1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 394
"This is the South Vietnam Leading Party!" Several people present exchanged glances with each other, and the same thought flashed through their minds.

For the sake of the war, as long as you are not a fool, you can basically see the direction of the situation.Under the onslaught of the Haihan people's strong ships and sharp guns, the small court of South Vietnam is already in jeopardy, and even the possibility of seeking peace has long been lost.Even if we can withstand the attack of the Haihan people and the old enemy of North Vietnam this time, what about next time?On average, the Haihan people will launch a big offensive every half a year, and such a short period of time is simply not enough for Nanyue to heal his wounds. Both military and financial resources are already in a hurry. The reason why they have survived until now and have not collapsed is actually only because most people There is no retreat at all, only a fight between trapped beasts.

Ordinary people and soldiers at the bottom do not have the right to choose independently. They can only obey the orders of those in power at the top. Even if they want to escape from this battlefield, they have nowhere to go.However, some people in the middle and upper levels of the power pyramid still have life-saving cards that they can play.Although it seems a little late to jump out and be the leading party now, it is not completely hopeless.At least in Ruan Jinggui's view, this matter can still be discussed with the Haihan people.

Although Ruan Jinggui has no official status, he went to Sanya, the base camp of the Haihan people last year on a mission of peace talks, and had in-depth contacts with the Haihan people. Opinions still carry considerable weight.Ruan Jinggui believes that the combat power of the Haihan militia is indeed powerful, and it cannot be matched by the South Vietnamese army today. However, based on his experience in Sanya, such a powerful combat power is also the result of huge investment. A heavenly army made of silver.

The advantages of this army are outstanding, but the shortcomings are also obvious. The investment is too large for the Haihan people to expand its scale, and the resources required to maintain cross-sea operations are even greater.This also just explains why the Haihan people crossed the sea to fight in South Vietnam the first two times, why they took the initiative to withdraw their troops when they won the victory-if they did not withdraw their troops and continued to fight, it would be difficult for the Haihan people to use the captured wealth to balance this army. Combat attrition of troops overseas.

Ruan Jinggui believed that the Haihan sent troops to attack Hue this time for the same reason, and the scale of the Haihan people's dispatch of troops this time far exceeded the previous two, and the consumption of their operations must be greater.Based on the fighting style of the Haihan people, fighting one more day probably means spending tens of thousands of taels of silver more, and this has not counted the loss of personnel in the war. If some conditions can be exchanged for an earlier end to the war, Ruan Jinggui felt that the Haihan people should also be happy to see the success.

Before Ruan Jinggui revealed his real intention, he specifically checked whether the Haihan people had any intention of negotiating peace, but Yan Chujie's relentless answer reassured him.If the Haihan people are willing to negotiate peace for money, then there is no need for him to show all his cards.

However, for the Haihan side, whether to choose to cooperate with the leading party, the conditions that need to be considered are not only to reduce material consumption or personnel loss, but more importantly, whether this choice will have an adverse impact on the Annan situation after the war. Whether it will interfere with the implementation of Haihan's strategic intentions on the Indochina Peninsula.Yan Chujie pondered for a moment before responding: "The Ruan family that Mr. Ruan mentioned, do you mean the whole family or some people?"

In 1558, when Nguyen Hoang, the son of Nguyen Gan, the minister of the Le Dynasty, left the town of Hue, the Nguyen family began to manage their own forces in the southern part of An Nam. From 1593 to 1600, Ruan Huang fell out with Zheng Song, the "marshal of the capital and the king of Ping'an" who was in charge of the government at that time, and sent troops to guard Guangnan by himself, and no longer obeyed the orders of the Thang Long Mansion court in the north.Although Ruan Huang later married his daughter to Zheng Song's son, the actual ruler of the North Vietnamese regime, Zheng Bing, and the two families were married, the confrontation between Zheng and Ruan had actually formed at this time.

