1027: Chapter One Thousand Eleven: More and More People 1027: Chapter One Thousand Eleven: More and More People PS: To see the exclusive story behind “War of Mercenaries” and to hear more of your suggestions about the novel, follow us on Qidian Chinese Network’s official WeChat account (add friends on WeChat – add official account – type qdread), and tell me quietly!
Farouk grinned foolishly and didn’t take offense at Eileen’s words, but said cheerfully, “I can endure hardship, bring it on.”
Gao Yang said to Li Jinfang and Eileen, “You guys go back and continue eating.
Later, Farouk is going to choose people, and you two will come with me.”
Li Jinfang and Eileen went back, and Gao Yang said to Farouk in a serious tone, “It’s definitely too late today.
Your individual training should start tomorrow.
Also, how are you going to select the soldiers?
Do we go to the Republican Guard Division base, or do the preliminary selected soldiers come here?”
Farouk shrugged and said, “I’ve received a list, and today over one hundred and sixty people who all speak English and have received special training will come here for the selection.
They are the elite of the elite.
About five hundred people voluntarily signed up hoping to join the Republican Guard Division Special Strike Force, but a large portion of them are on the front lines, carrying out combat missions, and some don’t speak English, so they weren’t chosen to be sent here.
I think we won’t need them.
After all, more than a hundred people are coming, and I only need to select about seventy, at most one hundred.”
The Republican Guard Division is tasked with defending Damascus and has already been engaged in combat, but to be honest, Gao Yang didn’t consider the Republican Guard Division to be the most combat-effective unit in Syria.
As for what Farouk called the elite of the elite, Gao Yang was even more skeptical.
The Republican Guard Division was large in scale, well-trained, and equipped with the best gear.
They were the most trusted troops by Bashar and were truly the Imperial Guards.
However, the track record of the Imperial Guards wasn’t usually very good, and the Republican Guard Division was just like that—all the best but with mediocre achievements.
To put it bluntly, the performance of the Republican Guard Division was pretty bad, not living up to their reputation, the treatment they received, their equipment, or their training.
Gao Yang looked at his watch and asked, “When will the selected people arrive?”
Farouk immediately responded, “At ten o’clock in the morning.
In a little over two hours, they should be here.
They need to be assembled and then transported by plane, which takes some time, so there might be a delay.”
Gao Yang nodded and said, “Alright, will the selection be based on my standards or will you decide?”
After hesitating for a moment, Farouk waved his hand at Gao Yang and said, “We’ll go by your standards.
If you don’t approve of them, I won’t take them!
I want a fighting force for Syria, not a good-looking one.”
Gao Yang smiled and said, “If we’re going by my standards, things might get a lot more complicated.
You’d better be prepared for that.”
Farouk nodded and said, “I understand, I’m prepared.
I’m not afraid of trouble.”
Gao Yang waved his hand and said with a smile, “Then it’s settled.
We’ll wait, and if there’s nothing else…”
Dani immediately said, “There is something, something indeed.”
Gao Yang looked at Dani and asked, “What is it?”
Just then, Dani’s orderly brought in the tea.
Dani pushed the tea towards Gao Yang with a smile and said, “Drink some tea, have some sweets.
We’ll talk while we eat.”
Syrians can’t live without sweets.
Ordinary soldiers might not get to enjoy them, but the pilots’ meals included sweets, and Gao Yang and his colleagues were on the same meal plan as the pilots, so sweets were delivered to them every day.
The orderly brought the sweets and the cheese rolls.
Gao Yang had quite a sweet tooth, but the Syrian sweets were too sugary for him.
Sweets made with honey, nuts, and butter were nice in small amounts, but Gao Yang was now overwhelmed by the sweetness and found them too cloying to eat.
However, not only Gao Yang, but also Li Jinfang, Cui Bo, and Li Qiu all found them too sweet, while Glolov, Eileen, and the others with a preference for stronger flavors thought the sweetness was just right, so the Syrian desserts were still quite popular among Satan’s crowd.
The cheese rolls looked similar to flower rolls but were made of cheese.
Gao Yang liked these as they were not too rich, had a milky flavor, and a nice chewy texture.
He enjoyed eating them, but the problem was he seemed to have the same lactose intolerance common among Asians; eating too many cheese rolls sometimes caused him to have a stomach upset, while at other times, it didn’t—a problem that always bothered Gao Yang.
Declining the sweets, Gao Yang casually grabbed a cheese roll and said to Dani with a smile, “What’s the matter?”
Favors given usually herald a request, and today Dani was too enthusiastic for Gao Yang’s liking; he knew it wasn’t anything good.
Sure enough, Dani said with a beaming smile, “Actually, it’s nothing much.
You know, our Military Intelligence Bureau also has an action team.
They’re purely a brute force unit, they don’t deal with secrets, um, if you don’t mind, our action team can come to help you guys out a bit.
What do you think?”
