Chapter 372 The Messenger of Peace
Ruan Jinggui stood on the bow of the boat, holding his hands on the side of the boat, staring blankly at the boundless sea in front of him. He boarded the Portuguese merchant ship "Saint Mary" two days ago and prepared to go to Victory Port, the hometown of the Haihan people, on behalf of the South Vietnamese court to negotiate with the other party on the current war.
When the war situation is at a disadvantage, acting as a messenger to the enemy for peace is simply a kind of torture. The officials of Hue Prefecture have been arguing for several days, but none of them are willing to take the initiative to take on this task that requires keeping their face in their pockets. In the end, after pushing and pushing, the job fell on Ruan Jinggui inexplicably.
Ruan Jingui is not an official official of the South Vietnamese imperial court. If there is anything special about him, it is that he has a background of the Ruan family - yes, that is right, it is the Ruan family that is the real power of the South Vietnamese puppet regime. However, because Ruan Jinggui was only from the side of the family, he did not receive much attention from his family since he was a child, and he was not able to sneak into South Vietnam's officialdom when he grew up. In the end, he could only rely on his family's influence in South Vietnam to enter the business world and engage in commodity imports. Export trade.
Most of the lucrative industries in South Vietnam are monopolized by the Ruan family. Therefore, Ruan Ching Gui's business situation in this industry has always been quite good, and he also has many opportunities to deal with Chinese businessmen, Portuguese businessmen and other outsiders. Among the Ruan family, Ruan Xinggui is one of the very few who has mastered Chinese and Portuguese through self-study. When the Portuguese and the South Vietnamese court reached negotiations on military cooperation, Ruan Xinggui acted as the interpreter.
In view of the current lack of professional diplomatic talents in South Vietnam, and Ruan Xinggui's rich experience in dealing with the Han and Portuguese, the important task of sending an envoy to sue for peace was placed in his hands. If given the opportunity to choose, Ruan Jinggui would naturally not be willing to take on such a task that is very easy to take the blame. However, the decline of South Vietnam will also affect his future and destiny. In addition, there is also great pressure on him from within the family. In the end, Ruan Jinggui reluctantly agreed.
If everything goes well, you can arrive at Victory Port today and meet your negotiating opponent. But in the face of this enemy who is trying to destroy South Vietnam, how should we deal with it and make them give up their original intentions? Ruan Jingui did not come up with an effective way to deal with this, and the bottom line given to him by the court was very simple, which was to do everything possible to preserve the "national system" - as long as the Haihan people could stop their hostilities and recognize Hue's rule over the South Vietnam region. If you have the right, then you can agree to the conditions proposed by the Haihan people as appropriate.
For this negotiation, the South Vietnamese court did not do anything at all. They still learned through various channels the benefits that the Haihan people received in exchange for supporting the North Vietnamese regime-a large amount of money, and several places were assigned to the Haihan people for a long time. Used seaside port area, open trade and settlement rights, and a large number of people sent to the Haihan ruled area in exchange.
A year ago, they would have laughed at the weakness of the North Vietnamese court, because South Vietnam had never paid such a high price to find cooperation with the Portuguese. In addition to money, the South Vietnamese court gave the Portuguese special powers only to trade, settle, and spread religion. It did not set aside an exclusive area for the Portuguese, let alone send a large number of people under its rule to the Portuguese as slaves.
However, when things have developed to this point, the South Vietnamese court can only sigh that you get what you pay for. Although the Haihan people's asking price is high, the rewards North Vietnam receives are obviously very good. In addition to the new army that is now beginning to take shape, sea trade, which North Vietnam was weakest in the past and South Vietnam was proud of, has also undergone fundamental changes. According to information from South Vietnam, there are now more than thirty large merchant ships traveling between North Vietnam and Qiongzhou Island every month, and this change is obviously inseparable from the Haihan people. North Vietnam continuously transported rice, wood, medicinal materials, minerals and even people to the areas controlled by the Haihan people, and the Haihan people responded with a large number of arms and military instructors - North Vietnam even sent an officer corps specifically to fight against the Haihan people. Martial arts academy teaches how to fight with firearms.
