American Strategic Deception Bureau

　Seeing this, Colonel Hu Jinquan, commander of the South Vietnamese Navy, stepped forward and echoed the advice, saying, "Please lead us to continue fighting!"

　Then, Diem's ​​secretary general, Nguyen Van Thuan, and all the civil and military officials present stood at attention and shouted to President Diem: "President, please lead us to continue fighting!"

　Looking at these determined and expectant faces, Wu Tingyan couldn't help but blush, feeling deeply ashamed of his previous timidity and cowardice.

　So, he stood up again, patted his wrinkled suit a few times, and said embarrassedly, "You are right. Although the situation is not good, there is still hope. As long as we persist, there is still hope of turning defeat into victory! God only favors those who are brave and strong!"

　By the way, where is Zun Shiding now? How is the battle going in the Fourth Military Region? When will we be able to cross the Mekong River?

　In short, although the situation was still disastrous, Ngo Dinh Diem, the backbone of the entire regime, finally cheered up.

　-

　"I have to say, although this 'Dragon Lady' has a terrible reputation, she is very clear-headed at the critical moment."

　Watching "Dragon Lady" Chen Lichun yelling and beating, leaving President Ngo Dinh Diem stunned, Dr. Kissinger couldn't help but whisper to Ferry, "This reminds me of Theodora, the former prostitute and empress of Justinian the Great of the Eastern Roman Empire..."

　"Uh, advising the Emperor to bloodily suppress the Nika Rebellion? The purple robe is the most beautiful shroud?"

　Fili understood it instantly, and then looked at Chen Lichun, who had turned evil like the goddess of vengeance, and suddenly felt that this metaphor seemed quite appropriate.

　Although he also insisted that Chen Lichun's intelligence and IQ were more than one level lower than that of Queen Theodora.

　——Empress Theodora, wife of Justinian the Great, the greatest emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, was known for her humble origin and resourcefulness.

　Shortly after Justinian the Great ascended the throne, the citizens of the imperial capital Constantinople launched a vigorous armed uprising. The rebels controlled most of the city of Constantinople and even elected a new emperor. The coronation ceremony was held at the racetrack separated from the imperial palace by a wall.

　Emperor Justinian in the palace saw the capital spiraling out of control, so he ordered his servants to pack up their gold and silver and prepare to escape by boat.

　But Empress Theodora dissuaded him, saying, "A man who wears a crown should not live in defeat. If you want to escape, your majesty, good luck to you. You have money, your ship is ready, and the sea is open to you. But I will stay. For purple is the most beautiful shroud."

　Justinian was ashamed of Theodora's determination, so he decided to stay and eventually put down the rebellion in the capital and saved his throne.

　This led to the "reconquest" feat in which Justinian sent the famous general Belisarius to lead an expedition to the west to recapture North Africa and Italy, and even to Spain, almost turning the Mediterranean into a "Roman Lake" again and expanding the Eastern Roman Empire to its largest territory in history.

　If it weren't for Chen Lichun's wake-up call, Wu Tingyan would have really taken a plane from Da Nang to go into exile abroad.

　If so, the entire Ngo Dinh Diem regime, which was established based on him, would inevitably collapse in an instant and turn to ashes.

　In Saigon, Dang Minh could easily take over the country in an instant, just like Castro did four years ago, after the old dictator fled.

　Now that President Ngo Dinh Diem is back on his feet, the civil and military officials following him now have a backbone and can continue to hold on for a while.

　As for which side will win in the end, it depends on the game between the two sides - although President Wu is surrounded by treacherous ministers, aren't the coup makers also a bunch of insects?

　However, on the first night of the coup, Ngo Dinh Diem was clearly at a disadvantage.

　Even though President Ngo Dinh Diem was inspired by Chen Lichun's cosplay of Queen Theodora, the current situation was still very dangerous.

　Now, President Ngo Dinh Diem and his civil and military officials are faced with a difficult choice:

　Should the naval and land forces in Da Nang sail north to attack Hue first, or should they sail south to counterattack Saigon?

　According to President Ngo Dinh Diem, the most urgent task at the moment is to concentrate all military forces and make a huge bet to counterattack Saigon!

　As long as the capital Saigon is recaptured and the puppet government established by the rebels is abolished, the national situation can be reversed in an instant.

　On the contrary, if we waste our troops on the relatively unimportant battlefield of Hue and allow the rebels to take control of Saigon, it would be a loss!

　After all, the political significance of the capital Saigon and its influence on people's hearts and minds are really too great.

