American Strategic Deception Bureau

　Therefore, after a night of fierce fighting, the Vietnamese army still failed to achieve any breakthrough in the Haiyunling defense line. The few hills they briefly captured under the cover of night were also

　It was recaptured by the Allied forces after daybreak.

　One battalion of North Vietnamese troops, having failed to take cover after daybreak, was exposed to the bombing of six Skyraider attack aircraft and instantly engulfed in a horrific sea of ​​fire. When the flames died down, only countless charred, twisted bodies, emitting black smoke, lay on the ground, a horrifying sight.

　According to rough statistics after the war, the Allied forces suffered more than 800 casualties that night, especially a battalion stationed on the beach defense line was almost wiped out.

　After taking into account the losses from the air strikes, the North Vietnamese army lost an entire division, which was a serious blow.

　-

　Perhaps because of the heavy casualties in the two-day assault on Hai Van Ridge, the North Vietnamese did not launch a new large-scale offensive in the next 48 hours.

　Although the Viet Cong commandos that had set out from Saigon and were madly heading north along Highway 1 in the south were still approaching Da Nang, and were said to have already occupied Nha Trang, it was really annoying... But Ferry looked at the map and found that it was still far from Da Nang, so he didn't bother to worry about it.

　General Sonthithin was deeply troubled by the rapid loss of territory in the south. However, the area he could truly control at the moment was only the majority of Quang Nam Province, from Da Nang to Chu Lai. As for the provinces further south, they had essentially fallen into anarchy since Saigon was occupied by the Vietcong.

　Therefore, in the area south of Zhulai Port, there was really only air and mobs blocking the advance of the Viet Cong, and Zun Shiding was helpless about it.

　Well, forget it, let's just indulge these clowns for a while. Anyway, the American army will soon come with a thunderous force!

　On May 7, an advance company of the US military stationed in South Korea and a 400-man engineering battalion of the South Korean army arrived at Da Nang Airport one after another. Firi immediately deployed these reinforcements to the Haiyunling defense line - South Korean engineers were responsible for repairing fortifications, and American soldiers entered the beach positions that had been destroyed.

　In addition to the above-mentioned reinforcements, there was also an unexpected guest for Firi who flew from the United States to Da Nang.

　"Team Leader Estelline? Why are you here? Did the bureau hire you back?"

　Ferry in the Haiyunguan Command Post was shocked to see Jacob Esterline, a former CIA executive, former head of the Cuban Special Task Force, and commander of the US military in the Dominican War and the Cuban War (early stage), limping towards him with a cane in hand.

　Wasn't this his old boss, fired from the CIA, stripped of all benefits, and expelled from society ever since the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Trinidad after landing in Cuba, the nearly annihilation of the CIA's mercenaries, and his own capture by Che Guevara and having his leg broken?

　When they were in Florida, seeing that Estelline was almost a homeless person, Ferry gave him some money.

　How come he seemed to have made a comeback today and actually came to him with CIA credentials and secret orders?

　On the other side, Estelion looked at Firi, who had now become the commander of the US forces in Vietnam, with a complex expression of envy, jealousy and hatred.

　Just three years ago, no, two years ago, Firi was just a small character in his eyes, but who would have thought that his status would be completely reversed now?

　Of course, the ups and downs of officialdom are commonplace. So, Esteline quickly adjusted his mindset and nodded to Firi, saying, "Yes, I returned to the CIA this year. Then, because the Vietcong occupied Saigon, the CIA's Saigon station was destroyed, and the intelligence network in Vietnam was paralyzed. So, the director sent me to Vietnam. I hope you can cooperate and provide some convenience..."

　Well, it really is a changing of circumstances, and Estelline, this extremely die-hard counter-revolutionary veteran, has seized the opportunity to advance himself!

　I remember that twenty years ago, he interrogated Jiang Jie and Xiao Luobutou in Chongqing with the party and state spies. Is he going to come to Asia to do the same thing again this time?

