Mercenary’s War

Chapter 2320 - 2296: Waving the Tiger Skin as a Banner

With the topic of coffee as the starting point, Gao Yang finally intended to get to the main issue.

Although it was counterfeit, Gao Yang needed to begin from a standpoint fitting the identity, which required understanding the background of the issue to be discussed. Of course, Gao Yang was certainly informed about the background of the Yemeni chaos, otherwise, his presence there would serve no purpose.

Overall, the situation in Yemen was extremely complex, indeed extraordinarily complex.

First, in 1990, Yemen was formed by the merger of North Yemen and South Yemen into one country. However, despite the merger in name, the official government has never truly controlled the country.

Even at the government’s most powerful phase, it never controlled more than forty percent of the territory. The various big and small tribes never really heeded the Yemeni government.

Then, due to historical and religious reasons, the citizens of Yemen remained in a state of mistrust and confrontation all along. Slightly over half of the population was pro-Saudi Arabia, whereas slightly less than half were pro-Iran. Both Iran and Saudi Arabia were relentless in supporting certain factions within Yemen, attempting to control parts of it.

Frankly speaking, Yemen appeared to be a country, but in reality, it was merely a pseudo-country, a conglomerate of tribes.

The 2011 storm that destroyed Libya also swept through Yemen. Former President Saleh resigned in disgrace and fled abroad for refuge, but he managed to escape safely, a fate far better than Gaddafi’s.

After Saleh stepped down, Vice President Hadi succeeded him. Initially, Hadi intended to give up the responsibility, but his resignation was rejected. He had no choice but to continue as president.

At this point in developments, it’s time to bring in the Houthis Armed Forces.

The existence of the Houthis Armed Forces had actually been long-standing. During Saleh’s reign, their relationship with him oscillated between alliance and enmity. However, after Saleh’s resignation and with Hadi, representing another sect, taking over, the Houthis Armed Forces, naturally opposed to Hadi’s position, quickly resumed a relatively friendly relationship with Saleh, at the very least, no longer remaining adversaries.

Currently, the two major factions, or two major forces, or even two clans in Yemen seemed almost inevitably on the path to war. However, a war in Yemen is unlikely to resolve quickly, even if one side prevails, unless one side is completely wiped out, or both warring parties are entirely annihilated.

This is because the war in Yemen is a textbook proxy war.

For instance, the Houthis Armed Forces are backed by Iran. Whether Iran entirely controls them is still uncertain, but it’s undeniable that Iran’s stance significantly influences the direction of the Houthis Armed Forces.

Meanwhile, the current government, led by Hadi, is controlled by Saudi Arabia.

In a proxy war, unless the major powers behind the scenes decide to step down, the war will not cease, even if the last Yemeni blood is spilled.

The situation in Yemen is incredibly complex, yet it is precisely because of this complexity that people like Gao Yang have the opportunity to fish in troubled waters. If Yemen’s situation were simple, Gao Yang wouldn’t dare come to make a profit as a manipulator, and there would be no necessity for his presence.

Now Satan had come to Yemen, choosing the Houthis Armed Forces. The reason for choosing them was because Iran, supporting the Houthis Armed Forces, was poorer compared to Saudi Arabia.

By siding with the Houthis Armed Forces, you could feast on the fattest, plumpest parts of Saudi Arabia.

If you sided with Hadi, you’d face Iran, at most scraping bones, so this choice was straightforward.

However, controlling the Houthis Armed Forces necessitated reducing Iranian influence on them, and that was no simple task.

Firstly, the role Gao Yang played represented Russian interests. In terms of national power, Russia was, of course, stronger than Iran, but the issue was that Russia had never directly intervened in controlling Yemeni forces, whereas Iran was a regional power and had been supporting and influencing Yemen all along.

Russia and Iran had an alliance relationship. Currently, Iran counted on Russian backing. But regardless of how good or crucial the overall relationship between Russia and Iran was, they would inevitably pursue their own interests in specific domains, which required no further explanation.

Russia’s influence on Yemen was not significant. To genuinely intervene in Yemen and pursue its own interests, Russia would have to compete with Iran. However, for Russia, the benefits attainable from Yemen didn’t justify direct involvement. Relying on an ally or subordinate like Iran to assist in achieving its aims sufficed.

Therefore, it was unlikely for Russia to directly contest with Iran over Yemen. But for Gao Yang, he had to utilize his role under the guise of Russian envoy to engage with the Houthis Armed Forces; otherwise, he would have no chance at all.

Gao Yang’s identity was fake, so he lacked what a genuine envoy should have: support from the nation behind him.

Competing with Iran for partial control over the Houthis Armed Forces was an incredibly tough challenge.

At this point, the wisdom of Gao Yang and Yarebin was to be tested. In the entire Yemeni plan, as long as they got a good start, everything else wouldn’t be an issue; if the start was wrong, the remaining plan could be abandoned.

Setting down the coffee cup, Gao Yang looked at Abdullah and smiled, "You know, I’m on a secret mission."

Getting to the main subject now, everyone present was a stakeholder, and all were core figures, so as soon as Gao Yang spoke, the room instantly became silent, even the sound of chewing stopped.

Abdullah nodded slightly, indicating he was listening intently but did not speak.

Gao Yang pointed to himself, then at Abdullah, and softly said, "Your side and my country have traditionally had a friendly relationship."

Abdullah placed his hand on his chest, bent slightly, and nodded, "I agree with your statement. We have always had a very good and close relationship with your country."

It seemed Abdullah was a man of few words, merely agreeing with Gao Yang but not furthering the conversation. This was beneficial for Gao Yang, as he needed to quickly present his bait to see if it had enough allure.

To come straight to the point with the benefits was what Gao Yang and Yarebin had agreed upon because regarding such matters, talking in circles was nonsense; only tangible benefits mattered. If there were benefits, display them quickly; if not, make a prompt exit — nobody played with illusions in such matters.

Gao Yang coolly said, "We can provide ten million dollars in cash aid to your side, along with a large amount of military equipment."

Ten million dollars seemed astronomical for ordinary people, but for a large force like the Houthis Armed Forces, it was not too much. However, this amount matched the level of generosity Russia was currently willing to extend; unfortunately, Russia was in a financial bind now.

Sure enough, Abdullah responded calmly, "Thank you for conveying this goodwill, I appreciate it very much."

Despite expressing appreciation, his expression didn’t correspond to it, so Gao Yang immediately continued, "This is only the amount for the first batch of aid. Of course, there will be a second phase and a third phase, depending on your needs."