Father of France

Chapter 181 Ava: Beautiful Inside and Out

For a long time, the demand for wood products in this great Eastern country relied on logging in Northeast China, especially Heilongjiang.

However, it must be said that Koeman's hometown is not only prominent in one unique field, but also in at least four fields that are independent of government management.

These four sectors are forestry, railways, agricultural reclamation, and petroleum. These four sectors have long had their own vertically managed departments, just like the French Indochina Forestry Administration established by Koeman when he came to French Indochina.

This department has no connection with Saigon; it is an institution belonging solely to French Indochina.

This applies to all four areas, so there's not much room for the government to intervene. Even Harbin can't control Harbin Institute of Technology, so education can also be considered an example.

This model was actually what Corman wanted to replicate in the North African overseas departments in order to strengthen Paris’s control over the Mediterranean territories. Of course, to adapt to local customs, control had to be exercised through the military.

For now, without thinking about things too far in the future, Koeman warmly welcomed Ava Gardner back, listening to her recount her impressions of the trip and her experiences with US troops stationed in China.

"US troops stationed in China?" Coleman couldn't help but mutter. To him, this was such a niche term; he took US troops stationed in South Korea and Japan for granted.

But the US military stationed in China seemed to find it unacceptable, although there were indeed tens of thousands of US troops during Chiang Kai-shek's era.

Ava Gardner is an American citizen, and she is quite well-known, but in a different way than in another world—she became famous as a philanthropist instead of a movie star.

Ava Gardner's trip to the Eastern superpower also attracted the attention of the United States, making a leap from entertainment news to current affairs news. She was originally a movie star, but she was taken away by Koeman before she became famous. Her outstanding looks, coupled with the boost from current affairs news, immediately caused a sensation in the United States.

While doing charity work, Ava Gardner also visited the US military in the Eastern superpower, which served as a way to boost morale for the troops and complemented the American media's adoration of her.

This is perfectly normal. South Korea learned to put girl groups into the military to dance, just like the US military did. During the Korean War, many American celebrities also went to the Korean Peninsula to entertain the troops.

“I didn’t intend to do this at first, but the country has allocated huge resources to build my image, so I should do something in return.”

Ava Gardner apologized obediently. When she left Saigon, Corman had reminded her not to express her opinions on serious political issues, but she did so anyway.

"Actually, it's not so bad. It's just a matter of providing entertainment to the troops, which is only a US issue and nothing else." Koeman reminded Ava Gardner mainly to avoid being used against her by making statements on domestic politics.

“Washington’s concern for me has made this charity event a great success,” Ava Gardner said, clearly engrossed in conversation.

Because her trip to East Asia caught the attention of the United States, she spent a lot less money on charitable supplies. In addition to using $500,000 to purchase 10,000 tons of wheat in the United States, the rest were surplus supplies from the World War II, such as canned goods and cloth, which were directly sold off by many American companies.

So in the cities Ava Gardner arrived in, she received a great welcome. She established a baiji dolphin sanctuary in Nanjing and a zoo for giant pandas in Southwest China, all named after herself.

Ava Gardner visited several famous cities. As Koman listened to the weekly star's account, he thought to himself that it was fortunate they came early. If they had come two years later and received such extensive coverage, the Jingminglou incident might have been covered up.

Clearly, Ava Gardner has nothing to do with the femme fatale label from another world; she has embarked on a completely different path.

“Aside from the large population and less-than-ideal environment, this country is actually quite nice,” said Ava Gardner, expressing her thoughts on the Eastern superpower.

"To live in the most populous place in the world for so long, it's more than just good," Koman said with a smile. "Even in the United States, after two thousand years of agricultural society, how many trees would still be left?"

Koeman thought to himself, “Those are the unprecedented enemies that everyone in the United States considers to be. Although Germany and Japan posed economic competition to the United States during the Cold War, their size makes them not life-or-death enemies.”

The Soviet Union was indeed a mortal enemy, but even in terms of production capacity, where the Soviet Union had the greatest advantage, it was only about equal to the United States, and the United States even had a technological advantage over the Soviet Union.

Even if it's a competition of production capacity, with all the countries like Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan combined, who else could stand next to the Soviet Union?
The production capacity of this major Eastern power is several times stronger than that of the Soviet Union, and it can support both military and economic development. Even if the United States were surrounded by Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, it wouldn't really change anything.

The Eastern superpower is the only country that can rival the United States in terms of basic conditions. Although the United States has many better basic conditions, whether it can withstand the destructive practices of the Americans remains to be seen. The United States' latitude and longitude are equivalent to that of areas north of the Yangtze River, and only a small part of the country, Florida, has a climate similar to that of the Jiangnan region.

Although the plains are vast, even without mentioning issues like Arctic cold waves, the rate at which American industrialization has damaged the environment has already revealed many areas of deterioration in the 21st century.

