Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2480 Learn to Be Patient (Third Update, Please Subscribe)
What actions should we take?
In fact, Li Yi'an didn't care at all what was happening in Hanoi.

From the Saigon moment three years ago, or more accurately, the Phnom Penh moment.

He had been waiting for this day.

Three years!

What has happened in Phnom Penh and Saigon over the past three years is exactly what he hoped to see. Or rather, nothing has changed.

In Phnom Penh, the reforestation program is in full swing.

In Saigon, human intervention is in full swing.

It can be said that the people on both lands deserve everything they have experienced.

After all, that was exactly what they chose back then.

"Your Mightiness,"

Qian Shangqin pondered for a moment, then said:
"According to the plan previously formulated by the ASEAN Command, we will assist the Republican Army in launching a full-scale counter-offensive by providing air resources and other means before the Hanoi Army crosses the border."

The Republican Army is the former government army that has been under the protection of ASEAN and controls the northwestern border; it is also known as the government army of the Republic of Zhenla.

With the arming and assistance of ETAO, the group of former stragglers not only upgraded their weaponry but also firmly controlled parts of the northwestern border region.

This is precisely why the ETAO Command was able to formulate a plan that did not require it to directly participate in the war.

"So……"

Li Yi'an did not directly oppose the military's plan, but instead asked:
"Can they defeat the Hanoi army?"

The reason for this question is that Hanoi is practically claiming to be the fourth largest economy in the world right now.

After all, they received millions of American weapons after unification, and they also had the morale to "defeat America".

Could the Republican army, with only tens of thousands of men, defeat them?

"It is difficult to defeat the Hanoi army, but it is also difficult for the Hanoi army to defeat them. The air force can guarantee air superiority over the entire Chenla region. As long as air superiority is in our hands, they cannot defeat the Republican army."

No one doubts that the ASEAN would gain air superiority; after all, their strength is undeniable. To a certain extent, the ASEAN possessed the world's third-largest air force. Although far behind the Warsaw Pact in numbers, it was far superior in the quality of its aircraft.

Even now, with only a few dozen F3 fighters in service, the F2 fighter still has a significant advantage over the MiG-23.

In a war fought on our doorstep, if we cannot gain air superiority, then all those years of developing air power will have been for nothing.

Listening to the military's analysis, Li Yi'an simply sat there silently looking at the maps in the documents.

From God's perspective, he was thinking of more than just Zhenla.

In fact, Zhenla was a very unimportant part of the entire plan.

Actually, that's not entirely accurate. While it may not have significant strategic value, it is the most important of all the links in the chain.

Because everything that followed could only happen when the Hanoi army entered Zhenla.

The only problem was that, looking at the report in front of him, Li Yi'an was not thinking about the entry of the Hanoi army.

But it was the war in the north two months later.

If the ASEAN forces intervened in Chenla while the Hanoi army was attacking, would it affect the military operations on the other side?
The biggest advantage of having a God's-eye view is that you can analyze things in detail.

Don't be fooled by Hanoi's current extremely arrogant attitude after achieving unification, even claiming to be the fourth largest economy in the world.

However, in reality, they had no military production capacity whatsoever. The reason Hanoi was able to wage a war for more than a decade was entirely due to the aid from major powers, regardless of the cost.

Whether in Hanoi or Saigon, the decisive factor was never themselves, but rather the aid they received. Neither country possessed the industrial capacity to sustain a war.

Saigon's fate was sealed when the United States withdrew from it.

Hanoi was able to win the war because they received more aid as the United States withdrew.

Furthermore, Hanoi's propaganda led to widespread public opinion in Saigon that the Saigon government was a foreign puppet.

Without foreign aid or the support of its own people, the Saigon authorities' failure was inevitable.

This is the reason why Li Yi'an has always been unwilling to get involved in Saigon.

At least until Hanoi loses the support of Saigon's people, any military intervention would be extremely foolish. After all, when even they themselves are unwilling to fight for themselves, foreign assistance would only be seen as an invasion.

The timing is perfect – after three years, Hanoi’s rule in Saigon has completely lost the hearts of the people.

The foundation of public opinion is now largely established.

The only remaining two major obstacles to military intervention are the involvement of major powers.

This major power is not limited to the Soviet Union. Rather, although relations between them have cooled, could the involvement of ASEAN lead to corresponding changes?
After all, the relationship is interdependent. If external forces were to bring them back together, it could truly lead to a situation like the United States, where they are once again mired in difficulties. Although this possibility is small, it must be considered; after all, matters of great importance in military affairs cannot be taken lightly.

Therefore, Li Yi'an was more willing to wait a little longer.

Wait until they take action, until they completely break ties.

At the same time, Zhenla was used as bait to lure more Hanoi troops to Zhenla, and their break would inevitably cause Hanoi to transfer more troops to the north.