　Firi inquired curiously and discovered that the new CIA director clearly didn't trust or value Estelline, the troublemaker who had dragged the United States into nuclear war. Therefore, the agency hadn't sent Estelline to Vietnam to rebuild the intelligence station, nor had it intended to appoint him as the head of the Da Nang station. Instead, it had sent Estelline to Vietnam to do the dirty work and rebuild the "secret trade" network.

　Specifically, it was to let Estelian come to Indochina to engage in drug trafficking business.

　--Previously, Major Bill Lyle of the CIA, in the face of severe funding shortages in the agency, encouraged the Laotian Hmong to grow opium on a large scale with the support of the CIA in order to help General Vang Pao of Laos raise money to support troops to fight the North Vietnamese, in an attempt to make money by trafficking drugs.

　Well, the technical difficulty of growing opium is not a problem. The Miao people in the mountainous areas of Indochina have the custom of growing opium and smoking opium.

　The real problem is that opium is worthless in its country of origin and must enter the international market to make money.

　As a former French Indochina colony, the Indochina Peninsula's foreign drug trafficking network has always been controlled by French intelligence agencies.

　As a result, despite the CIA having established numerous poppy plantations in Southeast Asia and established connections with numerous drug traffickers, even the opium grown by the CIA in Laos had to be shipped halfway around the world to Marseille, where it was refined and processed into morphine in secret factories controlled by French intelligence agencies. The price was then multiplied before it could be sold to European and American markets by informants from the French Directorate-General for External Security.

　——In this case, the profit of the opium producing countries would be too small to sustain the production of opium.

　The military funds for Wang Bao's troops to fight against the North Vietnamese People's Army.

　Moreover, this is equivalent to making the CIA a tenant and serf of the French Directorate-General for External Security. It is such a disgrace!

　It was not until last summer that the CIA finally managed to smooth over the relationship with the South Vietnamese government of Ngo Dinh Diem, allowing General Vang Pao to export opium from the port of Hue controlled by Ngo Dinh Nhu and make huge profits to cover the huge expenses of fighting the North Vietnamese army.

　CIA informants can also get a lot of cheap drugs, so they don't have to worry about the French making huge profits in the American drug trafficking market.

　As a result, with the fall of the Ngo Dinh Diem government and the change of hands of Hue, the drug trafficking channels in Laos have been cut off again!

　General Wang Bao wasn't too anxious about this, because he had already secured generous funding from the US government thanks to the dedication of his soldiers. He had both money and guns. Once they won the Battle of Haiyunling, he and his people would be able to fully demonstrate their united front value and no longer have to worry about anything.

　As for the opium business, Wang Bao thought it wouldn't matter if he stopped it temporarily, as he had plenty of money. He could just start again when he ran out of money.

　However, the CIA was very anxious because the drug sales network they had just established had only been in operation for a few months and there was a risk of running out of stock - this was related to the petty cash reserves of many CIA executives and the living expenses of their informants!

　So, Estelian, who had just returned to the bureau to "make meritorious service for his crime", was kicked to Vietnam. In the midst of war, he had to reconnect with the opium producing areas in Laos and find a way to continue to import opium from the Golden Triangle into the United States through the CIA's network!

　Okay, it sounds risky, and it is indeed life-threatening, but if you pull it off, it's pretty lucrative.

　Due to the dramatic political changes in South Vietnam and the suspension of shipping services, opium-growing villages throughout the inland mountains of Indochina are facing a massive backlog of unsold opium. If Estelline were to personally "go to the countryside" to collect the opium, he would undoubtedly be treated as a distinguished guest.

　In short, Ferry readily introduced General Wang Bao and, of course, Major Bill Lyle to his old boss Estelline.

　As for the specific business that will follow, they will just work together on their own, and Ferry has no interest in getting involved.

　On the night of May 7, the North Vietnamese army did not continue to attack Hai Van Ridge, but quietly sailed out four North Vietnamese Soviet-made torpedo boats from Si Hien Port in Hue, attempting to launch a night attack on the US destroyer patrolling off the coast of Da Nang.

