Hearing Tang Long demand who would bear the responsibility if Hu Hao rebelled, Luo Xin immediately stepped forward and declared, "I dare!"
Tang Long stared at Luo Xin in profound astonishment. He couldn't fathom why the Air Force Commander was so vehemently opposed to him.
"Enough. Both of you are pillars of the Empire. Sit down and speak calmly!" the Emperor interjected, seeing the explosive tension between his top generals.
"Your Majesty! First, I can state with absolute certainty that Hu Hao will not rebel! Even if he harbors deep grievances against the Imperial Court, he is not a fool! Rebellion offers him absolutely no strategic advantage right now!
"Second, his decision to restart the armories is entirely understandable. We cannot physically deliver ammunition through the Allied blockade. Are we truly expecting him to win battles without bullets? How is he supposed to fight if he doesn't manufacture his own ammunition?
"Third, his rapid troop expansion is a matter of sheer survival! Your Majesty, look at the map! Hu Hao controls a massive operational area now. If the Allied High Command masses a multi-corps offensive to crush him, he won't stand a chance unless he has the manpower to hold the line!
"We stand here in the safety of the capital debating his political ambitions, while Hu Hao is likely fighting tooth and nail just to keep his men and the civilians in his enclave alive! As a frontline commander, his absolute priority is survival! Anyone who claims Hu Hao intends to rebel is blinded by paranoia. I, Luo Xin, do not believe it for a second!" Luo Xin argued passionately.
"And you dare to guarantee it?!" Tang Long challenged him again.
"I dare! I guarantee his loyalty with my own head!" Luo Xin glared right back at Tang Long. The hatred between the two generals was now palpable.
"Enough! We should be celebrating Hu Hao's victory! Furthermore, I agree that rebellion is highly improbable. Hu Hao explained his actions regarding the armory. He originally intended to destroy it, but after successfully repelling the initial Allied vanguard, he saw an opportunity to utilize the facilities to sustain his defense. It was a pragmatic battlefield decision. Destroying perfectly good armories now would be a tragic waste!" the Emperor mediated, siding with Luo Xin.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Tang Long conceded reluctantly.
"Your Majesty, if we order Commander Jiang Kai to launch a coordinated offensive with Hu Hao, they could crush the Allied forces pinned between them and finally open a secure supply corridor! Once the corridor is established, we can exert direct administrative control over Hu Hao's forces! I reiterate my offer: I will step down as Grand Marshal immediately so Hu Hao can assume command and coordinate this critical offensive!" Luo Xin proposed his grand strategy once more.
"Mm. We will table that discussion until the rainy season nears its end. Currently, there are three full Allied corps entrenched between Jiang Kai and Hu Hao, with several more corps stationed nearby.
"Unless we can guarantee a rapid, decisive breakthrough, launching a massive offensive now would only mire us in a brutal war of attrition. Furthermore, Jiang Kai's primary responsibility is securing the central front. The Allied coalition will undoubtedly launch massive offensives across his entire sector once the dry season arrives. We cannot risk compromising the central defensive line," the Emperor explained his cautious approach, gesturing for them to sit.
"Yes, Your Majesty. However, we must absolutely support Hu Hao's continued offensives to reclaim more occupied territory! The combat effectiveness of his specialized units is phenomenal! We should authorize him to maintain his aggressive tempo!" Luo Xin urged.
"I disagree. What if his continued offensives provoke the Allied High Command into massing overwhelming force to crush him immediately?" Tang Long countered.
"What are you afraid of?! If we don't fight them, they'll just mass their forces to crush him later anyway! There is no possibility of a peaceful resolution with the Allied coalition! If we have the opportunity to bleed them now, we bleed them!" Luo Xin shot back instantly.
"My point is that Hu Hao has finally established a stable foothold! He should consolidate his gains and focus entirely on training his raw recruits during the rainy season! When the dry season arrives and the general offensives begin, he will have plenty of opportunities to fight! Right now, his army is still vastly inexperienced!" Tang Long attempted to justify his position.
"I understand General Tang's caution, and I understand General Luo's aggression. However, this is a tactical decision that must be left to the frontline commander. Hu Hao is a brilliant tactician; I trust he knows how to best manage his operational tempo," the Emperor smiled benevolently, ending the debate.
In truth, the Emperor was highly satisfied with the intense friction within the Ministry of Defense. If the military high command presented a unified, monolithic front, the Emperor would be deeply concerned. A unified military was a threat to the throne. He preferred them fractured and constantly squabbling, ensuring he remained the ultimate arbiter of power.
The meeting concluded shortly after 10:00 AM.
The Emperor and the Crown Prince walked back toward the inner palace.
"Imperial Father, I find it incredibly strange. Why is Tang Long so relentlessly hostile toward Hu Hao? Does he genuinely believe Hu Hao is a traitor, or does he harbor some ulterior motive?" the Crown Prince asked, walking a half-step behind his father.
