Father of France

Chapter 214 Arms Trade
Martin's fist hardened, and the heaving of his chest showed that he was not calm. He couldn't help but push and shove while muttering, "Alright, let's get ready for the dinner party. Finally, we can have a good meal. Sometimes I regret that I should have joined the Navy."

"How can that compare to the Navy?" Koman felt his comrade pushing him back; it was obvious he was jealous, but he wouldn't hold it against him.

The celebratory banquet following the awarding ceremony can be considered a form of rewarding merit, and France is quite generous in this regard, not much less so than Italy.

The long table was laden with delicacies that had been urgently transported from mainland France: succulent foie gras, grilled steaks drizzled with sauce, exquisite caviar... a stark contrast to the food that ordinary soldiers and civilians on the island relied on to stave off hunger.

The officers ate heartily, the clinking of knives and forks against porcelain plates filling the air, as if trying to fill the fatigue and spiritual void accumulated over the past two months on the front lines with this feast.

The officers, who had just received their new shoulder insignia, were now the absolute stars of the banquet. Their tense nerves seemed to finally relax, the top buttons of their uniforms were undone, and their faces were flushed with alcohol and excitement.

"Cheers to France!" A newly promoted lieutenant colonel raised his glass, his voice booming and drowning out the noise in the room.

"For France!" the crowd responded in unison, the crystal glasses clinking together with a crisp sound, and the red liquid sloshing around.

The conversation revolved around the war, future garrison plans, and the promising future that came with promotions. They talked about theaters in Paris and planned their vacations back home, as if the recent crackdown was just an unpleasant interlude, now successfully overshadowed by medals and champagne.

“I’m definitely going back to Saigon. The immigration process is about to begin. There are vacancies on the east coast, and someone has to develop them.”

Koman swirled the red liquid in his glass and whispered to several officers that the East Coast lands should obviously be put to use.

Even decades later, although Madagascar is close to the African continent, it mainly does business with South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, and has little contact with Africa.

Now that the riots have ended, reconstruction must begin. A new power structure, built on the blood and suffering of countless people, will also emerge, requiring the appearance of new figures.

Madagascar will maintain a sizable military presence for the time being to prevent a resurgence of riots. Corman will certainly need to communicate with the current French military officers to ensure the rights of new immigrants.

Koeman is now considered a mid-level officer, slightly beyond the category of a staff officer whose words carry little weight. Although Paris has not yet responded to the immigration issue, it is expected that it will not be a problem.

It turns out that France is simply unwilling to engage in offshore balancing, but that doesn't mean it won't do similar things.

It was only because French Indochina was too close to the major Eastern power that France was wary of Chinese people. In the end, France did not prohibit Chinese people from immigrating to French Indochina.

If you go to a faraway place like Madagascar, it's a completely different story; you could say that all the conditions for immigration are now met.

The Vietnamese National Army obviously cannot remain here. Vietnam is now a French protectorate, and there is no reason for its armed forces to remain stationed in a French colony.

These Vietnamese people would definitely return with Koman via the same route. Half a month after departing from Tuamasina Port, they arrived in French India, where an armed force of nearly 20,000 men received supplies.

Governor-General Bourgeois of French India was still unprepared for such a large armed force. Since the Seven Years' War, French India had become several enclaves, and until now, there had never been such a large-scale French armed force there.

Unexpectedly, on the eve of India's independence, when most of the British had left, India itself experienced a resurgence of independence.

On this summer night, the entire subcontinent awaits some kind of birth, yet no one knows what kind of new world will be born.

"Major, what is your purpose?" Ilhan had no idea what the other party's purpose was. This French soldier had suddenly appeared and then come straight to him.

“Look, the British are unreliable.” Coman mocked the British repeatedly. “Next month, August 15th, is the day of India’s independence, but the British haven’t made any plans for the future of the princely states. Given Hyderabad’s location, I think it is bound to be part of India’s future.”

Ilhan's face was grim, which was exactly what the Mahal Ari Khan of Hyderabad was most worried about. As a landlocked princely state, although Ari Khan was powerful, he had no access to the sea and could not get external assistance. Surrounded by Indians, the news of Indian independence was terrible for Hyderabad.

"Where the British are, the French are. We've waited over a hundred years, and now we can finally give the British a piece of our minds!" Corman was gesticulating wildly, completely letting loose. As long as he wasn't in France, he was always this unrestrained and free-spirited. Being an official in a capital city is a dangerous place; you can easily find powerful figures you can't afford to offend. Therefore, until he reached a certain level of power, Corman had absolutely no interest in Paris.

