American Strategic Deception Bureau

　Compared with the Cao Dai sect, the advantage of the Hoa Hao sect militia is that their range of activities is close to the sea, and outside Ha Tien Port is Phu Quoc Island, where the South Vietnamese navy is entrenched.

　As long as there is external support from the sea, they can continue to hold on in Ha Tien.

　-

　In addition to continuing to sweep away the enemy on the battlefield

　In addition to sweeping across South Vietnam to eliminate the remaining resistance forces, the Central People's Government of the "Republic of South Vietnam" established by the Viet Cong in Saigon also did not forget to launch a diplomatic offensive on the international stage.

　As soon as the new regime of "Red South Vietnam" was established, it announced the release of all US government diplomats and other non-military personnel in Saigon, including Ambassador Lodge, on the grounds that Vietnam had not declared war on the United States, in order to express goodwill towards the United States.

　On May 2nd, while the smoke from the battle at Bien Hoa Airport had barely cleared, the Viet Cong loaded trucks with over 5 diplomats from the US Embassy in South Vietnam, along with White House civilian advisers stationed in various South Vietnamese government departments, and moved them north along Highway 22 to the Mupai border crossing between Vietnam and Cambodia. Then, under the flashing lights of a swarm of journalists, the beleaguered Americans were handed over to Cambodian border guards at the Mupai customs office.

　A Viet Cong propagandist also took the opportunity to give a passionate speech expressing their desire for peace and reunification.

　Now, the ball is in the hands of the United States: Will the White House and the Pentagon continue to aid a "free country" that no longer exists?

　Author's Note: PS: I've been watching the American TV series "Shogun" recently, and it's indeed as well-made as Game of Thrones. Although it distorts Japanese history, wouldn't it be interesting to think of it as a fictional Japanese Warring States period, or a Japanese version of Game of Thrones?

　Game of Thrones and the War of the Roses in England are not the same thing, right?

　Maybe in the future there will be a lot of Shogun fan fiction, just like the Game of Thrones fan fiction that is everywhere now?

　After all, in the early years, writing time-travel novels set in the Japanese Warring States period was also very popular.

　Chapter 234: Commander-in-Chief of US Forces in Vietnam, Philip

　As if finally recovering from the shock of the famous scene "Saigon Iron Fist", in early May 1963, major newspapers and media around the world reported on the Vietnam battlefield news on their front pages and launched heated discussions on whether the United States would intervene in the Vietnam battlefield again.

　France's Le Figaro published an article pointing out that from the standpoint of national interests, the United States should abandon the quagmire of Vietnam and "respond to Ho Chi Minh's goodwill with goodwill." It also believes that the United States' interference in Indochina affairs across the Pacific is a typical "over-projection of national power."

　The New York Times quoted Air Force General LeMay as saying that the Vietcong's so-called "goodwill" was merely a stalling tactic to buy time and space. Once Vietnam's "freedom forces" were completely wiped out, the "Red Devils" would resume their invasion and expansion.

　The Soviet newspaper Pravda enthusiastically praised the great victory of its "proletarian brothers" in Vietnam. But it also warned Ho Chi Minh to avoid arrogance and remain calm. Like the Kurdish hero Saladin after the capture of Jerusalem, it was not time to break out the champagne and celebrate victory. Instead, he had to remain prepared for another wave of Crusader counterattacks from across the ocean.

　"Hmm, is Ho Chi Minh Saladin? Is President Ngo Dinh Diem the Leper King Baldwin? Is Dung Minh the Guy who lost the Battle of Harding?"

　General Zun Shiding of Da Nang looked at the summary of intelligence from various newspapers and magazines sent by Ferry and couldn't help but laugh. "Then who are we?"

　"Perhaps Conrad was the one who defended Tyre and held the last stronghold for the Crusaders after Saladin conquered Jerusalem?"

　Fili shrugged and replied casually, "So, General Zun Shiding, please remain resolute and don't be discouraged! As long as we firmly defend Da Nang, there will surely be "crusaders" with the stars and stripes, crossing the vast ocean to save this country from the Red Bandits!"

