American Strategic Deception Bureau

　Dr. Kissinger quickly waved his hand and said that they were only in Vietnam temporarily and would return to the United States soon. They had no plans to stay in Indochina for a long time. "We came here on the destroyer in the port and just got off the ship at noon today.

　Once the ship is officially handed over to the South Vietnamese Navy and given their new name, our business trip will be over.

　By the way, what new name did the Vietnamese give this ship? It sounds quite awkward, I don’t think I can remember it…”

　"'Treatise on Trieu' commemorates an ancient Vietnamese heroine who was famous for her large breasts," Firi replied.

　They were also unable to use Chinese characters.

　Greek and Indian civilizations were able to cross mountains and seas and spread to us, but it is so difficult to export our culture.

　Chapter 208, "Zhao Shizhen"! Xuefeng's new name! (Additional update)

　Generally speaking, a country's large naval ships are either named after people or places, and the South Vietnamese Navy is no exception.

　Although for a true naval power, the mere 2,000-ton Yukikaze destroyer was merely a small, loli-like vessel, in the South Vietnamese Navy, which had been cobbled together by begging and scavenging, the 2,000-ton Yukikaze was already a first-class "large ship."

　Right now, the entire South Vietnamese Navy doesn’t have a single destroyer, let alone a frigate!

　Therefore, almost as soon as the "Snow Wind" was acquired, the South Vietnamese Navy Commander Colonel Hu Jinquan excitedly reserved it as the new flagship.

　There's no way. Do you know what his flagship was before this? It was the Jinlan tank landing ship!

　Because in the entire South Vietnamese Navy, apart from landing ships, there were no other large ships with a tonnage of over 1,000.

　A dignified naval commander, riding a landing ship as the chief flagship? It's embarrassing just to think about it! Why not just build a car ferry?

　No wonder Colonel Hu Jinquan likes the Yukikaze so much - after all, it is an ocean-going vessel!

　Of course, despite its reputation as the "Phoenix" during World War II, the Yukikaze was, after all, an old Japanese ship that had been launched and in service for over twenty years. Considering the possibility that the American allies would provide the South Vietnamese Navy with newer and better vessels in the future, naming the Yukikaze after the capital, Saigon, was clearly inappropriate. Using any other South Vietnamese city's name would seem unworthy of the Navy's flagship's status.

　In that case, let's use people's names! After all, Vietnam has a history of thousands of years, and there are still many heroes in ancient times.

　Chen Lichun, the first lady of South Vietnam, who returned from the United States on the Snow Wind, originally wanted to name it after the Zheng sisters.

　——Zheng Ce and Zheng Er, sisters, were female chieftains of Luoyue who rose up in rebellion against the Han Dynasty in the early Eastern Han Dynasty to avenge their husbands. Their army once swept across most of Jiaozhou and captured 65 cities with lightning speed. Zheng Ce was even elected as "Zheng King" for this.

　Therefore, Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu, sent General Ma Yuan to the south to attack Jiaozhou. He quickly defeated the Zheng sisters and forced them to commit suicide by jumping into the river.

　Truth be told, throughout China's long history, there are countless self-proclaimed kings who rose and fell. Therefore, during the Han Dynasty and for a long time afterward, the Zheng sisters didn't leave much of a name. Even in the annals of history, they only appear in a few brief sentences.

　A thousand years passed in a flash, and after Vietnam separated from China, Vietnamese literati, who gradually developed a sense of independence, praised the previously unknown Zheng sisters as national heroes who "first pioneered the rebellion against the Central Plains", just like Queen Boudica of Britain who resisted Roman rule.

　Temples dedicated to the Trinh sisters can be found throughout Vietnam, from south to north. After becoming the First Lady of South Vietnam, Chen Lichun often compared herself to the Trinh sisters. When the idea of ​​naming the destroyer Yukikaze after a historical figure arose, she naturally thought of the Trinh sisters.

