Father of France

Chapter 231 The mob
“Actually, the Central African colonies are also very suitable for using these people.” Koeman was instilling some ideas into this future Middle Eastern tyrant at this time.

He didn't want Bokassa to be too incompetent; he wanted him to be better than the four major families. A pure comprador class might be more advantageous to France, but that advantage would only be limited to ease of plunder.

While the proportion of French plunder might decrease as the African colonies developed, the total amount would still increase. Therefore, the state of French-controlled Africa in another world was absolutely unacceptable to Corman.

Bokassa's tyrannical level must be improved; he can be brutal, but he cannot be incompetent.

"The commander once said that my hometown is suitable for growing rice." Bokassa also remembered that Koeman had mentioned a similar issue regarding the conditions in the Central African Republic before.

“Your hometown has very special conditions. The yield per unit area may not be as high as that of places like Java because the soil quality is not as fertile. However, your rainy season allows for abundant rainfall throughout the year.”

The tropical rainforest climate of equatorial Africa also has rainy and dry seasons. However, due to its location in northern equatorial Africa, Central Africa is influenced by the Sahara Desert, so the rainy season is actually divided into two parts, but they are connected due to the influence of the two climates.

Therefore, the rainy season in Central Africa is even longer than in the Congo to the south. Koeman told Bokassa, "Your hometown doesn't need to be explained too clearly. It's nothing more than mining, logging, and planting. And in the foreseeable future, with the help of France, there might be a hydroelectric project that can be profitable."

The Ubangi River, a major northern tributary of the Congo River, is located within the Central African Republic. The difficulty of undertaking a large-scale project on the Congo River is too high, and Koeman would not consider it.

However, the plan to divert water from the Ubangi River to Lake Chad includes a supporting hydropower station project, which could greatly enhance the development level of China and Africa.

It has to be said that Bokassa enjoyed Koeman's offer immensely. As the saying goes, "one is influenced by one's company," and while Koeman may not be a good person, he is certainly not on the same level as the African founding fathers in the National Assembly.

Bokassa was a shining star and a benchmark figure in his time. He happened to meet Koeman when he was young, and Koeman wanted to mold this tyrant into the way he wanted him to be.

"Once the social experiment in Madagascar yields results, the next step will be your Central African Republic." Koeman calculated that he still had plenty of time for his crawling retreat tactic.

Does France's future status as the de facto ruler of Africa really require Major Coman to devise plans thousands of miles away, or rely on the founding fathers of the National Assembly? Those founding fathers are all permanent members of their respective countries, and they do the same things.

If the Qing Dynasty had encountered the external conditions of a Great Depression, it certainly could have accomplished more than Chang Gong. That's why the comprador class was a group even more hated than the feudal lords.

If French Africa were to be ruled by a group of compradors supported by France in the future, they would certainly be powerless to resist French plunder in the short term. However, with a population explosion and a large number of idle people without industry, they would definitely turn around and retaliate against France. We must never repeat the same mistake.

He preferred to trust a group of military governments, who, while not as reliable as compradors, would at least not turn French Africa into a mess.

Coman, who gave Bocasaga a little wisdom every day, thoroughly enjoyed his life with this tyrant, which was an integral part of the French Federation.

Koeman hasn't even finished reaping the benefits of Chiang Kai-shek's leadership in this civil war. After estimating the timeframe, he can now write a strategic analysis report for the General Staff in Paris, stating that Chiang Kai-shek is facing difficulties, and that the United States' deployment and attempts in East Asia are likely to fail, leading to a domino effect and unprecedented pressure on French Indochina.

This was also to prepare public opinion for the French army's victorious advance into Africa after demonstrating its resolute efforts to defend its colonies.

Although it is somewhat early, the French military leadership must heed this message.

This way, when a withdrawal policy is implemented, it will be easier to shift the blame.

In fact, public opinion in France outside of French Indochina has changed, and is gradually leaning towards preserving the independence of Laos and Cambodia and preventing Vietnam from annexing these two protectorates, especially in French Africa, where the issue of the Viet Minh's communist affiliation is not even mentioned.

"Blood-soaked buns, no wonder so many people like to eat them." Koman sighed as he wrote, lamenting his own ruthlessness. He wasn't always like this; he was a person who had completed nine years of compulsory education.

Compared to the version from the Eastern superpower, French Indochina is now living a peaceful life, though it has a sense of calm before the storm.

The Miao leader Wang Nengchu's appearance this time can be described as a complete transformation. After the Catholic armed forces, the Pingchuan faction armed forces, and the Baowang Party which protects the emperor, it was finally the Miao armed forces' turn to be equipped.

The weaponry is still mainly German-made, essentially disposable. Koeman did this intentionally to prevent French equipment from falling into the hands of these armed groups. The current weaponry is still time-limited; in a few years, it will all be outdated. The US cannot delay the replacement of these armed groups with new equipment.

