After concluding the call with Hu Hao, the Crown Prince was ecstatic. His confidants, equally thrilled by the news, offered their congratulations.
"Excellent! To receive such news at this critical juncture... excellent, truly excellent. There is still hope for our Empire! It is merely a pity that Hu Hao is currently encircled. If he weren't surrounded, we might have been able to launch a general counter-offensive by now!" the Crown Prince exclaimed, pacing his study before finally taking a seat.
"Your Highness, I have a strategic recommendation that I strongly urge you to consider," Liu Yuzi stood up, his expression serious.
"Speak!" The Crown Prince nodded immediately, giving Liu Yuzi his full attention. He valued Liu Yuzi's counsel highly; the man's previous strategic predictions had proven remarkably accurate, earning him a place of honor among the Crown Prince's advisors.
"Your Highness, I believe you must find a way to extract Hu Hao from Late City and redeploy him to the central front—or perhaps another critical defensive line. He is currently wasted in that encirclement. His true potential is far greater!
"If he were commanding the central front or elsewhere, our armies might have already launched a counter-offensive. Look at his current situation: trapped behind enemy lines, forced to raise his own troops from scratch, forced to scavenge for weapons... yet he still manages to win stunning victories against elite Allied corps! It proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that his command capabilities are utterly peerless!" Liu Yuzi argued passionately.
"I wish I could! But Hu Hao will never abandon his troops. He has already conscripted a massive force of refugees there. To order him to abandon them now and return alone... it's impossible. Hu Hao is fiercely loyal to his men. Do you honestly believe he would just leave them to die?" the Crown Prince sighed, recognizing Hu Hao's character.
"Then order Jiang Kai to coordinate with him and punch a corridor through the Allied lines! Yes, His Majesty originally ordered Hu Hao to remain behind enemy lines to act as a distraction and raid their rear echelons...
"But I firmly believe that if Hu Hao were stationed on a primary defensive line with a steady stream of trained reinforcements and proper logistical support, he could achieve infinitely greater victories for the Empire!" Liu Yuzi pressed his case.
"Mm. I have considered that. But Hu Hao currently lacks the combat power to punch through the encirclement from his end. And as for Jiang Kai... his frontline divisions are heavily diluted with raw recruits. Simply holding the central defensive line is already stretching his capabilities to the limit; launching a major offensive to break through to Late City is highly improbable.
"Furthermore, there is a gap of over 300 kilometers between Hu Hao and Jiang Kai's lines, filled entirely with Allied forces. If Hu Hao attempted to march north, the Allied coalition would immediately intercept him. The difficulty is astronomical!" the Crown Prince explained the grim tactical reality.
Liu Yuzi nodded, acknowledging the challenges, but remained steadfast. "We must find a way, Your Highness. The Empire is in grave peril. If Hu Hao could command a larger, properly supported army, the Empire might still have a fighting chance!"
"Mm," the Crown Prince nodded thoughtfully.
Just prior to Hu Hao's call, they had been debating the Empire's bleak future. They all agreed the situation was critical. The Crown Prince had already planned to seek an audience with the Emperor first thing in the morning to propose an aggressive new strategy: forcefully clear the bureaucratic backlog of officer promotions, utilize the rainy season to conduct massive, accelerated training programs, prioritize the defense of the Imperial Capital, and prepare for a limited counter-offensive to reclaim lost territory.
"Your Highness, I agree with Liu Yuzi. We must bring Hu Hao closer to our main lines. Jiang Kai is sufficient to hold the central front. Hu Hao could be redeployed to command either the eastern or western fronts. Both lines are currently under immense pressure.
"In fact, Your Highness, you should entreat His Majesty to speak with Hu Hao personally. In the face of national survival, Hu Hao must be persuaded to set aside his personal loyalty to his conscripts. We need him commanding a primary front to ensure the Empire's survival!" another confidant chimed in.
"I concur. Extract him, give him command of a defensive line, and tell him to put the nation before his personal honor. The survival of the Empire must take precedence!" Liu Yuzi nodded emphatically.
"Mm. It is certainly worth considering. The Empire's situation is precarious. Redeploying Hu Hao to independently command one of the primary defensive lines would indeed be the most advantageous move," the Crown Prince mused, nodding slowly.
"Your Highness, I strongly suggest you seek an audience with His Majesty tonight! Go now, while you are the only one who possesses this news! His Majesty will be overjoyed by the victory, and it will be the perfect opportunity to discuss these vital matters.
"Press him to immediately approve the stalled officer promotions, and propose extracting Hu Hao. If Hu Hao returns, we can secure at least one more major defensive line. The current commanders on the eastern and western fronts are simply not up to the task. We need Hu Hao!" Liu Yuzi urged.
"Your Highness, I agree!"
"I agree as well!"
The other confidants stood up and bowed, urging him to act immediately.
