American Strategic Deception Bureau

　President Ngo Dinh Diem was indeed dead, but his remnants still held troops and were entrenched in various parts of South Vietnam.

　—Zun Shiding of Da Nang, Huang Wengao, commander of the Fourth Military Region in Can Tho City, Hu Jinquan, commander of the navy in Phu Quoc Island…

　The above are the generals who are in the open, but no one knows how many Catholic militia groups are hidden in the dark!

　If he continued to root them out and annihilate them one by one, not to mention how much time it would take and how many troops would be lost... by the time the battle was over, how much further would the Vietcong's sphere of influence expand? Nguyen Khanh really didn't dare to think about it!

　Even now, the Viet Cong has already taken control of six or seven provinces, and half of the Mekong Delta has been dyed red!

　Therefore, the government forces should tolerate each other for the sake of the country and value peace!

　Although only three weeks had passed since the war began, Nguyen Khanh already felt that this civil war could no longer be continued.

　If the South Vietnamese army continues to kill each other, the regime will be destroyed!

　When Yang Wenming launched the coup at the General Staff Headquarters, he thought that he could achieve a quick victory and remove the Wu brothers, who were causing harm to the country and the people, at the lowest cost. However, he never imagined that it would lead to the current tragic scene where Saigon was reduced to ruins and most of the country's troops were wiped out!

　Alas, I really can’t fight anymore!

　After a moment's thought, he reached for the phone on the table. But there was no sound. Looking at the kerosene lamp beside the table, Ruan Qing could only give a wry smile and shout to the messenger outside, asking them to bring over the captured airborne commander, Colonel Gao Wenyuan.

　A moment later, Colonel Gao Wenyuan, wearing a white shirt and handcuffed, was escorted into the office by two guards.

　This loyalist to President Ngo Dinh Diem fought to the bitter end outside Saigon and was only captured after being knocked unconscious by a shell.

　Major General Nguyen Khanh sympathized with Gao Wenyuan's loyalty and, given their past friendship, treated him with great courtesy and preferential treatment.

　So, at this moment, Colonel Gao Wenyuan looked in good spirits and his injuries had been treated.

　After meeting this high-ranking prisoner, Ruan Qing did not waste any time talking and went straight to the point.

　"The president died in Saigon's Notre Dame Cathedral, and I feel very sorry for that. But the dead are gone, and we who are still alive must continue to look forward! So, I would like to ask you to go to Phu Quoc Island and discuss with Hu Jinquan about having Chen Lichun go abroad and bring the fleet back!

　Without a suitable harbor and dock for maintenance, his warships wouldn't last long in a rural area like Phu Quoc Island."

　Ruan Qing said, "Of course, before that, you have to change your clothes and come with me to visit the American ambassador..."

　"Go meet the American ambassador? Why do you want to meet the American ambassador?" Gao Wenyuan was stunned and asked subconsciously.

　"Of course we should ask the Americans to help mediate and issue a peace proposal to all domestic forces on our behalf! Nguyen Cao Ky's air force currently has only four planes left that can still operate, and they are not even enough to drop leaflets!" Nguyen Khanh sighed and said so.

　-

　April 22, 1963, Da Nang

　Looking at the American helicopters flying overhead and the leaflets falling, Firi curiously grabbed a leaflet and took a look. He found that it was General Nguyen Khanh's "Domestic Peace Initiative", which hoped that all domestic forces could stop the civil war and sit down to negotiate to restore peace.

　I have to say that this "Domestic Peace Initiative" is quite well-made, and it is written in English, French, and Vietnamese.

　Four languages: Nanyu and Chinese.

　Phi couldn't understand the Vietnamese content, and the English content was very brief and uninteresting. But the Chinese proposal seemed to have been written by an elderly overseas Chinese scholar. It was not only flowery but also filled with powerful parallel sentences, making it very readable: "The war has continued for months, costing billions of dollars and ruining dozens of provinces. Useful troops have been shattered, and sophisticated equipment has been completely lost. As for the internal strife, it is particularly distressing... This time, we sent troops to Saigon, knowing that internal strife is not good for the country. However, because the government's rewards and punishments were reversed, the former president acted selfishly, misled by the plots of scoundrels, adopted a policy that would destroy the country, persecuted veteran generals, and offended friendly countries, Qing had no choice but to resort to force to reform the government.

