American Strategic Deception Bureau

　—By the way, the Filipino maids who would later become famous in Southeast Asia were primarily Tagalogs. Because other ethnic groups in the Philippines had a lower level of cultural literacy and spoke English far less fluently than the Tagalogs, even if they wanted to work as maids abroad, it would be difficult...

　In short, the problem of the Philippines lies in the most basic root, and no reform can completely transform it. A more violent revolution is more likely to make the entire country fall apart. Faced with such a loose country that is even more fragile than the Austro-Hungarian Empire, even if there is

　There is nothing we can do about the tough guy who falls from the sky. The most we can do is to crack down on him and improve public security, but that is already the limit.

　If we insist on carrying out any drastic reforms, I am afraid that division and civil war will break out before the reforms can produce any real results!

　In fact, Marcos was able to maintain his dictatorial rule for twenty years in such a fragmented country with ethnic conflicts comparable to Yugoslavia, despite the pressure from his American master, while at the same time levying heavy taxes and accumulating tens of billions of wealth. Even after the Philippine economy collapsed, famine was everywhere, and people were living in dire straits, he continued to sit firmly on the presidential throne for more than ten years... This in itself is enough to show that this person has superb political skills.

　If South Vietnam's Ngo Dinh Diem had the ability of Marcos, he probably wouldn't have brought his country down so quickly, right?

　Thinking of this, Fili looked at Mr. Marcos, who looked Chinese in every way, sitting in the open-air cafe in the distance. His gaze softened a little: This guy before him was indeed a greedy and despicable person. But would it be better if someone else took office?

　It's worth noting that even in the rife Philippine political landscape, Marcos held a respectable image. He was a valiant fighter during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. During the Bataan Peninsula defense, when General MacArthur fled, Marcos, still a young man, fought the Americans to the bitter end, even on an empty stomach.

　Next, during the Bataan Death March, Marcos was also among the prisoners, and escaped with several American prisoners on the way. He built a team from scratch, persisted in guerrilla warfare for several years, and finally even cooperated with Marshal MacArthur to fight back to Manila.

　Both the United States and the Philippines promote him as a war hero. If it were someone else, they would not have such a halo around them.

　The future Marcos, who ruled the Philippines as a dictator for two decades, certainly failed to bring prosperity and greatness to the country. But at least he did a good job as a paperhanger, successfully mediating the conflicts among the Philippines' many ethnic groups and preventing it from plunging into the abyss of civil war like Yugoslavia.

　If it was Serbia's Milosevic or Myanmar's General Min Aung Hlaing, with their extreme nationalist style, the Philippine civil war would have been fought vigorously and spread everywhere, instead of being basically confined to Mindanao as in reality, right?

　Alas, the world is a bunch of makeshift teams. When you think one ruler is terrible, maybe the next one will be even worse?

　He sighed, raised his head again, and looked at the distant Manila city and the skyline of that modern city.

　Although Manila was still flourishing, its people in those dilapidated slums were still hardworking and hopeful. But in Fili's eyes, he could already see the doomsday omen for this tropical island nation...

　-

　In short, after nearly a month of delay, Marilyn Monroe's exchange concert in Manila was finally held.

　First, there was a small concert in the Manila Hotel, where celebrities from all walks of life gathered, drinking and chatting, and there were elegant people in fine clothes. It was like a high-end cocktail party for the upper class. Everyone was well-dressed and polite. Although it was high-end, it also made Miss Monroe feel a little restrained.

　Then came the 10,000-person concert at the University of the Philippines. Because the audience was filled with college students, their hormones overflowing, the atmosphere was much more lively and enthusiastic. Not only did students from the university, but also students from other schools, as well as some high school and middle school students, came to watch the fun and chased Marilyn Monroe for autographs, driving the now-fading blonde beauty to a frenzy of excitement.

　What impressed Phili during the concert was that when Miss Monroe left in a convertible at midnight after the concert, there was an ugly, dark-skinned short Filipino boy chasing her on a motorcycle, waving a notebook and asking for her autograph.

