American Strategic Deception Bureau

　But those old men who receive pensions have to tighten their belts - which naturally makes these old guys who think they have "made contributions to the country" complain.

　Of course, the depreciation of the US dollar is not all bad. At least it is beneficial to exports.

　While the United States is no longer the "world's factory" it was during World War II, it remains an industrial nation, and a significant number of American goods are still circulated around the world. If the dollar depreciates and exports increase, this should logically help lower unemployment and create more jobs for Americans.

　So, despite the chaos in the United States today, the unemployment rate among young people is really not high - however, the premise is that only young people of working age who are willing to work are counted, and those hippies and street urchins who have decided not to do serious work are not included.

　While a low unemployment rate is certainly a good thing, the question is: Is unemployment the biggest problem facing the United States today?

　No, even the soaring prices are not the biggest problem - no matter how much the US dollar depreciates, thanks to its vast territory and the benefits of being a world hegemon, the living standards of ordinary Americans are still far better than those of most countries in the world, and are by no means to the point of struggling for survival.

　The real problem is public security! It's conscription! It's the intensification of racial tensions! It's the breakdown of cohesion!

　These problems cannot be solved simply by increasing the employment rate.

　The huge fiscal deficit caused by the federal government's military spending cannot be filled by the extra money earned from increased exports.

　Just like no matter how low the unemployment rate was in Nazi Germany, even housewives had to go to factories, it could not save it from the path of failure and destruction.

　"The Democrats suffered a crushing defeat in last year's midterm elections, and I'm afraid they'll face tough times in next year's Senate and House elections as well.

　From the university campus

　Wall Street and middle-class citizens in major cities have all been living through a nightmare this past year. Only the domestic military-industrial complex has truly made a killing, and those old conservatives in Texas are ecstatic!

　Firi chimed in, "Although the just-concluded Third Middle East War lasted only six days, the US military's ammunition reserves in Europe were emptied in order to support the Israeli army—at least on paper, they were emptied, or written off.

　Next, if there's another bigger war in Southeast Asia, the military-industrial complex's stocks will soar to the sky again!"

　“But if the huge military expenditures don’t bring positive benefits, it will be very painful!

　Look at the shitty situation our military has created in Asia these past few years, with all the money we've spent and the wars we've waged.

　Dr. Kissinger lamented that "Indonesia has become a violent and barbaric world, with pirate ships in the Strait of Malacca, the South China Sea, and the Java Sea. There are even more pirates than during the Age of Exploration, reminiscent of the pirates of the Caribbean in the early 18th century."

　Japan and South Korea, which are heavily dependent on oil imports from the Middle East, and Taiwan, are all complaining about this.

　Although the White House has approved the Japanese government's deployment of the Maritime Self-Defense Force to escort merchant ships to the Middle East, escorting convoys is uneconomical for peacetime trade. Oh, and what peacetime is there? Asia is already at war, with 150 million US troops and 400 million warlords engaged in a chaotic battle.

　"But conservatives on Capitol Hill still firmly believe that we must defeat the Vietcong at all costs, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous..."

　Professor Brzezinski sipped his coffee and began to speak, "According to Secretary of Defense McNamara and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, if the United States cannot hold South Vietnam against the Viet Cong attack, then Asian countries will no longer feel safe trusting the United States; the fall of all of Southeast Asia will only be a matter of time. Just like we lost China 18 years ago because we did not send troops to blockade the Yangtze River."

　McNamara predicted that if the Vietcong won, we would lose the entire Asian continent, from Korea all the way to Singapore.”

　"Losing China? Isn't this the same old McCarthyite tactic used to attack President Truman?"

　Senator Robert Kennedy scoffed, "If we didn't want to 'lose China,' we would have to conscript 10 million soldiers. We would have then fought a war in China for at least ten years, a Vietnam War magnified twenty times over! The US might have been dragged down by the Soviet Union before it collapsed."

　By then, our European allies will have seen our weakness and will certainly no longer bow to Washington, and NATO will not exist.

　In fact, my brother didn't even want to fight in Vietnam. He simply had no way out—Eisenhower had already led the United States into a pit, and public opinion didn't support retreating. And no one at the time could have imagined that the Vietcong would be so formidable..."

　"Is there really no way to stop the military adventure that President Johnson is about to launch?" someone asked unwillingly.

