"Dinner's ready."
At eight o'clock in the evening, Morins brought over two dinners and, after sitting down beside Song Heping, gave one to him.
"I didn't ask for this."
Song Heping was sowhat irritated at the mont.
The day had passed, and it was now nightti, but he still hadn't received what he wanted from Fer.
The pressure was not only from Fer's side not getting things done, but also from the whole conflict, which was moving in a direction increasingly disadvantageous to the ELN ard group as ti went on.
To the north, the AUC ard force, numbering over ten thousand, had broken through two defense lines.
To the south, the situation was even worse.
The defense lines at San Jose and San Rita had been breached, and the southern defensive zone was almost split in two.
Once breached, the AUC ard forces could complete the encirclent of the southern ELN troops.
Because the entire ELN defense zone was actually a narrow strip of land next to the Venezuela border, it looked like a youtiao (fried dough stick) on the map.
In its early years, when the ELN ard group was establishing bases and occupying territory, it always prioritized these areas: firstly, because there were many oil fields here; secondly, they could run to Venezuela if anything happened.
In many places along the border, the rainforest was dense and scarcely populated, making escape easy.
This line of thinking by the founders of the ELN ard group wasn't wrong.
Initially, when the organization was weaker, survival was the first priority – fight if you can win, run if you can't; this very much fitted the essence of guerrilla warfare.
However, as they slowly grew and expanded, the thinking of the successors didn't keep up with the changes.
After so many years, they're still using the old mindset of struggle, still thinking of running off to Venezuela if they can't win the fight.
Hence, the land now has this peculiar shape.
Such a territory is like a snake – actually, it has far too many vulnerabilities.
If it were a guerrilla mindset with small groups and small arms, that might be okay.
But having developed into the third-largest anti-governnt ard force within Colombia, it's surprising they haven't expanded their territory logically. Being so established and sticking to the thinking of their guerrilla roots is what has created the current awkward predicant of being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
To say they can't win and should retreat: now that they have grown larger, with many more assets, it's not just sothing you can walk away from.
In the past, being barefoot, of course anything could be lost.
Now, although there are no leather shoes on, at least there are rubber shoes to wear.
If you truly don't want the rubber shoes, returning to the barefoot state is unacceptable to anyone.
This is why Morins, as the group leader, stubbornly refuses to choose between shrinking the defense line at either end of the northern and southern territory.
Put simply, it's all about saving face at the cost of enduring hardship.
In fact, Song Heping had many grievances with Morins and even the ELN ard group's high-level officials.
These people were simply more trouble than they were worth.
A long defensive area, hundreds of kiloters from north to south, had at most, just under five thousand n.
How could they defend?
No matter how high Song Heping's level of tactical command was or how smart he was, there was only so much he could do with what he had.
The AUC ard group was using multi-pronged attacks, over ten thousand n split into several groups, ferociously tearing at different points of the Long Snake Formation. If they could break through one point, the snake's body would be severed, unable to cooperate with the front and rear, and would eventually be easily surrounded and divided.
This basic knowledge of tactics, Song Heping understood, and of course, Morins too.
But they were powerless.
As soon as they talk about giving up so territory to shrink the defense line, those high-level decision-makers would react like the incompetent old officials in the Late Qing dynasty, wailing and lanting as if the ancestral family business was about to be ruined.
In the afternoon, Song Heping had a phone eting with Morins and those others, ending in a discordant split.
At the ti, Song Heping was so angry he nearly quit his position to return to Venezuela to be a tranquil school principal.
But then he thought that, in the midst of intense battle, to simply let go and leave Morins behind for Venezuela would be highly unprofessional, so he stayed.
"You can still eat?"
Song Heping, looking disdainfully at Morins wolfing down food beside him, couldn't help but say sarcastically, "If your spies don't step it up, this might be your last dinner."
He pointed to the map in front.
"By tomorrow night, given the current rate of advance, I predict there will be gunfire near the headquarters."
"I trust my people, they will find the evidence."
Morins seed unfazed, with his appetite still robust, devouring his al as if he hadn't eaten in ages.
"I've deployed all my undercover agents implanted within the military, one of whom is at the Special Operations Division base, and the military command center for this operation is there, though he's not a core mber, so he can't get close to that command center yet, nor has he captured anyone inside. But I believe he will find a way."
Hearing this, Song Heping had no choice but to refrain from any further complaints.
After all, being undercover was extrely risky.
As the leader of the ELN ard group, Morins was surely more anxious than himself.
After this battle, Morins would have nothing left.
For , at worst, I'll just go back to Venezuela, only losing a client and an opportunity to tap into the South Arican arms market.
"Morins, I used to have little respect for the person leading you."
Song Heping looked at the composed Morins and couldn't help but see him in a new light.
"I used to think you were incapable and I couldn't understand how you beca the leader of an ard group. Now it seems I was wrong. One must remain calm in the face of major events, unshaken even with the mountain crumbling before them. You truly do have a leader's poise."
Taking the last piece of bread, Morins dipped it into the remaining sauce on the plate, then stuffed it into his mouth. While swallowing, he spoke indistinctly, "I joined ELN at sixteen and have been through no fewer than ten encirclent campaigns. I've had close brushes with death no less than twenty tis. Do you think the governnt hasn't put a bounty on ? How many have coveted this head of mine..."
