Father of France

Chapter 272 The war resumes
“Alright, we’re just soldiers; it’s really inappropriate to talk about politics.” Philippe de Gaulle changed the subject, asking in return, “Comman, you’re going back to the overseas departments. Is the actual situation there as optimistic as the telegrams suggest, or is it as some rumors say?”

"It is indeed optimistic; there are currently no large-scale anti-French armed groups emerging." Koeman gave a positive answer, noting that the scale of anti-French armed groups in North Africa is currently negligible.

The Algerian War of Independence broke out on a large scale after the Vietnam War. The Arabs thought that if the Vietnamese could do it, so could they. The French army, on the other hand, had completely entered a state of military affairs similar to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and did not take the government seriously. They only wanted money and wanted to solve problems by force. Then the two groups clashed.

As for the intensity of the Algerian War of Independence? Koeman didn't think it was that high. He was used to the random 50% chance of dying during a change of dynasty, and he could accept any environment as long as it wasn't like the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, where you could create an apocalyptic novel just by changing the skin.

So if Koeman could handle the intensity of the PUBG tournament in Sudan, he could certainly handle the intensity in Algeria.

Upon his return to Algeria, some unexpected events are bound to occur, and he will need to find a group of unpaid laborers burdened with original sin to expedite the completion of the Mediterranean Railway.

Philippe de Gaulle had no idea that the man clinking glasses with Corman in front of him harbored such dark thoughts. After listening, he breathed a sigh of relief: "Many soldiers on the mainland thought that the military control of the overseas provinces was because the situation there was very unfavorable."

"The optimism stems from military control; anti-French forces are hiding within society, just not daring to show themselves yet," Corman explained. "They will emerge at the appropriate time. Some preventative measures should be implemented in advance, otherwise, if something really happens, there might not be enough time to react. It relates to France's future position in the world."

Regardless of whether Algeria's conditions are good or not, or how much desert it has, its area is real. A large country needs at least three million square kilometers of land to support its framework.

A country's land area is its physical infrastructure. Once you have the physical infrastructure, you don't need to market your soft power or culture.

Just like BYD, even its name has a negative impact on the company, but it can still dominate its field by relying solely on hardware.

It's not that soft power isn't important. If you have strong soft power on top of hard power, then you're like Huawei, where you have to do both things well.

Koeman's image of France is that of a Xiaomi company, lacking any real strength and relying entirely on marketing through articles portraying French men as romantic, French literature as sophisticated, and French mathematics as advanced. For someone like Koeman, a keyboard warrior, living in such a country would be extremely painful.

By letting Philippe de Gaulle hear Corman and others express their dissatisfaction with the frequent changes of government and their concerns about France potentially falling into American subjugation, the purpose of this dinner was achieved.

It is believed that at some point, Philippe de Gaulle will tell his father, General de Gaulle, about today's unfounded rumors.

Philippe de Gaulle had just gotten married, so the three of them couldn't treat him like a bachelor. After a hearty meal, they saw him off, and only after watching him get into a taxi did Martin speak up, "Actually, neither Alain nor I have ever stayed abroad for high-ranking officials. Is the situation there really that optimistic?"

"For now, at least there's no problem." Koman smiled broadly, but his voice was colder than the Siberian chill. "We're soldiers; we don't do things that require careful consideration."

“If there’s a problem, just deal with the person who caused it,” Alan chimed in. “However, given Koman’s personality, he’ll probably leave the women behind. I even suspect that if we were to declare war on any country, Koman would be unwilling to go to the battlefield because of the women in that country.”

"Are we going to declare war on the Soviet Union?" Koman said in a tone that suggested he couldn't possibly be that kind of person. He wasn't angry with his two comrades, but rather let them be. He said, "Women shouldn't be associated with war. They are the weaker sex. As long as they don't create a situation where ten-year-old boys can go to the battlefield, and they don't enter areas they're not good at, I have no prejudice against them."

“That might not work. Even the military needs women,” Martin said helplessly. “We can’t stop it, so what can you do?”

"It's simple. There are two routes for recruiting women into the military. The first route can be learned from the Soviet cultural troupe route. There are no standards; it all depends on how good-looking they are."

Koeman smiled. Could this stump him? "The second route is normal enlistment. We firmly believe in gender equality. There is no difference between men and women in essence. We will never consider women as weak in our hearts. So there is no need to use two sets of standards because of gender. As long as you can meet the physical test data for men, you can become a glorious French soldier."

"Promotion in military rank, especially to captain or above, must be for female soldiers who enlisted in the military. Female soldiers from the cultural troupe are excluded."

“That’s good. That should solve the problem for everyone except a few with exceptional talent.” Martin nodded repeatedly. “Of the three of us, you’re definitely the most resourceful.” “I’ve never heard of ten-year-old boys being able to fight on the battlefield before. I only just learned that such a thing has actually happened on our own soil.” Alan hesitated for a moment, then continued, “However, there’s no such thing in Austria right now. It seems like there isn’t one in Germany either.”

