Free Web NovelChapter 2454: Chapter 2430: Enlightenment
The complete loss of the artillery made Gao Yang postpone his plan to withdraw from the northwest border.
The reason for staying was both for revenge and not for revenge; it depends on how you understand the concept of revenge.
To kill the pilots who dropped the bombs, or to kill the commanders who ordered the planes to take off for the sake of the dead artillerymen, such things Gao Yang would not think of, because this is not a conspiracy, nor a fight between two mercenary groups. This is a war between two countries, and they are just taking advantage of it for their own gain.
In a war between two countries, if someone on your side dies, and then you kill the specific executors on the enemy side to take revenge, such actions are both meaningless and difficult to achieve.
In a war between two countries, as soldiers, it is natural to fight bravely for their own country. If we talk about personal grievances, it really doesn’t count for anything. What’s more, in war, if a soldier dies, it’s ridiculous to insist on finding and killing the enemy who killed that soldier.
So, in the strict sense, revenge is impossible, but retaliation is absolutely necessary.
The meaning of retaliation is very simple: you hit me hard with your planes; even if I can’t shoot down your planes, I must hit you hard in my area of expertise. If you consider this as avenging the dead artillerymen, then that’s also acceptable.
Two days have passed since the airstrike, and Satan’s morale has basically not been affected. Although losing the artillery means Satan has lost artillery cover, future battles will face a completely different situation. But the Satan group has come through hard times. Although it’s unfortunate to lose artillery support, it doesn’t mean they can’t continue fighting.
However, the morale of Rebrov and Liang Dong can be described as extremely low. Rebrov, needless to say, and the other three remaining artillerymen are definitely not doing well. But Liang Dong being extremely depressed made Gao Yang helpless and very confused.
It was dinner time again. Joseph brought Gao Yang his meal, but Gao Yang frowned after just one bite.
The food was salty, extremely salty.
Cooking in the field for many people can’t be expected to taste good, but Liang Dong’s value lies in his ability to make the big pot meals for many people taste quite okay. Out in the wilderness, being able to eat a mouthful of hot food instead of chewing on dry rations is already a great pleasure, which those who haven’t experienced living on dry rations every day can’t understand.
But in the past two days, the food Liang Dong made was either too salty or too bland, either burnt or undercooked. Although no one said anything, Gao Yang thought Liang Dong might have been affected and would be fine after a while, but two days had passed, and it’s still like this, which was not right.
Putting the food bowl aside, Gao Yang said to Joseph, "Go call Mouse over for me. I should have a talk with him."
Joseph acknowledged and soon brought Liang Dong to Gao Yang’s tent.
Liang Dong was still wearing an apron, and there was no special expression on his face. He stood in front of Gao Yang’s table and said in a deep voice, "Boss, you were looking for me?"
In Gao Yang’s room, there was only a folding table and one folding chair, with no extra chairs. So Gao Yang pointed to his cot and said, "You sit, let’s have a chat."
Liang Dong sat on Gao Yang’s bed. Gao Yang coughed twice, tapped his lunch box with his hand, and said in a deep voice, "Sergeant, today’s meal is salty again, especially salty."
Liang Dong looked up in astonishment and said, "Ah, is it salty? I tasted it, and it was fine."
Gao Yang sighed and said seriously, "Sergeant, tell me, what’s really going on with you? Hmm, are you... scared?"
Liang Dong said in surprise, "What? Scared?"
Gao Yang sincerely said, "There’s nothing to be ashamed of. You’ll understand what I’m saying. A cluster bomb exploded right in front of you, and boom, so many people were gone. The scene is too shocking. I have a friend, Nate from Angel, you know? Someone who fears nothing, isn’t afraid of death, but is afraid of cluster bombs because he saw a convoy blown away right before his eyes, and developed a psychological shadow. It’s really nothing to be ashamed of."
Liang Dong showed a mixed expression of feeling like crying and laughing and said in a low voice, "I’m not afraid of dying, nor was I scared. I just feel, just feel that I’ve let down the brothers who died. If it weren’t for me, maybe they wouldn’t have died..."
Gao Yang exclaimed in surprise, "What? Did I hear that right? It’s really hard to lose so many brothers, but what does that have to do with you?"
Liang Dong, lost in thought, said, "If I hadn’t made borscht and just happened to deliver it to them, Rebrov would have ordered the transfer. If they had transferred, maybe not a single person would have died. Tell me, wasn’t it my fault that I delivered at such a deadly time?"
Gao Yang finally understood why Liang Dong seemed so troubled these past few days.
"Come on, what are you thinking? What does this have to do with you? Why are you taking the blame on yourself?"
