It must be emphasized that Qin Zhiyuan’s recruitment behavior was not really the result of the old Renault.
Madagascar is indeed very good, and Qin Zhiyuan does intend to plan Madagascar, but what is certain is that it will not be during Pierre's term.
Lanfang currently does not have a strong need for territorial expansion. Compared with the Lanfang people, whose population is less than 50 million, Lanfang's territory is large enough. Qin Zhiyuan does not have many territorial claims for the time being. If Qin Zhiyuan really chooses to expand,
Australia would be a better choice.
In fact, Qin Zhiyuan is also immigrating to Australia on a large scale.
After Port Hedland gained legal status, the population of Port Hedland has rapidly increased to more than 200,000. Lanfang's decision to build an industrial base in the Pilbara region will definitely stimulate the rapid growth of the population in the Pilbara region.
It is estimated that when the base is completed, the total population of the Pilbara region will exceed one million, and by then the largest city in Western Australia will no longer be Perth, but Port Hedland. And if these million people
If legal status can be obtained, then according to the principle of majority submission, Western Australia will no longer have the final say in Perth, but in Port Hedland.
Building an industrial base is not a hassle, the main issue is confidentiality. Once the population increases, confidentiality will become a top priority.
Fortunately, the Lanfang government does not lack experience in this area. Under Qin Zhiyuan's instruction, Lanfang has already carried out pilot projects in Wanghai Prefecture, such as the 104 factory built deep in the mountains. Workers in the factory are working in the factory
, live in the factory, their children go to school in the factory-run school, and the spouses of workers will try their best to live in the same factory. In this way, a factory will become a condensed society. From birth to death, these workers even
There is no need to leave the factory gate, which effectively ensures the confidentiality of the work, and is also more conducive to the enthusiasm of workers.
Of course, if the time line is lengthened, this model will definitely have problems, such as the derived people who are too busy, and the awareness that one big pot will definitely appear, etc. However, at this stage, there is still no problem in doing so until the company needs to be transformed.
When introducing it to the market, there is no need for confidentiality.
In this context, the telegram Pierre sent to Qin Zhiyuan was a bit groundless accusation. Of course, Qin Zhiyuan would not be polite to Pierre. Even if they were relatives, they could not talk nonsense.
So the telegram went round and round and ended up in the hands of old Renault.
Old Renault's reply to Pierre was even simpler: That's fine if you don't let me recruit workers from Lanfang. As long as you give me enough workers, I promise not to recruit workers from Lanfang.
This is what forces people to do. Although Pierre is the governor of Madagascar and has great power, he still cannot find enough workers for old Renault. Otherwise, the bankers in Antananarivo would not be chasing Pierre's ass all day long.
complain.
Faced with the old Renault's questioning, Pierre was not completely without countermeasures. Of course, Pierre would not make it so obvious. Instead, he proposed to the old Renault in a tactful way, hoping that the old Renault would hire more French people.
Or French colonial manpower, not Lanfang people.
Old Renault immediately ordered someone to send Pierre a list of employees employed by Renault Bauxite Company. The list clearly showed that 70% of the workers employed by Renault Bauxite Company were from Annan, and less than 30% were from Lanfang.
Such a report is meaningless. Everyone knows that the relationship between Annan and Lanfang is much closer than the relationship with the French.
But for old Renault, having such a report is enough to submit a report to Pierre.
The relationship between France and Lanfang is still in the honeymoon period. Pierre will definitely not break up with Qin Zhiyuan over this matter. It is not in the fundamental interests of France.
For France, continuously expanding its colonies and expanding France's international influence is what Pierre and other colonial governors should do. Similarly, it is also what Lyautey should do.
Since he and Qin Zhiyuan decided to plot against Siam, Lyotey began to expand his troops in order to play a greater role in the process of conquering Siam, and then take more initiative in the distribution of benefits after the war.
Before Lyautey arrived in Saigon, the French Governor-General of Indochina had only two infantry divisions that were understaffed. The structure was the same as that of the Lanfang Foreign Legion. The ordinary soldiers came from Annam itself, and the officers and technical officers and soldiers came from France.
This structure seems fine, but due to the French army's long-standing tradition, the combat effectiveness of these two infantry divisions is indeed not very good.
The French army is also extremely particular about seniority. The class consciousness in the army is very serious. The treatment of Annan soldiers is much worse than that of French soldiers. Even in the same position, the salary of Annan soldiers is less than half of that of French soldiers. This kind of
Unfair treatment has caused widespread dissatisfaction in these two divisions, seriously affecting the combat effectiveness of the troops.
