Father of France

Chapter 201 Working together
"If the local garrison is not in immediate danger, it can appropriately withdraw to maintain its strength. France can use this riot to see clearly how many people are opposed to France, so that it can deal with them ruthlessly. The specific details of the policy previously implemented in West Java are..."

Through Corman's telegram, General Dracon learned about the methods the French army used in its military operations in West Java, methods that Corman intended to apply to the suppression in Madagascar.

The first step is to distinguish between the people of the southern islands of Madagascar and the Africans. This makes the resolution of the central plateau extremely important. As for the descendants of Africans on the east coast, they will be the victims of this uprising.

What Coman meant was that if there was no danger to the French forces in the area, the troop deployment could be postponed to let the Malagasys cause trouble first. If they didn't cause trouble, the French forces wouldn't have any reason to start a massacre.

Mobilizing troops from North Africa and French Indochina would take time. Although they could request assistance from Britain, which currently possesses the world's largest maritime power, it was no longer the early post-war period. Given the British's penny-pinching nature, it was uncertain whether they would help France.

So while making the decision to suppress was easy, the French army still faced considerable military challenges, all due to Madagascar's relatively isolated location.

Madagascar's location is a double-edged sword; while it has made the French crackdown difficult, this difficulty is also relatively isolated.

It would be difficult for France to deploy troops to suppress the protests, and it would also be difficult for other countries to get their attention.

If Koeman's approach in West Java was more about policy guidance that amplified the negative effects of military action, then in Madagascar he could have been more direct and adopted more effective and rapid solutions.

As the General Staff of the Army in Paris mobilized its troops, French forces in various regions, having received orders to prepare for military operations, also received various information about Madagascar, allowing the French troops preparing to depart to understand the adversary they would be facing. Corman, who was waiting in Saigon, naturally also received this information, including ethnic distribution, total population, and distribution of resources, etc.

"With a total population of just over four million, it's not difficult to handle." Koman picked up a cup of tea and took a sip. A million rioters may seem like a lot, but it's not a big deal for a regular army.

Which ancient dynasty of this great Eastern power didn't face hundreds of peasant uprisings? They were commonplace.

Koman was waiting for his guests at Gu Qing's restaurant. The reason he came to Gu Qing's restaurant was, of course, to gather a group of cooks from French Indochina to provide logistics for the expeditionary force.

The staple food in Madagascar is rice, which is the same as in Southeast Asia. Most of the French soldiers ate wheat. Given Madagascar's location, it was clear that this was not feasible. To save on logistical expenses, they had to use local resources.

The French troops who participated in the expedition were all theoretical comrades of Corman, and when the French troops first arrived in Madagascar, they certainly could not trust the locals.

Considering both staple foods and climate, French Indochina is the best choice.

Gu Qing did a good job in ensuring the logistics of the French army in Java, and deservedly received the opportunity to take on more responsibilities.

Koman was enjoying himself as he looked at the distributed documents and sipped his tea. Finally, Gu Qing appeared. "Judge Koman, Mr. Guo has arrived."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Guo Cheng appeared, still with that refined and courteous demeanor, and walked over first, saying, "Judge Coman, you wanted to see me?"

"Mr. Guo, please have a seat. I have a business opportunity that would be suitable for your business expansion." Coman smiled and beckoned Guo Cheng to sit down. "The Guo family started in the rice industry, and now there is a good opportunity."

While speaking, Koman told the other person about the riots in Madagascar, "You've been to Madagascar before, so you should know that the local agriculture is centered on rice cultivation. However, the local agricultural technology is quite reliable. Now the opportunity has come?"

“A riot is actually an opportunity, Your Honor… could it be…” Guo Cheng’s gaze became very cautious. Could it be what he was thinking?

As a wealthy man in the largest city in French Indochina, Guo Cheng naturally had his own channels of information.

The French troops that returned to French Indochina, and those still stationed in Java, have proven that while France was not the most powerful colonial empire, it was certainly the most ill-tempered.

"The Paris government is determined to make the rioters know the consequences of provoking France. This is an opportunity to reshuffle the deck."

Koeman nodded and told Guo Cheng directly that it was exactly as he thought, "Considering the large number of rioters, Madagascar will inevitably have a lot of unclaimed wasteland after the war. Everything has two sides, and in a sense, this reduces the resistance to France's development of local agriculture. If we still have to consider the land distribution in French Indochina, then we have no such worries in Madagascar."

Guo Cheng didn't know how Koman could speak such bloody words in such a nonchalant tone. After a moment of contemplation, he decided to accept the blood-stained gold coin. "There's nothing we can do about it. The people suffer when the dynasty prospers, and the people suffer when the dynasty falls."

