Father of France

Chapter 152 Wu Tingchu

The Iranian crisis, which was still at a standstill at the time, was also a struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union for the largest oil producer in the Middle East. If the description is not wrong, Iran was indeed the largest oil producer in the Middle East as of 1945.

Iran produces more oil than the rest of the Middle East combined. For the past three decades, Britain has been aggressively extracting Iranian oil through Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, which operates the world's largest oil refinery in Abadan.

As for France, it has little say in the Middle East's energy landscape, with only some oil extraction in Syria and Iraq, but it still has to rely on the British.

The Iranian crisis at this time had exhausted the little goodwill that the United States and the Soviet Union had accumulated in their joint victory over Germany. With the support of the United States, the Iranian government raised the issue to the Security Council in a sharp tone, demanding the immediate withdrawal of all Soviet troops.

Moscow attempted to postpone the Security Council meeting until at least April 1. After this was rejected, the Soviet representative left the Security Council meeting.

For the first time now, France appears to have complete control over oil-producing regions, enjoying the same treatment as the British in Southeast Asia.

This is of great significance to France, a country that was chosen by the agricultural era but has almost nothing in the industrial era.

Koeman directly mobilized a company of military police to assist the Kerr-Mage Company's exploration team. The company's mission was to keep a close eye on the Americans' small-scale activities.

He certainly didn't know that the exploration team had American commercial spies, but it didn't matter. Thanks to Koeman's distrust of the United States, the existence of commercial spies was irrelevant.

If Kerr-McGee's exploration team were to conceal oil extraction, Koeman would conclude that they were lying.

Americans' credibility is far less reliable than the memories in Koeman's mind. There's been little movement from France, but Britain can't stand the subtle, imperceptible stares it's receiving.

This ill intent stems from the Soviet Union, the successor to Imperial Russia, which Britain had already designated as an adversary in the late 19th century, and the United States, its grown-up rebellious son.

Just as the United States and the Soviet Union were losing ground over Iran, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who was visiting the United States, delivered a speech entitled "A Pillar of Peace" at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri.

In his speech, he introduced the term "Iron Curtain," claiming that "from Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the European continent."

The Iron Curtain speech came at a time when the United States and the Soviet Union were locked in a tit-for-tat confrontation over the Iranian crisis. Churchill's remarks immediately garnered approval from American hardliners.

For a time, American public opinion was filled with calls for a united front against the Soviet Union and the global communist movement, clamoring against threatening or appeasing the Soviet Union, and advocating instead for proactive aggression to defend the world order.

Ava Gardner is quite interested in domestic news in the United States. She didn't originally pay attention to these things, but her husband is a soldier, and under his influence, she also began to pay attention to political issues, eventually drifting further and further away from her original acting career.

"Churchill's aim is to muddy the waters." Coleman passively accepted Churchill's famous line, knowing that Churchill was trying to buy Britain some breathing room, and he wasn't interested in it.

“You seem to really dislike Churchill,” Ava Gardner suddenly asked, pressing for details about the unintentional disgust that Koeman was showing.

“I’m not the only one who hates him; the general hates him too.” Koeman shifted the blame to the retired General de Gaulle, then changed the subject, saying, “The British diplomatic philosophy is outdated. They still think that Britain can act based on its strength and status. This is no longer the era of the British Empire.”

If I remember correctly, after Churchill delivered his Iron Curtain speech in the United States, he also gave a speech on European unity upon returning to Europe.

In a speech in Zurich, Switzerland, Churchill proposed the idea of ​​establishing a United States of Europe, saying that in order to save Europe, it was necessary to rebuild the European family and establish an organization similar to the United States of Europe.

Koeman could have been somewhat credible to any European leader who said this, but you can't believe a word the British say. Like the Iron Curtain speech, the European unity speech is just a diversionary tactic, and the country that hates European unity the most is Britain.

As events unfolded, upon learning of France and Germany's collaboration on the European Community, Britain spearheaded the formation of the European Free Trade Area, clearly challenging the European Community. What kind of European unity would a country that takes such action advocate?
Even so, Churchill was appointed honorary chairman at the conference on European unity held in The Hague, Netherlands, supposedly to strengthen Britain's role in world affairs.

Following this, under Churchill's impetus, Britain launched the Three Circles diplomacy concept. The first circle was the Commonwealth and the British Empire, the second circle was the English-speaking world including Britain, Canada and the United States, and the third circle was a united Europe.

Churchill believed that once these three links were united, no combined force could topple them, and that Britain was the only country holding a significant position in each of these links. It could be said that in the short span of four or five years after the war, Churchill used that very short time to push forward many diplomatic moves with diametrically opposed implications. Every French person who truly believed Churchill would later regret it.

