Chapter 1368
The Northwest King's Return
Chapter 1368 The Return of the Northwest King
In July, the hot wind is the unique breath of Iraq.
A Qatar Airways wide-body aircraft landed at Bhaktapur International Airport amid a heatwave in the afternoon.
Inside the first-class cabin, Song Heping folded the newspaper he had finished reading and placed it aside.
When the cabin door opened and the flight attendants politely gestured for first-class passengers to proceed first, he picked up his bag, nodded slightly to the staff, and then, along with several businessmen in suits, stepped onto the jet bridge first.
Upon entering the terminal, instead of following most first-class passengers toward the fast track or the airline's VIP services, he naturally joined the main flow of people heading to the arrival hall, just like any other passenger.
After collecting his luggage and passing through the last security checkpoint, he entered the arrival hall.
The lobby was bustling with people, a cacophony of various languages, and rows of welcome signs.
"Old squad leader, over here."
A voice came from the side front.
Jiang Feng, dressed in ordinary sand-colored tactical pants and a dark T-shirt, stood there, having been waiting for quite some time.
Song Heping nodded and pushed the luggage cart over.
"Have you been waiting long?"
"Not long." Jiang Feng naturally took the stroller handle. "The stroller is outside. Was the journey alright?"
"good."
The two walked side by side with the flow of people toward the exit.
The parking lot outside the airport was hot and noisy, with dust flying between the car wheels.
They walked to a modified bulletproof SUV, where a bodyguard opened the door and ushered them inside.
A convoy of three off-road vehicles drove out of the airport area and merged onto the highway leading to the city.
"Let me tell you about the recent situation in 1515."
Song Heping picked up the bottled water and took a sip.
Jiang Feng turned around from the passenger seat and handed over a tablet computer.
Song Heping took the tablet and quickly swiped through the latest satellite images and intelligence summaries.
Soon, his gaze became focused and sharp.
Jiang Feng said, "It's more troublesome than we expected. Since they suffered a big loss last time, 1515 has learned its lesson, or rather, they are more desperate."
On the screen, Tikrit, the historic city on the Tigris River and home of Saddam Hussein, is now unrecognizable.
On the outskirts of the city, the original farmland and road areas are now covered with a dense array of suspected explosive device planting sites marked with circles and triangles, forming a death zone stretching for several kilometers.
The main roads into the city were completely blocked by concrete debris, burnt vehicle wreckage, and barricades made of sandbags, forming a crossfire network between the barricades.
Some key buildings, such as the former provincial government building, hospital, and school, had their roofs and windows converted into firing positions, with the outlines of anti-aircraft or heavy machine guns faintly visible.
Even more disturbing is the presence of numerous heat signal gathering points, interspersed with civilian buildings, in the city center and around several buildings suspected of being command centers.
"This was taken by a drone three days ago when it flew low overhead."
Jiang Feng pointed to those hotspots.
"The last reports from our informants inside the city have been largely confirmed. There are approximately 15,000 to 20,000 organized fighters within the city, mostly die-hard foreign core members and thoroughly brainwashed local fanatics. But what's more troublesome is this—"
His fingers traced the area where the combat personnel signal points intersected.
“At least 30,000 civilians were detained in the city in various ways. They were concentrated in several areas, serving as human shields, laborers, and possibly sources of ‘human bombs.’ In 1515, a decree was issued that any civilians attempting to escape would be considered apostates and executed without exception.”
Song Heping's gaze pierced through the images on the screen, as if he could see the scene in that city.
Terrified faces, desperate eyes, women and children trembling under the dark muzzles of extremists' guns, and fighters whose anger was ignited by hatred and distorted doctrines.
He suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
A sense of guilt that came out of nowhere.
I have always prioritized strategic objectives and the interests of my own company, but I seem to have never considered what the existence of 1515 means from the perspective of an ordinary person like Yili Ge.
The land of Iligor has never been peaceful since the Second Gulf War. Americans, the Kurds, the Persians, local powers, and companies like PMC, all seem to be vying for their interests here.
But they didn't care about ordinary people.
yes……
In times of war, who cares about ordinary people?
However, as someone born at New Southeast University and raised under the red flag, Song Heping still felt guilty because of his moral bottom line.
But he quickly regained his composure.
Pity is useless; hard work requires strength.
This world operates on the law of the jungle.
"What about Abuyu and Samir?"
Song Heping handed the tablet back, his gaze fixed on the rapidly receding scenery outside the car window.
The armored vehicles have left the airport area and entered the city of Bakda.
