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Chapter 1177: France Grows Rich

As for staple food, after France acquired the massive grain-producing region of Algiers, there were no longer any concerns.

The current wheat production in Algiers, after setting aside local rations, was sufficient to feed a fifth of the French population.

Furthermore, since last year, the Ministry of Agriculture had begun promoting potato cultivation in Tunisia and Tripoli. These regions enjoyed a suitable climate and abundant water resources, yet many people were reluctant to plant wheat on the relatively less fertile land.

The Ministry of Agriculture encouraged people to plant potatoes on this "poor land," providing a subsidy of roughly 18 to 30 francs per acre. After planting, the crop required almost no maintenance until it was time for harvest. Even with such minimal effort, the yield was nearly 40% of what a similar area of fertile European farmland would produce.

It could be said that France now had enough food not only to feed its own people but also to shoulder the burden of supplying the entire armies of Spain and Northern Italy.

Once the Crown Prince finished his instructions regarding the canning factories, the Minister of Agriculture found his duties concluded.

What followed came as a surprise to many. His Royal Highness skipped over the rest of the cabinet ministers and turned his gaze toward the editor-in-chief of the Paris Business Journal, who was seated by the eastern window.

"Mr. Denico, from this day forward, we must implement stricter news censorship," Joseph declared. "The direction of our propaganda will be as follows: first, we must denounce the shameless aggression of the Anti-French Coalition led by Britain, Prussia, and Austria. Specifically, we must highlight that the British have always aimed for the destruction of France. We must rise up and resist if we wish to survive."

'If the British heard this, they would probably weep,' Joseph thought. Far from wanting to destroy France, the British would likely step in to help if France ever showed signs of collapsing. After all, their primary goal was to maintain a balance of power on the European continent. If France were gone, who would remain to check the power of Austria or even Russia?

The purpose of news censorship was to prevent a few pro-British elements within France from distorting public perception.

Joseph continued, "At the same time, we must publish arguments proving that our country is destined for ultimate victory to boost public confidence. Within the flood of news, we must also 'accidentally' include fragments of information regarding our military's strategic deployments. I will have the General Staff provide you with specific details periodically."

This idea had struck Joseph during his meeting with the officers of the General Staff when he saw the strategic plan drawn up by Berthier.

Since the French generals believed they should fight a defensive war, the high commands of Britain, Prussia, and Austria likely thought the same.

Therefore, he decided to use the press and public opinion to reinforce that perception. For instance, news reports might occasionally mention the reinforcement of defensive forces in a certain region or the transport of massive supplies to the Cologne fortress.

The intelligence departments of the Anti-French Coalition would undoubtedly study every French publication, searching for clues, and eventually piece together the conclusion that France intended to hold its ground at all costs.

In actual history, Napoleon had employed this very tactic. He published news in the papers claiming that the French forces in the Italian theater consisted entirely of untrained recruits, causing Austria to lower its guard. He then used his veteran troops to shatter the Lombardy line in a single stroke.

At noon, while the King and Queen departed for the banquet hall according to court etiquette, everyone else in the conference hall had a simple lunch. Once Louis XVI and his wife returned, the meeting resumed.

Joseph first coordinated with Talleyrand, Berthier, and others on a plan to request military support from the member states of the Mediterranean Security Organization. Finally, he addressed the issue everyone was most concerned about—funding.

In today's meeting, he had already issued orders to "amass vast quantities of war materiel," "lay down railways," "expand armories," and "expand canning factories," all of which required massive investment.

The officials in attendance only needed to do a bit of mental math to realize this would be a bottomless pit for capital.

Once the war truly began, the military expenses would undoubtedly be astronomical. Where would all this money come from?

Joseph signaled to Gaudin, the Finance Minister. "How much capital can the government treasury currently provide?"

"There are 43 million francs that can be mobilized at any time, Your Highness," Gaudin replied without even looking at his documents. He clearly knew these financial figures by heart. "If we use the Industrial Development Fund to expand the armories and canning factories, as you know, it doesn't violate the fund's investment regulations. That would add another 27 million francs."

In truth, after years of industrial development, France was now undeniably wealthy. Just a decade ago, the finance minister had been so impoverished he had to take out bank loans for even a million livres. Now, they could produce over 40 million francs at a moment's notice.

Even the Industrial Development Fund had nearly 30 million in liquid capital.

Gaudin continued, "If we suspend all river dredging, agricultural irrigation, and road and bridge construction projects, we can free up nearly 140 million francs within six months. Beyond that, there are loans and the issuance of national debt. The Bank of France can provide approximately 70 million francs in loans. Based on current market estimates, we should be able to sell between 60 to 80 million francs in national debt across the country and Northern Italy."

He pointedly ignored Spain. Although Madrid's income had increased thanks to the North American gold mines, their fiscal deficit was still growing due to recent fighting, and they had virtually no spare cash to offer.

Joseph made a quick calculation in his head. By around next June, they could gather at least 340 million francs.

The last war against the Anti-French Coalition had cost 140 million francs in military expenses over six months.

Currently, the scale of the French army had more than doubled. Normal military expenditures were estimated to reach 300 million francs.

That left only about 40 to 60 million francs for pre-war preparations.

Based on the cost of 180,000 francs per kilometer for iron rails—using the existing foundations from the old wooden tracks—the 200 kilometers from Paris to Verdun alone would require an investment of 36 million francs. If they added the 170 kilometers to Strasbourg, the total cost for the entire line would be 66 million francs.

While the 3 million francs for armory expansion and 1.5 million for canning factories seemed insignificant, once they began casting cannons, it would require tens of millions more.

This amount of money was hardly enough to bridge the gap.

Of course, building railways could attract private investment, but until the steam locomotives proved their power, few people would be willing to put their money in.

Gaudin caught the look on the Crown Prince's face and added cautiously, "Your Highness, perhaps we could levy some temporary taxes."

Frankly, with the rapid development of French industry and agriculture over the years, the people's standard of living had improved significantly. They could likely afford a small tax increase.

However, Joseph did not want to open the door to tax hikes just yet—that was a trump card for when things became truly unbearable.

He pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "We should still find a way through national debt."

"But..." the Finance Minister said hesitantly, "the market's willingness to buy won't change much. Unless we significantly increase the interest rates."