sake.

“You all know how Hao-ge was before. He didn’t want to fight. He only took up command to ensure we brothers wouldn’t sacrifice our lives for nothing.

“Therefore, brothers, from today onward, we address Hao-ge as Commander. Just Commander. Hao-ge is the Commander of this army, and we won’t accept anyone else taking that position!” Li Jingsong declared.

“That’s right, brothers. We’re putting our lives on the line every day. Hao-ge actually had a choice, though you might not know it.

“Last night, Commander Jiang Kai called Hao-ge and told him to leave us behind and retreat first. If he had retreated, Jiang Kai would have still given him command of an entire corps.

“He would have even promoted Hao-ge to Lieutenant General. For our sake, Hao-ge rejected the position of a Lieutenant General Corps Commander. If anyone dares to disrespect Hao-ge, shoot them on the spot!” Xiao Quan chimed in.

“Right!” the others agreed.

“What are you all doing? What’s with this ‘Commander’ business? Just calling me Hao-ge is fine!” Hu Hao said.

“No. In private, we’ll call you Hao-ge. But in official settings, you are the Commander!” Xiao Quan insisted.

“Greetings, Commander!”

“Greetings, Commander!” All the officers stood up and saluted Hu Hao, including the staff officers present in the meeting room.

“What are you guys doing?” Seeing them all stand up to salute, Hu Hao had no choice but to stand and return the gesture.

“Heh heh, Hao-ge, the military has its rules. The brothers only submit to you and no one else. Damn it, who else could lead a force of remnants and recruits to wipe out six Allied corps? Who else has that ability?

“I, Li Jingsong, have never yielded to anyone, but I yield to you. Ever since the defense of Langcheng, I’ve been convinced!” Li Jingsong smiled.

“Alright, alright, sit down. All of you, sit. Aren’t you tired? I’ve barely slept a few hours!” Hu Hao waved his hands, signaling them to take their seats.

“Yes, sir!” they shouted in unison before sitting down.

“Fuck…” Hu Hao looked at them in surprise.

Sitting nearby, Mo Qin smiled as he watched Hu Hao. He truly hadn’t expected Hu Hao to establish such a solid foundation and gain control over so many troops in such a short period.

In truth, Mo Qin knew Hu Hao’s primary influence lay with the grassroots officers. Those men followed Hu Hao without question. However, whether the higher-ranking officers present were truly submitting, Mo Qin couldn’t say for sure.

The newly promoted division commanders were definitely loyal. But as for the veteran regimental commanders, including Li Jingsong—whether they were genuinely that convinced remained a mystery to Mo Qin.

“Li Jingsong, and Xiao Quan. You two currently control two major cities. You each need to recruit three divisions of troops there. One of those divisions will be a main combat force.

“The other two divisions will be reserves. Train them according to our standard division protocols first. Once the time is right, we’ll start specializing those units.

“As for my guard division, I will also recruit three divisions. Only one will act as the actual guard division. I plan to train the remaining two as tank, artillery, and anti-aircraft forces. These will be our key training priorities!” Hu Hao explained.

“Yes, Commander. There are still many people fleeing from the south and the west. When they saw our troops stationed here, they stopped. Many refugees are hoping to enlist.

“Since you previously ordered us to recruit, we started the moment we arrived. We don’t know the exact numbers yet; we’re still compiling the statistics!” Li Jingsong stood up to report.

“Alright, sit down. Why are you standing up? Speak sitting down!” Hu Hao told him.

“I can’t do that. I have to stand while reporting. Rules are rules!” Li Jingsong insisted, refusing to sit.

“Fine, fine, sit down. Just sit down now!” Hu Hao sighed helplessly.

“Yes, sir!” The two immediately sat down.

“And as for the special operations regiment!” Hu Hao called out.

“Here!” Dong Qipeng quickly stood up.

“You will select personnel from the various units. Remember, all of you—if this regiment selects someone, you must release them. You will understand their power later. With this unit, we will conquer every objective and win every battle.

“So, as long as it’s someone they want, release them immediately!” Hu Hao instructed.

“Yes, Hao-ge. Don’t worry, we guarantee we will release them!” the officers nodded.

“Good. That covers the basics of the troop expansion. I will distribute documents to each of you later; follow the expansion requirements outlined within them. I will also designate your garrison locations.

“I will also personally command your main battles moving forward, using drones for remote battlefield coordination. This will give you more opportunities to grasp how to command troops in combat!” Hu Hao told the officers.

The officers nodded. When it came to Hu Hao’s command capabilities, they were convinced.

(End of Chapter)

TN: Wa’erguo —> Vaal Kingdom