If I had known that the Haihan people's thighs were so thick, how would they have had the chance to be hugged by those guys from North Vietnam! South Vietnam's senior officials beat their chests and regretted the missed opportunity. But since the Haihan people's purpose of helping North Vietnam is for such practical benefits, South Vietnam also has the opportunity to bribe the other side, it's just a matter of the price. And when one's own life or death is at stake, whether it is money, land, population or other power, they can actually be used as weights in transactions.
But even if the Haihan people are willing to reward this face and offer a series of exchange conditions, will South Vietnam be able to be safe from now on? Ruan Jinggui feels that this possibility is not very high. He is not one of those civil servants in the court who can only boast about other things and does not understand the practice at all. What he relies on for a living is various transactions, which is to put it bluntly, the exchange of interests. Therefore, for those involved in Matters in this area are very sensitive, and their views are very different from those in officialdom. The Haihan people supported two hostile forces in the south and north of South Vietnam, and tried every means to expel South Vietnam's only ally. After spending so much effort, I am afraid it was not just to eliminate the small imperial court in South Vietnam, but also had There are more attempts. Could it be that if South Vietnam offers some benefits, the Haihan people will give up their ambitions in the South Vietnam region?
No matter what others think, Ruan Jinggui feels that the Haihan people will not be as small as the officials think. This time they go to Victory Port for negotiations, and the process may not be smooth.
That afternoon, the sailing ship "Saint Mary" finally sailed into the offshore area of Sanya. However, just seven or eight nautical miles away from Haihan, a small sailing ship came oncoming, blocking the way of the "Saint Mary".
After a brief shouting in the air, Ruan Jinggui learned that the other party's identity was the "Sanya Water Guard Brigade of Haihan Militia". After the other party learned of their intention to enter the port, they asked the "Saint Mary" to follow them into the port.
In view of the special origin of the "Saint Mary", the patrol ship did not guide it into Victory Port, but took it directly to Sanya New Port and notified the island post with a flag when it rounded the Luhuitou Peninsula. By the time the two ships entered the narrow channel at the mouth of the two rivers, the Sanya Port Management Committee had already received the news from the militia post.
"A Portuguese merchant ship has entered the port. It seems to be coming from South Vietnam." Qiu Yuan put down the phone and said to Yu Tiezhu, the militia platoon leader stationed in the port area: "Let's go to the dock and have a look! By the way, let's Someone go and inform the Portuguese at the guest house, maybe they need their help.”
Yu Tiezhu stood up, put on his military cap without saying a word, and followed Qiu Yuan out of the office.
At this stage, all Portuguese merchant ships departing from Macau for Port of Victory must first register at Wanshan Port and declare the personnel, cargo, etc. on board. Therefore, before the Portuguese merchant ships arrive at the port, everyone here can get news in advance through the radio. There was no relevant news about the ship arriving in Hong Kong today, so Qiu Yuan knew without asking that the ship's departure place was definitely not Macau.
Seeing the dock facilities neatly lined up along the shore in the inland river and the orderly large warehouses on the shore, Nguyen Thanh Kuei realized that the management level of this port has far exceeded that of Hoi An Port. Although Hoi An Port has been open for much longer than this port, it has never built a cargo terminal of this scale. Seeing the densely packed large and small ships docked on the shore, Nguyen Thanh Kui finally believed that the rumor that the Hai Han people were good at maritime trade was not a fiction.
The "Saint Mary" sailed into the Linchun River under the guidance of the patrol boat in front. After sailing upstream for a while, it saw two other sailboats flying Portuguese flags docked at a pier on the shore. This pier was specially designated for Portuguese merchant ships to dock after the two sides signed a trade exchange agreement. This was also done to facilitate the control of personnel on Portuguese merchant ships. A hotel and special warehouse were specially built on this pier, and the surrounding areas were It is surrounded by a wooden fence and has dedicated personnel to guard the entrance and exit. Except for those who have obtained special access permission, most Portuguese crew members can only move within the area within the wooden fence.
