Chapter 268: No risk, no reward

The Mogan Palace is the palace of the Kurdish emir Qa'oran. The name Mogan comes from the Kurdish word for sacred, which indicates that the emir's position is the sole agent appointed by Allah and is sacred and inviolable. Because of this, the Mogan Palace is also the largest and most luxurious palace in the entire palace and castle, except for the central palace where affairs are usually discussed.

The sheikh, Jaoalan, was sitting on the sofa in his bedroom, looking up at the ceiling and brooding. Suddenly, there was a series of footsteps outside, and a woman dressed in an ochre military robe walked in. The only woman who could enter the sheikh's bedroom so casually was naturally Princess Leia, the daughter of Gaoran.

Leia walked into the bedroom and removed the veil she had worn all day, revealing her stunning beauty. Gaoran sat up straight and looked at his daughter, a little gazed absent-mindedly. 'You really do look like your mother. Twenty years ago, she was the most beautiful woman in all of Sumur. Anyone who saw her picture was captivated by her beauty.'

Leia pouted and said unhappily, 'I know my mother was beautiful, but does that mean I'm not beautiful?'

Gao Lan laughed: 'Beauty, you are my daughter and have inherited your mother's genes, so how could you not be beautiful? I can also believe that you will be the most beautiful princess in the entire Kurdish world, just like your mother. Just stay in the palace and don't always go out with the guerrillas.'

The first half of the sentence made Leia very happy, but the last words made her unhappy again: 'Father, you're at it again. After all, our Kurdish people have a tradition of women fighting in wars, so what's wrong with me, as your daughter, leading troops and becoming a general?'

'Nothing, as long as you're happy. I'll give you the best troops in the whole tribe to lead,' said Gaoran.

For Gaoran, the thing he couldn't stand most was his own daughter. So he had to change the subject: 'By the way, when you sent those Hua Xia people to the inn just now, did you tell them that the Americans were there too?'

'Of course, Father. How could I not have done what you asked me?' Lea said. 'But fortunately, I happened to run into the CIA agents when I was taking them back, otherwise I really wouldn't have known how to find an opportunity to mention it to them. But even so, I feel that the Chinese people should be able to tell that I mentioned it to them on purpose. Will that cause any problems?'

Facing Lea's concerns, Gaoran waved his hand and said, 'Don't worry about that. Just tell them that the next door is the cia. I was hoping to find a chance to introduce them, but I didn't expect them to meet in advance. This is a pleasant surprise.'

Seeing that his daughter still didn't seem to understand, Gaoran sighed: 'That's why when you're leading troops, you shouldn't always be single-minded, you should also use your head and think about other things.'

'I know you want to compare them, Father, but I'm still young, and you're still here. What's the point of me thinking too much? If you can't agree, just leave it. Why do you keep going around in circles? There's nothing as satisfying as a rocket launcher blowing up your opponent,' Rhea said impatiently, 'But which side do you want to choose, Father?'

Instead of answering directly, Gaoran asked in return, 'So which side do you think I should choose?'

'If those Americans can really overthrow the Salm regime, then we can legitimately establish our own country. And judging from their fighting, they are indeed overwhelming. But we have already fought Salm's army and it is not that weak. As for the Huaxia people, what he said also makes a lot of sense. Let's pretend to help the Salm army first. After getting the Salm army's weapons, we will be able to defeat their kingdom.'

Leia analysed each one carefully, but in the end she was at a loss: 'Oh dear, they all seem so good, I don't know which one to choose!'

Gao Lan smiled, patted Lea on the head and said to her, 'In fact, don't listen to what they say, just look at who really has the ability to help us build a country. At least from the current situation in the Gulf War, the Americans are the most most powerful. As for the Huaxia people, apart from their talk of a holy war, which I find interesting, their arguments are unconvincing. I don't believe that if we help Saddam fight his war, he will give us his best weapons.

'Then why did you put the Huaxia people in the inn, Father?' Lea asked.

'If I didn't put them in the inn, how would the Americans know that I have other options? If the United States is the only option, how can we get more benefits from them?' Seeing that Lea still didn't understand, Jao-lan gave another analogy: 'It's like doing business at the market. If we're buying a rocket launcher, would it be cheaper to go to one shop or would it be cheaper to go to two or more shops together?'

'Of course it would be cheaper to go to more shops. If there was only one shop, they could just blackmail us,' Rhea gave the answer without hesitation.

Gao Lan smiled and said, 'So this is the situation now. Those Huaxia people are just a pawn that I put there to demand more benefits from the Americans, nothing more.'

'But father, I always feel that the Chinese man, he will not be willing to be a pawn,' Lea said with some concern.

Gao Lan, however, didn't care, saying, 'What if he's not willing? He originally came to me on behalf of Salm, and now he can only lower himself even further, kneel on the ground and beg me in an even more servile manner, before he can even hope that I will answer him. And even then, I still won't answer him, unless he can offer me more enticing terms.'

Meanwhile, in the post office where Zhou Ming and his team were staying, they were sitting in the living room with Zhou Ming's desert squad, and the atmosphere was very tense.

