Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Chapter 451: Chapter 364: From Austria to Russia (Long Chapter)_2

She truly deserves to be called the most resolute woman of the late 18th century.

To be honest, even Joseph was tempted by Catherine’s proposal for a few seconds.

If France acquired all the rich lands of Western Europe, including the Netherlands and Belgium, to the west of the Rhine River, and most certainly Italy as well—since Austria would be too preoccupied to care, leaving the weakened Italy as easy prey for France—then France would surely soar to great heights, becoming the true hegemon of the European Continent!

However, he quickly cooled down and shook off these impractical thoughts.

It was clear that Catherine intended to draw fire onto France to facilitate Russia’s expansion.

Just look at the places Russia wanted—Sweden, Poland, and even including the northeastern part of the Balkans; these were all quite distant from the heart of Europe, and even if Russia swallowed them up, Britain, Prussia, Austria, the Netherlands, and Spain and other major European countries might not intervene due to cost factors.

And the gains Catherine “outlined” for France, whether it be the Low Countries or along the Rhine, were the lifelines of the European powers, who would undoubtedly fight to the death against France with all their might!

Joseph pulled the messenger over and asked in a serious voice, “How did Queen Mary respond to the Russian Ambassador?”

The latter only said that Count Bobrinsky and Grand Duchess Alexandra were also present that day, and as for what they said, he had no idea.

It was no surprise, as Stroganov, in the interest of secrecy, carefully avoided all formal occasions, even finding balls unsatisfactory, choosing instead to speak with Queen Mary in close quarters during an art exhibition to prevent eavesdropping.

Joseph shook his head and sighed. Catherine II had sent both her illegitimate son and her granddaughter, which showed she was very keen on making this deal happen.

Although from the tone of his mother’s letter it seemed she only thought the Russian Ambassador was spouting nonsense and likely hadn’t agreed to anything, there was always the fear that she might suddenly act impulsively.

Joseph hurriedly wrote a reply to Queen Mary, mainly to urge her never to respond to the Russians, and handed it to the messenger, instructing him to deliver it with utmost speed back to the Palace of Versailles.

Watching the messenger’s retreating figure, Joseph couldn’t help but fall into deep thought; it seemed that in the future, he’d have to discuss matters of national strategy with his mother in advance to prevent any major blunders that would be troublesome to clean up.

He then thought that although Catherine’s suggestion couldn’t be accepted, her ambition could still be used to seek strategic benefits for France.

However, exactly how to operate required careful consideration.

Joseph picked up the “Plan for Promoting French-Russian Trade” on the desk, which mainly articulated Catherine’s hope to increase French-Russian trade further to reduce dependence on British trade. Clearly, the rising trade volume of the Gemini Trading Company had caught her interest.

Joseph looked at the unoriginal clauses in the document and couldn’t help but shake his head slightly.

There was just so much demand for raw materials in France at the moment, and the Russian market couldn’t possibly open up completely to France, so the current trade volume between the two had already reached saturation.

Russia did have an abundance of coal and iron resources, but the distance to France was too far, making the transportation costs extremely high, otherwise they could be bought in large quantities.

He was about to toss the document aside when he suddenly thought of something and muttered to himself, “No, if transport costs are high, one could engage in localized operations

He immediately recalled the business cases of Britain in 19th-century Russia.

At that time, Russia had been defeated in the Crimean War, and the Tsar realized the importance of the steel industry and the urgency of developing the regions adjacent to Crimea.

At that very moment, a British entrepreneur named John Hughes, weary from his ventures in England, decided to try his luck in Russia. He noticed the Donbass region, just north of Crimea, was rich in coal and iron resources but had not been effectively exploited.

So he signed a contract with the Tsarist government, invested money in the Donbass, and personally brought over a hundred British workers to start mining and establish factories. ꭆãΝ∅ВËŚ

Right when Russia was fervently building the Baltic Fleet, Hughes’s smelting plant consistently sold steel to the Russian shipyards, making a fortune, and eventually expanded his smelting plant into a sizable city.

It was not until nearly a century later when the October Revolution broke out that the myth of Hughes’s investment finally came to an end.

By that time, the coal and iron resources in the Donbass region had not even been explored. Investing then would surely have cost far less than in Hughes’s time. It was estimated that one might acquire quality coal and iron mines for the mere price of purchasing wasteland.

Then, factories could be built locally to extract and process crude ingots, which could be shipped back to France for further refining.

Excess coal might be turned into coke and sent back to France, or even sold locally to make a profit.

The workers in the factories would be Russians. Even if their wages and conditions were poor, there was no need to worry about them causing trouble—the Tsar never showed leniency to discontented subjects from his own country.

Of course, in Russia’s iron-works, only relatively outdated technology could be used, in order to prevent a rapid improvement in the country’s industrial level.

Absolutely profitable!

Moreover, mining and setting up the factories could boost Russian tax revenue and help develop Crimea’s hinterland. Crimea was Russia’s most important port, providing a channel for maritime trade with the European Continent. It had always been of great significance to every Tsar. However, it was not until Catherine II defeated the Ottoman Empire that Russia gained complete control over this outlet to the Black Sea.

If France could help to stabilize Russian rule over Crimea—building the surrounding cities and attracting more people to settle is the best way to govern—then Catherine would surely overflow with gratitude towards France.

Historically, the Tsar’s protectionist stance towards Hughes’s investment says it all.

A trace of a smile glided across Joseph’s lips. Speaking of which, he would have to ask Catherine II for something in return; otherwise, she might feel somewhat indebted.

So, he took up the pen and began to write on the back of that “trade plan” document: France acknowledges and supports the above-mentioned plan…

Also, to encourage the traditional friendship between Russia and France, France has decided to urge its investors and factory owners to undertake construction in the Crimea area… purely investment, not involving any political or military affairs, in compliance with Russian tax and trade laws…

The hope is that His Imperial Majesty the Tsar could provide suitable support for France on matters related to North Africa…

Having dealt with Russian affairs, Joseph then opened Brian’s letter and read it carefully.

The Chief Minister first reported the general state of affairs in France in the letter, requesting the Crown Prince’s decisions on the matters yet unresolved.

After that, he mentioned the vast military expenses for recent foreign actions. Due to various unforeseen circumstances, the total expenditure was 12% higher than expected. However, it was still within the financial system’s tolerable range at the moment. But if the current scale of foreign military engagements continued, the finances were estimated to develop issues by the end of the year.

This did not surprise Joseph, and he hadn’t planned for lengthy foreign wars. At least in North Africa, a turning point should emerge soon. Moreover, the taxes collected locally from the Southern Netherlands would relieve a significant financial burden.

All in all, everything was within controllable limits.

He continued reading on.

In the last part of the letter, Brian reported the latest discussion from the Cabinet meeting about the peasant land redemption scheme.

Joseph subconsciously furrowed his brows. This redemption scheme had already undergone three revisions, yet none were satisfactory.

Indeed, although he had already initiated the abolition of the feudal privileges in France, the policies regarding how peasants could redeem their land had not been announced.

For the peasants, this meant they were merely exempted from paying minor taxes like mill tax, oven tax, and hunting tax, while the core issue of land ownership remained unresolved. This was the central reason for their lukewarm response to the abolition of feudal privileges.

However, the specifics of land redemption were incredibly thorny issues that could set the whole country in motion.

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