I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 640 The World's First Steam-Powered Battleship

It is now the end of March, and given the severe war in the Caribbean, there will definitely be no sugarcane planting this year.

Joseph couldn't help but think of the report on sugar beet cultivation submitted by the Minister of Agriculture a few days ago.

The agricultural consulting service company has signed a contract with the church. A large number of church lands have begun to be planted with sugar beets. Currently, the scale of sugar beet planting in France has reached 3 hectares, and nearly 7 hectares are being cleared of previously planted grains. Sugar beets will be planted in a month at most.

France has the most suitable climate and soil in the world for growing beets, so the sowing period is very wide, and a good harvest can be ensured even if sowing is carried out in early May.

This year, the sugarcane harvest in the Caribbean will definitely be bad, and the whole of Europe will probably have to rely on French beets for sugar. As for whether a pound of sugar is sold for 3 francs or 5 francs, it really depends on your mood.

Joseph then thought about the future political landscape of the Caribbean region.

Judging from the current situation, the independence of the major islands is inevitable. In fact, since the Caribbean region is far away from the European continent and difficult to control, even if there is no early promotion, there will be a wave of independence there in ten years.

Then France might as well follow the trend, take the lead in recognizing the independence of Caribbean countries, and gain as much political benefits from it as possible.

In fact, if handled properly, many colonies will still be largely controlled by their former colonial masters hundreds of years after their independence.

As for the specific means, such as controlling the economic lifeline, supporting the rulers, winning over the aristocracy and so on, there is not much homework that future generations can copy.

If you want to make it simpler, you can also adopt the "South Korean Prosecutor's Office Model" [Note 1], which not only controls stability but also avoids provoking opposition from local people.

In addition, it is necessary to cultivate anti-British and anti-American sentiments in the Caribbean region from the very beginning. Especially the latter, which can make Caribbean countries an important force to contain the United States in the future.

Joseph suddenly remembered Brigadier General Wayne's evil plan of "killing two birds with one stone".

The world in the 18th century still followed the naked law of the jungle, so this kind of thing was actually very common and would soon be forgotten without causing any waves.

But if someone publicizes it widely and constantly reminds people to remember the hatred, the result will be different.

This is what later generations often call "setting the pace."

Let the journalists write a long news release about this matter, and let the Caribbean countries know the inside story of Booker's black rebels being deceived and slaughtered by the Americans. Millions of black people there will certainly feel the same way and will be irreconcilable with the United States.

Of course, we should also try to downplay the shameless behavior of the Indians so as not to cause a fight between blacks and Indians.

On the morning of the second day after Joseph arrived in Brittany, Fouché followed closely and handed him the report that Brissot had just sent back from Saint-Domingue.

This is still news from a month and a half ago.

Joseph rubbed his forehead. In this era without telegraphs, the efficiency of communication was appallingly low.

However, when he saw the contents of the report, he almost couldn't help laughing: "The British are asking us for help?"

"Yes, Your Highness." Fouché nodded. "Brand's army continues to suffer losses. There are only more than 2600 soldiers left, which is barely enough to deal with the riots in Barbados." At the same time, intelligence sent back from London showed that the British were organizing a second expeditionary force with more than 5 troops, but it would take more than a month to set off.

"Before that, Brand needs our troops to stabilize the situation in the Bahamas."

At the end of the report, Joseph saw that Brissot rejected the British request on the pretext that "the black riots in Saint-Domingue have worsened."

He thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "We should agree to General Brand."

Fouché: “?”

He knew that the abolition movement in the Caribbean was instigated by his own country. Could he really fight against himself?
Seeing his surprise, Joseph smiled and said, "First of all, I can help you, but I have to be paid. The sponsorship from the Duke of Leeds is almost spent, so it's a good opportunity for Brand to supplement the military funds for the rebels."

Well, the funds for the vigorous abolition movement in the Caribbean were mainly the 25 pounds that Auger asked the Duke of Leeds for. The French government only provided less than 50 francs.

Fouché hesitated and said, "Your Highness, what then? The Bahamas is British territory. If we really want to send troops there, I'm afraid we won't be able to fool them by just making a show like we did in Saint Domingo."

Joseph shook the teacup in his hand: "Then we will fight in the Bahamas. If Saint Domingo is lost at this time, all countries will definitely blame Britain, and then we will do this..."

Half an hour later, Fouché left with the Dauphin's instructions, while Joseph, in high spirits, drove to the Bay of Brest.

Hundreds of soldiers in ceremonial uniforms were already lined up in an orderly manner on the dock. When Joseph got off the car, they raised their guns at the same time, and then military music sounded all around.

The Minister of the Navy, Marquis Castelli, came to greet them with a group of officers and the person in charge of the shipyard. After the routine salutes and greetings, Castelli could not wait to point to the sea in the distance and said with excitement: "Your Highness, everything is ready. We can start at any time."

Joseph looked in the direction he pointed and saw four warships anchored there. The one with a lot of colorful flags hanging on the cables and a faint black smoke floating above it was the world's first steam-powered warship - the Light of the Mediterranean.

This new warship, carrying all the hopes of the navy, was completed in less than half a year thanks to the desperate efforts of the Brest Shipyard.

Everyone gathered around Joseph and walked towards the frigate "Brown Crystal Stone" moored at the dock. The maiden voyage ceremony will be demonstrated on the distant sea, so you need to take a boat to watch it.

Murdoch followed the crown prince and introduced as if to take credit: "Your Highness, the average failure interval of the LJ52A steam engine has now exceeded 30 hours, which is fully able to meet combat needs. Mr. Trevithick played a huge role in this improvement process."

Trevithick bowed and said, "It is a great honor for me to leave my mark on this great machine."

Joseph noticed that the high-pressure steam engine model number was followed by an A, indicating that a major change had been made. Previously, Sandel said it would take a year to complete the reliability improvement, but with the joint efforts of these three steam engine geniuses, it was done in just half a year.

Of course, the Poles also contributed to this.

The Tarnovskaya Silver Mine installed dozens of high-pressure steam engines for pumping water, which operated almost day and night, providing a large amount of practical usage data, which significantly increased the speed of improvement of Murdoch and his team.

[Note 1]: The Korean Prosecutor's Office is an independent inspection agency in South Korea. It has basically no superior department. It can investigate anyone from the president to actors. It can direct the police to investigate cases and has extremely high authority (for example, checking private calls and deciding which evidence to use and which not to use during the trial). At the same time, the personnel appointments of the Korean Prosecutor's Office are basically controlled by the United States, and it is an important tool for the United States to influence South Korean politics.

(End of this chapter)