Chapter 398: The aftermath

In order to transport the property seized by the militia out of the city as quickly as possible, the headquarters even ordered the temporary recruitment of thousands of civilians from the city to serve as porters to supplement the transportation capacity. Hundreds of civilians lined up to move the imperial city

The various items inside were packed into boxes one by one, put on the car, and then transported to the riverside outside the city for shipment. It looked like ants moving.

"I have to say, it feels good to be a conqueror!" Yan Chujie stood on the wall of the imperial city and said with pride.

Since the establishment of the Hai Han Militia, although they have gone through several large and small battles, this is the first time they have conquered a city of the size of Hue. The city of Hoi An that was captured last year was only about 100 square meters in size in comparison.

The imperial city in Hue City is slightly larger, and the defensive facilities and means are completely incomparable to Hue. The capture of Hue City can be regarded as the first truly significant battle in the history of militia warfare.

"We have to move quickly. Those North Vietnamese guys won't keep watching outside the city. They should be entering the city soon." Wang Tom reminded him from the side.

Tao Donglai raised his hand and looked at the time: "It's two o'clock in the afternoon. The report half an hour ago said that the battle outside the city is almost over. But I guess they still need a little time to deal with the prisoners. Tom, you take

Two companies go to the west gate. If the North Vietnamese army intends to enter the city and stop them first, say that we are chasing fugitives in the city... In short, you can think of your own excuse and let them enter the city after five o'clock!"

"Okay, leave this black face to me to perform!" Wang Tom smiled and accepted the task.

Yan Chujie's statement is not entirely an excuse. Qian Tiandun and others are indeed leading a team to clear out the remaining South Vietnamese soldiers in the city and arrest some South Vietnamese political dignitaries who have been included in the arrest list. Although there is a group of leading parties to assist, it is necessary to

During this time of war and chaos, it is not easy for a militia group to find and arrest a few target persons in a large city with nearly 100,000 residents. Moreover, who on the list is still hiding in the city and who has taken advantage of the chaos.

There is no way to confirm the escape from the city now, and the results of the arrest operation are not optimistic.

Of course, the main reason why the militiamen tried to delay the North Vietnamese Army's entry into the city was to buy time to get more money. Outside almost every deep house compound, there were piles of boxes like mountains, which were the result of the militiamen's house raids. Yan Chujie even

Wang Tom's naval warships gave up the blockade of the Xiangjiang River and temporarily took on the task of transporting property.

“We really hit a gold mine this time!”

At this time, almost every militia soldier had similar thoughts. It was probably the first time since they were born that they had seen so much money gathered together. It was impossible to say that no one was jealous. However, Haihan Military Law was strict and any embezzlement was prohibited.

Anyone who collects trophies must be severely punished. Several militiamen who were caught hiding property had their hands tied behind their backs and hung from a roadside tree for public display. Not only would they receive such corporal punishment, but they would also be expelled from the military.

, sentenced to a certain period of hard labor, the punishment is not light.

The leading troops of the North Vietnamese Army arrived outside the west gate about half an hour after Yan Chujie gave the order. However, at this time, the west gate was already controlled by Wang Tom, who led the team, and the suspension bridge on the moat was raised, despite the continuous shouting and cursing outside the city.

No reaction.

This delaying tactic lasted for more than an hour. It was not until Zheng Bai came to the city in person to call for formation that Wang Tom appeared on the tower, holding an iron trumpet and shouted to Zheng Bai across the moat: "General Zheng, our troops are now in the city.

After wiping out the remaining soldiers defending the city, the situation is quite chaotic. In order to avoid accidentally injuring friendly troops, please stay outside the city for a while!"

Zheng Baiqiang held back his anger and said: "If you have anything to do, please lower the suspension bridge first and let me cross the river later!"

"General Zheng, wait a moment. I'll go ask the headquarters for instructions first." After that, Wang Tom didn't wait for Zheng Bai's reply, and threw the tin trumpet to the men next to him: "Watch them. If they don't try to cross the river,

, don’t worry about what they say or do outside, just call me if you need anything!”

Zheng Bai patiently waited outside the city for another half an hour. Seeing that there was no movement at all on top of the city, he couldn't help but curse. However, venting his emotions was of no use. Apart from shouting, he was hoarse.

It has no actual effect at all.

Seeing the time passing by, Zheng Bai was thinking about whether he should break out and send troops to attack the west gate, when he heard a creaking sound from the tower, and the suspension bridge was finally lowered slowly.

Wang Tom came out with an apologetic expression and greeted him from a distance: "General Zheng, I'm so sorry for delaying you for so long! Everyone from the command headquarters went to various parts of the city to supervise the battle, and I couldn't find him at the moment.

When I arrived, I finally asked for their opinions one by one, and then hurried back to open the door for you. General Zheng is not in a hurry, is he?"

