Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2663 The Meaning of Sacrifice (First Update, Please Subscribe)
War is never limited to the battlefield itself; sometimes, the battlefields outside the battlefield can play a decisive role in the course of the war.

And this battlefield is intelligence.

This is a battlefield without the smoke of gunpowder, yet it often determines the outcome of a war.

The setting sun cast several shadows on the conference room floor through the glass windows.

This was just an ordinary conference room in the Investigation Department building. On the long conference table were spread a map of the Saigon area, intelligence briefings, and several blurry photos, mostly of destroyed training camps.

Several intelligence officers in dark suits sat around a table, the air thick with the smell of coffee and cigarettes, their faces radiating barely concealed excitement.

After all, they are about to achieve a new victory.

"The latest intelligence indicates that the situation in Saigon is developing as we expected."

Sitting on the left, Cheng Qianli spoke first. He adjusted his glasses and said in a relaxed tone:

"Just as we initially expected, only a small portion of the former South Vietnamese soldiers who escaped from the re-education camps fled into the rainforest; the majority returned to their hometowns..."

This is normal human thought—fugitives also prefer to escape to familiar environments. The same applies to those who escape from re-education camps. Only in familiar surroundings can they receive help from their families and thus survive.

“A significant portion of them are gathered in Saigon, and many of them have now taken the initiative to contact our inside contacts in Saigon.”

They explicitly stated their desire for our weapons assistance and planned to launch an uprising soon to overthrow the North's rule in Saigon.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the tall, thin man opposite him immediately chimed in, a hint of barely perceptible smugness in his tone:

"This is exactly the result of our deliberate manipulation. The previous attacks on the re-education camps were for the purpose of liberating these people, which number one or two million. What do they spread after they escape the camps? Hatred for the North. The abuse they suffered there will drive them to seek revenge."

The Allied ultimatum and bombing gave them hope—and when there is hope, those in dire straits will seize it! As for them, they had no other choice, because they had already enjoyed the rule of the North.

Now, seeing the weakness of the North, and the hope of victory, ignites their resolve to resist. So, the fire... is burning.

Then he added:
"Moreover, the hearts of the people in Saigon have now completely turned to our side. A few years ago, the people of Saigon accused the authorities of being puppets of the United States, but what about now? They have paid the price for their folly. The exorbitant taxes imposed by the North have caused widespread resentment throughout the South, and many people are secretly organizing resistance actions. In some villages, some people have already driven away the officials sent by the North."

The places where attacks first often fall are the weakest. The long war has left many villages and remote areas with a large number of weapons. Although the North seized some after occupying the South, they still hid a lot. The situation in those villages is changing.

For the next ten minutes or so, Cheng Qianli gave a report.

"It sounds like everything is going well."

Nodding slightly, Andrei glanced at the silent head and continued:

"But there is a crucial question that cannot be avoided—North Vietnam still has more than 10,000 troops stationed in Saigon, well-equipped and well-trained. How many people in Saigon are willing to launch an uprising? A few hundred? Or a few thousand? They are not only few in number, but also lack weapons. Can this rabble succeed?"

He paused slightly before continuing:
"With their limited strength, it's unrealistic for them to take Saigon. At best, they can only create some chaos. The final result will likely be that they will be easily suppressed by the North Vietnamese army, causing unnecessary casualties and dampening the enthusiasm of other potential resistance forces."

I believe that at this stage, we should take advantage of the discontent among rural farmers, arm them, and once they have weapons in their hands, they will naturally know where the enemy is.

Andrei's suggestion brought a brief silence to the meeting room. No one refuted the point, given the obvious disparity in strength between the two sides.

Cheng Qianli pondered for a moment and said:

"To enable them to fight against the Northern army, we must provide substantial support. I suggest first allocating a batch of light weapons, such as M1 carbines, grenades and rocket launchers, and explosives, to help them rapidly build up their combat capabilities."

“I agree to provide weapons, but light weapons alone are not enough.”

Someone else added:
"The Northern army not only possesses heavy firepower but is also well-trained, making it difficult for them to break through on their own. We also need to coordinate with the air force to bomb the Northern army camps in Saigon, destroy their command system, and inflict as many casualties as possible on the Northern army. Now that transportation between the North and South has been cut off, every Northern soldier killed in the bombing will reduce the number of enemies the insurgents face."

This way, their chances of success are greater, no matter where they are.

