Chapter 1068: The Detonation
Joseph’s heart tightened.
He wasn’t worried about his own safety—the firepower of the Royal Guard was more than enough to wipe out the entire pride—but Alexandra was standing much too far forward. She could easily be hurt.
He was just about to reach out and pull the young girl back when he suddenly realized that the window was too narrow. The lion’s head was wedged against the frame; it couldn’t actually get inside.
In the next moment, the lion’s gaze drifted toward the dozen or so muzzles pointed its way from beside the girl. It immediately sensed an aura of extreme danger—having encountered hunters using muskets back in West Africa—and its intimidating posture instantly wilted. It shook its head, pretending as if nothing had happened, and pulled back, releasing its claws from the carriage.
Alexandra also let out a breath of relief. She turned to look at Joseph, and seeing that his expression remained calm, she addressed the others in the carriage. "There is no need to be afraid, everyone. These beasts are actually more afraid of humans."
In truth, she really didn't feel much fear toward these wild animals. After all, her brother kept an Amur tiger, and she frequently saw that overgrown cat, which was roughly the same size as the lion just now.
And then there was Vasily; she had even fed him herself.
The passengers in the carriage stared blankly at the beautiful young girl who had seemingly stared down the beast—her veil had fallen to the floor along with her hat moments ago. Then they looked at the pistols held by Clauzel and his men, all aimed at the window. It felt like they were in a dream.
Suddenly, a young noblewoman pointed at Alexandra and gasped, "You... You are the Crown—"
Clauzel cut her off with a stern look, gesturing for two of his men to block the window with their bodies while he asked Joseph in a low voice, "Are you alright, Your Highness?"
Joseph waved him off and pulled Alexandra back to her seat. He gave her a thumbs-up before whispering, "You must never do something so dangerous again."
The fact that the girl had stepped in front of him without a moment’s hesitation had truly touched him.
Alexandra, thinking the Crown Prince found her behavior unladylike, lowered her head nervously. "I... I will be more careful in the future..."
Joseph smiled. "If you keep doing that, you’ll put Viscount Clauzel out of a job."
The girl looked up, her bright eyes shimmering, and she broke into a smile.
Before long, the tour carriage stopped safely at the exit of the predator enclosure. At Joseph’s signal, a member of the Royal Guard immediately went to find the zoo officials to instruct them to install iron bars over the carriage windows.
Madame Naseli’s legs were still shaking from the fright, but she heard her daughter, Anna, murmuring with great admiration, "I want to be as brave as that lady when I grow up!"
Naseli wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, already imagining the bragging rights he’d have with his fellow workers tomorrow.
As for the other tourists who heard the news, they weren't deterred at all. Since the lion hadn't actually entered the carriage, they took it as a sign that the trip was perfectly safe. The tourists who came here were looking for excitement, so they didn't see any problem with a little extra thrill.
At dusk, Joseph and Alexandra returned to the Palace of Versailles, chatting about the day’s interesting events.
The Naseli family also returned home amidst the constant chattering of their children.
Aside from being a bit livelier due to the grand opening of the zoo, Paris seemed no different than any other day.
Night fell.
The young noblewoman who had recognized Alexandra on the tour carriage tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Even though Viscount Clauzel had issued a gag order, the day’s experience kept gnawing at her heart, leaving her with an irrepressible urge to share it with someone.
Finally, she crept into her sister’s room, shook her awake, and whispered, "There is something you simply must know. But you have to swear not to tell a soul."
The sister immediately perked up. "I swear!"
"In the name of God."
"Alright, I swear in the name of God. Quickly, tell me what happened!"
"I went to Sasha Zoo today, and guess who I ran into? It was the Crown Princess! She actually..."
The next day, during the routine cabinet meeting, Joseph frowned slightly as he reviewed the core industrial development trend report submitted by Mirabeau.
"Aside from Hesse, the United States has also pivoted to purchasing steam engines from Britain," the Industrial Minister continued. "The British are clearly dumping their stock. The prices for their three main steam engine models are roughly ten percent lower than our equivalent products."
"At the same time, buyers from various countries have more confidence in British products because of the next generation of steam engines they are about to launch—it is said the power output can reach 180 horsepower."
"Based on what I’ve gathered from the Joint Steam Engine Company, our next-generation models still require more precise cylinder and piston processing equipment before we can make any progress."
"Currently, the tenders for these necessary pieces of equipment are still ongoing..."
Mirabeau had no idea that Joseph had already made arrangements within the Boulton-Watt Company. From his perspective, French steam engine technology was being firmly suppressed by the British, and the situation was far from optimistic.
He looked at the Crown Prince. "Affected by this, the Joint Steam Engine Company’s sales have dropped by 27% over the past six months, and profits have plummeted by 39%. Furthermore, the decline in steam engine production is affecting the companies that produce iron for boilers and cylinders."
"Perhaps we could provide subsidies to the Joint Steam Engine Company to enhance their competitiveness."
Joseph sighed inwardly. He had originally wanted to wait until the British steam engine bubble grew even larger before acting, but it was already severely impacting the French steam engine industry. He could no longer afford to delay.
Moreover, in a previous meeting, Lavalette had reported that Britain was continuing to increase its investment in Caribbean nations to further destabilize the region.
This suggested that the British still had plenty of spare cash on hand.
It was the perfect time to use the steam engine issue to strike a heavy blow to the British economy.
Joseph said to Mirabeau, "The steam engine market will see a turnaround very soon; you needn’t worry. And naturally, there is no need for subsidies."
Though Mirabeau didn't know why the Crown Prince was so certain, the Crown Prince’s 'prophecies' had never failed. Thus, he asked no more questions and simply bowed. "Yes, Your Highness."
Archbishop Brienne then glanced at the meeting agenda and nodded toward the Minister of Trade, Bailly.
Bailly stood up and first reported on recent foreign trade. Overall, France’s trade volume was still growing rapidly, especially with the Italian regions, which had seen a 20% growth rate over the past six months.
Even after Britain ended its naval blockade, French exports to Britain had increased significantly. While Britain still held a slight advantage in major industries like textiles, coal, and steel, French luxury goods, furniture, and chemical products had already captured a large portion of the British market.
It had reached the point where voices calling for the abolition of the Eden Treaty were already surfacing in the British Parliament.
Bailly continued, "Additionally, the value of goods we are selling in the California region is rising rapidly. It is likely to exceed 600,000 francs next month."
Spain had only officially launched the full-scale excavation of the California gold mines three months ago. Currently, there were only about thirty or forty thousand gold seekers, so the revenue from selling tools and supplies was still relatively low for the time being.
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