Churchill's grand blueprint would not succeed. Whether it was the unification of Britain and the United States or the United States of Europe, it was all just a bubble. Ultimately, Britain never genuinely promoted it. Playing both sides was deeply ingrained in the British mindset, and being fickle would naturally not earn them trust.

As a product of the British Empire, 21st-century India also copied the British ways of being fickle and greedy, but what was the result?

This will only increase distrust of India among all parties. Ultimately, independence and autonomy cannot be achieved by sowing discord, but the problem is that the Britain that India is learning from only knows how to sow discord.

From France's perspective, they don't really need to do anything; Britain will naturally be itching to draw attention and criticism from other countries. They might as well take advantage of this time to do something.

Exploration in the Mekong Basin is proceeding smoothly, while Koman is delighted to welcome Ava Gardner back and frequently discusses his sister's hidden issues, enjoying a comfortable and warm life.

But such days were destined to be short-lived. Lefebvre wouldn't let Corman indulge in such pleasures so easily. He made a call to Corman's apartment, "Sir, Wu Tingchu has arrived in Saigon. Shall we meet him?"

“Of course I’ll see him,” Koeman replied, giving Ava Gardner an apologetic look. “Let’s arrange an army-building plan for him first. I’ll be there soon.”

Wu Tingchu was Wu Tingyan's elder brother. Wu Tingchu entered the Anning Convent at the age of 21 and was ordained a priest in 1925 before going to teach at the University of Paris.

He received three doctoral degrees in Roman philosophy, theology, and canon law in 1927, and served as the bishop of the Diocese of Ionlong from 1938.

At 49 years old, Wu Tingchu has no problem with being underqualified from any perspective. The reason for choosing Wu Tingchu was not because of Wu Tingyan. Wu Tingyan was still living in Paris and was not a factor that made Coman consider him.

The reason for choosing him was that Wu Tingchu himself possessed all the qualities of a religious leader, with no issues regarding his resume or age.

A few hours later, Koeman met with Wu Tingchu. Koeman had also dealt with some local religious figures in Damascus, but that experience could not be applied to French Indochina. If religious figures in different regions all had the utmost respect for the Roman Catholic Church, religious wars would not have broken out in Europe.

Even when discussing God, Vietnam, a small China, must approach the topic from a Confucian practical perspective. Sure enough, after the initial awkwardness, Koman's approach to dialogue quickly gained Wu Dinh Chu's approval.

"Those Viet Minh people are just lackeys of your northern neighbor," Koman asserted confidently. The Ngo family was a prominent Catholic family, and Ngo Dinh Thieu's brother, Ngo Dinh Khue, was buried alive for refusing to serve in the Viet Minh. It could be said that the Ngo family and the Viet Minh had an irreconcilable hatred. "Every dynasty fought against Vietnam, except for the Song Dynasty, isn't that true?"

Koeman's position was different at this point, but when he thought of the Song Dynasty's martial prowess, he really had nothing to say. However, he believed that economics and commerce could not solve all problems.

It's one thing to be unable to defeat the Liao and Jin dynasties, but for the Song Dynasty to be able to embarrass itself even against Vietnam is truly unacceptable. The lack of military prowess has always been the biggest point of criticism against the Song Dynasty.

Just like Napoleon III, who planned the urban development of Paris, built more than 10,000 kilometers of railway, and completed the Industrial Revolution fifty years later than Britain during his reign, Sedan's utter defeat paved the way for the rise of the German Empire. So don't expect to get any good reviews in French history books.

Koeman wanted to salvage the reputation of the Song Dynasty, but the thought of the Vietnamese counterattack made him unable to bring himself to say anything.

Fortunately, neither Koman nor Ngo Dinh Chu were directly involved. From Ngo Dinh Chu's perspective, he could only see the recurring humiliations Vietnam suffered at the hands of its northern neighbor throughout history.

Upon hearing Koman bring up the past again, Wu Tingchu was heartbroken and in tears. "For two thousand years, our country has been constantly invaded. They wanted to destroy our customs and almost succeeded a few hundred years ago. It was a movement to restrict our hair and clothing."

"Oh." Koman thought about it and realized that there was indeed such a thing. It should have happened in the early Ming Dynasty. It was a campaign to change the customs of the Vietnamese people, who had been separated from the Central Plains dynasty for hundreds of years, in order to permanently reclaim Jiaozhi.

For Vietnam, which had already gained independence, this was probably similar in significance to the forced shaving of heads and changing of clothes. If it were the British, they would have stood in front of Ngo Dinh Chu and said a few words of approval to create a positive atmosphere.

Koman was French, and unlike the British who researched the history of other civilizations, France's style was to eliminate the civilizations of other backward peoples. Therefore, it was impossible for Ngo Dinh Thi to expect Koman to have any compassion. If he were in Koman's shoes, he would have done the same. Moreover, France had already partially succeeded in changing the Vietnamese script to the Latin alphabet.

(End of this chapter)