Qin Nanjian accompanied high-ranking US officials to visit the Iron and Steel Company, while Li Weimin, Chen Shiguo, Liu Jiachang, Wu Andong, and others rode along an inconspicuous small road, turned left and right, and came to a heavily guarded cave.

It is the only coal mine on the island, which has been mined for nearly five years, and the Phu Quoc Power Plant and the Iron and Steel Company's own power plant use all of the coal here.

What most people don't know is that this is part of a national defense project, and mining coal is just a cover-up.

In the event of a war, reservists will be immediately expanded into two air defense regiments, and together with several security squadrons stationed near the iron and steel companies, the chemical industry company, and the docks, they will form an air defense brigade with antiaircraft guns, antiaircraft machine guns, searchlights, high-altitude balloons, and other antiaircraft equipment.

The mountains in the southern part of the mountain range are almost completely hollowed out, and ammunition depots, oil depots, and equipment depots are ...... One by one, the roads in the woods lead in all directions, leading to the airport in the south, Dongyang Wharf in the west, and heavy industry in the north, with independent power supply, water supply and communication systems, and even a cave group that can accommodate 120 fighters.

The iron gate opened wide, and the convoy slowly drove in, until it reached an underground parking lot about 70 meters directly below the communications center.

Although Chen Shiguo came for the first time, he was the main participant and formulator of the national defense plan, and he held on to the car door and asked solemnly: "It's almost the same here, how is the other side doing?" ”

Nguyen Chi Yan greeted Chen Yun Wei, captain of the Reserve Officer Training Team, Nguyen Minh Xiu, assistant to the president of Phu Quoc University, who was in charge of the logistics of the program, and Gu Jianhua, deputy director of the security department of the Industrial Investment Company and head of the security team of the Special Administrative Region. While accompanying him to the command center. He said in a low voice: "The civil defense project only started last year. It will not be put into use until the end of the year at the earliest. ”

How could Li Weimin not know what he was worried about, and said confidently: "North Vietnam will not be able to fight for a while and a half, and even if it does, it will not be so powerful, and compared with air defense, coastal defense is much more important." ”

Compared with other factions that only have people and guns, not only do people have guns, but also the "industrial investment system" with so many industries has a greater sense of crisis.

This is a truth with barefoot people who are not afraid to wear shoes.

The Gongtou Department is wearing shoes and has too many concerns. Therefore, no matter how dissatisfied they are with the Ngo Dinh Diem brothers, a group of high-level Vietnamese companies, including Chen Shiguo, do not want to be directly involved, and they do not want the situation in Saigon to be out of control.

The North Vietnamese had already gone to war, but had not launched a full-scale offensive, and had adopted the guerrilla warfare they were better at, using the strategy of encircling the cities from the countryside.

If the government does not take strong measures, the liberated areas of the Viet Minh will grow all the way to the three industrial villages of Binh Dong, Vung Tau and Da Nang, which are close to the city, and the North Vietnamese People's Army and local Viet Minh troops will spread the fighting to the six lower provinces.

The more Chen Shiguo thought about it, the more worried he became, and said expressionlessly: "Wait until the North Vietnamese fighters attack Phu Quoc Island." The country is finished. ”

For the first time, the command center was opened, and more than a dozen staff officers of the reserve officer training corps were opened. It was a huge sand table in the next war room. In the telecommunications room on the left, the telephone rings and the radio ticks one after another, and even the tension is in the air.

Li Weimin sat down at the conference table and glanced at his watch: "Captain Wei, introduce the situation." ”

"Yes!"

The Reserve Officer Training Corps is not a national army, and its officers are composed of "old men" who had served in the French Expeditionary Force, the Vietnamese National Army, and the Republic of China National Army, as well as members of the Vietnamese Youth Association and the Chinese Youth Association who were recruited later.

An "old man" like Chen Runwei is generally commensurate with his military rank when he retired.

"Newcomers" such as Li Quang Shen, director of the intelligence department of the officer training team, are commensurate with the rank of reserve officer, which is not recognized by the Ministry of National Defense and the General Staff.

The Industrial Estate Security Corps is also an industrial village policeman, and is not awarded the rank of reserve, but all of them adopt the rank of police. Although South Vietnamese police ranks were no different from military ranks, the Nationalist Army did not recognize them, even the police officers attached to the Ministry of the Interior.

Looking at the entire "industrial investment department", there is only one official officer in charge of the security department, Nguyen Chi Ren.

This was granted a few years ago when the Joint Command was set up to ensure the security of the six lower provinces, when a brigadier general was wanted to be on a par with the commander of the fourth tactical zone, but the Ministry of Defense strongly objected and only gave him a lieutenant colonel.

It doesn't matter whether they give it or not, whether they admit it or not, the important thing is that it is self-contained, you don't need to look at their eyes, no one cares about it, and even looks down on those guys who are fighting for power and profit.

What is happening inside the national army is terrible.

Chen Runwei took a deep breath, flipped through the folder and reported: "Four days ago, the headquarters of the Republican Youth League received news that the paratrooper brigade was preparing a coup d'état aimed at overthrowing President Ngo Dinh Diem. In accordance with the intelligence cooperation agreement reached last year, they informed us as soon as possible.

After receiving this information, Director Shen immediately led people to Saigon to investigate. After three days of secret investigation, it was found that the information was true, and the current brigade commander of the paratrooper brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Chinh Thie, deputy brigade commander Lieutenant Colonel Wang Van Dong, and chief of staff Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Zhao Hong, were secretly making preparations, and if nothing else, they would lead their troops to attack the presidential palace, the state radio station, and the general staff headquarters in another seven hours. ”

The information was provided by Gui Qingshan.

