Chapter 211: Hu Hao Must Die!

Hearing that Hu Hao refused to retreat alone and intended to carve a bloody path out with his troops, Jiang Kai grew incredibly anxious. He knew Hu Hao was the type of person who would never abandon his men!

“Commander, I have no choice! I truly cannot do this! If I abandon them, how could I ever serve as a Division Commander again?! Tell me!

“Furthermore, the Empire’s soldiers are already dissatisfied with their generals. If I, too, abandon my brothers… tell me, who in the Empire would ever be willing to fight again?! When that happens, our nation will truly be subjugated and our people wiped out!” Hu Hao declared.

“Sigh! Board a helicopter and return immediately! I will demand an explanation from the Grand Marshal regarding this! Retreat immediately!” Jiang Kai continued to insist that Hu Hao evacuate alone.

“Commander, you don’t need to worry about me! I possess some ability; I will definitely carve my way out alive! I just want to bring as many of my brothers out with me as possible!

“If the situation truly becomes impossible, with my personal skills, I can still escape! If the day comes when I escape back to you, I hope the Commander will still allow me to serve as a foot soldier!” Hu Hao said, his voice laced with gratitude.

“Don’t worry about that! While I can’t guarantee a Corps Commander position, I can arrange a Division Commander position for you at any time! Just make it back alive!” Jiang Kai promised.

“That’s enough for me! Then Commander, let me fight here! Perhaps I can wipe out a few Allied units and avenge our slaughtered civilians! Furthermore, since we’re surrounded, if the Allied forces want to completely annihilate my troops…

“…I won’t make grand boasts, but I can guarantee a one-to-one kill ratio! I am confident I can annihilate roughly 60,000 Allied troops! I can’t let my brothers die in vain!” Hu Hao chuckled.

“I know! I know your capabilities! Sigh, I was foolish! I should have ordered you to retreat earlier! If I had, your troops wouldn’t be surrounded now!

“Hu Hao, remember this: come back alive! I will appoint you as a Division Commander the moment you return! After a few battles, I’ll promote you to Lieutenant General and Corps Commander! If you, my future General, run away and die, I will not accept it!” Jiang Kai roared.

“Thank you for your support, Commander!” Hu Hao snapped to attention.

“Hu Hao, remember my words! I would rather lose an entire corps than lose you! Remember that!” Jiang Kai emphasized.

“Yes, Commander! I will remember!” Hu Hao stood perfectly straight, roaring his acknowledgment.

“Good! You were just surrounded, so you definitely have a lot of arrangements to make! Handle them well! Do not tarnish the prestige of my Southwest Combat Zone! And do not tarnish the fearsome reputation of Hao-ge!” Jiang Kai declared.

“Don’t worry! I would never dare to bring shame to my brothers in the Southwest Combat Zone!” Hu Hao replied firmly.

“Good! Good! We’ll leave it at that! Think of a plan! You must find a way out! I will also look for a solution on my end. Once our defensive line stabilizes, I will order other units to attempt a breakout toward your position and extract you!” Jiang Kai promised.

“Yes, sir!” Hu Hao replied. After Jiang Kai hung up, Hu Hao stood there in silence for a long time.

“Hao-ge! Bai Ye just called! The Allied main force is approaching!” a staff officer reported.

“Then we fight! There’s nothing more to say! I’ve already told him how to fight; he knows what to do!” Hu Hao instructed the staff officer.

“Understood!” The staff officer nodded, then turned to contact Bai Ye.

“Motherfucker! Tang Long is making me lose a great general!” Jiang Kai cursed furiously after hanging up.

“Is Hu Hao truly unable to break out?” Sun Qinxue asked, visibly tense.

“He can break out! But he refuses to! It’s not like you don’t know him! How could he possibly abandon his troops and flee?! Motherfucker! Tang Long!” Jiang Kai cursed.

In truth, based on what Hu Hao had just told him, this situation had nothing to do with Tang Long. However, Jiang Kai was currently shifting all the blame onto Tang Long. If Tang Long had made proper arrangements and blown up the arsenals earlier, perhaps Hu Hao wouldn’t have been surrounded!

“Report! Call from the Grand Marshal!” a staff officer suddenly reported.

“Give it to me!” Jiang Kai grabbed the phone.

“This is Jiang Kai! Listen to me carefully, Tang Long! We blew up the arsenals! However, my subordinate, Hu Hao, is now trapped inside! An entire corps of mine is trapped inside!

“You owe me an explanation for this! If Hu Hao doesn’t make it out, I will expose every single one of your dirty secrets to His Majesty! I don’t care if you’re the Grand Marshal or a petty officer!”

Before Tang Long could even speak, Jiang Kai began roaring, completely bewildering the Grand Marshal. However, hearing Jiang Kai’s words, Tang Long glean one crucial piece of information: the arsenals had been destroyed! This brought him immense relief.

