Chapter 373 Deadlocked Negotiations
An impromptu meeting held for the arrival of the South Vietnamese envoy settled on two tones after some discussions. First, they can negotiate with the South Vietnamese envoy on how to quell the war conflict. Second, the initiative in negotiations must be held by Hai Han's side. The peace the South Vietnamese regime wants can only be obtained by complete surrender.
That evening, Ruan Chinggui was taken to Fort Victory to meet with the negotiators of Haihan Fang. But what he didn't expect was that as soon as the negotiations began, Representative Haihan used a very tough attitude to force back all the rhetoric he had prepared.
"Hue Province must give up all means of military resistance and start peace talks with Thang Long Province as soon as possible on the unification of Annan Kingdom. The puppet emperor of Hue Province must abdicate, and the Nguyen family must hand over all power. In exchange, We can come forward on your behalf and do our best to protect the personal and property safety of the Ruan family." Tao Donglai did not save any face for Ruan Jinggui, and laid out all the conditions as soon as he came up.
Although Ruan Jinggui had already been mentally prepared to be squeezed by his opponent, he still couldn't help but blush at this time - of course it was not obvious judging from his skin color. The bottom line of the negotiation given to him by the court before departure was to "preserve the national system." However, his opponent obviously did not intend to give South Vietnam such treatment. He directly asked South Vietnam to abandon military confrontation methods and dissolve the court. This was simply a humiliation to millions of soldiers and civilians in South Vietnam!
Ruan Jinggui took a few deep breaths to calm down a little, and then responded: "Every one of the conditions you proposed is aggressive, but in my opinion, there are some issues worthy of discussion."
Ruan Jinggui looked at Tao Donglai and said in a deep voice: "The rebel Zheng family in the north held the emperor hostage to order the princes. This is an unjust act. I, the Ruan family, support the royal family in Hue. This is the right way! If you want to abdicate, that is the right thing to do. It is the one from Shenglong Mansion who abdicated. I would like to advise you not to help the evildoers! ”
Tao Donglai shook his head disapprovingly and said: "Which is the orthodoxy of the Annan royal family, Thang Long Mansion or Hue Mansion? This is not our concern. No matter whether the Li family is in the south or the north, it is only used by powerful ministers to control They are just puppets of the government. Even those of you who are ministers probably don’t regard Li as the master of Annan anymore, right?”
Tao Donglai didn't wait for Ruan Jinggui to refute, and then continued: "Your country has been fighting a civil war for so many years, with countless casualties and casualties, and the people are in dire straits. If it is never reunified, it will probably continue for ten or twenty years. Until one side completely admits defeat. Are there really so many people who like war in your country? I don’t think so. From last year to now, we have hosted tens of thousands of Annan refugees, and I have never heard of anyone wanting to do so. Returned to Annan to continue fighting.”
"Whether it is a descendant of the Li family or someone else who rules Annan, I don't think the people of your country care that much. They just want to live peacefully. Of course, dignitaries like you may not care at all. The people's thoughts, but continuing to fight will actually do no good to you. The war has reached this point, do you think there will be a chance for a comeback?" Yan Chujie, who had been watching with a cold eye, took over and said, "We will definitely lose. Losing, but losing everything, and losing and still maintaining your capital are two different things. We are giving you a chance to maintain your capital now. If you give up this opportunity, I am afraid it will be a result that no one wants to see. "< br>
"If you still have illusions about the Portuguese, then I advise you to give up such thoughts as soon as possible. You should have heard this saying, right? The Portuguese envoy is in Port Victory now. If you want to meet , I can help you arrange it. They have chosen to completely withdraw from the Annan civil war. They will not get involved in Annan's domestic politics again until Annan is unified." Tao Donglai tapped his fingers lightly on the table and stared at Ruan Jinggui. Said: "I have one more thing to say to all the adults in Hue Prefecture. If you can't get it on the battlefield, don't expect to get it at the negotiation table."
The first negotiation between Ruan Jinggui and Haihan did not last too long and ended in less than half an hour. However, for Ruan Xinggui, this brief negotiation process made his life seem like years. Apart from being able to condemn North Vietnam and Haihan from a moral perspective, Ruan Xinggui basically could not come up with any substantive conditions to bargain with his opponents. This He was almost always in a passive position during the entire negotiation process.
As for the various demands that the Haihan people were expected to make, whether it was money, land, population or other rights, the Haihan people did not even mention a word. Ruan Jinggui felt relieved after thinking about it. After all, the Thang Long Palace court was obedient to the requests of the Haihan people. When Annan was unified, the Haihan people could just provide conditions to Thanglong Palace for whatever they wanted. Why bother with a country that was about to be destroyed? Regime Bargaining?
The current situation is worse than Ruan Jinggui had expected. The Haihan people did not leave any room for bargaining in this meeting. Their rigid attitude made it difficult for him to use the negotiation strategy he had prepared. On the first night after arriving in Sanya, special envoy Ruan Jinggui suffered from insomnia.
