Father of France

Chapter 183 Syrian Independence

Fireworks exploded across the night sky of Saigon, the largest city in French Indochina, as countless Chinese and Vietnamese people in their own homes watched with anticipation for the New Year.

Ava Gardner is a mainstream American beauty of this era. Despite being significantly taller than officially recognized, she could stand at eye level with Koeman while wearing heels.

Zhou Xin, the superstar, was very pleased with Coman's timely return from the banquet at the Governor's Palace to accompany her. She changed into a purple evening gown, determined not to let her man make the mistake of choosing the wrong woman.

Fireworks exploded one by one in the night sky. Ava Gardner leaned against Koman, not so petite, but still perfectly complementing him. "Darling, you're twenty now."

“You could say that.” Koman paused for a moment, then smiled and nodded. It was 1947 already. He sighed at how impoverished the twenty-year-old man was and how the twenty-year-old woman was in the prime of her life.

"Darling, what's your New Year's wish?" One firework after another burst open, like the soft accompaniment of Ava Gardner's whispers. Although there was no hustle and bustle of the Governor's Mansion, the romantic atmosphere was enough to overshadow any pleasure of clinking glasses.

"Wish?" Koman's face clearly showed that his mind was completely blank; he had never seriously considered this question before.

Did he hope that his existence would make France's independence and autonomy more genuine? Did he hope to become the master of France, making his life worthwhile?
Or will he comfortably sit as the supreme ruler of Africa? Turning French Africa or the entire continent into his private property?
Want to test the limits of a military government's existence? To conduct a socio-political experiment that may not be grand, but is worthy of study?

Finally, looking directly into the questioning eyes of Ava Gardner, Koman smiled uncertainly and replied, "I just want to leave my mark on this world, and I hope that someone will remember me in the future."

“You should leave your mark on me first; that’s the beginning of success.” Ava Gardner leaned forward, speaking with the nonchalant air of a femme fatale. Before Koman could respond, Ava Gardner suddenly spun around twice, stopping two meters away. The hem of her silk skirt brushed against the polished ground, making a soft rustling sound like a lover’s whisper.

That lavender purple dress, like the last blooming iris in the twilight, shimmered with a delicate luster under the dim light.

Fireworks outside the window continued to explode, casting flickering light inside the room. A deep V-neckline accentuated her perfect curves, and her cinched waist made her figure appear even more slender and graceful. Ava Gardner, hailed as the world's most beautiful vertebrate, stood still, extending her right hand as if waiting for something. "Want to dance with me?"

“I’m not very good at it…” Koman suddenly shook his head and whispered, “Honey, I should be the one to speak first.”

Ava Gardner's lips curved into a gentle smile. "Why should we care who makes the first move?"

With her other hand, she lifted her skirt and stepped forward, gently taking Coman's hand before he could respond, while placing her other hand on his broad shoulder.

The first major news of the new year was the signing of the Remyat Agreement between the Netherlands and Indonesia's Shahrir cabinet. In the agreement, the Netherlands recognized the Republic of Indonesia's "de facto power" over Java, Madura, and Sumatra, while Indonesia agreed to establish the "Dutch-Indonesian Federation" headed by the Queen of the Netherlands.

The agreement was widely reported, but the military operations of Britain, France, and the Netherlands were still being prepared intensively, and had even reached the final stage.

The Negara Agreement was essentially similar to Ho Chi Minh's visit to Fontainebleau Palace; the Netherlands had no intention of abiding by it, but merely wanted to lull the Indonesians into a false sense of security.

The First, Second, and Third Divisions of the National Army of French Indochina Vietnam were all part of the expeditionary force being formed, with a total strength of 48,000 men. Together with the French Foreign Legion and other units that had already been deployed to Indonesia, they formed an intervention force of about 60,000 men.

The total strength of the French forces has exceeded that of the British forces in the area, and is second only to the 130,000 Dutch troops who are trying to regain control of Indonesia.

Ten days after the signing of the Lin Nga Yeti Agreement, all transport forces, including the British Royal Navy, the Dutch Royal Navy, and the French Navy, arrived in Saigon to transport three divisions of the Vietnamese National Army.

Koeman also went to great lengths to organize a farewell ceremony, bringing together tens of thousands of men, women, and children to bid farewell to the Vietnamese National Army, which had been formed six months prior, on its way to the port.

Although he didn't know if it would work, he couldn't just do nothing, could he?
The level of professionalism is still sufficient. France not only has the rather negative white feather movement, but also stories of ten-year-old boys going to war.

Modern states certainly have a whole set of ways to boost morale, and besides, Koeman had seen the sun rise over the Korean Peninsula, so he had some experience in motivating people.

