Vostok fully intended to use Vitali as the political shield to mobilize the necessary forces. Since the majority of the troops stationed on the central and eastern fronts belonged to the Mara Empire, and Vitali was a prominent Mara general, his authorization would carry far more weight and face less immediate resistance.
The moment Vostok delegated the task, Vitali realized he had been outmaneuvered. He had no choice but to accept the burden of angering the frontline commanders by diverting their supplies.
Meanwhile, in Xinqiao City, Hu Hao received confirmation from the Special Operations Regiment: the operatives had successfully infiltrated all designated sectors along the Tonglong City supply corridor.
"Tell the brothers to execute the demolition plan! Blow the bridges, crater the highways, and derail the trains! Once the logistics are paralyzed, we raid the supply depots!
"The Allied butchers have been looting our Eastern Spirit supplies for months; it's time we returned the favor! We will force the Allied High Command into a massive engagement! They won't have a choice but to fight us now! This is exactly what we need to blood the new corps!" Hu Hao ordered a communications officer.
"Yes, sir!" the officer immediately relayed the strike authorization.
"Hao-ge, are you sure about this? The moment we sever those arteries, the Allied High Command is going to focus their absolute fury on us! They will throw everything they have at us!" Wu Kexiao cautioned, anticipating the massive backlash.
"If we don't sever the arteries, they won't commit their forces to a decisive battle! Drawing their fury is the entire point! We need a massive crucible to forge our recruits, and annihilating their veteran forces is the fastest way to do it! If we can shatter their veterans, what do our recruits have to fear?!
"We will chew up whatever they throw at us and stack the combat merits! Oh, by the way... I need to issue a public statement to Vostok. I have no idea if it'll actually work, but it's worth a shot!" Hu Hao said, a sudden thought striking him.
"A public statement?" Wu Kexiao and Weng Tao exchanged confused looks.
"Mm. I want to demand a ransom," Hu Hao smiled wickedly.
"A ransom? For what?!" Weng Tao asked, utterly baffled.
"They can either pay me in cash and supplies... or they can pay me in severed heads," Hu Hao chuckled darkly.
"What do you mean?" Weng Tao looked at Wu Kexiao, who looked equally lost.
"Someone get me a video camera! I need to record a broadcast for the internet! I guarantee the Allied intelligence agencies are monitoring our domestic networks!" Hu Hao ordered.
"Yes, sir!" an engineering officer immediately ran to fetch a camcorder.
A few minutes later, Hu Hao sat down in front of the camera.
"Hehe. Ahem. To the Sovereigns of the Allied coalition, and to the Supreme Commander of the invasion forces, General Vostok... I am Hu Hao. Remember that name: Hu Hao. I don't want to have to keep introducing myself!
"I am currently preparing to launch an offensive against Tonglong City. Yes, I know Tonglong City is the beating heart of your frontline logistics network. Yes, I know you have heavily garrisoned it. I also have a massive army. So, I'm going to attack it!
"I highly suggest you reinforce the city immediately. And please, stop running away! General Vostok, that was a truly underhanded maneuver back in Yonghe City! I arrayed my forces perfectly to annihilate the Mara 1st Corps, and you ordered them to scurry away in the middle of the night like frightened rats! Where is your honor?!
"You are the invaders! You're supposed to be arrogant and aggressive! How can you just run away?!
"Anyway, regarding Tonglong City: I am going to attack it, and I am going to completely destroy every single supply route leading into it. You had better send a massive relief force, otherwise, this won't even be a challenge!
"Alternatively... if you don't want me to attack Tonglong City, you can pay a toll! I will accept Eastern Spirit credits, weapons, ammunition, heavy machine guns, tanks, solid gold... or you can return our prisoners of war!
"Let's see... how much should I charge? Let's base it on the number of troops you currently have stationed in and around Tonglong City. One thousand Eastern Spirit credits per soldier per day! That seems entirely reasonable! One thousand credits buys you twenty-four hours of peace!
"If you agree to my terms, post a video response and email our engineering department. Once I verify the payment, I'll halt the offensive.
"If you refuse... oh well. I'll just take what I want by force! I know for a fact that the moment I blow those bridges, thousands of tons of your supplies are going to pile up in the surrounding transit hubs!
"Think it over carefully, General Vostok! I am absolutely serious about raiding those depots!
"General Vostok, you have exactly three hours from the moment this video is uploaded to respond! If I don't hear from you, I will assume you have declined my generous offer! Oh, and just to reiterate: I am Hu Hao! Commander of the Eastern Spirit 1st Group Army! Rank: Full General! Hehe!" Hu Hao concluded his broadcast with a mocking grin and waved at the camera.
Once the recording was finished, Hu Hao ordered the engineering staff to edit the footage and upload it to every major Eastern Spirit social media platform.
"Hao-ge... aren't you deliberately provoking Vostok?! What if he actually masses a massive army to crush us?!" Wu Kexiao asked, horrified by the sheer arrogance of the broadcast.
"Mass a massive army? Hah! What's the absolute maximum he can deploy right now? Four corps? Back when we barely had a single corps, we chewed up four of his corps! Do you think I'm afraid of four corps now?! If he deployed forty corps, I might break a sweat! But can he realistically mobilize that much combat power in the middle of the rainy season?!" Hu Hao scoffed dismissively.
"True... but what if he manages to deploy eight corps?" Wu Kexiao pressed nervously.
"Then we chew them up too!" Hu Hao smiled coldly.
