London was bustling, with workers on strike, students marching in the streets, parliamentarians banging their tables in protest, and almost all eyes were on the Middle East.

Objectively speaking, the Suez Canal was indeed excavated by France and Britain at that time, and Nasser's announcement of free nationalization and high tolls for British ships was in a sense a serious infringement on the interests of Britain and the British people, and it is easy to understand that people are calling for the use of force to attack Egypt.

As for why Israel cannot sit still, it is because Egyptian President Nasser, on the basis of religious beliefs and historical issues related to religion, has banned Israeli ships from passing through the Suez Canal and the Strait of Tiran, completely closing Israel's two gates to the Red Sea.

War is a continuation of politics, and no one will go to war until it is absolutely necessary.

The dignitaries of the countries involved in the interests of the canal all went to Paris for a meeting to study countermeasures.

Li Weimin is not a political dignitary, and the Republic of Vietnam will not have any interests in the canal, so he is not qualified to join in the fun, stay in London and laugh at the situation, wait for them to go to war, and wait for Uncle Sam to make a move.

He finally came to England once, and Wu Tinglian showed the friendship of the landlord.

As a matter of fact, Britain's relations with South Vietnam were average, and the ambassador to Britain had nothing to do here, and he accompanied him all day long to visit the scenic spots in the fog capital, participated in some activities in the industrial and commercial circles, educational circles, film circles, and music circles, lent the embassy to him to hold a reception, and invited people from all walks of life in Britain and Chinese and overseas Chinese in Britain to a banquet.

The activities are one after another, and there are many gains.

As the chairman of the industrial investment company, he signed more than a dozen cooperation intentions, and reached cooperation agreements with several famous universities in the United Kingdom in the name of the honorary president of Phu Quoc University of Technology, and sent international students to study here. Hire British professors to teach. Partnered with the University of Cambridge to create a business school. Specialized in cultivating talents in Vietnam-UK business cooperation.

"Freedom Road" was a huge sensation in the UK, and last year's "Miss Hanoi" won the Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Score.

Inviting a British actor to play the leading role, coupled with his status as a musician of "Vietnamese Chopin", made him more popular than ever.

In the words of the Times, he is Vietnam's "brightest diplomatic star", playing the role of "prime minister" during his visit to the United Kingdom, and his activities involve business, education and cultural exchanges. Such a high evaluation makes Wu Tinglian not envious.

Ngo Dinh Lim is Vietnamese. It is not convenient to participate in the activities held by the Federation of Chinese Associations in the UK.

When he returned to the embassy after dinner with the overseas Chinese leaders, he handed over an invitation letter like a secretary: "For the people, Mr. Benjamin Britten invites you to be a guest of the Youth Opera Company, at any time." ”

Benjamin Britten studied piano from his mother at an early age, entered the Royal Academy of Music in London at the age of 17 to study composition and piano, and dropped out four years later to compose theatre and film music for theatre and studios.

In 1939, he moved to the United States, where he worked as a conductor and piano player. In his creation, he respects the traditions of his own nation, and boldly absorbs and uses the style and techniques of modernism. He is a well-known composer, conductor and pianist in the United Kingdom, and one of the representatives of British classical music.

He composed "Requiem for War". His opera "Peter Grimes" was so famous that Li Weimin was flattered. He took the invitation and asked, "Mr. Lian, Mr. Britton came in person?" ”

"In person."

"There will be time tomorrow afternoon, go tomorrow, let's go together."

Wu Tinglian smiled and took out another telegram: "This is given to you by my brother, and you are not allowed to refuse, because it is most reassuring and appropriate for you to leave this matter to you." ”

The message was very short, with only two contents: the appointment of him as chairman of the investment committee of the People's Workers' Party, and the transfer of 100 million piast property to him to run it.

This is not a trivial matter, Li Weimin really didn't dare to agree.

The People's Workers' Party (WPK) is secretive, its membership is top secret, it is absolutely bound by autocratic discipline, it has a clear internal hierarchy, and it must abide by the oath of allegiance to the personal party of the Ngo Dinh Diem brothers, and the entire fascist organization.

Although it had less than 20,000 members, it had a large periphery organization, and its so-called "National Revolutionary Movement" included a series of sub-groups such as the "Republican Youth League", the "National Revolutionary Civil Servants Union", and the "Women's Solidarity Association", which controlled all aspects of South Vietnam's politics, military, and economy through various means.

The company has a strong independence, the Wu brothers have more trust in the company, and the organization of the People's Labor Party within the company is not strong.

Gui Qingshan sent a secret telegram some time ago, saying that the People's Workers' Party was intruding on all important industrial, agricultural, commercial, and financial activities outside the industrial investment company, and that many activities could not be carried out without their permission and without their participation in the operation, and that they even held more than 51 percent of the shares in some newly created industrial projects.