　Of course, this clearly underestimated the US Navy's night-fighting capabilities. Even before the North Vietnamese torpedo boats entered Lang Co Bay, they were detected by US Navy radar. The US destroyers then pounced and engaged them, sinking three of the four North Vietnamese torpedo boats. Only one escaped with damage, while the three US destroyers remained unscathed.

　On the morning of the next day, the naval aviation force dispatched by the Coral Sea aircraft carrier bombed Sixian Port and destroyed the torpedo boat that had escaped.

　On the night of May 8, the North Vietnamese army finally organized another night attack. However, the attack was weak and superficial, giving people the feeling that they were just going through the motions. After fighting for more than an hour, they hurriedly withdrew.

　It seems that North Vietnam also understands that it is impossible for them to enter Da Nang this year.

　So, Fili invited American journalists in Da Nang to conduct an exclusive interview on the Hai Van Ling front line, so as to put as glorious an end as possible to his brief tenure as "Commander of US Forces in Vietnam" and leave a well-known memory...

　Laying mines, laying barbed wire, building various open and hidden bunkers, anti-artillery holes, secret passages and field hospitals, etc.

　Trucks transporting construction materials rushed back and forth between Da Nang and Hai Van Ling, unloading tons of steel bars, cement and sandbags.

　There is also a signboard with the slogan "Build Hai Van Ridge into the second 38th parallel" that has been erected on the site of Hai Van Pass left over from the Nguyen Dynasty.

　After walking around the battlefield, which had turned into a large construction site, the reporters followed Dr. Kissinger and arrived at Fieri's command post as if they were familiar with the place. They found Fieri drinking coffee and eating mango, looking very relaxed.

　"Colonel, how did things go last night?" Kissinger asked Firi familiarly.

　"It wasn't a big deal. Just a few bastards who came to attack us, but they were all shot down with machine guns by the warriors brought by General Wang Bao."

　Firi answered casually, handing a mango to Kissinger and the reporters who followed him in as a treat. "The rainy season is about to begin tomorrow. If the North Vietnamese commander has any sense, he probably won't launch a larger offensive. Their artillery can't be moved up the mountain in two months. Without artillery cover, even if more people are sent up, they will only end up committing suicide."

　Of course, we can't judge others by ourselves. Who knows what the enemy is thinking? "

　"Indeed, even though I've been in Vietnam for a long time, I still often don't quite understand the locals' thinking."

　David Halberstam, a New York Times reporter and an old acquaintance of Firi's, nodded in agreement. "Commander, I've noticed that the trenches on the front lines are almost entirely filled with mountain ethnic soldiers airlifted from Laos. Could you please explain why?"

　"First of all, of course, there aren't enough American troops on the Da Nang battlefield to fill the Hai Van Ling defense line, so we can only rely on our allies. If the Vietnam battlefield wasn't so short of soldiers and major generals, it wouldn't be my turn as a colonel to become the commander-in-chief of the US forces in Vietnam!

　This gap in manpower is not expected to be filled until the main force led by General Westmoreland arrives in Vietnam. However, please rest assured that the 1st Marine Division, the 25th Infantry Division, and the 101st Airborne Division have all departed and are expected to enter the battlefield soon.

　Firi spoke frankly, "Secondly, since the US troops on the Da Nang front are insufficient in number, General Vang Pao's men are cheap and easy to use. Moreover, they are willing to sacrifice for the cause of the United States and the Free Camp. Why should I discourage the enthusiasm of my allies?"

　In fact, during the past few days of defensive battles, the Laotian friendly forces suffered very little losses, and their morale remains high..."

　But Firi suddenly stopped talking mid-sentence, motioning for silence. He then stood up and peered through the observation hole. After a few seconds, he sighed and said to the reporters, "Oh, what a bummer! Another enemy is coming to seek his own death."

