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Chapter 1117: Busy Government Affairs

Everyone immediately began to itch for action.

To Britain, the importance of Gibraltar was comparable to their own mainland; attacking it was effectively declaring a total war against the British Empire.

Previously, although Spain had been engaged in fierce combat with British forces in Portugal, it had never quite escalated to the level of a full-scale national war.

Joseph mused, "To give the Spaniards confidence, we must dispatch our own troops first. At least five thousand men, accompanied by a significant number of heavy cannons—thirty-two-pounders at the minimum."

Indeed, the difficulty of capturing Gibraltar was immense, and Spain was likely unwilling to tackle such a hard nut to crack on its own.

Gibraltar itself was a seaside mountain of stone. The side facing the land was exceptionally steep, connected only by a winding mountain path a few hundred meters wide. One only needed to position a few cannons on the summit, and no matter how many soldiers charged, they would never reach the top.

The British had occupied this position for over a century, lining every possible firing angle with heavy artillery. The entire fortress boasted nearly three hundred cannons in total.

In another history, Napoleon had once planned to send fifteen thousand soldiers to besiege the tiny Gibraltar fortress, only to find there was simply no way to strike at it. Ultimately, he had been forced to abandon the attempt in frustration.

It could be said that unless Britain's maritime supply line to Gibraltar was severed, leaving the fortress out of ammunition and food, it was almost impossible to conquer.

However, Britain had never officially declared the Anti-French Coalition disbanded, nor had any formal armistice been signed between France and Britain. In other words, the two nations were theoretically still in a state of war.

Therefore, France had no psychological barrier to sending troops to attack Gibraltar.

Currently, the ability to supply Gibraltar from Portugal had been severely diminished, meaning Britain would have to continuously transport resources from its home islands. This would serve as another point of constant bleeding for the British.

Joseph thought for a moment and added, "Tell the Spaniards that our fleet will also be stationed in the port of Granada to coordinate the assault on Gibraltar."

Granada was just over two hundred kilometers east of Gibraltar. The Franco-Spanish fleet could depart from there at any time to harass British supply ships.

While they were discussing this, Eman knocked and entered, handing Joseph two freshly delivered telegrams. "Your Highness, this one arrived from Lisbon this morning. The other was brought back by a warship returning from Saint-Domingue."

Joseph opened the report from Portugal first. He had only glanced at it before his expression darkened.

The report first confirmed that the Portuguese Royal Family, along with the high nobility of Lisbon, had fled to Brazil. It then mentioned that after entering Lisbon, the Talavera Legion had forced the Portuguese to 'sponsor' military expenses. The amount exceeded five hundred thousand gold escudos—roughly five and a half million francs—causing public resentment in Lisbon to boil over.

At the same time, Talavera had dissolved all local councils in the southern provinces of Portugal, announcing that they were 'awaiting the appointment of a Governor by His Majesty the King.'

Joseph handed the report to Berthier, shaking his head. "The continuous decline of Spain is truly no accident."

He had previously set numerous examples in northern Portugal, keeping social order basically stable, yet the Spaniards couldn't even manage to copy the right answers.

In truth, had it not been for the massive profits brought by the gold mines in California, the Spanish army's lackluster performance would have likely forced them to withdraw long ago.

Talavera's extortion of over five million francs had directly extended the time it would take for Spain to digest Portugal by at least ten years.

However, looking at it from another perspective, having such a clumsy and incompetent neighbor was not necessarily a bad thing for France.

Joseph then unfolded the letter from the Caribbean.

It was from Brissot. According to information gathered by the intelligence department in Saint-Domingue, the internal unrest in Jamaica, Dominica, and Saint Vincent was beginning to come under control. This was reportedly due to Britain cutting off funding for the rebels. Only Alon in the Bahamas continued his reign of terror, still receiving support from the United States.

"Finally, some good news."

Joseph instructed Berthier and the other officers to begin drafting the plan for the attack on Gibraltar, and then had Eman call for Talleyrand and Bailly.

After reading Brissot's letter, Bailly said joyfully, "Your Highness, we can have Saint-Domingue send troops to help restore order in the Caribbean nations. Sugarcane production there will increase significantly this year."

Joseph, however, shook his head. "We can provide appropriate support to the governments of these countries, but there is no need for them to resume sugarcane cultivation immediately."

"In fact, we should encourage them to switch to crops like corn and bananas as much as possible."

"In the future, sugar production will be concentrated entirely in Saint-Domingue. As long as we fully cultivate the land there, the output will be enough to support European consumption. This will also help maintain the price of our domestic sugar beets."

The cost of growing sugarcane in the Caribbean was extremely low. Even though the workers were free, their wages were less than a fifth of what a French farmer earned. Meanwhile, the yield was massive.

Even considering the costs of maritime transport, the cost of Caribbean sugarcane sugar was much lower than that of French beet sugar.

If those islands returned to their peak sugar production, it would inevitably cause European sugar prices to plummet. This would be a devastating blow to the farmers growing sugar beets in France.

Furthermore, the political stability of these nations ruled by former slaves was currently very poor. There was no guarantee they wouldn't defect to Britain for a bit of profit at any moment.

Therefore, it was better to simply suppress their sugar production.

Switching to crops like corn and vegetables would not only feed their own populations and maintain basic social stability but also provide grain to Saint-Domingue, reducing the latter's dependence on American wheat.

Talleyrand immediately bowed. "Your Highness, that shouldn't be difficult to achieve. We only need to attach certain conditions when providing them with loans. For example, the loans must be repaid in corn."

Bailly added, "We can also link sugarcane to their previous riots, promoting the idea that 'it was British greed for sugar that brought chaos,' while appropriately raising the purchase price for corn and soybeans."

Having worked under the Crown Prince for so long, he was well aware of the immense power of propaganda.

Joseph continued, "As for the Bahamas, there is no need to pay them any mind. Let the Caribbean nations see the consequences of getting too close to the United States."

"Of course, we should still frequently send ships to transport the labor force from there to Saint-Domingue."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Mentioning the price of sugar reminded Joseph of another matter. He had Eman find the Minister of Agriculture and instructed him, "Starting this year, we must gradually control the area planted with sugar beets. The high price of sugar cannot be maintained forever. In a few years, sugar beets will become just another ordinary crop."

As night fell, the Palace of Versailles entered its routine ballroom hours.

Tonight's ball was attended by the Russian Foreign Minister, Count Andreyevich Ostermann, so Joseph felt obliged to go.

Just as he stepped out of his room, he saw Talleyrand approaching with his characteristic limp. The minister bowed and whispered, "Your Highness, I have heard that Count Ostermann might propose a Franco-Russian alliance during this visit."