Father of France

Chapter 182 1947
The reigns of Louis XIV, the Sun King, and Qianlong were very similar. If we were to ask Coman for his assessment, the Sun King's expansion was far less effective than Qianlong's, but the negative effects were quite similar.

Of the same type of monarch, the Sun King achieved fewer results at a greater cost.

Given France's national strength in Europe at the time, it was possible to achieve a better outcome.

As is well known, after the Tang Dynasty, Jiangnan became the purse of a dynasty. In the late Ming Dynasty, the collapse was caused by the loss of control over Jiangnan as a purse, with taxes being levied on a place that already had very little money.

Emperor Qianlong was certainly aware of the importance of the Jiangnan region as a source of revenue. For more than a decade after he ascended the throne, he did not launch any literary inquisitions. Therefore, it can be concluded that Emperor Qianlong was not interested in literary inquisitions or anything like that that would suppress thought.

But it was at this time that the Ten Great Campaigns began. Almost simultaneously with the beginning of the Jinchuan campaign, Emperor Qianlong launched his first literary inquisition.

At the same time as the destruction of the Dzungar Khanate, the literary inquisitions of the Qianlong era began to erupt. After the elimination of the Dzungar Khanate, it was time to make the heads of the Jinchuan chieftains into ritual implements. During the Qing-Burmese War, this was also the peak period when Qianlong frequently launched literary inquisitions.

It is quite obvious that Qianlong's wars were extremely costly, and the vast majority of civil officials opposed each war, leaving him with very few supporters. Qianlong wanted to punish the civil officials, so he tried the method of literary inquisition, which proved to be very effective.

Thus, the more frequent the wars, the more Emperor Qianlong used literary inquisitions to silence civil officials, ensuring the efficient operation of the massive war machine, with no one daring to question or delay. Using war victories to suppress criticism from civil officials became a vicious cycle.

As for how the military funds come from, that involves the issue of the purse strings in Jiangnan.

Whether it was the southern tours or the literary inquisitions, the ultimate purpose was to fund the war effort; otherwise, where would hundreds of millions of taels of silver come from? The more military expenditure a war generated, the more frequent the literary inquisitions became. Conversely, wars with smaller expenditures saw fewer literary inquisitions. Therefore, the reason was the war itself, not because Emperor Qianlong enjoyed these unfounded speculations.

If Emperor Qianlong hadn't been an emperor who constantly waged wars, then those sixty years would most likely have passed like Zeng Jing during the Yongzheng era, where he was singled out as a few typical examples and then forgotten.

There are precedents for this kind of behavior, but they were not manifested in the form of literary inquisitions. Emperor Wu of Han also frequently launched wars, and being his prime minister would likely result in being on the death list.

"The commander speaks highly of Emperor Qianlong." Guo Cheng was somewhat surprised by Coman's comparison. He knew the Sun King's status in France. Although the Sun King did not become emperor directly like Napoleon, in French history textbooks, Louis XIV, the Sun King, was referred to as "the Great".

"Is it high? Aren't the consequences of the two similar?" Coman smiled. The Sun King actually caused more turmoil in France. By the standards of monarchy, the Sun King was actually a bit worse than Qianlong. If the Sun King was any worse, he would have been like Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.

"For monarchs like them, it depends on whether their successors can correct their mistakes. The Sun King did not have a good successor. It seems that only Emperor Wu of Han did in your country's history."

If it weren't for Emperor Xuan of Han stabilizing the situation in the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of Han would certainly have had his reputation for great talent and ambition tarnished by the disastrous events of his later years.

“No matter how powerful a monarch is, he cannot stop the tide of history.” Guo Cheng said, oblivious to Koman’s expression. “Only an excellent electoral system that fully respects the will of the people can make a country strong.”

"Oh?" Guo Cheng didn't notice that Koman breathed a sigh of relief. If Guo Cheng had dared to say anything about missing out on the Industrial Revolution, Koman would have turned hostile.

No country has the right to say that it missed the Industrial Revolution when it is in the presence of France. To say such a thing to France’s face is to imply something about France.

Koman saw Guo Cheng's advocacy for the electoral system as a big mistake; Guo Cheng was determined to establish a military government and was working towards his dream.

However, the electoral system's flaws are tolerable, unlike the regret of missing out on the Industrial Revolution; the subtext is practically a direct dig at France.

Koman had entrusted most of the work of finding artisans to Gu Qing, so after seeing these people, Gu Qing assumed they were dissatisfied with his work and mentioned his progress at that moment.

Guo Cheng was hearing about this for the first time. "Actually, with France's industrial capabilities, it could have easily replaced it with a better and faster production model."

“If your country needs it in the future, France can help you with industrial porcelain production.” Coleman laughed after hearing this. “But artisans play an important role in France.”