　"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do. After all, he's the president, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He has the power to mobilize troops anywhere! Most members of Congress are also pro-war! Besides, the current president is desperate for re-election."

　Nelson Rockefeller, a moderate Republican leader, said, "If we lose the decisive war against Vietnam next year, then naturally everything will be over. President Johnson will have to step down in disgrace, and our Republican candidate will enter the White House.

　If we win the decisive battle next year, and our army recaptures Saigon and Phnom Penh, restoring South Vietnam and the Khmer Republic, then Lyndon Johnson has a good chance of being re-elected. But the problem is, even if he serves another four years as president, it will be difficult to resolve the Vietnam War issue!

　"Yes, the Vietnam War has reached this point. Even if we drop hydrogen bombs, I'm afraid we won't be able to destroy the Vietnamese people's will to fight."

　Fili nodded in agreement. "By the time President Johnson finishes his four-year term, the Democratic Party's reputation will likely be nearly destroyed. In the next midterm elections, the Democrats will likely lose even more miserably. Not only will they lose in the swing states, but even some deep-blue states will flip red..."

　In this way, everyone complained one after another until the end, but found that they could neither stop the military adventure that President Johnson was about to launch, nor end the quagmire of the Vietnam War and the domestic chaos in a decent way, nor did they know how to deal with the economic crisis and financial disaster.

　All they could do was face the disastrous defeat that was predicted to come, and be mentally prepared to clean up the mess...

　Before the meeting ended, Fieri privately asked Robert Kennedy if President Johnson's major counteroffensive in Vietnam was thwarted and he withdrew from the election. Would he be interested in running for president on the Democratic ticket? However, Robert Kennedy seemed to feel that the presidential election was still far away, with too many uncertainties. Therefore, he only gave a few vague responses and did not make a clear statement.

　And so, after that night of partying and secret meetings at 625 Ocean Boulevard, several months passed.

　During this period, the small town of Eden in the San Fernando Valley began to take shape as construction workers worked hard.

　The "Summer of Love" in San Francisco also ended with the gradual dispersal of the hippies.

　When the tragedy ended, all that was left was messy graffiti and garbage on the streets, plus more than a hundred unidentified bodies in the morgues of major hospitals in San Francisco that could not be identified and no one claimed them.

　The anti-war movement and black riots in major cities across the United States gradually entered a low period as the temperature dropped and the students' summer vacation ended.

　In short, the weather is getting cooler, autumn has arrived, the rainy season in Vietnam has ended, and the dry season suitable for military operations has arrived.

　The "big plan" that President Johnson and Secretary of Defense McNamara have been planning for a long time will soon be launched on the Asian battlefield!

　However, what no one expected was that before the US military launched a strategic offensive against the Viet Cong, the North Vietnamese army and South Vietnamese guerrillas took the initiative to launch a large-scale general attack on the US troops stationed in Vietnam in November at the beginning of the dry season!

　Moreover, the Vietnamese army, which seemed to be struggling to survive, achieved brilliant results within 48 hours that stunned the whole world!

　——Da Nang fell! 80,000 American troops collapsed at the first blow! The US military headquarters in Vietnam was hoisted with a red flag!

　Author's words: PS: Historically, the reason why Johnson gave up re-election in 1968 was, on the one hand, that he was badly beaten by the Viet Cong's Tet Offensive and his poll numbers were very bad, so even if he ran for election, his hopes would be slim; on the other hand, he himself was frail and could not handle the workload of being president.

　Now that Johnson has become full of energy through extraordinary means, he will naturally not give up his re-election easily, but will try again.

　Furthermore, in 1968, Robert Kennedy was popular only among Democratic voters. Nationally, his approval rating was lower than that of Republican Richard Nixon. Even if he hadn't been assassinated, he would have been defeated by Nixon and would not have won the White House.

　Chapter 398, 1968, the year of decisive victory!

　"Liberate the South and march forward resolutely!

　Destroy the American empire and eradicate the traitors!

　Family members are separated, hatred is soaring, how long will the country be divided?

　The majestic Kowloon and the glorious Changshan.

　Urge us to charge and kill the enemy! Shoulder to shoulder under one banner!

　......"

