Chapter 1475: The Confidence of Youth

They were both fiercely ambitious. Though they always worked hard within the army, they constantly worried that some people were secretly mocking them, saying they had only risen to their positions through their fathers' connections. Because of this, they desperately sought more opportunities to prove they were not inferior to the previous generation—that they, too, could forge glorious achievements of their own.

"It's good that you have this drive. In the army, we should all be one family. Helping our own is helping ourselves. Only once everyone understands this principle can our Great Han's army remain ever-victorious." Marshal Shi Manqiang nodded with considerable satisfaction.

He then turned his head to look at the two young men who had been sitting rigidly upright the entire time. "Huanghe, Tongji, there's no need to keep you in the dark any longer. You've probably already caught wind of some rumors, haven't you? That's right—His Majesty plans to launch a campaign soon. It's expected that Zhao Song will serve as the commander, and you two will follow him into battle as regiment commanders. From now on, Zhao Song is your superior. You must obey his orders diligently and under no circumstances cause any delay to military operations!"

Although they had long heard similar rumors, having the marshal personally confirm it still made the two young men somewhat tense.

"We hope for your guidance and support, Brigade Commander Zhao!" They stood up in unison and saluted him.

Even as they saluted, they were secretly wondering where His Majesty intended to launch this major offensive. Having served in the army for years and fought across various regions, they naturally had a rough understanding of the current state of the realm. After several years of campaigns in all directions, powerful enemies—the Manchus, the Mongols, the remnant Ming, the bandit forces—had all been beaten into steep decline. None of them seemed to require another large-scale operation. Mongolia might be a slight exception, but if an offensive were to be launched against the Mongols, the men of Duke Cao, Ji Xiang, would not be completely bypassed.

"Guidance is only natural. But I imagine you're still quite puzzled right now, wondering where you'll be sent to fight. Well... you'll find out soon enough anyway, so there's no harm in me telling you first." Zhao Song smiled at the two of them. "Tell me—do either of you get seasick?"

"Seasick?" Amid such a serious conversation, Zhao Song suddenly posing this question caught both young men off guard. They glanced at Zhao Song and Shi Manqiang, but saw no trace of jest on their faces.

After a moment, it finally dawned on them.

"I've been on boats a few times as a child. I don't get very seasick," Li Huanghe said.

"I... I get somewhat seasick," Ma Tongji said.

"One has only been on boats a few times as a child, and the other gets somewhat seasick..." Zhao Song lowered his head, murmuring thoughtfully. Then he looked up and regarded the two with a serious expression. "In that case, you two should go learn how to handle being on a ship. Practice more—practice until you don't get seasick at all, no matter what the sea throws at you!"

"At sea?!" The two young men were startled again.

"Yes, at sea." Marshal Shi Manqiang took over. "Because this time, you will be crossing the sea to strike Japan."

"Japan!"

For the first time, these two hot-blooded young officers displayed a sense of bewildered disorientation.

This bewilderment did not stem from the prospect of facing another round of war and life-or-death trials, but from Japan itself as the specific target of the campaign.

Over the past few years, though they were battle-hardened, they had always fought on land. The terrain had varied—great mountains and forests, desolate gobi deserts, countryside crisscrossed with waterways—but the fighting always shared common principles. Logistics and transport could be handled with the same models, and combat could be guided by shared tactics.

Japan, however, was different. Though they did not know Japan particularly well, both had undergone considerable training and study within the army and possessed basic geographical knowledge. They knew Japan was an island nation, isolated and far out at sea, with no land border to the continent whatsoever. This meant that the operational approach for attacking Japan would be completely different in form from their previous campaigns. Much of the combat experience they had accumulated over the years would likely prove useless.

Precisely because of this consideration, they felt some apprehension at first.

But their apprehension was quickly replaced by excitement. In recent years, the Great Han's army had won victory after victory in external campaigns. This had instilled a fear of Great Han in the hearts of its enemies, making them dare not oppose it—and it had also cultivated, from top to bottom within the Great Han's army, a nearly blind self-confidence and arrogance: a sense that "we are invincible and ever-triumphant."

These two young officers, whether in terms of family background, seniority, or personal battle merits, were outstanding prodigies among the younger generation of the Great Han's army. Thus, this fierce, arrogant spirit burned even hotter within them. Even as they recognized the difficulties of this operation, an even stronger heroic ambition—"who else but me?"—surged in their hearts.

The tougher the enemy, the greater they felt their opportunity to establish merit would be. The thought of retreating in the face of difficulty never even crossed their minds.

To some extent, Zhao Song shared their mindset. After receiving the order from His Majesty to prepare for operations against Japan, though he keenly felt his resources were insufficient, he had still concluded that this battle must be won, and he was eager to try, without the slightest inclination to shrink back.

Seeing the two young men display such fearlessness, Zhao Song nodded with great satisfaction.

