Father of France

Chapter 63: The Value of United Front Work is Zero

“Exiling criminals is one way to increase the population of the colonies.” Admiral Dragon just felt that starting immediately was too hasty. “Isn’t it a bit early?”

"We must set a precedent immediately. Once the first batch of exiles is established, others will naturally follow in quick succession."

Koeman replied, "I don't know when the first general election will begin, but all the work of purging French collaborators should be finished before the first general election after the war. If it's not finished by then, someone might try to take advantage of the votes."

Koman returned home from Central Asia in a flash. He was indeed exhausted both physically and mentally after more than ten days. The father and son chatted for a while and then felt sleepy. General Dragon told him to go and rest.

Aside from the occasional unpredictable erections, a young body's recovery ability is truly remarkable.

Koman slept well, and the next day his biological clock rang on time. He got up and washed up, and Mrs. Adile had already prepared the food, waiting for the three men in the family to eat.

"Adila." Koman still couldn't bring himself to call the girl, who was only a year older than him, "Mom," but fortunately, she didn't mind. "If I offered you a brand for joint venture, would you be willing?"

"I don't know," Adile said, looking bewildered. The question was clearly outside her comfort zone. She cautiously replied, "I don't know anything."

"It's alright if you don't know how. As long as you're willing to step forward, there won't be any obstacles."

Koman said seriously, "My father and I are both soldiers and cannot directly do business. Como is only ten years old. Although some female leaders say he is old enough to go to the battlefield, the law will not recognize it. You are the only one in this family who is suitable to run a business. If you are willing, I can help you lay the foundation. Otherwise, with just a soldier's normal income, the whole family may have a hard time making ends meet. Claire also needs a radiant mother."

Adile's daughter, who is also Koman's sister, has been named Claire. Starting with this child, it is believed that Adile's attitude will be more easily softened.

There was no tension whatsoever. In a month at most, Koeman would be going to Germany with the young division to make a fortune, with astronomical wealth already beckoning him.

Even so, entering the business world is still necessary. Going to Germany to acquire land is just a one-off transaction; the family's future still depends on building a legitimate business.

The conversation with Adile ended with the appearance of Admiral Dragon. Coman quickly finished his food, wiped his mouth, and said, "Then I'll go to work now."

"Alright, make sure to schedule your time." Admiral Dragon showed no intention of stopping them; their relationship had always been this simple and straightforward.

Upon arriving at the Judicial Purification Committee, Koeman realized what it meant to pay attention to scheduling. He originally intended to immediately continue to find out how far the purge of criminals had progressed, but he was immediately stopped by a major.

"In recognition of Lieutenant Koman's outstanding performance in the Italian offensive, the division command decided to first promote Koman to the rank of lieutenant."

"Yes!" Koman's boot heels snapped together. Although it was a bit sudden, he still put on a serious, expressionless face to show how much he valued this conferment of ranks.

General Duval, the division commander, was not at the Judicial Purification Committee at the time, but was at the Chancellor's Office with Secretary General Henry Frey to make the application. In principle, Secretary General Henry Frey agreed to the punishment of exiling the German collaborators, whose crimes were not considered serious, to Algeria.

With the approval of the provisional government and the execution by the Judicial Purification Committee, French collaborators who had cooperated with Germany during the French occupation were exiled to Algeria. The first batch of 4,492 French collaborators were exiled, but this was not the entire population; it was only the first group. Those who committed heinous crimes were not included. For the truly high-ranking French collaborators who had close ties with Germany, exile was not the solution; they had to undergo trial in the Supreme Court and be criminally punished.

"All units shall return to Paris and hand over the trial materials and files of the French collaborators to the local police station." General Duval returned to the Judicial Purification Committee and issued the order, instructing the three regiments of the Youth Division in northern France, including the Jerusalem Regiment, to return to Paris to assemble.

“You’ve been promoted again.” Alan hadn’t seen Koman for three months, and the first thing he noticed when he saw Koman was the change in rank. His face was full of resentment. “You just left with a few words and ran away, leaving me to clean up your mess. Do you know what kind of life I was living in Paris? And look what happened, I’m still a warrant officer, while you’re a lieutenant.”

“That’s not how it works,” Koeman said, straightening his back. “It’s not something I can control. If I were to be awarded a rank, Alan would be a general, Martin would be a general, and Koeman would be a field marshal.”

"Then I really should thank you!" Alan said absentmindedly. "Just now, the division commander ordered the Youth Division troops in northern France to return to Paris. There are also rumors that the general offensive against Germany is about to begin. Are the two things related? Have we heard anything from the Americans?"

Alan knew that Admiral Dragon held a high position and wanted to get some information from Coman: "Should our troops go to the battlefield with the attacking forces? With our troops or with the American forces?"

"Of course they'll follow our attacking force. Following the American troops would be incredibly risky," Koman replied disdainfully. "Besides, given the American military's combat capabilities, anyone who dares to trust them would be crazy. What military superpower prints women directly on their recruitment posters?"

The recruitment poster for Uncle Sam in the United States may have been copied from the Soviet Union's Motherland poster.

As for most American recruitment posters, regardless of the branch of service, they all feature young and beautiful women. I, Koman, have collected recruitment posters from various countries in Syria, and there is one that looks exactly like a poster made from a photo of Rita Hayworth.

After some rambling, Alain explained how, with the cooperation of tainted witnesses such as Céline and Moraes, he devised a German conspiracy targeting French men and women's relationships.

The aim was to exacerbate gender tensions in France, reduce the French birth rate, and ultimately weaken French national and ethnic consciousness.

“Other writers are not doing so well; they’ve been targeted by the Supreme Court.” After explaining, Alan inquired about Koeman’s recent situation.

“If you hadn’t reminded me, I would have almost forgotten,” Coman muttered. “Setting up recruitment points in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, each company needs to be equipped with a Russian translator, otherwise if we run into the Soviet Red Army, misunderstandings will arise and we won’t be able to even try. By the way, how many German collaborators were there among the Imperial Russian immigrants?”

"Not many, probably because Germany invaded the Soviet Union not long afterward," Alan said after a moment's thought.

“Then just stop the investigation.” Koeman, considering the considerable gains he had just made in the Soviet Union, decided to let the Tsarist Russian immigrants off the hook.

"Won't this cause dissatisfaction among the citizens?" Alain asked rhetorically. Although the number of Imperial Russian immigrants was not large compared to the total population of Paris, such a bias might be used against them.

"Parisians? Who cares what they think? Aside from changing the government for the French, they've never been of any use."

Koeman muttered dismissively, saying that in his eyes, not only the citizens of Paris, but even the so-called French nation had no value in terms of united front work. He considered people of Russian descent far more useful than the glorious French, at least for now, as translators. A group with zero value in united front work was not worth considering at all.

(End of this chapter)