　In Da Nang, the capital of Quang Nam, accompanied by the majestic song "Liberation of the South," the "Viet Cong's exclusive background music," teams of North Vietnamese People's Army soldiers wearing wooden helmets, camouflage uniforms, and holding AK47 rifles, as well as groups of Viet Cong guerrillas in disheveled clothes, all marched with confident steps and joyful smiles, passing through streets littered with tattered uniforms and worn-out boots under the complex gazes of Da Nang citizens.

　At the same time, war correspondents from all over the world gathered at the door of the US military headquarters in Vietnam, setting up their cameras and watching two Viet Cong soldiers slowly raise the red flag with a gold star on the North Vietnamese side and the red, blue and gold flag of "Red South Vietnam" on the flagpoles at the entrance of the headquarters.

　Next, these reporters enthusiastically visited Da Nang, which had just hoisted the red flag, taking precious photos of historical significance, or randomly caught a North Vietnamese officer or soldier, handed him a microphone or a shorthand notebook for an interview.

　Then, there appeared another scene that made these reporters talk about it with great relish: thousands of American soldiers, with dull or numb expressions on their faces, were escorted by North Vietnamese People's Army soldiers through the streets of Da Nang, about to trek to the Viet Cong base in the Central Highlands!

　It is obvious that at this very moment, the "strong on the outside, weak on the inside" American imperialist invaders have just suffered another tragic defeat...

　Since World War II, the American ruling class, having become the world leader, has rapidly expanded under the weight of overwhelming self-confidence and the adulation of American sycophants worldwide. In other words, they have been fooled by their own exaggerated propaganda, believing themselves to be omnipotent and the entire world to be their pawns and puppets.

　The president in the White House and the bosses on Capitol Hill generally believe that everyone in the world must obey them, even their enemies.

　Therefore, President Johnson and Secretary of Defense McNamara confidently designated 1968 as the "decisive year" and prepared to mobilize a million troops during the dry season to defeat the Viet Cong in 1968: In their opinion, the Viet Cong were like the boss guarding the level in the game, who would just stay there motionless and wait for the US military to come and attack.

　Little did people know that Le Duan, the second-generation leader of North Vietnam in Hanoi, also designated 1968 as their "decisive year"!

　The US military's strategic counterattack happened to collide with the Vietnamese army's strategic general offensive!

　Because, in the eyes of the North Vietnamese leadership, the current war situation on the Indochina Peninsula is very beneficial to them.

　Although Bangkok was lost, most of Thailand had already hoisted the red flag, and the reactionaries were squeezed into a corner on the coast. The situation of the Thai Communist Party's allies was actually more stable than before the previous raid on Bangkok.

　By then, Laos had been completely communistized, becoming a loyal vassal of the Viet Cong. Cambodia had only one island, Phu Quoc, which had been ceded from South Vietnam, remaining in control. If Phu Quoc Island weren't counted, Cambodia would have been completely communistized.

　Returning to Vietnam, after the collapse of the Central Highlands Confederation, the Viet Cong continued its rapid advance, steadily squeezing the living space of the reactionaries and imperialist invaders. By the second half of 1967, the remaining remnant of the reactionary regime, the "Quang Nam State," on Vietnamese soil was reduced to little more than Quang Nam Province and the isolated city of Qui Nhon, which was held by South Korean troops brought in by the United States.

　Although due to the narrow shape of Vietnam's territory, it has shrunk again, leaving less than 10,000 square kilometers.

　The "Guangnan Kingdom" is still stuck in the waist of Vietnam's territory, keeping South Vietnam and North Vietnam separated from each other and unable to connect. It is really like a thorn in the eye and a thorn in the flesh.

　However, no matter how annoying a thorn in the eye or a thorn in the flesh is, it is only the size of a nail or a thorn.

　It's decided! You're my target for the next dry season!

　Conquer Guangnan, unify the country, and drive the Americans out to sea!

　This is the final battle to liberate the motherland!

　Therefore, as early as the end of the rainy season in 1967, Viet Cong guerrillas from southern provinces began to gather around Quang Nam, braving the pouring rain and muddy ground. Meanwhile, regular North Vietnamese troops also took the Ho Chi Minh Trail, bypassing the natural barrier of Hai Van Ridge and passing through the Central Highlands to enter the Quang Nam battlefield.

　——After the fall of the Western Highlands Federation, which was composed of mountain indigenous people, Guangnan Kingdom also lost its most critical geographical barrier.

　Simply defending Hai Van Ridge is no longer enough to keep the Viet Cong out of the country.

