According to the calculations made by Schneider and Gu Kai during the talks at Shengli Port, even if they did not directly participate in the battle in the end, they would at least be able to collect tens of thousands of taels of hardship from North Vietnam. If the Haihan militia directly participated in the war, then their estimated military expenditure would start at 100,000 taels, and if they fought for a month, maybe it would be possible to get 200,000 taels or 300,000 taels. As for the military expenses received from North Vietnam, the Executive Committee has also stated in advance that at least half of them will be allocated to the Military Police Department as unplanned military spending, so it is no wonder that the Military Police Department is like a chicken blood.

Qian Tiandun was not carried away by the favorable situation in front of him, and did not forget to remind Gu Kai: "Isn't there still an attached political condition? ”

"I can't forget!" Gu Kai waved his hand and said: "I will quote a high price to him, just to let him have the intention of counteroffering, and when I make concessions on the price, I will put forward the political conditions as a supplement, it will not be too abrupt." ”

"You are really ......" Qian Tiandun sighed a few times, and did not continue, thinking that it should not be a positive evaluation.

Gu Kai said disapprovingly: "I'm thinking about the interests of the collective, how many conditions can North Vietnam agree to in the end, and I can't enjoy the slightest benefit for myself!"

Half an hour later, the negotiations resumed, and Zheng Zheng still refused to let go of the military issue. Gu Kai felt that the time was almost up, so he took the initiative to say: "If you do have economic difficulties, then we are not inconsiderate, and we can appropriately reduce or reduce some of the military spending......"

Without waiting for Zheng Zheng's face to relax, Gu Kai continued: "However, in return, we hope that you can agree to one of our conditions. Of course, this condition prepared by us has nothing to do with money. ”

"Then Mr. Gu might as well talk about it. Zheng Zheng is still very cautious, not believing that the Haihan people who see money will be so kind.

"Mr. Zheng, we have been trading with you for three months, and the cooperation during this period has been relatively pleasant, and we hope to further deepen the cooperation with you, and allow our personnel to enter the domestic areas of Annan to engage in normal business and people-to-people ......exchanges," Gu Kai said slowly, as he pondered his words.

"That's it?" Zheng Qi asked impatiently interrupting Gu Kai's words.

"No, no, no, please hear me finish. Gu Kai shook his head slightly and said: "In order to ensure the personal safety and interests of our personnel, I hope that you can give our personnel extraterritorial treatment." ”

"What does that mean?" Sure enough, Zheng Zheng was not surprised to understand the term "extraterritoriality" at all.

"To put it simply, our personnel will not be tried or punished for violating your laws and regulations in the territory you are accusing. Gu Kai explained succinctly.

Zheng Zheng was stunned and said: "It's just a small thing, so what if you commit a serious crime such as murder?"

"You can submit the relevant files of the case to us, and our judicial authorities will hear and make a judgment based on objective evidence. Gu Kai continued to explain to him: "If we also believe that the party has violated the law, then we will also make a guilty verdict." Of course, whether it is a judgment or a punishment, it is based on the laws of our Haihan. ”

"This is really ridiculous!" Zheng Zheng said angrily: "If your people break the law in Annan, we can only arrest them and hand them over to you to deal with?

Gu Kai remained silent, and turned to talk about military spending: "We thought about it just now, and we can reduce the total military expenditure of this aid to you by one percent." ”

Zheng Zheng shook his head and said, "The country is in general, how can you remember a little money?"

Gu Kai smiled and said, "If you are willing to agree to our conditions, then you can reduce it by one percent on this basis." ”

Zheng Zheng didn't speak immediately this time, but had already begun to think about it in his heart. When the meeting was adjourned just now, he also discussed it with several aides, and all of them believed that the military aid plan proposed by the Haihan people was a more feasible way to solve the current difficult situation. The weapons and training camps provided by the Haihan have proved that their army's combat effectiveness is far superior to that of the current North Vietnamese army, and the effect of inviting a Haihan mercenary to fight is certainly far stronger than that of peasant soldiers temporarily recruited from the civilian population. But the only difficulty in doing this is that in the amount of military spending demanded by the Haihan people, after the Haihan people came, they were just stationed, if they fought for ten days, the 108,000 taels of military expenses would definitely not be able to run, if the war was stalemate, and the war would last for three or five months, I am afraid that Zheng Zheng's own family would have to start smashing pots and selling iron to the Haihan people to raise military expenses.

This is not alarmist, Zheng Zheng did not think that with the military aid of the Haihan people, he could quickly solve the battle, although his army was defeated and retreated by the South Vietnamese musket troops, but it also lasted more than a month before gradually retreating to the current front, although the Haihan people advanced weapons, they only sent a combat team of 1,000 people, I am afraid that the combat effect will be extremely limited. Zheng's Southern Expedition has been several times, even if the battle process is fast, it will take more than half a year to fight at a time, and I have never heard of the situation of settling the battle in ten days and eight days.

