Chapter 709: Anyone Has a Price

Ivor had just passed the necessary inquiries, and the first thing he did when he entered the NATO job was to seek himself out.

This came as a great surprise to Alan Wilson, and after some consideration, he agreed to meet with the other man, with Hedy Lamarr helping to arrange the meeting place, and Avril accompanying him, to meet with the recently appointed Commander-in-Chief of the French Army in Vietnam.

“Hello, Commissioner Wilson.” General Navarre appeared and nodded as he surveyed the building’s furnishings, “I didn’t realize the meeting place was so chic.”

“Because of Mr. and Mrs. Patricia, I have some contacts in the film and television industry.” Alan Wilson explained unhurriedly, “I think the place we met is a bit tense if it’s too solemn.”

This was the prop storage warehouse of Woodpecker Studios, which had many props that could be considered authentic. Some of them were still the result of Alan Wilson’s hard work in the British Occupation Zone.

If he remembered correctly, General Navarre was the commander-in-chief of the French forces at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, so the search for himself, the Commissioner of British Malaya, cried out for a purpose.

France’s own currency had been devalued sharply twice, and a very large part of the military spending to support the Vietnam War was in the form of U.S. military aid. There was little development in the French-controlled areas of South Vietnam.

British Malaya, on the other hand, developed an industrial advantage over South Vietnam through post-war British pre-emptive planning.

Industrial advantage is nothing more than these points, the same price I have better quality than you, the same cheap I produce more. Easier said than done, now British Malaya against Japan’s prospects are not mentioned, clean up the French stronghold of South Vietnam is still not a problem.

Of course, the profits from the Franco-Vietnamese War were not reflected in the part that was handed over to the British mainland. First of all, British Malaya sold munitions to take a thin line, in the colonial point of view, France is, after all, Britain’s ally.

Allowing the French army in Vietnam to be more combat-ready to support it, while providing an outlet for British Malaya’s industries, was the core purpose.

There is also the point that development is not a quick fix, even with the demands brought about by the war, you can’t get carried away, the originally planned industrial upgrades will not be altered by the demands of the war, and it’s better to walk a little more steadily.

General Navarre, as the new commander-in-chief of the French army, after learning of the situation, after the necessary investigation, inquired about the commissioner of British Malaya even at this time in Paris, door-to-door visit is understandable.

Generals of General Navarre’s age automatically disregarded Allen Wilson’s age, and in any case to be a colonial commissioner at such an age is either to have an exceptionally hard background or an exceptionally high level of competence, either of which is not a bad thing.

General Navarre naturally would not tell an Englishman how the French army was going to fight, but it was implied that the French army was preparing to gain a relatively favorable situation through a series of offensives, and when the time came whether to continue the attack or to stop in time and leave the field in a dignified manner, that would be a matter for the French government.

“I understand this very well, those of us who are officials working overseas are just trying to find ways to help the country as much as possible. A lot of the problems that the French have run into, I’ve run into the same in the past few years.”

After hearing this, Alan Wilson expressed his understanding of General Navarre’s position and thanked him for his honesty, opening his mouth to inquire, “Of course I have one thing to remind the General, the neighboring countries to the north of Vietnam may have an unexpected impact on the war situation. It is still necessary to be cautious in the middle of specific actions, of course I am not a soldier, the commander of the British forces in Malaya is General Bilton, what I say may not be right.”

Whether General Nawal listened or not, Allen Wilson could not say more. Because the exact course of the battle of Dien Bien Phu is impossible for a person who does not know the inside story to know, and there is no way for him to make a reminder about it.

The netizens of a major country say that the Military Advisory Group played a decisive role, but the Vietnamese certainly do not think so. But one thing is certain, the combat troops were Vietnamese.

This is just as it was Britain that constantly organized the anti-French alliance, but it was the Battle of Imperial Russia that really made Napoleon avalanche. Who really gets the credit is a benevolent question.

It’s not like Alan Wilson knew the real inner workings of the opposing camp’s hierarchy, who was right about the netizens in both countries, and what if he was warned wrong?

Wouldn’t it be asking for trouble just to warn our northern neighbors in Vietnam and then Vu Won Kha wins again? The joke would be on the French if they then blamed Britain for the defeat.

“I appreciate Commissioner Wilson’s reminder, and in terms of some logistical help, I’d like British Malaya to be a reliable supplier!” General Navarre continued, “The unity of Britain and France is the cornerstone of European stability.”

