Father of France

Chapter 137 County Town Brahmins

General Zhu An looked at the five-year plan for a long time with an expression of surprise, then looked up at Koman and said, "I didn't expect that we have someone like you in our army. You look quite capable. I heard that you went to the Soviet Union for research and learned a lot."

"I didn't stay too long," Koeman replied calmly. The Soviet Five-Year Plan was a vast planned economy system, which also included annual plans, quarterly plans, enterprise plans, and so on.

This is incomparable to what he calls a five-year plan. A planned economy is very complex to operate well; otherwise, the Soviet Union's planned economy wouldn't have had so many problems later on.

A well-developed planned economy is actually more difficult to achieve than a market economy. The core of a market economy is nothing more than capital, or more simply, money. A planned economy also has elements of money, but it's not just about money.

Using money as a general equivalent at least provides a clear value; every item can be priced. However, using things like job title or productivity as a general equivalent results in an ambiguous value.

There are too many factors involved in the game, and the workers can continue to slack off in order to make more demands.

In this way, a planned economy is no longer possible, and the advantages of a market economy cannot be brought into play, making it the worst possible model.

The Soviet Union was a very successful example of operating a planned economy. Many countries simultaneously adopted a market economy while also developing five-year plans for certain industries, claiming to combine the advantages of both systems. In reality, they successfully combined the disadvantages of both systems.

The advantage of transparent pricing is that a project can be bid on by different entities, and the project will be awarded to whoever offers the lowest price and the best quality. Whether it's a state-owned enterprise or a private company, as long as it has the resources, it can undertake national projects.

However, relatively speaking, a planned economy is more suitable for heavy industries such as energy and steel, if heavy and light industries are like bones and muscles. While the Soviet Union is widely considered a negative example of a country that is strong solely in heavy industry, there are far too many countries that rely solely on light industry, and the vast majority of them have failed.

If it weren't for the fact that Koeman was wearing a military uniform, General Juan would have thought that he was facing a rising star of some school of thought in Paris, and said with a smile, "It's a real pity that you're a soldier."

“This is the only profession I don’t regret.” Koeman immediately expressed his support for military status. Since General Juan did not show any rejection, he continued, “The General Staff’s point is that the military is not suitable for conflict with the government over economic issues. If faced with government pressure, they should release the five-year plan. I believe the left-wing government that may come to power should be satisfied.”

They've even come up with a five-year plan, what more could the French Communist Party and the Socialist Party possibly want?
Koeman still hopes that this five-year plan can be implemented after the left-wing coalition comes to power. For places like the North African Overseas Provinces, which are in the early stages of development, a planned economy can really be very effective.

Moreover, Algeria's current level of development is slightly better than that of the major Eastern country, but not by much. They are at the same stage of development, so there is no reason why it should not be effective.

With the Fourth Republic changing governments so frequently, this might actually be a golden opportunity for left-wing governments that only hold power for short periods.

General Juan also acknowledged the concerns raised by General Dragon, as mentioned by Corman, that the army should avoid conflict with the new government. "The General Staff has considered this very comprehensively. If the new government pressures us, we will use this five-year plan to deal with Paris."

"That concludes my message. I must return to my work immediately." Koeman then quietly prepared to leave.

A complete five-year plan actually includes one essential part: the construction of the education system. Koeman also knew that education should not be neglected, no matter how poor one is.

However, education is not an urgent issue for Algeria. The education system needs long-term development. If Algeria were to establish two universities in North Africa now, who would be the students?

Someone has to start as a primary school student, then a secondary school student, and finally a university student. Therefore, higher education is not urgent. At least we have plenty of time now. As long as we focus on primary and secondary education first, higher education will definitely be promoted in the future. We don't need to start immediately.

Koman also had his own job, so he certainly couldn't linger in the big city. Even if he was just pretending, he had to maintain a military demeanor and prioritize the national interest. Before long, he returned to the Setif military court.

Upon returning from his short vacation, Koman found nothing different in Setif; the work atmosphere remained vibrant, though benefits had improved somewhat around the New Year.

A new year, a new beginning. The barrelled meat soup brought comfort to the workers, and they were also given a day off on January 1st, proving that military control can also be carried out with humane measures.

Upon his return, Koeman immediately immersed himself in the accumulated case files. Since it was under military control, military law was naturally applied, and the soldiers were the priority.