　If the fall of Saigon takes too long, the troops that are still loyal to Ngo Dinh Diem will probably become unreliable.

　No one at the meeting had any objection to this.

　But the question is, if everyone comes out in full force to attack Saigon, what should we do in Da Nang?

　There is only Hai Van Ridge between Da Nang and Hue!

　If the commander of the First Military Region, Du Gaozhi, after wiping out the remnants of the Wu family in Hue, continued to lead the First and Second Divisions from the Hue Plain to the south, crossing the Hai Van Ridge and heading straight for Da Nang, I am afraid that Da Nang may not be able to be defended with the local Catholic militia!

　If Saigon was not captured first and Da Nang was lost later, the morale would probably collapse and the entire army would be disbanded.

　Will we then follow the example of Nguyen Phuc Anh, the founding emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty, and go into exile on Phu Quoc Island to eat tree bark and grass roots?

　Nguyen Phuc Anh, the founder of the last Vietnamese dynasty, was repeatedly defeated and his country was destroyed. Each time, he fled to Phu Quoc Island to seek help from foreigners. Initially, he sought aid from Siam (Thailand), and later even sought help from Louis XVI of France, who brought reinforcements to the Palace of Versailles.

　Back then, Nguyen Phuc Anh could still summon reinforcements from Thailand. But if President Ngo Dinh Diem were to completely lose power and be abandoned by his American father, who would send troops to his rescue? He couldn't just go north to Hanoi and seek refuge with Ho Chi Minh, could he?

　The benevolent Ho Chi Minh might have been able to "lose all grudges" with him, but Le Duan, who held real power in North Vietnam, was not so magnanimous.

　If Ngo Dinh Diem fell into his hands, it would be a good thing for Le Duan if he could keep his body intact instead of being cut into pieces.

　——The party members and bases that Le Duan had developed in the south were brutally killed by Ngo Dinh Diem’s Three Alls Policy!

　Therefore, although Wu Tingyan, who controls the navy, still has some capital, he only has one chance.

　Once you make the wrong choice, it’s completely [GAME OVER] and you can never play again.

　He urged, "Although Nguyen Cheng Thi made mistakes in the past, he has finally come to his senses and turned back. It's time to put aside our grudges and laugh it off! You should quickly appoint him Governor-General of Hue to help us defend the northern gateway!"

　Upon hearing this, President Ngo Dinh Diem finally came to his senses and nodded repeatedly, saying, "You're right! Now is the time to recruit people, and we must put aside past grudges! Have the radio station immediately send a telegram in plain text, appointing Nguyen Chinh Thi as Governor-General of Hue and Commander of the First Military Region, commanding the First and Second Infantry Divisions. The troops near Da Nang that were originally part of the First Military Region will be temporarily placed under the direct control of the central government and prepared to be used in the Saigon attack!"

　Have another plane take off from Da Nang Airport and airdrop a letter of commission to Hue..."

　-

　Well, who is this Nguyen Chinh Thi, the "adopted son" of Ngo Dinh Diem who killed the commander of the First Military Region, Do Cao Tri?

　How should I put it? Perhaps he's a character similar to Lü Bu and Lü Fengxian.

　Nguyen Chinh Thi was once a close confidant of Diem, having served briefly in the French colonial army. In 1955, when Diem was campaigning against the Binh Xuyen faction, a warlord entrenched in the Chinese-speaking district of Saigon, Nguyen Chinh Thi, then a lieutenant, fought with remarkable ferocity in the street fighting, earning Diem's ​​favor.

　Afterwards, Ngo Dinh Diem not only adopted him as his adopted son, promoted him to colonel, but also appointed him to be in charge of the airborne troops, which was a great favor to him.

　In front of outsiders, Ngo Dinh Diem would often point at Nguyen Chinh Thi and say with a smile, "This is my son!"

　It looks like a loving father and a filial son.

　But the problem is that although Nguyen Cheng Thi was very brave in fighting, his character was really not that good. Even American reporters could see that this guy had character problems and described him as "a brave but foolish opportunist without firm beliefs."

　Sure enough, the drama of "loving father and filial son" only lasted a few years. Feeling a little arrogant, Nguyen Cheng Shi teamed up with another officer named Wang Wendong to launch a mutiny in Saigon, attempting to seize power - the time was November 11, 1960, three days after Kennedy's election victory.

