I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 625 Contracting Agreement
After a long while, a smile finally reappeared on Camelia's face.

She affectionately took Perna's arm and left the small prayer room together. The two of them had become the most trusting sisters.

Joseph raised his head carefully and confirmed that the two girls had disappeared. Then he stood up and thought to himself that it was no wonder that they both asked for leave yesterday. It turned out that they came here to participate in the "religious activities" on Valentine's Day.

He rubbed his numb thighs, and the conversation between the two flashed through his mind. He was quite happy. Perna was gentle and intellectual, Camelia was sweet and lovely... But with his current status, he definitely couldn't marry any of them. Did he really want them to be his mistresses? Alas, it was still difficult to adapt to the 18th century concept. Forget it, I'd better pretend I didn't know...

While he was thinking about it, the priest bowed at the door and said:
"Your Highness, the ceremony outside is over. Do you want me to invite Archbishop Beaumont?"

"Oh, thank you for your hard work."

More than ten minutes later, in the reception room on the second floor of Notre Dame de Paris, Beaumont and several high-ranking priests saluted Joseph respectfully and said with a smile:
"Your Highness, are you here to attend the Valentine's Day celebration as well?"

Joseph thought to himself that I was the one who came up with this business plan, so why would I come here to give you money? But he still nodded and said:
"Ah, yes, this is also an opportunity to be noticed by God, I certainly won't miss it."

"You are so pious!" Beaumont immediately made the sign of the cross. "May God bless you."

Joseph sat down on the chair and got straight to business: "Archbishop Beaumont, I have a very good business opportunity and hope to cooperate with the church."

Beaumont immediately showed interest and leaned forward. "Your Highness is always thinking about the church. You have the most pious soul in the world... Oh, what business opportunities do you mean?"

Last time, the Crown Prince instructed the church to sell "improved indulgences", which has now become one of the core sources of income for the French Church. He is looking forward to another similar "good business".

Joseph smiled and nodded: "Archbishop, you should be familiar with beets, right?"

The church is also involved in the promotion of beet cultivation, so Beaumont naturally needs to understand beets.

"Yes, your highness, I also planted Mr. Archard's beets myself."

Joseph also leaned forward: "So have you heard about the situation in the Caribbean?"

"You mean, those black riots?"

"That's right. It's foreseeable that before long, Saint Domingo will have a hard time providing us with enough sugar," Joseph said, "and sugar beets will be the most important source of sugar in the future. I hope the church can help me expand the area of ​​sugar beet cultivation."

Beaumont nodded vigorously. “Your Highness, the church has indeed been trying to persuade farmers to grow beets instead.”

Joseph looked at him and said, "No, I mean to use the church's farmland to grow beets."

Beaumont was stunned for a moment, then immediately showed an honest smile: "Your Highness, you know that recently the church's expenditure has become very large for your military academy, mechanical and chemical engineering university, and tax university. If the land income is reduced further, I am afraid..."

"No, I'm afraid you're mistaken. The returns from growing beets are very high."

Beaumont shook his head secretly. With such a small harvest of beets, the government needed to give large subsidies to beet farmers just to keep their income on par with that of growing wheat.

He was about to show his embarrassment, but Joseph immediately said, "At present, sugar beets are indeed not profitable, but after the sugar cane production in Saint-Domingue decreases, the price of sugar will immediately rise sharply. You have to look at the long term."

Beaumont said, "Your Highness, by then, sugar from Jamaica and the West Indies will pour in, and the price may be..." He took a breath and smiled again, "How about this, the church set aside 100 hectares to plant sugar beets?"

Joseph thought that the sugarcane plantations in Jamaica and the West Indies would soon run out of black slaves, so where would the sugarcane come from to flow into France?

But this matter involved too many things, and he couldn't tell Beaumont about it.

"I hope the church can set aside 3 hectares of arable land to grow sugar beets."

Beaumont's eyes almost popped out: "You mean... 3 hectares?! How can this be possible..."

Although the income from growing beets is acceptable with subsidies, he is unwilling to put all his hopes on subsidies. Given the financial situation of the French government, there is no guarantee that subsidies will not be paid one day.

When the time comes to change to growing wheat, I will have to go through the same process again with farm tools, seeds, sales channels, etc., which all cost money.

Joseph tried to persuade him again, but Beaumont only increased the planted area to 800 hectares and refused to give in anymore.

Joseph shook his head helplessly. You really don't even know how to seize the opportunity to make money.

He had no choice but to say, "Archbishop, how about this? I can sign a 'contract agreement' with the church."

"Ah, what is that?"

"The church will hand over 4 hectares of land to the Minister of Agriculture for management, and the government will pay the church an annual tax based on the rent paid by the tenants, plus an additional 5%. Of course, the church must assist the government in requiring the annual tribute farmers to plant designated crops."

At present, although France has carried out land reform, it does not involve the church. Therefore, the church's land is basically still in the annual tribute model, and the church still has a relatively large influence on the tenants on its land.

Beaumont still looked extremely reluctant. Dealing with tenant farmers was always much easier than dealing with the French government. After all, if the government defaulted on the contract fees, it would be very difficult for the church to collect them.

"Your Highness, can you please reduce the amount to 5 hectares?"

Joseph's face suddenly darkened.

To be honest, the power of the royal family is no longer comparable to that when he borrowed grain from the church. The country's politics, economy, military, justice, and propaganda are all in his hands. If it weren't for the need for the church to maintain the stability of French society, even if he forcibly confiscated the church's land, these priests would have no choice but to obey.

"Archbishop Beaumont, I have another thing to do today." Joseph suddenly changed his calm tone and said loudly, "The Saint-Domingo expeditionary force has just suffered a failure. The General Staff has decided to send an additional 8 expeditionary forces to the Caribbean. This requires a considerable amount of military expenditure.

"The Church has an unshirkable responsibility for the future of France. His Majesty the King requires the Church to provide 800 million francs for the expedition."

Beaumont was immediately anxious: "Your Highness, where does the church get so much money? And military expenses have never been borne by the church..."

Joseph pretended to stand up and leave: "I believe in the financial resources of the church. Please inform the other archbishops about this matter. I hope that the money will be received before the expeditionary force sets out."

Beaumont's face had turned bitter. He stopped Joseph and said, "Your Highness, perhaps we can discuss the 'contract agreement' again..."

(End of this chapter)