　Uh? The North Vietnamese are coming again?

　The reporters immediately became excited and followed Firi outside.

　As the location where the Nguyen Dynasty emperor built Hai Van Pass, Phi Li's command post is located high on the mountain, and the view of the surrounding area is naturally excellent.

　However, since the morning mist in the mountains has not yet completely dissipated, looking down from Haiyun Pass, one can still only see a hazy scene. Everything seems to be shrouded in a layer of gauze, making it difficult to see clearly.

　The Miao mountain people nervously raised their rifles, squinted their eyes and stared at the direction of the unusual noise in the distance, ready to fire at any time.

　The impatient American military adviser simply raised his signal gun and fired flares towards the foothills in front of the position.

　Under the flickering magnesium light of the flares, the crowd finally saw through the dispersing fog a group of ghostly, blurry figures crawling toward the coalition positions. They stumbled, seemingly clueless about tactical maneuvers, and even shouted something as they moved. However, from the distance, it was difficult to hear clearly. Could they be emissaries sent by North Vietnam? If so, there were far too many of them!

　After a while, as the distance between the two sides shortened, the reporters finally heard clearly that the other side was shouting in broken English: "Not to shoot! We are populace."

　What is particularly surprising is that most of the voices sound like women!

　Then, from two hundred yards ahead, there were explosions, cries, and screams. It was probably someone stepping on a landmine.

　Several Miao soldiers couldn't help but want to shoot, but were stopped by the US military advisers, who seemed to want to find out what was going on first.

　A few minutes later, accompanied by the sound of mine explosions and dazzling flames, the coalition soldiers and reporters hiding behind the sandbags, and of course, Phiri and Dr. Kissinger at the command center, finally saw clearly what was approaching from the opposite side:

　A few were elderly people with dirty faces and shaved heads, and most were women in ragged clothes.

　What is particularly shocking is that many Vietnamese women are completely naked, while others are only covered with a dirty and tattered sheet... They appear on the front line like this, without covering their bodies at all, waving their arms, reciting the half-baked English taught to them by someone, with expressions of fear on their faces, regardless of being

　The companions who were blown away by the landmine climbed up the hillside with difficulty and approached the defense line.

　Firi immediately heard Dr. Kissinger muttering beside him: "My God, this scene is really an eye-opener!"

　The Allied soldiers in the trenches and behind the sandbags were all talking about this. They pulled the trigger, their palms sweating, and their minds full of confusion.

　The US military advisors wanted to give the order to shoot several times, but because of the large number of reporters coming to the mountain, they hesitated and never dared to make the final decision.

　These naked women wrapped in bed sheets slowly walked into the range of mortars, machine guns, rifles, and submachine guns...Apart from the unfortunate women who kept stepping on landmines and being blown to pieces, there was no gunfire from the defenders' positions.

　Seeing this situation, Fili had some vague guesses in his mind. However, without any concrete evidence, he did not dare to make any rash conclusions.

　Just like that, one hundred yards, fifty yards, twenty yards...

　As the women approached, until they were stopped by the barbed wire in front of the trench, war correspondent David Halberstam grew impatient and approached Phiri, saying, "Colonel, shouldn't we do something for these poor women?"

　"Poor woman? Perhaps, but now is not the time for us to be chivalrous."

　Fili gave him a strange look and said, "I think something bad will happen next..."

　At the same time, General Wang Bao and his confidants took the lead in shouting, asking the Miao soldiers to remain vigilant and beware of the Vietnamese army's tricks.

　I have to say that General Wang Bao’s reminder was very timely.

　——Almost at this moment, a group of short North Vietnamese soldiers, also wrapped in bed sheets as camouflage, suddenly appeared from the dense crowd of women and elderly people. Their chests and backs were full of grenades, and some of them were carrying explosive packs.

　These North Vietnamese soldiers, relying on the cover of the naked women, successfully broke through the barbed wire fence only 20 yards away from the front trench. Then they threw grenades into the trench through the barbed wire, and they exploded among the defenders - some of them bounced back from the wire and blew up the women.