　Because of a traffic jam caused by a late-night car accident, the convertible in which Marilyn Monroe was sitting was actually caught up by the will-o'-the-wisp boy on a motorcycle. Marilyn Monroe, in a good mood, also signed an autograph for the Filipino fan and chatted with him for a while.

　Fili, who was sitting next to him, didn't pay attention at first, but accidentally saw the name in the autograph book, and then used the street light to look at the appearance of the dark-skinned young man, and was immediately shocked: Isn't this the future hardcore ruthless man, lawless murderer, President Rodrigo Duterte?

　It wasn't until then that Fili realized that the Filipino "Old Du," who would later become internet-famous, wasn't as young as he looked. He was actually the same generation as Trump and the King of Sleep. He was even a year older than Trump, but his fierce appearance made him look younger.

　Even now, Duterte is already in high school and will soon take the college entrance examination. This time he came to Manila to test the waters of various universities.

　Well, first I met the hardcore scumbags in the Philippines, and then I met the hardcore ruthless people in the Philippines. This trip to Manila was really worthwhile.

　Next, with the end of the road show and fashion show, Marilyn Monroe's Asian peace diplomacy tour has also come to an end.

　According to Dr. Kissinger's arrangement, they will first take a Marine Corps plane in the Philippines to Japan to meet General LeMay, and then fly back to Hawaii together. Depending on the situation, they will either return directly to the United States or take a warship to visit several newly independent Pacific islands.

　I will travel to this small island country and return home around the end of the year when Christmas is approaching.

　By then, the selection for the next American Spokesperson of the Year should have begun, and their temporary team would have been disbanded.

　As a result, at the air force airport in Subic, Fili and his group who were waiting for a flight to Japan met another guy who wanted to hitch a ride with them. It turned out to be a CIA colleague they had met once before in Hawaii - the legendary CIA agent Bill Lyle who single-handedly discovered General Vang Pao in Laos, built a brave and combative Miao army at a very low cost, and repeatedly defeated the Viet Cong!

　However, he had previously flown to Hawaii on a plane carrying the South Vietnamese president's brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, and First Lady Tran Chun Li, accompanied by a large group of people. But now, Bill Lyle was alone at Subic Air Base, looking shabby and unassuming.

　"Where are Ngo Dinh Nhu and his wife, Tran Li-chun? Why didn't you continue to work with them, Major Lyle?"

　As Fili looked at his travel-weary colleague, he asked, "Did the bureau approve new funding for you?"

　"Mr. Wu and his wife are currently traveling in California and appear to be planning to buy a villa in Beverly Hills.

　But I really didn't have time to hang out with them, and the Miao soldiers at His Excellency Wang Bao's side were also waiting for their pay, so I came here first."

　Bill Lyle sighed and said, "As for funding... the bureau approved me $300,000, which is better than nothing!"

　In this day and age, $300,000 is a huge sum for an average person. But if you need to maintain a 5,000-man Miao army and have them participate in high-intensity combat, this amount of money is a drop in the bucket.

　So, after leaving CIA headquarters, Bill Lyle continued his rounds of begging and had just managed to secure a batch of obsolete weapons and ammunition in the Philippines. However, because the Miao warlord Wang Bao's territory was deep in the inland mountains, the only way to get the goods in was by air.

　To this end, Bill Lyle wanted to take Miss Monroe's plane to Japan and ask to meet with General LeMay, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, to ask the Air Force to agree to help organize a strategic air transport to transport the weapons, ammunition and other supplies urgently needed by the Miao army to the deep mountains of Laos.

　Alas, although this guy is indeed a despicable person who grows poppies, he is also a true patriot!

　However, even if the Miao mountain people were paid cheaply for their lives, could they really defeat the Viet Cong with just the little resources they had scraped together?

　We still have to rely on self-reliance to give them the ability to generate income at least! Even if it means relying on drug trafficking...

　If the Laotian mountain people, far away from the ocean, want to transport opium to the international market, they cannot do without the release and organization of transportation from the South Vietnamese ports.