“German men are all dead, so who are we going to complain to? Now German women are going to work in factories just the same way.” Koeman scoffed. “If we don’t want the old ways to repeat themselves, we have to be in a buyer’s market. We do have this problem; Muslims in the overseas provinces have a tradition of polygamy, which will create an imbalance between supply and demand.”

"So how do we solve this? By using France's economic advantages to plunder underdeveloped regions?" Martin, quick-witted, soon came up with a solution.

The conversation between the three of them suddenly veered off course, treating interpersonal relationships as cold, hard data. Koman was always like that, while Martin and Alan, although they were Maronites, had lived in Syria for a long time and had been influenced by the Prophet Muhammad's teachings, so they didn't see anything wrong with it.

"There shouldn't be any problems in the short term." Koman was still not as sincere as his two Syrian comrades who had been touched by the light of the Prophet Muhammad. He was indeed not sincere enough and didn't value his life that much, but he was far less detached than his two comrades. "Once this trend emerges, we can find another way. We can work on it in Latin American countries. When attracting immigrants, the requirements for men should be: a degree from a top university, proof of assets, and no bad habits. For women, the requirement is good health. Anyway, Latin American culture comes from Europe, and France is in a superior position among Latin American countries."

Cultural status is something that cannot be seen, touched, or quantified, but Koeman has to admit that its influence is really significant. Take Vietnam as an example. Japan and South Korea actually have higher incomes than the major Eastern power. Although their actual purchasing power is not much higher, Vietnam's only comprehensive disadvantage among these countries is the major Eastern power.

The marriage ratio was so exaggerated that someone who didn't know better would think it was during Koeman's time, when the US military was stationed in Japan.

Let's not even talk about the economies of Latin American countries; they're basically a bunch of compradors. Culturally, they're also subordinate to European countries. Theoretically, if it weren't for the distance, Vietnam would be in the same ecological niche as the major Eastern power.

"For the first time, I feel that Guyana is actually somewhat useful." Koman suddenly took out his diary, which he carried with him, and flipped through several pages of his uneventful day, jotting down his flashes of inspiration.

Martin and Alan exchanged a glance before looking away. Sometimes they both wondered if Coman's beliefs were influenced by Alawite mysticism.

"Alright, let's go home and rest." Koman jotted down his sudden inspiration to establish a cultural university in Guyana and prepared to go home. There was still the British treasure waiting for him, with a monthly salary of $100,000.

At the end of his vacation, Corman demonstrated his excellent time management skills by visiting the Saar region to do some work for Franco-German solidarity before hurriedly returning to Paris to await the end of his vacation and return to his overseas department to continue his service.

The Berlin airlift continues, and the four-week ceasefire for the partition of Israel and Palestine expired. Almost immediately after the ceasefire ended, the fully reorganized Israel Defense Forces launched an offensive, and the Arab side also used its weapons to shatter the illusion of peace.

Israel initially focused its offensive on Jordan. The weapons Israel acquired from Czechoslovakia were vast and diverse, ranging from individual weapons to fighter jets. Fifty thousand rifles, five thousand submachine guns, and ninety million rounds of ammunition—the newly expanded and reorganized Israel Defense Forces—became the foundation for Israel's ability to turn the tide of the war.

After consolidation and expansion, the Israel Defense Forces have reached 60,000 personnel. The Israeli Ministry of Defense has decided to launch a limited offensive against Jordan to prevent a threat to Tel Aviv from the West Bank.

Once the Jordanian army's offensive positions are eliminated, the second phase will primarily aim to defeat the Egyptian army.

The main objective of the attack on Jordan was to capture the towns of Lud and Ramla, which cut off Israel's access to Jerusalem. The Israel Defense Forces that launched the attack were filled with kibbutz farmers, Jerusalem students, and even some new immigrants who had just returned from Cypriot detention camps and had not yet gotten used to handling guns.

These new immigrants, with faces as cold and austere as the Siberian cold front, will be the main force of this attack, tasked with tearing through a city's defenses under the cover of armored vehicles and King David artillery.

The night sky was torn apart by a piercing whistling sound. Immediately afterwards, the earth roared, and several massive fireballs erupted from the direction of Ludl. The artillery preparations had begun. The Palestinian region surrounding the ceasefire was once again shrouded in a hail of bullets.

The attacking troops leaped out of their positions like ghosts, using the fire and dust from the explosions to advance towards the edge of the city.

Arab bullets began to fly in from the windows and behind the low walls, halting the Jewish advance. The exchange of fire was brief and intense, with some Israeli soldiers shouting in Russian, "Don't fall under these people's guns! Take cover immediately!"

(End of this chapter)