　Meanwhile, General Abrams, the former commander of US Forces Vietnam, was transferred to command US Forces Thailand in early October and took his staff to Bangkok to assume his duties. Meanwhile, the new commander of US Forces Vietnam, General Maxwell Taylor, was touring US bases in Okinawa, the Philippines, and Singapore to assess combat readiness in preparation for the major counteroffensive planned for January the following year, and had yet to arrive in Da Nang to assume his new post.

　During this period, Da Nang had only one acting commander, Air Force Major General Ricky Welch, who had just been transferred from Japan.

　Because he had no knowledge of ground combat, the Air Force Major General did not make any major adjustments to the previous deployment plan.

　But when General Abrams was deployed to the Thai battlefield, he didn't do it alone. He also brought with him approximately 3000 Marines and 2000 Army Special Forces soldiers from Da Nang. However, the replacement troops had not yet arrived, leaving a gap in the defense zone west of Da Nang.

　To this end, the acting commander who came from the Air Force took it for granted that the Guangnan National Army took over part of the US military defense zone and temporarily took over several important passes at the foot of the Truong Son Mountains west of Da Nang, connecting the coastal plains and the Central Highlands Mountains.

　At this point, the disaster finally happened!

　——At the end of November, just after the rainy season ended, the Viet Cong guerrillas crossed the Truong Son Mountains and launched a surprise attack on Thang Duc County, the western gateway of Quang Nam Province.

　Thang Duc County is located approximately 40 kilometers southwest of Da Nang. Highway 4 passes through Thang Duc County, the only road leading to Da Nang from the inland. Therefore, Thang Duc County, like Hai Van Ridge, was a necessary route for the Vietnamese army to enter Da Nang.

　Ever since the collapse of the Central Highlands Federation, the US military in Vietnam anticipated a Vietnamese advance along Highway 4 toward the coastal plains. Consequently, they dispatched Marines and engineers to construct numerous fortifications and redoubts in Thang Duc County, which controls Highway 4. This formed a fortified defense system, known as the "Iron Gate" protecting Da Nang's west side.

　But the problem is that with the departure of General Abrams, the US troops originally stationed at the "Iron Gate" of Upper Germany were also taken to the Bangkok battlefield by him.

　The three Quang Nam Nationalist Army regiments that were ordered to take over the defense zone had already been completely infiltrated by the Viet Cong...

　The seemingly normal change of defense actually handed the gateway to Da Nang into the hands of North Vietnam!

　——Sure enough, as soon as the North Vietnamese army sounded the horn of attack, the Guangnan National Army stationed in Shangde County immediately revolted on the battlefield, executed the American instructors and advisers in the army, and raised the red flag to welcome their compatriots, making "Shangde open the city without bloodshed."

　Next, from Thang Duc to Da Nang, the road is basically flat and the car can complete the journey in just over an hour.

　So, before the US military headquarters in Vietnam could react, the North Vietnamese army, riding on tanks, armored vehicles and jeeps, marched through the Thang Duc Pass, galloped across the coastal plains, and headed straight for Da Nang from multiple directions!

　The Viet Cong's armed work teams behind enemy lines, which had already infiltrated the suburbs of Da Nang, also began to cause chaos everywhere, harassing the US military and the Quang Nam National Army.

　——At this time, the territory of "Guangnan Kingdom" was only the size of a palm. Even if the CIA wanted to prevent infiltration, it could not do so. In addition, the Guangnan government had frequent coups, and various forces were purging each other. People who were at the end of their rope were often forced to surrender to the Communist Party, or those in power secretly communicated with the Communist Party in order to leave a way out.

　The result was that Guangnan was "full of Vietcong", and many people who were in contact with the communists even held high positions and important posts.

　Once the two sides have a complete showdown, Guangnan's entire state apparatus will collapse in an instant.

　In fact, less than two hours after the change of flag in Shangde, a 300-man North Vietnamese death squad drove along Highway 4 and rushed into the city of Da Nang at lightning speed. With the cooperation of insiders, they stormed into the Presidential Palace and the General Staff Headquarters.

　Most US military personnel in Vietnam initially thought the Quang Nam army was staging another mutiny and simply stood in the streets, watching and laughing. It wasn't until the red flag was raised over the Quang Nam presidential palace that they realized something was amiss. But it was too late; more and more Vietcong forces were already pouring into Da Nang!