　So, Ferry asked Lyle whether Mr. Ngo Dinh Nhu had agreed to sever ties with the French intelligence agencies and concentrate on being a running dog of the United States?

　Seeing Lyle shaking his head with a bitter expression, Firi couldn't help but sigh: In addition to the Philippines' Death Star, this time even South Vietnam's Death Star was seen!

　And with the connections I had made with the Vietcong before, this kind of thing really wasn't difficult at all.

　Without decades of war, the early Viet Cong was essentially a loose, petty-bourgeois club. Not only was its organization loose, but its revolutionary will was also weak. Even Ho Chi Minh himself briefly abandoned the revolution, contemplating finding a place to marry, raise children, and enjoy a peaceful life in seclusion.

　In the worst-case scenario, the US could end up with a "Pink Vietnam" like Yugoslavia, where Vietnam "turned right on the left turn" and, like Ho Chi Minh and Tito, became a thorn in Stalin's side because of their pro-American leanings, causing internal chaos within the socialist camp.

　At the same time, as long as the Americans did not help the French, France, which was in ruins and devastation after World War II, with political chaos and its remaining colonies in rebellion, would never be able to launch an expedition across half the world and mobilize a large army to invade Vietnam again.

　France also had no reason to resent the United States for not helping it recover its colonies. Since the Age of Exploration, which country had ever relied on its allies to "take over" its colonies? It had to conquer its own colonies itself. If it couldn't, it could only watch others drool over it.

　If France accuses the United States of refusing to help recover its colonies free of charge, even if the French do not feel ashamed, other countries will feel ashamed!

　(The French probably didn’t feel ashamed at all. At the end of World War I, they demanded that the US military march all the way to Berlin and then hand over the entire Germany to France for free.)

　However, faced with a game where he could win by just sitting still, the foolish President Truman ended up losing everything.

　He ordered the US intelligence agencies to cut off contact with Ho Chi Minh, and at the same time advanced funds and ships to send tens of thousands of French troops to recover the Vietnamese colony, including quite a number of Germans - because the local French people were generally not interested in fighting in Asia after experiencing World War II, the French high-ranking officials had to find other ways to recruit soldiers: many German prisoners who had just been released from the POW camps simply changed into military uniforms and ran to Vietnam to fight for France.

　Then, during the eight-year Franco-Vietnamese War, France was actually unable to sustain such a costly overseas war. It relied entirely on the increasing amount of US aid to keep 200,000 French troops alive on the Vietnamese front. By the end of the war, US aid accounted for nearly 80% of total military expenditures.

　Many French colonial officials took the opportunity to embezzle money and enrich themselves, and the proportion of American aid funds that were "lost" was as high as 40% to 75%!

　In addition to desperately giving money to the French army, the United States was even more generous with military supplies. For example, during the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, the parachutes used to airdrop supplies to the French troops on the front line were directly allocated from the inventory of the US military stationed in Japan and the US military stationed in Africa. Ammunition was also supplied openly, and as much as needed was available.

　Well, the United States was so generous that in order to allow France to restore its colonial rule in Vietnam, it did not hesitate to slap itself in the face and smash its own "anti-colonial" liberal signboard, while frantically spending money on transfusions and reimbursing the French army's military expenses. France should be grateful to the United States, right?

　No! As the saying goes, a little kindness begets a grudge. The French, on the other hand, completely hated the United States because of such generous aid!

　The entire French public opinion community believed that the United States was setting a trap in Vietnam and wanted to bleed the French dry in the East!

　Just a few dirty banknotes have forced countless young French people to make unnecessary sacrifices on the other side of the world! The Americans have such a bad conscience!

　Well, judging from the actual course of history, the United States' strong aid did indeed keep a large number of French troops in distant Southeast Asia, which led to the relaxation of French control over Africa. By the time they finally withdrew from Vietnam, the African colonies were already on fire, and they could no longer suppress the situation.

　The French therefore believed that the United States had ill intentions in assisting them in returning to Vietnam from the very beginning, and that the Yankees were definitely trying to harm them!

