Father of France

Chapter 118 France Beset by Internal and External Troubles

Unfortunately, Koeman came with a procurement mission. $110,000 wouldn't even buy two helicopters. This amount is a huge sum for an individual, but it's nothing at the national level.

The French purchasing delegation finally concluded its inspection and returned to Tingtao Estate. Not everyone felt jealous of Eva Gardner like Pierre did; most people remembered their mission.

The delegation only expressed some doubt about Koeman staying at Tingtao Manor before getting to the main topic of discussion: the delegation must truthfully report the weapons worth purchasing during this inspection.

What does this mean? It means that there are a large number of weapons that France cannot produce in the short term, but would be very unprofitable to purchase.

For example, weapons like the Sherman tank and the Thunder fighter jet.

These weapons are no longer considered advanced, but France's existing military industry is even more backward, making them not worth France's money to purchase.

Koeman knew that another way was aid. If the United States couldn't even spare this much military aid, then it didn't deserve to be the leader of the Western countries. France didn't need a big brother who didn't offer any benefits.

If the United States wants to be the big brother of Western European countries, it must first make things difficult for itself by providing France with minimal or even free military aid to help it regain its fighting capacity.

"Most of the weapons are just scrap metal and not worth our dollars."

Koeman stated unequivocally, "The problem is simple: the United States wants to replace Britain as the balance of power against the Soviet Union, much like the relationship between Britain and Imperial Russia in the 19th century. This is America's own desire to be the big brother, not something we're forcing them to do. Since the United States wants to do this, it must offer France benefits. If there are no benefits, why would we abandon our traditional source of raw materials, Eastern Europe?"

Representatives from other branches of the military nodded in agreement, greatly appreciating the argument that France had its own national circumstances and that the United States had to take the initiative to pay a price to win it over.

Koeman's words came from the heart. 1945 was not 2025. In the world of 1945, the United States and the Soviet Union had to offer benefits to their allies to form a camp for confrontation.

Once France leaves its position as an ally of the United States, it's not just a matter of 500,000 square kilometers and 40 million people; France still has half of Africa in its hands.

If the US and the Soviet Union share the same attitude and are unwilling to give France the benefits it deserves, then I'm not going to put up with it anymore!

Even when Ava Gardner pushed open the door and brought two bottles of Coke, Koeman didn't lower his voice at all. What was he afraid of? Ava Gardner didn't understand French, even though she was learning it from Koeman.

"Currently, the types of aircraft we cannot immediately replenish are transport planes and bombers, which is unavoidable. As for fighter jets, we can apply for grant assistance," Air Force Major Leo seriously assessed. "Moreover, even for transport planes and bombers, we should strive to obtain a proportional discount, which will be a point of contention between the Air Force and the United States in the near future."

"I have absolute faith in the Air Force's capabilities." Koeman's answer was sincere. After all, it was the country that sold the Rafale to India at such a high price. France's arms sales rebates weren't targeted at anyone, and there weren't many countries that could act as France's teacher.

India purchased Rafale fighter jets for over 200 million US dollars each, a price Koeman had never heard of before, and more expensive than the US's fifth-generation fighter jet sales.

This would have been absolutely impossible without some underhanded dealings with the Indian side.

The so-called complete system price includes the aircraft, weapons, logistics, training, and long-term support. Buying only the "bare aircraft" would be much cheaper, but that's meaningless in reality.

As for naval procurement, it's even simpler. The French Navy follows the green-water navy route, and its most important task is to maintain its presence in the Mediterranean. Its biggest long-range requirement at present is to return to French Indochina. Apart from that, France has no other strategic needs for the open ocean. Does it intend to turn French Guiana into a springboard for attacking South America?
“But we need a good reason.” Pierre certainly didn’t want his country to spend extra money to buy emergency weapons from the United States, but he couldn’t find a reason for the time being.

"Pro-Soviet parties are flourishing in East and Southeast Asia, and we are now at a point where we are poised for a return to French Indochina. We must make the United States aware of the growing pro-Soviet forces there." This is no challenge for Corman; this is simply how things have evolved in East and Southeast Asia.
Moreover, this change will happen soon. Vietnam's Victory Day is September 2nd, which originates from the date Ho Chi Minh announced the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in Hanoi on September 2, 1945.

Thus, the Viet Minh transformed from a revolutionary movement into a de facto national government, gaining immense legitimacy.

It can be said that although the Viet Minh became a national government only briefly, it actually predates its northern counterpart by four years. This is the origin of Vietnam's National Day on September 2nd, which is exactly one day earlier than its northern counterpart's Victory Day on September 3rd.

