The military parade lasted for three hours, and although it had entered autumn, the sun was still very bright, and in this case, President Saddam Hussein was still so energetic, which shows that if you want to be a leader, you also need a strong physique.

In the case of frequent victories in front-line wars and in the case of this all-out attack on Iran's chemical weapons base, the whole of Iraq was boiling, and they cheered for victory, for President Saddam, and even more for Iraq's god of war, the invincible Lord Qusay.

Western countries sent congratulatory telegrams one after another, praising Iraq for fulfilling UN resolutions, striking at Iranian chemical weapons bases, and expressing admiration for Iraq's progress in resisting Khomeini's export revolution.

And after the parade, there was something that made President Saddam even more happy: a delegation led by Mikhail Gorbachev, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, was about to visit Baghdad!

If in the past, Gorbachev was just an ordinary secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, and was not outstanding among those high-ranking people, but now, Gorbachev has faintly become an important figure in the huge red empire of the Soviet Union!

After the death of Breshanev, Andropov succeeded him as the supreme leader of the CPSU. Andropov was well aware of the contradictions that had accumulated within the Soviet Union, and during his tenure of office, he carried out bold reforms.

For example, on the issue of innovation and development in the theory of socialist construction, he stressed the need to treat Marxism correctly, opposed the superstitious and dogmatic copying of formulas about the "magic of quotations", and called for enriching and developing Marxism in all aspects in accordance with the reality of life. secondly, strengthen labor discipline, rectify social order and punishment; In addition, we have actively promoted the reform of the economic system, which has effectively curbed the sustained economic recession.

As a steady politician, Andropov understood that Soviet society was in dire need of change, but he took "cautious and actionable" steps of innovation. Through reforms, the state apparatus of [***] will function better and fundamentally "improve the lives of the people." "It's a pity that in history, in February 1984 Andropov died of kidney disease. History has left him in power too short. If his tenure had been longer, perhaps the history of the Soviet Union at the end of the 20th century would have taken a different direction.

During this period, the focus of the Soviet Union was on restoring the economy, and the arsenal was full of all kinds of advanced weapons in the world, but there was a lack of enough food on the shelves, which could never be repeated, and Gorbachev, as Andropov's most important "agricultural expert", became a figure controlling the entire Soviet economy. He was Andropov's staunchest supporter and executor of perestroika and made the economic situation of the Soviet Union much better, which paved the way for Gorbachev to become the supreme leader of the CPSU.

Now, Gorbachev, as a very important figure of the CPSU, has come to Iraq for a visit, and Saddam Hussein is of course very happy.

Gorbachev's plane, on the afternoon of the military parade, arrived in Baghdad.

In order to meet them, the MiG-25 fighters of the Iraqi Northern Military Region escorted the planes when the other side's special plane arrived in Iraq's airspace, and the fighters were piloted by flight instructors sent by the Soviet Union. Since Iraq and Iran are at war, fighter jets are escorted throughout the journey to prevent accidents.

The Soviet fleet consisted of four aircraft, two Tu-154 airliners, one for Gorbachev, and one carrying accompanying journalists and service personnel; Two Il-76 transport planes, transporting the leader's special car and other equipment.

This is the demeanor of a big country, when traveling, the vehicles are carried randomly, which prevents the occurrence of accidents to the greatest extent.

When the special plane arrived at Baghdad International Airport, the welcome team led by Zhang Feng was already waiting below.

Zhang Feng knew that his father was already deliberately cultivating himself, and Gorbachev's visit this time was an international event in Iraq, and it was a trust in him for him to come to greet him.

If it were someone else, I am afraid that they would look up to the high-ranking figures of this powerful northern red empire, but for Zhang Feng, knowing that the collapse of this huge empire had a lot to do with the upcoming person, he was not so nervous.

The airport is under full martial law, armed Republican Guard soldiers are guarding the entire airport, and all the vantage points are tightly guarded to prevent any accidents.

Zhang Feng was accompanied by his deputy Tariq, as well as Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan and Soviet Ambassador to Iraq Barkovsky, who waited eagerly for the special plane that slowly slid to the tarmac.

Behind them, several Iraqi teenagers with flowers in their hands waved to welcome the arriving guests.

The special plane slowly stopped, the ramp car drove over, the cabin door opened, and everyone's eyes looked at the cabin opening.