Zheng Bai thought that I was merciful for not being rushed to death here. He just snorted and said: "Your army had agreed beforehand to attack Hue City together. It would be unkind to arrange it like this when things happened!"

Wang Tom has been around people like Yan Chujie for a long time, and his face has long been as thick as a city wall. How could he be affected by Zheng Bai's level of ridicule? He immediately defended: "Our army is just worried that after your army enters the city, because of the number

Misunderstanding occurred due to unclear identification. Now that our army has given a complete Hue City with both hands, what else can General Zheng be dissatisfied with?"

Zheng Bai knew that he could not argue with these Haihan people, so he no longer argued with Wang Tom. He cupped his hands and said, "I am leading the army into the city. Please send someone from your army to assist to avoid any misunderstanding."

"It should, it should." Wang Tom responded with a smile on his face. At this time, seventy-eight percent of the properties of the big families in the city had been packed and shipped out of the city, and various valuables in the palace were also packed into categories.

The boxes were shipped out of the Imperial City. Even if there was no time to transport the things out of the city, they had already been concentrated in the city area actually controlled by the Haihan Militia. The North Vietnamese Army had only entered the city at this time, so there was no need to expect meat. At most, it would be nice to have some soup.

.

At this time, no remnants of the defenders could be seen on the main streets in the city, and calm was gradually restored in various urban areas. For ordinary people, the war was over. Even if there were still a small number of South Vietnamese soldiers hiding in the city,

I didn’t dare to show up rashly anymore. Those who had the courage to show up were either killed by the Haihan militia or captured and taken as prisoners. However, the chaos of the day continued, and there were still many places in the city that remained.

There were obvious signs of battle. The North Vietnamese troops entering the city could occasionally see the bodies of dead defenders lying on the roadside, or the ruins of houses that were still smoking.

The first place Zheng Bai goes to is of course the Imperial City, where a large number of documents related to the South Vietnam regime are stored. The North Vietnamese court must obtain information on the status of cultivated land, population distribution, military deployment and other information under its rule, and in the Imperial City

In addition, the large amount of wealth accumulated by the Nguyen family over the decades of running South Vietnam cannot be lost.

When he saw the intact imperial city tower, Zheng Bai was still secretly glad that he had arrived in time. Perhaps the Haihan people had not had time to touch the things in the city. But when he crossed the moat and entered the imperial city, he almost

He was so frightened by what he saw that he fell off his horse.

About a mile directly in front of him, the towers on the other side of the imperial city had turned into a pile of rubble on the ground, and a large gap of more than ten feet long appeared in the middle of the city wall. Zheng Bai's army also

Equipped with a lot of artillery produced by Haihan, he still has a relatively deep understanding of the power of this weapon. It would be very difficult to use artillery to blow down such a long section of the city tower. Zheng Bai simply couldn't imagine that the Haihan people were there.

What terrible things have been done to the imperial city in the past few days since entering the city?

After arriving in the middle area of ​​the imperial city, Zheng Baicai discovered that many palaces in the city had obvious scars from being hit by cannonballs. A large part of the roof in the southeast corner of the Qinzheng Palace was directly collapsed. This shows that the Haihan militia group had invaded the imperial city.

The scene was very violent at that time. Seeing these situations, Zheng Bai's heart sank and he no longer had too much hope for what he could gain in the imperial city.

And the result was indeed as he expected. The huge imperial city was actually empty of ten rooms. Not to mention the gold and silver treasures, even the shelves in the royal archives were quite empty. Zheng Bai didn't know what the Haihan people had moved.

A lot of things were taken away, but it was obvious that they had already made a comprehensive plan, otherwise they would not have been able to remove all valuable things from the imperial city on the day they attacked the imperial city.

"Although the buildings in the city are somewhat damaged, it shouldn't be a big problem to repair them. I think it's time for some old houses to be renovated." As if he was afraid that Zheng Bai was not angry enough, Yan Chujie promptly made up for it.

hit.

Zheng Bai suppressed the anger in his heart and said: "Cannon fire has no eyesight. It is inevitable that these palaces will be damaged in the war. But doesn't General Yan feel that this imperial city is a little empty?"

Yan Chujie nodded with deep understanding and said: "I originally thought that although South Vietnam is a local separatist force, it should have some property at least. Unexpectedly, when I entered, I found that everything was empty and there was nothing valuable. Look,

It looks like all the money was spent on the war."

"You..." Zheng Bai was speechless at Yan Chujie's straightforward statement. The things in the palace were gone as soon as they were gone, and the Haihan people refused to admit their fault. Zheng Bai had no choice but to think of nothing.

Under the rule of law, we can't really break up with the Haihan people because of money.

Zheng Bai was so angry that he was so angry that he felt dizzy, and he began to stagger a little unsteadily. Seeing this, Yan Chujie quickly shouted: "Hurry up and help General Zheng! It seems that General Zheng has been overworked for days.

