Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

By the end of March, given the chaotic situation in the Caribbean Sea Region, it was certain that this year’s sugar cane planting wouldn’t happen.

Joseph was reminded of the sugar beet planting report submitted by the Minister of Agriculture a few days ago.

The agricultural consulting firm had already signed a contracting agreement with the Church, and a vast amount of Church land had begun to be converted for sugar beet cultivation. Currently, the scale of sugar beet planting in France had reached 37,000 hectares, with nearly 10,000 hectares being cleared of previously sown grain. It would be ready for planting sugar beets within a month at most.

France possessed the world’s most suitable climate and soil for growing sugar beets, hence the planting period was quite flexible; even if the planting took place at the beginning of May, a good harvest was assured.

With this year’s sugar cane crop in the Caribbean inevitably falling short, the whole of Europe would likely depend on France’s sugar beets for sugar. As for whether a pound of sugar would sell for three francs or five, it really just depended on one’s mood.

Joseph then turned his thoughts to the future political landscape of the Caribbean region.

Given the current situation, the independence of the various islands seemed inevitable. In fact, due to the Caribbean’s distance from the European Continent and the difficulty in controlling it, even without his prior intervention, an independence movement would have erupted in a decade or so.

In that case, France might as well go with the flow, being the first to recognize the independence of the Caribbean nations and garner political benefits wherever possible.

Indeed, if handled properly, many colonies could still remain significantly under the control of their former colonial rulers even a century after independence.

As for the specific tactics—controlling economic lifelines, supporting rulers, and courting the nobility—there were plenty of examples to follow from future generations.

For a simpler approach, one could also employ the “South Korea Prosecution Office model,” which not only ensured stability but also prevented provoking local opposition.

Additionally, it was essential to nurture anti-English and anti-American sentiment in the Caribbean region from the start. The latter could eventually make the Caribbean nations a significant force to counterbalance the United States.

Joseph suddenly remembered Wayne’s “killing two birds with one stone” nefarious plan.

The world of the 18th century still operated under the blatant law of the jungle, so such occurrences were actually quite common and would soon be forgotten without causing much stir.

However, if someone widely publicized it and continually reminded people to harbor hatred, the outcome would be different.

That is what was often referred to in later generations as “setting the agenda.”

Having journalists write an extensive news release, letting the Caribbean nations know about the insidious massacre of Book’s Black Rebel Army by the Americans, millions of Blacks there would surely empathize and stand irreconcilably against the United States.

Of course, it would also be essential to downplay the disgraceful actions of the Indians in the affair, lest the Blacks and Indians start fighting each other first.

On the morning following Joseph’s arrival in Brittany, Fouche followed close behind, handing him a report that Brisso had just sent back from Santo Domingo.

It was still news from a month and a half ago.

Joseph rubbed his forehead. In this era without telegraph, the efficiency of communications was frustratingly low.

But when he saw the content of the report, he almost couldn’t help laughing out loud, “The British are asking for our help?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Fouche nodded. “General Brand’s troops continue to suffer losses and currently only a little over 2,600 soldiers remain, barely enough to handle the Barbados riots.

“At the same time, information from London indicates that the British are organizing a second expeditionary force of over 5,000 men, but it will not depart for over a month.

“Before then, Brand needs our forces to stabilize the situation in the Bahamas.”

At the end of the report, Joseph saw that Brisso, using the worsening violence in the Santo Domingo uprising as an excuse, had refused the British request.

He pondered for a moment and shook his head, “We should agree to General Brand’s request.”

Fouche: “?”

He knew the abolition movement in the Caribbean had been initiated by their own efforts. Was it now time to fight against their own cause?

Seeing Fouche’s surprised expression, Joseph smiled, “First, we can help, but there must be a reward. The funds provided by the Duke of Leeds are nearly spent, it would be good to let Brand supplement the Rebel Army’s military expenses.”

Indeed, the funds for the vigorous abolition movement in the Caribbean mainly came from the 250,000 British Pounds that Oreal had obtained from the Duke of Leeds. The French government had provided less than 500,000 francs.

Fouche hesitated, “Your Highness, what then? The Bahamas are British territory, and if we really send troops there, we probably can’t just bluff our way through like we did in Santo Domingo.”

Joseph swirled the teacup in his hand, “Then we fight a battle in the Bahamas. If there is a loss in Santo Domingo at this time, all countries will surely blame England, and then we can proceed like this…”

Half an hour later, Fouche left with instructions from the Crown Prince, and Joseph, invigorated, took a carriage to Brest Bay.

On the dock, hundreds of soldiers in ceremonial attire were neatly lined up. As soon as Joseph alighted from the carriage, they simultaneously raised their guns in salute, and military music resounded all around.

Marquis Castelli, the Navy Minister, along with a group of officers and shipyard officials, came forward. After the customary salutations and greetings, Castelli immediately, unable to contain his excitement, pointed towards the distant sea and said, “Your Highness, everything is ready, we can start at any time.”

Joseph followed his gaze and saw four warships anchored there. The one adorned with numerous colorful flags and emitting faint black smoke was the Mediterranean Light, the world’s first steam-powered warship.)

This warship, embodying all the hopes of the navy, was completed in under half a year through relentless efforts at the Trivichik Shipyard.

The crowd escorted Joseph towards the escort ship “Brown Crystal Stone” docked at the pier. The maiden voyage ceremony would take place on the distant seas, so they needed to take a boat to view it.

Murdock, following closely beside the Crown Prince, boasted, “Your Highness, the average failure interval of the LJ52A type Steam Engine has now exceeded 30 hours, fully meeting combat requirements. Mr. Trivichik played a significant role in this improvement process.”

Trivichik, upon hearing this, quickly bowed, “It is my great honor to leave my mark on this magnificent machine.”

Joseph noticed that an ‘A’ was added to the model of the high-pressure steam engine, indicating significant modifications. Previously, Sandler had said it would take a year to complete reliability improvements, but with the collective efforts of these three geniuses in the steam engine field, they achieved it in just half a year.

Of course, the Poles also played a part.

The Tarnovsk Mountain Silver Mine had installed dozens of high-pressure steam engines for pumping water, operating almost continuously day and night, thus providing a wealth of practical usage data that helped Murdock and his team accelerate the improvements.