　Next, because in the Second Middle East War, also known as the Suez War, the British and French coalition forces were stabbed in the back by the United States, resulting in their defeat by the Egyptians without having been defeated. France hated the United States so much that it even went so far as to withdraw from NATO!

　In short, during the first two decades of the Cold War, France was a persistent thorn in the side of the Western bloc, constantly contradicting the American leader and earning the media's label of "the unfaithful handmaiden." Whenever the United States encountered misfortune, France was often the one most gloating.

　France also consistently opposed the United States during the Vietnam War, initially repeatedly hindering the US in South Vietnam and attempting to overthrow the US-backed Ngo Dinh Diem regime—even as France itself was still receiving US aid for post-war reconstruction. Later, the Americans gradually eliminated any remaining French influence within the South Vietnamese military and government. President Charles de Gaulle, despite past grudges, colluded directly with the Vietcong, intent on disrupting the US.

　Thus, President Truman's perverse actions caused the United States to fall out with the Viet Cong, which had previously maintained a good relationship with the United States. France, to which the United States had generously aided, became its enemy. The United States also damaged its image as an anti-colonial nation, severely damaging its international image and making it a difficult target for both domestic and international support.

　When France decided to withdraw from Vietnam, the next president, Eisenhower, did not cut his losses in time and start peace talks with the Vietcong and Ho Chi Minh to repair relations. Instead, he jumped into the fire pit himself and single-handedly supported the scoundrel Ngo Dinh Diem, bringing endless disasters to the United States...

　Why did the United States support Ngo Dinh Diem, a scoundrel, instead of other more suitable candidates?

　Because this isn't something that was well thought out.

　It was not a well-thought-out and carefully planned action plan, but rather, like Khrushchev's impulsive order to plant corn, it was the result of President Eisenhower's impulsive and arbitrary decision-making, the U.S. diplomatic department's perfunctory and hasty handling of the matter, coupled with some people's lobbying and passing notes, and finally, because of the rush to meet time and no time for repeated discussions, the plan was hastily launched, which ultimately led to the big mistake.

　It all began on April 5, 1954, when President Eisenhower declared at a cabinet meeting that the French army was showing signs of defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and might consider abandoning Vietnam. On April 7, Eisenhower proposed the "domino effect" theory, declaring the need to find proxies in Vietnam.

　But the problem was that throughout April, the 15,000 French troops in the Dien Bien Phu encirclement were still performing above their capacity, continuing to fight tenaciously and even launching several pretty good counterattacks, while the besieging Vietnamese troops were also exhausted, with more and more deserters, and their logistics were on the verge of collapse.

　Under these circumstances, the pessimistic predictions of the French army's imminent defeat at Dien Bien Phu were met with skepticism across the US: They'd been telling insulting jokes about France all along, but were the French actually going to raise the white flag against the Vietnamese? No way!

　Since the French army does not seem to be defeated, there seems to be no need to rush to find someone to support in Vietnam, leaving aside the French.

　So, despite the President's order to find proxies in South Vietnam, Secretary Dulles spent the first few weeks dragging his feet and doing almost nothing.

　In fact, this view is not wrong. In April, the Vietnamese troops fighting on the Dien Bien Phu front had already publicly stated that if they could not win the battle by May 10, they would retreat even if they disobeyed orders. Unfortunately, the French only held out until May 7...

　As a result, on May 7, when the Battle of Dien Bien Phu ended, the US diplomatic department was suddenly struck by lightning, as if it had been severely whipped. Finally, under the president's rebuke, it began to frantically look for potential partners in South Vietnam.

　By June 2, CIA agents in Saigon had notified Ngo Dinh Diem's ​​family and asked them to prepare to become royal relatives.

　——From the beginning of interfering in Vietnam’s political situation to the public decision to support Ngo Dinh Diem to rule South Vietnam, it took less than a month in total!

　In such a short period of time, the target of interference in internal affairs was a foreign country across the ocean. In addition, the communication technology at that time was not as convenient as in later generations, information exchange was inconvenient, and there was no time to do various background checks. It can be seen how hastily and carelessly this matter was handled!

