Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

This joint logistics headquarters was composed of cadres dispatched by China, the Soviet Union, and Vietnam. China was the primary force, as the logistics base and all material transportation were located in China. Logistics and transportation were dependent on China.

The main job of the Vietnamese cadres was to apply for specific supplies, while the Soviet cadres were mainly responsible for supervision. We couldn't let China "embezzle" supplies in the process.

On behalf of the CPC Central Committee, Wei Hongjun recommended Feng Yongshun, Deputy Minister of the General Armament Department, as the Chinese representative and commander of the Joint Logistics Command. Neither the Soviet Union nor Vietnam expressed any objection.

At the same time, Wei Hongjun proposed that the Joint Logistics Command support the Pathet Lao in Laos and Cambodia's armed forces. Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia had previously fought jointly against French colonial rule, and they would also be crucial allies in the Vietnam War of Unification if the United States intervened.

Le Duan was certainly not very willing to do so. Because the Joint Logistics Command directly supported the Cambodian military and the Laotian Pathet Lao, the influence of the Vietnamese Workers' Party declined sharply.

But Brezhnev supported Wei Hongjun's proposal. The Soviet Union aimed to communistize Indochina, and Laos and Cambodia were also part of its plans. Brezhnev even suggested that the Soviet Union could send military advisors to assist Laos and Cambodia. Wei Hongjun did not object.

After the general direction was established, conflicts arose when it came to more specific plans. Khrushchev was anxious, so was the Soviet Union, but Vietnam was even more anxious than the Soviet Union.

Le Duan stated that the Yunnan Workers' Party intended to launch the war of unification after the summer harvest in May 1960. He believed that a year of preparation was sufficient. Brezhnev also agreed with Le Duan's idea, believing that May or June 1960 was indeed a good time.

But Wei Hongjun directly objected. "One year? What preparations are there?" he asked. "That's sheer nonsense."

When the war broke out in May and June 1960, it was impossible for China and the Soviet Union to fully prepare the logistical supplies needed for the war, let alone deliver them to Vietnam.

"Comrade Wei Hongjun, it's not that we're anxious, but that you're being too cautious. The South Vietnamese puppet regime is already on the verge of collapse. The cadres we sent to South Vietnam and the guerrillas we developed in the countryside have already taken control of a large number of rural areas. The South Vietnamese puppet government is completely helpless against them. Even the troops trained by the US imperialists and their so-called special operations have no effect on the continued development of our guerrillas."

"With the support of China and the Soviet Union, we have absolute confidence that we can eliminate the South Vietnamese puppet government in a short period of time and complete the unification of Vietnam."

Le Duan immediately expressed his thoughts. Wei Hongjun, looking at the confident Le Duan, asked without hesitation: "How many troops do you need to launch a war of unification? How many troops can you mobilize yourself? Do you have enough weapons, equipment, and ammunition? What is the condition of your troops?"

"How long do you plan to take over all of Vietnam? Which route do you plan to take south? Are your logistics guaranteed along the way? If you encounter an ambush and the battle goes against you, do you have a backup plan?"

"If the U.S. imperialists intervene, do you have a response plan? Do you have a strategy for dealing with their powerful navy and air superiority? If they deploy hundreds of thousands of ground troops, as they did in the Korean War, are you confident you can drive them back to the sea?"

Wei Hongjun didn't care about the pro-China or pro-Soviet factions among these cadres of the Vietnam Workers' Party. Because these so-called pro-China and pro-Soviet factions were just superficial. The so-called pro-China and pro-Soviet factions were not puppets of China or the Soviet Union.

Generally speaking, parties originating from Marxist-Leninist parties tend to become nationalist parties after the revolution. This is because most Marxist-Leninist parties in Asia emerged in colonies and semi-colonies, such as China, North Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos, and Indonesia.

Therefore, the initial goal of the members of Marxist-Leninist parties was not communism, but rather national independence. These people believed that Marxism-Leninism could achieve national independence.

The same is true in China. Early intellectuals who embraced communism only began to accept Marxism-Leninism after witnessing the success of the October Revolution. Since Marxism-Leninism succeeded in Russia, it could also save China.

Many later members joined the Party because they believed the CCP could save China. Especially during the Anti-Japanese War, many members who joined the Party were more nationalists than Marxists.

Therefore, the slogan of the Marxist-Leninist political parties in Asian countries is to save the nation, and they easily become nationalist parties in the end, because any party that does not adhere to the interests of its own nation will find it difficult to achieve ultimate victory.

