142: If we can't win on the frontal battlefield, we can hold a meeting. The Northern Alliance meeting is full of clowns!

The northern defense line of the MacDonnell Ranges.

Huang Yanbing led the 3rd Platoon to a mountain of suitable height, looking down from above, sniping at the approaching American military.

Currently, a large force of American military is rapidly approaching the main battlefield from the north, moving south.

According to the company commander's instructions, this was a reinforcement force of the U.S. Military, originally stationed in the northernmost mountains, totaling about 20,000 troops.

20,000 people, spread across the mountains, more than ten times the defending force here.

The task of Huang Yanbing and his comrades was to snipe, snipe, and then snipe.

Half an hour had passed, and they didn't know how many American military they had sniped; their hands were already numb.

The U.S. Military had a large number of soldiers, and after suffering heavy sacrifices, they finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

The first wave of U.S. Military infantry approached the foot of the mountain as much as possible and began to climb.

At this moment, the Anti-War Army's machine gun fire no longer posed much of a threat to these climbing people, so Huang Yanbing and his comrades simply stood up, muzzles pointed downwards, firing single shots at the climbing U.S. Military soldiers.

Suddenly, a grenade was thrown up from somewhere on the hillside.

Huang Yanbing was holding his rifle with both hands at this moment, and bending down to pick up the grenade would take time. The situation was urgent, so he performed exceptionally, skillfully hooking it with his foot, and actually kicked the grenade away.

The grenade exploded at a low altitude, and the shrapnel almost hit Huang Yanbing.

That was close.

Huang Yanbing let out a sigh of relief.

However, the defenders in other areas were not so lucky; some were blown away by grenades thrown up by the American military.

Moreover, the U.S. Military not only threw grenades but also smoke bombs, causing the mountaintop to be filled with smoke, making it impossible for the defenders to see their opponents even if they wanted to shoot.

And this also marked the gradual collapse of this defense line.

A mountain battalion commander responsible for this area had to contact his superior.

"...The C3-C4 line is about to become untenable; requesting permission to retreat to the rear—"

"What? Hold on a little longer? Reinforcements will arrive soon?"

When the battalion commander informed Huang Yanbing and other subordinate unit officers of the superior's response, Huang Yanbing and his comrades couldn't help but complain.

Where were the rear reinforcements? All front lines were short of personnel, and people were needed everywhere.

Huang Yanbing was grumbling inwardly when suddenly, his acute hearing picked up a movement above his head. He quickly looked up and saw a small gray dot in the far distance in the sky.

He was startled because he recognized it: it was a fighter jet, and quite large.

But the next moment, he was also delighted.

Because the movement he had just heard was not from that fighter jet, but from something similar to an aerial bomb that the fighter jet had dropped in advance.

And the trajectory of that "aerial bomb" landed exactly outside the mountain, in the U.S. Military camp to the north!

And where there was a first, there was a second, and a third.

More fighter jets appeared from high altitude and dropped large numbers of aerial bombs into the American military camp.

The U.S. Military forces, which had a numerical advantage and were about to assault the mountaintop, immediately fell into disarray, and their soldiers fled in panic.

Although the U.S. Military wanted to use anti-aircraft guns for air defense, those fighter jets were too high to hit, and the heavy firepower of their 20,000 troops was insufficient, essentially declaring the 20,000-person support operation a failure.

Huang Yanbing and his comrades breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the scenes in the American military camp from the mountaintop.

But he was also curious at the same time.

Where did those fighter jets bombing the American military come from?

Hadn't all the Anti-War Army's fighter jets been dispatched to participate in the war early on??

—

Outside the battlefield.

Brussels, the capital of Belgium, Europe.

This is also the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO.

An emergency meeting was being held here.

The meeting's agenda was to discuss NATO's urgent deployment of troops to Australia.

NATO is a massive military organization, with a total troop strength of up to 4 million from all member states.

But it is also a very loose alliance.

NATO does not have a standing army, only a rapid reaction force of no more than 40,000 troops.

To mobilize NATO's entire military might, all member states must be coordinated and agree to dispatch troops.

Jack Li, the U.S. Military representative, slammed his hand on the table, spitting foam, passionately and eloquently.

"What are you all still delaying for?"

"The U.S. Military's business is NATO's business, and NATO's business is everyone's business here!"

"If the U.S. Military fails in this counter-insurgency operation, it will be the failure of our entire Western military bloc!"

"Don't think you can stand idly by. Once our People's Army is defeated in Australia, China will inevitably expand its influence throughout the Indo-Pacific region. Are you all willing to watch the regional situation be dominated by China then?"

A representative from a small country weakly raised his hand.

"Uh, Mr. Jack Li, from what we understand, China doesn't seem to have directly participated in this military conflict."

Many representatives from small countries nodded in agreement.

Jack Li: "Short-sighted, short-sighted. Didn't you see the extensive support China provided to the Anti-War Army before the war? The Anti-War Army, while besieged, even planned a state visit, and the first country visited was China... Isn't the implication clear enough?"