If you don't take it, how can I take it? If I don't take it, how can Commissioner Smith take it? If Commissioner Smith doesn't take it, how will these anti-Vietnam Union armed groups make progress in the future?
American weapons are known for their high prices, but this isn't a recent phenomenon; the US military was like that during World War II. With similar military budgets, the Soviet Union consistently had larger-scale weaponry than the US during the Cold War, likely due to the similar populations of the two countries. The US military's insistence on criticizing the Soviet Union's higher military spending during the Vietnam War, arguing that a lower spending figure would be due to Soviet concealment of military expenditures, is absurd.

Meanwhile, in the Soviet Union at the same time, Brezhnev had just come to power when he was already being accused by the United States, which had amassed 500,000 troops in Vietnam and launched a major offensive. Hoon Thong was quite wronged.

For the Miao armed forces, there was no need to care about German style or not. With a division of 17,000 men mobilized, Wang Nengchu could be considered a warlord with a certain reputation in the Indochina Peninsula.

“This is my son, Wang Bao.” This time, Wang Nengchu brought his son and introduced him to Koman in the tone of a successor.

Wang Nengchu did not underestimate Koman. The last time he met Koman, he was a captain, but now he was a genuine mid-level officer.

Moreover, the gendarmerie is a special force, and Corman is quite quick-witted, so currently, no officer below the rank of colonel in the French Army in French Indochina can interfere with Corman's actions.

As for officers of the rank of colonel and above, aren't they generals with the lowest rank of brigadier general? At the general level, everyone basically knows about the existence of Admiral Dragon.

"Have you gone to the Governor's Mansion? Make sure the order is correct; the military is always a place where hierarchy is paramount."

Koman dutifully offered a reminder, and only after learning that they had already arrived did he express his welcome, saying, "Congratulations, General Wang, for uniting the people of the eighteen Miao villages into one. I have prepared a gift for you."

As he spoke, Coman took out a heavy stone, a carving of lilac purple jade, made by a descendant of the Imperial Workshop. The quality was so-so, but the carving skills were truly excellent.

Sending a jade carving of a dragon and phoenix symbolizes good fortune. Wang Nengchu's method of unifying the eighteen Miao villages is a testament to ancient wisdom, and it is even more common in Europe, where it involves marriage alliances.

Wang Nengchu's son, Wang Bao, undertook the task of the marriage alliance. At just eighteen years old, he held a mass wedding and then followed his father, Wang Nengchu, to Saigon, demonstrating the Miao people's loyalty to France.

Upon learning that Wang Nengchu was a descendant of a royal craftsman from a previous dynasty of a great Eastern power, he accepted the gift with great solemnity and immediately expressed his gratitude to Koman.

“Of course, we are equals and it’s mutually beneficial.” Koman breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the Miao people also recognized this. This is the power of culture.

When Macartney visited the Qing Dynasty, he believed that the biggest loss was that Emperor Qianlong was too stingy. He sent a batch of precious gifts, but among Qianlong's return gifts was a pile of jade, which was not recognized in Europe at all.

The guests and hosts were all happy, which also marked the successful completion of the armed forces of the Catholics, the Pingchuan faction, the royalists, and the Miao people—a motley crew. This was the base of the reactionary forces that France had supported in French Indochina. The total armed force of the four factions was nearly 400,000 men, and it may expand in the future.

As Koeman successfully armed the rabble, a telegram from Algiers was also sent to Paris. It was from General Juan, the commander of the French forces in Algeria, and included some views on the Mediterranean railway connection project, as well as some cost-saving and efficiency-enhancing solutions.

The main idea is to organize Christians who have immigrated to overseas provinces, including the Maronites, into fourteen divisions according to their current settlements, forming integrated military, government, and enterprise units, which will serve as the backbone of the Production and Construction Corps.

When the telegram was sent to Paris, the Paris government did not reply immediately because the Socialist Party, the French Communist Party, and the Popular Republican Movement were in the midst of a new round of political infighting.

At the same time, the UN Security Council also convened a UN General Assembly Resolution 181 concerning the establishment of the State of Israel, deciding to establish two nation-states in Palestine, the British mandate territory: one Jewish state and the other Arab state.

Because of Jerusalem's crucial political status, the resolution proposes to establish it as an independent and special international regime administered by the United Nations.

The proposal was met with strong opposition from all Arab countries, and the entire meeting was in chaos. France, unlike the rest of the world, had a large number of French military veterans in Syria, and this time it made the same choice as Britain, choosing to abstain from voting.

Eleven countries abstained, thirteen opposed, and thirty-two voted in favor. The support of the thirty-two countries was not important; the main point was that the United States and the Soviet Union were among the countries that voted in favor.

Despite strong opposition from the Arab world, the plan for the establishment of Israeli and Palestinian states was adopted, allowing the two countries to establish themselves after the expiration of the British mandate.

(End of this chapter)