The same is true of the Vietnam Workers' Party. The Vietnam Workers' Party was founded for Vietnam's independence, so its members are naturally nationalists.

Take, for example, Ho Chi Minh, a widely acknowledged pro-China figure with close personal ties to the Prime Minister and his colleagues. Having spent half his life in China, he understood China well and had many Chinese friends. However, upon assuming power, he quickly abolished Chinese characters, severing the historical and cultural ties between Vietnam and China.

Because Ho Chi Minh was always the leader of Vietnam, no matter how good his personal relationship with the Chinese leaders was, he would never allow Vietnam to become a vassal state of China. So while maintaining friendly relations with China, he also wanted to eliminate Chinese influence in the cultural and historical fields, allowing Vietnam to achieve independence from the cultural and historical perspectives first.

Vietnam's Defense Minister, Vo Nguyen Giap, was also known as a pro-China figure. During the restoration of relations with China in the 1980s and 1990s, Giap, as a representative of the Vietnam Workers' Party, visited China several times and worked within the Vietnamese party. He made significant contributions to the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Vietnam at that time.

However, when it came to Chinese investment in Vietnamese mining, Vo Nguyen Giap was the first to oppose it. Even until his death, he remained the most wary figure within the Vietnamese Party about Chinese investment in Vietnam. He feared that China would use its economy to hijack Vietnamese politics and ultimately control the country. Several major projects were never completed precisely because of his opposition.

The same was true of the pro-Soviet Le Duan. When China was fighting against the US and aiding Vietnam, Le Duan visited China several times. Regardless of what Le Duan thought in his heart, he always expressed a friendly attitude.

Later, Sino-Soviet relations became increasingly tense. When the powerful Soviet Union during the Brezhnev era was rampant around the world, the Vietnamese Workers' Party naturally chose to support the Soviet Union instead of China. Because the Soviet Union was one of the world hegemons at the time and was much more powerful than China.

The Soviet Union could support Vietnam in all aspects, regardless of whether the two countries shared a border, had no historical issues, or faced any real pressure. In comparison, Vietnam was certainly more wary of a neighbor like China.

There is no right or wrong here, it's all about prioritizing national interests. It's the same as the situation in North Korea.

Whether it was the pro-Soviet faction, the Yan'an faction, or the localist faction, no matter who was in power, they would ultimately choose a position based on their own country's interests. Just like the current situation, even though the pro-Soviet faction was purged, North Korea still chose a pro-Soviet stance in diplomacy. This was because the Soviet Union was strong and could provide North Korea with more resources and support.

There is a big difference between the diplomatic thinking of small countries and big countries.

After the Soviet Union's decline in the 1980s, the Vietnamese Communist Party immediately began supporting pro-China factions in the leadership and improving relations with China. It's as if they weren't the ones who initially supported Le Duan's anti-China stance. They also knew that continuing to follow the Soviet Union was a dead end.

Therefore, Wei Hongjun did not care what Ho Chi Minh, Le Duan and other leaders of the Vietnamese Workers' Party thought of China. As long as China could suppress Vietnam and Vietnam's interests needed China's support, then the Vietnamese party would naturally know what to do.

Therefore, Wei Hongjun would neither fully support the so-called Ho Chi Minh and Vo Nguyen Giap faction, nor would he suppress Le Duan's faction.

What Wei Hongjun wants to do is to make China continue to grow stronger, and then use the war between Vietnam and the United States to tie the interests of all Vietnamese people into it. When the time comes, no matter who is sent, China's opinions must be taken into consideration.

In response to Wei Hongjun's questioning, Le Duan began to stutter. After receiving the news that the Soviet Union would support their war of unification, the Vietnamese Workers' Party was so excited and focused on gaining support from China and the Soviet Union that it hadn't thought of any specific plans.

Ho Chi Minh and Le Duan came to Beijing this time to ask China and the Soviet Union to provide supplies as soon as possible to support their war of unification. Many specific things did not yet have a complete plan.

Besides, although Le Duan also led the revolution in South Vietnam and fought against France, his battles were only minor and he could not be considered a military cadre.

How could he know such details? Especially after the troops were dispatched, which route the troops would take, what food and clothing they would have along the way, their own ammunition, etc. Le Duan really didn't know these things.

Not to mention how to respond if the US military sent troops like they did in the Korean War, Le Duan certainly had no plan.

