586: Chapter 581: Mutual Interest 586: Chapter 581: Mutual Interest After reporting the situation to Maide, Gao Yang immediately called Destin.
Plans cannot keep up with changes.
Although everything had been prepared in advance, when things changed, it was necessary to adjust the plan accordingly.
Gao Yang and his team were not in a hurry.
They could have waited until they boarded the Sicilian Princess to retrieve their weapons and equipment, and after discussing the details of the plan with Destin, they could have headed to Bosaso later.
But now, they might need to enter Bosaso ahead of schedule.
The Satan Mercenary Corps was brought in for their formidable combat strength, but without their equipment, their fighting capability would be greatly reduced.
Once Destin answered the phone, Gao Yang immediately said, “There’s been a change in plans.
Intelligence has come in that the enemy is moving faster than I anticipated.
They are about to initiate an attack.
Here’s the content of the intelligence; I’ll explain it to you in detail.”
Gao Yang relayed the intelligence he received to Destin in detail.
After finishing, he said gravely, “I’m not very familiar with the situation of the Skull Gang, but I’d like to hear your opinion first.”
“We must assist the Skull Gang, no doubt about that.
No matter the cost, the existence of the Skull Gang is very meaningful to us.
If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t have made such quick progress, nor would we have been able to snatch so much business from the British.
So, my point is the original plan remains, and if necessary, we will join the battle to aid the Skull Gang.
Now that there’s been a change in plans, you can ask the Skull Gang if they find it hard to cope, we can intervene ahead of time,” Destin immediately expressed his opinion, as he had been preparing to assist the Skull Gang these days, and a premature action would not catch them off guard given the threat to the gang.
After thinking for a while, Gao Yang said, “I haven’t communicated with the Skull Gang in detail yet.
I’m not very aware of their situation, but I want to know, under what circumstances do you think our company should start to intervene?”
Destin said solemnly, “You make the decision.
If you think it’s necessary, we will get involved.
But I think there’s a premise I should mention, if the existence of the Skull Gang is threatened, we help with all our might.
If the Skull Gang wants to expand, then we definitely won’t provide any help.
What do you think?”
Gao Yang chuckled and replied, “No problem, that’s a reasonable choice.
I think if it’s not necessary, it’s best not to deploy the people from our company.
We’ve accepted a contract to fight for the Skull Gang, and we’ll charge them for it.
It would be best if the problem can be resolved without the company’s help, but if assistance is needed, I’ll mention it.”
Destin also laughed and said, “Of course, if we intervene directly, it could spell big trouble if things go awry.
It’s best not to act if we don’t have to.
As I’ve said, everything is up to you.
We’ll continue our preparations here.
One call from you, and we’ll be there within twenty-four hours.”
Gao Yang thought for a moment and said, “Alright.
I was planning to discuss with you on the Princess, but it seems unnecessary now.
The Skull Gang’s situation is urgent.
We’ll go directly to Bosaso.
Please send our weapons and equipment.
I’ll let you know the exact location once I know it.”
Destin immediately said, “I’ll arrange for someone to deliver it to you right away.
Be careful, Ram.
The Skull Gang must survive.
If you sense danger, let me know immediately.
Even if it’s just to teach those British a lesson, no matter how much money it costs, it’s worth it.
Also, I heard about the neat job you did with the British on the Prince.
Well done.”
Military intervention and direct combat assistance are not without costs, which could be substantial.
Strictly speaking, the existence of the Skull Gang is actually a threat to the Maritime Security Company.
If there are no pirates in the Gulf of Aden, merchant ships would no longer need escorts, and the maritime security companies would become obsolete—simple logic.
However, the rise of the Skull Gang would be a long-term process, and for now, while the Skull Gang is charging fees to all passing merchant ships, they do not harass those protected by the Maritime Security Company.
For the ships escorted by other companies, they still demand fees as usual.
It’s this slight difference that allows Gao Yang’s Maritime Security Company to win a large number of contracts, and indeed, that is exactly what happened.
The actions of the Skull Gang differ from pirates; they don’t hijack ships, but they are not exactly polite when collecting fees.
They let rocket launchers, mortar shells, and machine guns do the talking.
If you don’t pay the fee, fine.
They won’t board the ship or take hostages.
Instead, they will just fire at the ship, welcoming it with rockets, mortar shells, and large-caliber machine guns.
If your stuff gets ruined, too bad for you.
If someone dies, it’s a serious misfortune for you.
That’s the Skull Gang’s approach.
The Skull Gang’s methods are shameless, and crucially, they are intractable.
British-escorted ships are especially targeted by the Skull Gang.
Even if there are escort personnel aboard, the Skull Gang doesn’t need to hijack the ship, but that doesn’t matter.
Could any captain endure being targeted by rockets every time?
To throw down a few thousand or tens of thousands of US dollars and carry on, or have the cockpit blasted to pieces?
