I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 558 Breaking the Contract
"Oh, the British also said that they will persuade Sweden to respect our interests in the Baltic Sea." The Tsar's secretary said, "At least to ensure that Sweden will not attack our Finnish territories again."

Britain provided Sweden with a large amount of war materials. Without their support, Sweden, whose national strength had seriously declined, basically could not fight a war. Therefore, their attitude could definitely have a significant impact on Sweden.

“Ahaha, I see!”

Potemkin suddenly laughed out loud: "These cunning British, it turns out they are heading for France."

"France?" Hrapovitsky asked in confusion, "But the British envoy never mentioned France."

Potemkin patted the wooden table in the carriage with great pride, like a hunter who had discovered the hiding place of a wild beast: "Why did they spend so much energy mediating the war between Prussia and Austria?"

"This... I can't understand it."

"It is to reduce France's military influence on Austria and dissolve the alliance between the two countries. Britain does not have enough influence in Germany, so it can only ask us to persuade Austria.

"As for Prussia, Britain, as their ally, will definitely find a way to make William II accept an armistice.

"As for the increase in trade volume, it is because the rapid increase in trade volume between Russia and France in the past two years has made them feel a sense of crisis. The increase in trade between Russia and Britain will squeeze out the trade space between Russia and France.

"They are restricting Sweden to ensure the smooth flow of our Baltic Sea shipping."

Most of the Russian-British trade went out to sea from Riga, through the Baltic Sea, and across the Skagerrak Strait to reach Britain.

Potemkin continued: “The British were worried that French investment in the Donbass region would make us hesitate, so they hedged it with investment in Crimea.

"In the end, everything they do will ultimately weaken France.

"That's great. Let them fight. We will be able to find many opportunities to gain benefits in the process!"

He looked at Hrapovitzki and said, "So, let me guess, Your Majesty is ready to accept the British proposal?"

"It seems that Your Majesty has this inclination. Of course, this requires your approval."

……

The royal hunting grounds outside Petersburg.

Catherine II sat upright on her horse, looking with a smile at the princes and nobles who were shouting and driving prey in the distance, imagining herself riding a horse and chasing with them.

A young man in his twenties next to her, who was very handsome and had a French temperament, pretended to chat casually: "Those British people are really generous. The French have invested less than 30 rubles in Donbass this year, but they are ready to invest millions of rubles as soon as they arrive, and will invest more than 50 rubles later."

The nobles drove the prey to a place near the Tsar. The young man saw two wild boars not far away, and hurriedly handed a hunting rifle to Catherine II and helped her hold the muzzle of the gun.

The tsarina is already 63 years old and her health is not as good as before. It is quite difficult for her to raise the gun and aim independently.

She held her breath, aimed at the sturdy wild boar, and pulled the trigger.

There was a roar, and the young man helped her fan away the gunpowder smoke, but saw that it had not hit the prey. The prey was frightened by the sound of the gunshot and ran into the bushes in panic.

"That wild boar ran like a fleeing Ottoman soldier." The young man quickly told a joke to divert the Tsar's attention, and then continued his task as a lobbyist, "With the British joining in, I believe the Crimean port will soon become lively..."

He received a large sum of bribes from the British Foreign Secretary, so naturally he had to do his best to promote him.

Catherine II turned to look at him with a smile and asked, "My dear, you keep mentioning Britain. Do you know why they came here this time?"

Yes, this handsome young man is her current favorite lover, Pladen Zubov. Every time she sees his charming face, she feels relaxed physically and mentally.

Zubov was startled and said hesitantly, "It should be to improve Russian-British relations, right?"

The tsarina smiled and said: "The differences between Russia and Britain far outweigh the cooperation. The two sides are only connected by the need for trade."

Zubov immediately pulled out his trump card - he smiled brightly and acted ignorant: "So they are here..."

Catherine II shook her head and pointed at several dark figures in the distance: "The prey is coming."

The "fresh meat" hurriedly handed over the shotgun.

Catherine II looked at a wild boar, but couldn't help thinking that if it were Grisha, he would definitely be able to see that the British came to suppress France.

Grisha is a nickname of Potemkin's name "Grigory".

The man she misses most in her heart is still him, but unfortunately his body has broken down and he is completely unable to perform the duties of a lover, but he still uses his brains and courage to manage the country for her.

When he comes back, we can discuss in detail how to seek the most benefits between Britain and France. She thought so and pulled the trigger hard.

The fire pushed a lead bullet accurately into the wild boar's eye, causing it to fall to the grass in an instant.

……

Austria.

In an exquisite brick-red villa two streets away from Schönbrunn Palace, Norbert Klestil, the second president of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, looked at the Duke of Leeds in surprise and confirmed, "You mean, let us order 300 million florins of goods from France at once?"

300 million florins is equivalent to 750 million francs, which is definitely a staggering big deal.

"No, not an outright order." The Englishman smiled and shook his head. "These are just deposits."

Chrystil's eyes widened. "Deposit? In other words, the final transaction amount will exceed 1 million florins?!"

"My bottom line is 1 million, the more the better." The Duke of Leeds seemed to be talking about a pile of stones instead of gold coins.

"But why do you want to help the French make money?" The president of the Chamber of Commerce said somewhat dissatisfiedly, "French goods have already occupied too much of our market, I'm afraid no one is willing to do this.

"Besides, even if all the people in the Chamber of Commerce were added together, I'm afraid they wouldn't be able to come up with such a large sum of money."

"You misunderstood, my old friend." The Duke of Leeds still smiled kindly, groping for the teacup in his hand, "First of all, I always said 30 pounds, oh, that is, 300 million florins. That's all.

"Secondly, I will provide the money. You and your friends in the Chamber of Commerce only need to take the money to place orders with the French factory. I will also pay you a handsome fee."

"I don't understand this even more." Chrystil's eyes were full of confusion. "After the order is placed, who will pay the balance?"

"There is no final payment." The Duke of Leeds smiled sinisterly. "After the French goods are produced, they will rot in the warehouse."

Chrystil was shocked: "You mean, you want us to break the contract?!"

(End of this chapter)