"Where?"

"Northwest Illinois."

Song Heping clearly spoke the place name.

A hint of surprise and confusion flashed in Avanti's eyes: "Northwest Illinois? That place is a hell right now! The Americans are accelerating their withdrawal, leaving a vacuum almost entirely occupied by those mad dogs of the '1515' organization! What are you going there for? To die? And what does this have to do with countering the CIA?"

Song Heping walked to a simple table, poured some water from the bottle, and then dipped his finger in the water to draw a simple map on the dust-covered tabletop.

"General, look here."

He pointed to the location representing Northwest Illinois.

"First, to the Americans, Illinois is a giant scar, a 'democratic showcase' they 'established' with astronomical financial and human costs. Although they are eager to withdraw now, thinking it's a mess, if 1515 completely swallows all of Illinois, even threatening the Kurd Autonomous Region, it would be establishing an extremist stronghold right at America's doorstep, directly threatening their core ally in the Middle East. This is something they cannot tolerate."

"So, even though they are withdrawing now, they will come back sooner or later to bomb, or possibly even send ground troops again, even if 1515 was previously indulged or even supported by them to disrupt Siria. In the face of interests, turning faces can be quicker than turning a book. I go in early to set up, foster a force in the northwest that can truly fight, is grounded, and is willing to go all out against 1515, controlling crucial points. When the Americans have to come back to clean up the mess, they will find that this is no longer a blank area at their disposal for bombing or fostering new agents. Our people control the territory, and the Americans, if they want to act, will have to weigh the costs, or even... be forced to cooperate with us, at least tacitly acknowledge our presence. This is called 'throwing a rat to avoid breaking the vase.'"

Avanti's gaze followed Song Heping's finger, contemplating.

"Second," Song Heping's finger moved westward, passing over Siria, Liben, and then pointed to Wild Gate, "General, you are playing a grand chess game—the 'Shiye Sect Arc.' Northwest Illinois, especially the area near the Siria border, is the most critical and fragile piece of this strategic arc!"

"Whoever controls here holds the throat of the land connection between Siria and Persia, also affecting whether Liben's Pearl Party's logistics channel can be stable. If this land is held by pro-Persian forces, your 'arc' can truly connect, forming a substantial strategic encirclement and deterrence against mutual enemies. Conversely, if controlled by 1515 or Kurd people supported by Americans, your 'arc' would be cut in half."

Avanti's gaze was filled with shock and reassessment.

He did not expect that this mercenary-born Chinese had such a profound understanding of the complex sectarian geopolitics of the Middle East, even revealing one of his most core strategic visions!

This was definitely not the insight of an ordinary mercenary.

"Third."

Song Heping pointed again toward Siria.

"My old friend 'The Cook'... you know, he is currently in Siria, helping the government army fight, mainly against 1515 and those opposition forces funded by the West. A large part of 1515's logistics and personnel movements rely on this passage through Northwest Illinois. If we can control this place, it would be like cutting off an artery of 1515, leaving them besieged on both sides at the Siria frontline!"

"By then, the situation in Siria will accelerate in favor of the government army. The Russians have invested heavily in Siria now, and what they need most is a force capable of cutting off 1515's retreat. If we achieve this, guess what the Mao Bear will think? They will be eager to extend an olive branch, offering a large sum to win us over! Siria's oil contracts? Military base cooperation? Even mediating partial sanctions relief for you Persians? All possible! Helping the Russians gain a firm foothold in Siria is like stabbing Daishe Bird and the Americans in the back! This too is the loudest counterattack on the CIA!"

After Song Heping finished speaking, he looked intensely at Avanti: "General, do you still think I'm going to Northwest Illinois to die?"

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com