　Fili really wanted to complain about this - the Zheng sisters rebelled and became queens after their husbands were killed by the prefect of the Han Dynasty!

　Since you, Chen Lichun, compare yourself to the Zheng sisters, aren't you hoping that your husband will die suddenly one day?

　The more critical issue is that the Yukikaze is just a ship, but the Zheng sisters are two people.

　Then, naming a ship after two people... no matter how you think about it, it seems a bit weird!

　So, Fili didn't know what was wrong with his brain. When Chen Lichun proposed the above idea, he pointed this out bluntly.

　Fortunately, although Chen Lichun was arrogant, strong-willed and had a bad temper, she was not stubborn. After thinking about it, she felt that it was indeed inappropriate to name a ship after two people. It would be better to wait until she got two new ships and then name them Zheng Ce and Zheng Er respectively.

　As for the current Xuefeng, Chen Lichun thought about it and decided to name it after another Vietnamese female hero in the Three Kingdoms period, "Zhao Thi Zhen".

　——Zhao Shizhen, also known as Zhao Zhenniang or Zhao Yu, was born in Jiuzhen County, Jiaozhou. Her parents died early, and she depended on her brother and sister-in-law for support.

　Two hundred years after the defeat of the Zheng sisters, in 248 AD, Zhao Shizhen and her brother Zhao Guoda launched an uprising against the rule of Eastern Wu.

　According to legend, Zhao Shizhen was nine feet tall and her chest was three feet long. When fighting, she had to be tied up first, then covered with a golden robe, and rode an elephant to charge into battle.

　In the spring of that year, the rebel army led by the Zhao brothers and sisters defeated the Wu army many times and swept across Jiuzhen County. Zhao Shizhen even rode an elephant into the battle and killed the governor of Jiaozhou, which triggered a great chaos in Jiaozhou. The people of Jiaozhi, Jiuzhen, and Cangwu counties rose up in response, captured and killed officials, and drove out the Wu army.

　After her victory, some people advised her to marry into a good family and stop fighting. However, Zhao Shizhen replied, "I want to ride the strong winds, ride the fierce waves, slay the whales of the East China Sea, drive out the Wu army, recover our homeland, and smash the shackles of slavery. I will never bow down and serve as someone else's wife or concubine!"

　However, the victory of the Zhao brothers and sisters only lasted a few months. The Eastern Wu soon sent the famous general Lu Yin as the governor of Jiaozhou, leading 8,000 elite troops to the south to attack Jiaozhou. Lu Yin used both soft and hard tactics along the way, bribed the rebellious nobles, recruited the rebel forces in various places, and lured them to attack each other, resulting in the Zhao brothers and sisters' defeat.

　Mei's rebel army was defeated without a fight, and finally in the decisive battle at Song Mountain (located in today's Thanh Hoa Province), the golden-robed female general Zhao Thi Zhen was crushed to death by an elephant.

　From the time she launched her rebellion to her defeat, Zhao Thi Zhen's military career lasted less than a year. Yet, after her death, she was venerated as a deity by the villagers in a temple. Like the earlier Trinh sisters, she enjoys a high status in Vietnam. Literary works about her have also been frequently mentioned.

　The reason why Firi had an impression of this woman was because she served as the leader representative of the Vietnamese civilization in the game "Civilization 6"...

　From this we can see that the name "Zhao Thi Zhen" still has considerable influence in Vietnamese society.

　In this way, after arriving in Da Nang, the Yukikaze had its third name after "Danyang" and was renamed "Zhao Shizhen".

　However, when he saw the South Vietnamese sailors carrying paint buckets and brushes to modify the ship's name on both sides of the bow of the Yukikaze... Firi still felt like laughing.

　Because, in the short life of Zhao Shizhen, the big-breasted female general, the only enemy she fought to the death was the Wu army.

　Unfortunately, South Vietnam is now ruled by a group of insects with the surname "Wu"!

