Chapter 1095: Preparing for the Sugar War
Chapter 1095: Preparing for the Sugar War
Joseph let out a soft sigh and stepped forward, pulling the Crown Princess into a gentle embrace. He stroked her back and whispered, "If you miss her that much, you should return to Saint Petersburg and recite a prayer before her tomb. I will speak with Mother about it."
According to the traditions of European royalty, a married princess was generally forbidden from returning to her motherland. On one hand, it was a display of loyalty to her husband's house; on the other, it served to prevent a princess from leaking sensitive information.
However, Joseph cared little for such restrictions. He knew that Alexandra had been raised by Catherine the Great. To her, Catherine was both a grandmother and a mother figure. Allowing her to return and pay her respects was only human.
The young girl's eyes immediately reddened, but she quickly shook her head. "I truly appreciate your kindness, Your Highness, but it wouldn't be appropriate... I can simply pray for her here..."
She trailed off suddenly.
Joseph understood immediately. Catherine the Great had been Eastern Orthodox, but in Paris, Alexandra could only pray using Catholic rites.
He leaned in close to her ear. "If you wish to pray in the Eastern Orthodox fashion, you may use my office at the Tuileries Palace. No one will disturb you there, and you can even set up a small altar."
That had been his office during his tenure as the Director of the Industrial Planning Bureau. Now that the Ministry of Industry no longer required his constant supervision, the space sat vacant.
"I'll have Clauzel stand guard outside for you; no one will know," Joseph murmured. "You can continue your prayers until the forty days are concluded."
In the Eastern Orthodox faith, it is believed that the soul of the deceased undergoes a period of purification for forty days after death, during which the prayers of loved ones are vital to help them enter heaven.
The young girl could no longer restrain herself. She collapsed into Joseph's arms, weeping. "Thank you. You are truly too kind to me..."
Talleyrand appeared at the doorway. Seeing the royal couple sharing a private moment, he felt a sudden surge of awkwardness.
Joseph wiped away Alexandra's tears and said softly, "Go and prepare your prayer materials. I will personally escort you there in a moment."
Once the Crown Princess had departed, Talleyrand stepped forward and bowed. "Your Highness, you have returned."
He knew full well that with an event as monumental as the death of the Tsar, the Crown Prince would certainly have diplomatic instructions. Thus, he had hurried over without waiting for a formal summons.
Joseph gestured toward the sofa. "Please, have a seat.
"I imagine you have already heard the news from Russia. If all goes as expected, Paul I will soon withdraw his troops from Persia."
Talleyrand reflexively started to say, "The Russian army holds a clear advantage, surely they wouldn't retreat?" but seeing the Crown Prince's certain expression, he immediately held his tongue.
In his memory, the Crown Prince's judgment on such matters had never once been proven wrong.
Noticing the surprise in his eyes, Joseph offered a brief explanation. "The new Tsar does not support foreign expansion, and he harbors a certain resentment toward his mother. He will likely do this simply to spite her legacy."
Talleyrand nodded thoughtfully. "That would allow the British to pull their forces from the Middle East and redeploy them to Portugal or the Cape of Good Hope."
Joseph replied, "Which is why you must leave for Saint Petersburg immediately to make certain efforts..."
Once he finished giving instructions regarding Russia, Talleyrand took his leave. The Minister of Trade and the Minister of Finance followed almost immediately after.
Joseph hadn't even had a chance to drink a drop of water since his return. He looked at the two men wearily and asked, "Is there some urgent matter?"
Bailly immediately bowed. "Your Highness, the London Futures Exchange began trading three days ago."
Joseph nodded, unsurprised.
The London Futures Exchange had been completed back in July. For it to only become operational now was actually considered quite slow.
Bailly continued, "In the first batch of contracts released by the British, there is a massive amount of low-priced sugar. Some contracts were even settled at three francs and seven sous per pound."
Hearing this, Joseph narrowed his eyes. Sugar on the Paris Futures Exchange was generally priced above four francs and three sous per pound. From the looks of it, the British were planning to short the price of sugar?
He looked at Bailly. "What was the trading volume?"
"The timeframe is too short to have a full statistical breakdown yet," the Trade Minister admitted. "However, I have heard that sugar prices in London shops have already begun to show a downward trend."
Joseph traced the armrest of the sofa, his brow furrowing.
If only three days of trading could influence the spot market prices, it meant the British government must have released an astronomical amount of sugar.
He thought for a moment and then asked Bailly, "Have the statistics for Prussia's sugar beet production been finalized yet?"
"Not yet, Your Highness. However, they produced 3,000 tons of sugar in the last two weeks. Based on that, their total production should be over 22,000 tons."
Joseph was still somewhat perplexed.
Britain's sugar production in India was only about 20,000 tons, and they could get another 4,000 tons from the United States. Even adding Prussia's 22,000 tons, it was nowhere near enough to shake France's control over sugar pricing.
One had to remember that France alone had produced 41,000 tons of beet sugar this year, and they had secured over 10,000 tons from the Ottoman Empire. Meanwhile, because Saint-Domingue had absorbed labor from across the Caribbean, its production had skyrocketed to 36,000 tons—a staggering sixty-seven percent increase over the previous year!
In other words, the British believed they held about 46,000 tons, while the French side had 87,000 tons. That amount of "ammunition" was still insufficient for the British to win an economic war.
Joseph shook his head slightly. "No, the British must have another card up their sleeve."
Gaudin, the Finance Minister, interjected from the side, "Your Highness, I noticed a rather unusual phenomenon.
"Last year, the British obtained 20,000 tons of sugar from India at a cost of no more than one franc and two sous per pound. Yet, their domestic sugar price only dropped from two francs and four sous to two francs and one sou."
That was the price after subsidies.
Joseph turned to look at him. "You mean to say they didn't actually release that sugar into the market?"
"It is a possibility," Gaudin said. "Though it could also simply be the result of massive embezzlement by officials."
Joseph nodded to himself.
It was best to assume the enemy was prepared. If the British had truly stockpiled all of last year's sugar, they would have roughly 66,000 tons on hand right now.
Furthermore, Britain likely had no idea about the massive production increase in Saint-Domingue this year. Calculating it that way, they probably believed their "ammunition" levels were roughly equal to France's.
A faint smile touched the corners of Joseph's mouth.
The British hadn't just overlooked the surge in Saint-Domingue's production; more importantly, they didn't realize that the Prussian sugar didn't actually belong to them.
As the Prussian sugar beets began to be harvested, they would soon discover that the beets used for breeding wouldn't produce any seeds.
If they wanted France to continue providing them with seeds, they would have to adhere to the original agreement—to sell all the sugar produced back to France.
This meant that the sugar the British could actually get their hands on was only about 44,000 tons. France, meanwhile, would add those 22,000 tons to its stockpile, reaching a total of 109,000 tons.
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