Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Chapter 1214: Chapter 1119: Period of Rapid Growth

After the ball ended, Joseph courteously escorted Count Osterman back to his room, and immediately turned around to instruct Talleyrand: “As soon as the Russian Ambassador returns home, you should go to Rome.”

Talleyrand immediately understood: “Your Highness, actually, it would suffice to write a letter to the Pope.

“If you’re not reassured, let Prince Ludovico go to Rome to ‘expose’ on your behalf.”

Joseph pondered for a moment, then nodded.

Reporting the last Knight Order of the Holy See for privately colluding with the Eastern Orthodox is indeed more appropriate for the Prince of Parma to handle. Moreover, Ludovico is an in-law of France and will certainly be dedicated to the task.

The next day, Talleyrand continued to deal with the Russian Foreign Minister, while Joseph was convening the most important Cabinet meeting in recent times.

It was late February, and the industrial and agricultural statistics for France last year were already on Joseph’s desk.

The Minister of Industry, Mirabeau, proudly announced the industrial achievements in a loud voice:

“The total coal production last year reached 9.6 million tons. Of that, anthracite production was 520,000 tons; 70% of cities have begun using briquettes. Coke production was 380,000 tons; 80% of the steel industry’s output comes from coke…

“Last year, six large furnaces, seven forging mills, and two slitting lines were added nationwide…

“The pig iron output was 110,000 tons, and refined steel 10,000 tons, of which 400 tons were the latest type of manganese steel…

“The phenol production last year exceeded 270,000 tons. Aniline black production was 100,000 tons. Soda ash production…”

After speaking for more than 20 minutes, he finally placed the document down, quite satisfied, and puffed out his chest: “By the end of last year, we completed all the goals established in the ‘Industrial Development Plan’!”

Joseph immediately applauded and lavishly praised the Ministry of Industry.

In recent years, relying on the coal and iron resources of the Netherlands and the Rhineland, as well as the markets in Italy, Spain, and Southern Germany, France’s industry has experienced unprecedented rapid development.

According to data obtained by French intelligence personnel, France’s coal production has now surpassed England’s—a large part of this success is due to the vigorous promotion of briquettes.

And steel production is also very close to England. For the year, England’s steel output was roughly between 115,000 and 125,000 tons.

As for chemicals, furniture, medicine, printing, and other traditional French advantageous industries, they have outpaced England by several times, or even more.

Currently, England only temporarily leads in textiles, ceramics, and shipbuilding.

Agriculture Minister Venio eagerly rose, his expression equally excited:

“The total wheat production for last year was 2.1 million tons.”

He deliberately paused then continued: “This does not include production from the Algeria Province. Well, you know, the administrative system there is not yet perfect, and there is a lot of newly reclaimed land, so it’s hard to calculate the output. But roughly estimated, it should be around 300,000 to 350,000 tons.”

This number seems small, but it’s important to know that Algiers has only about 1.7 million people, meaning they have so much grain they could eat half and throw away the other half.

Venio continued with the report: “And last year, the country harvested 6.3 million tons of potatoes.

“280,000 tons of oats…

“340,000 tons of beets…

“170,000 tons of alfalfa…

“110,000 tons of soybeans. Oh, half of these were produced in Saint Louis Louisiana, which is too suitable for growing soybeans…”

After reciting a long string of numbers, Venio declared with great momentum: “In the future, our country will officially become a grain-exporting nation, with last year’s export volume close to the total combined of the Netherlands and Prussia.”

Joseph nodded secretly. With the vigorous promotion of fertilizers and securing vast quality grain-producing areas in North Africa, France has completely eliminated the possibility of famine—even in the event of a serious natural disaster like a few years ago, the grain output would be enough to feed the entire nation’s population.

As the farmland in Tunisia and Algiers continues to develop, grain exports will inevitably become one of the important revenue sources for French finances.

Moreover, bountiful agriculture will lead to lower grain prices, prompting more farmers to choose to work in factories where wages are higher.

After finishing with the grain production, Venio’s voice was slightly lower: “Last year, due to the impact of powdery mildew, wine production was only 11.5 million barrels…

“Mr. Daubenton believes that this pest was brought in with grape varieties introduced from North America.”

11.5 million barrels is about 2.5 billion liters, the production already higher than in previous years, far surpassing other European countries. This is despite being affected by the disease.

Moreover, as the French industry continues to develop, the importance of wine exports to the French economy has greatly diminished, so Joseph merely casually reminded them to find solutions promptly and paid it no further attention.

Venio continued: “Last year we built 3 new sugar refineries and one new one in Northern Germany as well.

“The two potash plants in the Rheinland currently produce 223,000 tons annually, with the third factory under construction, capable of increasing production by 130,000 tons per year once operational…

“The phosphate rock plant in eastern Algiers started production at the end of last year… with just the North African production alone, 170,000 tons of phosphate rock…”

Due to cost considerations, France no longer ships phosphates back from Nauru. However, if the North American West Coast develops in the future, they could sell phosphates there.

Subsequently, the Minister of Civil Affairs, Jean-Marie Roland, rose to report, primarily on the promotion of the preparatory physician system.

“… Currently, only the southwestern mountainous provinces and parts of the Rheinland do not have preparatory physicians. Doctor Perna suggests reallocating preparatory physicians from the eastern region to the Rheinland. However, this involves subsidy issues, and the initial phase may require more than 500,000 francs…

“Oh, the second phase of smallpox vaccination was completed at the end of last year, with over 4 million vaccinated, and very few adverse reactions. Smallpox cases in vaccinated areas have decreased by more than 90% compared to before vaccination.

“Currently, the main issues are the insufficient number of infected cattle and the high cost of syringes, so the third phase plans to vaccinate only 3.3 million people…”

Indeed, if the British, who use syringes that cost 300 francs each, heard this, they would probably cry to death.

It should be noted that the French Health Bureau signed a large purchase agreement with medical instrument manufacturers, which has reduced the price of syringes to 24 francs each. However, for nationwide vaccination, the total cost is still an astronomical figure—each phase of cowpox vaccination requires an investment of nearly 2 million francs.

But the expense is definitely worth it.

Each year, 80,000 to 100,000 people die from smallpox in France. If these lives can be saved, in ten years, this could increase the French population by nearly a million, and the tax revenue alone would repay the costs.

And migrating a million people to Algiers would instantly transform it into a core province of France.