Chapter 1052: The Flames of War Rise Again in Persia
The French and Spanish sides quickly signed the treaty regarding the transfer of Louisiana.
Joseph secured two million square kilometers of land, stretching from the western banks of the Mississippi River all the way to Wyoming. In exchange, Carlos IV received exactly what he had hoped for: the map of the gold mines.
The location was California.
The Spanish Empire had ruled that region for nearly two centuries, yet they had never discovered that a massive gold deposit lay right beneath their feet.
In truth, the Spaniards couldn't be blamed for their oversight. Currently, there were fewer than twenty thousand immigrants in the entire territory, and the areas near the gold-bearing waters were completely uninhabited.
Historically, the gold mines were only discovered by accident after a massive influx of Americans heading west. Now, Joseph had artificially accelerated this process by nearly forty years.
According to the terms of the Franco-Spanish Louisiana Treaty, France could begin sending immigrants to Louisiana effective immediately.
Once the Spanish authorities confirmed the scale of the gold mines, the administrative power would be formally handed over. Meanwhile, the local Spanish military forces would continue to serve France for a few years, depending on how long the French government was willing to pay their wages.
Three days later, having enjoyed a long and productive vacation, Joseph boarded his carriage to return to Paris.
Lyon, France.
Inside the workshop of the Bellatte Fabric Company, steam-powered looms let out a deafening, rhythmic roar. Dozens of plumes of dark smoke billowed into the sky from the funnels on the roof.
This was one of the top five largest textile mills in Lyon, and at this moment, the entire factory was working overtime to produce a peculiar type of thick, rugged trousers.
The general manager, Latremu, walked past rows of busy seamstresses. He reached out and picked up a pair of recently finished trousers, inspecting them closely.
Suddenly, his brow furrowed. He turned to the quality control supervisor and shouted, "Chaumont! I told you, every stress point on these trousers must be reinforced with rivets!"
The supervisor, a man in his forties named Chaumont, came running over. Looking at the pants in the manager's hand, he defended himself nervously, "Monsieur Latremu, using rivets to secure the sides of the waist might be uncomfortable to wear. I've already instructed the workers to use three extra rows of heavy-duty stitching for reinforcement instead..."
"I don't want to repeat my orders," the general manager bellowed. "If this happens again, you can pack your bags and leave immediately!
"This is an order from the Gemini Company, worth a full 250,000 francs. Do you understand?
"If anything goes wrong, even I will be fired!"
"Yes! Yes! I'll have them corrected right away!" Chaumont bowed repeatedly in terror before turning back to gather the seamstresses.
He gripped the canvas trousers, which were so thick they felt rough to the touch, and glanced at the iron rivets scattered across the fabric. Shaking his head in utter confusion, he muttered under his breath, 'What kind of eccentric would actually wear something like this?'
His confusion was understandable; no one had ever used heavy canvas to make trousers before.
Not only were they thick and stiff, but they also featured reinforced pockets, while the waist and cuffs were all reinforced with metal rivets.
'These aren't trousers; they're practically suits of armor.'
However, if Monsieur Chaumont were to visit the 20th century, he would be shocked to find people wearing these trousers everywhere. They would be called "jeans."
For now, however, their name was "Hard Man Trousers." Joseph had chosen the name himself, believing it would better appeal to the workers sweating under the scorching sun while prospecting for gold.
To keep costs low, they weren't dyed the iconic blue of later generations but retained the deep gray of the natural canvas.
Indeed, this was the "work uniform" Joseph had custom-designed for the California gold miners.
In history, jeans had emerged precisely because of the American Gold Rush. The harsh working conditions of the miners caused ordinary trousers to "die" within a week. Furthermore, the pockets of normal pants were easily torn open by the weight of high-density gold nuggets.
Therefore, once the durable and pocket-reinforced "Hard Man Trousers" appeared in California, they were bound to be snapped up instantly.
And almost no one would care that the price was ten times the production cost in Lyon.
Those who dealt with gold all day had long since lost any concept of standard pricing. As long as a product helped them make their fortune, they wouldn't hesitate to trade their gold grains for it.
Just like the American prospectors of the future.
In reality, jeans were invented specifically to accommodate those American miners.
This time, Joseph planned to present this as a massive gift to Lyon's textile industry. The business of serving miners in California was a French monopoly. Even if the British discovered the business opportunity, they wouldn't be able to force their way in.
At the same time, it would yield a massive profit.
Based on an estimate of 200,000 gold seekers—during the actual American Gold Rush, nearly 400,000 people traveled thousands of miles to California. Even if the current situation was slightly less intense, the numbers wouldn't drop below half that. At a minimum, 500,000 pairs of "Hard Man Trousers" could be sold annually at 15 francs each. Add to that half that number in "Hard Man Jackets" at 20 francs apiece.
The total sales would reach 12.5 million francs!
Seventy percent of that was pure profit. It was an absolute gold mine in its own right.
Currently, over a dozen factories in Lyon were busy churning out "Hard Man Trousers," and the overall industrial output of the city had risen by nearly twenty percent.
......
November 9, 1795.
South of Transcaucasia.
The city of Khoy.
Valerian Zubov displayed the order signed by the Tsar himself to the assembled officers in the room. "Therefore, by His Majesty's decree, we shall launch our offensive against Tabriz next Monday."
The officers were clearly surprised, whispering among themselves. "Why the sudden rush? I thought we would at least stabilize the situation in Khoy before continuing south."
"Word is that a vast amount of land suitable for cotton cultivation has been discovered on the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea. To prevent Persian interference, we must defeat them first."
"But this is too hasty. Our forces are insufficient; we still need to leave men behind to defend Armenia."
"My uncle wrote to me the day before yesterday. He said St. Petersburg has sent reinforcements—at least twelve thousand men."
"It seems His Majesty's resolve is quite firm..."
Zubov cleared his throat, cutting through the officers' chatter. "General Gudovich will be in charge of the main assault."
"In five days, three thousand soldiers from the Georgian Legion will arrive in Khoy. They will all be placed under your command."
"I hope to present Tabriz as a Christmas gift to His Imperial Majesty."
In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Christmas falls on January 7, less than two months away.
The Russian forces here numbered only twenty thousand. Including the Georgians, that brought them to twenty-three thousand. Attempting to capture the fortress of Tabriz—defended by fifteen thousand Persian troops—in such a short timeframe was an incredibly daunting task.
Gudovich stood up with a resigned expression and shouted, "Understood, General!"
However, much to Gudovich's surprise, the offensive against Tabriz proceeded with extraordinary smoothness.
In just over ten days, he had already broken through all the Persian defensive lines north of the fortress, positioning his artillery right beneath the city walls.
He had no idea that Agha Mohammad was not even in the fortress. The Shah had taken the elite Knights of Jihad to suppress a rebellion in Khorasan.
The Persian monarch had never imagined that the Russians would act like madmen, launching a renewed offensive before they had even fully secured their footing in Khoy.
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