Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Chapter 477: Chapter 390: The Harmonious Maori

Joseph raised an eyebrow, “Oh? The British are that stubborn?”

"Yes, Your Highness,” Talleyrand nodded, “Perhaps, we should increase our investments in Mysore, making the British suffer more before they’re willing to come back to the negotiation table.”

Joseph’s bottom line for the negotiations was for England to recognize France’s influence in Algiers, Tunisia, and Tripoli.

Algiers was an important grain-producing area, several times larger than Tunisia, and the fattest piece of North Africa.

Tripoli, next door to Egypt, was crucial groundwork for the future opening of the Suez Canal.

In history, Napoleon had briefly set foot in Egypt, but due to the inadequate foundation in North Africa and the underperformance of his navy, he ultimately lost the opportunity to threaten England with the connection of the Suez Canal.

Of course, if he could acquire islands in the Caribbean Sea, then Tripoli could temporarily be set aside. White sugar was a luxury, and the islands of the Caribbean that could produce sugar cane in large quantities were also of great value.

After pondering for a moment, Joseph nevertheless waved his hand, “No, Archbishop Talleyrand, we need to scale back our actions in India.”

Joseph smiled, “Our goal is not to drive the British out of India.”

Not to mention that England would definitely fight to the death with France over India, but without England’s restraint, it wouldn’t be in France’s interest for Mysore to conquer the entire Indian subcontinent—Mysore had been exposed to European technology, and with Sultan Tipu’s “Tiger of Mysore” personal abilities, it was very possible.

A powerful Indian Empire would inevitably move northward, reaching into Central Asia, bringing immense trouble to the whole of Europe. Thus, it was best for India to remain scattered like the stars in the sky.

"What we need to do is to make the English pay a higher cost,” Joseph continued, “and the cost of attacking is far greater than defending.

"Have Marquis de Lafayette quickly set up defenses, let the British attack, and at the same time, he should destroy as much of the British’s supplies as possible. Military expenses will sternly educate the British.”

In fact, he had another important reason for this—Mysore simply couldn’t defeat England.

After all, England was still the world’s number one power, and although Mysore’s raids had achieved some results, the British had now started to get serious.

With Mysore’s strength, to continue the fierce attack could easily give the British the chance to annihilate them.

However, an incremental defense that greatly drained the British military budget was the most correct tactics for Sultan Tipu. Moreover, Joseph had prepared a “secret weapon” for him. Judging by the time, those people should also have arrived in India by now.

Joseph then recalled something else and instructed Talleyrand,

"Also, given the British’s habits, they are likely to cause trouble for the Southern Netherlands. You need to make a trip to the German states, as well as the Nordic and Eastern European countries, to go tell their kings

India.

Off the port of Mangalore in the northwest of Mysore, a small-sized schooner sailed in swiftly.

The Russian flag was hoisted on the ship, while the hull bore the emblem of the Gemini Trading Company.

On deck, several men with dark skin, robust figures, and intricate tattooed faces were gazing at the Mysore Defence Force lined up to welcome them on the dock.

One of the middle-aged men, with a waist almost as thick as a barrel, pointed towards a distant building styled in Islamic architecture and uttered a series of incomprehensible words.

The young man beside him spoke in not-so-fluent French:

"Uncle Magnus, Monsieur Dufresne told us to speak French as much as possible, and you forgot again?”

"Oh, yes.” Magnus revealed an apologetic smile and also started speaking in his awkward French, “Those houses are really peculiar. Even more so than the ones the development team built in town. But they are beautiful.”

What he referred to as the “development team” were the pioneers who had come ashore New Zealand Island with Dufresne.

After they were gifted a piece of land by the Maori, they changed their name to the development team and began building a town there.

With the assistance of an abundance of almost free Maori labor—the Maori had a very harmonious relationship with them, usually working a full day merely for a few glasses of wine and to listen to stories told by the development team members.

Although the development team had finished recounting everything they remembered from “Breaking Through the Sky”, “The Master of Besties”, and “Ladies, Please Stop” within two and a half months and had to creatively continue the stories with their own inventions, the Maori still listened with great enthusiasm.

What’s more, many Maori learned French by listening to those stories.

Especially after the first shearing of the sheep this year, the Maori who received their wages were elated—what the French paid were large amounts of iron agricultural tools, horses, and beautiful clothes—these were considered luxury items that could be handed down for generations in any Maori tribe.

The Maori tribes that had not previously worked with the development team, upon hearing the news, all flocked to offer their services to the French for sheep farming, even volunteering to lower their wages.

Dufresne generously maintained the original remuneration since it was already very low, and there wasn’t much to save on that anyhow, and he signed sheep-rearing contracts with more Maori tribes.

After half a year of management, sheep could now be seen in most parts of the North Island of New Zealand.

Now, the only factor limiting the number of sheep in New Zealand was the breeding speed.

As soon as lambs were born, the Maori would race to “adopt” them, caring for them meticulously. Coupled with New Zealand’s rich grass and a climate that was extremely suitable for sheep breeding, the wool production of sheep here was nearly 20% higher than that of their “countrymen” in England!

On the deck of the ship, another tall young Maori forcefully tugged at his coat—he clearly wasn’t accustomed to wearing clothes wrapped so tightly around him all day—and said somewhat anxiously to Magnus:

"Lord Magnus, the Pakeha have been restless lately. If they come seeking vengeance on our tribe, and we happen to have left home

What he referred to as Pakeha was the South Island of New Zealand. Historically, the North Island often launched raids on the South Island, which would in turn accumulate strength to strike back.

Magnus laughed and said, “No need to worry, Nikau. Monsieur Dufresne is currently calling for all tribes to sign a ‘joint declaration’. From now on, any conflict between tribes will be adjudicated by the ‘Tribal Council’.

"Before we departed, Monsieur Dufresne had already gone to the South Island. I think the Waitaha Tribe will also join the joint declaration.”

Nikau was still not reassured and asked, “But what if Waitaha refuses?”

"Hmph,” Magnus said disdainfully, “To refuse Monsieur Dufresne is to be enemies with all tribes. Moreover, they would lose the opportunity to raise sheep.

"Nikau, do you think they would still attack Aramotu?”

Aramotu was where their tribe resided.

Upon hearing “forbidding them from raising sheep”, the young man immediately nodded with full confidence:

"Then surely they won’t.”

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