Chapter Forty-Six: It's Trouble-Free!

The embassy is too eye-catching, and it is inconvenient to live in the embassy.

Lansdale rented a small two-story building with a garden left by the French on the west side of the border city market through Die Dieh, and got in touch with CIA Deputy Director Cabel through the CIA's Saigon Station radio.

As soon as he received the authorization and funding, he summoned his veteran subordinates, who had served as instructors at the Fort McKinley Security Training Center in the Philippines, to teach counter-guerrilla, counterinsurgency, and psychological warfare. Arrange for people to go north as soon as possible to connect with the Catholic militia there, arrange for people to recruit and form an action group composed of Vietnamese, arrange for people to make secret contacts with the warlords of various sects, and arrange for people to draw up a plan for the destruction of the French army after the withdrawal of North Vietnam.

A good start is half the battle, just a few days after the work began, the subordinates contacted an intermediary, through which they could contact the brave and combative Zheng Mingshi.

"Guys, the operation must be kept secret and must not be made known to our French friends. That Zheng Minh Se killed their commander, and they hated Trang Minh Se more than the Viet Minh. If it leaks out, they will definitely use this opportunity to take revenge, and it may be difficult for us to get out of it. ”

One major added: "Again, we can't let the Hoa Hao Jiao know, the intelligence shows that they have a conflict with Zheng Mingshi, and there is often friction between the two defense areas." ”

Lansdale put down the material and said confidently: "He really doesn't have many friends, so our chances of success are very high." ”

"Colonel, I'll make a plan as soon as possible, I think we can disguise ourselves as French and go out of town secretly."

"It's your job."

He patted his old subordinate on the shoulder, turned sideways and asked, "Bane, how are you doing here?" ”

A lieutenant took out a stack of documents from his purse and said with a smug smile: "It turns out that the Vietminh also do not have many friends in this city, some of them have relatives massacred by the Viet Minh, some of them have property taken away by the Viet Minh, and they are willing to work for us and try to avenge it, and one of them even speaks English." ”

"Well done, get in touch, Guan Navy wants a boat, send them to the Philippines for training as soon as possible, and strive to send them back to Hanoi before October."

"Group codename?"

"What's that English-speaking guy called?"

"It seems to be called Chen Ping."

Lansdale pondered for a moment, then said conclusively, "The Ping Group is named after him." ”

"Yes."

Looking at the other subordinate's appearance of wanting to speak and stopping, Lansdale asked puzzledly, "Allen, do you have a problem over there?" ”

Major Allen sighed lightly and said with a smile, "Colonel, there are indeed some minor problems. ”

What problems can arise when making a plan, and instead of letting you destroy it now, Lansdale was confused, crossed his arms and asked, "There is news from the Hao group, they think it is very difficult, and they can't get close to the bus?" ”

"Colonel, it may be hard to believe that just yesterday public transport in the two cities of Hanoi and Hai Phong was completely paralyzed, and all buses disappeared overnight. Some drivers and conductors are demonstrating because they have lost their jobs. ”

It was intended to pour sulfuric acid into the fuel tank of the car after the French army retreated, but now the car disappeared overnight. Lansdale was amused and asked, "Where did those cars go?" ”

"The French side claims that the bus system in these two cities is run by private companies, that the shareholders have an indisputable right to dispose of the company's assets, and that they do not want to continue operating in Hanoi and Haiphong to recover the assets that belong to them, and there is nothing the government can do about it."

"They were wise and saved us a lot of things."

"Colonel, in fact, it's more than that."

"What do you mean?"

Major Allen walked to the corner of the wall, threw the plans into the trash can, and said with a wry smile: "We don't have to worry about the printing plant anymore, the Howe team confirmed in a telegram an hour ago that there is only an empty factory building left, and all the printing presses, including ink, paper and other materials, have been disassembled and packed and transferred to the dock to wait for loading. ”

"Where are they going?"

"Here, here, Howe sees this as an organized relocation and thinks it should come from a higher level. Otherwise, there would be no Nong army involved in the demolition process, and the French commander stationed there would not allow them to destroy the city. ”

At this last moment of negotiations on a comprehensive ceasefire and prisoners of war, the French did not dare to offend the Vietminh easily, and could not have had such courage, Lansdale felt incredulous, and asked with a skeptical face: "You mean they will move more factories to the south?" ”

Alan tossed all the plans into the trash and bent himself on his waist to confirm, "The Howe team says it's like a big construction site, and all the targets on the list are either no longer there or will not exist. It is worth mentioning that some people even claim ownership of Haiphong Pier. When they have dismantled all the machines they want to dismantle and remove all the machines they want to move, they should dismantle the port facilities such as cranes. ”

A lieutenant was amused and couldn't help but smile and ask, "Major, has anyone claimed ownership of the railway?" ”

"Not really, even if they were, they wouldn't have to be demolished, because the railroad tracks that should have been destroyed have been almost destroyed by the Viet Minh."

"Great, we should have opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate!"

"They took my job, but they did a good job."

The more Lansdale thought about it, the more interesting it became, and he asked with interest: "Allen, do you know who did it?" ”

"Colonel, you should ask your rich friend you just made. Howe's Panel believes this is related to him, as the vessels involved in the sea are all owned by his family's shipping company. ”

It was an open secret of the embassy that Li Weimin went to the north to contact the Nong army, and Lansdale slapped his forehead and laughed: "Damn, I should have thought of it a long time ago." It's not about him, it's about him. ”

"The question is why the French acquiesced, given that they had caused unprecedented chaos in the two cities, and even affected the ongoing negotiations, and the Viet Minh representatives were said to have unilaterally withdrawn from the negotiations yesterday afternoon, Geneva time, believing that the French side was seriously lacking in sincerity."

"Just ask, we're friends." Lansdale smiled, picked up the phone and dialed Young Master Li's number.

Li Weimin has not seen him since he came back from sending people to Nguyen Van Hsin last time, and it felt very sudden, Lansdale didn't care about being polite, and asked bluntly: "Mr. Li, I really want to know how you did the large-scale relocation operation in Hanoi and Haiphong?" ”

It turned out that because of this, Li Weimin looked up at the window, and said with a half-truthful smile: "Colonel, you think too highly of me, in fact, except for contracting a little shipping business, I and my family basically do not participate." Those factories and facilities were bought by others, and they have the right to decide what to do with their assets; In addition, as a seller, it is the responsibility and obligation of our French merchant friends to provide some help. ”

"Where?"

"In many ways, such as some legal matters, they provide a series of legally binding contracts and other documents, which are very useful for judges to determine the ownership of assets; Another example is the government's ability to protect personal property, for which they have contacted many big names as far away as Paris.

As far as I know, friends of the Parisian press agree that personal property is sacrosanct, no matter what time and under what circumstances. The government cannot pass on the severe losses caused by the military's incompetence to innocent people who abide by the law and pay taxes according to the rules. ”

From the end of World War II to the present, the French president has changed more than a dozen like a flash, and the longest one has only been in office for a year. The government kept collapsing, and the current government was formed just after the defeat of Dien Bien Phu.

They had just come to power, and they clearly did not want to offend the media and the colonial businessmen who were inextricably linked to Parisian politics. What's more, people have a legal basis, and the government cannot know the law and break the law.

Lansdale reacted, admiring the young man on the other end of the phone who did such a big thing, and clenched the phone and proposed: "Mr. Li, I think we should meet and have a good talk." ”

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