Under this understanding, Zheng Zheng and his staff estimated that the period of engagement would be three months, and the military expenses that needed to be repaid to the Haihan mercenaries would probably not be less than 500,000 taels. Of course, if the victory can be achieved in the end, then the money should still be worth sending, after all, the vast territory of the south cannot be directly bought back by hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. However, such a high cost also means that the North Vietnamese regime will be burdened with a heavy burden, and the Thang Long court has only two or three million taels of annual income in previous years. It is precisely because of such economic pressure that Zheng Zheng has been biting the price and refusing to let go, because he is really worried that the Haihan people will suddenly withdraw their troops because they can't get the money halfway through the battle.

Zheng Zheng's worries are not unreasonable, but in fact, Haihan's side did not plan the operation cycle of this dispatch to be so long. The time limit given by the Executive Committee to the Military Police Department should not exceed one month, because after the dispatch of this army, both the base camp and the Black Earth Port felt a bit "bankrupt", and there were huge loopholes in the defense. Neither the Executive Committee nor the Military Police Department was willing to risk losing their old nests and prolonging the war period.

However, in terms of specific bargaining strategies, it has to be said that Gu Kai and Schneider did pinch on the North Vietnamese side's thinking, and formulated such a roundabout method to put forward conditions in a roundabout way to make North Vietnam comply. They estimated that the North Vietnamese would definitely envisage a longer period of operations, so their economic concerns would multiply, and they might even refuse military aid from the Haihan side because of this. At such a time, it will be much better to reduce the price appropriately in exchange for the other party's approval of the political conditions, rather than directly proposing the conditions.

For Zheng Zheng, if the military expenditure is less than one percent, it will probably save 108,000 yuan, less than two percent, then this figure really cannot be ignored and it is enough to use this money to arm a firearms force of thousands of people. And although the price paid is indeed hurtful to the national body, but this ** is too big, not to mention that the Haihan people are not unreasonable people, at least from the people they come into contact with, they are all polite and very cultivated, and their subordinates are also very well-behaved, so it stands to reason that they should not cause any trouble in Annan.

Zheng Zheng was silent, and Gu Kai knew that the opportunity had come, so he hurriedly persuaded him: "In the future, you can also send some official personnel to our harbor, and we will also give some special treatment as appropriate." If our personnel violate the law and commit crimes in Annam, then you can also send judicial personnel to participate in the investigation and trial organized by us to ensure that it is fair and fair as much as possible. ”

When Gu Kai said this, he consciously confused extraterritoriality and diplomatic immunity, and then went back and separated the two things and slowly pulled them, and then it would be too late for Zheng Zheng to regret it. As for participating in the investigation and trial and the like, it is purely diplomatic rhetoric, participation is participation, but it is none of your business to decide exactly how it is decided.

But Gu Kai's words obviously played a certain role, Zheng Zheng's face really improved, nodded and said, "If it is as Mr. Gu said, then it is naturally the best." The question of military spending......"

"As long as you agree to the extraterritoriality requested by us, you can reduce the military spending by 20%!" Gu Kai said categorically. The reserve price he agreed with Schneider was actually a six-fold discount on the basis of the quotation, and he could win it at an eight-percent discount, which was already an overfulfillment of the negotiation task.

"Then when will you send troops?" Zheng Zheng hurriedly asked.

"If you need it, you can send troops within half a month. Qian Tiandun took over the conversation. As for the arrangements for this military operation, he is fully responsible for the North Vietnamese side for the time being. It was not until the large army of the base camp came over that Qian Tiandun would hand over the command to the superior commander.

"Half a month, this time is a little too long......" Zheng Zheng showed a disappointed expression on his face.

"If you start to move your troops south now, it will probably take more than ten days to march to the area of engagement, right? In comparison, our army may arrive at the battlefield a little faster. Qian Tiandun said without hesitation. During this time, he had been studying the map of Indochina and had a preliminary plan for the plan of action. Of course, this will have to wait for the base camp to formulate a detailed plan, and then combine it to implement.

Zheng Zheng thought for a while, and then said: "Then these soldiers from our training camp ......"

"In a few days, we will send a ship here to pick them up for the south, and you just need to prepare enough food, grass and supplies for the army. Qian Tiandun understood what Zheng Zheng's idea was, and before he finished speaking, he gave an answer in advance: "This trained army will be the front army at that time, and our army will be responsible for pressing the formation for them." ”

Now that the North Vietnamese have not many troops who can resist the South Vietnamese offensive head-on, instead of counting on the mercenaries on the Haihan side to enter the battlefield, it is better to pin their hopes on the soldiers in the training camp first, if they are lucky enough to win the battle and no longer need mercenaries to enter the battlefield, then they can save a sum of money.

Since it is a military operation, it is not possible to make it clear in one or two sentences that the preparations involving all aspects can be clearly stated. Although the two sides have reached an intention to cooperate through negotiations, the specific implementation plan still needs to be discussed in detail by military personnel from both sides. Zheng Zheng also brought several North Vietnamese officers this time, and the next military affairs were discussed by them with Qian Tiandun and others.