This was originally a project of East Germany. In the 1950s, the great Eastern power was in dire need of reconstruction, with a weak industrial base and light industries such as ceramics and textiles in urgent need of technological upgrading.

As a traditional advantageous industry, ceramics still needs modern production technologies and equipment to improve efficiency and quality.

East Germany inherited Germany's long-standing tradition in the ceramics industry and possesses technological advantages in the automated production of fine ceramics, industrial ceramics, electrical ceramics, chemical ceramics, and daily-use ceramics. Its ceramic machinery manufacturing kilns and forming equipment are also relatively advanced. As members of the same camp, the two countries have conducted multi-field technical exchanges through the "Sino-German Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement," with East Germany sending experts and providing equipment assistance to the major Eastern power.

The great Eastern power sent technical personnel to East Germany for further studies, learning ceramic technology and mechanical design. These personnel returned to China and became the backbone of the domestic ceramic industry.

France's industrial porcelain-making capabilities cannot compare to Germany's, but if it were East Germany, it wouldn't be impossible to compete. In a planned economy like the Soviet Union, technological innovation was slow, and the conversion of research results into finished products was always a major problem. In that case, France might actually be stronger than East Germany.

As for handicrafts, most countries shouldn't question France's authority. Strictly speaking, France has no rivals, only some challengers in certain areas.

"Knowledge is money," Koman told Guo Cheng. "It would be a great pity if the skills of these artisans were lost. Compared to industrial assembly lines, many countries still value the former more."

"When has knowledge ever been valuable?" Gu Qing retorted. Of course, he also sent his children to school, but in his opinion, many things were more important than knowledge.

Koman smiled and said, "Gu Qing, I don't agree with your point of view. Knowledge is valuable at any time; you just haven't found a way to sell it."

Of course, this matter is not important. What is important is to enjoy the culinary skills of Fangshan. If it were before World War II or even not long ago, when Comanza was well-connected among the Chinese community, he could be praised for his courtesy and respect for scholars.

But it's all the fault of the evil Americans. The Philippines has already gained independence, just a few months ago. Therefore, the United States' decision to allow the Philippines to become independent once again highlights the despicable nature of several old-line imperialist countries in Europe.

This is understandable, as many countries have a very favorable impression of the United States during this period.

Koeman thought, why not make a movie about it? Ava Gardner is an actress, and she even contributed to the United States by visiting the great Eastern country. Why can't she help France?

"Why did you suddenly have this idea? Besides, there aren't many cinemas in French Indochina." Ava Gardner lay on her side, unconvinced by Koman's idea.

Koman, fanning her with a fan, chuckled and said, "Darling, actually I don't plan to show this movie in Vietnam. In other words, it's made specifically for French audiences, though it would be even better if it could be shown in the US. The country is in dire need of funds and precious foreign exchange. We can go against anyone, but we can't go against money."

Eva Gardner is now famous, and although her situation differs from Corman's vision, now that she has gained fame, shouldn't she be able to contribute to France as well?
“You’re definitely going to add something else to the movie.” It has to be said that Ava Gardner understands Corman very well; this man doesn’t become concerned about his career, or his past career, for no reason.

“Nothing can be hidden from you.” Koman didn’t care and went straight to telling Ava Gardner about the script.

An international Red Cross medical team is attacked by guerrillas in a village in North Vietnam. Several doctors are killed, and the surviving nurses take up arms and vow to eliminate the Viet Minh guerrilla leader. In pursuit of dramatic effect, the nurses are depicted as being raped and tortured, and the actions of the North Vietnamese guerrillas are comparable to those of the Japanese army during World War II.

The film should be released simultaneously in the United States and France. Corman confidently stated, "The Northern gangs are rampant and have committed numerous crimes. We must let the civilized world know that we are doing something righteous."

This kind of script doesn't require any brainpower. Corman isn't plagiarizing a classic; he just watched a similar American movie and adapted it.

The purpose, of course, was to show the American people the necessity of intervening in Vietnam, thus laying a solid foundation for the United States to smoothly take over after France's withdrawal.

Ava Gardner didn't need to know so much. What kind of relationship did she have with Koman? It was a relationship where they could sleep in the same bed. Trust was all that mattered.

Koeman even knelt down and grabbed the hand of the woman lying on the sofa, saying emotionally, "Without the support of the United States, we in France would have no way to restore order here."

"How could I not help you? You're my man." Ava Gardner, with her venomous face, uttered these incredibly innocent words.

With 1947 fast approaching, construction finally began on the offshore drilling platform in the Mekong Basin by Kerr-McGee, marking a significant step forward for France in independently addressing its oil shortage and striving for self-sufficiency in energy.

On New Year's Eve, Corman set off fireworks in downtown Saigon and embraced Eva Gardner to welcome the arrival of 1947.

(End of this chapter)