"Allah be praised, our nuclear reactor is finally safe and sound. Those despicable Jews tried to obstruct our nuclear program, but it was like moths to a flame," Watban said.
Allah be praised? While Zhang Feng was carrying the SAM-7 missile and firing at the enemy planes, he hadn't seen Allah jump out to protect him. Zhang Feng was an atheist whose only faith was Marxism-Leninism. However, now that he was here, he didn't dare speak out of turn. If he blasphemed against Allah, his old man probably wouldn't let him off easily.
Zhang Feng also placed his hand over his heart and said, "Allah be praised. Our great cause will not be halted by the obstruction of the Jews. That sacred fire will surely be ignited in our hands."
Sacred fire? Saddam revealed a rare smile. Did his youngest son actually know so much? Saddam knew that the 'sacred fire' Qusay spoke of was, naturally, the nuclear bomb.
"It is said that the attackers this time were Israel's most advanced F-16 fighters. May I ask, Excellency Qusay, how were you able to shoot down so many planes?" Lieutenant General Khazraji asked. Since the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War, Iranian planes had frequently intruded into Iraqi airspace, yet the air defense forces had rarely shot any down. This time, they had downed several planes from the Israeli Air Force, which was even more elite than the Iranian Air Force. It was simply a miracle.
"It was all luck this time. I positioned the anti-aircraft artillery battery next to a small lake. The Israeli planes were performing a low-altitude penetration, and when they passed through here, the artillery fired all at once, and the enemy planes were shot down just like that," Zhang Feng said.
"That is truly strange, my dear brother. How did you know the enemy planes would pass through that spot? You moved the anti-aircraft guns out; if the enemy planes had entered from another direction, the nuclear reactor would probably have been destroyed by now. You were purely gambling!" Uday said.
"The Israeli planes came from afar. To evade radar surveillance, they must have entered at low altitude and chosen a path where our air defense was weak—specifically along the border between Jordan and Saudi Arabia, entering through Karbala Governorate. After a long flight, the aircraft's navigation would definitely have errors. This requires comparing with landmarks when approaching the nuclear reactor to eliminate those errors. Around the nuclear reactor, the best landmark is that lake," Zhang Feng said. Did they think they could stump him with this? He had graduated with honors from the military academy.
"And if the anti-aircraft guns were placed around the nuclear reactor, our guns lack fire-control radar, and the air defense missiles..." Zhang Feng knew it was better to change the subject. Speaking of air defense missiles, those missile soldiers would probably be finished. He couldn't afford to make enemies in the military as soon as he arrived. "The enemy planes chose a dive-bombing method. With this method, the window for our anti-aircraft guns to aim is very short, making it difficult to hit the target. Therefore, I boldly moved the guns out and set an ambush by the small lake. Allah be praised, we took down the Israelis' planes."
The explanation was perfectly reasonable. Even several civilian officials nodded repeatedly; it was indeed so!
"Qusay, you studied political science and law at university. How do you know so much about these things?" Saddam asked.
"Reporting to Your Excellency President, although I am currently a student, I also understand that if a country does not have a stable environment, it is impossible to pursue scholarship. Nowadays, the hateful Persians frequently launch air raids on our people. Therefore, at university, besides studying politics and law, I have spent my spare time studying military knowledge, striving to take on the heavy responsibility of defending our great motherland as soon as possible! Unless Iraqis do not stand, if we stand, we shall stand at the peak of the world!"
Clap, clap, clap. Saddam took the lead in applauding, and everyone followed suit. Saddam was most satisfied with that last sentence; it was exactly a quote from one of his entries in the Baath Party's 'Al-Thawra' newspaper. Furthermore, his son had not addressed him as a relative in this setting but as 'Your Excellency President,' showing his meticulous mind.
Seeing everyone applauding, Uday also followed with a couple of weak claps. He hadn't expected his brother, who usually looked like a submissive little lamb, to have such thoughts. In comparison, he himself only knew how to chase women all day; the difference in their caliber was immediately apparent.
"Your Excellency President, although I intercepted the enemy planes in time, two planes still slipped through and dropped bombs on the base. I did not complete the mission perfectly," Zhang Feng continued. Now was absolutely not the time to boast; showing timely self-reflection would make him appear even more perfect.
"Qusay, there is no need to worry. It was precisely because of your timely interception that those two planes were thrown into a panic. Although they dropped bombs, they did not hit the reactor. One of them even crashed on its own during the bombing. It's clear you have completed the mission perfectly," Adnan said quickly.
Saddam only knew the nuclear reactor was safe; he hadn't known there was such a detail. It was clear his second son had indeed done his best and perfectly completed the interception mission.