Ruan Huang passed away in 1613, and now the actual ruling power in the south is in the hands of his son Ruan Fuyuan, Duke Ren Guo.Ruan Zhu, the South Vietnamese envoy captured by the Haihan warship off the coast of Hue a while ago, was the son of Ruan Tong, Ruan Fuyuan's cousin.And Ruan Jinggui himself is also a collateral child of the Ruan family. Although he has not entered the officialdom, he is still considered a member of the privileged class in South Vietnam.From Hai Han’s point of view, the South Vietnamese diehards who have always been against their own side are of course headed by the Ruan family, and the capitulation party led by Ruan Jinggui is no accident should also be a member of the Ruan family. The two factions should still need to be treated differently.

Hearing Yan Chujie's question, Ruan Jinggui knew that there was something wrong with this matter, but he still asked with the intention of haggling: "Can General Yan say clearly, what about the whole family? What about some people?"

"It's very simple. If the whole family has nothing to talk about, some people can still discuss it." At present, the Haihan side is winning, and Yan Chujie is not afraid to make his words clear: "You have fought against the north for so long, and in the end you have to Someone came out to bear the charges. It is impossible to get a pardon for all of them. The last chance was given to you five months ago. As for someone in your family who is willing to surrender and help our army take Hue City, then we will also Depending on his performance, he will be given some care after the war."

Ruan Jinggui hurriedly asked: "General Yan, can you explain in more detail?"

"Your life and family property can be saved, so don't worry about other things." Yan Chujie was not interested in negotiating slowly with Ruan Jinggui, but only gave a rough solution.

At present, the Ruan family controls almost all aspects of politics, military affairs, commerce, culture and education in South Vietnam. Even if some members of the Ruan family can escape this catastrophe, Haihan will definitely not sit back and watch them continue after the war. Take control of these areas.

"That's what General Yan said, it's a deal!" Ruan Jinggui was actually worried that Yan Chujie would go back on his word, so he quickly finalized the matter.

"Okay, let's talk about business first. How can your people lead the way... Oh no, help our army take Hue City?" Yan Chujie waved his hand, signaling Ruan Jinggui to quickly show his cards.

Ruan Jinggui flipped his hand, took out a neatly folded piece of paper from his sleeve, and slowly spread it out on the table: "General Yan, please take a look, this is the defense map of Hue City!"

The few people who had been sitting around watching the negotiation immediately stood up and walked over to look at the picture that Ruan Jinggui showed.Compared with the military map drawn by Haihan, this map is undoubtedly very rough, only the outline of the city, and some places are marked with stems and branches.

Ruan Jinggui pointed to the map and explained: "The places marked by the stems and branches represent different garrison troops. The A-name is the Imperial Forest Army, with a force of [-], and they are all deployed around the imperial city. The B-name is the retreating army of Guangyi. , [-] troops, deploying defenses to the west city..."

Ruan Jinggui told all the deployment of the defenders in the city like beans in a bamboo tube.Everyone also listened very carefully. Since Hue City had been closed long before the war started, the information in the city could not be collected at all. The Haihan militia is now guarding the northeast corner and is not in a hurry to launch an offensive into the city. A large part of the reason is also Since I haven't figured out the deployment status of the defenders for the time being, I dare not launch it rashly.

The city layout of Hue City is different from the city known by ordinary people. Because it is located in a developed water system adjacent to the Xiangjiang River, several waterways were introduced during the construction of the city. Except for the two surrounding moats outside the city, the inner city There is also a small moat outside the imperial city. In addition, there is a waterway running through the entire city from west to east in the city, connecting the moat outside the city, and dividing the city of Hue obliquely into two parts: northwest and southeast.The urban area currently occupied by the Haihan Militia belongs to the northwest plate, while the imperial city is located in the southeast plate.

Ruan Jinggui ran his finger across the river on the map, and explained: "There are six bridges on this waterway in the city. If your army wants to attack the imperial city in the south, it must first occupy these key traffic points. The two bridges in the north The bridge will be guarded by our people. At that time, your army will not need to attack, and you can pass through this place to the southern city. Those who are stubbornly resisting in the middle of the court are now thinking about relying on these waterways to fight against your army. Breakthrough, the defenders of the southern city have only two options, either retreat into the imperial city and stick to it, or they can only abandon the city and flee! No matter which one you choose, I believe your army can easily deal with it."

