TLN: Mega 4000 words chapter.
"Mr. Kane, can't you give me more?" In the presidential suite at the George V Hotel in Paris, De Gaulle looked at Josh Kane in front of him, still somewhat unwilling as he spoke. "My people are starving!"
"Mr. De Gaulle, I am a businessman, not a philanthropist, and furthermore, I am not French. A ton of canned meat is out of respect for your personal qualities...Besides, I must remind you that you are not the legitimate representative of France!" Josh set down his coffee cup and said with a somewhat indifferent tone.
It was already September, and while the Allies were still clearing out the remaining German resistance forces across France, they were also preparing for the final stages of the Eagle's Nest operation.
However, the man standing in front of Josh, the last French man, was busy with something else.
That was the issue of food.
France was short of food, and so was Paris.
As one of Europe's traditional agricultural powers and the second-largest colonial empire in the world, only after Britain, France had not experienced a food shortage in over a hundred years. Even during World War I, France's food supply and other industrial and agricultural products were actually quite abundant.
But with the rapid defeat in World War II, the situation changed entirely.
Germany, to supply its massive military system, found that relying solely on its own domestic production was not enough.
Naturally, it had to plunder from the occupied countries.
For countries like Austria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, which were seen as "allies" by Germany, the exploitation was somewhat less severe.
But for France, a historical enemy, there was no mercy.
From 1940 to 1944, during the occupation, 72.5% of the wheat, 100% of the sugar, 87% of the butter, and 64.6% of the beef produced in the German-occupied northern part of France were forcibly requisitioned or bought at low prices by Germany.
Most of these agricultural products were either shipped to Germany by train or prioritized for the German occupying forces in France.
The situation in the southern Vichy Free Zone was slightly better, but even then, 27.5% of the wheat, 13% of the butter, and 35.4% of the beef were taken by Germany.
This was just food; don't even mention other materials.
So, even though the German army in Paris had surrendered, sparing the city from the ravages of war, the well-preserved city didn't mean much when it came to hunger. People had to go hungry if there was no food, and if there were no cigarettes, there were no cigarettes.
American soldiers outside would trade a pack of cigarettes and some chewing gum for a night with a beautiful French girl, even cheaper than with British girls.
Josh, as a tycoon, was no different. The George V Hotel where he was staying, which would later become world-renowned, was purchased with materials that were extremely cheap for him.
His proxy, Lindon Schneider, had been extremely busy since arriving in Paris, borrowing transport from the U.S. military, with convoys of goods coming into the city daily from unknown locations outside the city.
All the goods were not paid for in francs...After being occupied for so long, the French economy was already on the brink of collapse, suffering from horrific inflation, and this was just the beginning.
If post-war Britain could barely stabilize its economy, France's economy after the war would continue its downward spiral...It wouldn't be until the 1960s, after De Gaulle finally came to power, that it would stabilize.
Yes, De Gaulle, the hero of France, had only been a temporary leader shortly after Paris was liberated. He was soon ousted by the newly formed government, and it wasn't until the 1960s that he would return to power.
More importantly, the temporary leadership position De Gaulle held now was not recognized by the Anglo-American powers—only his military rank was acknowledged, not his governmental position.
This was why Josh said De Gaulle was not France's legitimate representative.
Under these circumstances, Josh would be crazy to accept francs.
If you wanted to buy his goods, use dollars or real gold and silver!
High-end jewelry? Fine, but it would be at a 30% discount.
Land or property deeds? Also acceptable, and he would offer a fair price.
Factories, mines? Fair enough, but at a 50% discount.
Pounds sterling? Sure, but not in small amounts like ten or twenty pounds—he would accept them at an 80% discount.
In just over a month, Lindon had already made more wealth and assets than he had in Britain.
Of course, with such a highly profitable business, it was bound to attract envy.
But Josh had the U.S. military transport goods and maintain order in Paris, with their wages paid in cigarettes and alcohol—dollars were fine too.
Who dared to touch his business?
Even the last French man, De Gaulle, had to lower himself and visit Josh, a businessman, to beg for charity.
But as Josh had said, he was a businessman, not a philanthropist... If it had been in his home country, he wouldn't mind doing a little charity for his reputation, but in France? No need for that!
So no matter how much De Gaulle begged, Josh simply dealt with him by giving him a ton of canned meat... Frankly, this was already Josh showing respect to him.
That one ton of canned meat could easily buy an entire street outside.
"Then I represent the French government, and I will purchase it, surely that is acceptable?" Seeing Josh showing no sign of yielding, De Gaulle wore a helpless expression. He had hoped that after France was liberated, everything would improve, but after being the representative of the temporary government for less than a month, he realized the situation was much more complicated than he had imagined.
A ton of canned meat sounded like a lot, but for all of Paris, it was merely a drop in the bucket—Paris had millions of mouths to feed.