　At the beginning, the mutiny led by Nguyen Chinh Thi and Wang Van Dong went smoothly. The rebels occupied the police headquarters, airport, radio station and other places without bloodshed, surrounded the presidential palace, and captured the general staff headquarters, capturing Dang Minh, Tran Van Don and other senior South Vietnamese military officers.

　However, due to lack of experience and insufficient manpower, Nguyen Chinh Thi and Wang Van Dong failed to block the road to Saigon or completely cut off the telephone lines of the Presidential Palace. At the same time, Nguyen Chinh Thi's moral integrity had not yet been completely lost, and he was reluctant to take ruthless action against Ngo Dinh Diem, who had done him a favor.

　At that time, Wu Tingyan was also very smooth. While negotiating with Nguyen Zhengshi and launching a family offensive to delay time, he also called for reinforcements from other places to rescue him.

　Ultimately, Nguyen Van Thieu and Nguyen Khanh led their troops into Saigon, easily crushing the rebels and rescuing President Ngo Dinh Diem. Only 400 casualties occurred, mostly civilians who had taken to the streets to observe the riots. Wang Van Dong and Nguyen Chinh Thi abandoned their troops and fled to Cambodia, later to Paris, France.

　More than two years later, the heroes who once saved President Ngo Dinh Diem from danger turned into rebel leaders who bombarded the presidential palace.

　So, this time, when the officers of the General Staff were planning a coup, they remembered the two "coup predecessors" who had previously broken into the General Staff and arrested them, and then managed to contact Wang Wendong and Ruan Zhengshi who were in exile abroad, wanting to invite them to return to the country to "join in the celebration."

　Wang Wendong responded that he had found a job and settled down in Paris and didn't want to return to China to fight and kill. However, Diem's ​​adopted son, Nguyen Chinh Thi, seemed to be having a hard time in France and, seeing an opportunity to rise to power in China, he immediately flew back.

　Unfortunately, Yang Wenming did not make much use of Ruan Zhengshi. He just treated him as a spare piece that might be of use and kept him by his side in the cold for the time being.

　Next, on the eve of the operation, the coup group of the General Staff miraculously surrendered Du Caozhi, commander of the First Military Region stationed in Hue.

　But the problem is that before, Du Caozhi had carried out a large-scale anti-Buddhist campaign in Hue, killing monks in large numbers, cutting down mountains and destroying countless temples, and even firing poison gas bombs at Buddhists who were protesting. He had completely pledged his allegiance to Ngo Dinh Diem... How could he have the courage to jump into the anti-Ngo camp now?

　Could it be that Du Gaozhi actually thought that as long as he changed his flag and defected at the last moment, the Buddhist community in South Vietnam would forgive him?

　The saying "Put down your butcher knife and become a Buddha instantly" is said to ordinary people, but it does not apply to the "enemies of Buddha" who cut down mountains and destroy temples!

　The monks are so narrow-minded!

　As an important ally of the coup, Yang Wenming couldn't possibly ignore the views and opinions of Buddhists...

　Therefore, the General Staff and the Saigon civilian group that participated in the coup were extremely suspicious of the surrender of the commander of the First Military Region, Do Gao Zhi. They felt that Do Gao Zhi was most likely a mole who had infiltrated the coup army on the orders of Ngo Dinh Diem and was waiting for an opportunity to sabotage the operation.

　Therefore, the leader of the coup army, General Yang Ming-Ning, appointed Nguyen Cheng Thi as a special envoy to rush to Hue on behalf of the General Staff to supervise the battle and monitor Du Cao Zhi's defection. At the same time, he issued a secret order allowing Nguyen Cheng Thi to execute Du Cao Zhi if necessary and take over the troops of the First Military Region.

　Of course, whether Nguyen Chinh Thi could actually take over Du Cao Zhi's forces, or whether he could escape Hue, which was likely a trap, was his own business. Yang Wenming had simply given Nguyen Chinh Thi a blank check.

　Anyway, in the eyes of the coup group, Hue is far away in the north, and for a time

　As long as the military took Saigon, killed Ngo Dinh Diem, and obtained American recognition, then even if Du Caozhi had ulterior motives, could he still start a rebellion in Hue?

　As a result, what Yang Wenming never expected was that Du Gaozhi actually wanted to turn against Wu and even killed a bunch of Wu's relatives.

　What Yang Wenming never expected was that Nguyen Cheng Thi, who went to Hue as a military supervisor with a group of trusted followers, went on to kill Du Gaozhi!

　After confirming that Du Caozhi was truly participating in the coup, and watching Du Caozhi send troops to annihilate Wu Dinjin and Wu Dinhchu, and defeat the Catholic militia in the city of Hue, Nguyen Zhengshi began his conspiracy.