Yan Chujie did not rush to reply this time, but exchanged a few words with Qian Tiandun, Wang Tom, Qiao Zhiya and others in a low voice, and then said to Ruan Jinggui: "This matter is of great importance, Mr. Ruan, please take a rest outside, let us discuss and discuss. Answer again."

After Ruan Jinggui was taken out by the militia, several high-level officials in the tent immediately began to study new combat plans.As for the reliability of the information Ruan Jinggui said, everyone did not have too many doubts, because even if the information was false, with the strength of the South Vietnamese defenders, it would be difficult to dig a hole for the Haihan militia on such a small battlefield in the city. .Of course, the most important thing is that at this stage of the war, South Vietnam has no chance of winning. Everyone thinks that the Ruan family cannot remain monolithic, and they are willing to fight Hai Han to the end. things.If anyone dares to play tricks with Hai Han in this kind of matter, they will probably be the first to be pulled out to execute the execution after the war.

As Ruan Jinggui said, if the defenders rely on the waterways in the city to resist, the attack efficiency of the militia will be greatly affected. If the bridge passages on the waterways in the city can be controlled, the speed of conquering the city will undoubtedly be greatly accelerated.After discussing for more than an hour, everyone invited Ruan Jinggui in again, agreed with him on the time of action and contact information, and asked someone to send him out of the camp.

On March 21, the Haihan militia, which had been dormant for two days after breaking the city, suddenly launched an offensive at dawn, attacking south along the east wall.

The musketeers in a row of ten were responsible for opening the way in front, and the few defenders who dared to come out to stop them were quickly exhausted under the dense lead bullets.After advancing two miles to the south, they arrived at the location of the river in the city.There are dense barricades erected on the bridge on the river, and there are two cannons erected on the opposite bank. From a distance, you can see at least nearly a thousand defenders crowded the street on the other side of the bridge.If you want to take this place by force, it is indeed not a battle that can be resolved in a short while. Maybe halfway through the battle, the defenders see that the situation is not good and directly shoot at the pier with cannons, which will be really troublesome.

"Show the flag!" Qian Tiandun, who led the team, ordered: "The Musketeers suspend their attack!"

A red flag was raised in the militia camp, which was an agreed signal for action. Ruan Jinggui said that he should see this signal and take corresponding actions immediately.

After waiting for a while, a red flag was also raised in the defender camp on the opposite bank, and then a group of soldiers ran up the bridge and began to clean up various horses, deer villages and other obstacles arranged on the bridge.After the defenders cleared the bridge deck out of the passage, a young officer came out from the camp over there, and crossed the bridge alone to the front of the Haihan formation.

"Under the Black Flag Army, General Ruan Jingwen!" The dark-skinned officer reported his family name when he arrived before the battle.

"I am Qian Tiandun, the commander of the Heitugang Independent Battalion of the Haihan Militia." Qian Tiandun also stepped forward and cupped his hands in the same way: "General Ruan, according to the prior agreement, your army needs to surrender now. Accept me. Army arrangements."

Ruan Jingwen replied: "I will fulfill the agreement myself, and please treat my subordinate son kindly, and don't hurt his life!"

"Don't worry, our army has always followed its word. As long as your subordinates are honest, I guarantee that they will be safe and will be released unconditionally after the war!" Qian Tiandun reassured Ruan Jingwen patiently. .

Ruan Jingwen nodded, then turned around and waved to the other side of the river, before saying to Qian Tiandun, "Please cross the river and accept your surrender!"

"Takahashi Minami!"

"To!"

"Take a company across the river, collect weapons, and control the troops!"

"Yes!"

Gao Qiaonan paid a military salute, then led a group of militiamen across the river, began to wipe out the weapons of the defenders, and drove the surrendered people together.This is the first time since the start of the war that South Vietnam has voluntarily surrendered as an organization, and it can be regarded as a precedent in the history of militias' foreign wars.Later, these captives will be escorted outside the city and held in temporary prisons.Although these surrendered soldiers will inevitably be prisoners for a period of time, if nothing else happens, the lives of these prisoners have been saved.

