"The rear guard has 2,000 n, escorting twenty 122mm howitzers and fifty ammunition vehicles, currently hiding at this location - 'gearbox' Sand Valley."
Jiang Feng pointed to a position on the map, only eight kiloters from their current location.
"Long Snake Formation."
Song Heping's lips curled into a cold smile.
"He was almost trapped by us in Hulmatu before, so he has a ntal shadow. Now he's stretching 8,000 n along a thirty-kiloter line, with the vanguard, center, and rear guard fighting separately. He thinks this is safe, that in the event of an attack, he can survive by cutting his losses like a gecko losing its tail, but doesn't realize this gives us the chance to eat them up segnt by segnt."
There were other staff officers and communications officers in the command center, and everyone held their breath as they listened.
They wanted to know how the boss planned to arrange this battle - using two battalions of 800 elite rcenaries to crush the 8,000-strong 1515 Ard Forces.
The force ratio is 1:10, in any military textbook this would be a suicidal maneuver.
But Song Heping never fights according to textbooks.
"Is Samir's side ready?" he asked.
"Six thousand 'Liberation Forces' militias have already assembled covertly around Titrick, divided into three attack groups."
Jiang Feng displayed the corresponding images, "Commander Naxin of the Persian Holy City Brigade replied that his three thousand elites have reached the preset positions between Tuz and Feihate, ready to launch a feint attack at any ti."
"Not a feint attack," Song Heping corrected, "it's the main attack. Tell Naxin, I want him to break through Tuz Town's outer defenses within four hours, clear all their positions, and make a full-scale offensive posture. Sa for Samir's side, the attack on Titrick needs to be fierce, authentic, make Ahd believe his hotown is about to fall."
Orders were transmitted through the encrypted channel.
Song Heping stood up and walked to the car door.
Outside, the sky was getting brighter, the desert presenting a cruel beauty in the morning light.
Reddish-brown dunes, gray-white rock pillars, and the horizon was lined with the silhouette of distant mountains.
His two rcenary battalions were ambushed in this terrain.
The first battalion was fully equipped with modified Humrs and ard pickups, equipped with heavy machine guns, automatic grenade launchers, and "Kornet" anti-tank missiles, tasked with high-mobility assaults.
The second battalion, codena utilizing off-road vehicles as carriers, carried 81mm mortars, anti-materiel sniper rifles, and man-portable air-defense missiles, responsible for fire support and battlefield coverage.
Eight hundred against eight thousand.
But Song Heping's calculations were never simple nurical comparisons.
"Boss, General Duke's third call."
The communications officer walked over with the satellite phone, "He said if you don't answer, he'll fly over directly."
"Duke?"
Song Heping's heart lifted with joy.
Finally ca!
Damn!
He had been waiting long enough for Duke's call as well!
The two were playing a ga of seeing who would blink first.
In the end, Duke couldn't hold out any longer, or rather, the big shots in Washington couldn't sit still anymore.
He deliberately delayed over ten seconds before taking the call but didn't speak imdiately.
The sound of Major General Duke's restrained breathing ca through the receiver.
Another ten seconds passed.
"Song, Hulmatu is about to fall."
Duke's voice finally ca from Baghdad, with anxiety clearly detectable.
"Colonel Ross can hold on for only a few more hours. In a few hours, the flag of 1515 will be planted across Hulmatu. At that point, even if you want to counterattack Hulmatu, the cost will be more than triple what it is now."
"I know," Song Heping finally spoke, "but the problem is, I don't necessarily have to take back Hulmatu."
"You know? Then what are you waiting for?!" Duke nearly shouted, "Your troops are in Region 4, and all you need to do is give the order to attack Ahd's forces, at least you can save Ross!"
"And then?" Song Heping retorted, his voice still calm as still water, "My two battalions charge into Hulmatu and fight 1515's 8,000 n in street battles? General, don't joke internationally. You know better than I do what a street battle is. It's a at grinder, the battlefield where the side with a force advantage excels the most. My 800 go in, if 200 can co out alive a few hours later, it's a miracle."
Duke fell silent.