Koeman tapped lightly on an open mahogany box. Inside, German Mauser rifles wrapped in oilcloth gleamed with a cold, hard blue light in the dim light. "Fifty rifles, brand new, along with 50,000 rounds of ammunition. A gift for you. If you're interested in a trade, there's also enough weaponry and ammunition to arm a French division, 17,000 soldiers."

Now that Germany has been defeated, the Mauser rifles are being used up from existing stock. France will eventually have to replace them, but that's a concern for the future. For a landlocked princely state, they are still a very suitable weapon for now.

After all, it's no longer wartime. The size of the French army has been reduced from two million during the war to 1.1 million, and there is a large surplus in the weapons stockpile. They can exchange whatever they can for weapons.

Koeman had already come up with a reason: he wanted money as a pension to be paid to the Vietnamese National Army soldiers who participated in the war, as well as to compensate those who were injured or killed in the suppression of the riot.

Even if the Paris government were to give, it wouldn't give too much.

Koeman could then conveniently fill the gap in his own way. There was a way: the francs he had previously used to establish the rice center in Jakarta hadn't been used up. So this transaction was Koeman's own attempt to line his own pocket, without any particular reason.

Ilhan didn't look at the gleaming weapons, but stared at Koman, replying in a low voice in Urdu with a heavy Deccan accent: "We don't need samples, Major Koman. We need production lines, blueprints. Hyderabad's treasury is full of gold, but we need blood vessels that can keep us bleeding."

“We can get the blueprints, but Germany doesn’t have the production lines anymore,” Koeman said after a moment’s thought. “That won’t stop us from doing spot trading first. The blueprints can be airlifted over, but whether you can get the production line up by then depends on yourselves.”

Coman discovered that he also had the potential to be a troublemaker, which was not quite in line with France's general direction toward the colonies. On the other hand, although France had no major problems with its attitude toward the colonies, its response was obviously not as flexible as that of the British.

If British India were a French colony, would it have been impossible for it to gain independence without two or three large-scale crackdowns?

Churchill said that suppressing the independence of British India would require at least 500,000 standing troops. If it were France, it's almost certain that 500,000 standing troops would arrive immediately.

Thinking about these things now is a bit off-topic. Let's get back to the main point: "My dear friend, Rome wasn't built in a day. Let these little toys prove our sincerity and... the reliability of our channels. As for the blueprints,"

Koman paused, lowering his voice to almost blending into the wind and rain, "We'll talk again when your engineers can cast the first decent gun barrel on their own soil. Don't forget, the eyes of those people in New Delhi are always on your side."

While Ilhan was pondering this, Koman changed the subject, saying, "When you're at a disadvantage, you need to find ways to create an asymmetric threat, so the air force is actually a good option, but that will take time. I'll provide as much help as I can; as long as His Majesty Ali Khan can afford it, it's not a problem."

At this moment, Coman felt that Ali Khan was his brother from three lifetimes. As for what Britain thought, it didn't matter. Britain had been a troublemaker for a long time, and it was time for France to get involved too.

It's not like there's no precedent. When North America was fighting for independence, Louis XVI sacrificed himself.

The dialogue here is merely a repetition of events from after American independence, which can be seen as Koeman respecting tradition.

Koeman quoted $15 million for the weapons and equipment of one division, including light and heavy weapons and military vehicles. This was quite expensive, so it included some German light weapons design blueprints. As for whether Hyderabad can achieve self-sufficiency in the future, that is beyond Koeman's control.

As for the French Air Force's fighter jets, the current price is only an indicative price, quoted at 900 ounces of gold per aircraft. However, this is only an indicative price, and Hyderabad's need for them will have to wait until the infantry equipment deal is completed.

French India’s largest colony was territorially governed and located in the southeastern part of the subcontinent.

This area is relatively far from the mainstream Indian perspective, and there are many princely states in South India. If Hyderabad agrees to the deal now, it can proceed immediately. As for the air force equipment, we'll have to wait a bit longer.

A day later, a telegram concerning the compensation of the fallen soldiers of the Vietnamese National Army, which might otherwise cause discontent, arrived in Paris from French India.

"What wouldn't this kid do?" General Dragon was completely bewildered, but he couldn't ignore his genius, so he left the General Staff headquarters and started inviting him to afternoon tea.

(End of this chapter)