　Originally, the famous auspicious ship Yukikaze already has an auspicious aura and can absorb the luck of teammates.

　Chen Lichun, the first lady of South Vietnam and the daughter-in-law of the Wu family, named this ship Zhao Shizhen. Isn't this tantamount to cursing herself?

　Of course, Chen Lichun and the officers of the South Vietnamese Navy seemed to have not thought of this at all, so Fili naturally did not say much...

　-

　On the evening of March 29, Colonel Hu Jinquan, commander of the South Vietnamese Navy, arrived in Da Nang on the Cam Ranh, the current flagship of the South Vietnamese Navy, and prepared to hold a ceremony the next day, March 30, to officially receive the Xuefeng/Treat Thi Trieu and welcome the ship to join the South Vietnamese Navy.

　However, when Colonel Hu Jinquan was gazing at the destroyer Zhao Thi Trinh hung with colorful flags in the moonlight with a smile on his face, he was unaware that the South Vietnamese Army General Staff Headquarters in Saigon was already filled with a solemn and murderous atmosphere, as if a storm was about to come.

　In the early hours of the morning, accompanied by a few muffled groans, seven or eight officers from the pro-Ngo Dinh Diem faction were first tied up by soldiers, their mouths stuffed with sackcloth, and escorted to an empty office. They were then hacked to death one by one by Captain Nguyen Van Dung, General Duong Van Minh's aide and bodyguard, with a saber.

　In a spacious conference room next door, the windows were covered tightly with thick curtains. The officers and generals of the South Vietnamese Army, dressed in neat military uniforms, gathered around the map of Saigon on the conference table. Everyone had a solemn expression, and the atmosphere was tense and depressing.

　Looking back at the silent leader of the coup team, General Yang Wenming, Chief of General Staff Chen Wendun coughed dryly and spoke first: "Recently, the president's various perverse actions have been witnessed by the world. There is no need for us to say more!

　We, the patriotic officers and soldiers, have unanimously resolved to overthrow Ngo Dinh Diem, form a Military Revolutionary Committee, and seize power! Liberate Vietnam! Save our country!

　This morning at six o'clock, the action begins! Kill all the Wu bandits and save Vietnam!

　Upon hearing this, everyone responded in unison: "Kill all the Wu bandits and save Vietnam!"

　A few hours later, the 5th Infantry Division stationed at Camp Tran Hung Dao began an emergency mobilization in the dim morning light. Soldiers, wearing red scarves around their necks, lined up neatly in the square. Division Commander Nguyen Van Thieu said to the soldiers, "You have all seen the plight of our fellow countrymen, right? Now, let's go and destroy the Wu thief. The enemy is in the Presidential Palace!"

　Meanwhile, senior South Vietnamese civil servants, including Nguyen Ngoc Thu and Vu Van Mu, nervously gathered at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, using it as their headquarters for the coup. Once the coup forces seized the radio station and the presidential palace, they would summon foreign journalists and ambassadors to announce the formation of a new government.

　At the same time, the 7th Infantry Division of the 4th Military Region (Tactical Zone), under the command of its commander Chen Shanqian, tied red scarves representing rebellion, took the initiative to cut off all contact with the military region headquarters, and went alone to take over My Tho City, a transportation hub south of Saigon.

　Immediately, Chen Shanqian forced all ferries on the Mekong River to go to the north bank, cutting off Saigon's water transportation, and dug trenches and set up defenses at the ferry on the north bank to prevent the Fourth Military Region troops and Catholic militia in the south who were still loyal to Ngo Dinh Diem from going north to rescue the capital Saigon upon hearing the news.

　The various South Vietnamese rebel forces in the area north of Saigon left their respective defense zones and marched towards Saigon in great strides.

　And so, in the mist of dawn, the "March 3.30th Mutiny," a movement that would shake Asia and change the world, quietly began...

　Watch the fun from the stage and window.

