Father of France

Chapter 184 The Great British Pearl
Syria initially recruited mainly Maronite Christians, but also included Orthodox and Eastern Christian groups.

However, Christians alone were not enough, so Muslims of all kinds, including Allahian and Druze, were also recruited. With Syria's independence, these returning World War II veterans became the most valuable force in independent Syria.

At that time, Syria was an Arab military power of similar size to the Egyptian army, although it only had an army of more than 70,000 men. Egypt was not much stronger, with a total force of only 100,000 men.

In terms of combat experience, the Syrian army was far superior to the Egyptian army. Although Britain also recruited soldiers from Egypt, it did not send a large number of soldiers from India and Egypt to fight because it still had troops on the European battlefield. France did not have this option, so the colonial army was equivalent to the regular French army.

Syrian soldiers personally participated in the fight against Germany, so their combat experience is completely different from that of other Arab countries.

France's decision to relinquish control of Syria was personally agreed upon by de Gaulle, and Georges Pitoure kept his promise. As a result, France's influence in the Middle East waned, and the only colonies it still held were French Africa and French Indochina, the former being crucial to the very foundation of France's nation-building.

French Indochina is only a fraction of the size of French Africa. Even with its favorable natural conditions, can it be compared to half of Africa? The French government is clear about this.

French Indochina was something France could relinquish, but France was unwilling to do so in the same way as the Viet Minh; if they couldn't reach an agreement, they would fight.

Even Corman agreed with the government's stance that French Africa simply had poor natural conditions, not that it was inferior to British Africa in terms of minerals and energy. Africa's largest iron ore mine was located in a French colony, and this was just one of them; Mauritania's iron ore mines, though not as large as Guinea's, were also under French control.

The biggest problem with French Africa seems to be the existence of the Sahara Desert. Apart from that, it is not worse than British Africa. Even in terms of water resources, the Niger River and the Congo River are mainly in French Africa, but the distribution is not very even.

At present, the greatest value of French Indochina to France is rice and oil, especially the latter.

Although the US's interference is unpleasant, considering the current strength and status of the US, even if one is unhappy, one can only keep it to oneself. Although Ava Gardner is an American citizen, she is also a French man's woman, isn't she?

Upon arriving at the Governor's Palace again, Corman was immediately awarded the Knight's Cross in recognition of his outstanding contributions to French Indochina.

General Dassanliu had to admit that Koeman, the military tribunal presiding officer who was only temporarily seconded, did more than many administrative officials in French Indochina. After the awarding of medals, General Dassanliu expressed his dissatisfaction with the United States, saying, "We have withdrawn our troops from Sardinia under pressure from the United States."

"Britain and the United States would indeed find it difficult to tolerate French control of Sardinia," Coman nodded. "If Sardinia falls into French hands, essentially half of the Mediterranean will be under French control."

At this moment, France may have once again remembered the past when Britain and the United States vehemently opposed weakening Germany after World War I.

Although only Koeman knew that history would indeed repeat itself in the future, France had learned from its mistakes and was unaware that it would also sense the ill intentions of Britain and the United States in the future.

Koeman had been away from France for a long time, and he learned from General Dachanliu that France had refused to return the French-speaking region of Italy.

Furthermore, using the pretext of Yugoslavia's occupation of Italian territory, the US was accused of exerting pressure on France in a way that was akin to bullying its own people. The US argued that if Italy could not reclaim the occupied land from Yugoslavia, it could not demand its return from France.

Koeman had envisioned this scenario before, which is why he believed the chances of success were high. Now it seems that ceding a symbolic piece of land from Italy as compensation has been accomplished.

If Italy had persisted in its demands, the Paris Peace Conference would never have been held. Now that the conference is over, Italy's loss of territory is a foregone conclusion.

General Dassanio was also satisfied with the result, and finally got to the point. "The government now believes that if we directly confront the Viet Minh, we will face some pressure from public opinion. Therefore, we are preparing to invite Emperor Bao Dai back to rule and replace the Governor-General's Office. He is currently living in Hong Kong. Coleman seems to be very good at dealing with the Chinese. You, as the representative of France, will go with the Vietnamese representative to invite Emperor Bao Dai back to restore the monarchy."

"Who is the representative from Vietnam?" Koeman wasn't refusing, but he was just curious about who would be traveling with him.

"Prime Minister George has already chosen his successor, it's Ngo Dinh Diem. Do you have any difficulties? You can speak freely." General Dashanliu had no objection to the choice, nor did he comment on George Pidul's strategy of restoring Emperor Bau Dai.

“I’m going by boat, it’s not far anyway,” Coman said decisively, without any further requests.