"Mr. De Gaulle, it's not that I'm stingy, but does the current temporary French government...have any money?" Josh shrugged with a somewhat helpless expression.
What is a temporary government? A scapegoat for the dirty and difficult tasks.
Only someone like De Gaulle, a true patriot, or someone with ulterior motives, would delve into it.
They had no money and no resources.
There were only a few military units that were barely functional...But these military units were only created by De Gaulle in Africa through desperate negotiations.
"We can offer collateral..." However, before De Gaulle could finish his sentence, Josh raised his hand to interrupt.
"Mr. De Gaulle, don't give me any more empty promises. If your temporary government had anything worthwhile to offer as collateral, you wouldn't be here now; you would be at my country's embassy!" Josh said, somewhat impatiently.
When Josh mentioned the American embassy, he was referring to the Lend-Lease Act during World War II, where the U.S. provided massive aid to Britain, the Soviet Union, and other Allied nations.
But among all the countries, France received the least support.
The reason was simple: as an occupied country, France did not have a legitimate government recognized by the world.
This meant that France had no one with the authority to pledge any of its national assets to the U.S. in exchange for supplies.
The only aid France received from the U.S. was for two Free French armored divisions that De Gaulle had secured through promises of independence for Algeria and various empty pledges.
The U.S. provided equipment for two armored divisions, but the food crisis in this timeline was still being resolved by the U.S. However, as the war was not over, American supplies had to first go to the military.
Once the military was supplied, the British would be prioritized.
France would have to wait a month or two before receiving any aid from the U.S.
As for the issue of how France would repay the war debt, it was also tied to the lack of a legitimate government.
In the original timeline, after France was fully liberated and established its government, De Gaulle was immediately sidelined.
The empty promises he had made were never fulfilled.
For example, Algeria gained independence through war.
And the modest loans from the U.S. were initially to be repaid by opening the French film market, but after a few years, due to public opposition, that plan was abandoned.
Look at France in this state—if Josh believed De Gaulle and gave him supplies, it would be a dog biting the meat bun situation.
Hearing Josh's resolute refusal, De Gaulle's expression darkened. He knew that his words carried no weight, but he had to put aside his pride and make promises for the sake of the country.
This last French man was actually quite pitiable, carrying the responsibility that he should not have had to bear for the sake of his country.
But pity aside, Josh was not going to sacrifice his own interests to help him.
However...
"Actually, you have something to pledge!" Josh tapped the table and then said.
"What do you want? As long as it's reasonable, we can consider it!" Hearing Josh's words, De Gaulle's eyes brightened.
"Heh, you can't offer French assets, but German assets will do!" Josh smirked.
De Gaulle, having single-handedly elevated France from a victim to a victorious nation, was a very clever man. He immediately understood the meaning of Josh's words.
Indeed, as the temporary leader, he could not make decisions about France's national assets.
But after the war, when it came to dividing the spoils from Germany and its allies, as a representative of the French military, he had considerable autonomy.
Josh's meaning was clear: he wanted to use France's yet-to-be-determined post-war spoils as collateral in exchange for supplies.
"That can certainly work. All war reparations France receives after the war can be prioritized for you to choose from, as long as it doesn't exceed the value of the materials you provide." Without much hesitation, De Gaulle agreed to Josh's terms.
If you don't use your power, it will expire, and De Gaulle understood this principle well.
"Of course!" Josh agreed gladly.
After World War II, France, though the least important of the four main Allied countries, still had a significant occupied zone. From 1945 to 1949, it occupied the area for four years, and its production could easily repay Josh for the materials he provided.
Originally, France might have had an occupation zone in Austria as well, but if the Eagle's Nest operation succeeded, Austria would likely become a victorious nation, and France would no longer get a share.
"Paris needs at least 120,000 tons of food to escape this crisis. How much can you provide, and what will the price be?" De Gaulle asked impatiently.
The reason France was short of food, apart from Germany's plundering, was also due to a poor wheat harvest this year.
France's wheat, mainly winter wheat, matured between June and July each year. With the war raging, and Germany harvesting much of it, France had barely harvested one-fifth of its normal yield. With so many people to feed, this amount of food was not enough.
As for the potatoes planted in August, they wouldn't be harvested until November.
In other areas, farmers could stockpile food, but in a large city like Paris, that wasn't feasible.
At the very least, enough food for two million people for two months was needed to survive—this was with Paris implementing a rationing system.
"120,000 tons of food, I certainly can't provide that," Josh thought for a moment and then said.
Even if he could provide some, he couldn't afford to.
Normally, transporting a few tons or tens of tons of food into Paris daily was not unusual, as even during the war, there were still daring individuals transporting goods into the war zones through shipping and land routes, so the amount wouldn't seem too odd.
The military wouldn't care.