　What’s even worse is that, not only is the time tight and the task heavy, but the candidate requirements put forward by President Eisenhower are also very harsh.

　First of all, those left-wing figures who have joined the Viet Cong camp or allied with the Viet Cong to oppose France are obviously not considered.

　Secondly, the compradors and lackeys supported by the French colonial authorities in Vietnam were also out of the question, because they were either French-speaking people in spirit or had already acquired French citizenship, and the United States was unwilling to pay for a group of French dogs.

　Third, there were some neutral religious groups in Vietnam that opposed both the Vietcong and France. However, the White House considered these "cultists" too unfashionable and that supporting them would be shameful (in fact, these religious groups were the right ones to support).

　As a result, the range of options was very small, limited to a few Vietnamese right-wing intellectuals who were exiled because of their opposition to France. However, these people's literary talent was probably not as good as Hu Shih of China, and their character was much worse than Hu Shih's. They all looked like hopeless cases.

　Just think about it, the liberal public intellectuals who have no cohesion have always been like this, unable to accomplish anything and always causing trouble.

　Among this group of cowardly, bad and morally shameless people, Wu Tingyan, who has a relatively high degree of anthropomorphism, naturally stands out from the crowd.

　- Although Ngo Dinh Diem was not in the United States at this time but went to Paris, he had his own connections in the United States: Ngo Dinh Diem once studied theology at the Maryknoll Monastery in New Jersey and became friends with Cardinal Francis Spellman, the bishop of the New York Diocese.

　Previously, with Bishop Spellman's introduction, he had met with a number of American politicians, including John F. Kennedy, Michael Mansfield, and William Douglas, but he hadn't gained much support. He had also traveled to Japan to seek an audience with MacArthur, but he didn't even get to see him.

　The opportunity presented itself. Bishop Spelman immediately rushed to Washington, D.C., to lobby Diem once again. Washington officials also remembered this man. So, U.S. Ambassador to France Douglas Dillon met with Diem in Paris and reported to the Secretary of State, "This short, fat guy seems a bit withdrawn and doesn't look like he can hold his own in Saigon. But compared to the rest of them, he's a bit better. If we have to choose one, pick him!"

　The CIA then hastily investigated Diem's ​​background and discovered, according to Bishop Spelman's description, that Diem came from a long line of Vietnamese officials and was a devout Catholic. Because of his opposition to French colonial oppression, Diem had been arrested or wanted by French colonial authorities multiple times. Furthermore, the Viet Cong had killed his eldest brother during land reform. Consequently, Diem refused Ho Chi Minh's offer of recruitment in 1945...

　Well, his family is powerful, he is anti-French, irreconcilable with the Viet Cong, and he believes in God... This is exactly the talent the White House needs!

　Seeing

　As President Eisenhower urged him to do so, Secretary of State Dulles did not bother to conduct a detailed investigation and hurriedly helped Wu Dinh Diem onto the horse.

　Just like that, as soon as the smoke of the Korean War cleared, the United States had found itself the next quagmire of war.

　——The stupidity and ignorance of the Eisenhower administration almost made the United States pay the price with its national destiny for the next twenty years.

　In fact, the United States discovered something was wrong just after forcing Bao Dai, the last king of Vietnam, to appoint Ngo Dinh Diem as prime minister:

　First, Ngo Dinh Diem's ​​claim of being from an "official family" seems highly exaggerated. His grandfather was merely an ordinary small landowner. It wasn't until his father, Ngo Dinh Kho, that he finally passed the imperial examination and became an official. However, Ngo Dinh Kho's career wasn't smooth either, and in 1907, he was dismissed from office and returned home to farm.

　Wu Dinh Diem himself received education and passed the civil service exam by working in the fields to grow rice while attending a free French seminary.

　In other words, the Wu family is not a wealthy Vietnamese family at all, but a humble family among humble ones! It's almost like they came from grassroots backgrounds!