As Koman boarded the ship bound for Hong Kong, a police operation, primarily led by the Netherlands and supported by a large number of British and French colonial forces, was launched. Planes from Kalimantan, Sumatra, and even from British Royal Navy aircraft carriers rushed towards Jakarta from all directions, marking the official start of the colonial empire's counter-offensive.

It began as a persistent buzzing sound from the distant horizon, like a swarm of angry metallic bees. People in the Jakarta market stopped trading, women clutched their children tightly, and everyone looked up. The sound grew louder, from a low hum to a roar like tearing fabric, drowning out the breath of the entire city.

"Airplane! Dutch plane!" someone screamed in a hoarse voice.

The next second, order vanished.

The first Firefly fighter jet swooped down from the clouds, its Dutch orange identification discs clearly visible beneath its wings. Like a raptor eyeing its prey, the piercing roar of its engines sent shivers down one's spine.

Immediately afterward, the machine gun spewed fire from its nose, "rat-a-tat-tat-tat—", bullets like scorching raindrops, slicing through the street, kicking up a trail of gravel and dust. A fruit stand was instantly riddled with bullets, wood chips and fruit pulp flying everywhere, and scarlet watermelon juice splattered on the wall, a shocking sight.

"Get down! Get cover!" a man shouted in a mix of Indonesian and Mandarin, but his words were swallowed up by a much louder explosion.

The bomber followed closely behind, black bombs detaching from their racks and falling with a death whistle.

Boom! A huge column of black smoke, streaked with flames, rose from the direction of Tanjung Priok Port on the east coast—the lifeblood of the Republic, where supplies were gushed forth. Another bomb exploded in the city, and a blast of scorching heat, carrying shards of glass and wood, swept in. The man instinctively looked down, feeling the hot air on his face.

The sky was no longer a sanctuary, but a source of death. Against the backdrop of burning buildings, the red and white flags still fluttered stubbornly in the smoke, like an unyielding vow.

On the ground, people were running, crying, and helping the injured. Amid the chaos, something new was taking root in the soil of fear.

Almost simultaneously, the British and Dutch fleets began bombarding the military installations at the landing site, with their main gun turrets suddenly spewing out huge orange flames, like a volcanic eruption.

A thunderous roar lingered for a second before shattering the morning tranquility, the storm of gunfire disrupting the calm sea. Then, more cruisers and destroyers joined in, shells whistling through the air as they hurtled towards the Indonesian positions along the Jakarta Bay coast.

Huge columns of water, carrying mud and debris, shot skyward, snapping palm trees on the bank in half. Pre-arranged machine gun emplacements, makeshift trenches, and communication hubs were reduced to dust in the dense hail of bullets.

Thick black smoke and flames engulfed the coastline, and the air was filled with the acrid smell of gunpowder and earth.

The shelling lasted for nearly half an hour, seemingly trying to flatten the entire coastline. The once lush coastline was now a scene of devastation, and the defenders' counter-fire was weak and sporadic under such fierce attacks.

The transport ships and landing craft lowered their gunwales, and the landing craft approached the shore. Dutch marines roared as they leaped into knee-deep water, braving what might be remaining sporadic gunfire, and charged toward the beachhead.

At another landing point, the Anglo-French forces also made great progress. This time, the intensity of the colonial counterattack far exceeded the Indonesians' expectations. Tens of thousands of troops headed straight for Jakarta as soon as they landed.

"Why are there still warships docked here? Aren't you going to help the Dutch?" Koeman, who entered Victoria Harbour on a passenger ship, felt that if he didn't say something, it would be as if he were letting down the Allied soldiers who were fighting a bloody battle.

Java was practically destroyed, yet Britain still preserved its strength? But that certainly fits the British character.

During the tedious voyage, Koman's way of passing the time was to think about how to take advantage of the situation. Since he had come to Hong Kong, the only window for foreign exchanges for the future Eastern power for a period of time, why not make a round of investment? So he brought Ava Gardner along to solve the boredom of the journey.

There aren't many areas worth investing in in Hong Kong. Manufacturing is definitely not going to see much development. It's mostly about ports and land, which is exactly what Li Huanggua's main business is.

At that time, Hong Kong was a good place to invest in real estate because land prices were very cheap. The first wave of land price increases in Hong Kong was related to Chiang Kai-shek.

A large number of capitalists and industrialists from the mainland moved south to Hong Kong, bringing with them capital, equipment, and technology. They preferred to establish their company headquarters, banks, and trading firms in Central and its surrounding areas, where transportation was convenient and the commercial foundation was strong.

As they approached the port to disembark, Wu Tingyan came out from another room. She was taken aback when she saw Coman and Eva Gardner, but then smiled and nodded in a friendly manner.

(End of this chapter)