Of course, there are also Portuguese clerks on the dock. After the ship docks, the clerk on the dock will board the ship to register the people and goods on the ship, and then notify the Haihan management staff. However, the clerk came down less than a minute after getting on the boat - the boat was carrying a special envoy from South Vietnam. He did not dare to take the initiative and conceal this kind of thing, so he quickly came down to inform Haihan.
"South Vietnam sent an envoy?" Qiu Yuang just arrived at the dock and was surprised to hear the news. However, he did not hesitate because of this and immediately asked someone to inform the executive committee.
"How many people?" Qiu Yuan asked smoothly.
"I just sent people on board to take a look. There are only two people, one is the master and the other is a servant." Yu Tiezhu responded in a deep voice: "I also checked my belongings and found no weapons or anything like that."
"They shouldn't be stupid enough to send people to assassinate them. That would not help the negotiations." Qiu Yuan could vaguely guess the intention of the South Vietnamese envoy's trip. If South Vietnam dared to use any extraordinary means at this time, then Just wait to be destroyed directly. Qiu Yuan soon met the special envoy sent by South Vietnam. He had a characteristic South Asian complexion, was short in stature, and looked to be in his thirties. There was a bit of cleverness in his eyes.
"My special envoy Ruan Jinggui from Annan State is here to pay a special visit to the Haihan Executive Committee." Ruan Jinggui's Chinese is quite acceptable, at least he doesn't need to ask Qiu Yuan to find a translator temporarily.
"I am Qiu Yuan, the person in charge of the Sanya Port Management Committee. Welcome to your arrival." Even though the other party was an envoy from a hostile force, Qiu Yuan still managed the scene in a polite manner.
Qiu Yuan couldn't understand what level of official position "Head of the Management Committee" held, but looking at the row of Haihan militiamen with guns and live ammunition behind him, he could guess that the local status of the person in front of him was not too low. , and immediately responded with a few words.
Qiu Yuan worked in a public institution before time travel, and he was relatively familiar with some of the rules within the system. Therefore, he did not discuss political topics with the other party without authorization. Instead, he took him to the Pier Hotel and opened a room. Let him settle down first. As for the other party's request to "visit the Haihan Executive Committee", Qiu Yuan simply asked him to wait here for notification.
Ruan Jinggui's room is on the second floor of the hotel. When he opens the window and looks out, he can clearly see the busy scene on the pier downstream. The tall wooden hangers on the dock are constantly loading and unloading goods under the operation of workers. Due to the use of an "advanced" pulley system, the efficiency of cargo transfer is much higher than that of traditional manual handling. Cargo, it can be easily moved into position by just one or two people.
The secondary transportation tasks are carried out by a large number of four-wheeled flatbed trucks. These cargo-carrying flatbed trucks are either manned or powered by oxen, pulling the goods back and forth on the dock. Ruan Jinggui himself is engaged in import and export trade. Seeing such a scene, he naturally began to silently calculate the cargo handling capacity.
But it didn’t take long for Ruan Jinggui to give up this calculation, because the efficiency of cargo transshipment at the dock had far exceeded his understanding. The cargo that could be loaded and unloaded in this place in one hour might take an hour to be placed in Hoi An Port. It takes a full day to complete. As an insider, Ruan Jinggui knows very well that the efficiency of cargo transshipment can directly affect profits, and Haihan people's performance in this aspect is obviously not comparable to that of South Vietnam's sea trade ports.
Such a discovery makes Ruan Chenggui feel a little frustrated, because it means that if the Haihan people want to set up a port in South Vietnam, they may not need the help of South Vietnamese officials at all - this kind of help will most likely hinder them. . And if we can only provide land to the Haihan people, how tempting can this thing that is already at their fingertips be to them?