　Immediately afterwards, a series of phone calls were made to Gia Long Palace to inform the Presidential Palace of the unusual troop movements.

　On the other hand, the Presidential Palace located in Gia Long Palace has actually been fully prepared and on high alert for a long time.

　--Due to leaks from both sides of the CIA, President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu also knew that the generals of the General Staff were planning a rebellion. However, they did not determine the specific time of the officer corps' coup, nor did they know which troops were involved in the conspiracy.

　Upon learning that the military officers had finally taken action, the Presidential Office, while nervous, also felt a sense of relief, as if a weight had been lifted off their shoulders.

　After entering the city of Saigon, the rebels first occupied the Ministry of the Interior building and then took control of the police headquarters, encountering almost no resistance.

　Next, when attacking the Saigon Army School, the rebels, who had underestimated the enemy, were thwarted in their attack and were beaten to a bloody pulp by the military cadets who were still loyal to the president, using rocket launchers and mortars. Three M113 armored personnel carriers and an M24 tank were destroyed and turned into burning steel garbage.

　Chief of General Staff Chen Wendun immediately sent instructions, asking the rebels to temporarily stop attacking the Army School, maintain surveillance, and concentrate all their efforts on taking down the Presidential Palace!

　However, the new presidential palace located in Gia Long Palace was not easy to attack - President Ngo Dinh Diem's ​​close confidant, special forces commander Le Quang Song, had already led the presidential guard and his special forces to build fortifications around Gia Long Palace, stockpiled weapons and ammunition, and prepared for a tough battle.

　So, when Nguyen Van Thieu commanded the 5th Infantry Division and rushed towards the Presidential Palace with great momentum, it was like running into an iron wall.

　The two armies first engaged in fierce fighting on the streets, and then fought for each house on both sides of the street. For a while, the air was filled with smoke and bullets rained down.

　From nine in the morning to twelve noon, Nguyen Van Thieu commanded the 5th Infantry Division and organized three assaults, all of which were repelled by Li Guangsong. The wreckage of destroyed vehicles almost blocked the streets, and a raging fire broke out, burning down a large number of houses. Hundreds of citizens had no choice but to flee crying.

　But on the other hand, it was not easy for Le Quang Song to defend the Presidential Palace. Nguyen Van Thieu's Fifth Division had more than 10,000 people, equipped with armored vehicles and tanks, while the total defensive force he had was less than 3,000 people, and the number of heavy weapons was very limited.

　Once the General Staff mobilizes artillery into the city and launches a carpet bombardment on the Presidential Palace, he will only be able to hold out for another 24 hours.

　"Where is Zunshiding? Why haven't the reinforcements from Zunshiding arrived yet? Does anyone know where Zunshiding is?"

　Amidst the choking smoke, Li Guangsong discovered that all the telephone lines in the presidential palace had been cut. He could only order his adjutant to activate the radio while cursing, "Oh my God! Is this kid trying to sit back and watch the tigers fight? Is he worthy of the president's training?"

　Well, according to the counterinsurgency plan formulated by the Ngo Dinh Diem government, once the rebels entered the Saigon city area, they would inevitably attack the Presidential Palace.

　At that point, Le Quang Song would defend the Presidential Palace to the death, drawing the rebels' firepower. Meanwhile, another close confidant of President Ngo Dinh Diem, Major General Thon Thuc Dinh, Commander of the Third Military Region and Governor-General of Saigon, would command reinforcements to rush in from the periphery. The two sides would work together, attacking from both sides and crushing the rebels in one fell swoop!

　I would like to add here that the entire South Vietnam was divided into four military regions, namely the First, Second, Third, and Fourth, from north to south.

　The First Military Region is located in Hue and is the first line of defense against North Vietnam, equivalent to the 38th parallel in South Korea.

　The Second Military Region, located in the western plateau, was the focus of infiltration along the Ho Chi Minh Trail and a hard-hit area for guerrilla warfare.

