Nestled in a small town in New Jersey, Marinoco Abbey is a fairy tale setting filled with trees, birds and flowers.

Compared with the monasteries in Europe that were built on rock boulders, had to be lifted and lowered by hanging baskets, and looked like ancient castles, Marinoco seemed a bit "worldly".

There are no ancient mottled and mysterious tall city walls, no golden spires that reach into the sky, and there are no lifelike ancient emperors, sages, birds, beasts, fish and insects, flowers and fruit carvings, only a very Spanish-style Gothic building, like a university away from the hustle and bustle.

In fact, this is the university, a very famous seminary in North America, which is said to have produced several bishops.

"Father, I have something very important to see Mr. Yan, I know he is here, at least he has been here. For God's sake, please let me meet or give me a contact information. ”

History is written by the victors, and the little historical knowledge in the previous life cannot be disbelieved, let alone fully believed.

For example, many books about the Vietnam War in China and Vietnam say in black and white that Ngo Dinh Diem worked as a consultant for the Government Research Agency of Michigan State University in the United States, but in fact there was no Michigan State University at all in this era, only the University of Michigan and the Michigan University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences.

Another example is that Ngo Dinh Diem became acquainted with the notorious CIA agent Colonel Edward Lansdale in the United States, in fact, Landsdale has been staying in the Philippines, and now Ngo Dinh Diem is just an insignificant small character, they cannot know each other at all, let alone in the United States.

The description of Wu Tingyan is even more unbelievable, otherwise he would not know how he died.

Li Weimin knew that he was not here, and as soon as he got off the plane, he rushed from Newark Airport to Marinoco Monastery, trying to understand what kind of person Ngo Dinh Diem was from here, after all, he had lived in this monastery for a long time.

The young monk in charge of the reception happened to be a classmate of Wu Tingyan, he glanced at Li Weimin's passport and university diploma again, and said with a helpless wry smile: "Sir, Brother Yan is really not here, he has already left." He didn't speak English well, he didn't usually speak, he didn't have many friends, maybe only the dean knew where he had gone. ”

"Gone?"

"Uh-huh."

"That'...... What about the dean, can I meet with me? ”

Keane accompanied him inside, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, the dean went to the Vatican and won't be back until next month." ”

"It's a coincidence."

Li Weimin pretended to be very sorry, put down his suitcase and took out a Citibank check from his arms, "Father, thank you for taking care of Mr. Yan, please help me transfer it to the abbot in Mr. Yan's name." ”

"What a generous, God bless you."

The donation is the main source of income for the monastery, two thousand dollars, no more, no less, Keane took the check, and asked again, "Mr. Li, are you a friend of Brother Yan?" ”

"Frankly, I haven't met him, is there a problem with the reason why he came here to be entrusted by someone?"

"It's nothing, I'm just a little weird, because Brother Yan looks very ordinary, not a very wealthy person."

Li Weimin followed the words and asked: "Then what kind of person is he in your eyes." ”

There were not many students in the monastery from the East, and Kean was impressed by Wu Tingyan's impression, and said with a smile: "Brother Yan is very religious, more religious than us students. He was welcoming, didn't speak English well and was fluent in French. Older than all of us, like the poor students from remote parishes, they spend their days cleaning dishes and washing dishes in the cafeteria, which many students don't usually do. ”

Before coming, Liu Jinghui inquired through various channels that Wu Tingyan was not from a prominent family of eunuchs.

His grandfather was a very ordinary small landowner, and it was not until his father, Wu Ting, passed the imperial examination that he was able to enter high society. In addition, Ngo Dinh Ke's career was not so smooth, and his official position was not very large, he served as a staff officer of Emperor Cheng Thai during the French colonial period, and later rose to the position of Minister of Ceremonies and Palace Supervisor (Managing Eunuchs) of the Vietnamese Imperial Court.

In 1907, the French used mental illness as an excuse to depose Emperor Chengtai, who was dissatisfied with the colonial system. Dinh Dinh can retire to his hometown to farm in protest. Ngo Dinh Diem followed his family to farm rice fields while attending a French Catholic school before moving to Hanoi to attend the School of Administration, a French school dedicated to training Vietnamese officials.

Judging from his resume, he is indeed remarkable, starting from an ordinary "civil servant", step by step, steadily promoted, successively served as the magistrate of Quang Tien County, Tsang Tien Province, Hailing County, Quang Zhi Province, and was promoted to the governor of Quang Nam Province at the age of 25.

The resume is real, but the gold content is not so high.

Indochina is a French colony, and French officials have the final say in the affairs of the colony, and the so-called provincial governors and county magistrates are just ornaments, and their powers are very small. Not to mention that one province in Vietnam is not at all comparable to China's provinces, which can only manage three or four counties in terms of area and population.

His family is an honest official, and in fact, there is nothing to be made out of being an official of the French.

There are some fields in my hometown in Vietnam, and the Vietminh is like that, and the harvest is not expected to be much better, so it is not surprising that he went into exile to the United States to make a living.

Li Weimin nodded slightly, and Father Keane continued: "He is very lonely, no one comes to see him, he has a very small room. He walks a lot like Chaplin, and when we see him walking, we all want to laugh because it's so funny.

