Time Travel 04: I Fight the US in the Middle East

Chapter 136 The Brothers Langtuo Offer Warmth? How about giving us a ballistic missile production line?

The eastern sky gradually brightened, and a red sun slowly rose, as red as fire.

In Tunisia, Redbeard anxiously awaited battle reports from the front lines in the command post, wondering if his men had taken control of Baghdad.

For some reason, he had a persistent feeling of unease, as if—he deeply regretted issuing yesterday's order, and his men—

Ta-da!

A loyal subordinate rushed in: "Boss, something terrible has happened! Our men were ambushed by the US 1st Armored Division after passing Tikrit! They, they—"

The red-bearded man looked extremely nervous: "What's wrong?"

"It's all gone!"

Click!

A thunderbolt struck Redbeard's head, leaving him completely stunned.

He lived longer than Saddam Hussein, and his death in later generations might even be a miraculous escape. He was a very cautious person, but—this reckless decision was still made.

The elimination of 8,000 American troops last time greatly boosted his confidence. At the same time, when he discovered that it might be Mahdi's army entering the Green Zone and looting it, he could no longer restrain himself.

It must be said that the wealth of Baghdad blinded him, causing him to lose his basic ability to think and judge, leading him to make such a wrong decision!

"Right now, the U.S. 1st Armored Division is advancing towards us, we—"

What should I do?

The troops sent out were all elites. Although there are still thousands of people left in Mosul, their strength is not very good. Now the US 1st Armored Division is coming in with great momentum. What should they do?

Evacuate from here to preserve our forces? What have we been doing all this time? What a waste of time!

Holding out in the city and fighting in the streets? How can we fight with so few men? Won't we all be lost here?

It's fair to say that no matter what you choose, it's not suitable, wait!

"Quickly, go and invite the Mahdi army, go and invite their leader, Azzam!"

Now, Redbeard suddenly realized that Azam had become his only hope; if the Mahdi army were to arrive, they could definitely resolve the current situation.

"yes!"

Mandali, a small border town east of Baghdad.

"Chief Azam, Redbeard has sent men to the tribe, wanting us to send troops." Shehid approached Azam and asked, "What should we do now?"

"Of course, we're doing what we're supposed to do. Is recruitment complete? Are the new recruits ready?"

Shehid immediately understood: "I understand. Our Mahdi Army is undergoing reorganization, and we cannot participate in combat during this process."

As I said before, we only agreed to one joint operation. Now—the main force of the Ba'ath Party has been annihilated, and they still want to ask the Mahdi Army to put out the fire?

If Redbeard indicated his willingness to obey orders and the Restoration Party would become his subordinates, then he might consider it. But now—there's no need for that.

Azam's gaze fell upon the map of Baghdad.

The news that the US military has annihilated the main force of the Ba'ath Party and is about to recapture Mosul will surely spread throughout Baghdad, and these people will be filled with hope again. So—should I do something to make them go from hope to despair again?

Just then, the Caliph ran in.

"Leader Azzam, we have just received a message from Baghdad that the interim government is mobilizing civilian fuel tankers—"

Azam's eyes lit up instantly.

As the U.S. military was about to achieve victory in suppressing the rebellion, other tasks had to follow, such as stealing Iraqi oil!

They're fighting this war to plunder oil!

Iraq is a coastal country, but its coastline is only 60 kilometers long, which it seized after several shameless attempts. Therefore, the transportation of oil in Iraq has become a major problem.

Back in Saddam Hussein's time, oil pipelines were built, allowing direct access to the Mediterranean via Syria, or through Turkish territory to reach ports. At the same time, six ports were established at the mouths of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers: Basra, Bakr, Fao, Umm Qasr, and Khor Aymaya.

However, ports were the first to be destroyed in the war, and both the Soviet Union and the United States bombed these ports more than once.

Last year, after the U.S. military overthrew Saddam Hussein's rule, it gradually began to restore oil supplies.

In terms of production, Italo's oil reserves are mainly distributed across 73 regions, but so far only a dozen or so have been exploited. The southern production area is around Basra, with fields like Rumaila and West Qurna as representative examples. This crude oil is sourced from Basra...

