Liang Wanyu gently supported Hu Hao's grandfather as they entered the main sitting room, followed by the rest of the aristocratic envoys. Hu Xingjun, Wang Xueying, Hu Hui, and Zhao Jingru trailed behind them.
"Please, have a seat," the old man offered gracefully.
The young envoys waited respectfully until the old man had seated himself before taking their own seats. They were wealthy, privileged youths who enjoyed their vices, but they possessed the impeccable manners ingrained by aristocratic upbringing.
The spacious living room was suddenly filled with over a dozen smartly dressed young men and women. Many of the young men's eyes immediately drifted toward Hu Jing. She was quite beautiful, but more importantly, she was the sister of Hu Hao.
Hu Hao was the Commander of the 1st Group Army, holding the rank of Full General, and he was undeniably the Empire's most successful military leader. In this chaotic, war-torn era, it was entirely possible that Hu Hao's continued victories could eventually propel him to the absolute pinnacle of power within the Ministry of Defense.
Before these envoys had departed the capital, their respective family patriarchs had explicitly instructed them to assess the Hu family's marital prospects.
Since Hu Hao's younger brother was currently getting engaged, that left only Hu Hao himself and his sister, Hu Jing. However, it was an open secret among the capital's elite that Hu Hao and Liang Wanyu were involved. No one in their right mind would dare attempt to poach Hu Hao and risk offending both the powerful Ma and Liang families simultaneously.
Therefore, Hu Jing was the prime target. However, with Hu Hao absent, none of the envoys dared to formally propose a political marriage right now. They would have to wait for Hu Hao's return. But there was no harm in laying the groundwork and establishing a friendly rapport beforehand.
"You must be Hu Hao's sister, Hu Jing?" Liang Qi, a young scion of the Liang family, asked with a charming smile, glancing briefly at his cousin, Liang Wanyu.
"Yes, I am," Hu Jing nodded politely.
"Don't even think about it, Liang Qi. Hu Hao is incredibly protective of his siblings, especially Hu Jing. I've heard him mention several times how sensible and capable she is. He won't let just anyone near her!" Liang Wanyu interjected immediately, staking a protective claim over her prospective sister-in-law.
"Thank you! You seem to know my brother very well?" Hu Jing looked at Liang Wanyu curiously.
"Let me tell you a secret: she is very likely going to be your future sister-in-law!" Liang Qi laughed.
"Ah?!" Hu Jing gasped in surprise. Hu Xingjun, Wang Xueying, and the grandparents stared at Liang Wanyu in utter shock.
"Stop talking nonsense!" Liang Wanyu scolded her cousin, her face flushing crimson. She was secretly thrilled, but intensely embarrassed to be outed so publicly in front of Hu Hao's family.
"Who in the capital doesn't know?! Hu Hao chased her relentlessly for three years at the academy!" Tang Junxi laughed. He was Tang Long's nephew, currently holding the rank of Colonel.
"Haha! Wonderful! Truly wonderful!" Hu Hao's grandfather laughed heartily, nodding in approval, which only made Liang Wanyu blush harder.
"Come on, Hu Jing, let's get out of here. Show me around your house while these guys chat!" Liang Wanyu quickly grabbed Hu Jing's hand.
Hu Jing nodded eagerly, sensing that the rumors were true given how familiar Liang Wanyu seemed with her brother. The two young women hurried upstairs.
"Do you really know my brother that well? Did he actually chase you?!" Hu Jing asked the moment they were out of earshot, practically bouncing with excitement.
"Your brother... he used to be a stubborn, dense idiot. Now he's a smooth-talker, but he's all talk and no action!" Liang Wanyu laughed softly.
"Why? You're so beautiful! Why wouldn't my brother dare to make a move?" Hu Jing asked, genuinely confused.
"It's not that he doesn't dare. It's because he's afraid. You know he's fighting on the front lines... he's terrified that if he makes a commitment to me, and he doesn't make it back... he'll ruin my life," Liang Wanyu smiled bitterly. She understood the heavy burden Hu Hao carried in his heart perfectly well.
"Oh... is he in danger right now? I spoke to him yesterday, but he wouldn't tell me anything," Hu Jing asked, her excitement replaced by worry.
"He's not in immediate danger right now. Your brother is an incredibly brilliant commander, and his personal combat skills are terrifying. I've actually seen him fight! Oh, I forgot I brought a video! Add my comms number; I'll send you some footage I took of him commanding troops on the front lines!" Liang Wanyu pulled out her secure smartphone.
Hu Jing's eyes lit up with joy.
Meanwhile, downstairs, the Zhao family members who had accompanied Zhao Jingru to the Hu household were watching the aristocratic envoys with a mixture of awe and profound relief.
Seeing the sheer wealth and political power gathered in the Hu family sitting room confirmed that they had made the absolute right choice in forcing this marriage. Since the engagement was finalized, they needed to push for the actual wedding as soon as possible, preferably before Zhao Jingru began showing too obviously.
"Daughter, listen to me. You have to keep a tight leash on Hu Hui! He's immature and reckless. With his brother's immense power, other women are going to start throwing themselves at him. You must secure your position!" Zhao Jingru's father whispered urgently to her.
"He wouldn't dare!" Zhao Jingru replied stubbornly.
"Bullshit! He was bold enough to get you pregnant out of wedlock! What makes you think he wouldn't dare stray?! He's just incredibly lucky to have a brother like Hu Hao. Otherwise, I never would have agreed to let you marry him!" her father hissed.
