After a fierce battle, the Independence Palace was in disarray, as if returning to the era of the Pyeongcheon faction warlord coup.

It's just that the citizens watching from afar, the soldiers who cleaned up the battlefield and the staff of the presidential palace have a completely different attitude towards the coup d'état.

At that time, people sincerely supported the government and resolutely opposed Le Van Yuan, and sided with Ngo Dinh Diem. At that time, the morale of the officers and soldiers of the country was high, and the staff in the Independence Palace were enthusiastic, which was like now being lifeless and depressed, so depressed that people almost suffocated.

Li Weimin nodded slightly to Chen Lichun, who went out to greet him, and said sideways: "Director Xuan, I brought Major Qi by the way, you ask slowly, and notify me after asking." ”

It doesn't matter whether the nonsense can stand up to scrutiny, what matters is his attitude.

Bringing people from the airport to the Independence Palace, saying this in front of the "first lady" is to tell everyone that Nguyen Gao Qi wants to protect him.

In the past six months, under the instruction of Wu Dinh Yao, there have been many secret investigations into the Department of Industry and Investment.

As the investigation deepened, Chen Jinxuan finally realized how powerful the person in front of him was, he was not a fool, how could he not know that this face must be given, and there was no telling how many sympathized, privately supported and even connived at the rebels, and it would only backfire in the end, if those generals were provoked, God knows if there would be another coup d'état.

"Mr. Min, don't worry, I'll report to you after asking."

Li Weimin didn't say anything more after his posture was very low, and waited for the agents of the Political, Cultural and Social Investigation Bureau to take Ruan Gaoqi into a small room on the left side of the first floor, and then walked up to the second floor with Chen Lichun.

Ngo Dinh Diem was in the meeting room with Ambassador de Brow, General Lionel and Professor Wesley-Fischer, and it was not appropriate to go in now, so he simply pushed open the door to the office of the presidential adviser. The seer Ruan Zhengshi, Wang Wendong and others hated it. Strongly demanded the deportation of Ngo Dinh Nguyen.

This time, if he hadn't reported the news of the coup d'état of the paratrooper brigade in time. It's hard to say whether the Independence Palace can be held. And the last time it was so stiff, today I can still go back to Saigon to help stabilize the situation regardless of the previous suspicions, seeing Li Weimin, Wu Tingjiao was in a very complicated mood, and hesitated for a while before stretching out his right hand: "For the people, thank you." ”

"Lishui and Tinghui are my juniors, I don't want them to have an accident, say that Mrs. Xie is outside."

Only talk about children. Don't talk about the status quo, it's good, how can it be like this?

Chen Lichun couldn't figure it out, closed the door with a bang, sat down opposite him and said angrily: "For the people, what did we do wrong?" Even if there is something wrong with Tingyao, the president is not sorry for you. ”

"Mrs. Yao, you are not wrong, Mr. Yan is not sorry for me, otherwise I would not have sent a telegram to remind me. Not to mention going back to Saigon. If you want to say wrong, you can only say that the times and society are wrong. If forty or fifty years ago, Mr. Yan was undoubtedly a great leader. But now is not forty or fifty years ago, everyone has their own ideas, they want to live according to their own wishes, they want to feel in charge, and they don't like what others impose on them. ”

Ngo Dinh Ngai took a sharp puff of cigarette and said coldly: "Western-style democracy is not suitable for Vietnam, for the people, you are too influenced by the Americans." ”

Li Weimin said sincerely: "Mr. Yao, I agree with the view that Western-style democracy is not suitable for Vietnam, and the key is that more people besides you and me want Western-style democracy. This is a historical trend and a trend of social development, just like the struggle for national independence. If we don't keep up with the times, if we don't make some changes, we will be abandoned by everyone. ”

As Li Weimin said, society has changed too much.

Today's South Vietnam is no longer the agrarian country it used to be. With the rollout of the industrial village plan, the economic development of rural areas adjacent to cities and industrial villages is getting better and better, and people are getting more and more educated.

If the French colonial rule opened a window to Vietnam, then the Industrial Investment Company opened a whole door to Vietnam, and the people, especially those intellectuals, saw a completely different world through radio, television, newspapers and magazines.

In addition, the Americans have been fueling the flames, calling for the formation of a coalition government and calling for democratic reforms from top to bottom.

In retrospect, the industrial village plan is a double-edged sword.

Ngo Dinh Diem received a higher education, his younger brother Ngo Dinh Lien graduated from a university in France, served as ambassador to the United Kingdom, and even his second brother Ngo Dinh Liu often went to France or Rome, of course, he knew to keep pace with the times.

The point is that he has come to this point, and there is no room for compromise at all, and as long as he shows the slightest weakness, the opposition, the officers of the Nationalist Army who are dissatisfied with the government and the People's Workers' Party, and the Viet Minh, who are making waves in the countryside, will tear their family to pieces.

The only way is to give up power, and the only impossible thing is to give up power.

Looking at his expressionless face, Li Weimin continued: "Mr. Yao, the country belongs to Mr. Yan, yours, Mrs. Yao, the same is mine, and it belongs to all Vietnamese. If this problem is not solved, or cannot be felt by most people, what happened today may be just the beginning. ”

"They dare!"

