While Hu Hao was busy organizing the redistribution of his veteran troops, a staff officer informed him that the Emperor requested a secure video conference and suggested he change into a clean uniform. Hu Hao chuckled and declined the uniform change.
He was already an officially recognized Group Army Commander, and the Imperial Treasury had finally released his funding. Pretending to be a poor, ragged guerrilla leader wouldn't win him any more sympathy points at this stage.
About ten minutes later, Hu Hao entered the secure conference room. His engineering staff and the Royal technicians had established the encrypted link. He sat down and waited.
A few minutes later, the screen flickered to life, revealing the Emperor and the Crown Prince. Hu Hao immediately stood at attention.
"Greetings, Your Majesty. Greetings, Headmaster," Hu Hao saluted crisply.
"Mm. Excellent, Hu Hao. Haha! The Crown Prince just informed me that you annihilated another Allied corps! Outstanding work. Truly outstanding!" the Emperor praised, a genuine smile on his face.
"Thank you for the praise, Your Majesty," Hu Hao replied, maintaining his rigid posture.
"Please, be seated," the Emperor gestured after he and the Crown Prince had taken their own seats.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Hu Hao sat back down.
"Hu Hao, I am profoundly gratified by the news from your front. You have not disappointed me. When I appointed you Commander of the 1st Group Army, there was significant opposition from the aristocratic factions in the court.
"Yet, before your army is even fully formed, you have annihilated the Imperial Guard of the Holy Ancient Empire! Incredible! That victory alone will silence all their petty rumors and objections!" the Emperor smiled warmly.
"Thank you for your patronage, Your Majesty!" Hu Hao moved to stand up again, but the Emperor waved him down.
"Hu Hao, there is no need to stand on ceremony today. Remain seated. I have some important matters to discuss with you," the Emperor said gently.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Please speak," Hu Hao sat tall and attentive.
"Hu Hao... tell me the truth. Do you believe the Empire can hold the line? As a frontline commander, I know you possess a clear, unvarnished assessment of the strategic situation. Will you share it with me?" the Emperor asked directly.
"Ah?" Hu Hao was taken aback by the blunt question.
"Speak your mind freely!" the Emperor encouraged him.
"I believe we can hold the line. With Your Majesty's steadfast support, if the troops across all Combat Zones fight bravely, stabilize their fronts, and prepare for a coordinated counter-offensive... there is still a chance," Hu Hao offered a cautiously optimistic, politically correct answer.
"Lies! I say we cannot hold the line!" the Emperor declared sharply. Hu Hao stared at him in genuine shock.
"I may reside in the safety of the Imperial Capital, and I may be old, but I am not blind! I know the situation is incredibly dire. Yes, the rainy season has temporarily paused the crisis, but it has not resolved it.
"Furthermore, a new, internal crisis has emerged. Aside from you and Jiang Kai, there isn't a single competent commander leading our armies! And their incompetence isn't even the worst part... they are actively plotting to sell out the Empire!" the Emperor revealed, his voice laced with bitter anger.
"Sell out the Empire?!" Hu Hao looked at the Emperor in disbelief.
"Yes. Many of the great aristocratic families, angered by the high casualty rates among their scions on the front lines, are currently negotiating with the Allied High Command. They hope to surrender and secure safe passage for their families when the Allied forces march on the capital!" the Emperor confessed.
"They are negotiating with the Allied forces?! Are they insane?! They think surrendering will protect them?! What an absolute joke! If they don't even understand the fundamental nature of this war, how have their families survived in power for centuries?! The Empire has been too peaceful for too long; it has made them completely naive!
"If they try to negotiate with the Allied nations, they are simply volunteering for the slaughterhouse!" Hu Hao exclaimed, genuinely baffled by their sheer stupidity.
"Volunteering for the slaughterhouse?" the Emperor was taken aback. He had assumed the aristocrats were trying to save their own skins, yet Hu Hao immediately declared it a death sentence.
"Your Majesty, think about it: why did the Allied coalition invade the Eastern Spirit Empire in the first place?" Hu Hao asked.
"For land. Because the Central Region is fertile," the Emperor answered readily.
"Exactly. They are here for food. Why have the Allied forces engaged in systematic massacres across our nation? Because every Eastern Spirit citizen they kill means more land for their own people to farm, and more food for their own starving populations!
"Therefore, the underlying objective of this invasion is twofold: to acquire arable land, and to drastically reduce the global population! Only by exterminating our people can they ensure their own people get enough to eat! That is why over twenty nations, representing a combined population of over ten billion, have united against us!" Hu Hao laid out the brutal, undeniable truth.
"You are mistaken. It is no longer twenty nations. My intelligence confirms that sixty-nine nations have joined the coalition, representing a total population of roughly twenty billion! However, your core premise is entirely correct. They intend to slaughter our populace to ensure their own survival!" the Emperor corrected him, though confirming his grim logic.
