1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 372 The Messenger of Peace

Ruan Jinggui stood at the bow of the boat, leaning on the side of the boat with both hands, staring blankly at the boundless sea in front of him.Two days ago, he boarded the "St. Mary" merchant ship of the grape people, and was going to represent the South Vietnamese court to go to Victory Port, the home of the Haihan people, to negotiate with the other side on the current war.

When the battle situation is at a disadvantage, acting as an envoy to seek peace from the enemy is simply a kind of torture.The officials in Hue Prefecture have been pushing and arguing for several days, but they are unwilling to take the initiative to take on this task that requires keeping their face in their pockets.In the end, after pushing and pushing, this errand fell on Ruan Jinggui inexplicably.

Ruan Jinggui is not an official official of the South Vietnamese court. If there is anything special about him, it is just that he has a background from the Ruan family—yes, that is the real ruler of the South Vietnamese puppet regime, the Ruan family.However, because Ruan Jinggui was only of partial family blood, he did not receive much attention in the family since he was a child, and he was not able to sneak into the officialdom in South Vietnam when he grew up. In the end, he could only rely on the influence of the family in South Vietnam to enter the business world and engage in commodity imports. export trade.

Most of the lucrative industries in South Vietnam are monopolized by the Ruan family, so Ruan Jinggui's business conditions in this industry have always been quite good, and he also has many opportunities to deal with outsiders such as Chinese businessmen and Portuguese businessmen.Among the Ruan family, Ruan Jinggui is one of the very few who has mastered Chinese and Portuguese through self-study. At the beginning of the military cooperation negotiations between the Portuguese and the South Vietnamese court, Ruan Jinggui was in the middle of the translation.

In view of the current lack of professional diplomatic talents in South Vietnam, and Ruan Jinggui's rich experience in dealing with the Han and Portuguese, he was entrusted with the task of seeking peace as an envoy.If given the opportunity to choose, Ruan Jinggui would naturally not be willing to take on such a task that is extremely easy to blame, but the decline of Nanyue will also affect his future and destiny, and the family will also exert great pressure on him. In the end, Ruan Jinggui reluctantly agreed.

If all goes well, you will be able to arrive at Victory Port today and meet your negotiating opponent.But in the face of this enemy who is trying to destroy South Vietnam, how to deal with them so that they can cancel their original intention?Ruan Jinggui did not come up with an effective solution to this, and the bottom line given to him by the court was very simple, that is, to do everything possible to preserve the "national system"—as long as the Haihan people stopped hostile actions and recognized Hue's rule over South Vietnam If there is no right, then the conditions put forward by the Haihan people can be agreed to as appropriate.

For this negotiation, the South Vietnamese court did not do nothing at all. They still learned about the benefits that the Haihan people got in exchange for supporting the North Vietnamese regime through various channels-a large amount of money, and several places were assigned to the Haihan people for a long time. The used coastal port area, open trade and settlement rights, and a large number of people were sent to the Haihan ruled area in exchange.

If it was placed a year ago, they would have ridiculed the weakness of the North Vietnamese court, because South Vietnam found the Portuguese to cooperate, but they did not pay such a high price.In addition to money, the special powers given to the Portuguese by the South Vietnamese court were only trade and settlement and the spread of religion. They did not delineate an exclusive area for the Portuguese, let alone send a large number of people under their rule to the Portuguese as slaves.

However, at this point in the matter, the South Vietnamese court can only lament that you get what you pay for. Although the asking price of the Haihan people is high, the rewards that the North Vietnamese get are obviously very good.In addition to the new army that has begun to take shape, the maritime trade that was the weakest in North Vietnam and the pride of South Vietnam in the past has also undergone fundamental changes.According to the information obtained by South Vietnam, there are now more than [-] large merchant ships traveling between North Vietnam and Qiongzhou Island every month, and this change is obviously related to the Haihan people.North Vietnam continuously transported rice, timber, medicinal materials, minerals, and even population to the area ruled by the Haihan people, and the Haihan people responded with a large amount of arms and military instructors—North Vietnam even sent a corps of officers to go to the Haihan people’s area. Martial Arts Academy Learn how to fight with firearms.