On the same day, the progress of the negotiations was transmitted back to Port Victory via guò radio waves, and the Executive Committee, which received the news, immediately granted the Military Police Department wartime authority and gave full authority to organize the military operation.

Yan Chujie will be on the front line as the commander-in-chief and be responsible for the operational command task, while Tao Donglai will stay in the base camp and be responsible for the defense of the local area during this period. As soon as the Executive Committee announced that it had entered a state of war, the members of the Military Police Department were responsible for wartime operations, and they were ready to return to the army to perform their duties as soldiers.

The militia soldiers who had just participated in the military parade two days ago began to undergo the closest exercise to actual combat since their enlistment, and the ammunition consumed in the training reached 30 rounds per person per day, and all training subjects were turned to actual combat for the purpose. The officers also began to let the soldiers out, saying that there would be a military operation in the near future, the purpose of which was, of course, to protect the interests of the Haihan group overseas.

After the baptism of the previous military parade, the morale of the militia was unprecedentedly high. Although almost all of these naturalized soldiers had never had battlefield experience, after receiving several months of continuous brainwashing in the barracks, they had great confidence in their own combat effectiveness. The officers have already revealed that all those who have made meritorious contributions in this operation will have the opportunity to be directly promoted to military rank, corporal to sergeant, sergeant to sergeant, and sergeant to sergeant will be promoted not only to military rank, but also to the corresponding treatment.

In addition, all the soldiers who participated in the expedition this time enjoyed three times their salaries during the war, and those who made meritorious contributions were given bonuses. For those killed or injured in the battle, the military police department will also give heavy rewards and pensions, and the pension for the dead is even as high as 50 yuan, and the death pension of the Ming army in the same period is only 20 to 30 taels of silver.

In addition to the mobilization of the army, the Ministry of Civil Affairs also cooperated with the battle plan and began to select suitable personnel from the North Vietnamese naturalized people, undertake heavy logistics tasks, and receive a certain amount of medical skills training. Of course, in addition, the North Vietnamese naturalized people, who are familiar with the local geography and people's conditions, will also play the role of "leading the way" when necessary, providing assistance for the combat mission of the militia.

The Ministry of Shipping also began to coordinate flights and dispatch large ships to prepare for the next troop projection mission. This time, the troops that set out from the base camp accounted for two-thirds of the total number of reinforced battalions, and together with the civilian men and logistics personnel, there were about six or seven hundred people. There are also dozens of tons of ammunition, grain and grass supplies, and various war materials prepared for this operation. For this reason, the Ministry of Shipping had to temporarily suspend the coal transportation route and prepare to assemble about 10 sailing ships at the port of Shengli to deliver personnel and materials to the coast of the war zone at one time. Fortunately, a batch of sailing ships forcibly from Xu Xinsu in Fujian Province have already arrived at the port, otherwise they would have to depart from Shengli Port and Heitu Port at the same time, and the capacity would be a little stretched.

And Heitu Port will also send nearly two companies of troops and some logistics personnel to participate in this operation, which naturally includes the special operations company that Qian Tiandun spent a lot of effort to personally **. Qian Tiandun knew very well that it would not be easy to get such an opportunity for actual combat, and after completing the negotiations on the Tushan Peninsula, he immediately returned to Heitu Port and began the final training of the militia in Heitu Port.

Mu Xiabai and Feng Annan, on the other hand, took a sailboat to the south from the Tushan Peninsula on the day the negotiations ended. In addition to several Haihan militiamen, there are also special envoys from the North Vietnamese side, who will go directly to the current combat zone to confirm cooperation with the North Vietnamese frontline troops, as well as the follow-up arrangements for the handover of positions. Of course, the most important task is to do a good job of reconnaissance and choose a suitable combat position for the troops that will arrive later.

It was indeed much faster to sail south than to march by land, and in just three days the vanguard arrived at the port of Vinh An, near the war zone. It is 150 nautical miles from the Tushan Peninsula and 180 nautical miles from the Port of Victory. If you use a catamaran, you can theoretically reach here from Shengli Port in about 24 hours at the earliest, and even Fukufune Guangchuan can only sail in three to four days. However, at the moment this place is not called a port, it is just a deserted beach. This small bay facing north is surrounded by three small hills about 300 meters above sea level, and the coastal plain covers an area of about two square kilometers, with only two narrow passages between the hills leading to the south on the land route. The Military Police Department chose this place as the landing site and rear base for this military operation, because it is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and only two mountain passes need to be defended to ensure the safety of this place.

The landing site is 10 to 15 kilometres away from the current combat zone, and this distance also leaves enough buffer zone for the military police department's operational plans. If the war is unfavorable, the troops can also retreat to the port area for deployment, and at that time, with the superiority of weapons, it will not be difficult to turn the port area into a solid military fortress. Moreover, this place is the only way to cross the path of the South Vietnamese army's advance, even if the North Vietnamese army is defeated by its opponent, there is such a nail stuck here, the South Vietnamese army will not dare to bypass this place at will and continue to march north.