"So, ladies and gentlemen, what exactly are your doubts?"

All the attending representatives dared not meet Jack Li's piercing gaze.

In fact, everyone's thoughts were pretty much the same.

Damn it, this was originally a war between your U.S. Military and the Anti-War Army. Now that you're about to lose, you want us to provide blood transfusions. Why should we?

At this moment, the meeting's host, Secretary-General Markett of NATO, stepped in to smooth things over.

"Alright, everyone, let's not forget the provisions of our entire alliance: if one member state is involved in a war, other member states must act together, i.e., the collective defense agreement."

"Of course, uh, currently directly involved in the war, ah, no, the one being invaded is Australia, and Australia is not a member of our NATO, so, this—"

To be fair, the position of NATO Secretary-General does not inherently hold real power and has no authority to mobilize the armies of member states. So, Markett merely offered verbal persuasion, but as he spoke according to the NATO charter, he ironically painted himself into a corner.

Assisting the U.S. Military with troop deployment simply did not comply with NATO's terms!!!

As Markett explained, the courage of the attending member states grew, and they expressed their opinions one after another.

"Exactly, Australia is not a NATO member at all, so the war there has nothing to do with us."

"Yes, yes, Australia is a member of the AUKUS alliance, or some AUKUS partner, so the United Kingdom should provide assistance, and Canada should also help."

"Hmm, I support the United Kingdom and Canada sending troops; they both speak English..."

Only a few larger member states had yet to speak officially.

Jack Li had to look at the representatives of these countries.

Martin, the French military representative, stated calmly:

"The conflict in the Australia region concerns the peace and stability of the entire South Pacific, and may even spread to the Strait of Malacca, which is a vital West Pacific waterway and an important trade route between us and China and other countries. We must prevent it from being dominated by China... uh, no, prevent that shipping lane from becoming unsafe, so we cannot completely disengage from the Australia conflict."

"However, sending troops to Australia does not comply with the NATO charter and lacks procedural justice. Deploying troops abroad also requires discussion by the respective national parliaments and cabinets, and troop deployment also incurs additional military expenses. All countries are currently facing more or less economic difficulties, so it's quite challenging."

Hans, the German representative, also stated: "Yes, since the war between Great Bear Country and Ukraine began two years ago, our country's energy channels have been affected, energy costs have risen sharply, and our economy has suffered a major blow. Coupled with providing substantial aid to Ukraine, we really don't have the capacity to engage in another foreign war."

Skorny, the Italian representative, also nodded: "Yes, yes, yes, I stand with Representative Hans."

Turkey, a NATO member state not belonging to Western countries but equally important, its representative, Ayman, proudly said: "Unlike you gentlemen, my country does not reject sending troops to Australia—"

Immediately, all other national representatives turned their eyes to the Turkish representative, their gazes filled with dissatisfaction and disdain.

But then Ayman continued: "But my country truly has no money, gentlemen. My country's latest monthly inflation rate is 46.6%. Do you know what concept this is? Do you know how our citizens live daily—"

Hmph.

Everyone's gaze shifted back.

Jack Li, the U.S. Military representative, sighed inwardly.

This is what is meant by the fickle nature of the world, and how quickly things cool down once one leaves. Look, this is it.

Jack Li had no choice but to say loudly: "Regarding the cost of troop deployment—"

Immediately, everyone caught the keywords, stopping their discussions in unison and looking at Jack Li.

Jack Li continued: "All reasonable troop deployment costs for all countries will be fully reimbursed by the U.S. Military."

Martin, the French representative: "Hmm, in that case, I can submit this troop deployment plan for discussion in parliament."

Hans, the German representative, echoed: "Excellent, this will increase the probability of the troop deployment plan being approved."

Representatives from other countries also made similar statements, indicating a concession but no concrete commitment.

Jack Li gritted his teeth and had no choice but to reveal his trump card directly.

"Not only will we reimburse the troop deployment costs for all countries this time, but if any countries owe debts to the U.S. Military, regardless of the amount, repayment can be deferred. Loans issued through international financial institutions led by the U.S. Military will also follow this procedure."

"The price of energy sold by the U.S. Military to various countries will be reduced by 10 to 20 percent, and various tariffs that the U.S. Military originally intended to impose on various countries will also be appropriately lowered or even canceled..."

"Furthermore, each country's military expenditure proportion within the NATO organization can remain unchanged; the U.S. Military will not forcibly demand an increase."

As soon as these words were spoken, the representatives of these member states were overjoyed.

They were waiting for these words from the U.S. Military representative; otherwise, even close brothers settle accounts clearly. Who would play along without benefits?

The representatives all expressed that they would immediately contact their home countries to streamline the troop deployment process.

Secretary-General Markett of NATO breathed a sigh of relief and finally made the decision:

"Alright then, we will first deploy the approximately 40,000 rapid reaction forces to Australia. Member states should also quickly apply to their respective parliaments or heads of state upon returning home to urgently mobilize troops for deployment!"

The combined forces of NATO's 32 nations were officially formed from this moment on!