　Although obedience is a soldier's duty, he should also weigh the pros and cons and act accordingly. This war is not a rebellion, but a war to prolong the life of the country!

　Now that the capital has changed hands and the outcome is decided, Qing no longer wishes to accuse anyone of treason and launch a massive attack. I have recently detected the sentiments of the domestic military, and none of them are willing to fight again. Therefore, I have asked our friendly nation, the United States, to mediate and promote the cause of peace, so that all the military officers and soldiers will rally to the same voice and turn the tide, which should be more effective."

　"Are they preparing to grant amnesty and recruit rebels? That's right, South Vietnam is truly invincible now."

　Fili folded the leaflet thoughtfully and stuffed it into his wallet. "If the fighting continues, the Vietcong will just march into the city and take over!"

　--At the end of last month, when Ferry just arrived in South Vietnam, the Saigon government still had ten divisions of field troops under its command. Together with Saigon's elite reserve forces, local security militias, and US special forces participating in the war, they were able to barely fight the Viet Cong guerrillas.

　But by now, except for the navy which is still relatively intact, the South Vietnamese army and air force have suffered what can be described as "devastating" damage.

　Except for General Nguyen Khanh, who had the last laugh and still had two relatively intact divisions in his hands, the other eight divisions had basically been destroyed.

　Next, more than half of the most elite commandos and marines were lost, and the paratroopers were almost wiped out. The South Vietnamese Air Force, which was already very small, had shrunk further to a size similar to the "Mongolian Navy" - although it seemed to still exist, it could be ignored in the war.

　In addition, the massive loss of Catholic militias further uprooted the already weak rural grassroots forces of the South Vietnamese regime: when thousands of Catholic militias were fighting in Saigon, their villages, where only women, children and the elderly were left, were being robbed by the Viet Cong!

　——Without these Catholic militias and Catholic armed villages to get in the way, the Viet Cong would be able to move freely in the rural areas of South Vietnam!

　According to Dr. Kissinger and Phiri's estimates, the South Vietnamese government's military strength is only 30% of what it was before the civil war broke out.

　What's even more terrible is that these few remaining defeated soldiers are now divided into two hostile camps and are still in the crossfire.

　Therefore, it is understandable that Major General Nguyen Khanh, who had just taken power, would give up on settling accounts with the "remnants of the previous dynasty" and only seek to stop the civil war as soon as possible.

　If we keep fighting, everyone will be swallowed up by the Vietcong! No one will be able to play!

　But the question is, will the Viet Cong just sit and watch Nguyen Khanh gain a foothold in Saigon?

　While Nguyen Khanh in Saigon was desperately trying to reorganize his government, appealing to the United States for aid, and painstakingly persuading his allies to tolerate the remnants of Ngo Dinh Diem, a secret meeting thousands of miles away in Hanoi, the capital of North Vietnam, was also being held to determine Vietnam's fate...

　Chapter 224: North Vietnam's Ambition

　In mid-April 1963, in a small, heavily curtained conference room in Hanoi, the capital of North Vietnam, several senior leaders of the Workers' Party of Vietnam were examining a map of Vietnam on the conference table. Their faces were filled with delight, especially as they saw the small flags planted throughout the South.

　"The recent developments in the south are incredibly encouraging! The enemies are killing each other! We are rapidly growing stronger!"

　Ho Chi Minh, Chairman of the Workers' Party, whose original name was Nguyen Tien Thanh, and who later changed it several times until he was finally known as "Uncle Ho" because of his long beard, gazed at the provinces painted red on the map, his eyes sparkling, and his once frail face brightened. "Originally, I thought it would be a great success if the South Liberation Front could take advantage of this clash of Saigon gangs and achieve revolutionary victory in one or several provinces. I never imagined they would actually sweep across half of the South in one fell swoop! The young are truly formidable!"

