Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Chapter 1141: Chapter 1047

Southern Suburb of Paris.

Agricultural Ministry Breeding Base.

Joseph looked at the endless stretch of green before him, feeling as if he himself was filled with vitality.

All the crops here are newly bred triploid beets, and after this year’s harvest, the seeds will provide all of Europe with their supply.

Of course, what’s here in Paris is just a small part; the provinces of Champagne and farther north are the main production areas for beets.

Last week, the Agricultural Ministry reported to him that once Prussia learned that France’s high-sugar-content beet seeds were available for sale, they immediately and without hesitation ordered nearly 4,000 hectares worth of seeds.

Moreover, as if fearing France would renege, they paid the full amount immediately after signing the contract.

It’s no wonder the Prussians were so excited; last year, the small amount of beets they secretly planted brought in over 600,000 thalers, which is around 2 million francs.

That’s more than double what they’d earn from growing wheat.

This year, with a bountiful harvest on the horizon and the scale expected to be four to five times larger than last year, the income will exceed 3 million thalers!

Thus, the Prussian government immediately planned to expand the beet cultivation area fivefold this year, only to find they ran out of seeds.

At this time, an unexpected offer came from the French Agricultural Service Consultancy, stating they were willing to provide beet seeds with a sugar content as high as 12%, and with no limit on quantity.

Of course, the French people demanded that all beets produced in Prussia be sold at the Paris Agricultural Futures Exchange after being refined into sugar.

The Prussians signed the procurement agreement with almost no hesitation.

In fact, when they previously obtained a 700,000-pound loan from England, they had already sold next year’s sugar in advance to the British.

Although the price was somewhat lower than the market rate, there was no other choice at the time to keep the government’s finances afloat.

As for the French agreement, no one cared.

Once the beets yield a bountiful harvest next year, Prussia will become the second-largest sugar exporter on the European Continent, and they will never lack seeds again.

At most, they’ll give the French a meager one to two percent of the output, claiming lax management during the beet collection phase, and make it up by the following year’s harvest.

After Achard introduced his breeding plan for even higher-sugar-content beets, the Minister of Agriculture, Venio, expressed some concern to Joseph: “Your Highness, according to messages from the Far East, several states in Bengal and northern India are expected to have a bountiful sugarcane harvest this year.

“Even though their planting area is still not very large, it could significantly impact sugar prices.”

Joseph nodded slightly.

It’s not just the Indian regions; the British are also encouraging Portugal to cultivate sugarcane in Brazil.

Moreover, in recent years, the Bahamas in the Caribbean Sea Region have been heavily infiltrated by the United States, with over eighty percent of the sugarcane plantations now controlled by Americans— the Bahamas were originally a British colony with remnants of British power, and given their proximity to the United States, they were easily infiltrated by them.

Also, the original white inhabitants were British, but after the independence movement erupted, they all left the island. Henceforth, the governance was led by black leaders—before this, their greatest political experience had been as tribal chieftains.

This led to an economic collapse of the Bahamas in the second year after gaining independence. The elected president, Corey Aron, gathered a group of confidants, dissolved Congress, and declared a monarchy with himself as king.

Meanwhile, the deputy speaker and several congressmen organized a resistance army, clashing fiercely with the Royalist Party.

Santo Domingo was managing quite well, thanks to Brisso being in charge, but the British blockade resulted in a dire economic situation for them, leaving them unable to aid the Bahamas.

Ultimately, with American support, Aron defeated the Congress, thereafter selling off large amounts of ‘ownerless’ sugarcane plantations at low prices to the Americans.

At the time, France was under British naval blockade, knowing very little about the situation over there, let alone intervening.

In conclusion, with the sugar supply from these regions, the British sugar shortage will gradually be alleviated.

Joseph was not worried about sugar prices falling; the current high sugar prices were destined not to last forever, and the cost of producing sugar from French beets has been driven very low, fully capable of bearing prices returning to the levels seen before the Caribbean independence movements.

However, the status of the Sugar Franc must not be shaken.

Joseph contemplated his counter-strategy, frowning as he left the breeding base.

As he returned to the Palace of Versailles, he saw the head of the Security Bureau approaching quickly.

“Your Highness, you’re back.” Lavallette quickly saluted and continued, “News has just arrived from North America. The United States is currently mobilizing militia from Memphis and Chokto, and they are expected to launch another attack on New Orleans as early as the beginning of next year.

“Additionally, nearly 2,000 militiamen are moving from South Carolina and Georgia to Alabama, likely preparing to attack the Creek Tribe.”

Joseph was not surprised; the United States is in a period of accelerated development, naturally seeking expansion.

And their Westward Movement is a national policy, so occupying Louisiana standing in the west is only a matter of time.

He inquired more about the situation in North America, then said to Eman: “Inform Count Saigul to notify Madrid; I will be seeing His Majesty Charles IV soon.”

Since the Americans have already ignited the spark, he could begin pushing forward with the Louisiana strategy.

Two days later, Joseph’s convoy left the Palace of Versailles, heading towards the Pyrenees.

The night he reached Soria, Spain, the local head of the Security Bureau, Major Funiere, hurriedly arrived at the estate where he was staying.

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South shore plain of the Caspian Sea. The Caspian Sea is the largest lake in the world, with a total area of 370,000 square kilometers. The terrain along the Caspian coast is flat, belonging to Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and Azerbaijan. The climate along the Caspian coast varies greatly, with the plains within Russia, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan receiving very little rainfall and having an arid climate, with an average annual rainfall of about 150 mm, while evaporation is incredibly high. The Caspian is a saline lake with a high salt content in its waters, and the eastern and northern shores receive little rainfall, resulting in many salt deserts and salt mounds along the coastal plains, unsuitable for agricultural development.

The prime region of the Caspian coastal plain is located on the southern shore, as the southern shore plain is quite narrow, bordered by the Caspian Sea to the north and the Elbrus Mountains to the south. The Elbrus Mountains rise 3,000 to 5,000 meters, blocking the dry, hot winds from the Iranian interior and the moist air from the Caspian Sea, resulting in precipitation on the southern shore of the Caspian. In contrast, the northern and eastern shores have low-lying terrain, and the sparse moisture from the Caspian diffuses into the vast interior, barely enough for an oasis.

The southern shore plain of the Caspian is very narrow, about 10 to 50 kilometers wide, divided among Iran’s Gilan Province, Mazandaran Province, and Golestan Province. The southern shore plain receives abundant rainfall, with annual precipitation ranging from 800 to 2200 millimeters.