The eight-hour train ride made everyone feel dizzy. For the first time, Tang Long felt that Chinese hard-seat trains were so comfortable. When they arrived in Basra, Cang Long didn't say a word.
Several cars had already come to pick them up at the train station. It was completely different from the train station Tang Long imagined. This place was full of chaos.
He once saw a scene of Indonesians taking a train on the Internet. The train in Basra was probably as bad as the one in that picture. The train station was even more disorderly, with a few policemen lazily maintaining order. Seeing the thief with a sinister look on his face, he was unwilling to take action.
However, these thieves seemed to have eyes and did not attack them, because there were several tough Iraqi men waiting for Canglong and the others in the distance.
After boarding the car arranged for them by General Badr, they left the train station. On the car, Canglong saw Basra was devastated. As the largest city in Iraq and the only outlet to the sea, it was once called the Venice of Iraq. Now it is But they were poor and backward, and died of hunger everywhere.
The scars of war can be seen everywhere here. Children playing football are covered in dust on the streets. White-collar workers with downcast faces are seen at work. Occasionally, you can see a few Western faces, but they are also in a hurry. There are also people lying on the ground covered in sweat. The wandering fly, who didn't know better, thought it was a dead body, but no one cared about it.
"Before going to Basra International Airport, I want to ask you a question." Just as Tang Long was surprised by what he saw, Cang Long suddenly spoke.
"What?" Tang Long hurriedly came to his senses.
"Do you like war?" Canglong asked seriously.
For some reason, Tang Long almost blurted out without hesitation: "I like it."
Canglong didn't blame or praise, he just asked coldly: "What's the reason?"
"Because" Tang Long suddenly couldn't think of a reason. He searched for all the previous ideals about war and revenge in his mind, but now he felt that none of them met the reasons Cang Long wanted. After thinking for a long time, he said, "I want to be a general. And the man is determined to kill."
"Haha." Cang Long said nothing, just smiled, and then turned around, "Since you like war so much, there is no need to go back to China. You can become a killer here, but you are still far away from becoming a general. Well, this is also your last choice. Unless you die, I will not send you back to China even if you beg me ten thousand times."
Tang Long didn't know why Teacher Cang's tone suddenly became so cold and emotionless. Did he say something wrong? But what exactly did he say wrong? Every boy wants to become a general and fight on the battlefield. The kind of days when I drank the blood of Hulu.
But when he thought about the environment in Iraq and what he had experienced on the way to the airport, Tang Long felt sick and wanted to vomit. The feeling was so uncomfortable that he really wanted to leave this damn place, but now it seemed that he I made the wrong choice, so I can't go back.
For a moment, he suddenly felt a little scared, because Teacher Cang was never scary, which meant that unless he really died, he would never want to return to China. When he thought of this, Tang Long became excited: "No, I won't be able to do that now." I want to go back, I want to go back now, you have no right to keep me here."
Hearing this, Vivian, who was sitting next to Tang Long, smiled and said: "Don't you want to be a killer? But why do I feel that you are worse than a woman now? I'm scared after what I just experienced. You What kind of psychological quality?"
"No, no," Tang Long tried his best to explain, but he couldn't seem to find an excuse. Finally, he said, "Killers are not like this, okay? Killers are the kind who come and go through wind and rain, and assassinate easily."
"Pfft" Vivian seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, "Who have you ever heard of saying that killers come and go in the wind and rain and assassinate people easily?"
"Movie movie" Tang Longyi was speechless, lowered his head and stopped talking.
"The killers described in the movie are all processed through art. A real killer must first get used to blood." Vivian touched Tang Long's head, "If you want to be a killer, you should learn how to be a man. , and men have to take responsibility for what they choose. Before you understand what responsibility is, you will always be just a little boy who likes to fantasize."
Later, after entering the city of Basra, Tang Long didn't say a word, and Cang Long didn't comfort him. In Cang Long's heart, he had already made his own decision since Tang Long said he didn't want to study and wanted to be a killer. It is a choice, and there must be a price behind the choice. If he is allowed to go back easily, he may be like this for the rest of his life, especially after the moment he said he likes war.
Completely different from what was expected, Badr, a wanted criminal by the Americans and the new Iraqi government, lives in a villa in the city of Basra, and the level of luxury is in sharp contrast to the places on the streets of Basra.