But 120,000 tons at once? Even the U.S. military logistics couldn't provide that much. If Josh dared to do that, it would be impossible to cover up.
Moreover, this business of selling supplies was not just Josh's—it involved many American merchants, but their goods were not as good as Josh's, nor as plentiful.
Even the U.S. military was involved.
Josh could sell meat, but he couldn't deprive others of soup, nor could he ruin the whole pot.
Otherwise, that could lead to real consequences.
"However, ten thousand tons per month is still doable," Josh thought for a moment and then mentioned a number that wasn't too exaggerated.
Ten thousand tons, which is the load capacity of two liberty ships, would be just about right for a one-way trip from America to Paris, considering the distance and the speed of the liberty ship.
"However, mainly canned meat, wheat, and potatoes, I don't have too much of those, so I won't be supplying them," Josh added.
"That's enough! But what about the price?" de Gaulle was no fool, and he knew Josh couldn't possibly provide 120,000 tons of food all at once.
However, ten thousand tons of canned meat per month was already much more than he had expected.
He was curious, though, about the price.
"Ten thousand dollars per ton. I think that's a very reasonable price!" Josh quickly stated a figure without much thought.
Hearing this price, de Gaulle's lips trembled.
Ten thousand dollars per ton.
That means ten dollars per kilogram.
Undoubtedly, in terms of the dollar's purchasing power, this was an extremely high price.
But for Paris now, this price wasn't too expensive.
The official exchange rate between the franc and the dollar was 5 francs to 1 dollar.
But what were the prices in Paris now? A 1-kilogram chicken cost 100 francs, and even an egg was 3 francs.
Converted to dollars, a kilogram of chicken was 20 dollars, which was twice as expensive as the canned meat price Josh offered.
Moreover, that was the price for a live chicken, and once it became meat, at least 20% would be lost to internal organs and bones.
And Josh's canned meat, de Gaulle had tasted it, was packed full of meat, with rich fat and almost no starch.
When comparing the two, Josh's price of 10,000 dollars per ton was truly a very reasonable price.
Before coming to Josh, de Gaulle had contacted many other big merchants in Paris, but either they refused to sell or the price was outrageously high.
None were as easy to negotiate with as Josh.
But de Gaulle still felt a heavy heart.
Twenty thousand tons in two months—that was two hundred million dollars.
That amount could have funded the creation of ten armored divisions.
For example, the main force of the Free French Second Armored Division consisted of 85 Stuart light tanks, 164 Sherman medium tanks, 36 M10 "Wolverine" tank destroyers, 64 armored vehicles, 664 half-tracked vehicles and patrol cars, 27 M8 "Scott" 75mm self-propelled howitzers, and 54 M7 "Priest" 105mm self-propelled howitzers.
What about the price of these weapons? A Stuart tank cost less than forty thousand dollars, a Sherman 50-60 thousand dollars.
The M10 "Wolverine" tank destroyer was the most expensive, costing almost 100,000 dollars.
The rest of the various vehicles combined cost just a little over twenty million.
So, two hundred million dollars could indeed buy ten armored divisions.
"This price...is very reasonable!" de Gaulle, trembling, took a cigarette out of his pocket, lit it with a shaky hand, took a puff, blew out a few rings of smoke, and said in a deep voice, "So when will the goods arrive?"
"Don't worry, de Gaulle. Although you have a lot of autonomy in the post-war division, we can't proceed without evidence, right? So, a contract will certainly be signed. Also, I'll have our ambassador and General Eisenhower as witnesses... is that alright?" Josh said calmly.
"Ah... of course, that's fine!" de Gaulle exhaled a long breath and nodded.
"Then, here's to a pleasant cooperation!" Josh flashed a bright smile and extended his hand to de Gaulle.
De Gaulle felt a mixture of relief and heaviness in his heart. He didn't speak but just reached out and shook Josh's hand.
"I've arranged a banquet. Would you like to join me for a meal?" Josh didn't mind and even generously invited de Gaulle to dinner.
In business, Josh didn't mind making friends, especially with the last man standing for France.
After all, he was the last man in France, a rare species.
De Gaulle didn't refuse Josh's invitation. After all, for his country and city, he had borne so much. Wasn't he allowed to have a good meal?
The next day, under Josh's special invitation and with the presence of the newly arrived U.S. Ambassador to France and General Eisenhower, the contract between Josh and de Gaulle was signed in the conference hall of the George V Hotel.
In normal circumstances, General Eisenhower, as the supreme commander of the Allied forces, had a high position and was not so easy to invite, and his relationship with Josh was not particularly close.
However, this agreement was beneficial to the U.S. side... because the U.S. was actually suspicious about whether de Gaulle or the French government would be able or willing to repay the debts of two armored divisions after the war.