Ships were loaded at ports such as Jubeir and exported to other countries around the world via the Persian Gulf.

The northern production area is Kirkuk, which is the largest oil field in northern Italy and the birthplace of Italy's oil industry. The oil from here is mainly transported to the Mediterranean Sea via pipelines.

Now—the pipeline has collapsed! The oil can't be transported out!

Seeing that readily available wealth could not be plundered, the Americans were naturally dissatisfied. They not only deployed oil tankers from the military, but also...

They urged the provisional government to recruit civilian oil tanker fleets, intending to transport Kirkuk's crude oil to southern ports for export via tanker trucks.

Even if Yituo's own port has insufficient throughput, there is still Ketuo's port, right?

The pipeline repairs can only begin after Mosul is recaptured, which will take at least ten days to two weeks. If the crude oil from the oil field isn't transported out, it will be a waste.

"Leader Azam, what do we do?"

"Of course, we'll arrange for our own people to be drivers and join the team, and then—we'll contact our Langtuo friends. We have crude oil to sell to them—at cost price. If we can find a middleman in the Syrian camels, that would be even better, as we can sell it for a higher price—"

The wealth from crude oil is enormous. Although a considerable amount was plundered last time, it will eventually run out. Developing new sources is more important than cutting off existing ones. If we could get a share of Yituo's oil wealth...

This is just the first step; let's see if it can be sustainable in the long run.

Just then, a voice came from outside: "Where's my brother Azam? How have you been lately?"

A familiar face to the Holy City Brigade, Saddam Hussein-Hamadani!

"Brother, you've come at the right time. There's something we need your help with—"

Hearing Azam say this, Haisan-Hamadani puffed out his chest: "No problem, we'll take care of it, price..."

"Gross—just like the ones our Revolutionary Guard sells, thirty dollars a barrel."

2004 was a special year. In January of that year, oil prices hovered between $33 and $36 a barrel, but by May they had broken through the $40 mark, and by October they had reached a high of $55.65 a barrel.

However—this has nothing to do with Langtuo.

Although the United Nations has not passed a resolution imposing sanctions on India, the United States has strengthened its unilateral financial sanctions against India. Many countries have to be mindful of the United States' stance, to the point that many countries dare not buy India's oil.

If you want to sell it, the price has to be lower!

However—Azam's feelings were still somewhat complicated when he heard that the Revolutionary Guard was selling oil.

In Langtuo, the Revolutionary Guard is a special entity. They are independent of the National Defense Army and form their own system. They are equipped with all kinds of advanced weapons first, while the National Defense Army has to pick up their leftovers. Of course, they will also be at the forefront when fighting. The leader believes in their loyalty and always holds a skeptical attitude towards the army left by the previous royal family.

After the Iran-Iraq War ended, the leader was very satisfied with the Revolutionary Guard, and then—the Hatam-Ambia Construction Headquarters was established, and from then on, the army began to engage in business.

To this day, the Revolutionary Guard controls the economic lifeline of Langtu, with estimates ranging from 20% to 50%.

The advantage is that the Revolutionary Guard is not short of money; they have plenty of ways to make money. Energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, finance, import/export, and other businesses all belong to them. They don't need to worry about the government's approval to do what they want. The disadvantage is that...

The existence of the Revolutionary Guard squeezed the space for private enterprises and foreign investment, and a large privileged class quickly emerged within the Revolutionary Guard. History has proven that any country that allows its military to engage in business has a distorted economy.

Of course, Langtuo's affairs have nothing to do with them. If they can sell the seized oil at a reasonable price, they can make even more money.

"By the way, Brother Haishan, we've recently had a bit more money on hand. Could you perhaps sell us a few more production lines?"

Haizan-Hamadani nodded: "Yes, after ransacking the Green Zone, you have plenty of money. What do you want to buy? Just say the word!"

Although the outside world is still kept in the dark, even Redbeard could guess it, let alone the Langtuo people!

Haishen-Hamadani came here because he heard about what happened in the Green Zone and was sent to gather information. As for helping—he'd help if he could, since he could make money that way too.

"missile."

What?

