At the sa ti Ahd was deploying the attack plan, 120 kiloters away, in the underground command center in Bayji, Song Heping was staring at the blinking dots on the electronic map.
The map clearly showed a route extending from the Siria border to Titrick, with twenty-seven red markers distributed along the line — those were the stop points, hidden warehouses, and transfer stations for Ahd's supply convoys over the past four weeks.
"He thinks that we don't know." Song Heping said softly, his finger sliding across the western shore of Lake Sersal, "He thinks the water route and the cover of night can hide everything."
Jiang Feng stood beside him, holding the latest surveillance report: "In the past seventy-two hours, three more supply teams have passed through the route, transporting an estimated two hundred tons of material."
"What is Ahd's current troop strength?" Song Heping asked, his eyes still fixed on the map.
"Estimated to exceed twenty thousand. Most are combat personnel, with a small portion being auxiliary staff and newly recruited soldiers."
Song Heping nodded, showing no surprise on his face.
This number was exactly in line with his estimate.
"Old squad leader, I don't understand." Jiang Feng finally voiced the question he'd been holding for a long ti: "Since we know his supply line, why not cut it off directly? Why let him receive so much reinforcent?"
Song Heping turned around and walked to the sand table.
The sand table accurately reproduced the terrain of northwest Illinois, with Tuz, Feihate, Hulmatu, and Titrick marked by different colored flags.
"What do you think is the most crucial thing for a commander in directing a war?" he asked a seemingly irrelevant question.
"Troop strength? Equipnt? Intelligence?" Jiang Feng hesitantly answered.
"These are factors for success, but there's one thing that's even more important." Song Heping shook his head: "It's the ability to choose."
He picked up the black flags representing Ahd's forces, inserting them one by one on the sand table.
"Ahd has twenty-three thousand people now, which seems a lot. But his choices are limited — he must attack, must win a victory to answer to Raqqa headquarters and to himself. The previous defeat in Bayji needs a victory to cleanse it."
"So he chose Hulmatu, seemingly the softest target."
Song Heping then picked up the blue flags representing their side.
"But I am different. Our troop strength isn't as much as theirs, but we have many choices. We can defend Bayji, launch an attack on Tuz or Feihate, reinforce Hulmatu, or even... raid Titrick directly."
His finger pointed at Titrick: "But I won't choose those. I choose to give up Tuz and Feihate, I choose to let Ahd attack Hulmatu."
"Why?" Jiang Feng asked, puzzled, "If Hulmatu is lost, our layout in the northwest will be disrupted. Although Thunder Defense is useless, they are at least on the sa front as us in the 1515 issue. If they fall, the pressure will shift onto us."
Song Heping laughed.
"That's exactly the crux. Let ask you, what is the United States' attitude towards us right now?"
Jiang Feng thought for a mont: "After negotiations, they haven't given a clear answer. Duke said they need to 'go through procedures,' and the Pentagon and State Departnt are shirking responsibility. They want to use us against 1515 but fear we might grow uncontrollably afterward."
"Precisely." Song Heping nodded, "So we need to give the Aricans so... motivation. Sothing to accelerate their decision-making."
He walked to the electronic map, calling up the defense deploynt map for Hulmatu.
"Thunder Defense has a force of eight hundred in Hulmatu, plus five hundred Iliko governnt soldiers and two hundred Kurdish militia, making a pitiful total of just fifteen hundred. With Ahd's forces, along with the heavy weapons they possess, taking the city within three days is not a problem."
"And then?" Jiang Feng asked, "If Hulmatu is lost, will the Aricans beco anxious?"
"Not just anxious." Song Heping sneered: "They will panic. Because if Hulmatu is captured, it will connect with Titrick and Ozham, and with Hulmatu close to Elbil, the Kurdish people will pull forces from other fronts to defend, potentially causing a chain collapse on the entire northern anti-terrorism front."
He paused, then continued: "And at that ti, the only force that can stabilize the situation is us. We have a troop capable of tough battles, familiar with 1515's tactics, and control Ahd's lifeline."
Song Heping pointed his finger at the Lake Sersal supply line.
"Not cutting off this line now is because the ti is not ripe. Let Ahd acquire enough supplies, let him attack Hulmatu with confidence and deploy all his main forces. Then..."
He made a closing gesture in the air.
"Then we cut off the supply lines, and his frontline troops will be left with no recourse. anwhile, we'll wait and prepare, and at the peak of his attack on Hulmatu, we'll stab him from behind."
Jiang Feng's eyes lit up: "Encircle and strike, but aim at the siege forces!"