"You mean this country's land is better than ours? Not at all," Ava Gardner muttered dismissively.

“Forests can be cut down and then planted again. It’s not like North Africa. Only overseas provinces need long-term, intensive management,” Koman cautioned. “If the land is in good condition, vegetation cover can be restored in fifteen to twenty years. Of course, in environments like the Gobi Desert, it will take much longer.”

The environment in North Africa is clearly similar to that of the Taklamakan Desert, making it a very challenging task. Martin, who was organizing a team to conduct an expedition along the Sahara-Atlantic line at the time, strongly agreed with this view.

Compared to the Sahara Railway project, the teams surveying Lake Chad could all claim that the areas they were responsible for were scenic and beautiful.

Ava Gardner returned to Saigon to spend Christmas with Corman. She knew that at his age, he couldn't hold back for long and would eventually lose his temper, and she herself couldn't hold back either.

This was truly a thrilling contest. The last time the United States and France cooperated so effectively was during the American Revolutionary War, when France even sacrificed an entire dynasty.

"You might as well kill me." Ava Gardner cradled Koman's head in her hands, her eyes filled with nothing else. After experiencing it firsthand, she was certain that she truly missed him.

"I can't bear to," Koman replied with a hum. He wasn't going to fight for the country today. He had worked so hard for so long, couldn't he at least enjoy himself? Sharpening the axe wouldn't delay the work of chopping wood.

As for Ava Gardner spending two million dollars on this charity trip, that's nothing. Both of them are ordinary people with a net worth of over 100 million. As long as the big stars with weekly salaries are happy, what does that matter?

The artisans that Ava Gardner brought back were participants in the cooking and knife-forging competitions she held in the capital, as well as some other artisans from the capital.

Unleashing an irresistible charm, Koman met with these artisans the very next day. After inquiring about their crafts, he could basically conclude that they would have to change careers except for being chefs.

He had heard of the successors of the bow and arrow shop in the 21st century, but he had never heard of the successors of the knife-making shop.

"So Chef Sun is a descendant of the imperial kitchen." Koman had actually gotten used to the southern cuisine in Saigon, but wouldn't it be better to find a chef who suited his taste better?
“We at Fangshan are direct descendants of the Imperial Kitchen. Since the lord likes it, I’ll show off my skills.” Chef Sun felt a sense of goodwill upon hearing Koman’s accent. Could it be that there are quite a few northerners on this side of the embankment?
"Thank you for your help. I'll wait with the guests," Koman said with a smile, pointing to the archer and the swordsmith's apprentice. He had initially assumed the two artisans from different systems were both surnamed Zhang, but upon further inquiry, he learned they weren't. He then asked around and discovered that the archer's apprentice came from a bow and arrow shop owned by Guangyuanhao.

As for the successor of the knife maker, I've never heard of him. I guess he'll have to change careers in the future. But since we've come here, things are completely different. France is the most suitable country for these craftsmen to live in.

Koeman also invited many wealthy Chinese from the embankment to come along, just to pass the time. They were the descendants of the imperial kitchen, and it was likely that Guo Cheng, Gu Qing, and others had never met them before.

"I heard he was a craftsman who forged weapons for the Qianlong Emperor. That's incredibly valuable." Even Gu Qing was very interested and excitedly introduced it to Koman.

"I know this emperor, he's like the Sun King." Coman guessed that Qianlong's reputation was probably still pretty good in this era, perhaps because there were many unofficial historical accounts about him.

However, those unofficial histories certainly have little to do with Emperor Qianlong himself. Emperor Qianlong can be understood as a concrete representation of the Qing Dynasty, and many of the impressions that the Qing Dynasty leaves on people are left by Qianlong.

This emperor was extremely confident in himself, which is very similar to the self-perception of a keyboard warrior: no one understands better than me, I understand best.

Judging from the number of poems he wrote, Qianlong was definitely a keyboard warrior. He had to express his opinions on everything. If an emperor were a keyboard warrior, he would probably be just like Qianlong.

If Emperor Qianlong knew about anything in the Qing Dynasty, he had to deal with it personally. As can be seen from the portraits of the Qing Dynasty, although people wore queues, there were not many requirements for them. They did not need to shave them until they were shiny. People with short hair and queues could pass the test. From a distance, they looked like the characters in Hong Kong movies and TV dramas.

However, after the Qianlong Emperor, those portraits with the obvious crew cut disappeared. The Qianlong Emperor liked both warfare and micromanagement, and his skill level was indeed quite high.

If there were dissenting voices, Qianlong would not only ignore them, but would also find ways to persecute them. The number of literary inquisitions during Qianlong's reign far exceeded that of other emperors. It wasn't that Qianlong cared so much about literary inquisitions; he simply wanted to use them to persecute people.

(End of this chapter)