Seeing Le Duan's expression, Wei Hongjun said, "Fighting without preparation is called reckless fighting. Without thorough preparation, victory is impossible. War is no joke; it involves the lives of hundreds of thousands of officers and soldiers."

Wei Hongjun was young, only 44 years old, but during this negotiation, the Chinese delegation held the most authority on matters of warfare.

General Chen was a Marshal of the Republic, and Wu Xiuquan was a corps-level cadre, one of the early pioneers of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Base Area. Before being transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he served as Chief of Staff to Wang Qiuyun and had carefully planned hundreds of thousands of troops for war.

As for Wei Hongjun, there's no need to explain. The Korean War alone gave the Wei Hongjun an overwhelming military advantage within the socialist camp. Even when Stalin was still alive, he acknowledged the Wei Hongjun's military status within the socialist camp. Unless Khrushchev forced Zhukov to step aside, no one could ignore Wei Hongjun's opinions on matters involving war.

So even though Le Duan was the acting General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Vietnam, he had no advantage over Wei Hongjun. Especially when it came to fighting, he was just a child compared to Wei Hongjun.

Wei Hongjun was relatively good-tempered. If it were the Soviet generals, they would point at Le Duan's nose and say, "You think you know how to fight?"

"Comrade Wei Hongjun is right. We must be fully prepared for war."

Brezhnev spoke to ease the atmosphere. The current Brezhnev was not the arrogant Soviet leader he had been in history.

Brezhnev was nearly ten years older than Wei Hongjun, but he still had to follow Wei Hongjun's lead in this negotiation. More importantly, Khrushchev's grand strategy could not be implemented independently without China.

The current Soviet leadership had been purged by Khrushchev, who had purged too many of the former senior Soviet central leaders. Therefore, unless Khrushchev came in person, the general Soviet central leadership was not qualified to suppress Wei Hongjun.

During the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, a Soviet military adviser pointed at Wei Hongjun and demanded that the phenomenon of removing Wei Hongjun from his position as commander of the Volunteer Army never happen again.

"Comrade Le Duan, it is our common wish to unify Vietnam as soon as possible, because this involves the entire international communist movement. Therefore, our goals are the same, and we are all very anxious."

Wei Hongjun lowered his tone.

After all, we still have to work together in the future. It is necessary to put some pressure on the situation, but we cannot let the negotiations fall apart.

Le Duan immediately said, "Comrade Wei Hongjun, we are indeed a little anxious. We haven't done all the preparations yet."

“Everyone is here for revolution.”

Mr. Chen interrupted and continued to ease the atmosphere.

After everyone calmed down, Wei Hongjun said, "We can't rush into battle. We need to see how well prepared we are."

"How long will it take for Soviet-supplied weapons and equipment to reach Vietnam? After receiving these weapons and equipment, the Vietnamese army cannot just go into battle. They must train, become familiar with these weapons and equipment, and truly develop combat effectiveness before they can fight."

Brezhnev interjected, "We need the Vietnamese comrades to give us detailed data on how many troops they want to form and how much weapons and equipment they need. I suggest that the Soviet Union and China jointly establish a military advisory group to go to Vietnam to determine these issues."

"I agree."

Wei Hongjun nodded, then looked at Le Duan and said, "Comrade Le Duan, what do you think?"

"I have no objection. We lack experience in large-scale troop operations and need the help of our Soviet and Chinese comrades. We would be more than happy to have a military advisory group."

Wei Hongjun and Brezhnev had made their decision, so what else could Le Duan do?

Of course, Le Duan also hoped that China and the Soviet Union would send military advisory groups. During the war with France, the Chinese military advisory group played a huge role.

If it were not for the help of the Chinese military advisory group, the Vietnamese army would have no idea how to complete regularization and how to defeat France.

To fight a large-scale war now, they needed the help of Chinese and Soviet military generals who had experience in large-scale military operations. Le Duan was very clear about this.

Wei Hongjun continued, "Comrade Brezhnev, I estimate that the Vietnamese comrades will need equipment for at least 15 to 20 infantry divisions. As for equipment for the air force, armored forces, and air defense forces, the demand should be quite high. Especially with so many American imperialist fighter aircraft, air defense is a top priority. If we look at this scale, how long will it take the Soviet Union to arrange it?"

Brezhnev remained silent.

After thinking for a while, he said, "It will take at least half a year at the earliest."

Wei Hongjun nodded.