General Bader personally greeted Canglong. Seeing this thin and sinister general in a suit again, Canglong had a smile on his face, and General Badr no longer showed the hostility and coldness he showed when they first met. There was a bit of gentle kindness in his sinister eyes, although this kindness could be misunderstood as ill-intentioned.
However, neither party seemed to care much. Badr enthusiastically invited Canglong into the villa. Canglong praised: "It seems that General Badr understands Chinese culture very well. Sure enough, the most dangerous place is also the safest place."
Badr smiled, smoked a cigar, and said: "When it comes to understanding Chinese culture, no one in the whole of Iraq understands China better than Mr. Cang. My ability, in the words of you Chinese, is just superficial."
"Okay, let's talk about business. The general should be very clear about the purpose of my coming." Canglong got to the point directly.
"Although I have some influence in the southern provinces and the government forces dare not do anything to me, I am afraid I still cannot make the final decision regarding the oil fields," Badr said.
"What's the obstacle?" Canglong asked.
"The relationship here is complicated. If we want to extract oil here, it is not me, Badr, who has the final say at all, unless this city is completely settled." Badr said worriedly.
"What kind of stability do you mean?" Canglong asked.
"The government troops are second, mainly Americans, as well as European countries and Russians. These are the key." Badr took a puff of cigarette, "Basra Province should be the richest province, but it's a pity that it's all damned. war."
No one expected that General Badr would hate the war, but Canglong was not surprised. Basra Province has the largest amount of oil in Iraq. However, since the beginning of the Iran-Iraq War, Basra has been extremely severely damaged. The port facilities have been closed and the refinery has been severely damaged. and many buildings in the city were destroyed.
Especially during the Gulf War in 1990, the city of Basra suffered serious damage again. Subsequently, due to the economic sanctions of the United Nations and the military strikes carried out by the United Kingdom and the United States, Basra's economy was in trouble. Even the production and supply of basic tap water could not be maintained. , this former "Venice of the East" has become a "city of thirst."
After the United States invaded Iraq, the situation here became even worse. There was no situation that a rich and oil-rich country should have. Although Saddam himself was responsible for this, it was the entire Iraqi people who paid the bill, so the anti-American sentiment in Basra , on the contrary, anti-American sentiment is higher than in other provinces of Iraq.
"What if I could drive away the Americans," Canglong said with a smile, "and wipe out all the factors that could dominate the construction here."
"Impossible." Badr blurted out, but he suddenly realized Canglong's choice of words, "You just said that you want to build this place, not extract oil."
"As you said, without a stable Basra, how can I extract oil here." Canglong smiled and said, "In order to gain, you must first give, I know this very well."
"Your idea is great, but who can you represent?" Badr said eagerly, "China. The government."
"No, I can't represent any country, but I can represent myself." Canglong said calmly.
"It's just you." Badr was a little disappointed and confirmed again, "There is no Chinese factor."
Canglong shook his head and said firmly: "It's just me, there is no Chinese factor."
"If this is the case, then I can only bluntly think that your idea is a fantasy. Even if you are willing to fund the construction of this place, the Americans can blow it to the ground for any reason." Badr Shaking his head, "We have tried many times, but we basically lost all our money. When the British ruled here, they only needed oil and didn't care whether the place was poor or not."
"So I say that I represent myself, because no country in the world can become eternal friends, but individuals can." Canglong said calmly.
"You and I can indeed become friends forever, because the first thing you thought about when you came here was to build this place, not to talk about oil with me." Badr's sinister face showed a bit of relief, but the relief made people feel sad after seeing it. He had no choice but to say, "Tell me, what is your plan? I've seen how bold you are, so I'm not afraid of you doing anything shocking."
"It's very simple. We set up a new government and throw away the puppet government in Baghdad, and let the Americans eat shit while guarding that puppet." Canglong's words were very vulgar, but his tone was serious, and people who didn't understand would still be confused. I thought shit was an elegant word.
Although Badr had gone through the storm and was well prepared, he still swallowed, was very surprised, sighed, and thought Soryu was joking: "You are really unique, but if we set up another government, we will be beaten, even by the United States." A fight with its allies”
"If they want to fight, we will fight them until they dare not fight us. As for weapons." Canglong smiled, "With my help, I will make your army no less armed than the Americans.
"
Hearing this, Badr's face was filled with surprise: "Really."