The warlords who had just returned to the government, such as Tranh Minh Thi and Nguyen Thanh Phong, were unreliable, and not long after Nguyen Van Thanh was forced to leave, the French still had an influence in South Vietnam that could not be underestimated, and the national army was also unstable.

Li Weimin decided to take the opportunity of sending Lansdale back to the U.S. Embassy to cheer up the officers and soldiers stationed at various intersections and important facilities on behalf of Ngo Dinh Diem, and by the way, he visited the wounded soldiers and innocent citizens who were injured by mistake.

Several cabinet ministers have all become shrunken turtles, and they can't be contacted no matter how they can be contacted.

Ngo Dinh Yao wanted to collect intelligence and win over warlords of other sects, but he really couldn't get out of the way, and he didn't like to show his head in peacetime, and many soldiers didn't know him. Now there must be a heavyweight who goes out to cheer up and stabilize the morale of the army, and despite a hundred uneasy, Ngo Dinh Diem finally agreed.

The right wall of the Independence Palace was hit by several shells, and the grass at the gate was blown into a pothole.

The morale of the officers and men of the 1st Squadron of the Prime Minister's Guard and the Foreigners Police Brigade is high, and they are racing against time to build fortifications under the command of the Captain of the Guard and Han Shuo. The shelling had caused few casualties, only one Guards soldier had been hit in the thigh by shrapnel, and several secretaries were bandaging him in the hall.

"You are very competent and brave, and you are all good."

Li Weimin patted the wounded man's arm, got up and stared at the captain of the guard and Han Shuo with a serious face: "I'll go out to understand the situation, come back before dark at the latest, and hand over the Independence Palace to the two, and we must ensure the safety of the prime minister." ”

"Yes!"

The fighting is still going on, there are still sporadic gunfire outside, and it is dangerous to go out now. Han Shuo lowered his saluting arm. He glanced at the deputy captain. With a wave of Zhang Weiwei's hand, several Nong policemen immediately picked up submachine guns and followed him outside.

Climbing into the jeep, Lansdale leaned on the steering wheel and said, "Lee, I'm in favor of Mr. Prime Minister." ”

He wanted to be Diem's most trusted friend, but his government was considering abandoning him.

Soldiers are obedience to orders, and they are soft-spoken, so they have little say in this matter. Li Weimin knew that he was very unhappy, so he picked up a carbine from the back row, unloaded the magazine and looked at it, and said meaningfully: "I am convinced, and I believe that Mr. Prime Minister is the same." ”

According to credible sources, President Eisenhower eventually adopted General Collins' advice, despite Secretary of State Dulles' best efforts.

Lansdale felt helpless and said apologetically, "Excuse me? ”

"I'm sorry, it's none of your business, no matter what the future holds. You are all my best friends with Mr. Prime Minister. ”

Guilty, perhaps, Lansdale once again showed fearlessness. He didn't go back to the embassy directly, but drove his jeep with the Star-Spangled Banner to take Li Weimin to the intersection and important facilities where the national army was stationed.

Saigon Radio Station is a two-story French-style building, the battle that has just ended is more fierce than other places, the white walls are densely packed with bomb craters, I don't know whether the Pingchuan faction army is low in combat effectiveness, or the national army is brave, a company stationed here, repelled a battalion of the Pingchuan faction.

Corresponding arrangements have been made for the Spring Festival, with the Chinese Youth Association being responsible for the embankment and the Yue Youth Association being responsible for the urban area.

YSA students have risked their lives to bring food, and medical students are helping a doctor to treat the wounded.

After looking at the remains of the sacrificed soldiers, Li Weimin said solemnly: "Captain, he is a hero, and when the warlords of the Pingchuan faction are eliminated, we must hold a grand funeral for him and help him take care of his family." ”

The short company commander wiped his sweat and said in a low voice: "Mr. Min, Wu Feng's hometown is in North Vietnam, and he is not married only his parents, I don't know if he has withdrawn." ”

"Is there an address?"

"Yes, Ruan Jingtao is his fellow countryman."

"Give me the address, the Haiphong refugee camp has not been evacuated, there are still our people in the north, as long as there is a glimmer of hope, the government will try to help him evacuate his family."

After so many years of fighting, who has cared about ordinary soldiers.

The captain and company commander were deeply moved, and immediately raised his hand and saluted: "Yes!" ”

……

After reading one place after another, it was already dark, and it was almost time for the United States to go to work, and Lansdale wanted to go back to the embassy to report everything that had happened here, and wanted to tell Washington's high-ranking officials that the morale of the Vietnamese army was high, and that the Binh Chuan warlords were unpopular, and they were trying to make a last effort.

He didn't have time to continue escorting Li Weimin, and Li Weimin didn't have the time to go to the embassy with him. They said to each other to pay attention to safety, and rushed to the headquarters of the Bank of East Asia on Catina Street.

The Bank of East Asia has branches or branches in many countries and regions around the world, and the flags of Vietnam, the United States, Britain, France, and other countries are planted at the door, and the surrounding areas are either the embassies of Western countries or the hotels where foreign journalists stay.

"Lee, you were at the Prime Minister's Office just now? Is Mr. Prime Minister okay? ”

The first time he experienced the war, President Henry was worried, Li Weimin shook his hand tightly, shook his head and smiled: "It's okay, Mr. Prime Minister is very safe, and the situation is still under control." ”

Henry knew that he had something important to do, and pointed to the stairs and said, "Your friend is in the conference room on the third floor, go up quickly." ”

"Thank you."

