Father of France

Chapter 138 Red Tide
After a lecture on physics, Koman finally appeared before the men of the Morant family, smiling as he looked at these venerable Brahmins from the county town. They were nothing more than bruises and swelling on their faces, nothing serious. "I am still very merciful. Are you satisfied with this greeting gift?"

“This is torture to extract a confession.” A man in his forties spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, expressing his protest in a muffled manner.

"It's not that serious, it's too much," Koeman denied with a laugh. "I didn't want anything from you, I just wanted to beat you up in front of your kids."

As for why he did this, Koman had his own reasons. Children often have a unclear understanding of their father's power, and hitting the father in front of the child is also part of correcting the child's incorrect understanding.

This helps to avoid a future where the father is a reactionary and the son is a scoundrel. The side effect might be that it will cause some psychological trauma to the child, as can be seen from the mixed crying of a group of old and young people just now.

From a father's perspective, Koman deliberately did this in front of his children, which is tantamount to trampling on the face of the head of the family. This has nothing to do with trying to undermine their spirit; he simply felt that doing so would be effective, so he did it. His purpose was simple and clear.

Koman had a heavy responsibility: to ensure that the communities in his jurisdiction deeply ingrained the concept of unity. He was deeply disappointed that his efforts were not understood.

"Remember, the overseas provinces are under military control, and everything must prioritize the interests of the military. As for the immigrants who are coming, let me tell you the truth, they are almost all family members of soldiers of the First Army Group."

Koman said coldly, "I don't care what your status was before, or whether you considered yourselves superior. Even if you were, you have to give way to military families now. This is the first time, so I won't punish you too severely. All the men in your family will be detained for sixty days and sent to the labor brigade for labor."

It just so happens that Koeman also needs to inspect the concentration camp... to correct the current environment of the re-education and training team. There are indeed death quotas, but Koeman is not prepared to treat the labor force in his hands as disposable parts.

At the centralized resettlement area where the training team was located, the prisoners dragged their feet, blending into the torrent of gray prison uniforms. The air was thick with sweat and a deeper, more somber smell of despair. They silently flowed towards the same place—the prison block.

The prison area was so vast it seemed to stretch endlessly, with thick iron bars welded to the high windows, cutting through a small patch of pale sky outside. There was no conversation, only a massive, monotonous, almost soul-crushing roar: the sound of hundreds of industrial sewing machines operating simultaneously.

It burrows into your ears, vibrates your teeth, and eventually settles in your brain, making you forget how to think and leaving only your muscular instincts.

Koman stood in front of a sewing machine; his workstation was number 194. It was an old sewing machine, its paint peeling, but the needle was sharp and cold. Other prisoners of war brought bundles of dark green canvas.

Today's product is tents. Military tents. Huge tents that can hold a platoon.

The task of sewing prisoners of war was simple to the point of being brutal: to sew on the side waterproof strips. Fourteen hours a day, they repeated the same action—picking up the fabric, aligning the presser foot, stepping on the pedal, feeding the fabric, and the stitches had to be as straight, even, and strong as if measured with a ruler.

The soldiers and police, wearing shiny leather boots, strolled slowly down the corridor, their eyes scanning the back of every neck as they calculated production output and defect rate.

At first, this repetition was enough to drive anyone crazy. But practice makes perfect, and with time, even a grown man can become a skilled embroiderer.

Now, the hands that once held weapons are rough, stained with blue dye and loose threads, and can only push the thick, abrasive canvas.

The environment in North Africa was not suitable for this color. The green military supplies were provided to the French army in French Indochina as a precaution.

Although the left-wing coalition is now in power and may have a different attitude towards French Indochina, Koeman knows the life cycle of the Fourth Republic's governments. One government has one attitude, and the next government will have a different attitude—this had already happened during the Spanish Civil War. He sews one piece, then immediately mends another. The dark green canvas piles up in front of him, disappears, then piles up again. The whole world shrinks to the single stitch under the needle's point—it must be straight, it must be even, it must be firm.

As Koeman and his group walked past the monotonous human assembly line, he praised the military and police officers, saying, "You're wasting time, wasting energy, and ultimately wasting all the proof that makes you who you are."

"Sir, how does this compare to the Soviet system?" Lefebvre asked, knowing that Koeman had visited the Soviet Gulag.

“These systems are all pretty much the same, with little difference.” As he spoke, Coman had already crossed the prison and arrived at an open space, standing under the sun. “We won’t talk about that. The French army has arrived in Vietnam and is now negotiating with their northern allies to take over Hanoi. Even if they succeed, the Viet Minh will be a tough opponent. We need to provide our brother units with all the support we can.”

“There are so many Soviet supporters,” Lefèvre sighed. “The French Communist Party-Soviet alliance that came to power on January 20th is a prime example. It seems many Asians genuinely believe the Soviet narrative, but this is a huge blow to France.”

"The Soviet economic system only works best in their own country."

Koeman firmly defended the ideals of the free world, preventing his assistants from falling into doubt. "The basis of a planned economy is that all participants in economic activities have no conflict of interest and can submit to a common interest. In reality, such a state of selflessness does not exist, or according to Marx's theory, humanity has not yet developed to the era of selflessness. At this time, to pretend not to see the interests of each subject is just self-deception."

However, as a phased approach, the planned economy was very effective, such as in the phase of starting from scratch when the country faced major challenges, such as war, post-war reconstruction, or major natural disasters.

Or, when specific strategic goals need to be achieved, such as rapid industrialization, construction of major infrastructure, or overcoming technological challenges, a planned economy can disregard short-term profits and costs and quickly concentrate the nation's human, material, and financial resources on key areas.

Coincidentally, the current alliance between the French Communist Party and the Socialist Party, relying on its majority in parliament, is finally able to make great strides after de Gaulle's departure.

Many newly appointed ministers from both parties are, for the first time, swapping their rough work clothes for sharp suits to sit together and discuss decisions concerning the direction of the country's development.

A large-scale nationalization plan, supported by the French Communist Party and the Socialist Party, was put on the table in the National Assembly. This plan included taking back control of key industries such as coal, electricity, and natural gas from private capital.

In addition to the nationalization plan, a five-year plan is also being formulated.

How much will steel production increase, how much will coal mining increase, and how will the railway network be repaired and extended? This plan is like a finely crafted net, attempting to guide rather than command market forces, aiming to prioritize resources for critical infrastructure reconstruction.

The red tide in Paris stirred up a storm, and it seemed inevitable that France was transforming into another Soviet Union.

The People's Republican Movement members of parliament opposed the major moves of the left-wing alliance, but they were outnumbered and outmatched. Many members of parliament were not prepared for the sudden surge of red, and many went directly to de Gaulle's residence to visit him, hoping that the national hero could stop it from happening.

However, de Gaulle refused, telling the congressman who came to him, "I have left politics and now only want to focus on writing my memoirs. As for the current left-wing coalition government, it is also the legitimate government of France, although I think the goals of the two parties are not entirely the same."

(End of this chapter)