Chapter 372 The Messenger of Peace

Ruan Chenggui stood on the bow of the ship, holding the sides of the ship with both hands, staring blankly at the boundless sea in front of him. He boarded the Portuguese merchant ship "Saint Mary" two days ago, and was preparing to represent the South Vietnamese court to the Port of Victory, the hometown of the Haihan people.

Negotiate with the other party regarding the current war.

When the war situation is at a disadvantage, acting as an envoy to sue for peace from the enemy is simply a kind of torture. The officials of Hue Prefecture have been arguing for several days, but they are not willing to take the initiative to take up this task and need to show their face.

The task in my pocket. In the end, after being pushed back and forth, this job inexplicably fell on Ruan Jinggui.

Nguyen Thanh Que 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 Nguyen family - yes, that is right, it is the Nguyen family that is the real power holder of the current 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 Jinggui'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 people 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 Xinggui would naturally not be happy

It was extremely easy to take the blame for accepting such a task, but the decline of South Vietnam would also affect his future and destiny. In addition, the family also put great pressure on him, so Ruan Jinggui finally 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 to deal with it and make them give up their original intentions? In this regard, Ruan Jingui

He did not come up with an effective way, 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 Prefecture's right to rule the South Vietnam region, then

The conditions proposed by the Haihan people can be agreed to at their own discretion.

For this negotiation, the South Vietnamese court did not do anything at all. They still learned through various channels the benefits obtained by the Haihan people in supporting the North Vietnamese regime - a large amount of money, and several places were assigned to the Haihan people for a long time.

Use of the coastal 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 ridiculed the North Vietnamese court for being weak and easy to bully, because South Vietnam did not pay such a high price to find cooperation with the Portuguese. In addition to money, the South Vietnamese court gave the Portuguese special powers.

In other words, they only engaged in trade, settled and spread religion, and did not set aside an exclusive area for the Portuguese, let alone give a large number of people under their rule to the Portuguese as slaves.

However, when things have developed to this point, the South Vietnamese court can only lament that you get what you pay for. Although the Haihan people's asking price is high, the rewards North Vietnam gets from it are obviously very good. In addition to the new army that has begun to take shape

In addition, the maritime trade that North Vietnam was most powerless in the past and South Vietnam was proud of has also undergone fundamental changes. According to the news that South Vietnam has learned, there are now only large merchant ships traveling between North Vietnam and Qiongzhou Island.

There were more than 30 ships per month, and this change was obviously related to the Haihan people. North Vietnam continuously transported rice, wood, medicinal materials, minerals and even people to the areas controlled by the Haihan people, while the Haihan people reported

With a large number of arms and military instructors - North Vietnam even sent a regiment of officers to go to the Haihan people's martial arts academy to learn how to use firearms in combat.

If I had known that the Haihan people's thighs were so thick, there would be no chance for those North Vietnamese guys to hug them! South Vietnam's senior officials beat their chests and regretted missing the opportunity. But since the Haihan people's purpose of helping North Vietnam is for this kind of practical

If there are interests, then South Vietnam also has the opportunity to bribe the other party. It is nothing more than the level of the price. And when one's own life or death is at stake, whether it is money, land, population or other powers, they can actually be used as weights for the transaction.

code.

But even if the Haihan people are willing to reward this face and offer a series of exchange conditions, will South Vietnam be safe from now on? Ruan Jinggui feels that this possibility is not very high. He is not one of those people in the court who can only praise other people.

, a civil servant who does not understand practical matters at all. What he relies on for a living is various transactions, which are simply exchanges of interests. Therefore, he is very sensitive to matters related to this aspect, and his views are very different from those of people in the officialdom. Haihan people

Supporting two hostile forces in South Vietnam, one in the south and one in the north, and trying every possible means to drive away South Vietnam's only ally. After spending so much effort, I am afraid that it is not just to eliminate the small imperial court in South Vietnam, but also has more.

This is an attempt, 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's situation will not be as small as officials think. This time they go to Victory Port for negotiations, and the process may not go smoothly.

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 the 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's outpost with a flag when it rounded the Luhuitou Peninsula. Waiting for the two ships

When the 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 and have a look at the dock! By the way, let's go

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, Ruan Thanh Kui realized that the management level of this port has far exceeded that of Hoi An Port. Although Hoi An Port was opened earlier than here

It was much longer, but a cargo terminal of this scale had never been built. Seeing the large and small ships docked densely on the shore, Ruan Jinggui finally believed that the rumors that the Haihan people were good at sea trade were not 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 the Portuguese flag docked at a pier on the shore. This pier was signed by both parties.

After the trade exchange agreement, a place was specially designated for Portuguese merchant ships to dock. This was also done to facilitate the control of personnel on Portuguese merchant ships. A hotel and special warehouse were built on this pier, and the outside was surrounded by wooden fences.

Get up and have a dedicated person 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 were Portuguese clerks on the dock. After the ship docked, the clerk on the dock boarded the ship to register the people and goods on the ship, and then notified the Haihan management staff. However, within a minute of boarding the ship, the clerk

They came down again - the ship was carrying a special envoy from South Vietnam. He didn't 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 when he heard 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 check it out. 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 intelligence in his eyes.

"My special envoy Ruan Jinggui from the Annan State is here to pay a 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 the "head of the management committee" held, but looking at the row of armed Haihan militiamen 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, but took him to the Pier Hotel and opened a room.

Let him settle down first. As for the other party's suggestion of "visiting 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 downstream dock. The tall wooden hangers on the dock are constantly loading and unloading goods under the operation of workers. Due to the use of

With the "advanced" pulley system, the efficiency of cargo transfer is much higher than that of traditional manual handling. Only one or two people can easily move goods weighing several kilograms.

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, it was natural to start silently calculating the cargo throughput 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 whole day to complete. As an expert, Ruan Jinggui knows very well that the efficiency of cargo transshipment can directly affect profits, and the performance of Haihan people 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-speed 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. They are clamoring to send a fleet to raid Hai Han's lair and carry out military revenge for the destruction of Hoi An City. I don't know what those people who are clamoring for a bloody fight to the end are looking at.

What kind of expression will it look like when you get to the fortifications here?

Suddenly there was a roar of a whistle in the distance, which pulled Ruan Jinggui out of his chaotic thoughts. He looked towards the distant room and saw a strange thing with white smoke and black body there. It was divided into several sections, with a total of ten lengths from front to back.

Twenty feet longer. 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 moving towards the east like a galloping horse.

Galloping away towards the east.

"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, it was said that 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 people had

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. What big iron dragon and big iron ship?

Such myths and legends can only frighten those ignorant people. Ruan Jinggui does not believe that these rumors have real evidence.

However, the scene in front of him gave Ruan Jinggui a big slap in the face. Wasn't what he saw just now the legendary big iron dragon? The Haihan people have mastered such profound magic. No wonder they are invincible on the battlefield! If they put this

If a large iron dragon is put into use on the battlefield, it will frighten many people to death, let alone resist.

The executive committee members did not know that the local steam locomotives had given the South Vietnamese envoys 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 received recently, South Vietnam is living a very difficult life. There is no doubt that South Vietnam sent envoys this time to ask for peace from us." 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 in accordance with our wishes."

"If they all have to step down in the end, what difference does it make whether or not we discuss it now?" 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, we 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 would 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 did not take it seriously: "Clausewitz said in "On War" that war is just a continuation of politics through another means. War is only 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 to form substantial control. The two previous battles we launched against South Vietnam were all aimed at achieving this goal, and

Now if this goal can be achieved without fighting, then I think there is no need to continue to forcefully launch a 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 one is more effective at this stage."
Chapter completed!