Father of France

Chapter 155 Marching into Hanoi
Since Eva Gardner arrived in Saigon, Corman's work attitude has declined. He no longer sends telegrams to General Dracon with advice, but instead has Lefebvre do it for him.

Just as Lefevere was about to leave, Coman stopped him again, saying, "After we march north, find some Chinese to identify the Miao people in the north. The Miao and some other ethnic minorities who are not on good terms with the Vietnamese will be our second armed group after the Catholics."

How could we forget the perennial unlucky ones? After the Ming Dynasty's policy of "pushing the Miao people to expand their territory" and the Qing Dynasty's continued policy of "pushing the Miao people to expand their territory," the Miao people living in northern Vietnam also experienced the learning spirit of the "Little China in the South" and became victims of the Vietnamese version of "pushing the Miao people to expand their territory."

Koeman felt some sympathy for these unfortunate souls, but there was nothing more he could do. Perhaps that's just life; sometimes things like this just happen.

Having experienced the hardships of life in different countries during the Vietnam War, the Hmong people eventually became a backbone force in protecting the United States. The Hmong army was highly efficient and brave, becoming the most relied-upon ground force for the United States in the region.

As a result, they paid an extremely heavy price. It is estimated that more than 30,000 Miao soldiers were killed in action.

For a nation with an estimated population of only a few hundred thousand, this is nothing short of selfless dedication, even unto death.

Coman knew that France could only support a maximum of 100,000 French troops on an expedition. He also knew that North Africa, which was of greater importance, was unstable, and France had to devote some of its energy to dealing with the independent armed forces in other colonies. So he could only try to find a solution in French Indochina.

Besides the Miao people, there are also the highland ethnic groups of Vietnam. These ethnic groups were also victims of Vietnam's policy of replacing local chieftains with centrally appointed officials. Historically, there has been a divide and land disputes between the highland ethnic groups and the lowland Vietnamese.

They feared that after the North Vietnamese victory, they would seize their ancestral lands and deprive them of their cultural autonomy, so it was necessary to win them over.

Besides the 100,000 French troops, how many men these two groups, plus the Catholic community, could muster to arm depended on how much sincerity France could demonstrate.

After Lefebvre investigated these issues, Koeman began to think again. Perhaps he could try to find a solution in Indonesia, the most populous country in Southeast Asia, and recruit some Chinese to form an armed mercenary group?
Not all Chinese communities are close to the Indonesian Communist Party; a considerable number are also close to reactionary forces. We could try recruiting a group of Indonesian Chinese in Java and incorporating them into the foreign legion.

Dachamp remained at the Governor's Palace and officially issued a proclamation regarding France's northward march to restore order in French Indochina. Representatives of different nationalities displayed banners, chanted slogans, and distributed leaflets with great enthusiasm and passion, attracting thousands of onlookers, including many domestic and foreign journalists.

This scene demonstrates that French rule over French Indochina was popular, in line with the historical trend, and widely supported by the Vietnamese people of all ethnic groups.

The French army acted very quickly, and five days later they occupied the port of Hoi An, which was originally a port for Champa's foreign trade and was known as "Dai Cham Hai Kou".

As early as the 17th century, it and Malacca became the most important commercial ports in Southeast Asia, and it was also the earliest Chinatown in Vietnam.

Many Chinese merchants settled here and have thrived for hundreds of years, forming a prosperous Chinese community. There are numerous Chinese associations, as well as temples dedicated to Guan Yu, Buddhist temples, and ancestral halls for various surnames. The buildings are magnificent and resplendent, maintaining the traditional Chinese architectural style.

In fact, there aren't many tough spots for the French army right now. Haiphong and Hanoi are the places where General Leclerc expects to face great difficulties. This general, who once fought against the German army in Africa, is already mentally prepared for a tough battle.

The French army had to occupy the entire territory of French Indochina, otherwise it would be very difficult to find ethnic groups that supported France, as many of these groups lived in the north.

This is not a problem that can be solved simply by Koeman finding the right answer. France also needs to identify and arm anti-Vietnam ethnic groups through interception by Viet Minh forces. Koeman's proposal is merely verbal; its successful implementation requires the French army to pay a price.

And what is he doing now? On a publicly funded trip, with the financial support of several wealthy Chinese in Cholon, Koman is heading to Angkor Wat. Although Cambodia is safer than Vietnam, Koman is still being cautious, not only bringing a company of French troops but also hiring some Cambodians to protect him.

"The Vietnamese may be unhappy about the French invasion, but for Cambodia, our presence saved the nation."

Koman proudly told Eva Gardner, "Before we arrived in French Indochina, this country, once the oldest in the Indochina Peninsula, had been squeezed out of all but the area around Phnom Penh by the rising nation-states around it. It is fair to say that if we hadn't come along, Cambodia would either be part of Thailand or have been annexed by Vietnam."

Koman's act of being a benefactor to Cambodia was completely genuine; that's exactly what he thought.

