The national army withdrew quickly.

Before the formation of the "industrial investment system" army to take over the defense of the six provinces, the 7th, 18th, and 21st divisions of the army were transferred to clear the North Vietnamese People's Army and the local units of the "Southern National Liberation Front" operating in Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Binh Phuoc provinces.

With the addition of three more regular divisions at once, plus the 13 special battalions that had just completed training and were directly subordinate to the US Military Aid Command in Vietnam, almost all of which were composed of brave and skilled mountain ethnic minorities, the balance of forces in the Third Tactical Region changed dramatically. At the urging and coordination of the new commander of the Military Aid Command, General Paul Huggins, the National Army worked closely with the CIA and the Green Berets to regain one "liberated area" after another.

The vigorous "sabotage war" was contained, and the North Vietnamese people's army, guerrillas, and grassroots organizations in the south were once again dealt a heavy blow.

In order to preserve its strength, the Central Committee of the "Southern Liberation Army" immediately ordered the troops to be broken into pieces, put on the clothes of the common people, and play hide-and-seek with the government troops, and the war situation entered a stage of stalemate.

The regular army was transferred, and the Fourth Tactical Zone was not abolished.

The Jinou Peninsula Border Garrison Command of the "Industrial Investment Department" was directly replaced with the sign of the Fourth Tactical Zone. Nominally subordinate to the Ministry of National Defense and under the command of the General Staff, in fact it is still self-contained and independent of the government.

The U.S. Armed Assistance Command in Vietnam sent a special military advisory team to guide the reorganization of the Fourth Tactical Region (Fourth Army).

Nguyen Chi Nhan, former head of the security department of the Industrial Investment Company and commander of the Border Guard Command of the Golden Ou Peninsula, was awarded the rank of major general of the army as commander of the 4th Tactical Region and commander of the 4th Army.

Chen Runwei, former staff of the Border Garrison Command. Served as Chief of Staff of the 4th Tactical Region. From a reserve captain who has not been promoted for nearly eight years. Directly promoted to Major General of the Army.

The Phu Quoc Special Administrative Region Security Corps was reorganized into the 25th Army Division, the Ha Zhu Frontier Division was reorganized into the 26th Army Division, and the Highway Patrol was reorganized into the 27th Army Division.

The Water Patrol Corps was reorganized into the River Ship Command in the Fourth Tactical Region, and all special forces were incorporated into the Special Operations Command of the Fourth Tactical Region. The few patrol boats of the Phu Quoc Special Administrative Region Security Corps, as well as several trainers, transport planes and bombers of the Reserve Officer Training Corps of Phu Quoc Institute of Technology, were directly organized into the Coastal Defense Command and Air Force of the 4th Tactical District, which are independent of the Air Force and Navy.

According to the secret agreement reached by Li Weimin with American dignitaries in Washington. An army aviation unit equipped with helicopters will also be formed in the next two years.

At this point, the "Department of Industry and Investment" officially entered the political arena of South Vietnam, and its military strength far exceeded that of the other three tactical areas.

It seems ambitious, but in fact it is just a matter of making everything public and legitimizing.

After all, before this, Saigon had never really mastered the military power of the "industrial investment system", and had never really controlled the rural areas of the six provinces. The 7th, 18th, and 21st Divisions were withdrawn, and the military in other areas was strengthened, and the administrative and police systems were still in hand, and the government had nothing to lose.

From the perspective of the U.S. side, this is a very successful case of resource integration. It's a win-win.

The "industrial investment system" has become the climate, no matter how reluctant. Duong Van Minh, military adviser to the president, Nguyen Khanh, chief of the General Staff, and Le Van Kyi, chief of the army staff, must represent the government to confer titles on Nguyen Chi Nhhon and others, and on behalf of the Ministry of National Defense and the General Staff, they will discuss appeasement with the Fourth Tactical Region.

Can Tho, where the headquarters of the 4th Tactical Region is located, is the capital of Phuy Dinh Province and the most important political, economic and cultural center of the Kowloon River Plain, with a dense population and developed economy, and is the largest city in the Mekong Delta. As early as the French period, it was regarded as the capital of South Vietnam.

When night falls, Can Tho Hotel is brightly lit and star-studded.