“Honorable General, I couldn’t agree more with your words.” Alan Wilson said with a face of approval, “If I were a soldier, I would even find a way to mobilize the British forces in Malaya to form a coalition to help, but unfortunately I am not a soldier. But I can assure you that I will definitely provide the best munitions to our French friends.”

He definitely wasn’t lying, he had the power, let alone sending troops to help, he wouldn’t hesitate to drop a nuclear bomb. The problem was that he didn’t have the power.

But while nukes were out of the question, napalm was not a technical challenge for Britain.

For the sake of maintaining British and French solidarity, Alan Wilson offered to produce napalm in British Malaya and provide it to the French Air Force in Vietnam.

There was a major problem with the early fluid igniters; the substance was easy to spray and difficult to attach, making it difficult to achieve concentrated kills.

The U.S. found that switching to gelatinized gasoline improved the range and effectiveness of the flamethrower, but gelatinized gasoline was difficult to manufacture because it used natural rubber, which was in high demand and expensive.

However, the invention of the much cheaper napalm viscous agent solved the problem of the original need for rubber as a burning agent.

In the case of conventional fluid fuel, it was a matter of cost, but as British Malaya happened to be an important rubber producer, this problem was solved. In the latter case, the Mountbatten Group had a number of German chemical talents, all of which were released by Allen Wilson in the British-occupied areas, deceptively, and similar technical difficulties were not too great.

So having learned of the French ally’s difficulties, Allen Wilson offered to help, as much as he could.

General Navarre was overjoyed, even he himself had not expected that his British friend would be so sincere, “This is exactly what surprised me, Commissioner Wilson’s attitude is gratifying.”

“The General is very kind! When it comes down to it, there should be a price for anyone.” Alan Wilson revealed a mouthful of white teeth, “I only hope that this batch of weapons that carries the friendship between our two countries must be as effective as it should be. It would be very disappointing if a single shell couldn’t even be exchanged for a tent.”

It was only a few more deaths; the deaths of the rebels and the suppression of the French had nothing to do with him as an Englishman, and at all times he could do so with a clear conscience.

At the time of parting, General Nawal, who received assurance from Allen Wilson, shook hands with an excited Allen Wilson, “I wonder when Commissioner Wilson will return to Malaya so that we can fight side by side.”

“It may be a little while yet, our Majesty is going to be crowned, in June.” Allen Wilson said this to emphasize, “But honorable General, Malaya’s officials are trustworthy people, I can urge my colleagues even in Europe, to get the support needed by the French army ready, I’m a man who is never honest in business.”

General Navarre nodded, and then left the prop warehouse of Woodpecker Studios, and Eiffel waited until the other party left before saying, “Suppressing the colonies with napalm I’m afraid?”

“Aifor, what about the fact that Britain has more colonies in its hands than France? We should treat our French allies who use military means with respect.” Alan Wilson indifferently interrupts Aifor, “There is a price for anyone, and I was just about to suggest that France must follow the Dutch example of systematically destroying Java once the war is not going well, it’s just that it’s not even a fight yet, so I’ve refrained from saying anything.”

But? None of this mattered; when he returned to Kuala Lumpur, there would be an opportunity to remind the French; there was no hurry now.

At the same time that Alan Wilson was communicating with France, Philby found Ian Fleming arriving in Paris, and gave a certain amount of counsel from the point of view of leaks, on the fact that Ian Fleming’s experience of working in the intelligence agencies was written up.

This was not good news for Ian Fleming who was even reimbursed for his airfare. Just then the manager of Woodpecker Pictures came to his door and offered to talk about movie and TV rights, and the timing could not have been better.

“Would it be a little too coincidental?” Philby, who was sitting opposite Alan Wilson, shook his wine glass with one hand and said, “Although Ian Fleming doesn’t have any exceptional ability in the field of intelligence, it shouldn’t be difficult to deceive.”

“I remember you telling me that the work of MI6 is not at all legendary.” Alan Wilson took the nature magazine and was reading the content of the latest issue, and then took out a small notebook to write down the content, ready to talk to his wife Pamela Mountbatten about the content of this issue.

The content of this issue of Nature magazine is, the discovery of the structure of the dna molecule, Watson, Crick through the Wilkins saw Franklin in November last year to take a very beautiful X-ray diffraction photo of DNA crystals, which immediately inspired them. Not only did they confirm that DNA must have a helical structure, but they analyzed it to derive the helical parameters.

Alan Wilson, of course, knew the significance of this paper and immediately informed his wife by telegram that the team should be taken on board and invested heavily in the biological sciences.

It would have been good for the Mountbatten Group, at least for this issue, a little better than the news that Philby was claiming to be the Deputy Director of MI5.