　"However, there is currently a lot of opposition in Western public opinion to the US sending troops!"

　Zun Shiding pointed at the documents on the table. "Given the current situation, if the US military hadn't directly joined the war, all of us would be nothing but candles in the wind. Facing the turbulent waves raised by the Viet Cong, no matter how hard we struggle, we won't be able to hold out for long..."

　"Please rest assured that the Pentagon will definitely send troops to Vietnam, and Congress will definitely pass the bill to send troops."

　Phiri confidently assured, "Because in today's America, no one can afford the political cost of 'losing Vietnam'!"

　Moreover, the US military could not accept the cruel fact that it was defeated by a peasant guerrilla group in a day. This would deal a devastating blow to the Pentagon's deterrence. Once everyone no longer feared the US aircraft carrier battle group, the world order dominated by the United States would be shaken.

　After all, this world still has to rely on violence to speak, and the one with the biggest fist can be the boss!

　Therefore, no matter what the French newspapers say, the Pentagon will never accept the Viet Cong's "goodwill"..."

　Indeed, there is now a lot of international public opinion that "well-intentionedly" hopes that the United States will cut its losses in time, accept Ho Chi Minh's olive branch, and withdraw from Vietnam.

　But would the United States just abandon South Vietnam and flee Southeast Asia in disgrace?

　No matter how you think about it, it’s impossible!

　After all, more than 10,000 American soldiers had just been killed or captured by the Viet Cong. The vast majority of American troops stationed in Vietnam at that time were civilians and support personnel, and their combat effectiveness was extremely low. Even US Ambassador Rocky and Commander of US Forces Vietnam, Harkins, had been taken to a Viet Cong prisoner-of-war camp.

　Well, although Ambassador Lodge has been released now, he was still a prisoner of war as an American ambassador.

　Camp.

　For the United States, which claims to be the "world leader", such a tragic defeat is such a shame!

　In newspapers in the United States, the disastrous Battle of Saigon was described as the "second Pearl Harbor"!

　Although the Pentagon had previously wiped out the 1st Marine Division in a single day on the Cuban battlefield, the Cubans had even resorted to atomic bombs to destroy the 1st Marine Division, so strictly speaking, it didn't seem like a war crime.

　After all, no one can use flesh and blood to withstand the mushroom cloud and radiation flash of an antigen bullet, right?

　But what do the Viet Cong guerrillas have now?

　It was just some grenades, rocket launchers, machine guns and submachine guns, as well as armored vehicles and tanks that had just been captured from the South Vietnamese army.

　However, more than 10,000 American troops were almost completely annihilated in just one day by this ragged, mud-legged army...

　Given such a dismal record, were all the Viet Cong supermen, or had the US military become corrupt and weak?

　Even in the early days of the Pacific War, when the Japanese invaders defeated China miserably and the Americans considered the Battle of the Philippines a national humiliation, General MacArthur, who lost the Philippines, at least escaped on a torpedo boat and was not captured by the Japanese commander Masaharu Homma, put into an iron cage, and transported to Tokyo for parade.

　But in this Battle of Saigon, the helicopters of General Hawkins and Ambassador Lodge were shot down by the Viet Cong, and neither of them escaped!

　Moreover, General MacArthur's opponents were, after all, the fierce regular army of the Imperial Japanese Army. Even though he lost to the yellow monkeys, it wasn't particularly shameful—although in the eyes of American white supremacists, it was shameful enough.

　And now General Huggins was in an even more embarrassing situation. Not only did he lose to the yellow monkeys, he also lost to a group of yellow monkeys' irregular troops!

　Even he himself could not escape. Ambassador Lodge, whom he was ordered to protect, was also imprisoned in a Viet Cong prisoner-of-war camp with him.

　Of course, the US military's poor performance in the Battle of Saigon was due to many factors. For example, the majority of US troops in Saigon were civilians or support personnel who had never received combat training. There were only two to three thousand truly capable special forces soldiers.

