Chapter 259: The Headache of Promotions

When the Emperor mentioned sending Imperial Family scions to serve as Chief of Staffs under Hu Hao to learn the art of war, the Crown Prince hesitated before speaking.

“Imperial Father, do you truly believe the clan scions will actually learn how to fight if they are sent there? You know how they behave. Once they arrive, they’ll undoubtedly avoid the front lines like the plague and hide as far from danger as possible!”

“Sigh. Have they still not realized the gravity of our situation? If the Empire falls, where will they go to enjoy their pampered lives? They might not even survive the collapse!

“Summon them all. I will address them personally. If any of them refuse to go to the front lines and learn how to fight, I will have them executed and their names struck from the Imperial lineage!” the Emperor declared, his anger flaring.

With the nation on the brink of annihilation, the fact that the Imperial scions were still solely focused on a life of luxury was infuriating.

“Yes, Imperial Father. I will summon them. Though, ha… it seems I’m being handed another task that will offend people!” the Crown Prince smiled bitterly.

“If it offends them, let it offend them! The truly intelligent ones will understand that you are giving them an invaluable opportunity. It seems the Imperial Family is also in dire need of a purge. There are far too many useless parasites. We provide them with massive stipends every year, yet they are never satisfied!” the Emperor stated coldly.

He was acutely aware of the situation. The Imperial Family was massive, with tens of thousands of young scions alone. If these youths were genuinely dedicated to the Empire, the Emperor would gladly cultivate them into the throne’s most loyal defenders. But the reality was that they had grown accustomed to lives of idle luxury and never spared a thought for the nation’s welfare.

“Furthermore, regarding your Fourth Brother… he is a Prince with genuine foresight. You must cultivate a closer relationship with him. Although you do not share the same mother, I have intentionally reserved him to assist you.

“Why do you think I haven’t arranged a prominent marriage for him yet? Because I recognized his capabilities long ago.

“You must actively engage with him. As for your other brothers… sigh. Let them be. They possess ambition but lack ability! Let them enjoy their wealth and status, but do not rely on them for anything of true consequence!” the Emperor advised.

“Yes, Imperial Father. Though Second Brother is quite martial; he has some understanding of military affairs!” the Crown Prince offered.

“Mm, he is martial, yes. But he is also indecisive and stubbornly arrogant. Those who don’t know him well might mistake his bluster for grand ambition, but in reality, he is an empty shell,” the Emperor dismissed the Second Prince flatly.

It was clear the Second Prince held a very low position in the Emperor’s regard. Hearing this, the Crown Prince was overjoyed; the Emperor’s assessment effectively eliminated the Second Prince as a rival for the throne.

“Third Brother and Fifth Brother are also quite capable,” the Crown Prince probed further.

The Emperor glanced up at him sharply. Catching the look, the Crown Prince immediately lowered his head.

“What are you afraid of? Hm?” the Emperor asked.

“Yes… I was overthinking things,” the Crown Prince admitted.

“Old Four is the one you must draw close. He possesses genuine talent. I have kept him in reserve for you. Otherwise, I would have rewarded him and transferred him to a more prominent ministry long ago, rather than leaving him in the Ministry of Revenue!” the Emperor reiterated.

“I understand,” the Crown Prince nodded. Inwardly, however, he held little affection for the Fourth Prince. After all, the Fourth Prince had shown him absolutely no respect during today’s Imperial Assembly.

“Very well. Return to your duties. Review the military affairs and identify areas that require reinforcement. And if the Grand Marshal asks you about anything we discussed today, you know nothing!” the Emperor said, preparing to stand.

The Crown Prince immediately rose and offered his arm to help his father up.

“I understand. I will be careful!” the Crown Prince nodded.

“Remember this: an Emperor must never reveal his true thoughts until the absolute final moment. The reason I have spoken so candidly with you today is because I fear I may not have much time left, and I needed you to understand these things.

“But you cannot casually share your thoughts with your subordinates. If you do, they will exploit you completely!” the Emperor warned.

“Yes! Thank you for your teachings, Imperial Father!” the Crown Prince bowed respectfully.

“Let us go,” the Emperor said, and they walked back together.

Meanwhile, the person most thrilled by the news of Hu Hao’s promotion to full General was arguably Liang Wanyu. She had learned of his appointment as Commander of the 1st Group Army almost immediately.

If it weren’t for the fact that she couldn’t contact him easily—she didn’t possess a secure military satellite phone—she wouldn’t be sitting at home, re-watching the combat footage of Hu Hao that had been broadcast on the news.

“I never imagined you would rise this fast. You’re already outranking my father!” Liang Wanyu smiled, her eyes fixed on the young man on the screen.

“No, I need to get promoted too! I need to get my hands on a satellite phone so I can actually talk to you! Otherwise, how am I supposed to reach you? Even if I wrote a letter, the postal service can’t get through the enemy lines!” Liang Wanyu muttered, resolving to take action.

…

Hu Hao, entirely oblivious to the ripples he was causing in the Capital, was currently paralyzed by the headache of officer assignments.

