The Fox of France - Chapter 503 (Patreon)

Chapter 503: Whitewashing

As the news coverage deepened, the Ottawa Massacre was also widely reported. Of course, the French handled the reporting with great care.

"Remember, the coverage of this event must adhere to the following principles," Lucien said, reclining on a sofa in a salon at the Moulin Rouge, his head resting on the legs of Adèle, the current star of the Moulin Rouge, as he lazily directed a few of his subordinates.

Ah, this was one of Lucien's ways of working. Generally, those who discussed work with Lucien here were his close confidants.

"Americans, though barbarians, are for now our barbarians," Lucien said, his words muffled slightly by a grape Adèle had fed him.

"Since they are still our barbarians, we can't directly attack their barbaric actions. That would seem too unkind of us. However, we need to let the European people know that the Americans, like the British, are barbarians. Hmm, Gatien, what do you think we should do about this?"

Gatien, the new editor-in-chief of 'The Scientific Truth Gazette', who had just taken over after the previous editor retired with a tidy sum and bought a small manor on the outskirts of Paris to enjoy his days, naturally wanted to make a mark. Now was his time to shine, or why else would he be sitting in this coveted position?

Now that Lucien had posed the question, he certainly needed to perform well. So he responded, "Minister, I think we can handle this with a collateral damage approach."

Looking at Lucien for approval and seeing no objection, he continued, "When we report such events, on the surface, we should appear to be celebrating the heroes among our Frenchmen. Incidentally, include those Americans. For instance, at Ottawa, Father Tom and Captain Lebiedzowski saved many civilians. We can focus our reporting on their display of humanitarian spirit and casually mention the American involvement in the massacre.

Considering the Americans are still our barbarians, just blaming them wouldn't be right. When mentioning their atrocities, we could describe them as being blinded by hatred stirred up by British brutality or lost in the heat of battle. The idea is to expose their actions while also attempting to whitewash them on our side. However, this whitewashing needs to be carefully managed so that it doesn't actually cleanse them entirely. Sometimes, we might even leave obvious signs of our attempt to whitewash, which paradoxically makes them appear even darker. This approach will tarnish the American image without making it seem like we have ulterior motives—after all, look, we're even trying to whitewash them."

After this explanation, Gatien anxiously looked back at Lucien.

Lucien nodded, swallowed a slice of orange Adèle had fed him, and said, "That's a good idea! Mr. Gatien, you will make a fine editor! For example, an American soldier, right in front of Father Tom, bayonets a little girl. How do we wash this in a way that makes it obvious to the audience that we are trying to whitewash them, yet the effect is that it gets darker?"

"Just say due to deep-seated hatred and intense combat, the American soldier's mental state was compromised. Hmm, hasn't the Academy of Sciences recently conducted a lot of research on 'mental disorders'? And hasn't Academician Binet established the world's first 'mental illness treatment center,' achieving great results? We could describe this soldier as a mentally ill person, his condition resulting from the severe harm inflicted by the British barbarians. We could even have Academician Binet comment, hinting at widespread mental issues in the American military. So..."

"So, the entire American army gets painted as a mentally ill force!" Lucien laughed heartily, then added, "This method is good, but not enough. We need to dig deeper, tracing the roots back to British cultural influence. Though America and Britain are enemies, their cultures are linked. We must attribute their issues continuously to their culture.

Hmm, British people's genocide against indigenous populations, intolerance at home, and oppression of those who are different. America embarked on a path of resistance for these reasons. But Americans have not realized that the brutal Red Dragon lurking in British culture also hides deep within their psyche.

Look, even while resisting Britain, Americans didn't stop slaughtering other weaker nations, like the Native Americans. Their first president, Washington, was a barbarian skilled in making boots from native skins. They suffered from British barbarians and were also corrupted by their culture, yet they were unaware. Without even noticing, they gradually became the very people they despised.

So, Americans are truly pitiable; they have been deeply poisoned by Britain. And they haven't even noticed it yet, let alone defend against it. They are like, hmm, like the dragon slayer in 'The Tale

 of Clever Christine,' who, after putting all his effort into killing the dragon, didn't notice the dragon's blood splattering onto him. So, after he decapitated the dragon, how did the tale go?"

"'He sat in the pool of the dragon's blood, his eyes began to turn red, his body swelled, and scales grew on his skin—he became the very dragon he had just killed.' That's what it says there," another subordinate replied.

"Exactly, although the dragon hasn't been slain yet, the American's skin is already itching, scales are about to form. Unless they can truly awaken from within, unleashing a revolution against their own culture from their hearts, this tragedy won't stop. Thus, we must remind our American friends to learn more from the advanced, humanitarian French culture to cleanse the evil from their souls. Ultimately, to become truly civilized. Our propaganda must follow this formula," Lucien concluded.

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