For France, Vietnam is not just a country. The French call this area an Indo-China colony. Putting aside the traditional colony in the Bay of Bengal, France's colonies in Southeast Asia include Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
There is no difference between these three areas for the French. The administrative capital is Saigon, the mouth of the Mekong River.
In fact, there was no other place to choose. Europeans colonized the world with oceans and rivers as important nodes.
First, there must be an excellent deep-water port that can berth large-tonnage ships, and there must also be a wide river estuary so that warships can follow the river to fight inland.
The axiom is only within the range of cannons. This sentence is not a slogan but a real colonial method. The range of naval guns in that era was the line of control drawn by the colonists on the map.
Controlling the coastline and then controlling the large river basins will basically control the richest areas. Even if the remaining remote areas want to resist, they will not be able to raise much money, let alone receive support from the outside world.
A Mekong River flows through three countries, so these three countries are all within the firepower range of the French Marine Corps, so naturally they are the same colony.
This is a very fertile land, and the impact plain here is known as the rice warehouse in the world!
But such a precious colony, which was finally snatched from the eyes of the British, was abandoned by the French government today!
When the Baron received this order, he subconsciously thought that this was false information and a random fate!
The furious baron clashed fiercely with the envoy from Paris, and the two sides even grabbed their collars and started fighting. The envoy was appointed by Thiers, but the baron was appointed by the French Emperor Napoleon III. They were not in the same camp. The two sides had mutual feelings. It doesn't look pleasing to the eye.
If the British captain hadn't stopped the fight in time, both of them would have had their noses broken!
The British captain, who was watching the fun and not taking it too seriously, made a sarcastic remark before leaving: "No matter how you fight, the problem will eventually be solved!"
"Now that Luzon Island has been completely conquered by the Chinese, the Spanish have been defeated, and more than 100,000 Chinese troops are waiting. Do you really want to be cannon fodder?"
"With all due respect, you no longer have a fleet in the South China Sea, and your army only has five thousand people..."
"We still have courage!" The old baron shouted at the British captain, spraying spittle all over the captain's face.
"We still have courage, we still have glory! Five thousand warriors from the Empire will hold on to Saigon until they die in battle! We will definitely hold on until reinforcements arrive!"
"I don't believe that the Empire will abandon such a rich colony. I firmly believe that His Majesty the Emperor will be able to restore it! Long live the Empire!"
Crazy, this old baron is really crazy, the British captain wiped the spittle on his face with a handkerchief, and kept scolding this old madman in his heart.
"Okay, okay...I won't argue with you. Anyway, my mission is to escort the special envoy to Saigon. My mission has been completed. So, Mr. Special Envoy, when will you return home?"
"I told you in advance that I can't wait for you long. I will only stay here for three days..."
"I'm leaving tomorrow!" the envoy shouted angrily, "You madman, you have to remember that the empire has been destroyed, Napoleon III completely failed in the Franco-Prussian War, and a civil war broke out in Paris!"
"The enemy's army has occupied our land. The most important thing right now is to calm the situation at home, not to send more troops to Asia!"
"But before I leave, I want to remind you that if you refuse to implement the president's order and the National Assembly's voting decision...then you will have to bear all the sins of angering the Chinese!"
"I hope you calm down and stop causing trouble to the motherland! We have lost enough things, do we need to fight another Battle of Saigon with the Chinese?"
"When the time comes when you people become prisoners, the motherland will have to spend money to redeem you! Leave some energy to France!"
The words of the British captain and envoy made the old baron look ten years older. He could no longer hold back the tears and choked up like a child.
The British captain suddenly felt a sense of sadness in his heart. It was because Europeans had suffered such a big loss in Asia that he couldn't be happy.
Although he really hopes that France will be unlucky, it is indeed a bit shameful that the misfortune is in the hands of the Chinese!
"Dear Governor, this war is not a war crime. In fact, you French people have fought very hard... You... you have lost in politics and diplomacy!"
"I heard from India...that Xiao Letian is as cunning as a fox. He has already figured out the details of all European countries. His debating ability is very scary even to the most experienced politicians in the UK!"
"He is a born conspirator who can always stab his opponent when he is at his weakest!"
"I would like to advise the Governor from a European standpoint... I am afraid that Xiao Letian is waiting for you to resist. If you start another war here, I think France will lose even more!"
"Failure is a very frustrating and painful experience...but you have to admit the outcome of this failure, because your opponent has created a situation where you will lose more if you don't admit defeat!"
"Hey... the Paris Commune alone has turned France upside down. You should really go back to your country and see it with your own eyes..."
That night, the British captain and the special envoy patiently chatted with the governor for a long time. Only then did the governor, who had not returned to Paris for five years, know what was happening in the motherland.
What a chaotic war! It was a disaster from the start!
The French Governor-General accepted the envoy's order. He finally recognized the new president elected by the National Assembly and accepted the president's order.
There is a special envoy sent by Xiao Hoxin in Saigon City a long time ago. After negotiation, the two sides decided to hold a power handover ceremony in October!
Norodom Palace! It is the French Governor's Palace in Saigon! This small white building was renamed the Independence Palace by Vietnam after World War II. After the Vietnamese Civil War when North Vietnam captured Saigon, this historic palace was renamed the Reunification Palace again and has always been a famous attraction in Saigon city.
At present, the main building of Norodom Palace has just been completed, and construction of many ancillary buildings on the design drawings, such as gardens, swimming pools, equestrian training grounds, etc., has not yet begun.
But unfortunately, this four-story gorgeous white palace has become the administrative center for the Chinese to rule the Annan region in the future.
The handover ceremony of political power between the two parties takes place here!
Xiao Hexin, as the left-behind minister appointed by the head of state, led 3,000 marines and entered the mouth of the Mekong River under the protection of ten warships.
When the local Vietnamese people saw their neighbors from the north entering the country so arrogantly, their eyes were very complicated!
The people under the rule of the Ruan royal family have always been wary of their powerful neighbors in the north. Deep in their hearts, they always imagined that the enemies from the north would invade in large numbers that day.
But unexpectedly, the French colonial army did not wait for the invaders from the north!
What is even more unexpected is that in just a few years, the sudden rise of the Chinese army in the East China Sea actually defeated the French and landed in southern Vietnam!
The loyal ministers and filial sons left by the Ruan Dynasty were all mourning, and despair emerged in their hearts!
I'm afraid I can't keep this land for myself!
