Father of France

Chapter 238 Times Change

“I know, this northern neighbor that poses a security threat to French Indochina.” Ekoda immediately understood that the United States’ East Asia strategy was centered on the Eastern superpower. “Back then, they talked about sharing the benefits, but now that they’re powerful, they want to monopolize them. Don’t we have the time to deal with this country?”

Koeman knew, to be precise, that the United States’ East Asia strategy during the Roosevelt era was definitely centered on the major Eastern power, but Chiang Kai-shek’s attitude of taking advantage of others during the Truman era disgusted Truman.

Truman didn't put much effort into Roosevelt's East Asia strategy, but he never dreamed that it would take Chiang Kai-shek only three months for the situation to go from stable to completely collapsed.

Before the three major battles, the United States had to invest ten times more in each of them than in the Korean War. Not to mention after the three major battles, no one on this broken planet could save Chiang Kai-shek.

A year later, the United States began to consider whether it was better to focus on maritime power and let the great Eastern power fend for itself.

As for Ekoda's claim about subduing the Eastern superpower at a certain point in time, Koman thought deeply for a moment and shook his head, replying, "There isn't such a timeframe. They aren't a fragile country like the Ottoman Empire. They've built their country like an ironclad fortress, and Europe has never had a chance to seize it."

The two Opium Wars, at most, brought some mental anguish to the Qing Dynasty and ended its two-hundred-year expansion. However, it is easy to gloss over this from the perspective of Ying Xue (the study of the Three Kingdoms period), while the troubles caused by the Japanese pirates lasted even longer.

The scenario of the British East India Company gradually conquering India by dividing and conquering one faction would not have been possible in a major Eastern power. Who would they have chosen? Heading straight for the capital and destroying the Qing Dynasty would have been equally difficult in a sense, as the authority of the imperial court would still be intact.

Even after the First Sino-Japanese War, when the Eight-Nation Alliance began to have this idea and actually ventured deep into the interior, they immediately found that the situation was out of control, and Wilhelm II stopped making clamors.

“We have always respected them, and the few who didn’t, like Wilhelm II, quickly came to respect them,” Coman shrugged. “Not like the failed Ottoman Empire.”

A nation's attributes can be summarized in a few aspects. In terms of domestic affairs, the Ottoman Empire seems to lack expertise in this area. Its seven million square kilometers of land, including historically prosperous regions, were transformed by the Ottoman Empire into a population of just over twenty million.

The people of the Ottoman Empire were hardworking and resilient, and they did justice to the Sultan.

The Ottoman Empire was driven to the brink of collapse, which resulted in the Battle of the Dardanelles during World War I. The British, especially Churchill, were indeed arrogant, but no major Eastern power had ever encountered such a desperate situation where there was no future without a fight to the death. After Wilhelm II, the only other country that was not quite sober-up was the Japanese.

If the Ottoman Empire had any ability to govern its internal affairs and had a population of forty or fifty million, it would not have just given the British a bloodbath in World War I; it would have been a major power far superior to Italy.

Churchill believed that such a country was worth only two battleships and would be expelled from the navy.

France colonized French Indochina with the aim of trading with a major Eastern power, especially after seeing the role played by Britain and British India, but it never had the opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

The United States now considers the Eastern power under Chiang Kai-shek's leadership to be untouchable, let alone France, a thing of the past. Koeman doesn't really care about it, since the United States' attempts will fail anyway.

Since the bait of the great Eastern power seems so tempting, and Japan and South Korea are currently being supported by the United States, is it really a mistake for France to step in to solve the food shortage and safeguard the collective interests of the Western world?

Although Japan's occupation by the four countries before it had nothing to do with France, from a purely economic and trade perspective, trade was still possible.

Louis Fryda is now also looking for markets in the rice center. Due to the influence of previous trade with the Soviet Union, rice cultivation in Thailand and French Indochina has expanded significantly. If new markets cannot be found, prices will fall, and France may lack the military funds to continue suppressing the Viet Minh.

It's one thing for the US to refuse to reimburse the French military's expenses, but if it also tries to prevent France from earning foreign exchange, then France will give you a domino effect right now, even before the Chang Li regime fails.

The role of the Viet Minh was once again demonstrated. Koeman was thinking about whether he should seize the time to improve the domino theory and establish his anti-Soviet persona before the Americans. Personas are important at any time. Just like Lei Jun, who has become the richest man, he still emphasizes that we don't make money and that our products are cost-effective. If you criticize me, find your own reasons.

Koeman was also thinking about how to turn the French military presence in French Indochina into a fraudulent project to solicit aid from the United States, ideally with the same profitable effect as the recent food war against Japan and South Korea.