　Under the pretext of conveying the latest directives from the General Staff, he summoned all the senior officers of the First Military Region, including Commander Du Gaozhi. Then, he suddenly launched an attack in the middle of the meeting, shooting Du Gaozhi, who had just returned from the battlefield and was still dusty from the battle, dead with two shots.

　Then, standing beside Doi Cao Tri's sullen corpse, Nguyen Chinh Thi produced the secret order given to him by General Dung Van Minh, stating that he was acting on orders from the General Staff to execute Doi Cao Tri in order to appease public anger and resolve the resentment of Buddhists. He then demanded that the troops of the First Military Region obey his orders...

　——As the adopted son of President Ngo Dinh Diem, he was willing to rebel in order to seize power and even controlled the entire Saigon for a time. It was only because Nguyen Chinh Thi was not thick-skinned enough and did not kill Ngo Dinh Diem that he failed.

　Now that he has returned from exile abroad and gained enlightenment, Ruan Zhengshi's moral integrity has declined significantly, and his main characteristics are shamelessness and "quick, ruthless and accurate".

　Having learned from the lesson of his failure in the Saigon coup in 1960 due to his high moral standards, Nguyen Chinh Thi immediately executed Du Cao Tri when he started the rebellion in Hue this time. Then he took out the secret order from the General Staff, hoping to make himself the "King of the North" of South Vietnam in one fell swoop.

　The problem was that, relying on a surprise attack against the unprepared, former airborne commander, Nguyen Chinh Thi, the General Staff's special envoy, had indeed eliminated the unrepentant Du Gaozhi and placed the entire First Military Region command under house arrest. However, to expect the entire First and Second Divisions to submit to him simply by relying on such a shameless and brutal act and a letter from Yang Minh-wen was sheer wishful thinking—too much.

　The First Military Region, in particular, had a high percentage of Catholics, and was already more inclined to be loyal to President Ngo Dinh Diem. It was only because the rebellious commander, Doi Kao Chi, rallied a group of senior officers and led the rebellion that the officers and soldiers unwittingly followed suit.

　——After all, just two days ago they were holding the cross flag, cutting down mountains and destroying temples, killing monks and robbing monasteries, and they kept saying that they wanted to "fight the pagans for God". How come they suddenly changed their attitude today, holding the swastika flag, and joined the monks in attacking churches and killing priests?

　Although it felt good to fuck a nun yesterday and a nun today, my mind still couldn't wrap its head around it for a while!

　Now, Du Gaozhi had been murdered by the special commissioner of the General Staff who had tricked him into rebellion. Senior officers of the First Military Region had also been arrested, and they might face death at any moment. This clearly showed the General Staff's ruthless and ruthless attitude towards the First Military Region.

　This immediately made the officers of the First and Second Divisions feel their hearts go cold!

　What's even more terrible is that in order to win over the powerful temple monastic organizations in Hue, the old capital of the Nguyen Dynasty, and eliminate the resentment of Buddhists towards the military, Nguyen Chinh Thi specially invited several of the most prestigious monks in Hue to discuss the matter. In the end, he decided to let the officers and soldiers of the First and Second Divisions return all the gold and silver utensils and other property that had been looted from Buddhist temples, and pay a large sum of money to the damaged temples as offerings and compensation.

　In addition, all officers above the rank of second lieutenant were required to kneel down and kowtow in front of the gates of several burned-down temples, begging for forgiveness from the Buddha.

　Upon learning of this, the officers and soldiers of the South Vietnamese First and Second Divisions, especially the Catholics who had looted the temple's gold and silver, were filled with righteous indignation and fury, declaring their rebellion to be even more drastic! No matter what happens in Saigon, we will kill Nguyen Chinh Thi! We will avenge Commander Du Cao Tri, who was deceived and murdered!

　Less than twelve hours after the "forged edict" took control of the First Military Region Headquarters, Nguyen Chinh Thi received a series of bad news:

　The main force of the First Division, stationed at the 17th parallel north, was chaotically abandoning its border defenses and moving toward Hue city. The remaining troops of the Second Division, stationed at Chu Lai, also sent a telegram declaring themselves "neutral," refusing to accept orders and remaining in camp until the civil war was over. However, portions of the First and Second Divisions that had already entered Hue mutinied en masse, engaging in violent battles with Buddhists and the few remaining troops under Nguyen Chinh Thi's command.