It was not until dawn that Ruan Jinggui fell asleep in a daze, but his relaxing time did not last long. The sharp copper whistle of work on the dock in the early morning soon woke him up from his sleep. Ruan Jinggui turned over in bed several times but couldn't fall asleep again, so he simply got up, packed up and went downstairs to have some breakfast.
"Master Ruan, this is Mr. Enrique, the Portuguese envoy." As soon as he arrived downstairs, a hotel staff introduced him to the Portuguese who were also enjoying breakfast here.
Ruan Jinggui did not expect that the "arrangement of meeting" mentioned by the Haihan people would be so early in the morning, so he hurried forward to greet him. Although Ruan Jinggui also spoke some Portuguese, he subconsciously spoke Chinese when he opened his mouth. Enrique was also a China expert and had no problem listening and speaking Chinese, so an Annan and a Portuguese started talking in Chinese. comminicate.
As the Council's special envoy to the Sanya area, Enrique was actually not very happy to meet with the South Vietnamese envoy, because it would be somewhat embarrassing for both parties. However, the Haihan Executive Committee hoped that he could represent the Portuguese side and persuade the South Vietnamese court to give up resistance and achieve the peaceful unification of Annan as much as possible. If such a result can be achieved, the Portuguese side will certainly benefit. After all, Indochina is an important transit port in the South China Sea. If the war in Annan does not cease for a day, the Portuguese will not be able to conduct trade activities in Indochina with peace of mind. The reason why Portugal was able to reach an agreement with Haihan to turn enemies into friends was that Annan must be reunified. This was also a major consensus between the two sides. However, the side supported by Portugal lost in this competition. Given that the official attitude was also to allow Annan to cease the war as soon as possible, Enrique had no choice but to play a cameo role as a lobbyist.
"Sir Ruan, how have you always been, your father?" Enrique was well versed in the way of greetings in East Asian countries. He first got closer and greeted his family members. He had been to Hue Prefecture several times and had met with Ruan Ching Gui's father, the Minister of Civil Affairs of the South Vietnamese court, but this was his first contact with Ruan Ching Gui, the heir of a side house.
"My father is in good health. Thank you Mr. Enrique for your concern." Ruan Jinggui responded respectfully. Although Enrique was not familiar with him, he had heard of Enrique's name - the last time he came to Hue, his father personally greeted him at the dock outside Hue.
After the two exchanged a few polite words, Enrique took the initiative to introduce the topic: "I heard that Mr. Ruan came to Sanya this time to negotiate peace with the Haihan people on behalf of Hue Prefecture?"
Enrique's question made Ruan Jinggui feel a little embarrassed. It was neither admitting nor denying. He could only cough dryly and said: "Haihan and I had some misunderstandings before. We should try to resolve them."
Enrique shook his head and said: "The Haihan people will not regard the conflict between you as a misunderstanding. If you really want the Haihan people to stop military operations, it is best to meet their demands as much as possible."
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"But the Haihan people asked our court to give up resistance, and asked the emperor to abdicate and let the rebels from the north rule. How can this be done?" Ruan Jinggui said while shaking his head: "If I agree to Haihan's conditions, what does that have to do with treason? The difference?”
"The longer you delay, the fewer conditions you can obtain." Regarding Ruan Jingui's insistence, Enrique could only persuade him indirectly: "Now the Haihan people are willing to talk to you because they think it is important to send troops to attack Hue. It’s a very troublesome thing. But if you refuse to surrender, then it’s time to send troops. When the troops come to the city, the conditions they will ask may not be as simple as giving up resistance.”
Although Enrique did not understand the Haihan Executive Committee's long-term plans for the Indochina Peninsula and even the wider region, he also knew that the Executive Committee was bound to gain control of the Indochina Peninsula. The existence of a regime like South Vietnam would have no influence on the Indochina Peninsula. The Executive Committee is simply a stumbling block that must be kicked away, and there is no possibility of its continued existence. Ruan Jinggui did not want to argue with Enrique on this matter, so he changed the subject and said: "I would like to ask Mr. Enrique, if our court is willing to cede land, pay compensation, or grant other favorable conditions, will Haihan's attitude be different?" Loose? ”
"It's difficult." Enrique thought for a while and then quickly shook his head and said: "After taking Hue Mansion, the Haihan people can take whatever they want. If you want to bargain, you should talk to the people in Thang Long Mansion. Why waste time with you?" Talk?”
Sure enough! Ruan Jinggui felt that his possibility of completing the task had decreased a bit. He originally felt that the conditions offered by the imperial court were a bit unreliable, but now that even the Portuguese commented on it, there really wasn't much room for maneuver.
"Then I dare to ask, will your country participate in the next war again?" Now that he can see the Portuguese envoy, Ruan Jinggui can only play a dead horse to see if it is possible to change his former partner's mind.
However, the facts dealt him a heavy blow again. Enrique shook his head decisively and refused: "We have no intention to participate in the armed conflicts in Annan anymore. Of course, we will not assist the Haihan people in fighting against Hue. We will remain neutral until the Annan Civil War is over, but if you are willing to sit down for peace talks, Portugal will be happy to be a witness and broker a peace agreement that you can reach."