"Your Excellency President, I think we can use this opportunity to beat them at their own game," Zhang Feng said, elaborating on his view once the timing felt right.
"Speak, Qusay," Saddam said, his interest piqued.
"Our nuclear reactor was hit by several bombs from Israeli planes. We can issue a statement strongly condemning this violation of our national sovereignty and submit it to the United Nations for arbitration. Many countries will surely support us," Zhang Feng said. "We will announce to the world that the nuclear reactor has been destroyed. This way, we can dispel the suspicions of many countries that are wary of us."
"The United Nations? Those American Jews will definitely cast a veto," Watban said.
"What we need is just the formality," Zhang Feng said. "Our nuclear reactor is already a thorn in the side of many. Even if we protected it this time, Israel will have a next time, and a time after that. As long as the nuclear reactor isn't destroyed, Israel won't give up. I have already had the soldiers light smoke fires around the nuclear reactor. Even reconnaissance satellites in the sky probably won't be able to discover the true situation."
A look of appreciation appeared in Saddam's eyes. He hadn't expected his son to not only possess considerable military knowledge but also political foresight. In time, he would be a fine talent. Having him assist his older brother in governing the country together wouldn't be much of a problem.
In Saddam's mind, Uday was still his successor; that choice was unshakable.
"We should build the nuclear facilities underground to evade enemy reconnaissance and secretly develop the weapons we need. We can let this place remain a ruin. Although rebuilding a nuclear reactor requires a massive investment, I believe this can completely serve as a 'stealing the beams and pillars' maneuver to hide our true actions," Zhang Feng continued.
It can't be like this, absolutely not like this, Uday said to himself. Even if his father liked him, he couldn't let Qusay steal his thunder. Many thoughts flashed through Uday's mind, and suddenly, he thought of a crucial question: No one knew the Israelis were coming to attack, so how did he know? Could it be that he had his own secret forces? This was probably what his father least wanted to hear. He had to expose him!
"My good brother, you've achieved a great feat today. I am very curious, how did you know the Israelis were coming to attack?" Uday asked, his eyes squinting.
Hearing Uday's question, everyone suddenly realized they had overlooked a problem. Even the radar hadn't detected the enemy's intrusion into their airspace. How did the President's youngest son, who was just a university student, know? Did he have the power of foresight?
Zhang Feng secretly rejoiced. Fortunately, he had already thought of an explanation before coming; otherwise, it would really be hard to explain. He couldn't exactly say he had traveled through time, could he?
"My good brother, as people of the great Republic of Iraq, we have many righteous brothers. Today's matter was purely a coincidence. The Israeli fleet took off with a tailwind from the Etzion Air Force Base on the Sinai Peninsula, adjusted their direction after ascending, and flew over the Gulf of Aqaba. At that time, King Hussein of Jordan was inspecting from his yacht and spotted the fleet in the sky in time. These Israeli planes were very cunning, bearing the livery of the Jordanian Air Force, but King Hussein recognized them as an Israeli fleet immediately and notified us at once. Prince Faisal, who was on the yacht at the time, was on the phone with me, telling me that King Hussein saw Israeli planes flying east. I had a premonition that the Israelis were coming to destroy our nuclear reactor," Zhang Feng said.
Prince Faisal was the younger son of Hussein, and Qusay was on good terms with him. Zhang Feng had also communicated with Prince Faisal on the way here. Therefore, these words were spoken flawlessly.
Saddam nodded with a smile. "Jordan is our friendly neighbor. Hussein deserves a lot of credit for defeating the Jews this time; we will keep that in mind." He turned to look at his two brothers beside him. "Watban, Barzan, why wasn't I notified in time when the message from Hussein arrived?"
Upon this question, Zhang Feng secretly groaned. He hadn't expected that he still hadn't considered everything. He had offended these two, which would lead to trouble later. These two were big figures at the center of power.
"Your Excellency President, when the message from Hussein arrived, you were studying the recent frequent attacks by small-scale Iranian units with the commander of the Southern Military District. Some believed this might be the prelude to a major Iranian counter-offensive, so we did not dare disturb you," Watban said.
In fact, when King Hussein's message arrived, they hadn't taken it seriously at all. The Israelis traveling thousands of miles to strike their nuclear reactor? It was simply impossible. At the time, neither of them had cared until something happened. Only then did they remember, but by then, the report of Qusay shooting down the Israeli planes had already arrived, saving them once. Both of them felt a sense of gratitude toward Qusay in their hearts.
"Hmm." Saddam nodded; that was indeed the case. He shifted his thoughts and asked with a chuckle, "Qusay, do you think we will defeat the Persians?"