　Oh God, oh Buddha, are these bandits determined to be enemies of Buddha?

　Seeing the situation dire, Nguyen Chinh Thi had no choice but to hastily order the opening of the armory. He distributed guns and ammunition to the monks and other devout Buddhists, preparing to repair barricades in Hue and wage another religious war. Because the South Vietnamese army also practiced a "gun and ammunition separation" system during peacetime, the soldiers of the rebellious First and Second Divisions were short on ammunition. The vast majority of the ammunition and weapons stocks were taken over by Nguyen Chinh Thi.

　Although Ruan Zhengshi had a motley crew and the enemy had a regular army, as long as he could drag the enemy out of ammunition, he would surely win.

　Of course, if you are defeated by a rebellious army, you can only consider yourself unlucky and everything will be over from then on.

　But at this time, people had only a vague understanding of the chaos in Hue.

　President Ngo Dinh Diem, who knew the truth, wanted to add to the chaos - he sent a telegram from the warship in Da Nang to announce to the world that he appointed Nguyen Chinh Thi as the Governor-General of Hue and Commander of the First Military Region, and also sent a plane to Hue to airdrop the letter of appointment.

　——Not to mention how Nguyen Cheng Thi felt in a dilemma when holding the letter of appointment from his "godfather", the entire Hue was plunged into even greater chaos.

　Whether it is the monks, Buddhists, soldiers or Catholics in Hue, they are all wondering: Which side is Nguyen Cheng Thi on?

　Well, in fact, even the "filial son" Ruan Zhengshi himself was dizzy at this moment, and he didn't know which side he should be on.

　Meanwhile, the South Vietnamese Army General Staff in Saigon was also furious after learning that Nguyen Chinh Thi had gone to Hue and acted in such a way...

　Author's words: PS: Biden actually opened an account on Tik Tok (overseas Douyin) to interact with young voters, while continuing to push for a ban on Tik Tok. He is really shameless to cross the river and then demolish the bridge.

　Chapter 215: The Insects Who Occupied Saigon

　On March 31, the second day after the coup, the General Staff of the South Vietnamese Army was located next to Tan Son Nhat Airport in Saigon.

　Although the generals who launched the coup nominated former Vice President Nguyen Ngoc Thô as interim president, everyone knew that the old man was just a puppet and a signboard, used to deceive international public opinion and deal with the Americans, pretending that South Vietnam still had a civilian government.

　In fact, the real power now lies in the General Staff and the "Military Revolutionary Committee" headed by Yang Wenming.

　Of course, the power that General Yang Ming-Ning can actually exercise at the moment is limited to the area around Saigon. If the distance is farther, it will be useless.

　Even if people were released from Saigon, there was a certain chance that they would become wild dogs on the loose, smashing all kinds of jars and pots along the way.

　For example, at this moment, the generals and officers of the South Vietnamese army were angrily discussing the terrible incident that had just happened in Hue.

　"That bastard Nguyen Cheng-shi! Whose side is he on? Why did they send him to Hue in the first place?

　If we rashly grant power to such insects, how can we carry out a successful revolution? How can we save our country?"

　Du Mao, the security director in charge of intelligence, pounded the table and shouted in frustration, but his eyes were looking meaningfully at Yang Wenming, who was sitting at the top.

　——As a veteran of the ruling Workers' Party of South Vietnam and a close confidant of President Ngo Dinh Diem, Do Mau, like Do Cao Tri, commander of the First Military Region in Hue, were all targets that needed to be guarded against and vigilant in the eyes of the officers of the General Staff who launched the coup, and even eliminated in a timely manner after their use was exhausted.

　Although Du Mao, blinded by greed, resolutely betrayed President Ngo Dinh Diem and joined the coup forces, he immediately regretted it when he sensed the wariness and hostility. Therefore, Du Mao often used sarcastic remarks to vent his resentment.

　However, General Yang Wenming, the leader of the coup forces, who was known for his low emotional intelligence, but was senior and had a high military rank, was completely unaware of Du Mao's sarcasm, or perhaps he didn't mind it at all. Instead, he frankly admitted his mistake in public, nodding and sighing to the crowd, "Yes, it's all my fault. I didn't expect that Du Gaozhi was truly supporting us, while Nguyen Cheng Shi was harboring evil intentions!"

　"Alas, originally, we could have sent troops from the First Military Region directly to attack Da Nang. Even if we couldn't capture the President, we could at least force him to flee to the sea. But now... I'm afraid we can't even rely on the First and Second Divisions in Hue!"