Father of France

Chapter 195 Regional Cooperation Relations
Borlang remained silent, but forced himself to speak as he reported, “Although we are making good progress so far, the damage is still very serious. Moreover, due to the abnormal weather, the Citarum River, Cimanu River and other rivers have breached their banks, flooding large areas of farmland. The large influx of refugees has greatly exacerbated the rural order.”

Both rivers are the most important rivers in West Java, and even the entire island of Java. The former flows through major cities and regions such as Bandung, Bekasi, and Karawang. The latter flows through places like Chimpanzee and Majalenka.

The existence of these rivers is the foundation of Java's plantation economy. Now, with the floods and the impact of war, the social structure of West Java will be severely damaged.

"You used a lot of explosives, didn't you?" Koman said, hands on his hips, facing the harbor, his gaze never leaving the port. "I've heard that the Quran can allow a group of primitive people to directly enter feudal civilization. I'd like to see if the whole of West Java can emerge from slash-and-burn agriculture. If they can, then Muhammad's followers will truly be our greatest enemy. Notify all units that if oxen cannot meet the demand, pork will suffice; it's not like we can't eat it."

In comparison, the three parts of Java Island—west, east, and central—are different. The urban population is more revolutionary and progressive, but the vast rural areas are still under the Muhammad structure.

Excluding Jakarta, the areas of West Java and Sumatra, including Acre, have been heavily influenced by Arabs. Acre is also a place that has been constantly seeking independence since Indonesia's independence.

Compared to groups with modern revolutionary ideas, their stronghold was in Central Java, with Yogyakarta as its core. Yogyakarta was also the capital of the Republic of Indonesia during the Dutch War.

Of course, that's not the case now. Yogyakarta is under Dutch control, and Sukarno and many other high-ranking officials of the Republic of Indonesia have been imprisoned by the Dutch.

In another world, after Indonesia gained independence, in terms of the distribution of political power on Java, western Java, relative to the Communist Party of Indonesia in central Java, could be considered the stronghold of the opposition forces.

To put it bluntly, West Java is the most Muslim-majority region on the island of Java, and it is also the area covered by the French military operation. Corman's plan to dig up river channels, burn down forests, and kill cattle to turn West Java into a slash-and-burn agricultural society, directly challenging the lifestyle of many tribes in French Africa, was not just empty talk.

Having come to Java in person, he had already made up his mind to carry out the plan to the end, to make up for the trade shortfall in France in one fell swoop by completely draining the resources of West Java and at the cost of reverting to slash-and-burn agriculture.

Politically, they used a surplus grain requisition system to seize all the surplus grain in the French-controlled areas, and militarily, they thoroughly destroyed the small-scale peasant economy of West Java.

By employing a two-pronged approach, they could completely solve the problem of raw materials, as defined by the Soviets, from a more distant point. Moreover, they would adopt some of the methods used by the Soviets. Koman felt that he was now going crazy.

Isn't it normal for it to rain in Java? But rain doesn't mean the river will breach. The French army, which had a special mission, waited in advance in the river channel that was prone to breaching, and carried out the demolition as soon as it started to rain.

Anyway, there are no weather satellites or anything like that around at this time.

What? You say the rain isn't heavy? How do you know the rain upstream isn't heavy? Did you go upstream?

Burning mountains on sunny days, blasting rivers on rainy days, conducting military sweeps, and promoting a surplus grain requisition system—if the imams of West Java can still withstand this, Koman considers them to be quite robust.

That possibility is probably nonexistent. When no one is punished for anything they do, the evil in people's hearts will be magnified countless times.

The imams should think about how to avoid the Vietnamese Nationalist Army officers and soldiers who are called by God to carry out righteous deeds, otherwise it would be bad to be nailed to the cross.

As it turns out, there is no such thing as good from a different perspective. Vietnamese people criticize the atrocities committed by the South Korean army in Vietnam during the Vietnam War, but in another place, the Vietnamese are no better than the South Koreans.

What if French usury imperialism's operations in West Java completely fail?
It depends on how you define failure. Koeman, for his part, believed that filling the gap in the Soviet Union's trade was a success. Any gains after achieving that goal would be a pleasant surprise. At worst, they could withdraw their troops back to French Indochina, which was not a French colony.

France has done its best. Neither the Dutch nor the British, nor even the Americans who still have some sense of shame in this era, can say a bad word about France.

After the cargo ship departed the port, Coman left the temporary headquarters of the rice trading center, boarded the prepared car, and headed to the Lin family manor with his waist knife. He had no particular purpose; he was currently living there.

As one of the wealthiest Chinese in this era, Lin Shengdi's estate truly reflected his wealth and status. The convoy passed through a huge stone gate covered with bougainvillea and ferns, thus entering the heart of the estate. On both sides of the road were rows of towering tamarind trees, their massive canopies intertwining to form a deep green tunnel in the air.

At the heart of the estate are several classic Chinese-style residences. Unfortunately, Koman's knowledge of architecture is indeed insufficient, as he cannot distinguish between the styles from the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta regions.

A vast veranda surrounds the entire building; it is the soul of the manor.

The villa that Coman requisitioned was right next to the Lin family's main residence. Coman still vividly remembers the look of horror on Lin Shengdi's face when he decided to move there. He thought that this Frenchman was not going to let him off the hook.