At the beginning, the Nguyen Dynasty only controlled the Red River Delta region of northern Vietnam. Over the course of about eighty years, the dynasty moved south, adopting a series of measures such as replacing local chieftains with centrally appointed officials, and learning from its northern neighbors. Its southern border had reached Phnom Penh.

Given the expansionist pace of the Nguyen Dynasty at the time, Cambodia would have only twenty years left to exist before being absorbed into Vietnam. At that time, Vietnam wasn't the only country eyeing Cambodia; the current Chakri Dynasty of Thailand also had its eye on it. Without external interference, Cambodia would have fallen into the hands of the victor between Thailand and Vietnam.

France's arrival was timely, interrupting Vietnam's and Thailand's encroachment on Cambodia. According to the founding date of the Nguyen Dynasty, it should have been in its early dynastic period, a time of vigorous expansion, when it encountered the second colonial empire, the French Empire. Unlike Britain, France did not exercise indirect rule, gradually turning Vietnam, a country on its path to becoming a regional power, into a colony.

Vietnam was indeed quite unlucky, with two countries next to the great Eastern power, Korea and Vietnam, which together implemented almost all of the Qing Dynasty's policies. At the time of the French invasion, the Nguyen Dynasty royal family did not actually make any fatal mistakes, held an open attitude towards Western technology, and did not close the country off from the world.

The Nguyen Dynasty established a Western-style army modeled after Western infantry manuals; the navy was equipped with Western-style steamships, and sailors used telescopes, compasses, and hourglasses as means of communication; Western-style bastions were widely distributed across the land of Vietnam.

Ultimately, the Nguyen Dynasty's path to becoming a regional power, which should have been determined after the conflict with Thailand over Cambodia's allegiance, was abruptly interrupted by the French invasion.

The reason is nothing special; it's just that the old European imperialists were true imperialists at that time.

"If the Nguyen Dynasty had ultimately destroyed Cambodia, the East Asian civilization of the Indochina Peninsula might have been more vibrant." Koman just couldn't resist flirting in front of beautiful women; he'd done it countless times and just couldn't change.

“Don’t the people here in Cambodia look similar to East Asians? But from what you’re saying, this isn’t East Asian culture?” Ava Gardner finally found the blind spot after listening for a while.

How much can an American woman know about Southeast Asia? Ava Gardner just thinks they're all Asian and look pretty much the same.

“Among Southeast Asian countries, only Vietnam is dominated by East Asian culture,” Koman explained in detail. “Even Laos and Cambodia, which are in French Indochina, have more Indian cultural influences. Angkor Wat, which we visited, is also a Hindu site.”

If the French had arrived twenty years later, Cambodia and Laos might have already started using chopsticks to eat. However, while France interrupted Vietnam's path to becoming a powerful nation, it also halted the expansion of the "Little China" culture.

However, all of this can be changed. Although only Vietnam among the ten ASEAN countries has East Asian culture as the dominant force, while the other countries are more closely connected with Indian culture, it is of no use.

If a powerful nation had the economic level of a major Eastern power, it would indeed be much easier for it to absorb Southeast Asia, but it simply doesn't.

When economic development takes precedence over culture, it becomes less important. People from Myanmar and Thailand might claim Sanxingdui as the site of their ancestors, but they would never say that their ancestors had any connection to India.

Not to mention these countries, even Indonesia doesn't want to have anything to do with India. Some of Indonesia's territory was once part of the Chola dynasty in South India.

Corman's departure did not delay the French army's takeover of northern French Indochina. Corman's long journey to French Indochina still played a significant positive role. Through a series of dazzling actions, he cracked down on the Pingchuan faction, established a forestry administration with the Chinese, and even devised a plan to arm Catholics and promote land reform.

Incidentally, at the request of Britain, they jointly sent troops to Java, which kept the Governor-General's office very busy, and they did not have time to clash with the Chang Gong army in the north.

Now that Chang Gong's army has received orders to return home, the French troops heading north, apart from showing off their power in front of the Viet Minh forces, don't have any tough nuts to crack.

The smooth progress was also related to some rumors spread by Koman. The Viet Minh armed forces distrusted Chiang Kai-shek. In the 1970s, even the major Eastern power made Vietnam wary, let alone Chiang Kai-shek, who had no common ideology as a bond.

Koeman kept encouraging some Chinese people in the north to spread rumors that Chiang Kai-shek had already reached an agreement with France on the Red River as the border.

Faced with their northern neighbor who has shown paternal love for two thousand years, even the French colonists of the past century seem so handsome.

Even so, the French army heading north continued to spread rumors along the way that once they reached Hanoi, they would have a proper discussion with the major Eastern power about the border demarcation issue.

The French army didn't need to do much propaganda; the Chinese community in northern French Indochina naturally defended the French colonial empire.

This rumor precisely struck at the Viet Minh's fears, leading to unprecedented distrust of the reactionary faction led by Thuong Cong. Within a week of their departure, the French army had taken control of Haiphong, and the day after gaining control, they raised the French tricolor flag in the heart of Hanoi.

(End of this chapter)