Father of France

Chapter 218 On the Eve of Independence
Army weapons and equipment, including light and heavy weapons such as military vehicles, from French India are being transported to Hyderabad via the Krishna River, injecting the impetus for Hyderabad's continued existence on the eve of India's independence.

The handover of Air Force aircraft is even simpler.

Although the combat radius of aircraft in this era was not large, it was still easy to fly from French India or Portuguese Goa and land in Hyderabad.

All Ali Khan needed to do was build a decent airport in Hyderabad. Propeller planes weren't as expensive as jet planes, so the requirements for the airport weren't that high.

The military's efficiency is always guaranteed. Although the French political scene is unstable, it's not without its benefits. It doesn't offer any assistance, but it also doesn't cause any obstacles.

Koman said he wanted to express his gratitude to Ali Khan for the successful arms sale, and this time he came, appearing once again in the palace with the proposed dual contract.

"To our long-standing friendship, and to Hyderabad's independence and military modernization," Koeman raised his glass, though it wasn't filled with alcohol, and said in fluent English, "this project involves a financial agreement worth hundreds of millions, the exact amount depending on how much His Majesty wants to fill in on it, and it will be a milestone in our cooperation."

Koman handed the initiative over to Ali Khan, the Maharaja of Hyderabad, who could fill in any number on the contract as he pleased, since it was just a fake arms sale anyway.

The scene reminded Koeman of something: an Italian car manufacturer, renowned in its home country, yet no one, not even an Italian, had ever seen where its factory was located.

Because this car manufacturer doesn't actually manufacture cars, it took Italians several years to realize that this proud brand of Italian mass-market cars' main job was simply rebadging imported models from the Eastern superpower.

If this happened in North Korea, most people would accept it. But Italy, a major European automotive powerhouse, is actually engaging in such shady dealings as buying cars, rebadging them, and profiting from the price difference. And yet, it went undetected for years, and Italy was always considered a star company in the automotive industry.

The dual contracts that Koeman is now giving Ali Khan are similar in principle to rebranding. The figures that Ali Khan can fill in on the contracts are the new figures endorsed by France.

Koeman presented a thick contract. It was a "public contract," clearly listing the public selling price of three hundred fighter jets, training and logistical support costs, all in accordance with the "transparency" standards of international arms trade, and available for review by any auditing or regulatory body.

Ali Khan nodded slightly and took a sip of black tea.

He didn't look at the document, but instead took a seemingly ordinary one from the minister beside him, showing that this great king wasn't living entirely in the Middle Ages and was quite modern. This was a completely different list of documents.

“These are the details in the appendix,” Ali Khan said calmly, pointing out that the appendix was actually the real transaction list, with a larger amount than the contract on the surface, and it was what Koeman really wanted.

As for the five million dollars, Ali Khan did not let the young French soldier bear the cost of bribing his connections in Paris. Here, the unit price of fighter jets and bombers was "rationally" inflated by 15 percent, along with other expenses.

The extra amount was cleverly broken down into a series of categories: "special environment adaptation modification fee", "exclusive weapon integration fee", and most importantly, "untraceable third-party consulting service fee".

This huge sum of money will be injected into a series of shell companies located in Belgium and Luxembourg, ultimately turning into silently growing figures in specific Swiss bank accounts and hard-earned money for certain Parisian politicians.

Koeman glanced at it and exclaimed with delight, “The Grand Prince has truly given me a pleasant surprise. The appendix ensures that our partners receive the hard-earned rewards for their efforts and guarantees the supply of critical components for the next ten years… unaffected by any political shifts.”

Based on Ali Khan's performance alone, Koman has already unilaterally decided that regardless of whether the Hyderabad prince can retain his own kingdom, he will remain a friend on a personal level.

“The British lack the responsibility of a great power. I am also striving for my own land,” Ali Khan said calmly. “After this arms sale, I am penniless.”

“Yes, France can attest to that.” Comer straightened his back, indicating that he had witnessed on behalf of France Ali Khan’s abject poverty, from a net worth of billions to a life of poverty.

In the following period, Koeman will assist Ali Khan in initiating contacts with Swiss banks. Of course, the initiative lies with Ali Khan, and he can terminate the talks at any time if he feels it is not feasible.

The subcontinent is experiencing a mix of joy and sorrow, a sentiment that arises because different groups have different feelings about the impending independence.