Along the streets, there are many buildings destroyed or partially abandoned by the war, and posters of various political figures and religious leaders are hanging on the walls, most of which are also dilapidated.
Armed soldiers in various uniforms were checking vehicles at checkpoints that were visible everywhere, creating a tense and oppressive atmosphere.
Several ragged children rummaged through a pile of building rubble, picking through recyclable plastic and metal with vacant eyes.
"Notification received. Emergency meeting at Hurmatu Command Center tonight at 8 PM."
Jiang Feng answered quickly.
“Abuyu still has some business to attend to in Kirkuk, but he replied that he will definitely arrive on time. Samir’s troops are currently stationed in Mosul and can come at any time. As for Nassin of the Persian Holy City Brigade…”
"He arrived in Hurmatu yesterday with several staff officers, saying it was to 'familiarize himself with the situation in advance'."
Song Heping's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly.
Nassin's early arrival was both a gesture of "active cooperation" from the Persian side and a form of silent pressure and surveillance.
That's just how Persians are.
Proud, sensitive, and somewhat suspicious.
Jiang Feng hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Old squad leader, I have a question, but I'm not sure if I should ask it. I'm a little hesitant."
"Go ahead and say it!" Song Heping said casually. "Is there anything we can't say directly to each other?"
"In the past two years, we have used the existence of 1515 to gain a foothold in the Northwest, maneuvering between Bakhta, Tehran, and even the Americans. Now, suddenly we want to take real action and eliminate them with deadly force... Isn't that a bit hasty? If we remove this thorn, won't our value in the eyes of some people be diminished?"
The armored vehicle drove through a relatively intact street, where several shops were still open, their signs covered in a thick layer of dust.
Song Heping's gaze swept over the ordinary scenes of people struggling to survive, and he remained silent for a moment.
Inside the car, only the low hum of the air conditioner and the soft crunch of tires on the road could be heard. "Jiang Feng, look at that hardware store."
Song Heping pointed outside and said, "If there's always a knife hanging on the roof that could fall at any moment, the shop owner won't be able to do business in peace, and customers won't dare to come in. In the long run, the shop will either have to close down or become an armed stronghold."
He turned back to look at his most trusted deputy and old comrade-in-arms:
“1515 is that knife. In the past, it hung over other people’s heads, and we could use this fear to balance the various parties and gain our living space and influence. But now, the rope of this knife is about to break, or the person holding the knife has gone mad and started swinging it wildly, and then the nature of it has changed.”
He pointed to the tablet: "Last month's car bomb attack in the Bakda Karada commercial district killed 292 people and injured more than 300, many of whom were women and children. This was not a battlefield conflict; it was a horrific massacre of civilians. We may be the PMC, but we also have our bottom line."
He sighed and continued:
"More importantly, the situation has changed. It is true that 1515's physical control area is shrinking. But from Tikrit to Raqqa in Seria, they are transforming from a 'quasi-state' armed group that seizes territory to a more covert and widespread global terrorist network. Their terrorist attacks in Europe, Southeast Asia, and Africa are proof of this. Keeping them in Tikrit, a key stronghold, is like leaving a festering wound untreated; it will only allow the toxins to spread throughout the body."
"At that point, neither the Bakhta government, Tehran, nor Washington will have the patience to play the balancing act anymore. Either they will get involved themselves and make things bigger and more uncontrollable, or they will see all the forces still entangled with 1515 as obstacles that need to be eliminated."
As Jiang Feng listened, his eyes gradually became sharp and clear.
He understood the unspoken meaning in Song Heping's words.
The initiative must be in our own hands. We must complete this "debridement" ourselves before all parties completely lose patience and prepare for a larger-scale "operation".
This is not just about following orders, but also about survival and preserving the foundation that has been painstakingly built over the past two years.
What he didn't know was that Song Heping had a more important motive.
He couldn't tell Jiang Feng that he had received a mission in the country and returned home.
"So, what we need to do is not to be the knife in someone else's hand, right?" Jiang Feng said slowly, "but to hold the scalpel and perform the surgery ourselves."
"Yes."
Song Heping didn't want to continue the topic, so he asked:
"Have you made arrangements with Duke?"
"It's arranged, tomorrow afternoon."
“Very good, I will go to Bakhta to see him then.”
After saying that, Song Heping closed his eyes to rest.
He felt that he was constantly evolving into a career politician.
Now he's not even telling the truth to Jiang Feng, whom he trusts the most.
He disliked it very much, but he had no choice but to do it this way.
