Chapter 1646 - 1552: Three Uses for One Fish · Part 2

Chapter 1646: Chapter 1552: Three Uses for One Fish · Part 2

Two hours after Talleyrand bid farewell to the Sultan’s envoy, Governor of Egypt Muhammad Ali’s son-in-law and also the governor’s wife’s younger brother, Mustafa Bey, arrived with his entourage at a small cabin on the west side of the Royal Hunting Ground in Paris.

This was the place used by the Royal Family for temporary rest during hunts; the building was small yet very secluded—within 5 kilometers, apart from the Regent’s Imperial Guard, there were only deer and wild boar.

Upon seeing the Regent of France, Mustafa hurriedly stepped forward and greeted solemnly, followed by a set of congratulations to the Royal Family for gaining an heir.

The gift he brought had already been delivered to the Palace of Versailles on the day of Mitchell’s birth celebration, leaving him empty-handed at the moment, and it was not suitable for gifting in this occasion.

However, he had stayed outside the banquet hall that day and had not met the Regent, so he needed to make up for the congratulatory words.

Joseph, eager to return and hold his son, did not wish to waste time. He gestured for him to sit down and spoke directly: "The Marquis Blaze said you have urgent matters to discuss with me?"

"Indeed, Regent King." Mustafa promptly stood up again, bowed and said, "You know, Pasha invested tens of thousands of soldiers and millions of Kurush in Hijaz for the Holy City and achieved victory over the Diriyah rebels after significant casualties."

The Pasha he referred to was, of course, Muhammad Ali.

With a look of resentment, Mustafa continued: "However, we received reliable information that the Sultan plans to break tradition and recall Pasha’s army back to Cairo!"

The tradition of the Ottoman Empire is that whoever conquers lands outside the empire’s core can act as the local authority, only needing to pay the designated taxes to the Sultan.

Joseph nodded in agreement: "Yes, the Sultan’s actions are quite inappropriate."

Mustafa felt secretly delighted, for with France as Egypt’s major backing, the Sultan would have no choice but to compromise.

He bowed again to Joseph: "Regent King, if you could send an envoy to Constantinople, persuading the Sultan to respect tradition, it would earn Pasha and all Egyptians’ deepest gratitude."

He signaled to the middle-aged fat man standing beside him: "Ceilabi."

The latter quickly produced a gilded parchment, presenting it with both hands to Eman respectfully: "Your Highness, this is the list of import goods drafted by Pasha for the forthcoming years. It primarily includes 22 steam engines annually, 20,000 tons of iron ore, and 25,000 tons of coal."

This is already the maximum that Egypt’s capacity can achieve.

It’s worth noting that Egypt currently has only one ironworks, consuming less than half of the amount on the list.

Muhammad Ali is planning to invest heavily in constructing more factories, increasing the import volume of raw materials.

And Egypt’s ironworks utilizes the full set of French technology, with a large portion of these investments ultimately flowing to France.

Ceilabi continued: "Furthermore, Pasha plans to increase the cotton planting area twelvefold within four years. The harvest from the long-staple cotton introduced last year was good, and afterwards, all this cotton will be shipped to the Port of Marseille at prices only 50% higher than ordinary cotton."

Joseph couldn’t help but glance at the fat man.

Currently, almost all long-staple cotton in Europe comes from the Southern United States, priced at 65 cents per pound—nearly double that of ordinary cotton.

Muhammad Ali unexpectedly managed to cultivate long-staple cotton in Egypt, presumably spending heavily to acquire seeds and knowledgeable farmers from America.

This indeed marks him as a resourceful and decisive hero.

With this, the competitiveness of Lyon’s cotton textile industry will significantly improve—Egypt’s cotton prices are inherently lower than America’s, and France can also get a "friendly price" from Ali, wiping out the British textile industry’s cost advantage. The only shortfall is Egypt’s somewhat low production, and it depends on Ali’s speed of expansion.

Joseph suddenly frowned upon this realization: "You mentioned increasing production twelvefold within four years, this might be quite difficult to achieve?"

He has to be wary of Ali’s possible trickery just to acquire Hijaz.

Ceilabi quickly explained: "Your Highness, since last year, Pasha has been sending people to excavate canals from the Nile River to Alexandria. As the canal extends, large areas in the western Delta, originally unsuitable for cultivation, are now capable of producing cotton."

Joseph nodded privately. This is an excellent project, not only can it increase cotton production, but it can also train a large batch of hydraulic craftsmen. When the Suez Canal is eventually excavated, these people can be directly utilized.

He continued to ask: "Does Egypt have that many farmers now?"

He is well aware that cotton cultivation in this era is extremely labor-intensive. To suddenly expand production by several times, it is difficult to gather enough labor.

Ceilabi glanced at Mustafa, saw him nod, before responding: "Your Highness, Pasha’s army acquired quite a few slaves from places like Senar along the Blue and White Nile Rivers, sufficient to ensure the cotton gardens’ output."

"Senar?" Joseph was somewhat puzzled.

Eman hurriedly leaned in to whisper a few words, making him realize that Senar is modern-day Sudan. Historically, Ali seemingly conducted raids for black slaves in East Africa, emulating the Americans’ plantation model perfectly.

Mustafa felt the timing was right and cautiously said: "Your Highness, you know, whether it’s canal excavation or new iron factory construction, large amounts of gold coins are necessary."

"This is also an important reason why Pasha hopes to temporarily manage Hijaz. The income there can expedite these matters."

Joseph smiled subtly, so all this talk was not just to bribe France, but the core intention lies here.

Without hesitation, he nodded: "I will try to persuade the Sultan to grant Ali Pasha what he rightly deserves."

Mustafa was overjoyed and was about to bow in gratitude when he heard the Regent of France continue: "But I’m curious, if Diriyah rebels continue attacking Medina, what good counter-strategy does Ali Pasha have? I recall the rebels still have tens of thousands of soldiers in Diriyah."

The Egyptian envoy was somewhat tense as he replied: "Your Highness, Pasha is preparing to lead an army through the Dehna Desert to completely capture Diriyah."

"Very bold plan." Joseph nodded, "About how much military expenditure would this expedition require?"

"It should exceed 1 million Kurush..."

"Far from enough." Joseph remarked, "Desert warfare consumes resources several times more than other places. If the conflict doesn’t end quickly, Ali Pasha’s finances will face collapse."

"Please trust the courage of Pasha’s troops!"

Joseph gave him a sidelong glance: "What I’m concerned about is the Sultan’s army suddenly showing up in Hijaz."