I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 646 Trade Conflict
Kevin flipped through the damage report and suddenly thought of a question: "You just said that a small town in the suburbs of Namur can mobilize more than 50 police officers?"

Captain Pickering nodded. “Yes, Mr. Kevin. And they left more than 30 people in the police station as backup that day.”

"There are so many people?" Kevin was very surprised. Even in the UK, there are only 20 to 30 police officers in a small town like this.

Pickering spread his hands: "This is nothing, there are more than 800 police officers in Namur, and there are more than 900 police officers in Mons Police Station.

"In addition to the police, the police station in Wallonia also has two positions: 'assistants' and 'service teams'. We previously thought that the latter two were just miscellaneous personnel, but after the failure of this operation, we found that except for the lack of uniforms, they are no different from regular police officers in other aspects."

Yes, Joseph had equipped Wallonia with more than 6 police officers to serve as an army for the sake of stability and control. But in order not to irritate the Flemish and Austrian governments, he changed the names of some police officers, resulting in only more than 1300 police officers on the surface.

Kevin asked hurriedly, "So how many policemen are there in the entire Wallonia region? Or guys similar to the policemen."

“It should be more than 4 people.”

Pickering narrowed his eyes immediately: "The population of Wallonia is less than one million, but there are so many policemen...

"The training and maintenance costs of these police officers are huge."

Captain Pickering continued: "And their reaction speed and shooting level are very high."

Kevin nodded and ordered, "Immediately investigate the recruitment, training, and funding of the Walloon police. My intuition tells me that this must be something special."

The diplomatic system and intelligence agencies have always been inextricably linked. Even in the 21st century, embassies of various countries abroad are actually offices of intelligence agencies.

As the Foreign Secretary's assistant, Kevin has the authority to command some intelligence personnel.

A month later.

Prussia.

Potsdam.

In a room next to the ballroom of the Sanssouci Palace, British Foreign Secretary Lord Grenville stroked his cane and looked at his assistant and said, "That is to say, the French have spent a lot of money to train at least 5 police officers for the Wallonia region."

Kevin nodded. "These people are basically equipped with flintlock rifles and have more than 1 horses. Oh, and this also includes 600 mounted police.

"The Wallonia Chamber of Commerce covers 20% of their salaries, and the rest is paid directly by Paris."

Grenville's mind was very flexible, and he immediately thought of the key: "So, what interests does France have in Wallonia that require such a large investment?"

"According to my research, the Wallonia Chamber of Commerce and the local council there are almost all controlled by the French."

"Please tell me the conclusion directly."

Kevin took a breath and said, "Although I don't have any definite evidence, it is very likely that the French Industrial Development Fund has bought the shares of nearly one-third of the coal mines in Wallonia, and the rest are basically controlled by French companies - even though those coal mines still belong to a mine owner in the Southern Netherlands.

"Including those iron smelters and coal washing plants, they should all be invested by the French."

Lord Grenville's eyes flickered, and it was unknown what he was thinking: "Is this the reason why this plan failed?"

Kevin said hurriedly: "I'm not making excuses for my failure..." "No, I'm not blaming you." Grenville suddenly smiled, "In fact, your intelligence gives us more room and means to maneuver."

He patted his assistant on the shoulder and said, "This is a more elegant and effective method than the previous one that relied solely on incitement and violence."

"what do you mean?"

Grenville turned back to the ballroom. "The young and energetic new emperor in Vienna, as far as I know, is very impulsive and easily suggested. He probably won't like the current situation in the Southern Netherlands."

……

Paris.

Palace of Versailles, Hall of Peace.

Count Rheinfels pressed his hands hard on the table and said loudly: "At present, the seriously unbalanced trade situation is absolutely unacceptable to our country!
"His Majesty the Emperor has graciously said that he will not pursue the French occupation of most of the southern German market, but the tariffs on the Austrian market must be increased to ensure equal trade between the two countries.

“In addition, the access system for French steel and chemical products needs to be re-established.”

French Trade Minister Bailly immediately pushed a copy of the Rhine-Seine Treaty in his hand in front of the Austrians and said expressionlessly: "It has only been two years since the treaty was signed. Our country does not think it is necessary to revise it. With all due respect, what your country should do now is to improve its industry and reduce costs, rather than push all problems onto the trade agreement."

Bailly's diplomatic experience was still not rich enough, and when the other party was unreasonable, he just fought back. However, Talleyrand, who was best at dealing with this kind of situation, went to the Ottoman Empire, and then he was handed over to handle the matter.

Count Rheinfels, at the request of Francis II, showed as much toughness as possible: “No, it’s a matter of agreement.

“The cost of steel products in France is nearly 35% lower than that in my country. Obviously, you have concealed the true situation of the industry in order to obtain a lower tariff rate.

“As for chemicals, furniture and the like, your industries in these areas were barely established when the contract was signed, so it should be considered that the previous tariffs were set without basis.

“This all needs to be renegotiated.”

Bailly actually got the permission of the Crown Prince to raise Austria's tariffs appropriately. After all, France has a relatively large industrial advantage, and raising the tariffs will not have too much impact on trade.

But at the moment, the Austrian Foreign Minister's attitude is aggressive and it is obvious that he cannot be dismissed by just raising his voice a little.

In addition, the other party also mentioned "commodity access", which means that French steel and chemical products cannot be sold in Austria without special approval from the Austrian government.

There is no point in discussing this.

Bailly also firmly rejected Count Rheinfels's request and waited for the other party to soften his attitude before bargaining.

Unexpectedly, the Austrian immediately said: "Then I must remind you that if our trade needs are not met, we will join forces with the Italian countries to impose punitive tariffs on French products."

Just then, a diplomatic official tiptoed into the Peace Hall and whispered something in Bai's ear.

The latter immediately frowned and looked at Count Rheinfels. Austria had mobilized 3 troops and held a military exercise in Tuscany. This was obviously to increase the bargaining chips for the renegotiation of the trade agreement.

(End of this chapter)