Though this fierce, arrogant spirit sometimes carried the risk of underestimating the enemy and blind overconfidence, he would still rather have the officers under his command be fearless, charging against any foe. The sober judgments—he would handle those himself.

"That's right. His Majesty has ordered us to attack Japan next year. He has designated me as the commander-in-chief of this expeditionary army against Japan, and you two will be the two regiment commanders under me..." Zhao Song confirmed Marshal Shi Manqiang's words, then admonished them. "This is an external military operation personally planned by His Majesty. Appointing you two as regiment commanders fully demonstrates His Majesty's regard and trust in you. I hope you will properly appreciate this trust."

Ma Tongji and Li Huanghe exchanged another glance, then simultaneously stood up in excitement and gave Zhao Song a military salute.

"We will spare no effort, sacrificing ourselves utterly, and never betray His Majesty's trust!"

"Indeed. His Majesty has promoted you and entrusted you with heavy responsibilities—you should spare no effort." Marshal Shi Manqiang nodded slightly. "We are all men who lead troops into battle, all rough men. We can't learn the roundabout ways of the civil officials, and there's no need to. War is the one profession that least requires roundabout speech. Competent is competent, incompetent is incompetent. If you can win, you fight; if you can't win, you still fight! Since His Majesty has pointed there, then even if it costs you your lives, you must win!"

Fired up by the marshal's exhortation, the two young men's blood boiled. They clenched their fists, itching to set foot on Japanese soil that very day and send His Majesty's enemies fleeing in utter defeat.

"Please give us your instructions, Brigade Commander Zhao. How exactly does His Majesty plan to fight this war against Japan?" After a moment, Li Huanghe looked directly at Zhao Song and asked.

"Japan is isolated out at sea. To strike Japan, we can only cross the sea. And with a thousand li of distance, supplying provisions and ammunition will be problematic. Therefore, for this expedition, His Majesty's preliminary assessment is that, aside from deploying the navy, we will only send a single army brigade on the campaign." Zhao Song explained to them in a low voice. "After careful evaluation, I and several staff advisors all concur with His Majesty's view. The forces for this campaign should be limited to one brigade. Although it will be slightly reinforced compared to a standard brigade, and composed of elite troops drawn from various units, the total strength will likely be only six to seven thousand men. This brigade will have three regiment commanders. I will concurrently serve as the first regiment commander, and the regiment commanders for the other two regiments will be you two. So, we are now the leadership of the future expeditionary force. The responsibility is heavier than Mount Tai—please take it seriously. And don't forget, Japan is currently ruled by a shogunate dedicated to military affairs. The shogunate is structured with layers of enfeoffment and maintains an extremely powerful military force, possibly numbering in the hundreds of thousands..."

The idea of crossing the sea with six or seven thousand men to expedition against a country with a population of tens of millions and an army of hundreds of thousands sounded wildly implausible, yet Zhao Song spoke with such brimming confidence. This confidence infected the two equally hot-blooded young men and stirred a deep resonance within them.

"A single elite brigade, commanded by the likes of us—what is there to fear from a mere island nation like Japan!" Ma Tongji exclaimed loudly. "Our army is indestructible; we conquer whatever we attack and triumph in every battle. Even if the Japanese shogunate rallies as many men as it can to resist, they will be nothing but clay chickens and pottery dogs—absolutely no match for our troops!"

"I actually think the same way." Zhao Song nodded, then took several documents from beside him and handed them to the two young officers. "These are the detailed intelligence reports on Japan and the shogunate that I and several staff advisors have gathered during this period, along with the operational plans drafted based on that intelligence. At the very bottom is the record of our last audience with His Majesty. All of these are extremely important. You must read them patiently. The fundamental strategy for our army's future operations against Japan is laid out here."

The two young officers sat back down in their seats, accepted the documents with grave solemnity, and each began carefully leafing through them.

"There's so much material here—you won't finish it today. There's a meeting later, so hold onto these and take them back to read." Just then, Marshal Shi Manqiang lightly tapped his fingers on the table, drawing everyone's attention away from the papers. "There are still some matters I need to discuss with you now."

"Please instruct us, Marshal!" The three dared not be negligent. They immediately straightened their postures in their seats and focused their gazes simultaneously on Marshal Shi Manqiang.

"Don't be so formal. I just have a few casual words to share with you..." The marshal's expression remained quite relaxed, but the oppressive presence emanating from his burly frame still made it impossible for the other three to loosen up. "During this expedition, I will be stationed in Shandong. A large portion of the logistical supplies you'll need for this campaign will be my responsibility. Here and now, I'll give you my personal guarantee: as long as I'm overseeing things, not a single item you need will be missing. I'll set aside Sichuan and Guizhou for this period if I have to—I will make sure you fight this battle well and secure yourselves a future of limitless glory!"