If I had known that the thighs of the Haihan people were so thick, there would be no chance for those guys from Beiyue to hug them!Senior officials in South Vietnam beat their chests and feet, regretting the missed opportunity.But since the Haihan people's purpose of helping North Vietnam is for this kind of practical benefit, then South Vietnam also has the opportunity to bribe the other side, which is nothing more than the price.And at the time of one's own life and death, no matter whether it is money, land, population or other powers, they can actually be used as bargaining power.

But even if the Haihan people are willing to appreciate this face and offer a series of quid pro quos, will South Vietnam be safe from now on?Ruan Jinggui thinks that this possibility is not very high. He is not a civil servant in the court who can only boast about others and has no practical knowledge at all. Matters in this area are very sensitive, and their opinions are very different from those in the officialdom.The Haihan people supported two hostile forces in South Vietnam, one in the south and one in the north, and tried every means to drive away the only ally of South Vietnam. After spending so much time, I am afraid that they are not just to destroy the small court of South Vietnam, but to have More attempts, could the Haihan people dispel their ambitions for the South Vietnam region with some benefits from South Vietnam?
No matter what others think, Ruan Jinggui feels that the Haihan people are not as small as the officials thought, and the process of negotiating in Shengli Port this time may not be too smooth.

That afternoon, the sailing ship "St. Mary" finally sailed into the coastal area of ​​Sanya. However, just seven or eight nautical miles away from Haihan, a small sailing ship approached and blocked the way of the "St. Mary".

After a short shout, Ruan Jinggui learned that the other party's identity was the "Sanya Water Security Brigade of the Haihan Militia", and after the other party learned of their intention to enter the port, they asked the "St. Mary" to follow them into the port.

In view of the special origin of the "St. Mary", the patrol boat did not guide it into Shengli Port, but took it directly to Sanya New Port, and notified the post on the island with a flag when it bypassed the Luhuitou Peninsula.When the two ships entered the narrow channel at the mouth of the two rivers one after the other, the Sanya Port Management Committee had already received the news from the militia post.

"A Portuguese merchant ship has entered the port, and it looks like it came from South Vietnam." Qiu Yuan put down the phone and said to Yu Tiezhu, the militia platoon leader stationed in the port area: "Go, go to the pier to have a look! By the way, let Someone to inform the Portuguese at the guest house, maybe they need their assistance."

Yu Tiezhu stood up, put on his military cap without saying a word, and followed Qiu Yuan out of the office.

At this stage, all Portuguese merchant ships departing from Macau to Victory Port must first register at Wanshan Port to declare the personnel and cargo on board, so before the Portuguese merchant ships arrive in Hong Kong, they can get news in advance through the radio.However, there was no relevant news about the ship arriving at Hong Kong today, so Qiu Yuan knew without asking that the ship's departure place was definitely not Macau.

Seeing the dock facilities neatly lined up along the shore in the inland river and the orderly large warehouses on the shore, Ruan Jinggui realized that the management level of this port has far surpassed that of Hoi An Port.Although Hoi An Port has been open for a much longer time than here, it has never built a cargo terminal of this scale. Seeing the densely packed ships of all sizes docked on the shore, Ruan Jinggui finally believed that the rumors that Haihan people were proficient in maritime trade were not fictional.

The "St. Mary" sailed into the Linchun River under the guidance of the patrol boat in front. After sailing upstream for a while, I saw two other sailboats with Portuguese flags docked at a pier on the shore.This pier is a place designated for Portuguese merchant ships to dock after the two sides signed a trade interoperability agreement. It is surrounded by wooden fences, and the entrance and exit passages are guarded by special personnel.Except for those who have obtained special access permits, most of the Portuguese crew can only move within the area within the wooden fence.