He knew Song Heping was right, but he had no choice.
Hulmatu was not just a strategic node in the northwest; it had beco a political symbol.
If it fell, the Baghdad regi's prestige would take a fatal hit, the congressional appropriation hearings would turn into a disaster, and it might even affect next year's election.
"Washington has agreed to all your conditions!"
Duke finally played his trump card.
Earlier he had wanted to hold sothing back.
But Song Heping seed indifferent, as if it didn't concern him.
There's really no ti left to delay.
"The regularization of Samir's forces, a lieutenant general rank, along with equipnt and funds, we agree to everything, but after the incorporation, Samir must accept Iligo Ministry of Defense control, and the organization and officer appointnts of the troops can no longer be decided by him personally!"
Song Heping walked to the map, placing a finger on Hulmatu, then slowly moved west, passing Tuz, Feihate, and finally stopping at Titrick.
"I want more than that. General."
"What?! You're raising the price on the spot!? We had an agreent before!" Duke was clearly furious, about to explode, and Song Heping could hear his breathing over the radio.
"Don't get agitated, General, if you can temporarily add conditions to control Samir, why can't I add a few conditions as well?" Song Heping said sarcastically, "Is it only allowed for you to bargain down, but I can't increase the price?"
Duke evidently didn't have the capital or patience to continue dragging out ti with Song Heping.
Dragging any further, Hulmatu really would be lost.
Moreover, Song Heping had just said he didn't necessarily need to take back Hulmatu.
What did that an?
Is he planning on only taking Mosul and Bayji?
He could.
But for the Iliko Governnt Army, it would be fatal.
When Titrick, Ozham, and Hulmatu were linked as one, the next step would put Baghdad at risk.
"Say, what else do you want?"
Duke heard the creaking of his back teeth as he spoke.
"The command of the entire Northwest War Zone. My company to obtain the security contracting rights for 500 square kiloters around Hulmatu, for five years; U.S. Army to provide corresponding equipnt support and intelligence sharing."
"You're trying to establish a state within a state in Northwest Iligo!"
Duke's voice imdiately rose by several pitches.
"No, General. I'm helping you solve a problem you can't solve yourselves."
Song Heping's tone remained steady, but firm.
"You have been fighting in Iligo for over a decade, spent over a trillion U.S. dollars, lost thousands of soldiers, and what's the result? 1515 continues their advances, Persian influence grows daily, and the Turkish people eye the north covetously. You need a new model, a model that is cheaper and more efficient."
"And you're that model?"
"I at least proved feasibility," Song Heping said, "Under my control, the Bayji refinery's output returned to sixty percent of pre-war levels within a month; I cut the Northwest's smuggling routes by half; Samir's forces turned from a band of scattered fighters into disciplined and combative militias. General, give the sa resources and authorization, and I can turn the entire Northwest into an impenetrable barrier for 1515."
The sound of fingers tapping on a desktop ca from the phone, a habit of Duke's when he was pondering.
Song Heping waited patiently.
He had tid it right — the Hulmatu crisis was already scorching Washington's eyebrows, and he was the only one who could put out this fire in a short ti.
Politics is the art of compromise, and he now held the greatest chip.
"I need half an hour to consult," Duke finally said, "I'll get back to you in half an hour. In the anti... please do sothing, at least, to alleviate the pressure on Hulmatu."
"Sure." Song Heping agreed readily, "My troops will begin attacking Tuz and Feihate in ten minutes, and I have another team near Titrick awaiting orders, ready to launch an assault at any ti. But General, please rember — I'm not doing charity, I'm making an investnt. Every bullet I invest, I expect to see a return in the future."
Hanging up the phone, Song Heping turned to Jiang Feng: "Notify Naxin's Holy City Brigade to start the attack on Tuz and Feihate, we will comnce 'Snake Hunt Plan' in ten minutes. First battalion will cut off the 1515's rear guard, second battalion will harass the center along the highway. Rember the principle: strike fast, withdraw fast, never hold, exchange mobility for kills."
"Yes!" Everyone in the command center stood at attention and responded.
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