Father of France

Chapter 157 Wang Bao
After settling the more than one hundred porcelain artisans in, Koman told Gu Qing about the importance of this group of people in France, and then said with some reluctance, "There are also porcelain workshops in Nanyue. It's not that I don't trust them, but I just want to broaden my horizons. Besides, I need to practice my skills since I just arrived in Saigon, otherwise I might become rusty."

After emphasizing the importance of these ceramic artisans, Koman reluctantly departed, recognizing that while the project wasn't entirely complete, it had been a good start. There were still many shortcomings in achieving Koman's ultimate goal, but time was still relatively plentiful.

Returning to the apartment with a smile on her face, Ava Gardner couldn't help but ask upon seeing Koman's expression, "What's wrong? Did you find gold on the way out?"

“No, not really, but it’s about the same in meaning.” Coman sat on the sofa, casually picked up a glass of mango juice and said smugly, “I just arranged for some porcelain workers to work.”

“What’s so strange about that? America has a porcelain industry too,” Ava Gardner said dismissively. “Is something as common as this something to be so excited about?”

“If it’s just white porcelain with blue stripes, then there’s really nothing to be happy about.” Koeman agreed with Eva Gardner’s words; blue and white porcelain was really nothing rare in this era.

"Since you know, why are you so happy?" Ava Gardner was even more confused now. Could it be that Koman had a fever?

During the Kangxi era, Europe successfully mastered the art of blue and white porcelain, discovering the secret of its formula.

Although the Kangxi era was not the peak of porcelain production in the great Eastern country, but rather the Qianlong era, which was fond of showing off its skills, blue and white porcelain was sufficient for most Europeans.

Although they didn't yet master so many colors, the winds of the Industrial Revolution quickly swept through the porcelain industry, with kilns in Staffordshire, England, becoming pioneers. They were the first to use steam engines for mixing and crushing raw materials, and adopted assembly line division of labor, achieving mechanized, standardized, and large-scale production of porcelain.

Europe quickly integrated porcelain production with modern science and industrialization. Chemical analysis was used to improve glazes and pigments, and ore was mechanically crushed, leading to significant improvements in production efficiency and quality stability.

Thus, European porcelain began to be sold all over the world. At first, the center of European porcelain was England, and later it was Germany.

Although Jingdezhen still has many techniques for creating colors, how can it compare to the production lines of European countries?

This situation wasn't unique to Coman's time; it's the same in the 21st century. European porcelain production is dominant, while the US and Japan are relegated to the sidelines, and the major Eastern power is responsible for its own production and consumption.

Jingdezhen still has many unique crafts, but the world does not have such a large demand for them. In the most important color of blue and white porcelain, Germany is the dominant force.

"What France needs is porcelain-making techniques that remain at the handicraft stage, not industrialized production lines."

Koeman, speaking with an air of French national identity, said, “This is the value that cannot be seen. The Chinese can no longer compete with industrial porcelain production by relying solely on handicrafts. Although their country is named after porcelain, they are no longer a match for European countries in terms of craftsmanship. At this point, they need to give porcelain value beyond its products in order to gain a foothold.”

At this moment, the great Eastern power is poor and backward, and is about to be bound to the proletariat, so it certainly cannot provide the intellectual property value of porcelain.

Even though China, a major Eastern power, has caught up in terms of industrial capacity and technology in the 21st century, it still cannot shake the global dominance of European porcelain, primarily German porcelain.

France is unlikely to compete with Germany in industrial production, but it can find another way. Since it can't compete with industrial assembly lines, Coman chose another path: handicrafts with higher premiums.

France could improve its porcelain-making techniques through its own industry, but without engaging in industrial production, it could remain within the realm of handicrafts and set higher prices.

"We want to improve upon the technology from its original Eastern origins and then imbue it with French value," Corman explained. "In this world, only our country can give value to industrial production lines through handicrafts. My dear, your Bugatti is an example of that."

So why is it so important to use Jingdezhen's porcelain-making techniques? It's not that France doesn't have those techniques, but rather that we want other countries to know that these are the original, natural techniques of the East.

With the prestige of French luxury goods, they aim to compete with the Germans for a share of the global porcelain market.

The elaborate porcelain pieces from the Qianlong era are not uncommon in France; the Rococo style was already quite flamboyant, so why not just use less color?

In the 21st century, many French luxury brands, regardless of whether they are manufactured by a major Eastern country, are...

Even if we remove the OEM factor, the raw materials are still supplied by a major Eastern country. So the model that Coman is talking about is just a bit older.