In the French army, there is also serious racial discrimination. Although the severity is not as obvious as in the British army, it also puts the troops on the verge of turmoil. In these two divisions, the privileges of French officers are eye-catching, and even
Some officers have slaves in the army, and more Annan soldiers have become slaves to French officers. The antagonism between officers and soldiers is serious. Let alone sending out to fight, such an army can maintain the status quo without mutiny.
Not easy.
Lyautey was indeed France's best colonial soldier. After taking over the army, Lyautey immediately carried out a certain degree of reform, including improving the treatment of Annan soldiers, giving Annan soldiers equal status, and abolishing the military privileges of French officers.
etc.
This alleviated the conflicts between Annan soldiers and French officers to a certain extent, calmed the mood of Annan soldiers, and improved the combat effectiveness of the troops.
After completing the transformation of these two divisions, Lyautey immediately formed two more divisions on the basis of these two divisions. A certain proportion of the officers in the newly formed two divisions were from Annamites. This was
It effectively improved the status of the Annamites in the army, further improved the combat effectiveness of the troops, and even increased the loyalty of some officers and soldiers to France, which had never happened before.
It's not that the former Governor Bastian was incompetent, but that Bastian's thoughts were not on running the colony at all. Bastian's long-term plan was to return to France and work hard to climb higher in the French military system.
It was further away, so when Bastian was in office, he didn't pay attention to the construction of the colonial army at all.
After the reorganization of the four divisions was completed, the time has come to November. Traditionally speaking, November is already winter and is not suitable for launching a war. However, in Southeast Asia, this problem does not exist. Even in November, the temperature is generally
It's still above 20 degrees, so there's no weather problem at all.
By November, good news finally came from the Northern Territory. Under the continuous attacks of Kolchak's coalition government and Lanfang Northern Territory, Red Russia finally could no longer hold on. In early November, the coalition forces broke through the capital of Red Russia. St. Petersburg, announcing the complete destruction of Red Russia.
When he heard the news, although Qin Zhiyuan had already had a premonition, he still felt sad. The former comradeship and brotherhood are not easy to forget. Although in this time and space, Red Russia did not show any goodwill to the Chinese, but that time It is a memory that belongs to a generation. Qin Zhiyuan was also influenced by his family when he was a child, and his feelings towards Russians are quite complex.
In any case, in this time and space, Red Russia failed to establish that super empire. The entire Russia is now torn apart. Denikin’s Belarus and Kolchak’s coalition government have become the representatives of the Russians. The existence of Lanfang Northern Territory will It has become a painful memory that will never be erased in the hearts of Russians for a long time.
Although the battle was over, there was still more finishing work to be done, so Lu Zhengxiang and Qin Zhisheng came to Penglai Island to report the cost of this battle to Qin Zhiyuan.
From the beginning of the campaign in May to now, we have dispatched a total of six divisions, including one tank division, two semi-mechanized divisions, and finally two infantry divisions and one artillery division. During the entire campaign, there were 4,300 soldier casualties. , most of them are due to weather reasons. The logistics department is not familiar with the logistics support of fighting in severe cold areas. The cotton-padded clothes of some troops were not replenished in time, and a certain degree of frostbite occurred in the troops. At the same time, our tanks and cars are also in use. Some problems have been exposed, which require the military industry department to organize research and solve them. The key issue now is the pension cost. Although the coalition government has not shirked its responsibility, they have no money now, so they cannot pay the pension to our soldiers. Qin Zhisheng's report There was an element of schadenfreude, not at the casualties of Lanfang soldiers, but at the plight of the coalition government.
Eugenich came to me yesterday, hoping to obtain a loan from us. The coalition government will use minerals and timber to repay it. At the same time, Eugenich hopes that we can provide certain assistance to the coalition government, including food and living supplies. Lu Zhengxiang There was no gloating here, the expression of satisfaction was still palpable.
Thinking about how a few years ago Lu Zhengxiang was still begging for help in Paris, but he was always groveling because he did not have a strong motherland. Thinking about Eugenich's humility in front of Lu Zhengxiang, it is really embarrassing.
Eugenich is the plenipotentiary ambassador of the coalition government stationed in Lanfang. The coalition government is also the only country in the Nordic region with which Lanfang has established diplomatic relations.
They owed us a lot of money before. Now how many Qin Zhiyuan still remembers the negotiations with Kolchak when he visited the coalition government?
The economic situation of the coalition government is not good, at least it is much worse than that of Lanfang. The war launched by Kolchak was only launched with a series of assistance provided by Lanfang.
Before the war, it was 400 million yuan, and now the total is about 1.6 billion. Eugenich wanted to lend another 400 million, so the total would be about 2 billion. Lu Zhengxiang is still proficient in numbers.
After a war, the debt quadrupled. This war was really a waste of money.