Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2653 The Final Choice (Third Update, Please Subscribe)

A dead end!
Another suppressed sigh followed, and then the restaurant fell silent. Some of them smoked, some frowned in thought, and some sipped their coffee without taking a proper bite.

Suddenly, a voice rang out:
Are we just going to sit here and wait to die?

Said's voice was filled with resentment and anger!
“I don’t know what the future holds for us. All I know is that we are doomed to die. After all, the lesson of Hassan Paklawan is there.”

Who is Hassan Paklavan?

He was once the director of Iran's intelligence agency, Savak. Over a decade ago, when the Imam was arrested, some wanted to execute him. However, he held a different view on Khomeini's execution, and ultimately, Pakrawan persuaded the King. Khomeini was not executed but released.

Moreover, while lobbying the king, in order to prevent the king from going back on his word, he even put the praetor on the "throne." At that time, the Iranian constitution stipulated that people who held the highest religious title, "Grand Ayatollah," enjoyed legal immunity and could not be executed.

To ensure that Khomeini was not executed, Pakrawan pushed several other Grand Ayatollahs to confirm Khomeini's "Grand Ayatollah" status, thereby legally blocking the possibility of his execution.

It can be said that it was he who took the lead in recognizing Khomeini's status as "Great Ayatollah" and granted Khomeini a pardon from death.

It's fair to say that without Shariatmadari's help back then, Khomeini would most likely be dead, or at least wouldn't have had the political capital he later possessed.

At the beginning of the year, the Pahlavi dynasty collapsed, and Khomeini returned to power. Following his victory, he began a massive purge of former government officials. Pakrawan was among the first to be purged, supposedly sentenced to death, and immediately executed.

That's what he did.

If he treated his benefactors this way, how much more so would they, who were educated in the West and loyal to the king?
"The Air Force is now the focus of the purge and reorganization. Many pilots have already been put in prison. If it weren't for the repeated approach of the SEA and Iraqi air forces, they probably would have put even more people in prison... But it was all just a matter of time."

As Hamid said these words, he closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair helplessly, and his mind was filled with images of his arrested colleagues.

The air force was a key target for purges and reorganizations because, during the so-called "Operation Loyalty," technical academy cadets at the Daosantapé air base in Tehran clashed with the Imperial Guard within the barracks. They opened the armory and distributed weapons to Islamic shills and left-wing militias.

Throughout this process, the air force officers stood firmly on the king's side and engaged in fierce battles with them. Therefore, the first blow of the purge was delivered to the air force.

It was at this time that SEA reconnaissance planes flew over Tehran and other places multiple times. The sudden increase in air defense pressure brought the purge to a halt, and some pilots who had not been proven guilty were released to carry out air defense missions under the supervision of the guards and militia.

"Yes, it's only a matter of time... but are we just going to wait to die like this?"

Karim slammed his hand on the table, causing the teacup on it to wobble slightly and make a soft clinking sound.

Just then, Ashid suddenly raised his head, a glint of light flashing in his eyes. He took a deep breath and slowly said:
"I have an idea."

All eyes turned to Ashid. The major had once represented them in Chang'an to seek the princess's help, but did he have any new information now?
Then, he lowered his voice and slowly revealed the plan he had been brewing in his mind for a long time:
"No matter what, we can't just sit here and wait to die. If we do nothing, we're doomed. So we have to escape!"

"Escape? How do we escape?"

"Airplane! Pilot our plane!"

"What about our families?"

In response to the crowd's questions, Ashid said:
"Take them together!"

"But Tomcats are two-seat fighter jets, how can we take them away!"

"Listen to me..."

Ashid continued:

“If we want to leave with our families, we need to develop a strict plan, which will be divided into several steps, using regular border patrols. The first step is to secretly take our wives and children to the airport the night before the patrol mission. Although the militia are very strict in watching us, the guard inside the base is actually quite lax.”

"Yes, that's right, those people were completely unprofessional. And then what?"