"Very well. I will head to the Imperial Palace now. I apologize for cutting our meeting short," the Crown Prince decided.
"Think nothing of it! The affairs of state take absolute precedence!" Liu Yuzi assured him.
The Crown Prince nodded and ushered them out of the study. He ordered his guards to arrange transport for his advisors and to prepare his own motorcade for the Imperial Palace.
***
Meanwhile, Hu Hao was currently on the phone with Jiang Kai.
"What did you just say?! You annihilated the 7th Corps?! The Holy Ancient Empire's 7th Corps?! Didn't they just arrive at your perimeter this afternoon?!" Jiang Kai practically leapt out of his chair in the Southwest Combat Zone command center. Every officer in the room turned to stare at him in shock.
"Yes, sir. They arrived this afternoon. We just finished wiping them out," Hu Hao replied with a smile. He had to follow protocol: report to the Crown Prince first, then report to his direct superior, Jiang Kai.
"Excellent! Incredible! But... how did you do it?! The 7th Corps fought against us previously; their combat effectiveness is terrifying! My troops never managed to gain the upper hand against them!" Jiang Kai demanded, his voice trembling with excitement.
Hu Hao provided a brief summary of the tactical maneuvers. Jiang Kai listened, constantly interjecting with praise.
When Hu Hao finished, Jiang Kai laughed heartily. "And here I was, worrying about you! I never imagined you'd crush them so quickly! To think an elite corps would make such a fatal error! Haha! But you deserve the credit; recognizing that vulnerability and ruthlessly exploiting it... brilliant work!"
"Hehe. If they present an opportunity, of course I'll annihilate them! However, Commander... before I called you, I reported this victory to the Crown Prince," Hu Hao admitted, wanting to be transparent.
"As you should! Say no more!" Jiang Kai interrupted, waving off any potential awkwardness.
"Thank you for understanding, Commander," Hu Hao replied gratefully.
"Mm. Hu Hao... is there any way you could push your forces north toward my lines? The only major obstacle between us now is the Kabu Kingdom's 25th Corps, commanded by Arrias. Could you annihilate him? If you can break his corps, our forces can link up, and we'll be in a vastly superior strategic position!" Jiang Kai asked eagerly.
"That's difficult. My current forces consist almost entirely of raw recruits. My few veteran units are currently tied down defending Yonghe City. If I attempt to push north, the Allied coalition will undoubtedly reinforce the 25th Corps and strike my exposed rear. I'd be caught in a vice—unable to advance or retreat. It's too risky," Hu Hao explained the logistical nightmare.
"What if I launch an offensive to pin them down from this side? Would that work?" Jiang Kai proposed immediately.
"Even then, I would have to finish clearing the Mara forces from Yonghe City first. Furthermore, my conscripts simply do not possess the combat effectiveness required for a major offensive. They haven't even completed basic training, let alone combined-arms maneuvers!
"Yes, I've recruited hundreds of thousands of refugees over the past few days. I have the manpower, but their combat power is virtually zero. They can fight a defensive battle from entrenched positions, but the moment an offensive stalls, they will break and rout!" Hu Hao laid out the harsh reality of his 'army.'
"Mm, that's true. But... when will your forces be capable of pushing north? Actually, I've been pondering a deeper question lately: do you honestly believe the Empire can hold the line?
"According to our latest intelligence, massive Allied troop convoys are continuously landing at the southwestern port cities. And they aren't even intended for our front; they are staging areas for invasions of other nations! It made me realize... can our Empire truly defeat an invasion of this scale? Can we defeat so many nations and so many armies?
"We annihilate a million of their troops, and they land ten million more! When does it end?!
"Right now, my only hope is that the Empire can secure one solid, defensible territory—even a small one—so our people have a place to survive," Jiang Kai confessed, his tone heavy with exhaustion and doubt.
"Commander... are you suggesting that I should be given independent command of one of the primary defensive lines?" Hu Hao asked, instantly catching the underlying implication.
"Mm. Yes. I firmly believe you are capable of holding a primary front. If you could take command of the western front and stabilize it, the Empire would be vastly more secure.
"With the west held, we could free up troops to reinforce the eastern front. I think we could hold the line then. We can't save the occupied territories right now, but we absolutely must hold what we have left!" Jiang Kai explained his strategic vision.
"Commander, you overestimate me, and you severely overestimate the combat capabilities of my current forces. Honestly, I have considered this very scenario... but it is incredibly difficult," Hu Hao replied gravely over the phone.
"Why?" Jiang Kai asked, confused.
"I've always believed I could annihilate 300,000 of them, perhaps even three million. But can I annihilate thirty million? Three hundred million? Commander, you know the demographics of the nations backing this invasion. If they truly commit to a war of total annihilation, they could easily raise an army of three hundred million!" Hu Hao stated chillingly.
(End of Chapter)