Haisan-Hamadani felt he hadn't heard clearly, or that he had taken the wrong step when he entered the room.

"We want to buy a missile production line," Azam repeated.

That's right, we really do need to buy missiles!

Hamadali had considered many options, such as bullet production lines, gun production lines, and even mortar production lines; he was willing to accept any of them. Now—

Missile production line? Do you know what you're talking about?

In international relations, there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies, only permanent interests!

Now that they're against the US, Langtuo is strongly supporting the Shipai armed groups within Yituo. But what if the Americans leave? Who knows if the two sides will continue fighting? The two countries fought for eight years in the 1980s!

Some people are uneasy about giving the Mahdi Army a drone production line. They worry that if they were given ballistic missiles, the Mahdi Army might use them to strike Langkawi's territory.

Haisan Hamdani took a deep breath, calmed himself, and then spoke.

"Purchasing a missile production line is no small matter. Actually, you can just buy whatever you want directly from us, not to mention ballistic missiles—they're not easy to produce. What do you need them for?"

"Bomb the port so the US military can't ship our Iraqi crude oil out," Azam said. "We must cut off the evil hand of the Americans!"

The oil pipeline in the north has been blown up, and for a short time, the Americans will not be able to transport a single drop of oil. However, the pipeline in the south is still operating normally, with oil tankers docking every day. The Americans, those oil thieves, have stolen an unknown amount of wealth from Italy!

Since the light weapons at hand are not powerful enough, even if they manage to hit the target with mortars or the like, retreating will be difficult, and those on the mission may not return. This does not conform to Azam's philosophy: protect ourselves first, then fight the enemy. We will not do things like suicide bombings!

This leaves only long-range ballistic missiles.

In this regard, Lang Tuo is an expert.

During the Iran-Iraq War, Saddam Hussein showed off his slingshots and would throw a few to Lang Tuo whenever he had a chance. Lang Tuo got anxious and said, "You have them, so do I. I'll take them from my brother Xu Tuo!"

Langtuo not only obtained the Scud missile, but also began to map and imitate it. The first Scud-B that was imitated became Langtuo's first self-made ballistic missile: Meteor-1. However, its range was only 300 kilometers, which was definitely not enough for Langtuo's use.

Thus, the island nation developed the Meteor-2 with a range of 500 kilometers, followed by the Meteor-3 with a range of 1,300 kilometers, based on the Labor-1.

These are all liquid-fueled missiles, which have a long preparation time for launch and are easy to detect. So they started working on solid-fueled missiles, which can be set up and fired, and then run away.

Of course, these are all the latest models from Langtu, such as the Conqueror-110, with a range of 300 kilometers, which only entered small-batch production in 2004. Now—

Upon hearing Azam's request, Haisan-Hamadani tentatively offered, "The production line for the Meteor-1 missile—I think I can get it for you."

Once the Conqueror-110 was finalized, the early Meteor-1 missile production line was abandoned. Now, it's a good time to sell this production line to the Mahdi Army. With a range of 300 kilometers, it won't pose much of a threat to the Langkawi.

Azam shook his head: "No, those liquid-fueled missiles need to be filled with fuel before launch. Even the missile units in the Saddam era were easily found and destroyed by NATO warplanes, let alone now."

What do you mean? You actually want the Conqueror-110? With Azam's standards, cheap stuff really doesn't meet his approval!

But—Conqueror-110 really can't be given to Azam, after all, the Langtuo people still treasure him! Absolutely not!

and many more!

There seems to be an alternative —

So, Hazan Hamdani spoke up: "We also have a Zarzar missile on hand, with a maximum range of over 200 kilometers and capable of carrying a 600-kilogram high-explosive warhead. If you want it—we can give you the production line!"

Azam chuckled inwardly. He wouldn't even give up the Meteor-1, let alone the Conqueror-110. In fact, what he originally planned to get was this Zarzar missile. Although it's called a missile, it doesn't actually have a guidance system and is a tactical rocket.

However, it has a long range and great power. Although its accuracy is poor, it is low in cost and can be used for sweeping attacks!

His face still showed displeasure: "How much worse is this thing—than the Conqueror-110?"

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