　"Yes, the tremendous success achieved by our comrades in the South during this dry season is truly beyond our comprehension."

　Defense Minister Vo Nguyen Giap, hailed by Western journalists as the "Red Napoleon," nodded in agreement, saying, "The puppet regime in Saigon has suffered a severe blow from which it will be impossible to recover in the short term. Perhaps the opportunity for national liberation will arise within the next year or two."

　"No, it's either in the next one or two years, or during this year's dry season! The time to launch a general attack on the South is ripe!"

　First Secretary Le Duan suddenly spoke with absolute certainty, his bright eyes blazing like flames. "The enemy's morale is low and they are terrified. The puppet regime is in chaos and fighting among themselves. This is our best opportunity to march south and unify the country! We must seize this brief but precious window of opportunity!"

　After hearing Le Duan's belligerent words, the other people in the conference room had different expressions and fell into deep thought.

　——Since the signing of the Geneva Agreement in 1954, France

　Since the colonialists withdrew from Vietnam, the two Vietnams, North and South Vietnam, divided by the temporary dividing line of 17 degrees north latitude, began to take shape, just like the two Koreas divided by the 38th parallel.

　To the north is the Socialist Democratic Republic of Vietnam centered on Hanoi, and to the south is the Republic of Vietnam centered on Saigon.

　Internationally, these two are generally referred to as North Vietnam and South Vietnam.

　This state of division between the North and the South might be acceptable to South Vietnam, which only sought to survive.

　But for the arrogant North Vietnam, which was determined to unify, it was like a thorn in the throat.

　As early as the first day of the signing of the Geneva Agreement, the Vietnamese Workers' Party deployed capable personnel to lurk in the south in order to plan a major move.

　Later, as Ngo Dinh Diem tore up the agreement, refused the referendum for unification of the North and the South, and massacred the Workers' Party members who remained in the South in an attempt to destroy the grassroots party organizations, the Viet Cong in the South retaliated, turning from political struggle to armed struggle and launching a guerrilla war against the Saigon regime.

　In 1960, in Cu Chi District, Gia Dinh Province, only 35 kilometers from Saigon, the Workers' Party established the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, abbreviated as "the South Liberation Front", as the leading body of the war in the South. It also launched the first "general uprising" that year to launch a comprehensive attack on the Saigon regime.

　At the same time, in order to bypass the border blockade of the Ngo Dinh Diem regime and transport arms and supplies to the guerrillas in the south, North Vietnam passed through the uninhabited mountains and dense forests of Laos and eastern Cambodia. After overcoming numerous difficulties and withstanding the enemy's sneak attacks and destruction and the heavy bombing of enemy aircraft, it built the world-famous "Ho Chi Minh Trail" between the mountains. The official name of this road by the North Vietnamese is the Truong Son Road.

　In the following years, relying on the continuous supply of arms, medicine, food and other supplies from the north, as well as cadres and soldiers who went directly south to participate in the war, the Viet Cong guerrillas led by the South Liberation Front launched a long, brutal and bloody battle with the South Vietnamese government forces and various militia organizations. From the streets of Saigon to the canyons of Khe Sanh, from the coconut groves on the seaside to the reed marshes of the Mekong River, all kinds of battles were everywhere.

　According to Hanoi's predictions, because the Saigon regime was backed by the United States, liberating the South would inevitably be a difficult and long war. In order to liberate the South and unify the country, Vietnam would likely need to spend a generation and sacrifice an entire generation of young people...

　But there is no way. In order to win independence and freedom, this is the price the Vietnamese must pay!

　However, what the North Vietnamese leadership never dreamed was that happiness would come so quickly and so suddenly!

　Just this spring, the South Vietnamese regime defeated itself!

　For the South Vietnamese regime and the United States that supported South Vietnam, in the past month, the Ngo Dinh Diem regime in South Vietnam was collapsing in an uncontrolled and crazy civil war, the national order was completely broken, the dark age came, and everything could not be worse.