The Vietnamese National Army soldiers, who had already mastered the goose-step formation, appeared before the Vietnamese people for the first time in large numbers, and they did resemble soldiers to some extent—but only slightly. "They look quite presentable," Guo Cheng commented, looking at the soldiers waiting to board the ship.

"It's just a monkey wearing a crown; everything is judged by comparison," Koman said with a light laugh. Even the future socialist Vietnam wasn't much better in terms of military appearance.

Of course, it is much stronger than third-world countries. This can be seen from a small perspective. As a socialist country, Vietnam can be said to be different from the great Eastern power. But is the military appearance of the Korean People's Army also stronger than that of Vietnam?
Among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, France certainly didn't have the worst military parade. Judging from the infantry formations, the US Army was definitely the worst, with a level of disorganization that was astonishing.

Although France has had motorcycle collisions during its military parades, its formations are much more orderly than those of the two maritime nations, Britain and the United States.

Moreover, there are very few Black people in the French army. The proportion of Black people in France should be similar to that in the United States, but there are far fewer Black people in the military than in the US military.

“Mr. Guo, I am going to suggest to General Da Shangliu that a police force of the Tax Corps be established using Chinese as the source of soldiers.” By now, Koman has armed almost all the forces that can fight against the Viet Minh, except for the Chinese in Saigon.

In fact, he had been hesitant because if Chiang Kai-shek were to lose, France would not be able to win here at all. Not to mention France, would the United States even win?

Another issue is that the Chinese population is too small to support a large-scale armed force. If we were to truly exhaust the resources, the Chinese would be completely wiped out, and Koman couldn't think of a way to achieve this except through nuclear weapons.

However, the North African overseas provinces are already under military control. If Chinese immigrants from Saigon were to arrive in these overseas provinces, they would also need to possess a certain level of military expertise. Therefore, starting from scratch in the overseas provinces is an option, and it's also possible to begin directly here. There are ready-made templates available, such as the Tax Corps established by Chiang Kai-shek's brother-in-law.

Of course, their tax corps had a strength of over 30,000 men, and even if Coman agreed, the governor's office would definitely not. It would be good enough to secure a French-organized tax corps of less than 4,000 men. Of course, the Chinese would have to procure their own weapons; France would not provide them.

“We’re not afraid of having fewer people. In fact, the officers have already given us very good treatment.” Almost as soon as Koman finished speaking, Guo Cheng agreed, looking like he was willing to spend any amount of money. Perhaps sensing that he might be too enthusiastic, Guo Cheng immediately suppressed his emotions.

Koman saw this, but casually reminded him, "Given the sheer number of Chinese people, it's impossible for them to achieve anything in Vietnam. I'm just providing you with a self-defense mechanism to put your minds at ease. Don't think too much about its other uses, and don't bring disaster to your compatriots."

Arming Chinese people to become a significant force in future Vietnamese politics? Leaving aside the fact that Corman is French, why would he do this?
Even if the Governor-General's office were insane enough to agree, the idea of ​​hundreds of thousands of Chinese fighting against thirty million Vietnamese is something they would never even dream of. If it really came to that, they wouldn't even need to become refugees; they would be wiped out by Le Duan directly.

Another major event at the beginning of the year was that after France transported 100,000 tons of wheat through the Dardanelles Strait to Ukraine, it announced the withdrawal of French troops from French Syria and formally recognized Syrian independence.

This was already six months later than in history, and most of the time was wasted on the issue of veterans after the war. General Fontaine, the last commander of French Syria, took this matter very seriously and gradually handed over the defense zones, especially the defense zones along the Golan Heights.

That was in 1942. The French Foreign Legion soldiers in Syria were building a defensive line that played a vital role in Syria's security, in order to prevent the British from attacking from Palestine.

Unlike another world, because even the Maronites within Lebanon were leaving, Lebanon naturally became part of Syria.

The inclusion of the wealthy coastal region into Syria's territory makes the Golan Heights even more important, as its fall into the hands of unreliable forces would pose a significant threat to Syria's integrity.

The Syrians after independence also knew that the Golan Heights was of paramount importance, so they honestly regarded the Golan Heights as a military stronghold.

Moreover, in the eyes of some Syrians, the increasing number of Jews in the Palestinian territories is not a secret that no one knows, and the atmosphere there has begun to change.

The defensive line built by Admiral Dragon and General Fontaine then played a significant role.

This consequence is related to Koeman, but that was definitely not the intention at the time. After all, Admiral Dragon only had so many resources at his disposal. If future developments were even slightly unfavorable to Israel, then…

In short, after Syria declared independence, France recognized Syria's independence on January 17th, and this newly independent country, which clearly had a large number of retired French soldiers, became independent.

(End of this chapter)