"Is Mr. Lin here? It's time for dinner." Coman appeared in front of the Lin family's main residence and greeted a butler named Uncle Fu in a very familiar manner.

"Please come in, sir." Uncle Fu led in Koman, a Frenchman they couldn't afford to offend, and several accompanying soldiers. "The master has been at home the whole time and hasn't gone anywhere." What a Republic-era-sounding way of addressing him! Koman's smile vanished as he replied, "The weather has been terrible lately, with frequent natural disasters. It's a good thing he's not going out. With us helping to maintain the Lin family's business, what's there to worry about?"

The Lin family is a large family. Overseas Chinese in this era still believe in the saying "many children bring many blessings," and besides, it's not like they can't afford to raise them.

Koman walked into the main house with his head held high and saw Lin Shengdi's family and some servants. There was no need for him to deliberately get to know them. For example, he didn't ask Lin Shengdi's wife's name, since she wasn't the head of the family.

However, upon seeing Koman, she still greeted her, "Mrs. Lin, you're wearing a cheongsam today, so formally. Is there something important happening?"

"Judge Koman." Mrs. Lin's expression was somewhat restrained. She had obviously heard her husband talk about his near-death experience, but since he was here, she couldn't remain silent. After hesitating for a moment, she said, "I didn't expect you to recognize the cheongsam and be so knowledgeable about our culture."

"Your First Lady always wears it when she visits foreign countries, how could I not recognize it? It's the national dress."

Koman looked away. The national dress of the Republic of China was indeed the cheongsam. To be precise, it was established as the national dress after the Kuomintang and the Han government merged and came to power. The wife of Chiang Kai-shek always wore a cheongsam when she visited. After liberation, there was no national dress.

Koeman hadn't actually noticed any similarities between the cheongsam and the qipao; he even thought they were very different in style. How did they end up tearing each other apart?

This was a problem that had troubled him for a long time in his previous life, and in the end, he felt that it was probably a matter of money.

The garment industry has an output value of over 10 billion yuan, and it is indeed something we should focus on seizing, especially high-end Hanfu and cheongsam. A set can cost tens of thousands of yuan, and even millions of yuan is not impossible.

There's no need to worry about this. As long as the market stops growing and everyone has accepted what they've been told, no one will argue about it anymore.

Koman arrived at the Lin family manor carrying a knife, which Lin Shengdi was naturally unwilling to do. However, he no longer possessed the arrogance he displayed at the Hongmen Banquet; his courage card had probably expired.

Unexpectedly, Koeman had no intention of letting him go. Although six families signed the authorization contract that day, he specifically came after him.

"Aren't you welcoming me, Mr. Lin? You've already received the French francs, yet you act like you've lost out," Coman said with a smile as he entered the study.

“How could that be, Judge Coleman?” Lin Shengdi forced an unnatural smile. “We’ve always been very cooperative with the government’s instructions when we went to Southeast Asia to do business.”

“You’ve finally remembered that you’re the guest and the Malay is the host. It seems there’s still hope.”

Koman pulled out a chair and sat down, saying, “The Chinese in various parts of Southeast Asia look down on the natives here and are unwilling to truly integrate. If the colonists leave one day, what will become of you as outsiders in the eyes of the locals? You may not believe it, but I have no ill will towards the Chinese. What you may see as a coerced authorization contract is simply because I have to take care of some things that France is currently doing. My promise is valid, and your properties will be returned in six months.”

While Koeman is pushing for efforts to bring West Java back to a primitive, slash-and-burn lifestyle, what's wrong with his patriotism?

"Actually, I don't understand. I don't know the difference between France and the Netherlands." Lin Shengdi didn't know what Koeman meant either, but it's always good to say something nice first.

"We French actually have great respect for different civilizations. We once formed an alliance with the Ottoman Empire, the suzerain state of the Muslims, and His Majesty Louis XVI and your Emperor Qianlong also corresponded."

Koman nodded to himself and said, "So there's nothing about me bullying you; it's all about mutual benefit."

“Qianlong!” Lin Shengdi muttered with a wry smile, “If only our country had known more about Europe back then…”

"I stand right in front of you. Do you know me? Do the monarchs of two countries really understand each other through a few letters?"

While Koeman also respected Qianlong's abilities, isn't this assumption a bit...? It's not a matter that can be summarized simply as ability. "When you're feeling sorry for yourself, think about a few terms: British India, French Indochina, the Dutch East Indies. Mr. Lin's perspective is still too narrow."

For many nations around the world, the great Eastern power has never been weak in their minds. Egypt is now British Egypt, and Iraq is a British protectorate. The Paris Peace Conference was humiliating for the great Eastern power. What did those countries that couldn't participate say?
Although history is a strong suit for keyboard warriors, Coman didn't want to talk about it. Instead, he announced in a formal tone, "The French military command has announced the confiscation of the assets of your six wealthy families. This is to prevent you from being retaliated against by future Indonesian forces after our withdrawal. So, in effect, you are under house arrest. I hope you can understand."

In addition, Koman had something else to say: "After we finish our business, we will return your property, but we hope that you can establish cooperative relationships with some Chinese families in Saigon, which may help you in the future. This can be considered as compensation for the trouble we have caused you this time."

(End of this chapter)