"Whether Hu Hao harbors treasonous ambitions is secondary; Tang Long absolutely harbors his own selfish agenda! He is likely projecting his anger over his demotion onto Hu Hao, or perhaps he fears that if Hu Hao rises to power, he will exact revenge for Tang Long's previous attempts to sabotage him.
"We must factor this into our political calculations. However, do not intervene in their squabbles. Let Tang Long and Luo Xin fight it out. Only step in if their friction threatens to compromise actual military operations!" the Emperor advised.
"Yes, Imperial Father. But... do you truly believe Hu Hao harbors treasonous ambitions? What is your honest assessment of him?" the Crown Prince pressed.
"What is your assessment?" the Emperor countered.
"He is incredibly young. Logically, a man his age shouldn't be consumed by grand, treasonous ambitions; he should be focused on securing glory and military prestige. Furthermore, open rebellion is unprecedented in the eight-hundred-year history of the Empire! I don't believe he has the audacity to attempt it.
"However, given the sheer size of the army he now commands, we cannot be entirely naive. If he continues to consolidate power, bringing him back under our direct control will become increasingly difficult!" the Crown Prince offered a nuanced analysis.
"Exactly. You see the core of the issue! I do not fear that Hu Hao wants to rebel; I fear that he will become uncontrollable! A general in his early twenties commanding hundreds of thousands of men...
"If the Empire survives this war, Hu Hao has absolutely no right to maintain command of a private army of that size!
"However, if the Empire falls... then I actually hope he controls an even larger army! As you noted, controlling him is becoming difficult. While I don't fear an immediate rebellion, we must dispatch our political commissars and Chief of Staff to his headquarters the moment the corridor opens! We must have eyes and ears inside his command structure to prevent him from going rogue!
"But we must also be careful not to restrict him too severely right now. The ultimate fate of the Empire remains uncertain. I must ensure the Royal Family has a viable sanctuary if the capital falls.
"Therefore, for the time being, I will grant him whatever authorizations he needs to expand his forces!
"If the Empire stabilizes and we survive this war, I will summon him to the capital and 'negotiate' the surrender of his excess military assets. He owes his current position to our patronage, and he owes a debt of gratitude to the Royal Family.
"Most importantly, because he is a commoner with no aristocratic backing, even if I appointed him Grand Marshal, he would lack the entrenched political faction necessary to threaten the throne in the short term. Sigh," the Emperor outlined his complex, two-tiered strategy.
He was preparing for two distinct outcomes. If the Empire fell, the political landscape would shatter anyway, and he needed Hu Hao to be as powerful as possible to protect the Royal Family. If the Empire survived, he would immediately move to systematically strip Hu Hao of his military power to neutralize the political threat he posed.
"I understand," the Crown Prince nodded thoughtfully.
"I was genuinely tempted to elevate him to Grand Marshal today. But the political resistance is too fierce. Did you notice that not a single Army general supported Luo Xin's proposal?" the Emperor pointed out.
"They fear that if Hu Hao becomes Grand Marshal, their own power and influence will be drastically curtailed," the Crown Prince observed correctly.
"If Hu Hao became Grand Marshal, and if the entire national army actually obeyed his commands, our chances of surviving this war would increase exponentially!
"Conversely, if the aristocratic generals refused his orders and fractured the command structure, the Empire would collapse even faster! The current high command is still dominated by aristocratic scions. The capable commoner officers are mostly Division Commanders; they haven't yet reached the Corps or Army Group level, making them difficult to leverage against the aristocrats.
"We must wait. Once our newly promoted commoner generals mature and solidify their power, perhaps then we can safely elevate Hu Hao to Grand Marshal!" the Emperor sighed, looking toward the horizon.
"And what about Jiang Kai?" the Crown Prince asked.
"He is suited for the role of General of the Left. As for Tang Long... he is a talentless parasite who inherited his position through nepotism! He is entirely unfit for high command!" the Emperor stated bluntly.
The Crown Prince nodded silently. Tang Long was his father-in-law, but even he had grown deeply dissatisfied with Tang Long's catastrophic battlefield failures and his petty, relentless sabotage of competent generals like Jiang Kai and Hu Hao.
"Maintain close contact with Hu Hao. For now, he remains trustworthy. He is intelligent enough to realize the Empire must stand united against the Allied coalition. Rebellion is not in his immediate interest!" the Emperor concluded.
"I understand," the Crown Prince affirmed.
Meanwhile, Hu Hao was sleeping soundly in an APC as his massive armored convoy rumbled toward Nanli City.
Dong Qipeng, commanding ten companies of the Special Operations Regiment, had already arrived in Tianjing City.
Tianjing City was closer to Tianyu City, only a three-hour drive. Nanli City was further east, requiring over four hours. The journey would have been faster if not for the torrential rain, the cratered highways, and the endless streams of refugees clogging the roads.
Upon arriving at the defensive perimeter outside Tianjing City, Dong Qipeng found the situation critical. Two divisions of Wu Kexiao's 106th Corps were entrenched in a small county town, desperately trying to hold the line against two full Allied divisions attempting a violent breakout. The battle was raging fiercely.
(End of Chapter)