Seeing Gao Yang utterly perplexed and a bit annoyed, Liang Dong whispered, "It is related..."
Gao Yang sighed, "I won’t lecture you, but think about it. Cooking and delivering food is your responsibility, and you fulfilled your duty. As for Rebrov, he didn’t give the order to transfer in time, that’s him failing in his duty. You can’t attribute the mistake to yourself just because you did your job diligently. It’s like a machine; if one part isn’t working properly, you can’t blame the parts that work as they should, right?"
As a commander, directing battles is Gao Yang’s duty, and providing psychological counseling is also his responsibility, so he must help Liang Dong find closure. Besides, if Liang Dong doesn’t get over this, no one can eat the meals.
Seeing Liang Dong deep in thought, Gao Yang earnestly said, "Actually, with the artillery’s total destruction, if responsibility is to be pursued, I can’t escape either because we were all careless. I didn’t frequently check on the artillery’s situation, nor did I often remind Rebrov, which is my dereliction of duty."
Liang Dong forced a bitter smile. This topic left him with nothing to say, so he chose to stay silent.
Gao Yang knocked on the table, sighed helplessly, and said in a deep voice, "Was there a mistake in the intelligence? No mistake. I knew Shah’s planes patrolled here every day, but I didn’t pay much attention to it. The reason is simple: Shah’s air force is somewhat abnormal. They purchased many advanced fighters like F-15s, Gales, and Typhoons, but their tactical reconnaissance capabilities are very limited, only having outdated reconnaissance aircraft like RF-5E and Typhoon IDS that use optical photography for reconnaissance. Shah’s airforce can’t match its large and advanced fighter fleet with its scattered target reconnaissance capabilities at the frontline."
Liang Dong was puzzled about what Gao Yang was trying to convey, so Gao Yang sighed and said, "I have detailed information that Shah recently bought thirty-six drones, but it will take time to deploy them in actual combat. The reconnaissance aircraft at the frontline are outdated and can’t exchange data with patrolling fighter jets in real-time. So, despite many patrol planes in the sky, I wasn’t worried. But this is war—we were careless and underestimated the enemy, so we paid the price. Shah’s understanding of air power is very low, yet they use their oil-fueled advanced arsenal against us. When they strike, it’s a big deal."
Liang Dong swallowed and whispered, "Is there any intelligence? What exactly happened?"
Gao Yang picked up a note from the table and said, "This afternoon, it was cleared up. An F15 from Fahd Military Base, equipped with two CBU-105 anti-armor cluster bombs and a ’Sniper’ advanced targeting pod, took off temporarily to find the enemy that caused significant casualties on the day of the incident. They found them, and the pilot used the recon pod to spot Rebrov and his team, then attacked."
Liang Dong exclaimed in surprise, "This wasn’t a coincidence but a deliberate counterattack by the enemy?"
Gao Yang nodded, "Yes, a sharp and powerful counterattack by the enemy. Sergeant, I’m saying this to tell you not to take the guilty on yourself. I hold responsibility for this, and so does Rebrov, but you aren’t to blame. To be honest, you don’t even have the standing to bear the blame for the artillery attack. Think about it—you’re just a cook, what qualifications do you have?"
Liang Dong handed back the note to Gao Yang and nodded, "I understand now."
Gao Yang took the note, casually picked up a lighter, and set it on fire. Watching it burn to the end in his hand, he then said in a deep voice, "What have you understood?"
Liang Dong smiled and softly said, "Your counseling words aren’t sweet, but they’re effective. I feel much relieved now, though not completely better. Knowing that the primary responsibility isn’t on me makes me feel a lot lighter. Humans are just like this; it’s in our nature, I guess."
Gao Yang solemnly said, "Sergeant, your duty is to cook, and to cook well is your responsibility. You’ve been so distracted these days; what have you been making? If you can’t do your job right, I’ll have to criticize you. You’re an experienced soldier, and I hope you understand what to do next."
Liang Dong stood up loudly, "Yes, I accept the criticism, Boss, let me taste the food again."
Gao Yang picked up his chopsticks and handed them directly to Liang Dong; they weren’t that fussy. Liang Dong took a taste of Gao Yang’s dish and immediately spat it out.
"Damn, it’s so salty! How come I didn’t notice? Boss, just wait a bit, I’ll inform everyone not to eat, and I’ll remake it quickly."
Gao Yang waved for Liang Dong to hurry. As Liang Dong left the tent, Gao Yang suddenly remembered something important and shouted, "Sergeant, make it quick. Keep it simple; we’re all hungry here!"