"Then we'll get them onto one or two transport planes. We'll have a mechanic inspect them beforehand, to make sure he's one of ours,"

"That's not a problem. We're not the only ones who want to leave here."

"Yes, they completed the maintenance and refueling at the same time to ensure a normal takeoff, so that our family members could board and wait there."

Listening to his plan, everyone considered it in their minds and realized that the chances of success were very high.

"What's next?"

"The second step, which is very important, is that we will take off and carry out patrol missions according to normal procedures. This step will not arouse any suspicion from anyone."

Eishid paused, then continued:
"Once our fighter jets take off and complete routine communications with the ground control tower, we'll immediately adjust our course and turn back to the airport—not to land, but to cover the transport planes' takeoff. The firepower and maneuverability of our four fighter jets are enough to contain the airport's air defenses and disperse any pursuing aircraft, creating a safe takeoff path for the transport planes." Hearing Ashid's plan, everyone's faces lit up with joy. They were all soldiers; while they knew the risks involved, they also understood that success was highly probable—not just highly probable.

It's 100% guaranteed to succeed, because once they're in the air, the sky is theirs. Those guys, not many pilots have switched sides yet.

"So what's next?"

Said looked at Eishid and asked:
"It's not difficult to just fly, then where do we go?"

All eyes were on Ashid, for that was the most important question: who would take them in after they took off?
And Ashid slowly said:
"The third and final step is to wait until the transport plane carrying our family members takes off successfully, then we will immediately form an escort formation with our fighter jets and escort the transport plane to Iraq."

"Iraq!"

"Yes, it's Iraq!"

Ashid's gaze hardened, and he looked at his friends, saying:
“Iraq shares a long border with us, and their air force won’t obstruct our ‘defection’ flights too much. Moreover, the SEA is very friendly to the King, and the transport planes are full of women and children, so they won’t open fire easily. As long as we can cross the border, we will be safe.”

"They won't fire."

Said added:

"After all, once we get there, it won't just be us, but also the planes we're flying. Those planes will become part of the Iraqi Air Force's equipment, which will be entirely beneficial to them."

The only problem is that they are betraying their own country.

But is this country still their country?
They were loyal to the Iranian Empire, not to the current country.

Even so, after Said finished speaking, the restaurant fell silent. This time, everyone was deep in thought, and the confusion and despair they had felt before were gone.

Instead, a kind of hope took its place.

Another thing is to think about how to improve the plan and who to bring in to join the operation.

Of course, the most important thing is to ensure that you can leave with your family.

This reason could convince them, and it could also move others. And so, after a brief silence,
Hamid stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray with a vengeance, then broke the silence, a resolute glint in his eyes:

"Let's do it! No matter what, we have to get out of here. At least we won't be separated from our families. Even if we die, we can die together!"

"That's right!"

Said followed closely behind, speaking firmly:
"Even if we fail, it's better than being tortured and executed by those people. At least we tried."

Karim took a deep breath:

"I'm willing to take this risk for my family."

Karim also said in a deep voice:
"I've had enough of this. Rather than sit here and wait to die, I'll take a gamble. Let's do it!"

Seeing this, Ashid nodded in agreement and extended his hand, saying:
"In that case, let's work together and get through this. For survival, for our families!"

At this moment, what they are pursuing is nothing more than their own safety and that of their families.

For them, in this turbulent era, as pilots, their only choice was not their country or anything else.

Faced with the new government's purges, all they could do was leave, leave the country.

And so, that very night, they made a decision, and after making that decision,

They worked through the night to refine the plan, listing names on paper and calculating who should be brought in.

At first, it was only transport plane pilots and ground crew officers, but it gradually expanded to include ground-based air defense missile commanders and radar officers who needed to sabotage these facilities to prevent the planes from being shot down.

And the number of people on their list grew, the number of transport planes that needed to be evacuated increased from one to four, and even the number of fighter jets involved in the plan increased from six to more.

As they were making their plans, the night outside the window grew darker in Tehran, and the occasional sound of patrolling guards could be heard in the streets and alleys, a sense of impending danger lurking everywhere.

(End of this chapter)