As a result, the Hanoi army in the Saigon region will also be in a situation of insufficient manpower.

This is the perfect time!
"In general, we are confident that we can defeat the Hanoi army and restore freedom to the Chenla region within 3 to 6 months."

As Qian Shangqin finished speaking, Li Yi'an thought for a moment and then said:

"We have already deployed over 100,000 troops to the Middle East. If we intervene in Zhenla now, will it cause a dispersion of our forces and resources? Do we have the ability to win two local wars at the same time? I think this is a question that is very necessary to consider."

The military action against Lebanon became the pretext for everything. Only with this pretext could the SEA remain silent in Chenla.

Let Hanoi and all other parties act according to their own plans, and then, when the time is right, deliver the most fatal blow to Hanoi.

When is the right time?
That is, within the next six months.

"Your Excellency, we are fully capable of dealing with both of these issues simultaneously."

Faced with the military's confident answer, Li Yi'an shook his head and said.

"I think we should be more cautious. Let's deal with the Lebanese issue first, and then deal with Chenla."

In fact, Zhenla was never the problem; it was just a bait.

The real problem is Saigon!

After the generals left the conference room, Jia Wentao did not leave; he remained standing there, looking at the silent gentleman and speaking.

"Your Excellency, not everyone can understand your thoughts."

As the head of the investigation department, Jia Wentao is very clear about your intentions.
After all, the investigation department has been preparing for this, starting from the Saigon incident three years ago, and has been planning future actions.

Li Yi'an nodded slightly and said:
“In competition between nations, patience is often the most important thing. Saigon… the time is almost ripe.”

……

Meanwhile, in Saigon, three years after the Saigon Moment, this once-famous "Little Paris of the East" has become increasingly desolate. The Happiness and Ocean motorcycles that used to be everywhere on the streets are now much less common, not because of a shortage of spare parts, but because people's incomes have declined, making it impossible for them to afford to maintain motorcycles.

As for cars, they mostly became official vehicles, with very few private users—the merchants, like the former officials, had all gone to receive re-education—after the Hanoi army occupied Saigon, they established hundreds of "re-education camps" in various parts of the south. According to the official narrative, people in these re-education camps could "learn the ways of the new society" through education and organized social labor.

Approximately 100 to 250 million people were sent to re-education camps, including former Southern officials and civil servants, intellectuals, businessmen, and others, in order to help them adapt to the new regime and post-war life as quickly as possible.

Yes, everything came from Hanoi's kindness, and of course, at their request.

Just like the city itself, it was renamed at the request of the Saigon people.

In short, Saigon today is completely different from the past, and everyone is very clear about this. As usual, after finishing his lecture in the park, Nguyen Minh Qu returned home. As a government official, he was very clear about the rules of survival here, so he was always cautious and always actively demonstrated his loyalty.

Of course, this doesn't mean he doesn't have his own ideas. For example, when he gets home, he always habitually takes a bottle of soda from the refrigerator.

This refrigerator was a gift from a neighbor, so that he could take care of his relatives in the re-education camp.

In reality, it's just a Fanta bottle filled with sugar water. What was on his mind when he was drinking the sugar water?
It's not the refreshing taste of sugar water, but memories of the past—Southeast Asian movies, Southeast Asian Fanta, Southeast Asian clothing and cosmetics, and of course, American movies, Coca-Cola, clothing, and of course, their music.

Saigon at that time had everything. You could buy anything in the shops: American chewing gum, Southeast Asian candy, and men and women dressed in fashionable clothes, listening to pop music and dancing.

And so, sitting on the wooden sofa, Ruan Mingju drank his sugar water and reminisced about the past. He even thought of his neighbor from the re-education camp.

That guy was a former high school teacher and also his neighbor. He had taken to the streets countless times to oppose the authorities. He had cheered for the victories of the North many times. When Saigon fell, he, like many others, welcomed the arrival of the Northern army.

But what happened next?
He was sent to a re-education camp, and in order to make his life there better, his wife sold everything they owned—bribing the administrators with gold jewelry and cash, and even sacrificing her own body.

"May you get what you ask for..."

With that soft remark and a sip of sugar water, what was Ruan Mingju thinking?
I think of the Saigon moment of yesteryear, of the jubilant people, of the smiles that have disappeared from people's faces in recent years, and of the growing vigilance.

While thinking about these things, Ruan Mingju picked up the Walkman that was placed aside, but he didn't listen to music. Instead, he listened to the radio. The Walkman also had a radio function. Such a Walkman was a "prohibited item." If an ordinary person was found to possess it, he would be sent to receive re-education.

And what about him?
It's just normal use.

While listening to the radio broadcast, Nguyen Minh Qu drank his sweet soup and reminisced about the past.

When a piece of news suddenly reached his ears, he raised an eyebrow and muttered to himself incredulously:
"The relationship between Siam and them has actually normalized..."

(End of this chapter)