Simply put, the law enforcement standard applied to military personnel and their families is that, regardless of the type of case, the military must be unconditionally sided with them; this is the fundamental logic of how military courts operate. However, it is clear that many people still do not understand this point. For example, the descendants of European immigrants in Setif have even developed a sense of prejudice against the Maronite immigrants who have moved in, perhaps mistaking them for the original Muslim natives, which is very problematic.

The biggest conflict remains the land issue, while lifestyle habits are the trigger. Lefevere has a thorny case that is difficult to judge, which involves the conflict between new and old immigrants.

"The Morant family are European immigrants who are very influential in Setif. A conflict broke out between them over land and new immigrants, and the two sides fought fiercely. Morant led his men to beat up the families of the Marlonite soldiers."

Lefevere briefly described the process, saying, "This happened two days ago, but Morant vehemently denied it. We took on this case involving a Maronite immigrant family, who are soldiers of the First Army."

"What's the point of keeping them alive if you're not going to arrest them? For the New Year?" The First Army Group flashed into Koman's mind like lightning. Wasn't that the unit he had personally helped recruit?
If this were a military marriage issue, Koeman wouldn't care, and it wouldn't have lasted this long. Since it's a conflict between new and old immigrants, Koeman understands Lefebvre's caution, but this kind of mistake can only be made once.

Koman led the military court soldiers directly to arrest the man and soon arrived at Morant's farm, which was surrounded by a green wall of palm trees, whose large leaves rustled in the breeze.

At a glance, Koeman knew this was essentially an Algerian version of a county-level Brahmin family, powerful enough to rule over a settlement. The barn door was open, and it was filled with hay.

Further away, several black and white cows lowered their heads and slowly ate hay, the bells around their necks ringing crisply with their movements.

"No need to report, just go in." Koman had to uphold the authority of the military court; a county Brahmin was not enough to obstruct his law enforcement.

In a sense, they are the absolute monarchs of their own kingdom. Their farm boundaries are their borders, their barns are their castles, and their horses are their chariots. On this land, self-preservation and self-defense are the first principles etched into their very bones.

Danger certainly existed. In this place, which was called an overseas province but was practically a colony, it would be impossible to own large tracts of land without considerable skill. They possessed and were proficient in using firearms. This was not just for hunting or recreation, but also to deal with wild boars that destroyed crops, hyenas that threatened livestock, and—those intruders with ill intentions, especially untrustworthy Arabs.

Farmers may be far more familiar with firearms than anyone in the city.

A large number of soldiers entered the farm directly, ignoring the "No Trespassing" signs, and headed straight for the houses in the center.

Koman was a complete stranger to the farm, but the soldier, who held the truth in his hands, immediately dispelled the Morant family's idea of ​​defending their own interests.

"Whoever hit Bella's family, step forward!" Koman ordered, hands on his hips, to search every room until all members of the family appeared.

No one spoke up. Seeing that no one stepped forward, Koeman laughed. "We will absolutely not take all the innocent people away first. The innocent will be released later."

Nonviolent non-cooperation was completely useless to Corman, who preferred severe punishment for minor offenses. Apparently, these immigrants who considered themselves French citizens didn't seem to understand this.

Koeman will certainly need some time to correct this stubbornness until he faces the consequences, but that's alright, he has plenty of energy and means.

It was too late for a confession to be considered for leniency. The man who might be eligible for leniency was slapped twice to interrupt the spell. At Coman's command, all members of the Morant family were put into a car and taken straight to the Setif military court.

“Sir, isn’t this a bit too harsh?” Lefebvre felt that Koeman might be abusing his power.

"Now that we've already taken action, we have to show our attitude. Consider them unlucky."

Koeman knew, of course, that his actions might be an overreaction, but in order to set an example for conflicts between new and old immigrants in the area and deter similar incidents from happening again, he could not let it go lightly. "Notify the Bella family to come to the military court to make an identification, and first promote the men of the Morant family. Daring to touch the families of soldiers of the First Army Group shows me great disrespect."

Amidst Koman's incessant chatter, the interrogation of the New Year's case began, with wails rising and falling from different interrogation rooms, reaching the ears of the women and children who were also members of the Morant family.

(End of this chapter)