, send General Zheng out of the city and back to camp to rest quickly!"

The Haihan militia completely withdrew from the Imperial City the next morning and handed over control of several areas in the city and several gates in the outer city to the North Vietnamese Army. This made Zheng, who was lying in the camp outside the city, furious.

Bai breathed a sigh of relief. Judging from these actions, at least the Hai Han militia did not intend to stay in Hue City for a long time - if the Hai Han people really did this, Zheng Bai would not be able to force them away.

Of course, in addition to the good news, there is also news that makes Zheng Bai not so happy. For example, a spy reported that the Haihan people carried a large amount of items to the ships docked on the river bank outside the city that day, loading five or six cargo ships.

So much. But Zheng Bai could only hear this kind of news. It was impossible for him to ask the Haihan people what exactly they had shipped to the ship. Even if he asked, the Haihan people could just say "combat supplies" to get rid of it.

, that would just make yourself unhappy in vain.

Zheng Bai was lying on the hospital bed and thought about it. Although the Haihan people took the lion's share of the attack on Hue this time, North Vietnam actually achieved its strategic goals at a very low cost, with almost no casualties and material consumption.

They have taken control of Hue City and captured most of the target persons in the Nguyen family, such as Nguyen Phuc Yuan, Nguyen Thong and others, who were all captured by the North Vietnamese army when they fled after the city was broken.

If the North Vietnamese Army had to fight independently to achieve such a result, Zheng Bai frankly believed that the North Vietnamese Army would probably have to fight fiercely for more than ten days under Hue City, paying the price of thousands of casualties, before they could possibly break through the outer city. As for the solidity

It was no less than the imperial city in the outer city. Zheng Bai felt that he was not completely sure that he could win it, because at that stage of the war, the logistics supply of the North Vietnamese Army was probably no longer able to support it. It is very likely that the final outcome would be that the North Vietnamese would

When you have the upper hand, choose to withdraw your troops proactively.

Judging from this inference, the cooperation with the Haihan militia was easy to pick up. Zheng Bai estimated that the combat funds saved alone were close to one hundred thousand taels of silver. The most important thing is that the Haihan people

This time it was the final word, directly seizing the home base of the South Vietnamese regime. As a result, there was no longer a formed political power in the South Vietnamese ruling area that could compete with the North Vietnamese court, and the unification of Annan was only a matter of time.

On March 28, the Hai Han militia, which had completely withdrawn from Hue City, met with Zheng Bai outside the city again to discuss some post-war aftermath matters.

"Currently, we still have 2,773 South Vietnamese soldiers who chose to surrender during the siege, and 1,682 people captured during the battle. These personnel will be delivered within the next two days.

To your army." Yan Chujie put down the information in his hand and added: "We have made a promise to the South Vietnamese soldiers who chose to surrender and will release them after the war. We hope that this promise can be fulfilled by your army. As for other captured personnel

, which can be used to offset our military expenses for this operation in accordance with the agreement we both reached before the war."

Zheng Bai thought about it for a while and then agreed. Keeping these prisoners in prison would be a huge logistical burden for North Vietnam. Killing these people would have no benefit, and most of the soldiers of the surrendered South Vietnamese army should be recruited by the North Vietnamese court.

, after all, these people's position is not so firm, and they can still be fully recycled. As for the labor force required by the Haihan people, it is not a problem. After the war at the beginning of last year, more than half of the tens of thousands of South Vietnamese personnel captured ended up being

They were sent to the territory of the Haihan people to do hard labor to offset military expenses. If nothing else happens, after the Annan Civil War ends, thousands of South Vietnamese will be sent to Sanya to work for the Haihan people.

"One more thing. The people on this list provided various assistance during our siege, and we also promised to save their families and property after the war. Please take a look at it, General Zheng."

Yan Chujie said and handed the information to Zheng Bai.

"Are they all surnamed Ruan?" Zheng Bai saw at a glance that these dozens of names were almost all surnamed Ruan, and couldn't help but ask.

"It is because so many people named Nguyen jumped out that we were able to conquer Hue so quickly." Yan Chujie replied without any concealment.

"I see..." Zheng Bai had already figured out a lot of things when he saw this list. The Haihan people only had a few thousand troops. After they invaded the city, they had to deal with the defenders, attack the imperial city, and go everywhere.

Even if he had eight hands, he probably wouldn't be able to make money by ransacking homes, but the Haihan people just did it. Zheng Bai never understood the reason before, but now he finally understands. With the help of these people surnamed Ruan,

The Haihan people probably played the away game as easily as they did at home, and even the raids were more purposeful.

"Is there something difficult about General Zheng?" Yan Chujie asked proactively when he saw that Zheng Bai responded without saying anything.
To be continued...