　The Third Military Region is centered in Saigon and is equivalent to the Capital Military Region, with its headquarters in Saigon. The Fourth Military Region is located in the Mekong Delta in the south.

　As the commander of the Third Military Region, the army around Saigon were theoretically all his subordinates - although some of them were controlled by the rebels.

　Just before the coup was launched and both sides raised their flags, even Zun Shiding was unsure which units of the Third Military Region had defected to the rebels: Nguyen Van Thieu's 5th Division had definitely joined the rebels, but the remaining 18th and 25th Infantry Divisions seemed unreliable.

　The only troops the Diem government could truly trust, aside from the Presidential Guard, were primarily the Marines, Airborne Troops, Rangers, and Special Forces, followed by the Navy and Air Force. The majority of the army was fickle, switching sides between loyalty and rebellion at any moment.

　According to the order that President Ngo Dinh Diem had previously given to Zunshi, he should have launched a coup at the General Staff Headquarters. After the enemy and friendly camps were completely clear, he should have commanded the remaining loyal troops of the Third Military Region who did not participate in the rebellion, and then joined forces with the reinforcements sent by Commander Nguyen Khanh of the Second Military Region to form an anti-rebellion army.

　Then, under the cover of the navy and air force loyal to the president, Sonthulim would command this army to march into Saigon, rescue the presidential palace, suppress the rebellion, and, by the way, purge the South Vietnamese officer corps that had long been unruly and remove the thorn in the side of President Ngo Dinh Diem.

　To put it in an analogy, if Li Guangsong is an anvil, nailed to the Presidential Palace and unable to move, then Zun Shiding is the hammer, smashing the rebels from behind!

　However, when the artillery fire in Saigon really started rumbling, Major General Sonmuro discovered something he had never expected:

　The number of troops from the Third Military Region participating in the rebellion was far greater than his worst imagination!

　Not only did the 5th Division rebel first, but the 18th Infantry Division stationed in Chunlu and the 25th Infantry Division stationed in Cu Chi also raised the banner of rebellion shortly afterwards!

　Even the armored troops in Vung Tau

　The school also rebelled collectively. The students happily drove tanks to Saigon to bombard the Presidential Palace!

　What’s even worse is that the president’s direct troops, who were originally thought to be absolutely reliable, also encountered problems one after another.

　——President Ngo Dinh Diem’s confidant, the commander of the army security forces, and the chief of the secret services, Du Mao, actually participated in the rebellion and immediately cut off all telephone lines in Saigon, causing Le Quang Song, who was trapped in the presidential palace, to lose contact with the outside world.

　In addition, Du Mao led secret agents to seize the Saigon Radio Station and ordered a broadcast to the world: announcing that President Ngo Dinh Diem had been overthrown and the Military Revolutionary Committee had seized power! This triggered chaos throughout South Vietnam!

　Then, infighting broke out among the South Vietnamese Marines.

　Although Colonel Li Yuankang, the Marine Corps commander, remained loyal to the president, anti-Wu factions within the Marine Corps gained the upper hand, and Li Yuankang was eventually placed under house arrest by his own men. The General Staff dispatched Major General Mei Youchun to take control of the Marine Corps, who then launched a surprise attack on the airborne troops' base.

　Colonel Gao Wenyuan, the airborne commander loyal to Ngo Dinh Diem, was caught off guard and defeated by the Marines. Some of the paratroopers also rebelled. He had no choice but to lead a small number of remnants and flee in panic in Saigon.

　At this point, almost all the troops under Major General Sonmoku Tadashi had rebelled!

　As the commander of the Third Military Region and Governor-General of Saigon, he has almost become a commander without troops and has no more troops to deploy!

　Next, Zun Shiding discovered to his horror that he had also become a target of the rebels - after defeating the airborne troops, Major General Mei Youchun personally led the Marines and rushed to Zun Shiding's headquarters with great momentum!

