Father of France

Chapter 150 Industry Pioneers
It has to be said that collectivism has its advantages. Koeman is not a typical young player who gets carried away by the sun.

“That’s right, we must stay calm.” Koman returned to the mindset of a Taoist.

No matter what he does now, it is impossible to keep a population of 30 million in the French Empire for long, given that it is almost halfway around the world from mainland France.

France will eventually withdraw from French Indochina, and the current Catholic armed plan, land reform plan, and the dismantling of the Chinese in the Embankment will not change this.

As for the Governor's Office, headed by Dassanio, talking about industrial support, there's no need to elaborate. Coman's empty promises were all based on raw materials from French Africa, offering a delicious pie in the sky to wealthy Chinese.

Where does Dashangliu's bread base lie? In the territory controlled by the Viet Minh in the north, there are no usable raw materials for metallurgy, chemicals, or French Indochina in southern France.

Vietnam's mineral resources are all located in the north of Vietnam. Vietnam, which is known as "Little China," is not just a name for itself. Even the distribution of its resources is very similar to that of the major Eastern country.

In the south of this major Eastern country, there are some non-ferrous metals that can help bridge the resource gap, but southern Vietnam really has no notable industries other than agriculture.

The new order in French Indochina is currently being implemented step by step, but fortunately, the French Indochina Forestry Administration is already operational. According to current estimates, it can provide 30,000 cubic meters of hardwood per day, which will fill the urban construction gap in the North African overseas provinces within six months, thus preventing delays in the project's progress.

Without rules, nothing can be accomplished. The plan for Catholic armed forces must be implemented by introducing the military courts that are already in the overseas provinces to ensure military discipline.

The reason for doing this was naturally to further militarize France's overseas colonies, but more important than that was Coman's ulterior motives.

Even after arming the Catholic population, military discipline must be maintained to ensure a minimum level of combat effectiveness; otherwise, they will still be unable to shoulder heavy responsibilities.

Of course, Koeman did not want France to always face the same situation as the United States, to support proxies, and to keep going around in circles with people like Syngman Rhee, Marcos, and Aquino.

Koman wouldn't dare say he was blessed with incredible luck and found Park Ka-ka directly, but he was still slightly more successful than Wu Tingyan.

Otherwise, if the old-line imperialists were to take action themselves, it would be better for Ngo Dinh Diem to just do something casually. Where would that leave the old-line imperialists' face?
Thanks to Koeman's efforts, France, having returned to French Indochina, began to get back on track, at least clarifying what it should be doing now.

At this time, General Leclerc, the commander-in-chief of the French forces in French Indochina, also expressed his satisfaction with Corman's efforts, saying, "General Dragon doesn't seem to be someone whose affection is constantly on his lips."

“A genius.” General Dassanio had also heard about this and nodded in reply. “Indeed, he has many unusual ideas, but I think the main thing is his boldness. With the Chief of the Army General Staff as his backer, he dares to implement some plans that are not very certain. Of course, we should judge whether this is good or bad based on the results. If it successfully stabilizes the situation, we should commend this effort.”

"Actually, in overseas provinces, his position is already higher than his military rank, so it's not a problem."

Leclerc didn't have any complaints, because he was also one of the French soldiers who rose through the ranks by rocket during the war. General Dracon rose from major, while he started as a captain and spent five years transforming into the Commander-in-Chief of the French Army in French Indochina.

Ava Gardner leaned lazily against the railing of the passenger ship, its bow cutting through the muddy, earthen waters of the Mekong River estuary, slowly heading towards its destination—Saigon. The captain's announcement in English came over the loudspeaker, reminding passengers that they were about to arrive at Saigon Port.

The scenery on both sides of the river gradually came into view. Among the dark green palm groves and banana trees, the pointed roofs of stilted thatched huts occasionally peeked out. Dark-skinned children played in the water, jumping and waving excitedly when they saw large ships passing by.

A long blast of the ship's horn signaled the end of the journey. The passenger ship slowly approached the bustling dock, where laborers, shirtless and chanting, crowded around the pontoon. Slender Vietnamese women in ao dai moved through the crowd like graceful butterflies.

More often, however, were businessmen, sailors, officers, and journalists of all skin colors.

Lefebvre successfully picked up Eva Gardner and her entourage upon their arrival in Saigon and arranged for them to stay in a hotel. He then took this woman, who was of equal status to his superior and wife, to the military court where Koeman was located.

"Lefebvre, what is Coman doing?" Ava Gardner felt that she had done a great service and worked tirelessly for the man, but he didn't even show his face, so she was not very happy.

