Father of France

Chapter 210 Ilmenite
Paul Ramadier's cabinet, including Prime Minister Ramadier himself, was initially very wary of the Marshall Plan, fearing that the United States was using aid for ulterior motives.

If he was merely worried, then the ministers of the French Communist Party were convinced that the United States was going to undermine French sovereignty and were the most steadfast opposition force. As for Georges Pitour's People's Republican Movement, whether it genuinely supported it or supported it simply because of the French Communist Party's opposition, no one knows.

Regardless of Paul Ramadier's choice, there will be one consequence: the three-party coalition government, a political structure that embodies postwar unity, will come to an end.

The reason for this hesitation was that France had just completed trade with the Soviet Union during the time of Georges Pitoure.

With the help of French Indochina, France finally plugged the trade gap with the Soviet Union. It would have been very unethical to turn against them immediately.

However, compared to the trade with the Soviet Union and the amount of money involved in the current US Marshall Plan, it seems insignificant.

Although the Socialist Party seems to be aligned with the French Communist Party in terms of its stance, in the face of billions of dollars in aid, Paul Ramadier and the Socialist ministers are somewhat reluctant to adhere to class sentiments.

Trying to please everyone inevitably means offending everyone, especially since the positions of the French Communist Party and the Popular Republican Movement are diametrically opposed, and choosing either option seems to carry a huge risk.

The Fourth Republic currently operates under a parliamentary system, with the three parties being roughly equal in strength. If the National Assembly initiates a vote of no confidence, the government will be forced to step down. This is why the Fourth Republic frequently changes governments; George Pidul was ousted in this way just a few months ago.

The Prime Minister's worries were somewhat alleviated by the swift suppression of the riots in Madagascar, but the fundamental problems remained unresolved.

The problem for Koeman was much simpler: the fleet had docked, and the sea, land, and air forces had completed a great and victorious meeting to jointly hunt down any remaining fugitives and prevent any future troubles.

As far as the eye could see, there were only ruins. The once bustling dock area was gone, and after a night of light rain, the huge bomb craters were filled with murky rainwater.

Trading ammunition for lives was indeed a great success, greatly reducing casualties among the expeditionary force, but Madagascar's largest port was also rendered unusable.

To prevent an outbreak of plague, French soldiers also had to immediately dispose of the bodies, including those dressed in tattered insurgent uniforms and civilians who had unfortunately been caught up in the chaos. They piled the bodies onto wheelbarrows and transported them to hastily dug mass graves on the outskirts of Madagascar. This was not to destroy evidence, but entirely for the safety of the lives and property of the island's inhabitants.

As for the small number of survivors, they still need to be identified and undergo a solemn trial. During the war, the military police could issue execution orders, but now that the war is over, everything must be legal and compliant.

It's as if France doesn't respect the sanctity of the law. Everyone knows that Koeman is a soldier who respects the rules the most. He has always been a model of discipline and obedience to orders during his military career, and is regarded as a model for French soldiers.

“Why bother treating the wounded soldiers from the riots? They’re quite expensive,” Koeman said impatiently to a military policeman who came to ask for instructions. “Dispose of them along with the corpses.”

“Why even ask about something so trivial? Let the South Islanders take care of them,” Martin chimed in to Koman. “Only their own people truly understand their needs; we’ll only be counterproductive.”

After the gendarmes who had given the report left, Coman said calmly, "I don't think we need to rush the identification and interrogation of the rioters. How do we know how many people will survive? The casualties in this riot are considerable. Won't it frighten the government ministers when we report to Paris?"

"It shouldn't be that bad. We reduced the death toll from 400,000 to one-tenth and then blamed it on the South Islanders. Wasn't that already decided before?" Martin said calmly. "What I want to know most now is whether the few riot leaders who were lucky enough to survive know the consequences they caused."

"Let's celebrate first, then we'll have a good talk with some leaders and staunch fighters." Coman put his hands in his pockets and got into the car.

Koeman had never seen a battleship before. The sheer power of those massive cannons and ships was completely different from what he saw in videos. The towering bridge and layered architecture made it resemble a mobile industrial city.

It's like seeing Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Co., Ltd., that kind of pure industrial power, only much smaller in scale, but still impressive enough for an individual.

“Battleships should never be decommissioned; we need them,” Koman said to Martin, who was traveling with him, as he looked up at the battleship’s steel frame.

"The existence of aircraft carriers renders battleships useless," Martin said, frowning slightly. "They're kept because they can't participate in great power conflicts; they're kept specifically to deal with colonies."

"Isn't that enough? Ninety percent of the world's countries can't deal with it, and this port has just proven that."