The South Vietnamese military rank system was modeled after the United States, and the generals were far more valuable than the star-populated Taiwan. So far, Navy Commander Hu Jinquan has only the rank of colonel, and the directors of various bureaus of the Ministry of National Defense are either lieutenant colonels or colonels.

In order to repair the relationship between them, Ngo Dinh Diem, who has always been stingy on the issue of conferring titles, was unusually generous this time.

Gu Jianhua, commander of the 26th Division, Wang Jingui, commander of the 27th Division, Ding Huimin, commander of the 28th Division, Li Yongliang, commander of special operations in the tactical area, Huang Huiqing, commander of river ships in the tactical area, Li Liangquan, commander of the air force, and Pan Jinsheng, commander of coastal defense, were all promoted to brigadier general. Even Luo Xiaozhang, the new head of the security department of the industrial investment company, was promoted to reserve major general.

Like in a dream, Chen Runwei never imagined that he would be able to become a general.

The scene of taking his son to peel tree bark on the embankment to make a living was like yesterday, Wang Jingui was full of emotion, and he couldn't believe that it was just true. Gu Jianhua was also excited, and he couldn't wait to go to Taiwan immediately to visit his former Huangpu classmates, and compare who was better than him.

Nguyen Chi Nhanh was promoted to brigadier general as early as the formation of the Joint Command with the 4th Tactical Region and has been serving as the supreme commander of the armed forces of the "Gongtou Department", which is much more calm in comparison.

After all, promotion is a joyful thing, and after greeting Wu Lijun and other high-ranking wives of the company who came to the cocktail party with his wife, he went to greet the US consul and the officers of the US Military Advisory Corps with a wine glass.

This is a cocktail party held by the Fourth Tactical District Command, and these freshly baked generals are the masters. Li Weimin will not be noisy, and after chatting with his old partner Chen Shiguo for a while, he was entangled by an uninvited guest.

"Mr. Min, the Air Force really can't stay. There are eyes and ears everywhere, and you have to be careful even to make a joke, help me talk to General Ren and Chief of Staff Wei, and transfer me to the Fourth Army Air Force. ”

Ruan Gaoqi did not mix well during this time, and during the "Double 11 Coup", he assisted the officers of the paratrooper brigade Ruan Zhengshi, Wang Wendong and others to escape, and completely lost the trust of the Diem brothers. Now that the "Industrial Investment Department" and the Independence Palace have completely torn their faces, his relationship with the Industrial Investment Company is well known, and it will not be reused.

Li Weimin can imagine his situation, and it is not difficult to transfer him.

It's just that he has become a leading figure among the officers of the Young Zhuang faction of the Air Force, and he can play a greater role if he stays in the national army. Just like some time ago, Wu Dinh Yen tried to get involved in the industrial investment company, if Wu Dinh Yan did not stop the precipice at the last moment. If it really fights. It is entirely possible to influence the Air Force through him. It is even possible to pull a couple of aviation brigades over.

The security guards have all carried the general's star, and they have all turned into generals.

Ruan Gaoqi was at the lowest point in his career, his heart was sour, he turned his head and peeked at Ruan Qing, who was talking and laughing with American advisers, and muttered: "Mr. Min, if you are worried about the bad impact, I can retire and go to the airline to fly passenger planes." Save yourself from worrying about it. ”

Li Weimin pulled him to the balcony, put down the cup and said, "Gao Qi, it's no problem to transfer you over, what will happen to your colleagues after the key is gone?" As long as I'm here, they won't do anything to you. As long as you're at the front, your colleagues will be fine. Believe me, if you persist, it is estimated that there will be a turnaround soon. ”

He was not the only one who assisted Ruan Zhengshi in escaping, but he had the highest position and military rank, and was the most representative. Think of those colleagues and subordinates. Ruan Gaoqi smiled helplessly and said with a wry smile: "Okay, I'll listen to you." Bear with me. ”

Li Weimin patted him on the arm, and then said: "I won't let you come, first, I have to think about my friends, and second, the fourth tactical area is too small." There are only 16 planes in the air force in total, and 7 of them are lying on the ground and can't fly at all, so what's the point of coming here to be the captain of this group?