Ruan Jinggui couldn't help but think of the dense fortifications he saw on the shore when he entered the port and passed through the fjord. If any malicious ship tried to break in, he was afraid that it would be hit by the artillery on the shore in that slow-moving area. It was blasted into a pile of splinters. And there are still die-hards in the country who are desperate for life and death, clamoring to send a fleet to raid Haihan's lair and carry out military revenge for the destruction of Hoi An City. I wonder what the expressions of those who are clamoring for a bloody battle will be like when they see the fortifications here?
Suddenly there was a roar of a whistle in the distance, pulling Ruan Jinggui out of his chaotic thoughts. He looked towards the distant room and saw a strange thing that was emitting white smoke and had a black body. It was divided into several sections, with a total length of more than ten or twenty feet in length from front to back. Before he could see clearly, he saw that the thing was slowly starting to move towards the east, and the speed was getting faster and faster. Thick white smoke was rising from the top, and it was galloping towards the east like a galloping horse. go.
"What the hell is this!" Ruan Jinggui's feet went weak and he almost fell to the ground.
Before departure, among the news that the South Vietnamese court heard through various channels, there were also some mysterious-sounding contents. For example, the Haihan people used millions of kilograms of fine iron to build an iron ship as big as a hill. There was also news that the Haihan The Han people have a big iron dragon that exhales white smoke from its nose, moves as fast as the wind, and can carry tens of thousands of kilograms. This kind of absurd sounding content has naturally been filtered out by Ruan Jinggui. Such myths and legends as big iron dragons and big iron ships can only frighten those ignorant people. Ruan Jinggui does not believe that these rumors have any real evidence.
However, the sight in front of him slapped Ruan Jinggui hard. Wasn't what he saw just now the legendary giant iron dragon? The Haihan people have mastered such profound magic. No wonder they are invincible on the battlefield! If they put this big iron dragon into use on the battlefield, they would probably scare many people to death, let alone resist.
The executive committee members did not know that the local steam locomotive had given the South Vietnamese envoy who had just arrived in Hong Kong a slap in the face. After receiving the report from Sanya New Port, they were discussing how to deal with South Vietnam's request for permission.
"Judging from the news we have recently received, South Vietnam is living a very difficult life. There is no doubt that South Vietnam sent envoys this time to ask for peace." Tao Donglai looked at everyone present and said: "What do you think? ”
"First of all, we must determine a bottom line, which is to remove the South Vietnamese regime and achieve unification in Annan." Yan Chujie immediately took over the conversation: "After Annan is unified, we can confidently and boldly open a new port in the southern part of the Indochina Peninsula. Stronghold, this is the stage we must go through to expand our power in the South China Sea. If South Vietnam wants to negotiate peace with us, the bottom line conditions must be according to our wishes.”
"If they all have to step down in the end, what difference does it make now whether to discuss or not?" Yue Zhiyun asked.
"Of course there is a difference." Yan Chujie explained: "If we want to unite North Vietnam and Champa to send troops to attack South Vietnam, they will definitely be able to defeat it. However, the casualties and damage caused in the process are actually unnecessary, and this It will take a few months at the earliest to end the war. For us, seeking a political solution will be a more efficient way.”
"It's rare that you, a warmonger, actually advocate a peaceful solution!" Ning Qi couldn't help but taunted Yan Chujie: "I have to go out and see where the sun is going to set today."
There was a burst of good-natured laughter in the room, but Yan Chujie didn't take it seriously: "Clausewitz said in "On War" that war is just the continuation of politics through another means. War is just a means, and politics is the goal. . Our purpose is not to kill all the South Vietnamese, but to establish strongholds in several key areas within the South Vietnamese area and form substantial control. The two previous battles we launched against South Vietnam were all aimed at achieving this goal. Now if this goal can be achieved without fighting, then I don’t think there is any need to continue to force war.”
Tao Donglai nodded in approval and said: "I think Lao Yan is right. Regarding the South Vietnam issue, we don't have to worry about which means to use to achieve our goals. We will use whichever is more effective at this stage."
(End of chapter)