He was so kind that we all jokingly called him 'Little Tintin' (short stature). He was much older than us, and he came from the far east, which felt a bit mysterious. He likes quiet, not lively. Maybe he wasn't very financially well-off, his clothes were very old, and I never saw him buy ......."

Thirty years in Hedong, thirty years in Hexi, in a few months he will turn over and no longer be so shabby.

Li Weimin smiled noncommittally, then made side inquiries, and even went with him to the room where Ngo Dinh Diem had stayed, and then shook hands and said goodbye, and returned to Newark Airport non-stop to catch the nearest flight to Detroit.

The future Michigan State University, now the Michigan University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, is located in Lansing, about an hour and a half from Detroit Airport.

The previous Li Weimin had studied and lived here for four years, and his memories had been completely integrated, and he was familiar with the road, so there was no need to inquire at all.

When he knocked on the door of Professor Henry's office with his luggage and dust, the professor was stunned and asked with an incredulous expression: "Li, aren't you back to Vietnam, what's wrong with your face?" ”

"The face is fine, I accidentally fell."

Li Weimin smiled at the teaching assistant he had just recruited last year, put down his suitcase and took out a few small gifts, and explained with a wry smile: "Professor, I just came back from Vietnam, and the political situation there is turbulent, so I can't do anything at all, so I feel better to go back to school." ”

Professor Henry, who supported anti-colonialism in Asia, gloated and asked, "Is the French colonial rule there coming to an end?" ”

"I think it's going to be soon, they have an army besieged in a place called Dien Bien Phu, and they will all be wiped out tomorrow. Fighting a war tens of thousands of miles away from home, and the opponent is supported by a faction, it would be hellish if it can win. ”

Professor Henry shrugged his shoulders and beckoned him to sit down, and said with great exaggeration: "If the opponent is not the Viet Minh, I would like to open a bottle of champagne to celebrate." ”

"I'm the same, I want them to be finished, but I'm worried about them."

He was the first and only student from Vietnam, and his family was very wealthy, so Professor Henry looked the other way, crossed his arms and asked, "Okay, tell me what you are going to do." ”

There is no need to be polite with the Americans, Li Weimin took a sip of the water handed by the teaching assistant, and said with a worried face: "Professor, as you know, almost all of our family's business is in Vietnam, including holding and shareholding enterprises, and there are nearly 2,000 employees under it. If the Vietminh hits Saigon, of course we can go, but what about the staff? ”

"It's obviously not realistic to move all the people."

"So I'm going to do something, and I'd like to get your help."

"What do you want to do, and how can I help? Dear Li, you must know that I am just an ordinary professor, and my annual salary is not as much as your pocket money for a month. ”

He is one of the most distinguished professors in the School of Business, having served as an independent non-executive director of a Wall Street bank before being hired.

Bankers among bankers are capable and well-connected, and such executives may not be able to find them with lanterns.

Li Weimin stared at him and said expectantly, "Professor, I sincerely invite you to become the President of the Bank of East Asia, a subsidiary of the Lee Group, which is headquartered in Hong Kong. In the next two years, I plan to open a branch in New York, Vietnam and France, and if you think about it, don't rush to get back to me. ”

Being a director is boring, being a president is a different story.

Professor Henry was amused, pulled up a chair and sat down across from him and smiled, "Lee, don't forget what I do." You've painted me a very beautiful vision, and you're probably going to offer me an annual salary that's hard to refuse, without telling me how much capital your bank has. ”

"I knew I couldn't fool you, it's really not much now, it's only a few million dollars. But I can guarantee that by the end of next year at the latest, I will inject at least $50 million. ”

"It's still a small bank, but I can consider it."

It is best for him to accept the invitation, and it is not a big problem if he does not accept it, it is just a troublesome point, Li Weimin put down his cup and said the real purpose of this trip: "Professor, I know that the university is responsible for managing the government-sponsored aid program to the allies, can you help me introduce the director of the project, I want to communicate with them on the Indochina issue." ”

There is no doubt that he was worried about the occupation of Vietnam by the Viet Minh, and he wanted to be a lobbyist to help the current Vietnamese government get some help.

Professor Henry pondered for a moment, shook his head, and said, "Li, the Government Research Agency is only responsible for formulating plans, and whether it can be adopted depends on the State Department, the White House, and even Congress. In addition, I didn't know the project director well, and I only worked with Professor Wesley-Fisher. ”

There is nowhere to find the iron shoes, and it takes no effort to get them!

Professor Wesley-Fischer served as a CIA adviser in Japan, supporting the anti-colonial, anti-Viet Minh doctrine of the Third Force in Asia. If the history books of his previous life did not fool anyone, Ngo Dinh Diem left Vietnam and first went to Japan to visit the Nguyen Dynasty clan and tried to seek support from MacArthur, the commander-in-chief of the Allied forces in Japan.

"It's okay if I don't see the supervisor and Professor Fisher, I just want to fight for it, after all, I'm just an ordinary graduate of the business school, just an ordinary businessman in Saigon, and I don't have that much influence."

Referrals, it's really not a big deal.

Professor Henry raised his arm and glanced at the time, got up and said, "Since you want to do something, I'll take you there." Well, I am proud to have a student like you instead of rushing to transfer assets at this critical time, but running back to ask for assistance. ”