Of course, there were also Portuguese clerks on the pier. After the ship docked, the clerks on the pier boarded the ship to register the personnel and cargo on board, and then notified the Haihan side's management personnel.However, the clerk got off the ship within a minute after getting on the ship—the ship was carrying a special envoy from South Vietnam. He didn't dare to conceal such a thing, so he hurried down to inform Haihan.

"Nanyue sent an envoy?" Qiu Yuan was shocked when he heard the news as soon as he arrived at the pier.However, he did not hesitate because of this, and immediately asked someone to notify the executive committee.

"How many people?" Qiu Yuan asked smoothly.

"I just sent people on board to check it out. There are only two people, one is the master and the other is the servant." Yu Tiezhu replied in a deep voice: "I also checked the belongings, and found no weapons or anything like that."

"They shouldn't be so stupid as to send someone to assassinate, that won't help the negotiation." Qiu Yuan could vaguely guess the intention of the South Vietnamese envoy's trip, if South Vietnam dared to use any extraordinary means at this time, then Just wait for the country to be destroyed directly.

Soon Qiu Yuan saw the special envoy sent by South Vietnam. He had the iconic South Asian complexion, was not tall, and looked to be in his 30s, with a hint of cleverness in his eyes.

"Ruan Jinggui, the special envoy of Nanguo in Xia'an, is here to pay a visit to the Executive Committee of Haihan." Ruan Jinggui's Chinese is not bad, at least there is no need for Qiu Yuan to find an interpreter temporarily.

"I'm Qiu Yuan, the person in charge of the Sanya Port Management Committee. Welcome." Even though the other party was an envoy from a hostile force, Qiu Yuan still politely put in a good show.

Qiu Yuan couldn't understand what kind of official position the "head of the management committee" was, but looking at the row of Haihan militiamen behind him with live ammunition, he could more or less guess that the status of the person in front of him in the local area would not be too low , and immediately responded with a few words.

Qiu Yuan was working in a public institution before crossing over, and he was quite familiar with some rules in the system, so he did not discuss political topics with the other party without authorization, but took him to the pier hotel and opened a room Let him settle down first.As for the "visit Haihan Executive Committee" proposed by the other party, Qiu Yuan just asked him to wait for the notice here.

Ruan Jinggui's room is on the second floor of the hotel. From here, he opened the window and looked out, and he could clearly see the busy scene on the downstream pier.The tall wooden hangers on the wharf are constantly loading and unloading goods under the operation of laborers. Due to the use of the "advanced" pulley system, the transfer efficiency of goods is much higher than that of traditional pure manual handling. Cargo, it can be moved easily by only one or two people.

The secondary transportation task is a large number of four-wheeled flatbed trucks. These cargo flatbed trucks have manpower and cattle as traction power, pulling the goods back and forth on the wharf.Ruan Jinggui himself was engaged in import and export trade, and when he saw such a scene, he naturally began to silently calculate the throughput capacity of the goods.

But not long after, Ruan Jinggui gave up this calculation, because the efficiency of cargo transshipment on the wharf has far exceeded his cognition, and the cargo that is loaded and unloaded in this place in an hour may take a day to be placed in Hoi An Port. All day long to complete.As an insider, Ruan Jinggui is very clear that the efficiency of cargo transshipment can directly affect profits, and the performance of Haihan people in this aspect is obviously not at the same level as South Vietnam's sea trade ports.

Such a discovery made Ruan Jinggui feel a little frustrated, because it means that if the Haihan people want to set up a port in South Vietnam, they may not need the help of the South Vietnamese official at all-this kind of help will most likely hold them back. .And if they can only provide land to the Haihan people, how much temptation can this kind of thing that is already at their fingertips have for them?