"Not just that." Song Heping's smile turned subtle, "We also want the Aricans to see the entire process firsthand. See how Ahd easily crushes Thunder Defense, proving the Aricans' proxy is weak. See how we turn the tide at a critical mont, proving our value. See how we precisely sever the 1515's supply line, demonstrating our control over the situation."
He walked to the window and looked northward, in the direction of Hulmatu.
"This battle isn't purely a military confrontation, Jiang Feng. It's a performance, and the audience is Washington, Tehran, Baghdad, Elbil. Through this performance, we want to convey several ssages: Tell the Aricans—without us, the Northwest would collapse; tell the Persians—we are capable of dealing with 1515; tell the Kurd people—we can be allies instead of threats; tell Baghdad—Samir's ard forces are extrely valuable, with enough worth to be recruited, given the right conditions."
"And what about Ahd?" Jiang Feng asked, "What's his role in this chess ga?"
Song Heping was silent for a mont before slowly saying, "He's like a monkey under my Five-Finger Mountain. Let him jump all he wants, thinking he's turning the world upside down, but every move is under my control. The hidden supply lines he believes in, I'm monitoring; the vulnerability in defense he perceives, I orchestrated deliberately; the victory he thinks is within reach is actually a trap I set."
The command center was silent.
Jiang Feng finally grasped the complex layers of this ga—military operations are just the surface, beneath it lies intricate political calculations, balance of power, and strategic deception.
"Orders."
Song Heping's voice broke the silence.
"Go ahead, old squad leader!"
Jiang Feng stood at attention.
"First, let the covert monitoring teams continue observing the Lake Sersal supply lines without any interference. Record all convoy information, especially heavy equipnt transport routes."
"Second, notify Samir to have his forces conduct small-scale harassnt in the Feihate direction, creating the appearance of trying to retake the town, but don't go all out. The goal is to constrain 1515's reserves, drawing them there."
"Third, order the Persian Holy City Brigade to secretly move two thousand troops to the northeast desert area of Tuz Town to ambush. Once the command is given, they are to launch a feigned attack on Tuz, with fierce montum, convincing the enemy it's the main offensive direction."
"Fourth, 'Musician' battalions one and two will assemble, and follow to ambush at the southeastern 4th zone of Hulmatu. We're waiting there for Ahd's main attack forces."
"Fifth…" Song Heping paused, "Notify our contacts in Elbil and Baghdad to start spreading rumors that 1515 is about to launch a large-scale assault on Hulmatu, and Thunder Defense might not be able to hold."
Jiang Feng quickly took notes and then asked, "What about the Hulmatu defenders? Shouldn't we notify them in advance to reinforce defenses?"
Song Heping shook his head: "No. Let them panic, let them call for help, let General Duke receive an ergency call in the middle of the night. Without sufficient pressure, Washington's bureaucrats won't increase their pace."
An intelligence officer hesitated: "But Boss, if Hulmatu is swiftly captured, we might not have ti…"
"I have it under control." Song Heping interrupted him, "Ahd's forces need ti to assemble, advance, and especially to siege the city, not to ntion the Aricans' air support assisting in defense. From issuing the order to Hulmatu's walls being breached, it will take at least five days. And we'll act on the third day."
He looked around at everyone in the command center.
"Rember, the goal of this battle isn't to annihilate Ahd's main forces—though if the opportunity arises, we won't mind. The main objective is to prove our value to the Aricans, forcing Washington to agree to the conditions for legitimizing Samir's forces and anwhile demoralize 1515 to solidify our dominant position in the Northwest."
Jiang Feng nodded repeatedly.
The complex plan gradually beca clear in his mind—this isn't a simple encounter battle, but rather a carefully orchestrated multi-act play, where each character has a predetermined role, and each step has a deeper intention.
"Any other questions?" Song Heping asked.
After a mont of silence, Jiang Feng spoke: "Old squad leader, what if… if the Aricans see through our intentions? What if they realize we're using 1515 to pressure them?"
Song Heping laughed: "Duke isn't an idiot, he will certainly see through it. But what does that matter? Just watch Hulmatu fall into 1515's hands? Threaten Elbil? That's a joke! At worst, we'll hold onto Bayji and Mosul, then continue cooperation through the border with the Persians, what about the Elbil Kurds? They'll turn to the Persians too? Not only would they be unwilling, but Washington wouldn't want to see that scenario either. In the end, he needs us to stabilize Northwest Illinois, and we need his political support and equipnt aid. This is open strategy, not a hidden plot. We provide him the way out, he gives us what we want, mutual benefit."
He tidied up the docunts on the table.
"Politics, Jiang Feng, has never been about who deceived whom; it's about finding the intersection of interests in mutual calculations. That's what we're doing with the Aricans now."
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