But now, with Josh signing the contract with de Gaulle, if France dared to default, the U.S. could rightfully cut back on France's post-war reparations!
Therefore, Eisenhower was happy to do Josh this favor.
The day after the contract was signed, two liberty ships filled with canned meat appeared on the Seine River.
These two liberty ships were second-hand ones that Josh had bought at half price from a shipping company in the UK, specifically for transporting large quantities of goods.
With the 10,000 tons of canned meat Josh provided, combined with the rationing system that had been in place since the French surrender, the food shortage in Paris was barely manageable.
Even though Josh sold the canned meat to the provisional government at a "low price," it didn't prevent Josh or other merchants from continuing to make a profit.
The food shortage still existed; it just wasn't severe enough to cause death by hunger.
The wealthy Parisians were still willing to spend a little more to make sure they had enough to eat.
Even if they didn't have money, the beautiful French women could still make some from the American soldiers.
Moreover, even if Josh stopped selling food, he could still sell other things.
Since no one was going to starve to death, wouldn't the romantic French people still want to smoke some cigarettes, drink a little wine or coffee, and taste some sweets?
The provisional government would never provide these things to the people.
Thus, Josh kept exploiting the French people while waiting quietly for the "Return to the Eagle's Nest" plan to begin.
.........
"I thought you wouldn't come back before the plan started!" A few days later, in the study of the presidential suite, Josh was gently polishing a bronze dragon head in his hand while speaking to the woman sitting opposite him.
"Wasn't it that I missed you so much? When I couldn't see you, I couldn't eat or sleep!" The woman fiddled with the collar around her neck and smiled charmingly.
It goes without saying that this woman was none other than Ophelia.
"Really? I didn't know I was so charming!" Josh raised an eyebrow and carefully placed the dragon head into the box in front of him. Miss him? She probably wanted him dead!
"Tsk tsk, Your Highness, you're really too modest. All the young girls in Paris want to spend a night with you, but unfortunately, it seems that our Prince has some...issues with his orientation," Ophelia said mockingly.
"...Heh, are you provoking me?" Josh's face turned cold.
Actually, Vito and the others had recently reported that there were rumors in Paris.
The reason for the rumors was simple—during his time in Paris, Josh had frequently visited places like the Moulin Rouge and the Lido, but no one had ever spread any rumors about him and any woman.
In an era like this, especially in a country famous for its romance, this was hard to believe.
Add to that Josh's extremely good looks, and it seemed...very abnormal.
Thus, some rumors began to spread about his orientation but Josh had always ignored these rumors.
Whether or not he was a man was not for them to decide. In the end, he was simply picky—France might be the city of romance, but, to be honest, most women didn't attract him.
And after all, these were just rumors. Normally, no one would dare say such things in front of him.
Powerful people don't recklessly offend him, and if an ordinary person dares to say such things, they might as well prepare to feed the fish in the Seine but now that Ophelia brought it up, it was simply a provocation.
However it wasn't surprising that Ophelia was provoking him; she had tried many methods to remove the collar when she returned to Austria, but nothing worked.
Her resentment toward Josh ran deep.
It's just a pity she seemed to have forgotten the real purpose of the collar.
"Sorry, sorry, I shouldn't have said that. But...AHHHH!" Ophelia had originally wanted to make a few more jabs at Josh, but Josh directly pressed a button on the collar, and she immediately collapsed on the couch, twitching.
"Tsk, that's all you can do!" Josh shook his head, opened another box on the table, and took out a bronze snake head.
Yes, these two bronze heads were the zodiac heads from the Old Summer Palace.
Josh had just purchased them from a French collector, and he had already found the rat and rabbit.
When he was in the UK, he had also found four others.
That means he now had a complete set of eight.
As for the other four, they hadn't been located yet but Josh wasn't in a hurry; he knew he would eventually find them.
Besides these, Josh had also found several national treasures from these two countries.
For example, Napoleon's laurel leaf gold crown...to be honest, it wasn't very pretty, as the gold leaves had all fallen off, leaving only three.
Just as Josh was admiring the bronze head, the phone in the study rang.
Josh picked up the phone, and the voice of General McGinnis, strong and clear, came through.
"Josh, go to the window! We're starting!"
Upon hearing McGinnis words, Josh was momentarily stunned, then he immediately heard the booming sound and quickly placed the item in his hand down and rushed to the window.
He saw the sky blackened, and countless planes flying over Paris, heading northeast.
The Return to the Eagle's Nest had begun!
"Really magnificent!" Ophelia, who seemed to have regained her senses, walked to the window and stood beside Josh, murmuring at the stunning sight in the sky.
Josh glanced at her, then pressed the shock button on her collar.
Ophelia collapsed to the ground again, twitching.
Josh then turned his attention back to the unprecedented magnificent scene before him…this operation had more planes involved than the Normandy landings.
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