Ruan Jinggui couldn't help thinking of the dense fortifications on the shore that he saw when he went to the port and passed through the fjord. If any ship with malicious intentions tried to break in, he would be shot down by the artillery on the shore in that slow speed area. It was smashed into a pile of splinters.But there are still diehards in the country who don't know how to live or die, clamoring to send a fleet to raid Haihan's lair and take military revenge for the destruction of Hoi An City.I don't know what kind of expressions those people who are clamoring for a bloody battle will see the fortifications here?
Suddenly a siren roared from a distance, pulling Ruan Jinggui back from his chaotic thoughts.He looked into the far room, and saw there was a strange thing emitting white smoke and blackened all over. It was divided into several sections, with a total length of more than ten to twenty feet.Before he could see it clearly, he saw that the thing was slowly moving towards the east, and the speed was getting faster and faster, with thick white smoke billowing from the top, galloping towards the east like a galloping horse. go.

"This... what the hell is this!" Ruan Jinggui's legs went limp and he almost fell to the ground.

Before departure, among the news that the South Vietnamese court inquired through various channels, there were also some content that sounded very mysterious. For example, the Haihan people used millions of catties of refined iron to build an iron boat as big as a hill, and there was also news that the Haihan The Han people have a big iron dragon that smells white smoke, moves like the wind, and can carry a load of ten thousand catties. This kind of content that sounds absurd has naturally been filtered out by Ruan Jinggui.What big iron dragon and big iron boat, this kind of myths and legends can only bluff those foolish people who don't understand anything, Ruan Jinggui doesn't believe that these rumors have any real evidence.

However, the scene in front of him gave Ruan Jinggui a big slap. Wasn't what he saw just now the legendary big iron dragon?The Haihan people have mastered such profound spells, no wonder they are invincible on the battlefield!If they use this big iron dragon on the battlefield, let alone resist, I am afraid that many people will be scared to death.

The members of the executive committee didn't know that the local steam locomotive gave a note of Mawei to the South Vietnamese special envoy who had just arrived in Hong Kong. After receiving the report from Sanya Xingang, they were discussing how to deal with South Vietnam's request for an interview.

"Judging from the news we have received recently, Nanyue's life is very difficult. There is no doubt that Nanyue sent an envoy this time to ask us for peace." Tao Donglai looked at everyone present and said, "What do you think? "

"First of all, we must determine a bottom line, which is to let the South Vietnamese regime step down and achieve national reunification in Annan." Yan Chujie immediately took over the conversation: "After the reunification of Annan, we can boldly open up new ports in the southern part of the Indochina Peninsula. Stronghold, this is the stage we must go through to expand our power in the South China Sea. If South Vietnam wants to negotiate a peace with us, the bottom line must be in accordance with our wishes."

"If they all have to step down in the end, what's the difference between discussing it now?" Yue Zhiyun asked.

"Of course there is a difference." Yan Chujie explained: "If you want to join forces with North Vietnam and Champa to attack South Vietnam, you will definitely be able to defeat them, but the casualties and damage caused in the process are actually meaningless. It will take a few months at the fastest to end the war, and for us, seeking a political solution would be a more efficient way.”

"It's rare that you, a warmonger, actually advocate a peaceful settlement!" Ning Qi couldn't help but mocked Yan Chujie: "I have to go out and see which side the sun is going to set on today."

There was a burst of good-natured laughter in the room, but Yan Chujie didn't care about it: "Clausewitz said in "On War" that war is just a continuation of politics through another means, war is just a means, and politics is the end .Our purpose is not to kill all the South Vietnamese, but to establish strongholds in several key areas in the South Vietnamese ruled area to form a substantial control force. The two previous battles we launched against South Vietnam were all for this purpose, and Now if this can be achieved without a war, then I don’t think there is a need to continue to force a war.”

Tao Donglai nodded approvingly and said, "I think Lao Yan is right. On the South Vietnam issue, we don't have to worry about which method to use to achieve our goal. We will use whichever method is more effective at this stage."

(End of this chapter)