I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 613 Abolition Movement
The cabinet meeting ended at noon.

The Lord Admiral smiled more brilliantly than he had on his wedding day as he emerged from the golden doors of the Chamber.

However, several ministers of the emerging aristocracy, such as Mirabeau, who were not far behind him, seemed somewhat serious.

When they turned the corner of the corridor, Bailly glanced at Mirabeau's expression and said, "You noticed something, too, didn't you?"

The latter nodded solemnly: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has given the Navy an additional allocation of 2 million francs. This is indeed unusual."

This 2 million was in addition to the Navy's normal military expenditure. If the amount that Kalona had brought back from the UK was included, the Navy had received an additional 4 million francs.

Prior to this, the navy had cut military spending for three consecutive years - the tonnage of newly built warships was even lower than that of Russia.

Baiyi immediately replied: "Yes, in addition, His Highness asked me to purchase a large amount of wood, grease, ropes and even cotton. It is obvious that he is worried that the trade channels will be blocked."

"And the corn, too," added Vergniaud, "of which there is no sign of a bad harvest."

These matters were ordered by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince before the end of the cabinet meeting just now.

"So," Bailey lowered his voice, "is there going to be a war?"

"It seems that the British have made some moves." Talleyrand followed the three people with some effort. He was very familiar with the latest strategic direction of the United Kingdom. "Your Highness obviously wants to make preparations in advance."

He suddenly paused here and shook his head, "But what is a little unreasonable is that Your Highness wants me to go to the Ottoman Empire to promote a new trade agreement at this time."

Joseph gave him the task of reaching an agreement with the Ottomans to reduce tariffs on each other and increase the types of goods allowed to enter, obviously in an attempt to increase the volume of trade between the two countries.

Mirabeau was also quite puzzled: "If we go to war with Britain, the Mediterranean trade will be in danger of being interrupted."

Vernier immediately said, "So His Highness allocated 2 million to the navy, probably to fight for control of the sea."

The others looked at him with strange eyes. Mirabeau said, "I'm afraid this amount of money is far from enough."

Baiyi nodded: "And if we are confident that we can defeat the British at sea, there is no need to stockpile supplies."

The few people discussed for a while, but still had no clue. If the Marquis of Castelli was here, he would definitely tell them excitedly that the navy, relying on the new warships driven by steam engines, was capable of driving the British fleet out of the Mediterranean. After the war, the Ottoman Empire on the east side of the Mediterranean would be a very important market for France.

Finally, Talleyrand exhaled and said, "I think we should trust your Highness's judgment."

The other three also nodded. In their memory, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had never made a mistake in his decision-making.

……

months ago.

South side of North America, Caribbean Sea.

Central Santo Domingo, Port-au-Prince.

In a dim basement, Vincent Auger, a leader of the abolition movement, lit up the candle in the middle of the room. The candlelight immediately illuminated the faces of more than a dozen people sitting in the room.

Most of these people were mixed race with light brown skin, and there were four blacks and one white person. They were representatives of abolitionist organizations from all over French Saint-Domingue.

"Thank you all for arriving here on time." Oger walked to the front of the crowd, looked at them with a very capable look, and said in a deep voice, "The people of the Booker Movement have occupied most of Tortuga. At present, the Governor's army is almost all gathered in the north. Our chance has come!"

Everyone present clenched their fists excitedly and cheered while suppressing their voices. Auger continued, "We will gather on the east side of Port-au-Prince in a week. Major Jonas and I will lead half of the troops to attack the Governor's Palace."

He then looked at a middle-aged mixed-race man wearing a French white military uniform: "Major Oriol leads a battalion to occupy the parliament. The others will be dispersed to ensure the stability of Port-au-Prince."

The two officers immediately stood up and said, "At your command, Monsieur Auger."

Oger waved his fist vigorously and said, "We now have the same sophisticated equipment as the Governor's Guard, and Major Jonas is even equipped with cannons.

"We will quickly take control of Port-au-Prince, and then demand that Parliament vote to pass a bill to abolish slavery. All people will be free and equal, and the dark ages of Saint-Domingue will end!"

The representatives of the organization in the room suddenly cheered softly again.

After everyone quieted down, an old black man in a gray-black coarse linen coat slowly stood up and said, "Mr. Auger, how are we going to deal with the French army coming from Europe? They may be about to cross the Atlantic by now."

Auger said with determination: "Then we will fight them until they accept the abolition bill!"

The black old man shook his head and sighed: "Mr. Auger, our current army has no chance of defeating the French expeditionary force, just like a few years ago..."

Oger raised his hand to interrupt him: “Mr. Troc, we got more than one batch of supplies before.

"In fact, one country has already promised us £3 of supplies every month. We will win!"

The supplies that Oger mentioned were mainly flintlock rifles, uniforms, tents and other military equipment, as well as some food, medicine and the like.

Trok immediately showed a look of surprise: "Thank God for giving us hope."

He participated in two abolition uprisings, both of which were suppressed due to lack of weapons and ammunition. This time the situation was finally different!
An hour later, Oger, who had made detailed arrangements for the uprising, left the basement and drove back to his residence.

Before he even entered the door, his butler came out and whispered something in his ear.

"Special envoy of the French government?" Oger frowned, pondered for a moment, and then walked into the house.

Sitting in the reception room was a middle-aged man wearing a long black coat and a somewhat messy wig.

Oger took a deep breath, stepped forward and said loudly: "Mr. Envoy, if you want to convince me to support the suppression of the Booker Movement in Parliament, I'm afraid you will be disappointed..."

The middle-aged man stood up when he heard the noise and saluted Oger with his hand on his chest.

When the latter saw his big nose, the wrinkles on his forehead, and his deep eyes, he couldn't help but exclaimed: "You...you are Mr. Brissot?!"

Brissot smiled and nodded. "Yes, that is my name. You must be Monsieur Auger. It is an honor to meet you."

Oger bowed in return: "I have heard your speech in Philadelphia. Oh, I also have your "Miscellaneous Notes on the American Southern Negro" in my bookcase. It is very realistic!"

“I’m glad you enjoyed the book.”

Oger suddenly thought of something and suppressed his excitement and said, "The King of France sent you as a special envoy. Could it be that..."

Brissot nodded: "Yes, His Majesty has agreed to sign the abolition decree."

(End of this chapter)