Father of France

Chapter 134 The Iranian Crisis
Based on the history of this major Eastern power, at the current level, it could at most be considered a military garrison for farming, how could it be military commerce? It's still a long way off.

Developments like arable land and iron ore, which are still in the realm of raw materials, are not entirely unrelated to commercial concepts, but they are certainly not very relevant.

Major Felix gave Koeman a deep look, thought for a moment, and agreed. The biggest problem was investment; if that was solved, it wasn't impossible. "The steel industry? Can it be done?"

"I don't know either." Koman wasn't entirely sure either; nothing in this world is guaranteed to succeed. "But it's just about increasing steelmaking capacity, so it shouldn't be a big problem."

Koman will know several paths in the steel industry, such as steel for high-end equipment: high-temperature alloys for aerospace engines and ultra-high-strength steel.

Advanced transportation steel: high-end electrical steel for new energy vehicles and ultra-high-strength steel for lightweight vehicle bodies.

Energy steel: weather-resistant bridge steel for wind power, containment steel plates for nuclear power, and ultra-thin stainless steel for photovoltaics. New materials: metal powders and amorphous ribbons for printing.

But these are paths that Algeria can consider right now. There is a country that produces a billion tons of steel every year, and it keeps complaining that its steel industry is big but not strong.

Koeman genuinely didn't know what level of strength was considered strong; a steel production capacity of one billion tons seemed far from being weak.

The Constantine Conference, chaired by Brigadier General Thierry of the provincial military tribunal, aimed primarily to review the progress of urban construction before the end of the year. The heads of the military tribunals from all seventy districts of the Constantine province were present.

Koeman mainly reported on the 37 percent increase in Setif’s urban development efficiency and the significant acceleration of immigration.

Brigadier General Thierry was very interested in this explosive progress. Koeman could only share his experience of the success of board games, which was nothing more than a micro-innovation of reverse work-based labor. There was nothing else to say. Women were used like men, and men were used like animals. Others could do that too.

“I have a project here that's in cooperation with the Unza iron ore mine.” Koman glanced at Major Felix and began to introduce the complementary potential of the projects in Unza and Setif.

This sparked a lot of discussion. Some supported buying the equipment, others supported introducing the equipment manufacturing capabilities, and still others tried to be clever by suggesting that they could buy a few sets and then manufacture a few more themselves, thus accommodating both sides' opinions.

Each town also has its own projects, based on local resources, such as phosphate mining. France is a major agricultural country, but the overseas departments in North Africa are not.

How could increasing grain production be possible without fertilizer? It's even a crucial factor. Algeria's soil conditions necessitate a very high fertilizer requirement. Furthermore, Algeria's largest and most important phosphate mine is located in the Constantine province.

Brigadier General Thierry also expressed his support. This is not just an Algerian issue; France also has a great need for fertilizers. However, as we all know, France is short of almost everything, even raw materials for fertilizers. Paris will absolutely support the Constantine region in developing its fertilizer industry.

This report clearly satisfied Brigadier General Thierry, who also expressed support for some major projects, saying, "Without Africa, France's future status as a major power would be unimaginable."

This reminded Koeman of something that seemed to have been said by many French politicians, but it appeared to be just talk, with little understanding of its significance.

After the meeting, Koeman did not leave Constantine. A few days later, Martin was summoned from France after much anticipation, bringing with him five million dollars of military assets from the Youth Division.

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen so much cash. I couldn’t sleep the whole way here, afraid something might happen,” Martin complained as soon as they met, then gave Koman a big hug. “This is our unit’s wealth; it has to be safe.” “Safe? Depositing it in a Swiss bank is the safest,” Koman said with a hint of sarcasm. “We have several large projects overseas that require start-up capital, such as the expansion of the Unza steel plant and the phosphate mine project. This money is meant for investment, and now is a good time to invest.”

"Investment? Is the success rate high?" Although Martin usually appeared confident, this was the first time he had faced such a large project, and he wasn't so confident.

"Can local companies afford the equipment needed for the current project?" Koman asked, getting straight to the point.

Martin nodded. He already knew about these projects from the telegram, so he explained what he knew: "The manufacturing of chemical equipment has its own rules. From what I understand, local companies have some confidence in the other parts of large fertilizer plants, especially if they can introduce American technology. The manufacturing difficulty of these plants is not particularly high. The main obstacle is the compressor units. They have clearly told me that they want to import them from the United States."

"It seems that the destructive power of the war on France is not limited to the military industry." Koeman sighed, but he could also understand that the United States was truly powerful in all aspects during this era.

Before World War II, some technologies may have been relatively crude, but after this world war, all the shortcomings were truly made up.

Martin was merely relaying the information; he didn't know anything about it. "The other parts are mainly tanks, pipes, and the like. The local technology level is somewhat behind that of the UK and the US, but it's not insurmountable. It will definitely take time, but judging from your attitude, the project is very urgent."

"We really don't have much time." Koeman grinned. Stabilizing Algeria's security situation as soon as possible was certainly the best course of action, in case war broke out in Southeast Asia.

At that point, Captain Coman would tell the French government that if all else fails, they should abandon French Indochina.
Let alone the fact that he lacks the power to speak and no one listens to him, even General Dragon, whose words are listened to, wouldn't dare to oppose him. Does the army need a dove general as its leader?
After World War II, France fell into a mindset that it had to prove itself capable of fighting and wanted to reverse the impression of being swept aside by Germany. This was the prevailing opinion. However, General Dragon jumped out and said, "Forget it."

Shaking off his chaotic thoughts, Koeman stopped worrying about independence and said to Martin, "I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you. You can see that I can't leave right now. Alan is still in Austria. Only you have more freedom. Buy back what we're missing from the US and fill in the gaps, and the Constantine project can start."

Martin knew he had a responsibility to fulfill and agreed. A while later, he shared some news: "British newspapers have been reporting on the Iran issue recently, and it seems to be having a significant impact."

"Get the Soviet Union to withdraw its troops?" Koeman suddenly recalled that the first confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II was in Iran. Some people said that this was a prelude to the Cold War, and Churchill's Iron Curtain speech simply made the matter clear and accelerated the process.

In 1941, Britain and the Soviet Union jointly occupied Iran, and the Soviet Union took the opportunity to support local separatist forces. Fast forward to 1945, Germany and Japan had both surrendered, and the Soviet Union should have withdrawn its troops, but it refused to leave and continued to promote Azerbaijan's autonomy in northern Iran.

Reza Shah of Iran had previously attempted to balance foreign policy by bringing in the United States and Germany to counter Britain and the Soviet Union, but all his efforts failed. The moment German influence entered Iran, Britain and the Soviet Union were enraged, and after their joint occupation, Reza Shah was forced to abdicate.

Germany surrendered, but the United States successfully stayed. Now the Iranian government is trying to bring the United States in and drive out Britain and the Soviet Union. That's not a mistake; Iran also wants to drive out Britain, but initially it only targeted the Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union was next, and Britain was next. Mossadegh got rid of the British. The evolution of the situation in Iran perfectly illustrates the situation in the early Cold War. We should be wary of the Soviet Union, but even more so of Britain.

This has little to do with France. France's only remaining influence in the Middle East is French Syria, which is a British problem. Only when Britain is weakened can France have the opportunity to dominate Britain.

(End of this chapter)