When it came to the coup, Chen Lichun became angry: "Tomorrow an extraordinary session of the National Assembly will be held to condemn the mutiny, issue the most severe decree to punish those who participate in the rebels, suppress the Vietminh elements who are stirring up trouble, and arrest all oppositionists." ”

"It is necessary to strengthen censorship, ban the inflow of foreign newspapers, and expel all foreign journalists who distort, attack, and slander the government," Ngo said. ”

Referring to the foreign media, Chen Lichun was even more angry, and said with a look of deep hatred: "No one wants to be insulted, ridiculed or ridiculed, and at first I was reluctant to be interviewed by reporters, and they said that I was a person living in an ivory tower." I started to see them, but sometimes journalists who had never met me would write horrible articles about me. ”

The foreign correspondents of today, and the foreign correspondents who came to interview during the Freedom Trail operation, are completely different from each other.

They hadn't lived through World War II, hadn't covered the Korean War, were all hairy boys, and didn't know anything about South Vietnam until they got off the plane. They often publish biased and emotional analysis and reports, intentionally or unintentionally harming the interests of the host country.

What's more, not only the tone is sharp but also domineering.

At a news conference held by the Ministry of National Defense this time, an American reporter aggressively asked about some military secrets. The spokesman said that this is an internal matter, this is a military secret, and you don't have to interfere too much.

The American journalist actually said with a straight face: You (the South Vietnamese government) are using our money, and we have the right to know the truth.

The result can be imagined, the spokesman was embarrassed and embarrassed, and Ngo Dinh Diem and Ngo Dinh Diem were furious when they learned about it.

Relations between the government and foreign media have become increasingly strained, and various reports of Chen Lichun's short-lived history have appeared in foreign newspapers. Newspapers in Asian countries, which relied almost entirely on Western radio and newspaper news sources, followed suit and then returned to South Vietnam for publication.

Flies don't bite seamless eggs, and the direction of public opinion has not been well guided.

Li Weimin sighed secretly and reminded in a low voice: "Censorship has become the focus of attacks, and if foreign newspapers are censored, it will attract more severe accusations, and they will definitely say that the government is stifling press freedom." ”

"For the people, you should know that the government must now show its attitude and must be tough."

Li Weimin said bluntly: "Mr. Yao, I don't want to take care of the government's affairs and have no right to take care of them, I just want to tell you that the industrial investment company must maintain the status quo and cannot be nationalized for at least three years." ”

I finally picked it out, and I really chose a good time.

Ngo Dinh Yao was silent for a moment, and then said lightly: "The decree must be unified, and the industrial villages and the special zone on Phu Quoc Island can no longer be separated from the government, let alone become a safe haven for the opposition. ”

"You insist?"

"You can think so."

Chen Lichun realized the seriousness of the problem, for fear that the two of them would quarrel again, and hurriedly said: "For the people, we are not a Viet Minh, and we will not deprive anyone of their legal property, and the government will compensate you and other shareholders, such as extending the right to exploit offshore oil fields and transferring the right to operate terminals in Binh Dong, Vung Tau, and Bo Lieu." ”

Apparently having a plan for repossession, Ngo Dinh Ngai looked up and added: "Only the industrial investment companies will be recovered, not the enterprises in the industrial estates." The shares of Phu Quoc Iron and Steel, Chemical Industry, Power Equipment, Electronics Industry and China Southern Power Grid held by the Industrial Investment Company can be converted into all of them. ”

To put it bluntly, you don't want your money, just your rights.

The problem is that Li Weimin neither wants to give money, let alone hand over power, shook his head and said: "Mr. Yao, I don't think the government can manage the eleven industrial villages and the Phu Quoc Special Zone well, and I will not allow the industries that have been developed with great difficulty to be destroyed by a bunch of incompetent government bureaucrats." ”

Ngo Dinh Yao asked coldly: "What if it is forcibly withdrawn like the Egyptian government?" ”

"Saigon is not Cairo, and the industrial investment company is not the Suez Canal."

South Vietnam is worried about internal and external troubles, and its economy and military must rely on the United States, otherwise it will not be able to support it for half a year, Ngo Dinh Dieh, of course, knows where his confidence comes from, and asked with a frown: "For the people, what do you want to do, do you want to oppose the president like Nguyen Thanh Thi and them?" ”

Li Weimin stood up and said-for-tat: "Please don't doubt my position, it's just that I won't blindly follow, let alone use trust to fool the president." ”

Others may not believe it when they say it, but in the past period of time, Wu Tingjiao has really lied to himself, and he has really fooled his own brother.

Just a few hours earlier, the coup officers, who had not yet fled, had publicly acknowledged on the radio that Diem had a noble personality and was a respectable patriot. It was only because he lived like a monk, lived in seclusion, became increasingly isolated, and was misled and fooled by so-called advisers such as the Ngo Dinh Dieh, so he staged a coup d'état and proposed the formation of a coalition government and the expulsion of the Ngo Dinh Dieh couple.

Insinuating, Wu Tingyao was annoyed and ashamed, and suddenly got up and said: "My brother needs confidence and encouragement, don't I let him know that those things that don't go well are wrong?" ”

"The president is more than a national symbol, more than a spiritual leader. To sit in this position is to deal with those things that do not go well, not to turn a blind eye, and not to be blinded! (To be continued.) )