　However, due to political needs, General Hawkins, the commander of the US forces in Vietnam, had to use this pitiful force to defend the huge city of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. As a result, the meager force was scattered all over the city like pepper, unable to form a joint force or prevent the infiltration of the Viet Cong.

　Furthermore, the complete collapse of Saigon's intelligence agencies during the South Vietnamese Civil War rendered General Huggins deaf and blind in Saigon. Unable to detect the latest military movements of the Viet Cong in advance, he was unable to make corresponding arrangements and adjustments... This led to the tragedy of Saigon's fall in one day.

　But the question is, will people around the world listen to your explanation? No, they will just think that the United States has become weaker and the US military has become incompetent!

　Therefore, even if it was just to save face and prove itself, the Pentagon had to return to Saigon and teach the Viet Cong a lesson.

　Just like General MacArthur, who kept talking about "returning to the Philippines" like a madman throughout the Pacific War.

　Otherwise, the consequence will be "one punch fails to open the door, but a hundred punches are received" - everyone feels that the United States cannot be defeated, and then these anti-American forces will accumulate strength, eager to try, and rise up in chaos around the world to attack the US hegemonic order and make the Pentagon unable to resist.

　If you want to avoid such bad consequences, you must get up from where you fell!

　Specifically, it was to regain the face lost in Saigon by beating up the Viet Cong!

　In this way, even though it is completely unprofitable and not worth the cost from a national perspective, the US military has no choice but to send troops to Vietnam.

　Otherwise, being defeated by the Viet Cong would be shameful enough for the US Imperial Army. If they were to be frightened into retreat and flee again by the Viet Cong, would the US military dare to fight any more battles? Who would still dare to count on such a cowardly leader to back them up?

　In view of this, Ferry believed that even Secretary of Defense McNamara, who was superstitious about mathematical models, would have jumped into the Vietnam pit with his nose pinched.

　Because for the US military, which is now "spreading its military power all over the world" and stationed all over the world, fighting Vietnam is certainly a hell of a place, but the consequences of not fighting will only be more terrible!

　-

　However, despite full confidence in the US reinforcements landing in Vietnam, it is ultimately impossible to quench the thirst of the immediate future with distant water.

　In the first few days of May, before the arrival of American reinforcements in large numbers, the Viet Cong continued its rapid expansion in the country.

　On May 3, after basically controlling the Third Military Region, the main force of the Viet Cong in Saigon began to move north from the plains in the south to feign an attack on the mountainous Second Military Region. The first target of the attack was Da Dao City, the capital of Xuan Duc Province.

　The city of Dadao, located on a mountain at an altitude of 1500 meters, is a famous tropical summer resort, comparable to Shimla in India. Many political leaders and wealthy businessmen of the Republic of Vietnam own their own holiday mansions and estates in the city of Dadao.

　At the same time, Da Dao is also the location of the South Vietnamese Army Officer School and the imperial tombs of the Nguyen Dynasty, and has extraordinary political significance.

　At the beginning, Da Dao City was not ready to surrender to the Viet Cong. Although the 2nd Military Region had very few troops left here, the local Catholic militia still actively dug

　They built trenches and barricades, attempting to take advantage of the natural dangers of the mountain city, defending step by step and blocking the advance of the Viet Cong troops.

　Unexpectedly, the Dalat Army Officer School, which was originally regarded as the backbone of the defense by the citizens of Dadao, had other ideas. After a meeting with the instructors, the principal believed that the South Vietnamese army had been beaten to pieces. After the arrival of American reinforcements, the students of this military school would become the backbone of the revival of the South Vietnamese army. This precious resource must not be wasted in "unskilled" street fighting.

　So, with the enemy at their doorstep, the military academy decided to desert. The entire faculty and students fled Da Dao City by truck overnight, retreating along Highway 11 to the coastal city of Phan Rang. They then continued north along Highway 1 to Nha Trang, where they reunited with the small number of American troops stationed there.

　Perhaps the principal and instructors believed they were preserving the future. The problem was, letting the cadets take the lead in desertion severely damaged the fighting spirit and morale of the Dadao City people—if all the future officers had fled, why would the ordinary militiamen continue to fight?