The Soviet Union's military industry was very strong. But the Soviet Union was not at war. After Khrushchev came to power, he reduced military orders.

Therefore, if the Soviet military industry suddenly wanted to support Vietnam, it would take some time to adjust.

"Based on the situation of our troops after receiving Soviet equipment, especially the training of technical arms, such as air defense and armored forces, even the most basic training takes half a year. This is just the initial stage of building combat effectiveness."

"To master these weapons and equipment and unleash their maximum combat effectiveness, at least one year of training is required."

"It would take two years from the time we determined how much equipment our Vietnamese comrades needed, for China and the Soviet Union to provide it, to the time we trained these troops. This meant that the war of unification would most appropriately have been launched in May or June 1961."

Wei Hongjun directly postponed the time to 1961.

Wei Hongjun had two predictions for the Vietnam War. One was that Vietnam was well prepared and could truly end the war within a few months, giving the United States no chance to react. By then, a domino effect would have occurred in Indochina, and Khrushchev's Indochina strategy would have been a success.

Another factor was the failure to achieve strategic objectives, leading to a stalemate in the war and ultimately the large-scale intervention of the US military. The Vietnam War dragged on for ten years, dragging the US along.

The Wei Hongjun could accept either option. But the prerequisite was that Vietnam must be well prepared and significantly improve its combat effectiveness. Two years was the minimum requirement.

The Soviet and Vietnamese representatives were silent. After a while, Brezhnev said, "In fact, the Vietnamese army has defeated the French army. After receiving weapons and equipment, it will take about six months of training. I think the war of unification can be launched by the end of 60."

"It's not impossible."

Wei Hongjun did not directly object, saying, "The reason I'm postponing it until May or June 1961, besides the Vietnamese army's training, is logistical support. Once the war breaks out, it will be difficult to provide logistical support for a force of hundreds of thousands of people, and they will be vulnerable to bombing by US aircraft. At that time, we also have to consider the lives of the Vietnamese people. Therefore, the supplies required will be even greater."

"But the current transportation between my country and Vietnam is not very good. If we want to provide large-scale support to Vietnam, the transportation between Guangxi and Yunnan in my country and Vietnam must be unimpeded. This requires us to build several roads between China and Vietnam and renovate the Kunming-Hebei Railway (Yunnan-Vietnam Railway)."

"China and the Soviet Union have not yet reached an agreement on transportation issues in Guangxi and Yunnan. Even the problem of transporting logistical supplies has not been solved. How can we support this war? There is simply no time left."

Brezhnev understood what Wei Hongjun meant.

It was to urge the Soviet Union to quickly provide money and other support to enable China to complete the transportation construction in Guangxi and Yunnan.

"Comrade Wei Hongjun, if the transportation lines between China and Vietnam are opened up, will China agree to Vietnam launching a war of unification at the end of 60?"

"If everything is ready, we have no reason to object."

Brezhnev nodded, understanding what Wei Hongjun meant.

After several days of meetings, a number of cooperation agreements were reached, and the initial date for the unification war was set for the end of 1960.

1072

After the trilateral negotiations within the Chinese, Soviet and Vietnamese parties were concluded, the negotiators from the three countries went back to make preparations.

Vietnam needed to return to fully compile statistics on weapons, ammunition, and logistical supplies needed for the war. They also needed to convene a Central Committee meeting to begin unifying the party's thinking.

After the Geneva Conference, the Workers' Party of Vietnam was divided. Some accepted the terms of the Geneva Conference, while others fiercely opposed its decisions. A group of party members, led by Le Duan, resolutely refused to accept the Geneva Conference's decisions.

Now that China and the Soviet Union have decided to support Vietnam's war of unification, the Vietnamese Workers' Party must unify its thinking.

On July 1959, 7, the Central Committee of Vietnam formally agreed that the next step for the Communist Party of Vietnam was to unify the country.

It can be said that this meeting brought Le Duan great prestige. This was because most of the resolutions passed at this meeting were those that Le Duan had previously called for. Now that the Central Committee had approved this resolution, it showed that Le Duan had completely surpassed Ho Chi Minh in the Workers' Party of Vietnam.

While Ho Chi Minh enjoyed considerable prestige, he no longer handled specific matters within the current Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Vietnam. He relied solely on his long-standing prestige to remain chairman, and through his personal connections with certain Chinese and Soviet leaders, he managed relations between Vietnam and China. The actual power of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Vietnam now rested in the hands of Le Duan.