Mahatma Gandhi, the longtime leader of the National Assembly, worked tirelessly in a small hut in Calcutta to restore peace between Hindus and Muslims.

Parliament Speaker Rajandre Prasad praised Gandhi as "our beacon, guide, and philosopher for the past thirty years." Thousands of Indians gathered around the Parliament building as Prasad delivered his speech. Public offices, churches, and business centers were brightly lit and adorned with brand-new flags in maroon, white, and dark green.

At midnight, when a member blew the conch shell, cheers erupted in the council hall. It was the same conch shell used to invoke the gods in the church.

Members of parliament swore to “fight to the end until this ancient land finds its rightful place in the world.”

As a powerful nation was about to set sail, in northwestern Pakistan, Ali Jinnah was sworn in as the governor of the dominion, with the general assembly held in the capital, Karachi.

In some places, the emergence of two autonomous dominions on the subcontinent is viewed with apprehension.

Newspapers widely reported that astrologers had discovered an ominous pair of stars in the universe. This was because some religious people used astrology to predict their future fate.

In Punjab, there is more than just tears and suffering. The province has been divided in two, one half belonging to India and the other half to Pakistan.

Whether in cities or rural areas, Muslims are fighting against Hindus.

Almost all Hindus and Sikhs living in Lahore had fled the city, but their departure did not stop the atrocities. The streets were littered with corpses, and the famous market was engulfed in flames.

Even before Independence Day has arrived, the friction between India and Pakistan already foreshadows that the subcontinent will not be peaceful after independence. The current situation on this land is far more complex than the surface-level celebrations suggest.

It also includes third-party forces, princely states that have not decided to join India or Pakistan. In many Indian princely states, the monarchs and the people under their rule are misaligned. Kashmir is ruled by a Hindu monarch and is predominantly Muslim, and it is also the homeland of the Nehru family.

However, many princely states far from Pakistan have a Muslim monarchy and a Hindu populace, and states like Hyderabad are quite common.

France went to great lengths for this arms sale. It took only twenty days from loading the cargo ship to its arrival on the subcontinent. After the cargo ship docked in Portuguese Goa to unload the goods, the fighter jets and bombers on board used the Portuguese airport to fly directly to Hyderabad and quickly transfer the aircraft, which were worth five tons of gold.

Among them was a transport plane carrying design blueprints for several French and German fighter jets. I wonder if Hyderabad can build airplanes by hand. Anyway, France has done everything it can.

This transport plane will carry the gold paid by Ali Khan to the French territory, and then load it onto a ship to return to France.

Without the unseen intervention of the French military high command, this arms sale would never have gone so smoothly, much less have it been completed before the independence of India and Pakistan.

Beside the runway, French and German mercenary instructors were using a mix of slang and gestures to instruct young pilots who had just graduated from the academy of the princely states on the essentials of flight. These young men, whose faces still looked somewhat immature, wore brand-new but ill-fitting flight suits and looked up at the steel behemoths they were to pilot, their eyes filled with a mixture of fear and a burning fervor.

After planes carrying supplies from mainland France and French Indochina arrived in the subcontinent, the German and French soldiers, temporarily employed by Hyderabad, began to demonstrate their military might, much to the eager anticipation of Ali Khan.

Breguet bombers and Messerschmitt fighters flew low over the palace, their massive shadows instantly swallowing the lights on the terraces.

Ali Khan had no time to worry about the reactions from London or New Delhi; compared to Hyderabad's 700-year-old tradition of independence, there were issues that couldn't be resolved in his hands. All anger had to take a backseat.

London is angry? He's angry too. What British Empire? It's nothing but a troublemaker shirking responsibility.

The aircraft descended again for one last flyby. The deafening roar shook the palace's crystal chandeliers and even reached beyond the city walls.

The British Governor's House in New Delhi, which may soon become the Prime Minister's House, is almost deserted. The Secretary of State of British India, Ismay, and the High Commissioner, Baron, reluctantly come to disturb Mountbatten. The matter of the recent close ties between France and Hyderabad has finally come to light.

"So, France is colluding with Hyderabad to intervene in the Indian subcontinent's conflict, and the evidence is the fleet of aircraft France just delivered to Hyderabad?" Mountbatten yawned. "Is France preparing to militarily support Hyderabad? So what do we do? lodge a strong protest with France? Or start a seven-year war?"

(End of this chapter)