I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 617 Since You Want to Join in the Fun, Don’t Blame Me for Being Ruthless
In the conference room on the second floor of the Port-au-Prince Parliament Hall, Auger and three abolitionist congressmen looked at Brissot in amazement as he was making an impassioned speech, and tried several times to stop him from continuing.

The other two pro-slavery congressmen were so shocked that they stood there in shock.

Brissot didn't care about the expressions of the crowd at all. He raised his arms and said loudly: "We can't be satisfied with the liberation of the black slaves in Saint-Domingue, but we should let this great cause shine throughout the Caribbean!
"The evil and shame of slavery must be banished from this world.

"Jamaica, Panama, and even the West Indies, where the evil whip is still lashing the black people who should be free!
"We, the spreaders of the spirit of freedom, have an army that can fight against slaveholders and the support of 50 free blacks. What reason do we have not to rescue the slaves in the Caribbean..."

Finally, Auger stood up and said, "Mr. Brissot, we really want to abolish slavery in other Caribbean regions, but it seems that this should be done by the British and Spanish themselves..."

The other MPs nodded: "If we intervene in those places, it is very likely to attract retaliation from countries like Britain."

"Mr. Brissot, abolition is an issue that will take a long time to resolve..."

"Even if we wanted to promote abolition throughout the Caribbean, I'm afraid we don't have enough power."

"We really can't do this..."

Brissot looked around at the crowd, and said with mockery in his eyes: "Is this what you mean by 'breaking the shackles and letting freedom and equality shine on every inch of land where God is watching'?
"Just liberating 50 black slaves in Saint-Domingue is the realization of your ideal?"

Auger had no choice but to say: "Well, Mr. Brissot, to be honest, this is not in our interest, so..."

"You mean the benefit?" Brissot smiled. "Then if I tell you that Saint-Domingue can gain independence, will this benefit satisfy you?"

The conference room fell silent instantly.

Auger and the others looked at each other, then looked at Brissot: "I'm sorry, I don't understand, is this a metaphor of yours, or..."

"No, it's independence!" Brissot said calmly, "Establish the Republic of Saint-Domingue. Your parliament will mint currency, decide on trade methods, tariffs, diplomacy, the military, and so on. The French government will not interfere with you in any way."

A middle-aged congressman suddenly laughed: "Mr. Special Envoy, you really know how to joke."

"No, I'm not kidding!" Brissot took out an imperial decree from his body, "His Majesty the King has agreed to give up the colony of Saint-Domingue and establish your own country."

Auger hurriedly took the decree and saw the signatures and seals of the king and queen on it. He was so excited that his hands trembled as he handed it to the congressman next to him.

After a moment, everyone's faces turned red with excitement, their eyes were shining, and they were confirming with each other whether they had made a mistake.

If they can get rid of their colonial status, they will gain huge benefits - for example, they don't have to pay taxes to the French government, the market doesn't have to be open only to France, they can mint their own currency, manage finances, etc. Especially these congressmen, they will jump from an inconspicuous colonial congressman to a national congressman, and their power will increase many times!
You know, Joseph had only promised to reduce the tax rate in Saint-Domingue by 70% and give the parliament more power in exchange for the support of most slaveholders for abolition. And these are only a small part of the many benefits of establishing an independent country.

A moment later, Auger was the first to wave his fists and shouted: "Long live His Majesty the King! Thank you for granting Saint-Domingue freedom and independence!"

The other deputies were about to cheer, but Brissot raised his hand to interrupt them: "Gentlemen, His Majesty has conditions for allowing Saint-Domingue to be independent."

All eyes were immediately on him.

"First, your majesty demands that slavery be abolished throughout the Caribbean." "Second, Jamaica, the Bahamas, and the West Indies must also achieve independence. It would be best if they could form a Caribbean Confederation with Saint Domingo."

The congressmen heard this and began to discuss in low voices. To be honest, it was indeed extremely difficult, but the temptation of Saint Domingo to establish an independent country was obviously greater.

Brissot waited for a moment and then said, "The French government will also provide Saint-Domingue with weapons and ammunition, as well as 2 million francs of funding per year."

Auger and Governor Mably looked at each other, swallowed hard, and looked at Brissot and said, "Mr. Envoy, let us discuss this and give you an answer before noon tomorrow."

"Yes, gentlemen. But I must remind you that this matter must be kept absolutely confidential."

Brissot did not even wait until noon the next day. At 10 o'clock that evening, Auger and Mably came to his room together and said that Saint-Domingue would take the lead in the abolition of slavery in the Caribbean.

These two old rivals who had been fighting in the Parliament of Saint-Domingue for more than ten years now seemed unusually united.

Then, Auger said with a sad face: "But you know, Mr. Envoy, this is not easy to do..."

Brissot smiled and nodded, and asked his entourage to call an intelligence officer.

"This is Major Delman. He will present to you a simple plan."

Delman handed two documents to Auger and Mably: "We must first make sure that other countries believe that the French government is opposed to abolition. Otherwise, France will be forced to provide support for Saint-Domingue."

Auger and Mably nodded.

Delman continued: “So the Governor’s army and the Abolitionist army will remain in a state of war on the surface.

"Since the British have unexpectedly intervened in the situation in Saint-Domingue, Mr. Brissot and I intend to take advantage of this."

Oger was a little surprised: "How can this be used?"

Delman waved the document in his hand and said, “The French government will announce loudly that in order to punish the Saint-Domingue Parliament for its decision to abolish slavery, it will send an expeditionary force of 10,000 to the island to eliminate the abolitionists.

"And Mr. Auger appealed to the British for help, saying that without more aid, the abolition movement would have no choice but to surrender to the French government. It would be better to get them to pay a large sum of aid at once, rather than a little bit every month.

"At that time, a pro-slavery congressman will 'happen' to hear your conversation and make it public. You will then 'cannot bear the pressure' to admit it.

"After that, your army will 'defeat' the Governor's army, seize a large amount of weapons and equipment, and thousands of the Governor's soldiers will 'surrender' and be incorporated into your army."

Oger's eyes widened: "This... is this possible?"

Brissot continued: "When the government's expeditionary force lands, it will be ambushed by your troops, and then defeated and retreated to British Jamaica. You will seize more weapons and supplies, and even several warships..."

(End of this chapter)