　In this way, the Catholic militia in Dadao quickly scattered, most of them followed the military cadets to escape to the seaside, and a small number of them dispersed and returned home.

　Just when the city was in turmoil, the Cao Dai temple in Da Dao, under the instructions of its leader Le Van Tong from Xining Province, took the opportunity to launch an uprising, organized its believers to control the city defenses, and prepared to surrender the city to the Viet Cong to show Cao Dai's sincerity in cooperating with the Viet Cong.

　On May 4, a Viet Cong force entered Da Dao without firing a single shot and captured this strategically located mountain city.

　While easily defeating Dadao, another Vietcong guerrilla group also attempted a surprise attack on Buon Ma Thuot, a major town in Dak Lak Province, but was defeated by the Hmong militia armed by the CIA in the area.

　However, despite this, the Viet Cong army, in the following days, despite frequent bombing by the US Air Force and Naval Aviation, successively captured Gia Nghi, the capital of Da Nong Province, Phan Rang, the capital of Ninh Thuan Province, and other places, and planted their red, blue and gold star military flag on the southern bank of Cam Ranh Bay.

　More importantly, the 22nd and 23rd Divisions, the main force of the South Vietnamese Army's Second Military Region, experienced a series of inexplicable chaotic battles and aimless escapes before finally being completely destroyed on the outskirts of Phan Thiet, the capital of Binh Thuan Province, due to supply shortages and surprise attacks by Viet Cong guerrillas. They were completely destroyed and vanished into thin air. All ten regular divisions of the South Vietnamese Army were completely annihilated, with only a few stragglers still fighting.

　Of course, for Firi who was in Da Nang, these defeat reports from hundreds of kilometers to the south were still far away from him for the time being.

　What really made him nervous was the Hai Van Ridge defense line, 5 kilometers from Da Nang. After more than a week of calm, movement finally began on May 3rd. North Vietnamese scouts began to frequently enter the mountains and forests at the northern foot of Hai Van Ridge, engaging in contact with General Vang Pao's Laotian Miao troops.

　Although the scale of such battles was extremely small due to the rugged mountainous terrain, with deaths often only in the single digits, it also proved that a major war was coming.

　Even more depressing was the fact that, according to aerial reconnaissance and radio intercepts, North Vietnam had already deployed five divisions on the Hue Plain across from Hai Van Ridge! It was a complete national effort, determined to win.

　No matter how dangerous the terrain of Haiyunling is, can the few thousand miscellaneous troops in Da Nang really withstand the fierce attack of an enemy ten times their number?

　Deeply worried about this, Firi had people sending telegrams to Washington day and night, repeatedly requesting more reinforcements.

　As a result, he was told by the Pentagon: Be patient, as reinforcements will not arrive for the time being, but "spiritual encouragement" can be provided to him immediately.

　"What? Are you kidding me? Let me be the commander-in-chief of the US forces in Vietnam? I'm just a temporary colonel!"

　He was given the title of temporary colonel.

　Well, according to the principle of subordinates obeying superiors in the military, it seems normal to let Firi temporarily serve as the commander of the US forces in Vietnam for a while before the US generals with higher ranks lead a large number of reinforcements to Vietnam.

　Not to mention, he is currently on the front line against the North Vietnamese invasion!

　President Kennedy, who was now in a state of panic, placed high hopes on Ferry after learning that he was in Da Nang, Vietnam.

　President Kennedy and Secretary of Defense McNamara both called to express their hope that Fieri could draw on his experience leading the Guantanamo Bay expedition the previous year, resolving the Cuban issue, to hold back the main North Vietnamese forces in Da Nang, thereby buying enough time for more American troops to enter Vietnam.

　Phiri: Last year's experience in Cuba? Could you give me a dozen hydrogen bombs? Just blow up Uncle Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi!

　Of course, hydrogen bombs were out of the question, but there was an aircraft carrier, HMS Coral Sea, to provide support, and more ships were on the way.

