Chapter Nineteen: A Unified Army

Once French women obtained the right to vote, it was not so simple. There is a saying: a man cannot be certain he is the biological father, but a woman can be sure she is the biological mother.

Such an operation, which clearly cast doubt on female loyalty, would surely spark controversy during peacetime. Coman always trusted the boxer's associative thinking.

Fortunately, at this moment there was a brief window of opportunity; things that were usually impossible could now be done.

The national blood bank plan was implemented under the banner of avenging Germany. The youth corps was divided into four parts according to their formations, setting out from Paris towards various directions.

At the same time, the French people learned another piece of news: Charles de Gaulle had met with Maurice Thorez, the leader of the French Communist Party who had rushed back from Moscow. After negotiations, the French Communist Party agreed to relinquish command of its armed forces and establish a unified French army under de Gaulle’s leadership.

The French Communist Party had its own armed forces. General Delagon was stationed on Sardinia, and just north of Sardinia lay Corsica, which had been liberated by the communist-led armed resistance.

This island alone had fifteen thousand troops under communist command, liberated without Allied assistance, making it France’s largest island.

The French Communist Party had developed 250,000 resistance fighters nationwide. However, Thorez’s compromise displeased André Marty, a commander within the communist forces. Marty could not understand Thorez’s concession, leading to fierce arguments between the two, as the leaders attending the communist party meeting harbored diverse thoughts.

De Gaulle, temporarily working out of the city hall, had already learned the details of this internal communist dispute and gave a barely perceptible nod after hearing the report.

“General, the French Communist Party commands 250,000 armed men,” Pompidou said with concern. This was not a factor to be ignored. His experience as a trade representative made him hesitate over such confrontations.

“That is precisely why we must build a strong and unified central army,” de Gaulle replied, eyes narrowing decisively. “Otherwise, future problems will be very serious. We must not become servants of Britain or America, but becoming servants of the Slavs is no better. Being caught in the middle is indeed painful.”

De Gaulle always sensed that the American threat was no less than that of the Soviet Union. In his dealings with Americans over these two years, he deeply felt their disdain for the current France.

This might also relate to the fact that he was not the French leader supported by the Americans. The Americans supported General Giraud, but not entirely; their backing of Giraud and their view of de Gaulle as not one of their own was just one factor.

The most crucial factor was that France had been rapidly defeated by Germany in this war, touching upon the iron rule that power is justice. The United States no longer regarded France as a great power.

War time could solve problems unsolvable in peace, something Coman understood well—let alone de Gaulle, who led France. If he did not take back the communist armed forces, no one else could.

At the Paris Veterans’ Hospital, the lawn was trimmed like a freshly shaved head, and the cobblestone paths were swept clean of a single fallen leaf.

Napoleon’s tomb lay at the center, a massive red stone sarcophagus placed underground, visible only by descending steps. The sarcophagus was engraved with his victories: Austerlitz, Jena, Friedland...

Under the pretense of visiting wounded veterans, Coman came here to talk with some injured soldiers, mainly to inquire about their demands for military rights and protections, to record for communication with Henri Frenay. However, Coman refrained from discussing financial aid; the country was still struggling, and the war was not yet over—such talks were premature.

When Alain arrived at the Veterans’ Hospital, he couldn’t find Coman after asking around, finally learning he was in the exhibition hall, which displayed historical weapons and uniforms—from rusted medieval armor to gleaming new rifles.

Coman stood with his back to the entrance, seemingly studying the exhibits carefully. Alain approached quietly and lightly tapped Coman’s shoulder.

“Coman.”

“Hmm.” Reluctantly withdrawing his gaze, as if forced by an irresistible external force to give up a rare treasure, Coman asked absentmindedly, “How did you find me here?”

“Some investigative reports from the Antioch Brigade. Want to take a look?” Alain had never seen Coman look like this—similar to lovers in a passionate romance. But aside from some convalescing wounded soldiers, there were no women here. Could it be a nurse, or perhaps a visiting nun?

“Also, there are rumors that the provisional government is negotiating with the French Communist Party to bring the party’s armed forces under unified command of the government.”

“Strengthen the central army, dilute the Communist Party’s cohesion through multiparty involvement,” Coman summarized firmly. This was de Gaulle’s plan as the temporary leader of the provisional government after the war.

The fundamental reason, of course, was fear of the Communist revolution. The 250,000 armed men under the Communist Party’s leadership had indeed been a considerable advantage against the Germans at this moment in France.

Thus, de Gaulle chose to start with the military—merging the Communist armed forces to establish a unified command of the French army, while diluting Communist influence through multiple parties.

In fact, de Gaulle’s ambitions went further. According to his vision, the Fourth French Republic should be a presidential system, not a parliamentary one. Though he had managed to suppress the Communist Party, he lost to supporters of the parliamentary system, ending his less-than-two-year leadership of France.

Even a decade later, when he returned with the support of the French army in Algeria, de Gaulle still failed to establish a presidential system. France’s political system became semi-presidential.

Coman pondered for a moment before replying, “A country cannot have two armies—one loyal to the state, the other to the Communist Party. That won’t do. At this moment, General de Gaulle certainly needs the army to voice support. Let’s go.”

Before leaving, Coman couldn’t resist one last glance at the exhibits, then exited the Veterans’ Hospital. Alain wondered what had been so captivating, and followed Coman’s gaze to the label on the item—a scepter of Napoleon III.

Coman’s look had been like that of Yuan Shikai gazing upon the dragon robe, or Zhu Zhanji holding the imperial jade seal, something Alain noticed.

On the way back to the Judicial Purification Committee, Alain also introduced the current territorial responsibilities of the youth corps: “Northern France is divided into three parts—from west to east, the Edessa, Tripoli, and Jerusalem Brigades are responsible. Paris has such a large population that our Antioch Brigade is under great pressure.”

The youth corps had no formal organization; the brigade level was named after Crusader states. Coman and his companions belonged to the Antioch Brigade.

At Fabian Square, the French Communist Party headquarters flew a striking red flag. Coman was merely passing by, but suddenly paused and turned toward the party building.

About ten minutes later, Alain, looking as if he had seen a ghost, watched Coman emerge holding a party membership card, walking and saying, “Now General de Gaulle needs support. If the First Army Group can be the first to call for and back the unified command of the French army, it will benefit us the most.”

“Do you even realize what you’re saying?” Alain, having seen Coman pocket the party card, had a thousand words in his heart, but all he could manage was an ambiguous “Hmm!”