Enrique's words are basically Portugal's official attitude, but there is one thing that is not consistent with the facts, and that is that an artillery advisory group of forty people sent by Macau arrived in Port Victory three days ago. Currently stationed in the military barracks on the east bank of Victory Port. This advisory group was formed at the request of the Haihan people, and their duty was to train artillery for the Haihan militia in Victory Port. According to the cooperation agreement signed by both parties, the advisory group will provide artillery skills training services to the Haihan Militia within two years, and will not undertake any form of combat missions during this period. However, the artillerymen they train are likely to One day he will appear on the battlefield in South Vietnam.
This mercenary team may also include soldiers who have served in South Vietnam, but this is not a big deal to the Portuguese. Since centuries ago, Portuguese mercenaries have been fighting for their employers everywhere on the earth. For them, there is no political position to stick to. They follow the orders of whoever is their employer. The employment of Haihan people is undoubtedly a rare benefit in their careers. Not only does this place have a good living environment and high treatment from Haihan people, but they also don’t need to go to the battlefield to fight. They only need to take care of new recruits in the military camp. This is a good thing. But I have never encountered it before. Enrique was almost convinced that as long as these mercenaries lived here for ten days and a half, they would probably completely forget about the remote place in Macau.
Enrique knew very well that the Council would never agree to invest more armed forces in South Vietnam, because there were less than 800 Portuguese armed personnel in Macau and South Vietnam. If these people were lost on the battlefield in South Vietnam, Macau might have to It will take more than half a year to get replenishment from the colonies on the Indian Peninsula, and a half-year defense window is unacceptable to the council. Who can guarantee whether the ambitious Haihan people will jump out and do something during this period? Something about losing your mind? Therefore, although letting go of the war in South Vietnam would cause certain losses to its own interests, compared with the more serious consequences, the Council chose to withdraw from the war and maintain a neutral attitude.
However, if South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and Hai Han are really willing to sit down and resolve the civil war disputes through negotiations, then the Council would be happy to step in and play the role of an outside arbiter in order to obtain more support for Portugal after the war. Many benefits.
Ruan Jinggui is not as optimistic as Enrique. According to the situation he knows, although there are some voices in the country that believe that the confrontation with the Haihan people should not continue, they really want them to give up all their existing power without any resistance and surrender to the north. , I’m afraid it’s also quite difficult. Even if the Portuguese come forward to make peace, the senior officials in the court may not be willing to put down their airs and admit their failure.
The meeting between Ruan Chenggui and Enrique did not achieve very good results in the end, and both sides almost failed to achieve their goals. Enrique failed to persuade Ruan Jinggui to change his attitude, and Ruan Jinggui did not get any substantial help from Enrique.
Enrique found Tao Donglai directly after the incident and explained his judgment to him: "Mr. Tao, I think you need to start preparing for the next battle."
Tao Donglai smiled and said: "Are you so unfavorable about the prospects of negotiations?"
"The Annamites are very stubborn and they will not give up their interests easily." Enrique paused and then added: "Of course, you are too."
"No, we are not as stubborn as you described. You see, we are willing to sit down and have a dialogue with you and the Annan people. This is a flexible attitude." Tao Donglai did not agree with Enrique's evaluation: "The concept of foreign relations we adhere to is win-win cooperation. Whether it is the Ming Dynasty, the North Vietnamese court, you or the current Hue government, we are willing to leave opportunities for cooperation and make a fortune together."
"With all due respect, I didn't see any chance left by the executive committee for Hue from the beginning to the end." Enrique said sarcastically.
"Being able to live well is also a good opportunity." Tao Donglai responded unabashedly: "From the standpoint of hostile conflict, we can choose to let the South Vietnamese regime be completely destroyed in the war, but now we are willing to Giving them another way to go, doesn’t this give them a chance?”
Regarding Tao Donglai's statement, Enrique was stunned for a moment and speechless. After a long time, he responded: "You can fight, you have the final say. I only hope that you can remember the agreement between us. The local government gives us the rights we deserve.”
"Of course. We are no longer enemies, and you don't need to be so careful to guard against us." Tao Donglai said with a smile on his lips: "After the war, we will give the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce permission to trade along the coast of Annan as promised. The power to settle.”
Although Tao Donglai's tone was sincere, Enrique always thought that Tao Donglai was a little bit smiling when he said these words. However, for the current environment the Portuguese are in, there seems to be no other better choice - if they don't cooperate with the Haihan people, how can they continue to hang out in the South China Sea?
In the following week, Ruan Xinggui had many more contacts with the Executive Committee, but the talks did not make much progress. Naturally, Haihan would not relax its conditions for South Vietnam, which was already in decline, and Ruan Chinggui, who had a heavy responsibility, also did not dare to casually agree to Haihan's "rude request." After many rounds of negotiations between the two sides, Ruan Jinggui finally reached a very simple temporary ceasefire agreement with the Executive Committee.
South Vietnam will get a thirty-day buffer period from this temporary armistice agreement, and the Hai Han Executive Committee promises not to take any form of military action against South Vietnam during this period. The purpose of this thirty-day buffer period is to allow the small court of South Vietnam to consider clearly whether to fight in a bloody battle or to surrender decisively.
(End of chapter)