Gao Yang’s question was very direct, and Salim’s answer was just as straightforward.
"Here’s the situation: we don’t expect to retake Aden in a short time, but we hope at least to slow down Saudi Arabia’s offensive."
When Salim stated his request, he didn’t sound very confident, because they really weren’t in a position to demand anything from Gao Yang, so what he said was a plea, not an order.
If it was a plea, then Gao Yang naturally had to think it through: would it be more advantageous to focus on Aden, or more appropriate to put the emphasis on the Northwest Border.
He couldn’t make a proper choice in a short time, and Gao Yang felt he needed to discuss it with the others before deciding, so he nodded and said in a low voice, "I’ll think about it."
Salim mainly just wanted to give Gao Yang a heads-up in advance, because a decision like this could only be made after repeated weighing, and the Houthis Armed Forces’ top figure, Abdullah, would definitely have to speak to Gao Yang in person about it as a sign of respect.
Everything that needed to be said had been said, so Salim didn’t bring it up with Gao Yang again; after all, Gao Yang would very likely have to consult the Russian side, so he had to leave Gao Yang enough time.
Right now Yemen was at war, Sana’a was under constant air raids, and it was completely impossible for Abdullah to personally come to the airport to pick them up. Gao Yang figured that by the afternoon, Abdullah should show up to discuss the matter with him in person.
The rest needs little elaboration: Gao Yang and the others were taken back to the barracks they’d stayed in before, and Salim had already arranged a lavish lunch—lavish by Sana’a’s standards. After accompanying the Satan people through the meal, Salim simply told Gao Yang to get some rest and then took his leave.
This rest time was, of course, when Gao Yang and his people would discuss whether they should go to Aden.
As soon as Salim left, Gao Yang immediately called over a few members of Black Demon, and of course a few key figures from Satan as well. With more and more Satan members around, it was no longer realistic for Gao Yang to gather everyone every time something came up. There was no need: specific tactics could be discussed collectively, but for these big-picture issues, a few people were enough.
Joseph and the Black Demon members carefully checked the room for bugs. This kind of thing couldn’t be ignored; Satan had far too many secrets on them.
Once everything was set up, Gao Yang went straight to the point, though the first thing he brought up wasn’t about the Houthis Armed Forces.
"I’m planning to start looking for a successor to Satan. We’re definitely going to retire, but retiring doesn’t mean we’ll give up reliable armed force. We need strong and absolutely dependable force in our hands—that’s the key to whether we can walk away with enough money and live easy. Any thoughts?"
He looked around at them and saw no one speaking, so Gao Yang said in a low voice, "The first thing we have to ensure is reliability. We must be sure we can keep them under control. Tarta, you have experience with this sort of thing—can you tell me how to guarantee a unit’s absolute loyalty?"
Tarta answered without hesitation, "Brainwashing!"
Gao Yang let out a sigh and said helplessly, "That’s something we don’t really have the means to do."
Tarta nodded and said, "Right. To ensure enough combat power, the headcount can’t be too small. And to keep a unit absolutely loyal while only controlling it indirectly, and still maintain a minimal scale... relying on brainwashing is almost impossible, because you simply don’t have the kind of cause that makes people willingly give everything and stay loyal."
Gao Yang sighed and said, "Yeah. On what basis could we make a lot of people stay absolutely loyal, and for their entire lives on top of that."
Eileen frowned and said, "Hold on, we’re going to retire? Why are you in such a hurry to find a successor? Are you planning to build a new Satan?"
Gao Yang waved his hand and said, "It doesn’t have to be a new generation of Satan. Any unit we can control will do. Also, this isn’t something that has to be done right now, but we should prepare for it, because we’re going to retire sooner or later."
Eileen muttered, "I don’t like the word ’retire.’ I think you should say ’switch careers.’"
"Fine, switch careers. Either way, we have to prepare for it."
Glolov said slowly, "I think maybe Karl and his guys could work. First off, they’re definitely strong enough, and they’ve already gone all the way down a dead-end road. Once that matter is settled, who else but us could take them in?"
Gao Yang shook his head and said, "No way. Karl and his people are too dangerous. Tying them together with Satan’s interests is like sitting on a time bomb—you never know when it’s going to blow. So those guys can be hidden away as a trump card, but we have to keep them isolated."
Li Jinfang said quietly, "What about the guys we used in Somalia, Big Mister and Li Qiu and the others?"
Gao Yang shook his head again and said helplessly, "No. They know too much about us. Once we retire, we have to cut all ties with everything we’re doing now. The successors must know nothing about our past. Li Qiu and the others know way too much."
Eileen spread her hands and said, "Then we can only start looking from scratch."
Glewatov suddenly said, "You don’t actually need absolute control."
Gao Yang looked at Glewatov and said in a low voice, "What do you mean?"
Glewatov said calmly, "You only need to control whoever leads. You can support and build several Mercenary Groups, and just hand jobs to them as needed. As long as you’re sure the leaders won’t sell you out, then even if something happens, it’s easy for you to stay clear. You don’t have to put all your chips on a single unit—that cost is too high, and it’s not convenient in use either. Are you planning to use the same people for every job, no matter how serious it is?"
The words jolted him awake like a dreamer; after thinking through Glewatov’s suggestion, Gao Yang nodded repeatedly and said, "Right, that’s it! We’re not looking for a successor to Satan; we’ll build a bunch of Mercenary Groups, some strong, some weak, with different levels of control. All we have to worry about is who we make the commander."
Gao Yang’s original idea had been to set up a successor team for Satan, and that was really hard to pull off. Just getting a bunch of top-tier elites to stay unconditionally loyal to him was basically impossible.
But setting up some Mercenary Groups and only controlling their leaders from the shadows was much easier. You didn’t have to ensure everyone’s absolute loyalty—as long as you had enough influence, that was enough, and you could use them differently depending on distance and closeness. Still, this wasn’t something that could be done in a short time; the main issue was personnel. Finding the right people wouldn’t be easy.
With a direction, things got easier. Gao Yang waved his hand and said with a smile, "We’ll have to look for people slowly; no point rushing it. Let’s table this topic for now. Everyone, do you think we should go to Aden?"