Gao Yang sighed and said, “Buddy, let’s make it clear, tell me the truth.
If you’re bringing your action team here, are you trying to attach gold and share the glory, or do you want us to help train them?”
Dani was somewhat embarrassed and said, “Well, this is…”
Gao Yang sincerely said, “Buddy, we’re friends, so I’ll be straight with you.
I’m happy to share some of the glory with your team and polish their medals.
It’s not a problem.
We won’t be here long and aren’t afraid of sharing honors.
If that’s all, you can send your people.”
Dani coughed lightly and answered, “That’s part of it.
There’s a lot of attention here now, and our boss, well, wants to make his presence felt.
Besides that, fighting alongside you and getting the team some combat experience is good.
Of course, training would be best, but if it’s inconvenient for you, then never mind.”
Gao Yang snapped his fingers and said, “Forget about training; we’re really not in a position to offer that.
But having your action team join us in combat, that’s no problem.
What size is your action team?”
Dani immediately replied, “That depends on the operational needs.
The smallest teams are formed or fixed groups of six and the largest fifteen, with groups of ten being the most common.”
Gao Yang promptly said, “Fine, you can send over two teams of fewer than ten each.
Rotating them is fine too; it doesn’t matter.
You’ll handle your own flights, and as for casualties, well, you know…
are all these details okay?”
Dani laughed and said, “No problem.
They just need to participate in a few operations.
Casualties are not a concern.
We’ll arrange the helicopters ourselves, don’t worry, all is good.”
Gao Yang was not particularly concerned about those seeking to share in the glory as their successes mounted.
All that mattered to Gao Yang was to maintain the strength of his “Satan” group and ensure his core force could be called upon as needed.
His focus wasn’t on lingering in Syria or on matters like the Republican Guard Division Special Strike Force, the Third Infantry Brigade’s reconnaissance force, or the Military Intelligence Bureau’s action teams; the more, the merrier.
Even if they weren’t elite and would end up as cannon fodder, so be it.
Only a few needed to operate closely with “Satan.” Gao Yang would not be bothered by an increase in numbers; he was pleased to delegate many tasks to them.
It was convenient, safe, and earned him a reputation for helping to train troops—a real win-win.
Gao Yang gestured broadly, “Bring everyone today.
We need to conduct joint exercises as soon as possible.”
At that moment, Farouk wore a pained smile and directed his gaze at Dani, “Have you guys reported this up the chain?
Got approval?”
Dani coughed twice and said, “Just like your Third Infantry Brigade—oh no, you’re now with the Republican Guard Division.”
Farouk nodded, the bitter smile persisting, “Alright then, I’ll pretend I know nothing.”
Dani murmured, “There’s always a reason.
A reason for the action team to show up here.
That’s for my boss to worry about.
Let’s not fuss over it; there’s always a reason.”
After finishing, Dani and Farouk both looked towards Gilanor, who shrugged and said, “We in the air force don’t have these considerations.”
Gao Yang smiled, “Alright, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.
I’ve got a few things to handle.”
Dani and Farouk shook their heads, indicating there was nothing more.
Gao Yang finished his cheese roll, drank the last of his tea, and stood up.
Turning to Li Qiu, he said, “Loach, I’m going to step out for a bit.
I’ll come find you later to chat.”
Gao Yang hurried back to his room, his mind preoccupied with the things Justin had told him the night before—he needed to make some calls, and quickly.
Justin was well-informed.
If he mentioned trouble brewing in Ukraine, it was certain.
Knowing that the Angel Mercenary Corps and the Iron Madonna had vanished upon going to Ukraine signaled to Gao Yang, though not an intelligence dealer, that something big was about to happen there.
Feeling the need to prepare before chaos erupted in Ukraine, Gao Yang’s first thought was of Morgan.
Gao Yang figured Morgan probably also knew about the upcoming turmoil in Ukraine.
Although that was his guess, if Morgan didn’t know…
Mercenary soldiers and intelligence dealers are acutely sensitive to potential conflicts in regions, and perhaps Justin knew what was happening in Ukraine even before many national intelligence agencies did.
Gao Yang was still unaware of the specific nature of Morgan’s business, but Morgan was always involved wherever there was instability, especially if American influence existed.
Gao Yang decided to give Morgan a heads-up.
If he already knew, fine; if not, Gao Yang would be the one to inform him.
Aside from Morgan, Gao Yang wanted to get in touch with Grand Ivan and Uriyangko, but he had been unable to reach them.
Naturally, he thought of Polovich.
Gao Yang had in mind the potential fortune from Ukraine’s vast but redundant arsenal, but he was a novice regarding arms dealing, especially the kind that involved capitalizing on conflict to smuggle weapons out of a country.
Polovich, however, had clear expertise in this area.
If he could collaborate with Polovich, great; even if Polovich hesitated to re-engage in arms dealing, just getting his advice would be far better than Gao Yang fumbling around on his own.
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