After racking his brain, he had only managed to select 11 officers qualified for promotion to Major General. He simply couldn’t find anyone else capable of filling the remaining division commander slots.

As for the Brigadier General positions within his headquarters staff, he had managed to select a few candidates. A Group Army headquarters required a Chief of Staff (which was to remain vacant), as well as several deputy chiefs of staff overseeing Intelligence, Operations Analysis, Logistics, Artillery Coordination, Air Force Liaison, and so on.

These positions all required Brigadier Generals. Hu Hao had made his selections, but even these were stretch promotions. He had no choice; he had already earmarked his most capable officers for the crucial Major General division command slots.

Rubbing his temples, he gathered his notes and headed to the conference room.

“Hao-ge!”

“Hao-ge!”

“Congratulations, Hao-ge!”

“Commander!”

The moment Hu Hao entered the conference room, the division commanders on the video screens erupted in cheers.

“Congratulations to us all! Hahaha!” Hu Hao laughed, waving at the screens.

“Alright, have a seat. And you lot, out! We need to discuss personnel appointments!” Hu Hao shooed his staff officers out of the room.

“Hehe, understood!” The staff officers filed out, closing the door securely behind them.

“Sit down, sit down! Why are you all standing?” Hu Hao asked, taking his seat at the head of the table.

“Hehe, sit down! Sit down!” Xiao Quan and the others were practically vibrating with joy. They had already heard from the staff officers that Hu Hao had demanded seven Lieutenant General slots from the Emperor.

This meant all seven of them were guaranteed a promotion to Lieutenant General! How could they not be ecstatic? If it weren’t for Hu Hao, they might never have reached that rank in their entire lives. Their gratitude toward him was immeasurable.

“Let me tell you, I am stressed. Are you guys stressed?” Hu Hao asked, leaning back in his chair.

“Stressed about what, Hao-ge? You just got promoted! What is there to be stressed about?” Li Jingsong asked, bewildered.

“Exactly! It’s fantastic news! Why the long face?” the others chimed in.

“It is fantastic news. But how are we supposed to fill all these Major General slots?” Hu Hao asked with a bitter smile.

“Major General slots? We have plenty of openings now; surely we can fill them, right?” Xiao Quan asked.

“The problem isn’t a lack of slots; it’s a lack of people. I ask you: how many officers under your command are truly qualified to be Major Generals? To command a full division? We can’t just hand these stars out like candy and screw over the men!

“Everyone’s capabilities are roughly the same. Only a handful truly stand out. How are we supposed to assign them? Honestly, even the few who do stand out aren’t fully ready to command a division yet. I’m forcing these promotions as it is!” Hu Hao explained his dilemma.

“Now that you mention it… yeah. The only one under my command who’s somewhat ready for a Major General star is Bai Gang,” Bai Ye admitted after a moment’s thought.

“You’re right. Bai Gang is decent; he could probably handle a division. But the rest? Their capabilities really aren’t there yet! What do we do?” Wu Kexiao agreed, starting to share Hu Hao’s stress.

“Even Li Jiahang isn’t ready. He lacks the capability to command a division. But if we’re looking for people better than Li Jiahang… there really aren’t many left. Hao-ge, what do we do? Are we really going to let His Majesty transfer officers from the rear to fill these spots?” Ye Zifeng asked worriedly.

“I was planning to give Li Jiahang a division command regardless. As for the others… I’ve only managed to select 11 Major Generals, and every single one is an exceptional promotion!” Hu Hao sighed.

“How many more do we need?” Lu Guangsheng asked.

“Forty-two combat divisions, plus my Guard Division. That’s 43 division commanders. Add two more Major Generals required for the headquarters staff, and we need a total of 45 Major Generals. We have 11. We are short 34!” Hu Hao laid out the grim math.

“That’s a massive problem,” the commanders muttered, realizing the scale of the issue.

“Who do we promote from the remaining officers? Their capabilities are all identical. If we promote one but not another, who will accept it? Ranks up to Colonel are easy enough to handle, but the leap to General? Who wouldn’t want to cross that threshold?” Hu Hao continued.

“Hao-ge, what does His Majesty say?” Li Jingsong asked.

“Do you think I can tell His Majesty this? The Chief of Staff positions are already being left vacant for him to fill. Do you want the division commander positions left vacant for him too? I absolutely refuse to accept a bunch of useless clan scions!

“If they come here as division commanders, I won’t have the time or energy to clean up their messes. You all know the temper of our troops. If a commander has no capability, no one will obey him!” Hu Hao stated flatly.

“Yeah. This is troublesome. Really troublesome,” Li Jingsong rubbed his head in frustration.

“Can we just leave the positions vacant for now? Our total troop strength isn’t that high anyway. We can promote officers as they prove themselves. What do you think, Hao-ge?” Xiao Quan suggested.

“Mm, that’s what I was thinking. I will submit the first batch of promotions immediately and try to convince His Majesty to give me more time for the second batch.

“After all, we’re supposed to be forming an army of over 400,000 men, and we don’t even have the manpower yet! We planned a massive recruitment drive, but we haven’t even come close to reaching our quota!” Hu Hao agreed.

(End of Chapter)