Father of France

Chapter 191 The British are laymen
A cargo ship from Saigon sounded its horn and docked at the port of Jakarta, fully loaded with weapons and ammunition. It would stop in Jakarta, and after being loaded with rice, it would transport the rice to ports in the Soviet Far East to complete this maritime mission.

The Jakarta sun remained scorching, baking this ravaged yet restless land. The port area, the pulse of this city, beat with an unprecedented, chaotic frequency.

The port has returned to order, but not far away, the large ships are crowded with all kinds of small sampans, fishing sailboats, and wooden boats with distinctive local characteristics. These must also be key production materials for the livelihood of a family. On the dock, people are bustling about, but they are no longer the dockworkers in uniform as before.

The ragged laborers, their bronze backs glistening with sweat, chanted off-key work songs as they carried heavy sacks, their steps unsteady as they walked on the rickety planks.

To ensure the smooth operation of the port, soldiers from the British, French and Dutch allied forces had established guard zones in the port. When the cargo ship that Coman was on docked, the flags of the three countries could be seen flying in the distance.

Almost simultaneously with landing on Indonesian soil, the cargo ship behind them was taken over by the port security district, and many soldiers in military uniforms were directing the port laborers to prepare for unloading.

French soldiers led their comrades, who were wearing black Lorraine cross masks, quickly out of the port and arranged for vehicles to take them to Jakarta.

The French Youth Division regulations mandate the wearing of masks in designated war zones. Koeman would wear one if he went to North Vietnam, though he's never been.

This team, consisting of half a company and over a hundred people, only lacked Wu Tingyan's elder brother, Archbishop Wu Tingchu. Koman wasn't trying to control Wu Tingyan.

The reason for bringing Wu Tingchu here is ridiculously simple: you secured your position as the Archbishop of the Purple Robes through your own connections, and now that you're needed, you have to lend a hand.

Adhering to the principle of using whatever is useful to the fullest, Koman brought Wu Dinh Chu along, so that he could replace him in giving a performance to the Vietnamese National Army soldiers fighting on Java Island.

According to Western thinking, entertaining troops shouldn't involve inviting female celebrities; it's a unique form of motivation for those American soldiers who can't control their genitals.

Koeman doesn't even have anyone like that on hand right now. Ava Gardner has already returned to Los Angeles to mentor new talent. Even if he did have someone, he wouldn't do it.

Wu Tingchu and Coman rode in the same car, but his gaze fell on the long sword Coman was carrying. He wondered if Coman had reached the level of using a command sword? Moreover, the sword looked very heavy, unlike the style of French military command swords.

Stumbling and falling along the way, Coman used the knife as a walking stick, finally arriving at the French Java Expeditionary Force Military Tribunal in Jakarta.

The guards at the door came up and opened the car door. The knife came out first, and then Coman, who was holding the hilt, got out of the car. His eyes were covered by a military cap and mask, and he glanced at the guard who opened the door. "Borran, don't break the rules in the war zone. You know the nature of our military police. Is Lefebvre here?"

"I understand, Your Honor." Borlang immediately put on his mask and gave a military salute in response. "Commander Lefebvre is here. Knowing that you have come to Java, he arranged for port reception and told me to wait downstairs."

"No need for all that trouble." Despite saying that, Koman had already led his men into the building. From the details, it was clear that it used to be a decent entertainment venue, which had probably been requisitioned by the Allied forces.

Once inside, everyone took off their masks, as if the repeated orders had been nothing.

Lefèvre is currently the chief judge of the military court under the French Gendarmerie Command in Jakarta, though there are more than a dozen such chief judges.

Jakarta is the largest city on Java Island. It's nothing like when Koman was in an overseas province, where he was in charge of a so-called city with tens of thousands of residents. It was so easy for him to be the chief of a military court.
In cities like Jakarta, the military police force is represented by at least a colonel or a brigadier general.

Since leaving the overseas provinces, Coman has held no official position and has been accepting temporary assignments from the French Indochina Governor-General's Office. This time it was the same in nature, except that he came on his own initiative.

"Sir, you've arrived." Lefevere hadn't changed much, and upon seeing Coman, he came over and joked, "I thought you were too busy to come here."

"My wife ran away." Koman was never serious in front of people he knew, and he joked that he had been abandoned by the big-shot star Zhou Xin and was now completely out of the loop, so he felt the call of his country.

After a brief exchange, he asked if there was anything worth sharing recently. Lefevere opened his mouth, "I heard that the government changed yesterday, and Prime Minister George has stepped down. Does that count?"