But hearing that Hu Hao was trapped, and that Jiang Kai threatened to expose everything to His Majesty if Hu Hao didn’t survive, Tang Long’s heart leapt into his throat once more.

“Commander Jiang, don’t be so anxious. What exactly happened?!” Tang Long asked.

“What else could have happened?! To blow up your damn arsenals, my troops are now surrounded! My most capable general, Hu Hao, is trapped inside! Damn it!

“You must understand: if it weren’t for Hu Hao, our Southwest Combat Zone would never have been able to hold off those Allied forces previously! Now you’ve doomed my most outstanding general! Forget about me—the entire Southwest Combat Zone will not accept this!” Jiang Kai roared furiously.

“This… well…!” Tang Long was momentarily at a loss for words.

“Save your excuses! If Hu Hao doesn’t make it out, I’m telling you, the entire Southwest Combat Zone will hate you to the core!” Jiang Kai declared, then slammed the phone down.

“Heh~ Jiang Kai must have swallowed gunpowder today! He actually dared to speak to me like that?! And with such aggression?!” Hearing the dial tone, Tang Long chuckled coldly.

“Father. Jiang Kai has never respected you. It’s completely possible for him to speak to you with any attitude!” Tang Junjie, standing nearby, smiled.

“Mm. He said that Hu Hao—the same Hu Hao who offended you previously—is now trapped! I know of this Hu Hao. He claimed the highest merit in the Nanlin City counter-offensive, and recently, he wiped out four Allied corps! He is a fierce general indeed!

“However, he is Jiang Kai’s fierce general. Being trapped is actually a good thing! Once Jiang Kai loses this fierce general, he won’t have anyone left to accumulate massive merit for him! Still, we must transfer Jiang Kai to the Eastern line to be completely safe,” Tang Long remarked.

“Dad, you said Hu Hao is surrounded?!” Tang Junjie asked excitedly.

“Yes. Surrounded, and likely unable to break out. The fact that Jiang Kai dared to speak to me like that proves the situation is incredibly dire. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have dared!” Tang Long nodded.

“That’s excellent! Excellent! It’s better if he dies!” Tang Junjie smiled viciously!

“As for you… next, I expect you to head to the Western line and serve as a Chief of Staff! Go there and accumulate some military merit! That humiliating incident in the Southwest Combat Zone was truly disgraceful. Even His Majesty knows about it!

“If you want to advance further in the military and help our family, you must go to the Western Combat Zone and wash away this disgrace with military merit!” Tang Long instructed his youngest son.

“Rest assured, Father! I will definitely fight well there! Hu Hao must die!” Recalling how he had wet his pants in the Southwest Combat Zone headquarters filled Tang Junjie with seething hatred. It was entirely Hu Hao’s fault! If Hu Hao hadn’t drawn his gun on him, it never would have happened!

“Enough. He is a dying man; there is no point in holding a grudge. You need to focus on how to defend against the Allied forces on the Western line! You will depart tomorrow. Once there, coordinate with our family’s troops to defend the West!

“All three of our family’s corps have been deployed there, along with the forces of other allied aristocratic families. If you fail to accumulate military merit, His Majesty will never agree to promote you to Full General!

“Being promoted to Full General right now is incredibly beneficial for your personal development. Many incompetent Combat Zone Commanders will be removed from their posts. If you can secure a Combat Zone Commander position, our Tang family’s power within the Empire will grow even more immense!

“When your brother-in-law ascends the throne, he will undoubtedly reward you! Right now, your brother-in-law, despite being the Crown Prince, desperately needs our help! Among the other adult Princes, who isn’t coveting the throne?!” Tang Long lectured his son.

“Rest assured, Father! I promise I will never bring shame to you again!” Tang Junjie vowed.

“Good! Then go rest early! If it weren’t for the arsenal issue, we wouldn’t have had to stay up so late! Go rest!” Tang Long stood up, preparing to sleep.

….

Meanwhile, Bai Ye kept his eyes fixed on the distant Allied forces. The Allied vanguard had already entered the ambush zone, but they couldn’t attack just yet.

They had to wait until the entire column had entered the zone. Then, they would strike the middle of the Allied marching column, severing it in half! Once the formation was broken, destroying them would be much easier! Furthermore, the enemy’s tank and armored units were concentrated in the middle!

“Notify the brothers below: although we are striking the middle of the Allied marching column, our initial volley must target the lead tanks! Every tank we destroy now is one less tank we have to fight later! This will give us a significant advantage! Although the Allied tank units are inferior, they still pose a threat to our tanks!

“As for those armored vehicles… to our tank units, they’re like chopping vegetables! Destroying them will be effortless!” Bai Ye instructed his staff officers.

“Yes, sir!” The staff officers immediately relayed the orders.

(End of Chapter)