　In addition, North Vietnamese engineers used explosive packs to destroy the barbed wire and clear avenues for attack.

　For a moment, the entire defense line was filled with gunshots and explosions, and the screams of women and the wails of wounded Miao soldiers echoed for a long time.

　However, the North Vietnamese soldiers did not seem to notice that even behind the barbed wire, the coalition forces had spread a large number of caltrops and triangular spikes.

　So, the North Vietnamese suicide squad who had just broken through the barbed wire and rushed into the trenches fell to the ground one after another, emitting screams that could freeze one's blood.

　The defenders in the trenches and bunkers immediately pulled the trigger and opened fire. Heavy machine guns, submachine guns, and semi-automatic rifles of various types rang out with the low roar of death, and a storm of bullets was sprayed out. Like a scythe mowing grass, they felled all the enemy soldiers and Vietnamese women on the opposite side.

　But the North Vietnamese continued their attack, rushing out more reserves from the distant foothills and trying to surge into the gap that had been opened.

　However, the coalition artillery behind the Haiyunling defense line also carried out extended fire on the enemy according to the range and direction that had been determined in advance.

　Next, there were flashes of gun muzzles, flames of artillery shells, and broken limbs and internal organs flying into the air, making the slaughterhouse even more brutal.

　There was death everywhere, screams everywhere, the smell of burning and blood was everywhere, and the scene was like purgatory.

　As the sun rose, the fog on Haiyun Ridge quickly dissipated, the surroundings became bright, and the North Vietnamese army, which failed to break through, retreated again.

　They took away as many of their own wounded and dead bodies as possible, but abandoned the naked women and elderly people who were used as human shields.

　This scene made the time traveler Firi sigh secretly, recalling some distant memories before the time travel.

　——In the first few years of the 21st century, when "national fans" were rampant on the Chinese mainland Internet, many brainless soft articles appeared that praised Zhang Lingfu, the "divine general of the party and the country" and the "military god who killed his wife", and almost praised him as the reincarnation of Sun Wu.

　Even the final battle in which he led the 74th Division to defeat and destruction at Menglianggu was explained as the "red bandits" having no martial ethics. Seeing that they could not defeat the 74th Division, they actually captured the young wife of a nearby landlord, stripped her clothes and used her to block bullets in front of them. The "loyal and brave officers and soldiers of the 74th Division" could not bear to shoot, so they suffered a narrow defeat.

　And someone summarized it and wrote a poem in praise of it:

　The bed sheets fluttered on Menglianggu, and the landlord's daughter-in-law was charming and beautiful.

　The heroes of the party and the country could not bear it, and the brave warriors who had fought in hundreds of battles disappeared into thin air.

　Of course, the so-called "naked young wife on Menglianggu" is basically a rumor fabricated by later generations.

　But what Ferry never dreamed of was that the Viet Cong in this time and space had made this a reality to a certain extent.

　——This is really like “the bed sheets fluttering on Haiyun Ridge, and the landlord’s daughter-in-law is so charming and beautiful”!

　Elsewhere, war correspondent David Halberstam crouched beside the barbed wire, looking at a severed arm. Its smooth, white appearance clearly indicated it had once belonged to a young girl...

　Just as he lowered his head in thought, he heard faint cries for help coming from not far away.

　David looked up and saw that some of the naked women who had been used as human shields by the North Vietnamese Army had survived. Now they were trapped between corpses and bomb craters, not daring to move, but just meowing like a cat, begging the defenders for help with hoarse voices.

　But the seedlings in the trenches

　The soldiers had no sympathy for the miserable plight of these Jing women and were just indifferent to it.

　So David found Fili and wanted him to save these women out of humanitarianism, but Fili refused.

　"I'm sorry, but I can't save them unless they can get through the barbed wire, step on the caltrops, and crawl into our trenches."