"It shouldn't count, I'm used to it." Koeman didn't even bother asking about the change of government in Paris; whoever it was, they couldn't interfere with French military operations overseas. Unsurprisingly, the Socialist Party formed a government again, while the Popular Republican Movement, waving the banner of de Gaulle supporters, belonged to the left and right wings respectively, alongside the French Communist Party.

Thus, the Socialist Party, a less radical left wing, gained value in the united front effort. After the People's Republic Movement had been in power for a few months, the ruling power returned to the Socialist Party.

In other words, France has now become a left-wing coalition government of the Socialist Party and the French Communist Party, but this does not affect the overall situation, and the new government will not adopt a policy of abandoning colonies and embracing the future.

Koman took out his own... operational plan, which was formulated by the French Expeditionary Force Headquarters in Saigon, and handed it to Lefebvre for him to take a look. At the same time, he said, "This is the new operational plan. The headquarters and General Dassanliu mean that the Java issue should be resolved as soon as possible. Where are the leaders arrested by the Republic of Indonesia being held? Also, please arrange for me to meet with a wealthy Chinese man in Jakarta tomorrow."

Koeman kept talking, while Lefebvre stared intently at the battle plan in his hand, and said with a wry smile, "Sir, West Java alone has a population of ten million. What if we act alone? And isn't this battle plan too destructive?"

"The destructive power is indeed great. If Java were not so small, this plan would have been doomed to failure." Koeman nodded without changing his expression. "But it is not our colony, and France should not bear the consequences or losses caused."

Koeman briefly visited his comrades at the Jakarta military tribunal before leaving for the coalition headquarters to convey General Dassanliu's operational plan to French Commander General Galeni.

This required the cooperation of the Dutch army to blockade the area. The French forces were sufficient to carry out an offensive, but they were far from enough to blockade an area.

The largest coalition force currently consists of the Dutch army, and this task can only be undertaken by the Dutch army.

"Starting from Jakarta and Bandung, we will launch a pincer attack on West Java, using food as a starting point to force the West Java Republicans to submit." After reading this, General Garrini asked rhetorically, "Is the security situation in French Indochina so bad that we need to quickly eliminate the enemy on Java Island and return to French Indochina to resolve the threat?"

"The security situation in French Indochina is relatively stable. The reason for the urgency is that the grain reserves in French Indochina have run out before the next rice harvest."

Koman cleared his throat and replied, "In the end, this problem was caused by the previous People's Republic Movement government. Of course, the Governor's Office can understand that the recovery of the mainland is inseparable from the supply of raw materials from the Soviet Union, so we can only think of ways in the colonies."

“I’m going to talk to General Havery.” General Galeni had no moral qualms and went straight to the Dutch army commander, adding, “Coman, you come with me.”

A military operation based in the city against the vast rural areas of the Republic of Java, Indonesia, was discussed, or rather, debated, among the coalition's high command.

"This is a baseless ethnic cleansing. Do you know how much international public opinion this will generate for our three countries?" British Commander Christian, like his old superior Mountbatten, opposed the French proposal of this brutal military operation.

“Why don’t we do what you British do and have a proper discussion about when British India will become independent?” Coleman, who understood English, couldn’t help but speak up. “If the Dutch agree, what problem do we French have? It’s not a French colony.”

“Young man, as a soldier, don’t you know military discipline?” General Christian gave Koman a condescending look. “Do you know the current international situation? Do you know how much economic and political pressure the British Empire is facing?”

"Withdrawing troops means we won't have to face it. Anyway, France will not choose to talk about a dignified departure with Nehru and Ali Jinnah."

Koeman muttered dismissively, "Peace talks must be based on winning. Otherwise, what's the difference between that and surrender? Only by starting with food can we completely and cleanly dismantle the Indonesian resistance forces. Otherwise, we couldn't even handle a few hundred thousand people in the Boer War. How can we deal with thirty million Malays on Java? Once Indonesia becomes independent, I don't think Britain can even hold onto British Malaya. Greater Indonesia includes Malaya. Go to any prison and ask a few Indonesian separatists if that's true."

"We are committed to assisting the French in cutting off any possible escape routes to Central Java and establishing a buffer zone west of Yogyakarta." General Havery's attitude was very clear. Although the Netherlands had been a maritime power, its understanding of land threats was sufficient, if not insufficient. Dutch hegemony was ended by the combined efforts of Britain and France.

Compared to Britain, a rival repeatedly defeated by the Netherlands, the real reason for the end of Dutch hegemony came from France on land.

Therefore, in this situation, the French perspective is more reliable.

Furthermore, the Netherlands is well aware of the things the Attlee government wants to discuss with the Congress Party, and France at least has a plan. Britain, on the other hand, is completely concerned about international appearances and is utterly an amateur.

(End of this chapter)