'I never thought the Americans would have already sent someone to contact the Kurds. It seems that they are prepared to do anything for this war, even if they have gained a huge advantage on the front line, they are still doing this behind our backs.' guessed, 'And if the Americans also offer the Kurds the conditions for establishing a country, then I'm afraid we really won't have a chance, and we will just be used as pawns to demand benefits from the Americans, just as you said, Ming Zhou.'

Zhou Ming nodded. This was indeed a bit unexpected, but it was also reasonable. After all, ten years later, in the US war to overthrow the Saddam regime, the Kurdish were able to respond so cooperatively at the same time within the country. It must not have been the result of a day or two of lobbying, but rather a long period of work. What Zhou Ming didn't expect was that it had already begun.

These elite special forces soldiers, no matter how uninvolved in politics they are, can at least do some basic situational analysis, not to mention that between Ming and the United States, even a three-year-old could get this multiple-choice question right.

Putting aside these disheartening thoughts, Zhou Ming said meaningfully, 'What is that Kurdish sheikh thinking now? He must think that I will lower my attitude even more and beg him, right? But I'm sorry, I'm not the type of person who likes to kneel down and beg. I like to stand tall and negotiate as an equal.'

'It is true that the appearance of the Americans was an unexpected mistake on my part, but the Kurds' practice of using us as pawns next door to them in order to demand more benefits from the Americans has also given us a chance,' Zhou Ming said to them, 'but this opportunity requires a bit of risk, and you will need to help me fight a small total annihilation battle.'

Hearing this, they suddenly perked up. As elite soldiers, they were not afraid of risks, battles or sacrifice, but rather being stuck in one place with their hands tied.

'If fighting a war is the way to solve your problem, Zhou Ming, just give the order. Although we can't help you with political negotiations, when it comes to fighting a war, we will never let you down, even if you want us to help you kidnap that Princess Lea.' Zhou Ming was told with confidence.

'Tie up a princess? I'm not that barbaric. I just want to be Ban Dingyuan for once,' Zhou Ming said.

Ban Dingyuan was Ban Chao, the famous military strategist and diplomat of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The idiom "throw down one's writing brush and join the army" and "if you don't enter the tiger's den, you won't get a tiger cub" are both based on his story.

At the time, he was an envoy representing the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions. At the same time, the Xiongnu also sent envoys to the Western Regions. At that time, the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu were at war, and both sides wanted to win over the Western Regions countries as allies. The Western Regions countries also wanted to choose between the two powers choose between the two powers. Later, Ban Chao felt that this was not working, so he took people to raid the Hun post at night and killed all the Hun envoys, more than 100 people. The Western Regions had no choice but to choose to ally with the Han Dynasty.

This is the story of how Ban Chao was able to get the tiger's teeth without entering the tiger's den. Zhou Ming is now facing a situation exactly like Ban Chao's, and the situation is even worse than Ban Chao's because he still has the Eastern Han Dynasty to rely on, while his side represents only a decaying Iraq. If he doesn't act decisively, he will be manipulated like a chess piece.

Zhou Ming absolutely did not want to be a pawn, so he could only follow Ban Chao's example and take a risk.

So at 2 o'clock in the night, when most people are asleep, the desert squad set off. One by one, they changed into dark clothes, like ghosts in the night, and quickly climbed the high wall of the courtyard, cut the barbed wire with their tools, and broke into the guesthouse next door, which was the American CIA envoy's residence.

Zhou Ming followed them. Of course, in terms of physical strength, Zhou Ming could never match these elite special forces, but after the job was done, someone would need to deal with the Kurds, and that would have to be him.

With their help, Zhou Ming climbed over the wall and hid behind a bush, watching as he led the nine members of the Desert Squad in separate directions to the villa where the CIA agents were staying.

As he watched their movements, Zhou Ming felt his heart rise to his throat, because he could see that the lights were still on in several rooms of the villa. This made Zhou Ming clench his fists fist, thinking: I should have acted a little later. Obviously, my appearance also surprised the Americans. I'm afraid they're not sleeping right now, either communicating with the mainland.

And just as Zhou Ming had thought, the American CIA agents in the villa were indeed sending encrypted telegrams to the mainland.

After being relayed via satellite, the telegrams quickly reached the United States and were also passed to Christo as soon as possible.

The eastern seaboard of the United States is seven hours behind Iraq, so when he received the message, it was just as he was enjoying his dinner. His butler brought him the phone, and when Christo heard the message on the phone, he immediately the wine he had just drunk. Without thinking, he shouted at the phone, 'Zhou Ming, the Chinese man I met at the Al-Mahd Palace must be that Zhou Ming, there is no one else!'

'Damn damn it, we let him escape to Iraq despite the massive interception earlier. He really wants to convince the Kurds to participate in the exhibition and shake up the situation.

Cri Christo scolded and ranted: 'Karl, please believe me, no matter what the Kurds ask for now, we must agree to it. We must get the Kurds on our side no matter what, otherwise that Zhou Ming really doesn't know what he will do!'