If it were a matter of negotiation, he wouldn't have needed to resort to such roundabout methods of theft. The key is that he sees it as cooperation, but in a few years, the major Eastern power might perceive Coman as engaging in imperialist exploitation. "In other words, you want to sell low-quality goods at high prices and still get other countries to accept them, so you deliberately introduced Eastern elements. Technology isn't actually the most important thing; the key is that France must let other countries know that this is a native Eastern craft."

Ava Gardner finally realized, "What best represents the essence of the East is not craftsmanship, but the faces with yellow skin and black eyes. These craftspeople are the most valuable."

“Excellent. This group of artisans represents the greatest sincerity that French porcelain has shown to the world. How can the price not be fifty percent higher than that of German porcelain?” Koeman said with a look of anticipation for a bright future. “Handmade goods should be this valuable, while industrial products should be inexpensive.”

Europe has so many competitors, including the UK in the luxury goods sector. They still have a royal family, but they sell prestige and charge consumers a premium, making them no less of a threat than Italy.

These hundred-odd households are not enough. At least a town with porcelain-making as its core industry needs to be created before European countries will believe that France has acquired all the porcelain-making techniques from the East.

Whether Eastern porcelain-making techniques are advanced or not is irrelevant; France will shape the porcelain industry in this way.

Koeman had made up his mind to leave after acquiring the handicraft technology that France needed. As for the alliance of reactionary forces that had gathered in southern French Indochina, including but not limited to the Pingchuan faction, the Miao people, Catholics, highland peoples, and perhaps even the royalists—this rabble—he didn't need to do it personally.

However, he was indeed going to inspect the first unit formed by Catholics, mainly because it was not far away. Saigon was the French stronghold in French Indochina, and there were certainly quite a few skilled Catholics there.

The distribution of Catholics in French Indochina was such that there were more in the south and fewer in the north. The north, centered on Hanoi, was more influenced by Confucianism from East Asia, and French influence was not as deep, which led to this situation.

The Catholics around Saigon could easily muster more than 10,000 people, and they rightfully earned the title of First Division.

Commanders at the battalion level and above were still French. Lower-ranking officers were selected from a group of Catholic soldiers, generally local Catholic soldiers who had served before the war.

"Put everything else aside for now, let me see how disciplined you are by marching in formation." After arriving at the 1st Division's camp, Koman didn't stand on ceremony. He wasn't a fanatic about marching in formation, but marching in formation was a manifestation of military discipline, a point that even Americans agreed on.

No military power, not even the United States, would have its troops look like beggars during a military parade.

Not long ago, American troops returning from Europe held a military parade in New York, the largest city in the United States. The American soldiers marched in a very professional manner, and their confidence in winning the World War II was immediately apparent.

As one formation after another marched past, Coman's eyelids drooped the entire time. Finally, he said to the colonel beside him, "We still need to practice, Colonel Huntel. There are only a little over two million Catholics in French Indochina. If we don't think of a way to improve quality, how can we offset the Viet Minh's numerical advantage?"

Koeman wanted to bring the helicopter squadron from North Africa over, but when he thought about how this might benefit future American soldiers, he decided against it. Only firsthand experience from Americans could be considered true combat experience.

"We've only been training for a short time, so we do need to increase the intensity a bit." Colonel Huntel didn't feel embarrassed and directly admitted the lack of training. "But we don't need to rush. The Viet Minh's armed forces are not large enough to contend with us."

"But the Viet Minh's potential manpower far exceeds ours." Koman sighed. "The General Staff wants us to Vietnamize the conflict and let the Vietnamese solve their own problems. All the current arrangements are for this purpose. Hopefully, there is still time."

After inspecting the First Division, Koman went to the Governor's Palace to report and learned that General Dashanliu was meeting with a national representative. He informed the Governor and then waited for the resumption of service.

General Dashanliu did not turn away Koman simply because he was meeting with a representative of a nationality. He quickly decided to summon Koman and introduced him to the guest, saying, "This is the county magistrate of the Miao people from the north, Magistrate Wang Nengchu. He has come to Saigon in person to express his submission to us, which is good news."

"Hello, County Chief Wang." Koman extended his hand in a friendly gesture, though he didn't speak Vietnamese. But he soon realized it wasn't necessary.

“The officer’s Mandarin is very standard.” Wang Nengchu spoke slowly, within the range of what was acceptable for conversation. “I came from Laos and heard that the Governor’s Office promotes the concept of ethnic equality. For us ethnic groups that have been discriminated against, this is a long-awaited dream that has finally come true.”

"Does County Chief Wang have a son?" Koman suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question, but it was a very important one.

“Of course, my eldest son is named Wang Bao.” Wang Nengchu paused for a moment before answering, “Although he is young, he is very brave in the war against the Japanese.”

(End of this chapter)