It is not surprising that they were able to grasp the situation in their early age, well-funded, and not as focused on military intelligence as the Intelligence Unit of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, which deals primarily with the Viet Minh and the Government and the Nationalist Army.

It's just that there are not only Chinese in the "industrial investment department", but also Vietnamese, which needs to be kept strictly secret.

Therefore, the Vietnamese executives, including Chen Shiguo and Wu Andong, always believed that they were a Chinese secret intelligence organization set up by Ngo Dinh Yao on the embankment.

Ruan Zhiren knew that something big was going to happen, but he didn't know that such a big thing would happen, so he suddenly gasped.

Chen Shiguo was much calmer, and asked in a low voice: "Captain Wei, has the headquarters of the Republican Youth League reported to Wu Tingjiao?" ”

"From the Spring Festival to the present, there are more and more people who are dissatisfied with the president and the government, and there is information about coups and assassinations, and there is a new version almost every day. They only received an ambiguous message, and they didn't have the resources to verify it, so they didn't take it seriously. ”

If you don't take it seriously, you don't report it.

There are so many Zhuang officers involved, and it is normal for them not to dare to talk nonsense.

Li Weimin coughed twice, and asked knowingly, "What about you, have you reported to Mr. Yao?" ”

Chen Runwei looked back at several colleagues in the training team, and said with embarrassment: "Chairman, we have just verified that the paratrooper brigade is going to launch a coup d'état, and I don't know if there is any higher-level participation, and the US ambassador and chairman of the military advisory group are coming to Phu Quoc Island at this time, so ...... So ......"

Wu Dinh Yen has been suspicious for the past two years, and he doesn't trust Yang Wenming, even Li Yuzhen and Chen Shanqian don't believe it, and some time ago he was removed from Chen Shanqian as the chief of general staff, and Ruan Qing, who has little prestige, was appointed.

With so many high-ranking officers dissatisfied, who knows whether the upcoming coup d'état was planned by Yang Wenming, Li Yuzhen, Chen Shanqian and others, and who knows if more troops will participate. And, as he said, the US ambassador and the chairman of the military advisory group came to Phu Quoc at this time, and God knows if those coup officers had the support of the Americans.

Ngo Dinh Diem is unpopular, and if he reports it immediately, it means that the "industrial investment department" is on the opposite side of the coup officers.

This note cannot be pressed indiscriminately, and the reserve officer training team has put the interests of the industrial investment company above the Wu family brothers, and has done nothing wrong.

Chen Shiguo was silent, smoking a cigarette while weighing the pros and cons. Wu Andong's face was pale, and he didn't know whether to report the suggestion immediately or pretend not to know anything. Liu Jiachang held his chin thoughtfully, only Ruan Zhiren wanted to speak and stopped.

They are all idealists, which is why they joined the industrial investment company, and they spared no effort to develop several industrial villages into the current ones.

It is precisely because they are idealists that they are not dissatisfied with the Wu brothers, but for the sake of the future of the country and the industrial village plan, they have to pretend to be deaf and dumb.

Others can't stand it, can't sit still, and want to launch a coup d'état.

It's not so easy to keep the status quo anymore, and you have to make a choice.

If you ask to report to the Wu Dinh Diem brothers immediately, it means that you have no conscience, it means that you support Ngo Dinh Diem to engage in dictatorship, and you are ready to go to the dark with the Wu brothers; If you make it clear that you pretend not to know anything, it means that there is no human touch at all, after all, the "industrial investment department" was developed with the support of the Wu brothers.

They were very embarrassed, Li Weimin was very pleased, was silent for about three minutes, and then raised his head and said, "Ah Ren, what do you say, there are no outsiders here." ”

Ruan Zhiren gritted his teeth, got up and said, "Chairman, President Yan...... President Yan can't die! ”

He said that Ngo Dinh Diem could not die, but he did not say that Ngo Dinh Yen could not be overthrown.

In other words, the company could not get involved in the coup, but to ensure the safety of Ngo Dinh Diem, it was necessary to give the Wu brothers a way to live, even if they were sent into exile.

Even his attitude is so clear, Li Weimin has a closer relationship with the Wu family, how can he not express his attitude: "Ah Ren is right, President Yan can't die, we have to make some corresponding preparations." If he can't control the situation, we have to find a way to get people out. ”

Chen Shiguo didn't want him to be emotional, so he snuffed out his cigarette and said: "Chairman, if you really don't know anything, it's nothing, the key is that we now know that there is an imminent coup d'état." If the coup succeeds and we rescue President Yan, how will we deal with the new government in the future? If the coup fails, and President Yan knows that we know in advance, how should we deal with the president? ”

Wu Andong asked even more bluntly: "If the coup succeeds and we succeed in rescuing President Yan, should we take him to Phu Quoc Island, or send him abroad?" ”

What a dilemma.

If the coup failed, and everything that happened today is leaked in the future, and is likely to be leaked, it means that he will have to turn against Ngo Dinh Diem; If the coup is successful, and Ng Dinh Diem is about to be arrested, it means that he will turn against the national army that launched the coup;

More importantly, if Ngo Dinh Diem does not die in a catastrophe, if he is successfully rescued, he will definitely not go into exile, he will ask the Department of Industry and Investment and call on the troops of the national army who support him to fight back, and fight a small civil war in the context of the big civil war. (To be continued.) )