"What do you call General Ruan and Mr. Ruan who came to the peace talks two days ago?" Qian Tiandun noticed that there seemed to be some connection between the two names, so he asked with interest while taking advantage of the time to clean up the prisoners.

"My brother is the one who is negotiating peace with your army!" Ruan Jingwen didn't hide at all, and directly explained his relationship with Ruan Jinggui.

"You two brothers really understand righteousness... Well, there will be a chance to make a comeback in the future." Qian Tiandun was halfway through speaking, and suddenly felt a little ironic, so he stopped quickly.

Ruan Jingwen glanced at Qian Tiandun, and replied in a deep voice: "My two brothers are not greedy for life and fear of death, but I just don't want to increase the number of murders and let these good guys lose their lives in vain. After this battle, my two brothers It will definitely be regarded as a traitor by the local people, and it is impossible to be used by the imperial court in the north, and most of them will not even be able to keep their foothold!"

"The world is so big, as long as you have the ability, where can you go?" Qian Tiandun said with a smile: "Your brother is considered a smart man, even if he can't stay in Annan, he will find other ways out. If it doesn't work, he can also consider it. Do things for us."

"You and I are hostile to each other, how can you use my two brothers? General Qian is not kidding me!" Ruan Jingwen obviously didn't think Qian Tiandun's argument was feasible.

"Dynasty changes, and the latecomers use the generals of the previous dynasty. There are so many such things. It's not surprising. Just like after the city of Hue was captured, would the northern court kill all the officials in the south? No, how can we find so many people who are familiar with the geography and people's conditions to fill the vacancies after the killing? Most of the low-level officials will still be retained, just change the boss." Qian Tiandun looked at Ruan Jingwen and listened. With a look of incomprehension, he nodded again: "If you two brothers are not surnamed Ruan, it is not difficult to arrange an errand for you in the local area after the war. However, considering the feelings of the northern court, it is best for you to leave here. develop elsewhere."

Qian Tiandun's shallow and deep words were not just casual talk, but a real desire to attract people into the group.Haihan's schemes in the Indochina Peninsula are huge. In the south of Hue alone, four large ports of Da Nang, Quy Nhon, Cam Ranh and Vung Tau have been planned. To develop these areas, not only Haihan's own personnel, but also It needs the assistance of a large number of indigenous leading parties who are familiar with the local geography and customs.The best candidates to do this kind of thing are businessmen and ex-officials. To put it bluntly, they need talents who understand management and management.

After the collapse of the small South Vietnamese court, a group of officials and businessmen related to their interests will definitely be cleared out to make room for northern forces to intervene in the field.In Haihan's view, these liquidated personnel can be recruited on a merit basis, especially the relevant personnel of the Ruan family. Because of political reasons, there is no way for them to gain development opportunities in Annan's country. These people can be recruited for themselves used.For leading party activists like Ruan Jinggui and Ruan Jingwen brothers, Qian Tiandun naturally would rather kill by mistake than let go, and pour a dose of ecstasy soup first.As for how much effect can be obtained by doing so, Qian Tiandun will not worry about it. After all, his main business is fighting. The matter of recruiting surrendered personnel should be the responsibility of the person in charge of the political work. If he manages too much It will cause unnecessary trouble.

After waiting for about half an hour, the surrender finally came to an end. Fortunately, the whole process was very smooth. There was no conflict during the process of collecting weapons and concentrating the surrendering soldiers. It was so quiet that the nearby South Vietnamese defenders did not notice it. Something went wrong.

This made Qian Tiandun's impression of Ruan Jingwen a little bit higher. It is definitely impossible to inform his subordinates in advance like this kind of voluntary surrender, so as not to leak the news. If he did not have absolute control over his subordinates, the surrender process would probably be difficult. It was impossible to complete it so smoothly, so it can be seen that Ruan Jingwen should still have some ability.

(End of this chapter)