"Exactly! If this war hadn't started, you could have gone to a top university! You're beautiful and smart; marrying a slacker like him is a complete waste of your potential!" Zhao Jingru's mother chimed in bitterly.
"Mom!" Zhao Jingru snapped, annoyed. Despite his flaws, she genuinely loved Hu Hui.
"Alright, alright. You made your bed. It's not a terrible arrangement. He hasn't settled down yet, but hopefully, his powerful brother can rein him in and secure his future. I've heard rumors that a Lieutenant General rank is a certainty for him, and Hu Hao might even be promoted to Grand Marshal—a Five-Star General!" her father whispered excitedly.
"Dad! Please don't repeat those rumors outside this house! My father-in-law and Grandpa Hu have strictly forbidden us from discussing it!" Zhao Jingru warned him frantically.
"I know, I know. It's just... who would have thought this tiny, backwater town could produce a true dragon that shakes the heavens?" her father marveled.
While his family dealt with the political machinations of the capital elite, Hu Hao was staring intently at a map of Tonglong City.
Tonglong City was the vital transportation nexus of the Central Plains. Its complex network of railways and superhighways radiated outward in all directions.
If Hu Hao launched a direct assault on the city, the Allied High Command would undoubtedly fight to the bitter end to defend it. However, actually severing the logistical arteries didn't require conquering the city itself. Blowing a critical railway bridge or cratering a superhighway miles outside the city limits was far easier and equally devastating.
Hu Hao had dispatched the five squadrons of the Special Operations Regiment to execute precisely that strategy.
He intended to use Tonglong City as a massive, bloody anvil. He knew the Allied forces would pour reinforcements into the sector to protect their supply lines. He didn't care if they abandoned other cities; they would never abandon Tonglong City. Therefore, he would use it as a massive live-fire training ground to blood the two Eastern Spirit Corps assigned to this front.
Around noon, Corps Commanders Wu Kexiao and Weng Tao arrived at the Xinqiao City forward command post. Hu Hao immediately convened a strategy meeting.
"Hao-ge, are we really going to assault Tonglong City?" Wu Kexiao asked, staring at the map in disbelief.
"We are. Whether we actually capture it or not is irrelevant. Think about it: the Allied forces will never abandon that city. They will funnel endless reinforcements into the meat grinder to hold it. Therefore, Tonglong City is the perfect crucible to forge your two Corps!
"I will personally oversee the operations here for the next two weeks. After that, I need to redeploy to Nage City to manage the western front," Hu Hao explained his intent.
"Understood, Hao-ge. My forces are still incredibly green. We've received several hundred junior officers from the academy, and we just sent another batch of candidates for the next cycle, but we still lack seasoned veterans. We desperately need combat experience to harden the men," Weng Tao nodded in agreement.
"I agree. My veterans are solid, but Hao-ge... I intend to deploy the newly formed reservist divisions into this battle as well. Is that authorized?" Wu Kexiao asked.
"Reservist divisions?" Weng Tao looked at Hu Hao, confused.
"Mm. I authorized it this morning. We simply do not have enough troops to hold the territory we've taken, and an official expansion is politically impossible right now because the Emperor is intensely paranoid about my power.
"Therefore, I've ordered every active-duty division to secretly establish a parallel 'reservist' division. Our current official troop strength is roughly 570,000 men. However, at least 270,000 of those are raw recruits who have never seen combat. Our true, veteran combat strength is less than 100,000.
"We need to train our men, and we need to rapidly expand our overall numbers! Tonglong City will serve as the training ground for the 300,000 men under your combined command. You will rotate your units through the meat grinder! Your ten active-duty divisions and your newly formed reservist divisions must all experience live combat!
"You must accelerate the recruitment of the reservists immediately! Prioritize civilians with no prior military experience; we will train them ourselves. The pool of discharged veterans is limited, and we must preserve some of them as a strategic reserve for future emergency conscriptions.
"Therefore, your Corps, currently authorized at 80,000 to 100,000 men, must covertly expand to 200,000 men! Obviously, you won't be able to train all of them simultaneously, but you must try!
"Utilize the cities we've just liberated as massive recruitment hubs. Treat the recruits well, but train them ruthlessly!
"Our current strategic position seems relatively stable, but think about the reality: if we have too few troops, we will be annihilated by the Allied dry season offensive. If we have too many troops, the Emperor will suspect us of treason and attempt to purge us!
"What is our choice? To survive, we must choose manpower! If the Emperor suspects us, so be it! Our absolute priority is ensuring we live to see tomorrow!" Hu Hao declared fiercely.
"Hao-ge! I've been saying this all along! Why do we even listen to that Emperor?! Damn it, we're the only ones actively fighting to reclaim the Empire's territory!
"Does anyone in the capital actually care about results?! The Empire has millions of troops entrenched along the defensive lines! Why can't they fight during the rainy season?! Their supply lines are infinitely shorter than the Allied forces'! If they just pushed out and liberated a few border towns, they could save millions of civilians! But does anyone in the High Command even consider that?! No!" Wu Kexiao vented his profound frustration with the Imperial Court.
"Exactly! Why listen to him?! Hao-ge, you shouldn't be bound by his paranoid decrees! The soldiers and the civilians in this sector only answer to you! You give the order, and we fight!" Weng Tao agreed passionately.
"You idiots! Sigh... what does it matter if we formally acknowledge his authority? I'm the one out here making the actual decisions anyway, aren't I? I do whatever I deem necessary. If the capital eventually discovers our true strength and tries to intervene... we will deal with it then!" Hu Hao laughed bitterly, pointing at the two rebellious commanders.
(End of Chapter)