The situation in Vietnam is completely different from that of its northern big brother. From the beginning, the Viet Minh's armed forces were not weak. Although their size was still not comparable to that of the French army, their organization and political goals were clear.

The Viet Minh certainly had political rivals, including the royal forces of Emperor Bao Dai, as well as various other nationalist political parties and religious groups, but it was the most well-organized and capable of mobilizing its forces.

It can be said that in 1945 Vietnam, the Viet Minh was not an obscure organization, but rather equivalent to the Kuomintang's "artillery party" after the victory in the War of Resistance against Japan. Before the French army arrived in French Indochina, the Viet Minh quickly controlled almost all of Vietnam's major cities and large swathes of territory, including Hanoi, Hue, and Saigon.

In 1945, the Viet Minh was in a much better position in Vietnam than its older brother, which was still being marginalized by the Kuomintang.

Otherwise, how could Le Duan, a cadre from the south, have become the leader of Vietnam after Ho Chi Minh's death?

It's precisely because the Viet Minh had a huge presence in the south during the Viet Minh era that the southern cadres of the Viet Minh were very powerful from the very beginning, with enough strength to rival the northern cadres.

The Viet Cong has always believed that it was betrayed by its North big brother after the Dien Bien Phu battle, and this is why it was forced to sign the Geneva Convention.

If a political party controls 80 percent of the territory and population, and then Big Brother divides the country into North and South along the 17th parallel, leaving only half, everyone will be dissatisfied.

The Viet Minh believed that their big brother was not doing a good job, as they controlled 80% of the population and land and had dragged the war on for so many years. This matter had nothing to do with Koeman, as he was French and didn't have time to judge who had wronged whom within the Soviet bloc.

However, the emergence of the Viet Minh in just a few days could serve as evidence to the United States that pro-Soviet forces in Southeast Asia were in danger of spiraling out of control.

With Coman as a guiding light, the report on this arms sales inspection had a core idea: apart from a few weapons procurement projects that needed to be used immediately due to the North African colonies, the vast majority of procurement projects were considered to be projects that the United States should give France discounts or even free aid due to the rapid evolution of the international situation.

Only in this way can it be proven that the United States and European countries are trustworthy nations, rather than a dubious hegemony that, like the Soviet Union, seeks to control Europe.

The report also suggested clarifying the role of the French Communist Party. France now has the French Communist Party internally and the Viet Minh externally. The body of the French Empire is already covered with the fruits of the Soviet Union. At this moment, it depends on what the United States chooses.

When Eva Gardner finished her work at the exhibition and came to Koman's place, he was writing an investigation report on France's current internal and external troubles and the United States' provision of free aid as a solution.

“Here you are, darling.” Koman glanced up at Ava Gardner and continued writing furiously on the report.

"Who are you calling 'darling'? You can't just call anyone that." Ava Gardner's cheeks flushed red instantly. How could he date like that? He hadn't even put in any effort to pursue her.

Unfortunately, when Koeman was working, such displays of charm were merely flirting with the blind; the foundation for being able to "seduce" a beauty was being able to hold power over the world.

Koeman would never get the order wrong; the report on the French Communist Party and the Viet Minh's two-pronged approach has just been released, and he is using it to pressure the United States.

Without Ava Gardner asking, Koeman laid out his work in its entirety, believing there was absolutely no need for secrecy and that it was purely for political purposes.

"My God, you're really audacious, asking our government for hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid directly." This kind of thing was still too far removed from Ava Gardner's life. After hearing it, her mind went blank, completely captivated by the allure of hundreds of millions of dollars in free military aid.

While Ava Gardner's mind went blank, Koman seized the opportunity to reach out and grab the high-paid star, pulling her into his arms and saying, "Hundreds of millions of dollars are what America deserves. Don't overthink it. Isn't it exciting to be next to me?"

“That’s hundreds of millions of dollars in aid.” Ava Gardner’s eyes went vacant, and she muttered blankly, “I never imagined I could have such a fortune in my entire life.”

"What's there to be afraid of? It's really not a big number for me." Seeing that Ava Gardner seemed to be having an out-of-body experience, Koman kissed her red lips, bringing the femme fatale back into her body.

He now has to raise Ava Gardner's threshold for Fang Min to a level that no one else can shake.

Only in this way will a woman who is used to the world of fame and fortune be completely devoted to you.

Ava Gardner was completely caught in a complex and all-encompassing web, at the mercy of the foreign junior officer she spoke of.

The report was submitted to the Department of Defense, and Koeman successfully concluded his procurement inspection. However, because Picasso's exhibition was not yet over, he telegraphed the Chief of the Army to indicate that he needed to stay in the United States for a while longer.

(End of this chapter)