Two Soviet KGB guards first stepped down the gangway, escorted to the left and right, and then a man in a suit with bald hair stepped out of the cabin.

Suddenly, cheers rang out from the scene, and the person who came down was one of the most important figures in the Soviet Union: Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev.

He waved his hand to the welcoming crowd and walked slowly down the gangway.

Gorbachev is 50 years old this year, but he is definitely a very young one among those high-ranking members of the Soviet Union.

His figure had the usual burly and tall Soviets, and when he walked down, his high position had already made him full of style.

"Welcome to Mr. Gorbachev, and on behalf of the Iraqi people, I would like to extend my most sincere welcome to you." Zhang Feng said.

Barkovsky, who accompanied him, immediately translated Zhang Feng's Arabic into Russian.

"Although Your Excellency Qusay is young, you have become a hero in the Middle East, and your combat experience has been incorporated into the textbooks of my [***] school." Gorbachev laughed: "You are a hero of the Arab world!" ”

"Thank you." Zhang Feng replied that this kind of meeting is all polite surnames, and there will be no question of substantive surnames.

On the Il-76 plane that landed in the rear, a specially made extended Gil-41047 bulletproof sedan drove down. This car can be called an armored car, the body armor thickness is 75mm, and the bulletproof glass used in it was developed by the Soviet Special Glass Research Institute. The total weight of the car is more than 6 tons. Equipped with a 7.0L 8-cylinder engine, the fuel consumption per 100 kilometers exceeds 28L.

After the welcome, Gorbachev got into a car and drove towards the city of Baghdad, escorted by the Iraqi security personnel in front of him and the security personnel accompanying him.

This is the style of a great power! Zhang Feng got into his car, followed behind, and drove towards the Baghdad Hotel together.

What is the purpose of Gorbachev's visit this time? Wooing Iraq? Tied to Soviet tanks? Or something else? Zhang Feng was secretly guessing.

Gorbachev has a very important mission this time: to bring relations closer to Iraq and prevent Iraq from falling into the Western camp!

During the Brezenev period, the Soviet Union was aggressive and vigorously expanded outward, and the Middle East was the southward passage of the Soviet Union, which was of great strategic significance.

The USSR maintained good relations with many countries of the Middle East, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, which used Soviet-made weapons and fought against Israel with the support of the big brother of the USSR.

From small rifles and grenades to large tanks and airplanes, all of them were Soviet-style equipment, and through the sale of weapons, they were inextricably linked to the Soviet Union.

But now, the situation has changed, and Iraq is mired in the Iran-Iraq war, buying weapons in large quantities.

It's okay to buy weapons from France, because France does not belong to NATO, and besides, France has no political purpose, just to make more money. However, if Iraq buys weapons from the United States in large quantities, it will be a different story.

In particular, this Excellency Qusay, whose relations with the United States are very close, and the United States can even export the production line of fighter planes to Iraq, so it is not difficult to guarantee that the United States will station troops in Iraq in the future.

Iraq played an important role in the Soviet Union's strategy, and the current Soviet Union is mainly focused on internal economic development, and Afghanistan is mired in the quagmire, so there will be no tough posture at all to face the US infiltration into the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are completely pro-American, and if Iraq turns to the United States again, the consequences will be very serious.

So, Gorbachev accepted Andropov's task to come to Iraq and try to bring Iraq back on the right track!

Moreover, the KGB is also secretly preparing that if this Qusayi is really a pro-Western element, then the KGB can secretly support Uday's ascension to power, and Uday is a staunch pro-Soviet faction.

Gorbachev knew that this was also a very meaningful visit for him, and his main ability at present was still in the domestic economy, and if he wanted to climb up again and become the supreme leader of the Soviet Union, he must have sufficient diplomatic ability.

This visit to Iraq is a rare opportunity to prove my ability!

I saw that Qusay just now, and in the eyes of that Middle Eastern young man, he saw a hint of immaturity. Although the other party already has rich combat experience, after all, he is just a young man, and at his age, it is difficult to have sophisticated political skills, and it is easy to deal with such a person.

Zhang Feng didn't know that his actions would actually cause the Red Empire to be touched, he didn't have so many ideas, the Americans had advanced avionics, and the armaments that were beneficial to Iraq, he wanted to buy them, and the Soviets had strong armor, so he wanted to buy them, but he didn't take care of it yet, in his eyes, the Air Force, the offensive Air Force, was always the first.

(To be continued)