　Fortunately, the airborne commander Colonel Gao Wenyuan, with more than a hundred paratroopers, arrived first to meet up with Major General Zun Mushi Ding, and then they escaped together.

　Then they met Li Guangsong's younger brother Li Guangshao and a battalion of rangers under Li Guangshao's command.

　This small group of "loyal ministers and generals" fought their way through the chaotic streets and finally arrived at the Navy Ministry building in Saigon, only to find that the Navy Ministry was also filled with bullets flying and smoke - most of the naval officers and soldiers loyal to Ngo Dinh Diem were engaged in a gunfight with a few rebellious naval traitors.

　Originally, the General Staff planning the coup had intended to kill Navy Commander Hu Tien Quan and replace him with an insider, Lin Yuanxing. However, since most of the South Vietnamese Navy were close associates of Diem and devout Catholics, their loyalty to Diem was extremely high, the infiltration effort was far from ideal.

　Therefore, they changed their plan to launch a coup when the Navy Commander Colonel Hu Tien Quan left Saigon and headed north to Da Nang to receive the destroyer "Snow Wind" - according to the coup party's estimation, by the time Hu Tien Quan realized something was wrong and rushed back, the situation in Saigon should have been settled long ago.

　As a result, when gunshots rang out in the city of Saigon, Lin Yuanxing in the Navy Department was unwilling to be left out. He gathered a group of followers and wanted to cause chaos, but he received no response at all, and the situation ended in a stalemate with the "loyal" naval officers and soldiers.

　Next, with the "loyal ministers of President Wu" such as Zun Shiding, Gao Wenyuan and Li Guangshao joining in with their troops, the few remaining rebels in the Navy Headquarters were quickly purged, forcing Lin Yuanxing to escape over the wall. Zun Shiding and others, who had been panic-stricken like dogs that had lost their homes, were able to catch their breath.

　But even so, their situation was still very dangerous. Most of Saigon had fallen, and rebels tens of times their number could attack them at any time.

　Fortunately, just then, Lieutenant Commander Dinh Manh Hung, commanding 25 ships, successfully broke through the 7th Infantry Division's blockade at My Tho Ferry, entered the Saigon River from the open sea, and established contact with the Navy Headquarters. Trapped in the Navy Headquarters building, Son Si Ding and his companions, feeling as if they had been granted amnesty, hastily abandoned the headquarters and fled aboard Dinh Manh Hung's landing craft, urging them to weigh anchor and escort them out of Saigon.

　It was not until this time that Major General Zun Shiding, who had just recovered from the shock, remembered that Li Guangsong was still waiting for his rescue in the Presidential Palace. He quickly set up a radio on the boat, connected to the Presidential Palace, and informed Li Guangsong that he had been beaten so badly in Saigon that he could no longer stand and had to go elsewhere to seek reinforcements.

　Please, Li Guangsong, be sure to firmly defend the Presidential Palace. As long as the Presidential Palace is still there, there is still hope!

　Chapter 210: Xuefeng Becomes a Naturalized Citizen, and Chaos Rise in South Vietnam (Additional Update)

　On the other side, Li Guangsong, who was trapped in the Presidential Palace, finally managed to communicate with Zun Shiding by radio, but learned that there was no hope of foreign aid. Major General Zun Shiding, whom he regarded as his savior, was now in danger and even drifted on the Saigon River... He immediately became furious and started cursing.

　But after cursing, he could only grit his teeth and continue to hold on, while hoping that the Air Force would take action as soon as possible to relieve his pressure.

　At one o'clock in the afternoon, under the anticipation of Le Quang Song and the presidential guard, the South Vietnamese Air Force finally took action: six A-1H Skyraiders appeared over Saigon one after another, dropping high-explosive bombs and incendiary bombs on the presidential palace, turning several blocks around the presidential palace into a sea of ​​fire!

　Well, not only the Marine Corps has raised the flag of rebellion, but even the Air Force has rebelled!