The Air Force is different, although the various types of aircraft are lagging behind, they add up to several hundred, with a total strength of tens of thousands. Looking at the entire Air Force, there are few people with deeper qualifications than you, and it is almost impossible to find someone with better skills than you. As long as you get through the current hurdle, you will definitely be able to make a difference in the future. ”

"The Yugoslav Liberation guerrillas have been beaten to the ground, and in just two months they have recovered so many areas, and I am worried that they will overturn and carry out purges, and I am worried that they will not be able to survive this hurdle."

"Didn't you just say that as long as the industrial investment company doesn't fail, they won't dare to do anything to you. Besides, you are the captain of the colonel, you have so many subordinates, and you have so many friends, it is not so easy to move you. ”

Ah Cheng didn't know when he followed, and said coldly behind his back: "There is our airline office at Tan Son Nhat Airport, which is not far from the old wharf, whether it is from the sky or by land, it is a matter of minutes." Colonel Qi, I believe the chairman, there is really nothing to worry about. ”

"Ah Cheng, why did you come out?"

"Chairman, brother-in-law just received news that General Hu Lian, the ambassador of the Nationalist Government to Saigon, is on his way, and it seems that he has made a special trip to attend the reception."

Hu Lian, a graduate of the fourth phase of the Whampoa Military Academy, belonged to Chen Cheng's civil engineering department, and was a famous general in the later period of the Nationalist government's rule on the mainland. and Hu Zongnan are called "Erhu", the former is known as the "King of Kinmen", and the latter is known as the "King of the Northwest", but there is a popular saying in the Taiwan National Army: Ten kings of the Northwest are not worth one King of Kinmen.

On October 25, 1949, his 12th Corps and Li Liangrong's 22nd Corps defeated more than 10,000 PLA troops who landed in Kinmen in Guningtou Village, in the northwest corner of Kinmen, and captured about 5,000 people, one of the few victories of the Kuomintang army. During the Kinmen Artillery Battle, he served as the commander of the Kinmen Defense Command and the director of the Kinmen Field Affairs Committee.

Let him, the deputy commander-in-chief of the army, be the ambassador to Vietnam, which shows how much importance Lao Chiang attaches to Vietnam.

Li Weimin picked up the cup and said to himself, "What is he here for?" ”

"Secretary Sun said that he should have come to you, because the embassy has contacted the company several times, and you have not had time."

Among the newly promoted generals of the Fourth Tactical District, more than half are Chinese.

The 5th Infantry Division, in which Chief of Staff Chen Runwei previously served, participated in the War of Resistance with the Army of the Republic of China. Master Wang Jingui and Master Gu Jianhua graduated from Whampoa, worked under Huang Jie, and have a deeper relationship with Taiwan. This matter was too sensitive, and Ruan Gaoqi immediately found an excuse to return to the banquet hall.

Li Weimin was so anxious by this Ambassador Hu that he followed Ah Cheng outside, and asked in a low voice, "What about Ning Yu?" ”

"Secretary Sun went to greet him with his brother-in-law, and planned to intercept them and take them directly to the industrial village, and go to the industrial village to talk about anything."

Chen Runwei beat gongs and drums to marry Ruan Mingxiu into the door two years ago, and officially became Li Weimin's brother-in-law, so Ah Cheng and other old people of the Li family have always been called "brother-in-law".

Lao Jiang was bent on counterattacking the mainland, and in order to achieve this goal, he wanted to wade through any troubled waters.

For the sake of common interests, the Saigon side has little opinion. The United States, fearing that the situation would get out of control and that it would repeat the mistakes of the Korean Peninsula, resolutely disagreed.

Now that the armed forces of the "industrial investment system" have officially surfaced, Sima Zhao's desire to turn the lower six provinces into a "state within a state" is well known to passers-by, and it is necessary to avoid suspicion and consider the reaction of the US side, and it is obvious that Hu Lian cannot be allowed to appear at the reception reception of the Fourth Tactical Region Command.

Facts have proved that Chen Runwei has a certain political consciousness, otherwise he would not have made such an arrangement.

Li Weimin weighed it up, apologized to the guests, and then left the hotel ahead of schedule on the grounds that the company's affairs needed to be dealt with urgently, and rushed straight to Can Tho Industrial Village, 16 kilometers away, under the escort of Ah Cheng and others. (To be continued.) )