"I expected as much. The other starving nations were bound to join eventually. If they didn't, they would continue to starve while the original twenty divided the spoils of the Central Region," Hu Hao nodded, unfazed by the staggering number.
"You anticipated this?" the Emperor asked, surprised by Hu Hao's calm reaction.
"Yes. It was the only logical progression. However, Your Majesty, you must make this crystal clear to the aristocratic families: surrendering will absolutely not guarantee their survival. In fact, it guarantees they will die faster! Once the Allied forces take control, the aristocrats will be stripped of their private armies and their wealth. They will be defenseless sheep!
"The only path to survival is fierce, uncompromising resistance! Even if we fight to the last man, we must resist! This war is no longer about political interests or territory; it is a war of survival! Everyone wants to live! If the aristocratic families surrender, they are choosing death. They won't even be granted the 'privilege' of becoming slaves!
"Yuanling Planet is vastly overpopulated. Even if half the global population perished, there would still be billions left! The Allied nations care nothing for the lives of the Central Region's people! If they did, they wouldn't have initiated indiscriminate massacres the moment they made landfall! They simply want our food, and they don't want us eating it!" Hu Hao analyzed the situation with chilling clarity.
"Mm. Your logic is sound. However, the aristocratic families will refuse to listen!" the Emperor sighed, though a tiny spark of hope flickered in his chest. If the aristocrats couldn't surrender safely, then perhaps he could still rally the people of the Central Region to fight.
"Your Majesty, whether they want to listen or not, you must force them to hear it! You must address the entire nation publicly!
"Tell everyone that surrender is not an option! Tell them the invaders have no intention of allowing the Eastern Spirit people to continue living on this land! The planet is overpopulated, and this war is the horrific correction!
"I dare say that even if we successfully repel the invasion, this war won't end until the invading nations literally run out of men to fight, or until the global population has been reduced enough to alleviate the food crisis!
"War is destruction, but it is also a brutal mechanism for population control. Every soldier who dies on the front lines reduces the strain on their home nation's food supply! You must explain this stark reality to the aristocratic families! And then, you must immediately clear the bureaucratic backlog and promote capable commoner generals!
"If the aristocratic scions cannot win battles, remove them! Replace them with generals who can!" Hu Hao urged passionately.
"Mm. I have indeed considered doing exactly that. But... what if the aristocratic families still refuse to obey after I explain all this?" the Emperor asked, a slight smile forming as he tested Hu Hao's political instincts.
"Then you destroy their reputations and their authority! Do you think those aristocratic generals aren't terrified of a mutiny?! Your Majesty, if you address the nation directly and expose the truth about the Allied massacres, and then expose any aristocratic family attempting to surrender...
"...what do you think their own soldiers will do? Will those soldiers follow their aristocratic commanders into a surrender that guarantees their own slaughter?! Do you think the Allied forces will spare the common soldiers?!
"If you make the stakes perfectly clear to the common people, the aristocratic families won't be able to command a single squad to surrender!" Hu Hao laid out a ruthless strategy to strip the aristocrats of their power base.
He had deduced that the Emperor was likely paralyzed by the aristocrats' treasonous plotting. However, Hu Hao could not allow the Empire to descend into civil war or capitulation. If the aristocratic families surrendered, the Empire would collapse instantly. The Allied forces would then be free to concentrate their entire might on crushing Hu Hao's isolated army! He absolutely could not let that happen!
He was not yet strong enough to face the full weight of the Allied coalition alone. He needed the Empire to hold together!
Furthermore, if the Emperor could actually rein in the aristocratic families, there might still be a glimmer of hope. A unified command structure could coordinate a cohesive national defense. Every citizen now knew the Allied forces intended to butcher them; therefore, they would naturally resist! As long as the Emperor provided weapons, the common people would fight for their own survival! But if the nation officially surrendered, all hope was lost.
"A brilliant strategy! Mm!" the Emperor exclaimed, genuine joy returning to his face.
He had spent so much time agonizing over how to counter the aristocratic families directly, failing to realize that the common people—the soldiers themselves—were the ultimate weapon against them! The recent spate of fragging incidents against incompetent aristocratic officers was proof enough! The realization filled the Emperor with a renewed sense of purpose.
"Your Majesty, as long as you demonstrate the resolve to lead the nation in resistance, no one will dare surrender! The invaders are here to exterminate us, not govern us! The common people understand this intuitively!
"And if the aristocratic families still wish to surrender, they will have to ask their own soldiers if they agree to be slaughtered! Therefore, Your Majesty, you must immediately promote commoner generals to step in and take command of those troops when the aristocrats fall!" Hu Hao continued.
"Mm. Your reasoning is impeccable. Hu Hao, you have done very well. I am profoundly pleased. Your counsel has been invaluable. Tell me, do you currently face any insurmountable difficulties on your front?" the Emperor asked, his tone warm and supportive.
(End of Chapter)