He put down the plate, pointed to his head, and picked up a bottle of mineral water.
"Song, I've been the leader for three years. Traitors, targeted cleanups, encirclent pursuits. Including that ti you were with , each one claid they wanted to finish off, but I have good fortune. Every ti I've managed to escape, even killing those who wanted to send to et God. Without real skill, I couldn't hold on to my position."
Song Heping sighed and nodded, saying nothing.
Because what Morins said made sense.
Whether it was luck or capability, Morins's ability to ascend to the top chair and to still be alive was a skill in itself.
He picked up the plate, eating as he walked in front of the map, examining the strategic situation and the markings of various forces, his mind brewing strategies for tomorrow's response.
"Get in touch with Anthony."
Song Heping's gaze fell on the Ta Region.
Shortly after, the radio operator made contact with Anthony, who was far off in the Ta Region.
"Principal, what do you need for?"
"Anthony, the deploynt of your two battalions is incorrect. Move them imdiately, pull out a battalion and set up an ambush by Route 86, execute this command at once."
Route 85 is a border road that traverses the entire Ta Region, leading directly inside Venezuela; there's a border crossing over there, and past that is the San Camilo Nature Reserve in Venezuela.
"Set an ambush at Route 86?"
Anthony sounded puzzled, "Principal, do you think they'll co from Route 86 tomorrow? Impossible, right? Today, during the day, according to your orders, we already ambushed them there, taking out half a platoon of theirs. Would the governnt army still dare to co that way?"
"Day is day, night is night. At the start of the dayti battle, how many troops did you have? Now, look at your two battalions, how many are left? You need to understand, who's the big boss organizing this operation."
Who?
Anthony thought, of course, it's the Aricans.
Ostensibly, it was the governnt army fighting bandits, but in reality, it was an operation directed by advisers from the US Military for a tripartite joint annihilation of the ELN forces.
For the entire day, the two battalions led by Anthony had fought hard.
The governnt army kept calling in the Air Force. As soon as ground forces engaged the ELN, within half an hour, bombers were sure to co and drop bombs.
Fortunately, Song Heping had anticipated this, and his instructions to Anthony had only one point—fully utilize the essence of mobile warfare: short engagents and quick withdrawals, destroying the enemy on the move.
These were the very essentials of PLA combat.
At the Special Soldier School in Venezuela, what Song Heping taught most was tactics, rather than focusing so much on physical training and individual combat.
Anthony was the top student; he had a talent for command, so even though the governnt army dispatched two regints, they were still stuck near the second line of defense, and the Air Force bombers weren't very effective. Dropping bombs over dense forest wasn't accurate, and following Song Heping's instructions, Anthony would precisely ti their engagents. Half an hour was the minimum ti for aircraft to take off from a nearby military airport and reach Ta.
As long as they pulled out within half an hour, the enemy would not be able to accurately bomb and cause significant casualties.
Route 86 was originally a breakthrough point for the military, where Colonel Lawrence from the US army had planned for a governnt army regint to rapidly advance using chanized vehicles, cutting through and then spreading out to fight.
But Anthony had set a beautiful ambush there, laying mines and explosives directly destroying a chanized platoon of the vanguard forces. After that, they dared not attempt to cut through there again.
However, after a day of fighting, there were many casualties in Anthony's two battalions, over three hundred wounded, with more than sixty killed in action.
He had fewer than five hundred fit soldiers left; even pulling at straws, he could only muster a reinforced battalion.
Withdrawing a battalion ant leaving only a little over two hundred n.
"Principal, it's night now, they should be afraid to move in the dark. Here, we are more familiar with the terrain than they are," Anthony explained the reasons for his reluctance to obey the order.
"Besides, the brothers are all very tired now. If we set up another ambush, I'm afraid the n will be exhausted to death."
His words infuriated Song Heping.
In his view, a soldier's duty is to obey orders.
Where would you find a situation where subordinates negotiate after a superior officer gives an order?
He wanted to curse, but after a thought, he suppressed his anger.
Just a Colombian guerrilla force, can one demand so much?
He couldn't help but chuckle bitterly, patiently explaining to Anthony why he wanted them to set up an ambush at Route 86.
"I asked who was commanding the operation because the Aricans will definitely send governnt troops through Route 86 at night for another breakthrough. The Aricans surely equipped the strike force for this mission with plenty of night vision equipnt; they can operate in the dark. Don't think you're familiar with the terrain; at night, it's a disadvantage for you. Trust , set the ambush there, plant more mines, and create more IEDs. Aren't you good at making bombs? Then show your skill, tightly seal off Route 86. Otherwise, when you wake up the next day, you'll find yourself outflanked by governnt troops!"
"Okay..."
Anthony seed shocked by Song Heping's analysis, taking a while to respond from the other end of the radio, "I'll arrange it now, but..."
He hesitated.
Song Heping cut him off firmly, "No more 'buts.' Rember, on the battlefield, don't tell your superior about the difficulties, just execute the commands given to you!"
With that, he removed the headset, no longer continuing the conversation with Anthony.
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