I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 595 Special Trade Program
Fortunately, Joseph had made some arrangements in Poland before.

For example, he reminded Prince Poniatowski of important matters that he should pay attention to in the future, provided some material aid to Poland through the United States, and promoted the awakening of Polish nationalism.

However, he was also well aware that Poland at that time was very weak. After all, it had implemented the "one-vote veto system" for a century and a half.

France cannot directly interfere in Poland’s affairs at present, as that would seriously offend Russia and Prussia, and would be completely helping Britain to form an anti-French alliance.

Then the only thing to do is to make the most of Poland's own strength. As long as Poland can hold on a little longer, it will help France gain important development time.

It will take half a year to a year for Prussia and Russia to be ready for war. We must make full use of this time to help Poland prepare for defense...

Five days later.

As soon as Joseph returned to Paris, he went straight to the Palace of Versailles and summoned Briand, Talleyrand, Bailly, Fouché and other relevant ministers to his reception room.

Soon, everyone arrived. He first asked Fouché to introduce the situation in Prussia and Austria - on his way back to Paris, Prussia and Austria had formally concluded an armistice agreement.

"...At present, both sides have begun to evacuate Silesia, and Britain and Russia are jointly supervising the withdrawal of both sides. Baron Turgut has initially taken control of the political situation in Vienna..."

After Fouché finished speaking, Brian immediately said: "In this case, we will have to make some adjustments to Austria's foreign policy."

Joseph raised his hand to interrupt him and directly stated the conclusion: "The current focus is how to help Poland resist the attacks of Russia and Prussia. Oh, and maybe Austria."

Bailey was a little surprised and said, "Your Highness, are you talking about Prussia? But Prussia and Poland are in an alliance."

"Please believe me, Prussia is the country that wants to invade Poland the most, even more eagerly than Russia." Joseph said, "As long as Russia takes action, they will immediately tear up the alliance..."

Over the next few hours, Joseph outlined his plan to help Poland resist invasion, and everyone made detailed adjustments.

Then, Talleyrand put away his notebook and said to Joseph: "Your Highness, I will leave for Warsaw tomorrow."

Joseph shook his head and said, "We need to minimize the French government's involvement in this matter. So you can't be involved."

He looked at the people in front of him and asked, "Does anyone recommend a suitable candidate?"

Bailly thought, "Your Highness, I think Bishop Ethier can go to Poland. Oh, that is Emmanuel Ebert Sieyès. He is a meticulous person and has unique insights into political operations."

When Joseph heard the name, he couldn't help but nod slightly.

Sieyès, one of the three great Thermidorians, was a man of great political ability, not just "insightful".

In history, he survived all the major revolutionary factions that came to power and fell from power, and single-handedly planned the Brumaire coup of Emperor Napoleon. Some even suspected that he was the mastermind behind the overthrow of Robespierre's regime.

The political situation in France was stable in this era, and there was no room for him to play a role, so so far he was only the archdeacon of Chartres.

Letting him help Stanislaw II control the political situation in Poland is a good way to make the best use of his talents.

Moreover, he has a church background, so the Catholic Church can find a reason to transfer him to Poland, and it will basically not attract the attention of other countries.

Joseph turned to Emmanuel and said, "Please send someone to Chartres to let Sieyès..." Bailly said hurriedly, "Your Highness, Archbishop Sieyès is now in the Palace of Versailles."

This is not surprising, as French nobles and senior clergy like to stay in Paris when they have nothing to do.

Emmanuel inquired where Sieyès lived and went immediately to look for him.

Not long after, a man who was less than fifty years old, with a thin face and not much of a priestly aura, knocked on the door and came in. He bowed to Joseph and said, "It is an honor to receive your summons, Your Highness. I am Emmanuel Hebert Sieyès, and I am at your service at any time."

By the time Joseph had finished instructing him on his mission to Poland, it was already dusk.

The next morning, Sieyès set out for Warsaw with aid to Poland.

Joseph also felt more at ease. After having lunch with his mother, he talked about his smuggling license plan with Briand, Bailly, Fouché and others.

Trade Minister Bai was obviously the most excited person, his eyes sparkling as he said, "Your Highness, I think your idea is very feasible. In fact, the British and Portuguese colonies are full of complaints about their trade policies. If cheap goods arrive, there will definitely be many locals rushing to help us sell them."

“There will even be some very influential people among them.”

You know, both Britain and Portugal regarded their colonies as their own "blood bags" - the local raw material prices were pushed down as low as possible, while their own industrial products were sold at will, and no matter how high the price was, the people in the colonies had to buy them with a pinch of their noses, because other cheap goods were not allowed to be shipped in.

This resulted in the colonies' industry being unable to develop at all, and they could only exist as a source of raw materials, so living standards naturally remained at a low level.

Brian was very cautious: "Your Highness, doing this is almost equivalent to declaring war on Britain and Portugal."

Joseph said nonchalantly, "We'll try to be as covert as possible. As for declaring war, don't worry, I'll naturally have a way to deal with it."

Brian saw that the crown prince was very determined, so he stopped insisting and continued, "Your Highness, if you must do this, I suggest that the smuggling business be concentrated in Tripoli.

"Even if the British discovered these businesses, we could use the excuse that they were too far away to be managed effectively. And the volume of trade there is already very large."

Bailly nodded in agreement and added, "But if you start from the Mediterranean, you have to go through the Strait of Gibraltar to get to North America. It's very convenient for the British to check smuggling ships there. You know, it's only a few dozen miles wide, so it's impossible to slip through."

"What do you suggest?"

"We can use the port of Ostend in the Southern Netherlands as another smuggling hub. Although it is an Austrian-ruled area, the residents there mostly speak French."

Bailly smiled somewhat complacently: "I've been there before. The locals hardly paid any attention to the officials sent from Vienna. Instead, they tended to listen to the Wallonia Business Council."

The Wallonia Business Council is now completely controlled by France.

“If there is a business that can generate considerable profits, I believe that local people will definitely be willing to follow our management.

"More than 30 kilometers away from Ostend is the port of Zeebrugge. If the British fleet inspects Ostend too harshly, the smuggling ships can immediately go to the port of Zeebrugge to load their cargo."

(End of this chapter)