Regardless, Koeman's preparations for this food war have begun. However, this is merely a trial balloon, incomparable to a true food war; it's simply about earning some foreign exchange. A real food war is far more than just earning foreign exchange; it involves national food security plans governed by international grain traders. At that time, everything in the target country—from seed to table, from farmland to price—will follow the rules of international grain traders.

This kind of real food war is not suitable for Japan and South Korea, especially Japan. Even if it achieves its goal in a short period of time, Japan's value in the united front has increased since the Korean War, and it will take back the agriculture with the support of the United States.

Once South Korea has had its trustworthy leader Syngman Rhee ousted, France will have few options left to deal with the country. Therefore, Corman will not design an impossible target for Louis Fyda.

The current conditions are actually quite good. British India is independent, the New Delhi rice trading center is almost useless, Indonesia, the largest country in Southeast Asia, has been badly ravaged by the previous French military action, typhoons are a daily occurrence in the Philippines, and the major Eastern power is embroiled in a civil war.

The only truly peaceful grain-producing regions are French Indochina and Thailand, which was previously incorporated into France; they are truly unique in their own right.

Rice from French Indochina had a significant price advantage over grain shipped from the United States due to its lower shipping costs and greater distance.

Both Japan and South Korea are experiencing high inflation. The situation can be compared to that in Europe, after all, Europe's food crisis is still fresh in everyone's memory, having erupted last year, not to mention countries like Japan and South Korea.

Even so, Coman did not want to monopolize the profits. If his American counterparts did not mind, Louis Fida should discuss this matter with them and use grain to gain control over Japan and South Korea. Louis Fida only wanted its share and would not interfere with the blueprint of American grain merchants.

It's simply a matter of how much money you make. Coman has already worked with Standard Oil of New Jersey, so why would he care about working with the US again on food issues?
As Louis Vuitton and its American counterparts began their dialogue to coordinate interests, rice prices in Saigon and Bangkok were trending downwards, suggesting an unseen hand at work, guiding market sentiment and expectations.

When the market anticipates a shortage, prices will naturally rise, and vice versa.

Grain traders generally do not directly interfere with domestic grain pricing. Instead, they take indirect measures, establishing large long or short positions and coordinating with actions in the physical market to amplify price fluctuations.

Directly interfering with food prices is cartel behavior, which is illegal in Europe and America. But colonies don't follow these rules. The Saigon Rice Exchange Center was originally a French colony, while the Bangkok Rice Exchange Center was restored by Coman and Louis Fyodor.

France needs to earn foreign exchange and can't bear to see the hardships of the people of Japan and South Korea. To conduct normal food trade, Saigon and Bangkok must unconditionally cooperate with France. It's like treating British royalty as a free favor; no one can understand Corman's good intentions.

Two important news items in February were the independence of Sri Lanka, which meant that all of Britain's colonies in South Asia had become independent. Britain's only remaining colony east of the Persian Gulf was Malaya in Southeast Asia. The small Southeast Asia became another stronghold of old-line imperial powers, outside of Africa.

Another major piece of news was the political situation in Czechoslovakia. The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia officially came to power, which changed the country's system and caused a huge shock to Western European countries.

Western European countries viewed this as a coup d'état, a coup d'état initiated by the Soviet Union after World War II to absorb Eastern European countries and overthrow their existing political systems. This caused immense panic in Western Europe.

When Coman arrived at the governor's mansion to report the grain export data to General Dassanio, he happened to hear this news, and his first reaction was, "What does this have to do with me?"

Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked. Isn't this just a matter of time since the end of the World Wars? What's so surprising about it?

Furthermore, Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union actually had a pretty good relationship, not just in name. Before the war, Czechoslovak society was permeated with Pan-Slavism and traditionally regarded the largest Slavic country as a savior. When Germany invaded Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovakia regarded Soviet support as its last bargaining chip.

However, Koeman cannot say that, because the root of this matter was the Munich Agreement between Britain and France, which led to Czechoslovakia's betrayal and a sharp rise in enthusiasm for Pan-Slavism.

Major Thierry, the military attaché at the Governor's Office, glanced at the grain export data and reminded Coman, "General Dachanliu is in a bad mood right now. I'll give the data to the general later."

"You've worked hard, Thierry." Coman saw through it but didn't say anything. He was in a good mood. He had just received a telegram that Eva Gardner had returned, so he no longer had to play the double game. "Paris supports our efforts in the grain trade, and the President of the Council of Ministers, Schuman, is understanding of us soldiers."

(End of this chapter)