　But for the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam and the Hanoi Central Committee of North Vietnam behind it, this period was a period of great chaos and a very good situation.

　——The South Vietnamese army, which served as the "stabilizing force" to intimidate the countryside, was destroyed in the internecine fighting. Who can suppress the Viet Cong now?

　In just one month, the Viet Cong achieved complete victory in seven provinces in the south and controlled all areas of the other ten provinces except the provincial capitals! The South Vietnamese government's rule in the entire Mekong Delta was showing signs of collapse.

　In fact, the main opponent of the Viet Cong guerrillas in the Mekong Delta is no longer the South Vietnamese government army trapped in a few isolated cities, but the Catholic militia who are fighting stubbornly, as well as the Hoa Hao Security Corps and Cao Dai armed believers who are trying to fish in troubled waters.

　Apart from the Mekong Delta, which is rapidly turning red, the development of the Viet Cong in other parts of South Vietnam is also very encouraging.

　In provinces such as Hue, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien, which are close to the 17th parallel north, the Viet Cong has controlled all the inland mountainous areas and established many armed forces in the coastal plains; in the western plateau, Viet Cong guerrillas and part of the North Vietnamese regular army that moved south along the Ho Chi Minh Trail are besieging two important cities, Kon Tum and Pleiku, which have been left unguarded due to the withdrawal of garrisons, and are continuing to infiltrate toward the coast in an attempt to cut off South Vietnam's territory.

　In the past, although the South Vietnamese army could no longer effectively control more than half of the country's rural areas, it was still able to hold important cities and transportation lines, thereby limiting the scope of the Vietcong's activities and maintaining formal rule - just like the Japanese invaders who relied on artillery towers and railway lines to persist in China in the later stages of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

　But now, with the vast majority of South Vietnamese regular troops decimated and numerous cities captured, the network used to suppress the Vietcong had been ripped to shreds. Starting in April, North Vietnamese transport convoys no longer needed to take the long and difficult Ho Chi Minh Trail, but could now traverse the border directly, transporting large numbers of soldiers, cadres, and military supplies from the coastal plains into the Hue region of South Vietnam.

　Because all the South Vietnamese border guards had already rebelled, and the US military had not yet had time to send troops to take over the armistice demilitarized zone along the 17th parallel north.

　In fact, North Vietnam’s 304th and 308th Divisions have now moved to the border of the 17th parallel north and are ready to go!

　However, even the South Vietnamese regime in Saigon seemed so broken, fragmented and shaky at this moment...

　But is it really like a rotten dilapidated house that will collapse with just a kick?

　--remove

　Except for the radical Le Duan, the rest of the North Vietnamese senior officials still have great doubts about this.

　After all, in Vietnam's thousand-year history, it has always been about "unifying the north with the south", but there has never been a successful precedent of "unifying the south with the north"!

　——In China's history, there have been many situations of division and confrontation between the North and the South, and the outcome was mostly the North unifying the South.

　But in Vietnam, although there have also been many divisions between the North and the South, the subsequent development has been exactly the opposite: since its separation from China during the Five Dynasties period, all the divisions between the North and the South in Vietnam have ended with South Vietnam defeating and unifying North Vietnam, but there has never been any precedent of the North unifying the South.

　Even five or six hundred years ago, when the land of South Vietnam had not yet been fully developed and its population and financial resources were far inferior to those of North Vietnam, the separatist regimes in southern Vietnam could go north to the Red River time and time again, defeat the strong with the weak, capture Hanoi (Thang Long), and trample under their feet and ravage the self-proclaimed orthodox North Vietnam.

　More than a hundred years ago, Nguyen Phuc Anh, the leader of the Nguyen Dynasty's revival, also marched north from Saigon, which was then called "Gia Dinh", and conquered Hanoi after several years of hard fighting.

　Today, when Vietnam is once again divided into two and the North and the South are in confrontation, North Vietnam is somewhat psychologically at a disadvantage due to historical lessons.

　This is what is called "historical experience" or "historical lessons."