One of the radars on board was damaged, and the loss wasn’t just a few thousand dollars; if people died, the compensation would be even greater.
Hence, the Skull Gang’s approach in charging fees was very effective, and with Gao Yang’s company providing an escort, there was no need to pay any additional tolls.
Moreover, the escort fee was not higher than that of the British company’s, so the choice of which security company to go with was very obvious.
At least until the Skull Gang established dominance along the northern coast of Somalia, Destin and Gao Yang’s company greatly benefited from their existence—big time!
The reason the Skull Gang didn’t harass Gao Yang’s company was due to the deep connections between the Skull Gang and Satan Mercenary Corps.
By now, Gao Yang had already profited from this relationship; he knew it, Destin knew it, Bob knew it, Antoncel knew it too.
Therefore, even if the Skull Gang did manage to unify the northern coast of Somalia, until every last pirate was eliminated, the interests of the maritime security company and the Skull Gang were aligned.
After finishing his call with Destin, Gao Yang immediately made a call to the Skull Gang, but not to Maide; he called Jiang Yun instead.
When it came to matters of war, Gao Yang thought it was more direct to ask Jiang Yun.
After Gao Yang got through to Jiang Yun, Jiang Yun was already informed of the issue regarding an impending attack.
Maide hadn’t kept him in the dark, but after reporting the situation to him, Maide hadn’t yet asked for Jiang Yun’s opinion on it.
Knowing Jiang Yun was already aware of the situation, Gao Yang didn’t beat around the bush and went straight to the point, “I’m not familiar with the situation on your side; can you first tell me what’s the deal with the Forward Base?”
“The Forward Base is located at a place called Banda, a fishing village that once was a pirate haven.
After the Skull Gang expanded east and took over Banda, the next target to the east was a small town called Gesale.
As a forward base, it had a garrison of fifteen hundred people, but after a failed assault on Gesale, most of the Forward Base personnel withdrew to Bosaso for reorganization.
Then, they sent five hundred more people from Bosaso to reinforce the Forward Base’s defenses.
This back and forth was very chaotic, and Banda could only be considered a logistics base with no solid fortifications or buildings that could serve as a fighting position.”
Gao Yang felt a headache coming on and said, “Is it such an isolated forward base?
Doesn’t the Skull Gang have control over any neighboring towns for support?”
“No, Banda is completely isolated.
The Skull Gang focuses on expanding through coastal towns.
The town under their control nearest Banda is Gandara, which is nearly two hundred kilometers away, across mountains.
The distance to Bosaso is almost the same, actually.”
After listening to Jiang Yun’s explanation, Gao Yang said helplessly, “An isolated forward base is tricky to manage, but there’s some good news; I’ve obtained very detailed intelligence, precise down to the enemy’s attack timings and routes.
Hmm, let me go over it with you in detail and you can see what you think.”
Gao Yang recited the intelligence in detail, and after hearing it, Jiang Yun said with great surprise, “Where did you get such detailed intel?
Isn’t it too precise?
Can we trust it?
It’s so detailed that I can hardly believe it.”
Gao Yang laughed heartily, “You don’t need to doubt its reliability.
Tell me, with this intelligence, could you set an ambush in Banda and give the enemy a heavy blow?”
“It’s completely impossible.
The enemy has tanks and armored vehicles, while the Skull Gang is in desperate need of anti-tank weapons.
The soldiers haven’t even been trained in anti-tank tactics, because there simply aren’t any damn tanks in Somalia.
Of course, we haven’t taught them either.
Even if we set an ambush, we wouldn’t be able to deal with tanks.
Besides, the most troublesome part isn’t that.
If I were in Banda and could command the soldiers myself, I might be able to stage an ambush, inflict casualties, and then retreat.
But right now, the one commanding in Banda is a platoon leader you guys mentioned before.
You get my point, right?”
Jiang Yun meant that the abilities of the commanding officer were insufficient, which was easy to understand and not surprising.
It was just a pirate before; within such a short time, managing a company was already pushing it, let alone directing a battalion without specific orders and having to devise all the battle plans by himself—it’s a wonder if he could fight well.
Having detailed intelligence should have been a massive advantage, but it was frustrating that they couldn’t capitalize on this potential advantage.
Gao Yang let out a wry smile, “Alright, so you’re saying we should retreat from Banda?”
“Exactly, retreat, abandon Banda, and it must be done immediately.
If we delay, an orderly retreat is very likely to turn into a rout, and that could really spell disaster.
Ram, your relationship with Maide and Abu isn’t the same as mine.
You can influence them; there are some things I can’t say well, and even if I do, I might not be taken seriously.
So, you need to get then to decide to retreat quickly.”
Gao Yang immediately responded, “Okay, I understand.
I’ll get in touch with Maide.”(To be continued.
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