I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 576: Real Sugar-Coated Bullet

"Your Highness, it is undeniable that sugar production from beets is indeed a very novel technology."

Mathurin-Jacques Brisson, a famous French biologist and judge of the Supreme Louis Prize for Biomedicine, said: "However, it is also a useless technology."

Another judge, Guillaume Bosque, added quietly: "It's even harmful."

“Yes, even harmful.” Brisson nodded and continued, “In fact, I heard about Mr. Archard’s technology when I went to Bavaria to study birds two years ago.

"Using this technology to extract sugar from beets, 1 franc produces about 1.2 pounds, while Caribbean sugar cane produces 1.9 pounds. Oh, and this is what Mr. Archard calls 'scale' production, and the initial cost will be higher.

“That is, making sugar from beets is just a loss.

"In addition, our sugarcane plantations in Saint-Domingue can generate tens of millions of francs of profit each year. If beet sugar production affects sales there, it would be a detriment to the national finances."

Joseph nodded slightly, knowing that the biologists were right.

However, he looked at them and said, "Gentlemen, if Britain and France go to war and the British fleet cuts off the Caribbean trade route, even if Saint-Domingo can produce more sugar, it will not be able to be shipped to Europe for sale. In this case, how much money will we have to spend on sugar?"

Brisson and others were stunned.

Although the French are not as dependent on sugar as the British, sugar is still a very important daily consumer product for people, and nearly one-fifth of their dietary calories come from white sugar.

So once the sugar from Saint-Domingue could no longer be shipped, France could only buy sugar from Britain at a high price.

What Joseph didn't tell them was that in history, Napoleon had to forcefully promote sugar production from beets at a loss because of the British blockade of shipping. In the end, although he managed to solve the sugar shortage in Europe, he also spent a lot of money on it.

Of course, Joseph will never repeat the same path as Napoleon, after all, he has 21st century knowledge in his head.

Bosco stammered, "But, Your Highness, we are not at war with Britain..."

"Perhaps, there has never been peace between us and Britain." Joseph said calmly, "It has only been less than 30 years since the Seven Years' War.

"Now, I need Mr. Franz Archard. Do you know how to find him?"

"Oh, yes, Your Highness." Leroy, the second chairman of the Talent Committee, said hurriedly, "He is staying at the 'Old Eden Inn' with several Bavarian scholars. I will go and invite him over."

Joseph nodded and said to Emmanuel, "Let President Leroy use my carriage."

The reason why he attached so much importance to Archard was not only to deal with the British naval blockade, but also to the fact that sugar beet production could hit the British economy hard. If managed properly, it could make a lot of money.

You know, the UK is currently the world's largest sugar producer and consumer.

It is well known that the British like to drink tea, but in fact, it is better to say that the British like to drink sugar water. If you don't add a lot of sugar to the tea, they basically refuse to drink it.

British industrial workers work very hard, so sugary drinks - including tea, coffee, cocoa, etc. - have become their only pleasure in life. At the same time, these drinks also have a refreshing effect, helping them cope with high-intensity work.

As for the British aristocracy, they even developed tea drinking into a kind of etiquette.

In addition, the British are notoriously bad at cooking, so their chefs also add a lot of sugar to their food to make it palatable. As a result, the entire British society is heavily dependent on sugar, spending as much as 1 million francs on sugar every year! [Note 1]

It can be said that whoever controls the sugar industry has his hands on the economic lifeline of Britain.

But unfortunately, the sugar industry at that time was in the hands of Britain.

Therefore, the British produced and sold their own sugar. The more sugar they consumed in their own country, the more money they made. At the same time, they could also sell huge amounts of sugar to Europe, America and Central Asia, which was an important pillar industry of their economy.

At present, most of the world's sugarcane planting is concentrated on the islands in the Caribbean Sea. Except for Saint-Domingue Island, which is in the hands of France, most of the other islands are occupied by Britain. There is no other way. The British navy is too powerful and has an unparalleled advantage in controlling the islands.

In addition, the Brazilian colonies controlled by Portugal also produced a lot of sugarcane, but Portugal was basically in the same boat with Britain, so it was also part of the British sugar industry system.

There are currently hundreds of sugar refineries in London, producing more than 80% of Europe's sugar products.

The emergence of Archard gave Joseph the opportunity to make a breakthrough in Britain's "sugar hegemony".

Archard, who was strolling on the Champs-Elysées, was still in a daze until he entered the Tuileries Palace.

Then he walked in with a blank mind, bowed, and sat on the sofa at the prince's enthusiastic invitation.

"So, you already have a complete set of production technology for refining white sugar from beets?" Joseph looked at him and said with a smile.

"Yes, yes, Your Highness." Archard nodded quickly and said in broken French, "This was actually invented by my teacher, Dr. Magraf, and I further improved it.

"Well, actually, my main work is to breed beet varieties with higher sugar content."

Joseph immediately asked, "So what is the sugar content of your beets?"

Speaking of this, Archard's nervousness disappeared, and he said proudly, "It has exceeded 8%, Your Highness."

Joseph praised him openly, but frowned secretly in his heart.

No wonder Nahuang lost money in beet sugar production. The sugar content is really low.

He remembered that the sugar content of sugar beets in later generations was about 20%. Therefore, if they wanted to compete with the sugar cane in the Caribbean, they had to continue to improve.

He looked at Archard and asked, "How long do you think it would take to grow sugar beets with a sugar content of 12%?"

The latter was silent for a few seconds, and put on a desperate expression: "Your Highness, if you need it, I will do my best to cultivate such beets within 20 years!"

[Note 1] Although the cost of producing sugar in the Caribbean is as low as 1 pound 48 to 50 pounds (that is, 1 franc 1.9 pounds), it is shipped back to Europe and subjected to secondary processing (such as removing impurities and making sugar cubes), as well as packaging and sales, and a small profit is made, and the final selling price is basically a little more than 1 franc per pound.

At the end of the 18th century, Britain consumed about 1 million pounds of sugar, costing nearly 1 million francs.

(End of this chapter)