Koeman, in a tone of "why not?", said, "Retaining some outdated weapon systems is to match the strength of most countries. If some countries provoke France, and those countries are outdated enough, should we transfer our most advanced weapon systems to them?" This is similar to the sentiment expressed by many in the Eastern superpower that, with the emergence of sixth-generation fighters, an air force composed entirely of sixth-generation and fifth-generation aircraft should be established.

Putting aside the sheer investment required for such an air force, what if they encountered rebellious forces like those in Afghanistan or Yemen? Would they really deploy fifth-generation fighters to set up tents? Wouldn't they still need bomb trucks to smother the ground?

If it weren't for the fact that the JH-7 platform itself was inadequate and had experienced multiple accidents, there would have been a reason to retain the JH-7.

"Agricultural nations are in the comfort zone of battleships, making this kind of confrontation most suitable. History has proven this time and again," Koeman insisted. "A battleship firing two shots is more effective than anything else. An elephant is no match for a mouse as effective as a cat. The food chain exists in warfare, both in the past and in the future."

"According to your logic, modern airplanes are no better than the wooden-skinned planes from World War I." Martin was hearing this for the first time, and while it made some sense, something still felt off.

“If you’re referring to jet aircraft, then it’s probably really impossible to fight them.” Koeman recalled that something similar had happened during the Korean War.

Of the five leaders of the recent riots in Madagascar, two have survived.

Surprisingly, two people survived this crackdown: Joseph Lasetta and Jacques Labemangella. The remaining three died in the military operation, and the two who survived have been taken to the capital, Antananarivo, for detention.

Koeman wanted to finalize the case and complete the trial process before leaving. He wasn't ready yet, but the military police escorting the exploration team had made a gain, bringing back two items.

Martin was puzzled by the black mineral sand and the purple jade, but he still told Coleman to come and see the samples.

“Lilac purple jade? But it’s useless. It can’t even fool the Vietnamese.” Koman glanced at the pinkish-purple jade and commented without changing his expression, “Do you expect me to sell it to East Asia? They’re at war. If there were a whole piece weighing over 100 kilograms, I could buy it out of my own pocket. Saigon has found Chinese carvers, so let’s just consider it practice for them.”

Lilac purple jade is a local jade mine in Madagascar. It was also discovered in Northwest China in the 21st century, but what about jade culture? It needs to be viewed dialectically.

Jade is not only favored by Chinese people, but it depends on the time period. In the early stages of human civilization, people from many different regions have preferred different types of jade, as evidenced by archaeological findings worldwide.

That's because in the early stages of human civilization, there weren't many things that could represent wealth, and jade was one of the more common ones.

However, once nations were established, most peoples abandoned jade, as better gold and gemstones became available, rendering it obsolete. As a result, in the last thousand years, only two places in the world still have jade culture.

One is East Asia, and the other is the Central American Indian stronghold. Apart from these two places, the value of jade culture in other countries is limited to archaeology.

Native Americans migrated from North Asia, and I don't know if there's any connection, but they left behind ancient historical traditions.

In Koman's view, jade is far inferior to diamonds. Diamonds can be synthesized, and jade is not difficult to synthesize technically. He doesn't synthesize it because it's not worth it.

If you were to distribute all kinds of jade to everyone to build a house, that would be an exaggeration. But if you were to carve a stone lion at the entrance, that would be just as good, and it wouldn't be much more valuable than iron ore.

Compared to the pinkish-purple jade, Koman's gaze fell directly on the black ore. He asked someone to find a magnet and waited while he touched the ore, muttering to himself, "If it really is ilmenite, then the Sahara Atlantic Railway tracks will be secured."

“Most countries don’t lack iron ore, some even domestically.” Martin didn’t understand, and also made a veiled criticism of France, which lacked everything.

“Not all iron ore is the same. What’s important isn’t the iron itself, but the associated elements.” Koman didn’t recall lacking iron ore. What he lacked was ilmenite, a specialty of Panzhihua that he couldn’t access. So he had to settle for ilmenite instead.

While the two were talking, the magnet had already been delivered. Coman took the magnet and tested it, seeing that the ore adhered tightly to it. He then put the magnet down and said, "Continue to search the surrounding area while sealing off the mining area. There might be more. Send the samples to Paris for analysis. If it's ilmenite, a major problem for the Sahara Atlantic Railway will be solved, greatly reducing the railway's operating costs. Other minerals should also be explored. An area of ​​600,000 square kilometers should be enough to support the initial development of the region."

Martin gasped. "You're serious? You really want to build the railroad?" He replied sullenly, "Okay, but it will take time."

(End of this chapter)