　The Da Nang airport, which was filled with military aircraft, was also raided and bombarded by North Vietnamese armored forces. Soon, the oil depots and ammunition depots were hit by shells and caught fire. Accompanied by earth-shaking explosions, the entire airport was bathed in fire and thick smoke, as spectacular as a volcanic eruption.

　In the chaos, the Guangnan Nationalist Army stationed in the capital quickly disintegrated. Officers and soldiers either took off their uniforms and hid in their homes, or directly tied red armbands and opened fire on the US troops. The US troops, who were too sensitive to tell the enemy apart, had no time to identify them and attacked any Guangnan Nationalist Army they could see.

　, causing a large number of accidental injuries.

　Major General Ricky Welch, the acting commander of US forces in Vietnam, was killed by a stray bullet on his way back to headquarters from the bar he had been staying at. The US military headquarters in Vietnam was leaderless, and the civilian military personnel panicked, burning documents and fleeing.

　On the other hand, after discovering that the phone was not connected and the US military headquarters in Vietnam could not be contacted, the US Embassy immediately initiated emergency evacuation procedures. The US ambassador took the lead and boarded a helicopter to flee hastily to a US aircraft carrier in the South China Sea.

　The rest of the frightened American civilian staff, ordinary expatriates, die-hard pro-American Vietnamese compradors, and low-level embassy staff who could not get on helicopters rushed to the Da Nang dock in a panic, scrambling for boats in an attempt to escape to the sea.

　At this time, there were theoretically 80,000 US troops stationed in Da Nang City and its surrounding suburbs, where the US Forces Vietnam headquarters was located, which seemed like a considerable force.

　But over 70% of these soldiers were "McNamara's Fools," drafted under the Pentagon's "100,000 Plan"—the kind of troublesome individuals whose superiors and colleagues were afraid to hand over rifles. Another 5% were disabled soldiers, missing limbs, or deaf or blind.

　General Abrams, the former commander of US forces in Vietnam, knew these idiots and disabled soldiers were useless. Forcing them into the trenches or search parties on the front lines would only hinder their effectiveness. However, since there was no way to return them to the Pentagon, he kept as many of them as possible in Da Nang, without weapons or ammunition, and keeping them out of frontline combat. He assigned them only to simple, easy tasks, euphemistically calling them the "General Reserve"—but in reality, they were a "defective human internment camp."

　As a result, these unarmed American fools suddenly encountered a large-scale attack by murderous Viet Cong soldiers in their reserve camp... Apart from raising their hands in surrender, with their average IQ of less than 70, they didn't know what to do.

　There weren't even many foolish soldiers who escaped in time - because these soldiers were too stupid to know how to escape or where to run.

　Therefore, their final destination was only one: the Vietcong prisoner-of-war camp...

　On November 27, the North Vietnamese People's Army bypassed the Hai Van Ridge defense line and captured Da Nang, the capital of "Quang Nam", where the headquarters of the US Forces Vietnam was located. The "fake president" of Quang Nam, Pan Ke Chou, fled in disguise, and the new commander of the US Forces Vietnam, General Maxwell Taylor, lost his headquarters before he even took office.

　Military observers from Europe and the United States were so shocked by this real-time battle report that they dropped their glasses.

　My God, it took Israel six days to defeat Egypt, Syria and Jordan in the Third Middle East War!

　Did the American troops stationed in Vietnam collectively take laxatives, or did the Viet Cong take some stimulants, allowing them to defeat the strong with the weak and win a great victory in just two days?

　What's even more outrageous is that the 80,000 US troops stationed in Da Nang not only collapsed at the first blow, but nearly 60,000 of them were taken prisoner.

　Many reporters filmed the long procession of 60,000 surrendered American prisoners being escorted out of Da Nang and headed for the prisoner-of-war camps, commenting in newspapers that "so many Americans surrendered that it felt like a repeat of the Bataan Death March of 1942."

　The leaders of the North Vietnamese Workers' Party proudly boasted to the world about this "greatest victory in the war against the US and for national salvation," while promising to treat US prisoners of war well and strictly abide by the Geneva Convention. At the same time, they demanded more aid from the Soviet Union and China...

　On November 28, the Viet Cong armed forces attacked the ancient town of Hoi An, disarmed and disbanded the local Overseas Chinese Chamber of Commerce security group, and raised a red flag on the banks of the Thu Bon River.