　——Just like that, although David Halberstam, a war correspondent who escaped from Saigon on a military transport plane, laughed at this and said that it was very similar to the incident in Stalingrad during World War II when Hitler, who could not arrange reinforcements, airdropped a marshal's baton to General Paulus, commander of the besieged Sixth Army.

　But no matter what, starting from May 4, Major Philip King (temporary colonel) became the temporary commander of the US forces in Vietnam.

　The Pentagon encouraged him in the telegram, hoping that Colonel King could keep the last spark of hope on the front line during "America's darkest hour."

　Next, the first task that Commander Jin urgently needed to solve was not the imminent battle of Haiyunling, but to submit a petition to General Zunshiding to persuade him to ascend the throne.

　Persuasion form?

　That’s right, it was to submit a petition to General Zun Shiding, the Governor of Da Nang, to encourage him to be promoted to a higher position.

　The purpose was to resolve the issue of the legitimacy of the US military's deployment to Vietnam.

　To be more specific, we need to give an explanation to Congress and the international community: Who invited the US military to help in the war in Vietnam?

　-

　As mentioned earlier, at least during the Cold War, the United States was very particular about legal principles and procedures when it came to sending troops overseas.

　Generally speaking, after World War II, the United States basically did not openly send troops to invade other countries. Instead, it either obtained authorization from the United Nations (the Gulf War and intervention in Somalia), or received an invitation from a government to assist in the war (the Vietnam War), or used the excuse of protecting American expatriates in a certain country, etc.

　If they really can't find a decent excuse, then they can only dispatch the CIA's private soldiers to do the dirty work instead of directly sending out US troops.

　At present, if the US military wants to send troops on a large scale and participate in the Vietnam War, then it needs an independent government in South Vietnam to invite the United States, as it is obstructed by the Soviet camp and cannot obtain authorization from the United Nations. Only then can the US military legitimately "drop in" in Vietnam.

　But the problem is that Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, has been occupied by the Viet Cong, and the red "Republic of South Vietnam" has been established.

　Such a "Red South Vietnam" would obviously not invite the Pentagon to send US troops across the ocean to destroy it.

　What was to be done? The only option was to allow the remaining "White South Vietnam" to establish a pro-American government capable of opposing "Red South Vietnam," and then invite the United States to send troops to Vietnam to eliminate the communist bandits. Although everyone knew this was just a fig leaf, it was necessary in the 20th century.

　It is obvious that the Governor of Da Nang, Zun Shiding, who is only the head of the local government, is not qualified enough to invite the US military to help.

　To do this, the title set by the emperor must be immediately changed from "Governor-General" to "President".

　——Regarding the fact that he was being “promoted”, Major General Takashi Takashi was actually very happy. The only thing that puzzled him was…

　"Why do you want me to be the president of Quang Nam and not the president of the Republic of Vietnam?"

　Looking at the document jointly drafted by Dr. Kissinger and Firi, Zun Shiding asked in confusion, "This country name has been out of use for one hundred and sixty years!"

　"General Ding, as a descendant of the Nguyen royal family, you were born to be a leader.

　As everyone knows, the Nguyen family, the ancestors of the Tsannshi family, were the rulers of Quang Nam two hundred years before the establishment of the United States.

　Fili flattered him, "The situation is changing now. Although there is no hope of rebuilding the Nguyen Dynasty and unifying Dai Viet, if you can rebuild Quang Nam and restore the Nguyen family's rule in Quang Nam, the spirits of your ancestors in heaven will surely be pleased, right?"

　——Let me explain here that the Nguyen Dynasty, the last dynasty to unify Vietnam, was established in 1802.

　But this dynasty did not rise from the grassroots. Like China's Qin Dynasty, it was a unified dynasty after years of chaos among a group of vassal states.

　As early as 1558, the Nguyen clan established the Quang Nam Kingdom, secessionist from Hue to Da Nang. This kingdom continued for nearly 250 years, experiencing several setbacks. Finally, in 1802, the last ruler of Quang Nam, Nguyen Phuc Anh, conquered the various vassal states and unified the long-divided Vietnam.