“Mr. Guo is exactly the kind of person France needs,” Koeman couldn’t help but laugh. “Actually, you are the kind of help we need most. This isn’t the first time you’ve dealt with the Austronesians.”

Guo Cheng was completely confused; he genuinely didn't understand what Coman meant by "not the first time."

Austronesian people originated within the territory of a major Eastern country. Molecular biology provides the most direct evidence for this, influencing the hypothesis of multiple origins of humankind. Many countries claim to have independently developed civilizations, but the advent of molecular biology directly established that all humans migrated from the African continent, effectively driving other sub-species to extinction.

Neanderthals in Europe weren't the only unlucky ones; they were considered to be quite powerful fighters.

For Southeast Asia, including the Indochina Peninsula, the problem for a long time has been the southward migration of northern ethnic groups. Look at this sentence, it sounds just like a description of nomadic peoples.

The Burmese of Myanmar, the Thais of Thailand, and the Vietnamese are all relatively recent ethnic groups that have invaded the Indochina Peninsula. They have almost wiped out Cambodia, the earliest recorded descendant of Funan, from the great Eastern power.

It is said that this is recent because the great Eastern country has already established written records and has a general understanding of the origins of these ethnic groups.

However, even further back in time, before any written records were available, a group of people from within the territory of the great Eastern power were forced to migrate south. Molecular biology indicates that this occurred approximately six thousand years ago.

It's hard to say whether the Austronesian or the Yanhuang tribes were more authentic, but the result is obvious: the Austronesian were the losers in the competition in East Asia, spreading to Southeast Asia and overturning the earlier hypothesis that the Austronesian originated in Australia.

Molecular biology has overturned more than one hypothesis. For example, the Turkish people and the Turks are not closely related; they are descendants of a group of Greeks.

The Germans' assertion that modern Greeks were Slavs who migrated south was also overturned; both Greeks and Turks are descendants of the local inhabitants.

The Egyptians are descendants of the ancient Egyptians, only their beliefs changed; the Mongols are descendants of the Huns, but their language changed.

Wanyan's surname is indeed Wang; he is a member of the Langya Wang clan, but it's unclear when he migrated to the Northeast.

The expansion of Arab culture was very successful, but it was not as brutal as people imagine. Many ethnic groups simply adopted the Quran, rather than being exterminated.

Koeman is quite hoping that molecular biology will be published soon, as it might actually be a good thing for shaping the historical perspective of France, especially its overseas territories.

Haven't you seen how, after molecular biology proved the blood relationship between Egypt and ancient Egypt, even the former leader of the Arab world has experienced a change in national consciousness?

The consequence might be that France would need a new historical perspective. After the Gallic historical perspective defeated the Germanic historical perspective, it might be replaced by a new Roman historical perspective, or perhaps a Western Roman historical perspective.

The Gallo-American historical perspective certainly wouldn't appeal to the Arabs across the Mediterranean, so they could only try to find a solution within the shared Roman Empire.

This might conflict with Italian history, but upon closer examination, since they are both Latin countries, doesn't this align with the French national policy and France's vision for leading the European Community?
Guo Cheng is the winner of the East Asian PUBG tournament, so it's not impossible for him to go with France to help the losing team in Madagascar.

Due to the riots in Madagascar, being a cook has become the most popular profession in French Indochina. For these cooks, it's simply a matter of finding a better-paying job.

They didn't really feel a sense of belonging to French Indochina anyway, so why would they care about going to another unfamiliar place? As long as they get paid, that's fine; France even gave them a lot of money.

Fortunately, the number of Chinese in French Indochina increased by less than 80,000 in the past year, providing a sufficient labor force, including many new immigrants from all walks of life who want to make a living.

With the help of major Chinese banks and wealthy individuals in Saigon, 2,500 men were recruited from various hotels and from adult men of hardworking, honest, and diligent character to serve as the logistical support force for this expedition to Madagascar, where resources would be sourced locally.

The French troops in Madagascar, facing a storm, certainly had no idea that Koeman was busy looking for a cook. Knowing this would definitely affect their determination to hold their ground and wait for reinforcements.

It seemed that the desire for freedom was within reach, or perhaps there was no turning back once the arrow was released. The rebellious Madagascars would not allow the French colonists to have a chance to make a comeback and kept trying to drive the French army back into the sea.

This feeling is understandable, but they were not the German troops at Dunkirk.

The French army in Madagascar faced difficulties suppressing a rioter who claimed to number a million, but they had no problem defending the city.

The only piece of comfort for the French forces at this time was that the French Ministry of Defense had mobilized a fleet centered around the battleship Richelieu to join the suppression of the Madagascar uprising.

(End of this chapter)