　——The Chinese believe that unifying the South with the North is unstoppable, while unifying the North with the South is difficult; the general view of the Vietnamese is exactly the opposite.

　What's more, today, the population of South Vietnam is equal to that of North Vietnam, and South Vietnam's GDP is even five times that of North Vietnam!

　Moreover, behind South Vietnam is the powerful and invincible United States of America... a brutal enemy that uses nuclear bombs at any time!

　Thinking of this, the good mood of everyone present, which was originally as bright as sunshine, couldn't help but dim again.

　"I think we shouldn't be too optimistic yet! Although the puppet regime in Saigon is on its last legs, the Americans behind it show no signs of withdrawing from Vietnam! If we launch a war for unification, we will inevitably have to fight the US military."

　"Long March," the pro-China leader whose original name was Deng Chunqu, hesitated for a moment and said, "Given that the United States even resorted to using hydrogen bombs to suppress the Cuban Revolution last year...should we abandon the reckless thinking of quick victories and instead focus on a long-term, steady struggle?"

　——It is conceivable that as the leader of the southern faction, Le Duan would absolutely not accept such conservative and cowardly ideas.

　The perfect opportunity to decide the outcome of a battle has clearly appeared, so why are we still waiting?

　Isn’t the blood shed by our comrades in the South enough over the years?

　How long will the country be divided?

　"The Americans have nuclear bombs, and the whole world knows it, but so what?"

　Le Duan argued confidently, "When the Chinese crossed the Yangtze River, they were not afraid of American nuclear bombs. Later, when our North Korean comrades launched the war of unification, they were not afraid of American nuclear bombs. Why should we be frightened by American nuclear bombs before we even start?"

　Moreover, Britain and France now have nuclear weapons. But have the black people in the African colonies ever stopped their armed resistance for independence?

　Are we less courageous than our black brothers in Africa?"

　After hearing this, everyone present was speechless.

　Indeed, if any nation dares not resist imperialism because of fear of its nuclear bombs, then that nation deserves to be a slave forever.

　Everyone here has risked their lives for revolution and is not afraid of death. How can you dare to say that you are afraid of nuclear bombs?

　If you were really afraid of death, you shouldn't have taken up arms and fought the French.

　Therefore, in order to unify the country and completely get rid of the colonial shackles, we must face it bravely even if we have to endure the cost of nuclear bombing.

　After all, North Vietnam had already declared, "Sacrifice a generation for the country." So, what's the difference between dying from a nuclear bomb and dying from a bullet?

　In short, everyone present quickly reached a consensus, believing that even if they had to take the risk of a nuclear bomb attack, they must carry out the liberation cause to the end.

　But then they encountered another problem: Under what pretext should the North Vietnamese army march south?

　In view of the lesson that during the Korean War, North Korea directly dispatched regular troops to the south, which led to the United States gathering UN forces to join the war.

　In the early stages of the Vietnam War, North Vietnam avoided deploying regular troops directly across the 17th parallel to attack South Vietnamese territory. Instead, it dispatched only cadres and soldiers to infiltrate the South and establish bases, diligently disguising the Vietnam War as a "proxy war."

　This was to prevent the United States from having an excuse to send a large number of troops to Vietnam... Of course, the United States did send troops later, and North Vietnam was too lazy to pretend.

　But now, the United States has not yet sent large-scale troops to participate in the Vietnam War, and North Vietnam still has some illusions about making the United States give up.

　Therefore, the excuse of "invading neighboring countries" should be avoided as much as possible, and some necessary cover-up work still needs to be done.

　At the very least, we cannot provoke a new "United Nations Army" into Vietnam!

　Therefore, Foreign Minister Pham Van Dong raised this question, and Le Duan’s answer was: Wouldn’t it be enough to let South Vietnam take the initiative to invite North Vietnam to send troops?

　After hearing this, everyone's first reaction was: How is this possible? Are you crazy?

　"Nothing in this world is absolutely impossible! I have a piece of news that I just received! Wu Tingyan's adopted son, the Hue general of the puppet regime,