"Hao-ge... can we really annihilate eight corps?!" Wu Kexiao asked, awed.
"In this torrential weather? The more troops he crams into this sector, the faster they die!" Hu Hao chuckled.
"Hao-ge, the video is edited and ready for upload!" the engineering officer reported.
"Upload it! It's about time the world knew exactly who they are dealing with! I've slaughtered hundreds of thousands of their men; I'm sure their intelligence agencies are desperate for a face to match the name!" Hu Hao ordered, walking back to the strategic map.
"Yes, sir!"
"Tonight, your forces will launch a coordinated assault on the outer defenses of Tonglong City! Simultaneously, the Special Operations Regiment will detonate the bridges and railways!
"The moment those arteries are severed, a massive stockpile of supplies will inevitably bottleneck in Tonglong City.
"If you execute the assault flawlessly, the Allied reinforcements won't dare attempt flanking maneuvers or dispersed counter-attacks; they will be forced to funnel all their troops directly into Tonglong City to secure the supplies! By concentrating their forces into a single meat grinder, we drastically reduce our own defensive burden across the broader perimeter!" Hu Hao explained his grand tactical design.
"Hao-ge, are you saying that if we don't focus our assault entirely on Tonglong City, the Allied forces might launch dispersed counter-attacks across our newly acquired territory?" Wu Kexiao asked, finally grasping the scope of the plan.
"Exactly! Tonight, you must not only attack Tonglong City, but you must inflict catastrophic casualties on the garrison! You must terrify them! Once the Allied High Command realizes the severity of the threat, they won't dare disperse their relief forces; they will be forced to commit every available soldier to the defense of Tonglong City!
"They must secure that nexus. If Tonglong City falls, Vostok's head will roll!" Hu Hao smiled.
"But... didn't you say the primary objective was training the recruits?" Weng Tao asked, slightly confused.
"Can't we train the recruits and win a massive victory simultaneously?! If we aren't fighting to win, what exactly are we training them for?!" Hu Hao shot him an exasperated look.
Meanwhile, on various Eastern Spirit social media platforms, a newly created account named "1st Group Army Propaganda Department" uploaded the video.
Initially, the view count was low. But as the algorithm picked it up, viewers were stunned. They immediately shared it, asking frantically if the young man in the video was actually the legendary General Hu Hao.
The video went viral within minutes. The share rate exploded exponentially. In less than twenty minutes, a massive portion of the Eastern Spirit youth demographic had seen the broadcast.
In Hu Hao's hometown, his family and the assembled aristocratic envoys were also watching the video on their smartphones. They stared in stunned silence as Hu Hao, immaculate in his Full General's uniform, casually mocked the Supreme Commander of the Allied invasion force.
"Is that actually Hu Hao?!" several aristocratic scions whispered to each other.
"Who else would it be?!" those who had seen photos of him confirmed.
"This is sheer insanity! He's openly taunting the Allied Supreme Commander! And demanding a ransom?! He's lost his mind!" another envoy muttered, terrified by the sheer audacity.
The rest of the envoys remained silent, too afraid to voice their opinions.
Simultaneously, in the Ministry of Defense within the Imperial Capital...
"Report! A video broadcast just surfaced online! It was uploaded by Hu Hao!" a staff officer burst into the joint command center, interrupting a briefing with the Emperor and the senior generals.
"Hu Hao uploaded a video? What kind of video? Put it on the main screen!" the Emperor ordered, deeply curious.
The massive screen flickered to life, and Hu Hao's mocking broadcast filled the room.
Hiss! The Emperor inhaled sharply as the video concluded.
"This... this is absolute lunacy! He's incredibly arrogant! He's practically begging Vostok to annihilate him!" Tang Long pointed at the screen, seizing the opportunity to condemn Hu Hao.
"What is he thinking?! Why on earth would he deliberately provoke Vostok like this?! Doesn't he realize the Allied forces could launch a massive, coordinated offensive to crush his enclave right now?! He's completely surrounded!" Luo Xin was equally baffled, unable to comprehend the strategic logic.
"Contact Hu Hao immediately! Demand an explanation! Why isn't he focusing on training his troops and quietly securing his territory?! What is the strategic value of publicly taunting the Allied High Command like a common thug?!" the Emperor bellowed, his face flushed with anger.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" the Crown Prince quickly pulled out his secure phone to dial Hu Hao's headquarters.
"Wait!" the Emperor suddenly shouted, halting the Crown Prince.
The Emperor stood up and began pacing the command center, his hands clasped behind his back.
He was a shrewd politician. He knew Hu Hao was brilliant. It was highly improbable that a tactical genius would act this recklessly without a profound underlying motive. But what could it possibly be?
Why demand money, supplies, and prisoners? The Allied coalition never took Eastern Spirit prisoners; they massacred civilians and executed surrendered soldiers indiscriminately. Vostok couldn't return prisoners even if he wanted to! The ransom demand was entirely performative.
"He's a fool. A reckless, arrogant fool!" the Emperor muttered, unable to decipher Hu Hao's true intentions.
"Exactly! He's a reckless fool! He won a few skirmishes, built up a small private army, and now he thinks he's invincible! This blatant provocation will doom him!" Tang Long sneered, eager to agree.
"Sigh. Perhaps we should simply ask him what he's planning," Luo Xin suggested, tired of the baseless speculation. Though he defended Hu Hao's loyalty, even he had to admit this public broadcast seemed incredibly reckless.
(End of Chapter)