You must be clear about what you should and shouldn't say.
The car bumped along the road riddled with craters and repair marks, passing through checkpoint after checkpoint guarded by armed personnel from different factions.
At these checkpoints, drivers only need to show the special pass issued by the Ilgo government to the “Musicians” defense personnel, and the barriers will quickly rise.
This smooth passage does not come from ostentatious displays of force, but from a rule called "winner takes all".
Song Heping and his “Musician” defense team are now a gold standard in Iligo.
Everyone knows that in the land of Iligo, you shouldn't mess with Dong Da, who is known as the "King of the Northwest".
The car continued driving towards Hurmatu, quickly leaving the dilapidated outskirts of Bakda behind.
At 8 p.m., Song Heping entered the Hurmatu command post.
Three key figures were already seated at the long, rectangular tactical conference table.
"Everyone."
Song Heping stood at the front of the conference room, the red dot of the laser pointer landing on the center of Tikrit on the display screen.
"I think you all know the situation regarding the 1515 armed forces, perhaps even better than I do. Let's skip the formalities. It's time to uproot this thorn in Ilig's side."
He looked around and saw that Samir and Abuyu had unconsciously straightened their backs, while Nassin nodded slightly to show his focus.
“Boss,” Abyu spoke first, “how is it different from our last attack on Titrick? Besides the tighter timeframe, the enemy’s fortifications are stronger.”
Song Heping did not avoid the topic.
“Last time we weren’t as strong and well-equipped as we are now. If we had fought 1515 to the bitter end back then, we wouldn’t have been able to win, but even if we had, we would have been seriously injured. This time is different; you are no longer the same as before.”
He switched screens to show a clear four-sided deployment diagram.
"Northern front, Samir."
The red dot has moved north.
"Your 10th Division will advance from Alam, block Highway 1, and cut off their escape route to Mosul. I need your troops to demonstrate the discipline and efficiency of a regular army."
Samir stared at the map and nodded vigorously: "Understood, boss. Controlling the road network is no problem; I know every inch of that land. But we need to strengthen our engineers and anti-armor forces to deal with their IEDs and car bombs."
“I’ll assign you to them.” Song Heping agreed, and the red dot moved east: “Main attack on the eastern front. Abuyu, your Kold’s mechanized division will be the spearhead, tearing through their outer defenses from the Samarra direction.”
“No problem.” Abyu agreed without hesitation: “But I need at least 24 hours of uninterrupted fire support to precisely knock out all identified hard targets. In addition, the coordination frequency, identification signals, and advance boundaries with friendly forces must be absolutely clear, and there can be no more friendly fire.”
"Don't worry about that. I will be in charge of the joint command post to coordinate everything."
Song Heping looked at Jiang Feng.
"Southern route."
The red dot follows the river downstream.
"Two elite assault battalions of our 'Musicians' infiltrated along the south bank of the Tigris River, clearing out outposts, establishing firing positions, and guarding important bridges and roads."
"The western front."
The red dot eventually landed in the vast desert area.
"Nassr, this is the most crucial link. The Quds Force needs to establish a mobile blockade line west of Tikrit to prevent them from breaking up and moving into Syria."
Nassin slowly raised his head to look at Song Heping, his expression complicated, and said, "Mr. Song, the blockade of the western front requires air superiority that can cover the entire campaign, but we are not familiar with the Quds Force units in Iligo, which are all infantry units. I can't possibly go back to Tehran to ask for planes, can I? If we ask the Americans for help, will they deliberately play tricks and delay support like before, causing us to lose troops for nothing?"
The question hits the nail on the head.
Song Heping had learned a lesson from this incident.
Song Heping assured, "This is a guarantee I must obtain when I go to the Green Zone tomorrow. Without a commitment to 24/7, all-area aerial surveillance and strikes, the plan lacks a foundation. This is also the premise for all of us sitting here. Of course, our 'Musician' company can also provide aerial surveillance, because I have a drone squadron in Hurmatu that can provide effective battlefield intelligence and even some air fire support."
“Then there’s no problem,” Nassin said. “I only trust you; I don’t trust Americans.”
"What's the timetable for the operation?" Jiang Feng asked.
"One week of preparation, two weeks of intensive work, and one week of clearing and consolidation. Tikrit must be completely liberated within a month."
Song Heping's tone left no room for argument.
"Then, without resting, the troops immediately moved eastward to cooperate with the government forces to capture Ozam and completely eliminate 1515."
Asking for a monthly ticket!
(End of this chapter)