The conference room of the Yuehua Insurance Company is like an operational headquarters, with more than a dozen telephones lined up on the long table, almost all the telephones in this building have been pulled, the ringtones are ringing one after another, and the young men of the Huahua Youth Association are busy around the city map and telephone.

"How's it going?"

Time was urgent, Qian Xinlin didn't care about greetings, put down the pen and introduced: "As soon as the Pingchuan army moves, we will report to Wu Tingjiao, and Wu Tingjiao also has his intelligence sources, so the national army in the afternoon battle is prepared." The surprise effect was not achieved, and the national troops stationed at the junctions and main facilities fought back more resolutely, and did not get the cooperation of other sect warlords. Perhaps fearing that the attack would not last for a long time, it would not end well, and he had ordered the 13 battalions that had been engaged in the battle to stop the attack. ”

Ngo Dinh Yen was a little better than President Chiang, who had retreated to Taiwan, and the intelligence work was handed over to his younger brother Ngo Dinh Diem, and all military operations were handed over to Yang Wenming, Chen Shanqian and other officers of the Nationalist Army.

The fact that the Independence Palace was taken by surprise in the afternoon does not mean that the General Staff was taken by surprise, in fact, it had been prepared for a long time, otherwise the Pingchuan faction would have occupied the Prime Minister's Office long ago.

Li Weimin nodded slightly, pointed to the new headquarters of the French Expeditionary Force on the map, and said: "The French interpreted their intervention as mediation, and received the latest news when they passed through the General Staff, and they asked the Pingchuan faction and the national army supporting the government to cease fire as soon as possible.

Judging from this reaction, the battle that has just ended is a tentative attack to force Diem to step down. According to reliable sources, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, at the suggestion of Ambassador Collins and pressure from the French side, has decided to abandon his support for Ngo Dinh Diem. ”

One student asked, "Why?" ”

"To sum up, there are several reasons, one is that the United States reached an agreement with France long before Ngo Dinh Diem returned to China to take over as prime minister. The content is probably for Wu Tingyan to try to see if he can do it, which is experimental in nature, and at the same time stipulates a deadline. As a result, so much aid was provided, and even helped to force Nguyen Van Thanh away, Ngo Dinh Diem still could not control the situation, and Eisenhower lost confidence in him. ”

Li Weimin took the cup and took a sip of water, and continued: "Second, the Americans believe that a government with an opposition is a normal government, but Ngo Dinh Diem has always refused to compromise and is unwilling to cooperate with the opposition. The Americans thought he was dictatorial and not democratic, so they wanted to remove him. ”

To be sure, Diem is not very good to the Chinese, but he is not much bad either.

If another person comes to power, he may not be as good as Ng Dinh Diem in dealing with the Chinese. What's more, now the injection has been placed on him, one glory and one loss.

Jiang Wenshui realized the seriousness of the problem, frowned and asked: "The United States has given up supporting Ngo Dinh Yen, where should we go, will we turn to Li Wenyuan?" ”

"Li Wenyuan has a bad record and is unpopular, and no matter who he supports, he can't support him."

Li Weimin shook his head and explained with a smile: "The Americans just don't support it now, they don't express clear opposition, and the U.S. military advisory group doesn't have that much influence on the national army. If it weren't for the intervention of the French army and the attack of the national army inside and outside, it would have hit Li Wenyuan's nest at this time. In other words, Diem did not step down so easily. ”

A student slammed the table and said, "The first strike is stronger, he should strike first." If Li Wenyuan had been solved cleanly before the French reacted, how could there be so many things now. ”

"Huiyu, things are not as simple as you think, sitting in the position of Wu Tingyan, you must not only consider winning or losing, but also take into account politics."

Looking at the student's puzzled look, Gu Changgeng had to patiently explain: "If the Pingchuan faction is entrenched in the countryside, Wu Tingyan will not hesitate to send troops to eradicate it. However, the troops sent by Pingchuan are stationed in densely populated urban areas, and the fight will definitely cause many casualties among innocent citizens and cause huge property losses.

From the end of World War II to the present, seven or eight years of fighting have been fought, and people have decided that no matter who makes the first move, they will not get the support of the people. The Binh Chuan faction already had a bad reputation, and now it is provoking a war with the support of the French, and politically Le Van Yuan has already lost, so it can be said that Ngo Dinh Diem is waiting for him to make this mistake. ”

"The more fierce the Pingchuan faction is, the more the people support the government?"

Li Weimin said with a smile: "So the advantage is on Wu Tingyan's side, if nothing else, he will accept mediation next, order the national army to temporarily cease fire, and resolutely not compromise with the Pingchuan faction." Although the reinforcements of the national army could not enter the city, and at the same time surrounded the Pingchuan faction, Li Wenyuan would ride a tiger like a clown jumping off the beam, and finally had to provoke the war again.

Nationalism was so strong that if the French supported the Pingchuan faction again, it would provoke a second wave of anti-French. The French are not stupid, they have only withdrawn from North Vietnam with great difficulty, and they will withdraw from Vietnam next, they will not be so stupid as to fall into the quagmire of war again. More importantly, the United States will not support it, because if they interfere any longer, the Vietminh will take advantage of it. ”

……………… (To be continued......)