It is notorious for selling import and export licenses, manipulating the black market exchange rate, and extorting money, amassing large sums of money in a short period of time, which are used as funds for the activities of the People's Workers' Party and the maintenance of its "special forces".

Industrial investment companies need capital, whether in foreign exchange or local currency.

Li Weimin weighed it and said with a smile: "Mr. Lian, I am already the chairman of the industrial investment company, and it is not appropriate to concurrently serve as the chairman of the investment committee in the party." The practical operation of party property is not so troublesome, and the Bank of East Asia has launched an investment fund, which will be managed by a professional fund manager. ”

Ngo Dinh Lim doesn't think he worries about reputational damage, after all, he is considered by everyone to be the president's staunchest supporter, and it makes no difference whether he holds a party post or not.

"You're worried about the tree?"

"The industrial investment company has become an 'independent kingdom', and if you concurrently serve as this chairman again, friends in the party will definitely have opinions."

Insiders know that the industrial village plan is like a bottomless pit, and it must continue to be invested for a long time in the future, and there is basically no money to be returned. Those who don't know think that the industrial investment company is a "cornucopia" with money, power and land, and not only some opposition parties oppose it, but even people in the party are blushing.

How could Wu Tinglian not know his distress, and took the telegram and reported: "Okay, I'll help you reply." ”

"Thank you."

"My own people, thank you."

Li Weimin raised his arm and looked at his watch, then turned back and asked, "Pingxiang, the observation team should have arrived, right?" ”

Sang Pingxiang calculated the time, smiled and reported: "It should have arrived." ”

……

At the same time, an unofficial military observer group led by Le Jingwen, deputy head of the Reserve Officer Training Team of the Phu Quoc Institute of Technology, arrived safely at Tel Aviv airport in Israel.

In fact, the Republic of Vietnam does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, and several IDF officers who received them had not even met the Vietnamese before.

The trip was made possible thanks to the "Friends of Vietnam" association.

The members of the association include members of the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, the archbishop of the Catholic Church in the United States, the bosses of Time and Life magazines, and General O'Daniel, former chairman of the Military Advisory Council who has just returned to the United States from Vietnam.

Compared with Ngo Dinh Diem, in a sense, Li Weimin, who represents MSU, is closer to the "Association of Friends of Vietnam".

Before going to the UK, he tried it out with John F. Kennedy and Senator Mansfield, who readily agreed, and with their help, Israeli leader Ben Gurion formally extended an invitation and agreed to allow the members of the Mission to communicate with the IDF.

These Jews came from all over the world, many spoke French, and communication was largely non-existent.

Li Jingwen had the highest military rank, stepped forward to salute, and Major David of the Wehrmacht returned the salute: "Captain, please allow me to welcome your arrival on behalf of the Wehrmacht. ”

"Thank you."

It was not as difficult to deal with as he imagined, Li Jingwen finally breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly introduced the members of the observation group from the Reserve Officer Training Team, the Fifth Infantry Division, the Industrial Village Security Team, and the Militia Self-Defense Force.

According to the exchange plan agreed in advance, in the next period of time, they will go deep into the Israeli army and reserve forces to inspect Israel's defense construction in an all-round way.

In addition to their unofficial military observer mission, there was also an unofficial military observer group that joined the French army as an officer of the French Expeditionary Force to observe the possible military operations of the French army against Egypt from close range.

Last year, Li Weimin reached a secret cooperation agreement with General Érie, the highest official of France in Vietnam, and the Elysee Palace regarded the cooperation plan as part of safeguarding French interests in Indochina.

Instructors and officers from the Reserve Officer Training Corps, the Industrial Village Security Corps, the Militia Self-Defense Force, and the Fifth Infantry Division were all assigned to the headquarters of the Navy and Air Force at all levels to observe the organization and mobilization of the French army at close range.

Gu Jianhua even boarded a British aircraft carrier with the French liaison officer, and was received by Admiral Ketteley, commander of the Anglo-French forces. War is on the verge of breaking out, and if a war breaks out, the more than 60 members of the two observer missions will be able to experience a modern war firsthand.

The industrial village plan is also a national defense plan, and it is also a hole card of the government.

The Viet Minh, the opposition, the General Staff of the Ministry of National Defense, and even Lansdale were kept in the dark, and many people, including the US ambassador, thought that the reserve plan of the industrial village was similar to the "women's corps" run by Chen Lichun, and no one took it seriously.

Others don't take it seriously, and it is impossible for Diem, who has never let go of the national army, not to take it seriously.

Attaching great importance to this, before the departure of the observation delegation, it specially entrusted Ngo Dinh Yao to see off the troops on Phu Quoc Island, to encourage the officers of the Young Zhuang faction of the "Department of Industry and Investment" and encourage them to build the "last line of defense" of the reserve force for the country. (To be continued.) )