"The commander is inspecting the troops today. An African battalion just arrived in Saigon, and they're acquaintances of the commander," Lefebvre replied without hesitation, while also lamenting the different fates of people. Koman has women who care about him, while he can only deal with cases that trigger military marriages every now and then.

Only when dealing with the issue of military marriages did Lefebvre realize how correct Corman's mindless siding with the military was. How did French women become like this?
No wonder Corman seemed stuck in the Middle Ages. When he interacted with the Chinese, he lavished praise on the Four Books and Five Classics. Upon hearing about a temple dedicated to Zhu Xi in Saigon, he led a group of Chinese to worship there, readily spouting claims that Zhu Xi was a thousand years ahead of the world. Corman did indeed do what Lefèvre described. This soldier, with his medieval mindset, has indeed gained a greater understanding of the Prophet Muhammad and Zhu Xi in light of the future evolution of France and even Europe as a whole.

Moreover, the audience for these two ideas may be the other two major ethnic groups in France besides the French people in the future.

With his mind set on a united historical perspective, Corman naturally wanted to retain the dross and discard the essence to solidify French conservatism, a belief passed down from ancient times.

Koman knew that if he did not worship the Emperor, he would have lost his true destiny. He also knew the terrifying thing about having his name on the Reincarnation Stele. Therefore, he was not wrong to worship the Emperor more often.

The acquaintance Lefèvre mentioned in Corman's story was Bokassa, whom Corman had met in Italy, because of the increased troop deployment in French Indochina, even African troops had been transferred from France.

In another world, after the war, he served with the French army in the Indochina War. His experience fighting in Vietnam made Bokassa begin to cherish every second he spent in the military. At this time, he also began paving the way for his future promotion.

"Actually, all you need to do is ensure that you follow orders diligently regarding the Catholic armed plan. Our goal is to localize military operations." Koman was still happy to see an old acquaintance; this was a potential talent for Africa's future, and he didn't want him to die in the Vietnam War.

Upon seeing Bokassa's rank, Coman prepared to apply to the French Indochina Command to promote Bokassa's rank and include him in the list of officers to be trained.

“Sir, I have only just arrived here and have already received such a great honor. I can only do my best to serve the French Empire,” Bokassa said, looking as if he were ready to give his all.

Koman watched as the future Bokassa I pledged his loyalty to him, and a secret sense of satisfaction welled up inside him. He chuckled and replied, "I hope you can become a role model for African soldiers. I will provide you with whatever help I can to make you a glorious warrior."

Corman was very satisfied with Bokassa's statement. He actually had a grand project in mind that would benefit French Africa as a whole, and this project also had the role of China and Africa in the future. Therefore, China and Africa are still very important to France.

It's just an idea right now, but once the project starts, we might need Bokassa's help.

"Sir, Ms. Eva has arrived." Having just strengthened French unity with Bocassa, Lefebvre arrived with Eva Gardner.

Koeman glanced at it and felt that nothing else mattered to him right now.

Ava Gardner, dressed in a women's suit with a plaid shirt peeking out from the collar and a small hat, exuded a neutral beauty as she stared at Koman. "Are your eyes on fire?"

“Darling, look at what you’re saying.” Koman walked over as he spoke, taking Ava Gardner’s delicate hand in his and saying with great affection, “Since leaving you, I’ve been in a daze, I don’t even know if I’m still alive. I can’t sleep at night when I think about the distance between us.”

"Didn't you look for some exotic romantic encounters?" Ava Gardner rolled her eyes at Koman, her expression as if she were naturally playing a German female officer.

“I’m a very serious person when it comes to relationships between men and women; it’s probably a habit I developed from a young age.” Coman remained calm and was about to take Ava Gardner to see his place in Saigon.

Ava Gardner saw through it all but didn't say anything. She knew that men of equal status to her husband wanted to indulge in debauchery in broad daylight, but she needed to too, after all this time.

The main battleground shifted to the bathroom, and it was only after a long time that the two were finally freed from their entanglement, finished with their business, and could finally talk about trivial matters.

"After I returned to the United States, I inquired about ocean exploration, which was also aided by Vanderbilt III." Ava Gardner recounted her efforts after returning to the United States. Although the Vanderbilt family was no longer at its peak, a few art exhibitions helped the family recover.

They also became agents for some French brand boutiques, which initially stabilized the declining situation and preserved their influence in high society. This time, they helped Ava Gardner inquire about the US oil industry's offshore exploration activities.

With his help, Ava Gardner quickly found Kerr-Mage, a manufacturer in the field of marine exploration in the United States. After explaining the situation, the company was also very interested.

"It's more accurate to say that this news from France allows Kerr-McGee to tell its story more confidently." Koman immediately understood the company's intentions.

(End of this chapter)