　Therefore, during his exile in the United States, the future South Vietnamese president Ngo Dinh Diem was once so poor that he had to wash dishes in a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. He was beaten for asking for unscrupulous wages from a black-hearted boss and also received relief meals from the church (a sense of the same as the gold medal lecturer, but the location was New York).

　Due to their humble origins, the Wu family was simply an ordinary person in Vietnam, and was not the influential aristocratic family that one might imagine.

　The only people available to Ngo Dinh Diem in Vietnam were his brothers, and he did not have the kind of "retainers" that the aristocratic families had.

　Not only did Ngo Dinh Diem's ​​presidency of South Vietnam rely entirely on the United States's appointment, but he also had to rely on the United States to deal with various troublemakers for him. Even President Eisenhower had to call Paris to intimidate the French Prime Minister on his behalf. He was truly "the tail wagging the dog" and exhausted the United States.

　It's just that the sword is too shameful to be sheathed. Since he was the one I chose because I was blind, I have no choice but to support him all the way with tears in my eyes!

　As for the economic aid to South Vietnam, it was as abundant as a mountain and as vast as the sea - without American aid, Ngo Dinh Diem could not even pay the civil servants' salaries!

　Secondly, while Diem himself was undoubtedly a staunch anti-French figure, his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, was a Frenchman in spirit. He had early connections with French intelligence agencies, had established numerous businesses in France, and always looked to France, not the United States, for business.

　But Ngo Dinh Diem listened to his younger brother Ngo Dinh Nhu the most. As long as Ngo Dinh Nhu tried to fool him, Ngo Dinh Diem would do whatever he said, even at the cost of going against the United States!

　Under Ngo Dinh Nhu's protection, countless French agents still permeate the South Vietnamese government and army. Despite the Americans pouring money and gifts into South Vietnam, President Kennedy's voice in South Vietnam is probably still not as loud as Charles de Gaulle's.

　Well, after going around in circles, the United States finally spent its own money to raise a French dog!

　These two points alone are enough to make Americans vomit blood. But what makes Americans vomit blood even more is that President Ngo Dinh Diem also has a strong rebellious mentality, often refusing to move forward when being led, and even retreating backward. Even when it comes to combating the Vietcong, he behaves strangely, even raising suspicions of collaborating with the Communists!

　For example, this time, the person who went to Tokyo with Bill Lyle to find Firi to hitchhike on a plane was another CIA spy who was going back to the country to file a complaint.

　——Seeing that Lyle supported General Vang Pao in neighboring Laos and pulled out a brave and fighting Hmong army at a very low cost, the CIA Saigon Station felt very envious and wanted to copy it to South Vietnam where the situation was worrying: Laos has Hmong people, and South Vietnam also has Hmong people!

　So, CIA agents chose a Hmong village called "Bang En Nao" in Dak Lak Province, a mountainous area in central South Vietnam where the Viet Cong was active. They gave these Vietnamese Hmong people a sum of money, provided a large amount of weapons and ammunition, and organized military training for the Hmong men.

　Soon, the Miao people of Bang En Nao had a capable and combat-ready army, and they fought very proactively and actively, much stronger than the South Vietnamese army that passively avoided fighting. They quickly expanded their influence to two hundred surrounding villages and almost drove the Viet Cong out of Dak Lak Province.

　In the eyes of the CIA, this method of supporting low-cost Hmong troops to fight the Viet Cong is truly "promising!"

　Compared with the South Vietnamese government army that wasted money and refused to fight properly, it was so cheap and good value for money!

　However, after learning about this, Ngo Dinh Diem was furious. Knowing that the Viet Cong had a blood feud with these Hmong people, he still sent troops to Bang En Nau and confiscated the weapons of the Hmong militia. The South Vietnamese soldiers also beat up the CIA agents who went to stop them.

　After the South Vietnamese soldiers left the devastated Bang Ngan, the bloodied Hmong elders wept bitterly as they hugged the CIA agents' thighs, saying that Diem hadn't just taken their weapons; he had taken their lives! The Vietcong, having learned of the situation, would soon massacre the village!