The argument gradually subsided, and everyone's attention turned to Chen Feng, who sat at the end of the conference table. He was the head of the investigation department's operations in the Indochina Peninsula and was responsible for developing the entire plan.

He didn't say a word the whole time, just leaned back in his chair, occasionally taking a couple of puffs of his cigarette, and only lighting one when it burned out.

In front of him, the cigarette butts in the ashtray looked like a small mountain.

Although he appeared to be smoking, his eyes were fixed on the Saigon map on the table, as if he were examining a complex game of chess.

He is the mastermind and ultimate decision-maker of the entire operation; his attitude will directly determine the direction of the investigation department's next actions. In fact, it will determine the life and death of millions of people and their future fate.

That's why he smoked silently.

Not a word.

Time passed slowly, and the meeting room was quiet. Everyone seemed to be looking at documents and thinking.

After a long while, Chen Feng slowly straightened up, lit another cigarette, and stubbed it out in the ashtray. Then, he scanned everyone present, looking them over, before saying:
"Many people say that the decisions we are making now concern the lives and future of millions of people, and in fact..."

Chen Feng shook his head and said:

“It doesn’t matter at all; I never care whether they live or die.”

As he spoke, he silently smoked, completely oblivious to the uproar his words would cause if they got out. But that was the truth. How could foreign intelligence agencies possibly care about the lives of people in another country?

The so-called concern is merely because they have value to be exploited, just like now.

"Weaponry assistance and air support are essential; after all, they will only fight back if they have weapons."

But our core objective is to use their power to completely dismantle the North's rule in Saigon, and at the same time show the world that this action was initiated spontaneously by the local people in their fight for freedom, and that our intervention was merely providing necessary support "in response to the people's demands," and that we... were acting in accordance with the will of the people.

He paused, then continued:
"We need a 'just' resistance, a struggle that can gain the understanding and support of the international community."

Therefore, they must take the initiative to revolt, rather than relying entirely on our strength. We provide weapons and air support to clear obstacles for them. But ultimately, their freedom depends on themselves.

Then he added:

"Freedom is never something given away by others; it is something that must be earned with blood and lives." Chen Feng emphasized Saigon on the map, saying:

"If they don't even have the courage to take up arms and fight, then this country is not worth our sacrifice at all, just like the reason why the United States failed was because of military failure."

No, it's because the vast majority of people in this country simply didn't care about their help, so they failed.

We cannot repeat the same mistakes!

Taking a deep drag on his cigarette, Chen Feng, as the deputy director of the Operations Bureau, basically understood why the government was only intervening now—it was because, four years ago, when Saigon fell, the people of Saigon cheered with their hands raised.

They... deserved everything they suffered!
Now, they must also pay the corresponding price for the future.

"Fortunately, it now seems that everything they have suffered has turned into their hostility towards the North and their determination to resist. Our support is meant to transform this determination into actual victory. Of course, it may not necessarily be victory; it could also be defeat!"

These words elicited expressions of agreement from everyone present.

He silently took a drag of his cigarette, the cigarette burning between his fingers, and Chen Feng's tone remained calm:

"Those who escaped from the re-education camps were abused and filled with hatred, which is their strongest fighting force. What we need to do is to 'fuel' this force so that they can charge towards their goal with even greater force."

As for failure?

What does failure matter?

Death intensifies hatred, and hatred transforms into the courage to resist and the courage to sacrifice. What we need is to unleash all the hatred and courage within them!
Their deaths and sacrifices will ultimately bring new life to their country; such sacrifices and deaths... are meaningful.

More importantly, the oppressive taxes levied in the north, and the blood shed by those who sought to drive out the northerners, would ultimately lead them to truly form their own nation!

In fact, it is the true formation of their spirit. When that time comes, they will willingly abandon their language and writing, and turn to a new life.

What followed was all procedural: initiating the weapons allocation process, transporting weapons to sources in Saigon through clandestine channels, contacting the Air Force Command, and developing detailed bombing plans, and so on.

After everything was dealt with, Chen Feng turned to ask:

"Has their special envoy arrived in Moscow? What's the reaction in Moscow? What kind of assistance will they provide?"

The reason he kept asking about Moscow is because—right now, the most important thing is Moscow. The one who truly determines the future fate of the Indochina Peninsula has never been Thang Long, but Moscow!
(End of this chapter)