Chapter 1359: Secondary Authorization Plan
The surrounding music softened, and Karl Ludwig, the Crown Prince of Baden, was the first to flash Joseph a brilliant smile. "Your Royal Highness, your arrival is like sunshine illuminating all of Karlsruhe."
Joseph took a few steps forward, returning his smile and a polite nod, before seeing two Baden court officials approaching, carrying a small box.
At Karl Ludwig's signal, one of the officials elegantly opened the box.
Joseph saw a rectangular box inside, about 30 centimeters long, crafted from silver with gold filigree, its corners studded with rubies and diamonds.
"What is this?"
Karl Ludwig smiled faintly. "It's a congratulatory gift from me, a masterpiece from a top artisan at the Iroquois Treasures Company. I hope you like it."
Iroquois Treasures Company? Joseph found the name somewhat familiar, then suddenly remembered. 'Isn't that the company Charles set up to sell Native American goods?'
He picked up the heavy little box and looked at the Crown Prince of Baden. "Did you just say... a congratulatory gift?"
"Yes, Your Royal Highness," Ludwig said, bowing slightly. "Your wedding ceremony is next month. This set of pipes represents my sincerest blessings to you.
Pipes... Joseph quickly forced a smile. "This is truly the best gift, I love it!"
Ludwig gestured to his subordinate to hand the box to Eman, then smiled at Joseph. "These Native American style pipes have become quite popular recently. I imagine you might enjoy a few puffs in your leisure time?"
"Ah, yes..."
Joseph responded politely, but inwardly grumbled, 'My brother's business acumen is quite impressive. I wonder who he learned it from.'
After exchanging a few pleasantries with Ludwig, the Prince of Parma approached, warmly presenting his brother-in-law with his prepared congratulatory gift—a complete set of banquet jewelry inlaid with golden fleur-de-lis emblems.
He wasn't as fortunate as Ludwig, who had coincidentally ordered a set of pipes in advance, so he had to make do with purchasing some expensive ready-made items from the market at the last minute.
Next, royalty and high-ranking officials from major nations like Bavaria, Hesse, and Milan took turns presenting their gifts. As for the smaller states, their gifts were simply handed directly to Eman.
Once the gift-giving concluded, Karl Ludwig, on behalf of everyone, invited Joseph to the royal palace for a banquet.
Seeing them take the initiative saved Joseph a lot of trouble. While claiming he "still had many things to attend to," he returned to the Baden Royal Palace, surrounded by Ludwig and the others.
'Well, since I've already accepted their gifts, how could I possibly refuse their invitation?'
King Karl Friedrich of Baden personally hosted the banquet. The hall was filled with seventy or eighty high-ranking officials from various nations, while hundreds more stood outside, eagerly awaiting.
However, the one responsible for the "direct engagement" was Prince Ludovico of Parma.
He didn't bring up the railway patent licensing, instead focusing on how Thérèse missed her parents and brother, and his past friendship with Joseph, occasionally praising France's civilization and advanced technology.
Meanwhile, other guests continuously rose to their feet, raising their glasses to the French Crown Prince. "To His Majesty, the esteemed Louis XVI!"
"To the great France!"
"To the Iberian-Apennine Common Market!"
By the latter half of the banquet, every conceivable toast had been made; some even proposed "To the grand World Expo" and "To the miraculous steam engine."
Joseph also seemed to be in excellent spirits, accepting almost every toast, glass after glass of premium Bordeaux wine flowing down his throat.
Ludovico raised his wine glass, his face flushed red from drinking. "Your Royal Highness, last year during a hunt, Thérèse shot a massive wild boar. That beast was over two meters long."
Joseph leaned back in his chair, his eyes hazy with drink. "My sister, truly amazing... Her cat... helped her chase... the wild boar, right?"
"You're quite the joker; a cat certainly couldn't do that."
"Oh, right, right, that was a hunting dog..."
Ludovico exchanged glances with the few people around him, nodding silently. The French Crown Prince was clearly quite drunk; it was the perfect opportunity to execute their plan!
"Thérèse always talks about wanting to return to Versailles to visit you," Ludovico ventured. "But as you know, Parma is truly too far from Paris."
He was willing to disregard everything for the railway. By traditional European custom, women who married into royalty were not supposed to casually return to their home countries.
Joseph swayed his glass, slurring his words. "Far? Oh, yes, quite far... Then build a railway, and the train will... arrive in three or four days, hehe."
The Prince of Parma, who had been racking his brain on how to bring up the railway, was instantly overjoyed. He quickly interjected, "We're planning to build a railway to Nice, but as you know, we don't possess the technology to construct railways."
"Then... then what can be done... I miss my sister very much too..."
Ludovico again exchanged glances with the Milanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and others, then cautiously said, "Didn't you instruct the Ministry of Transport to sell licenses for railway technology at this World Expo?"
"Oh, right, wouldn't that just be... perfect?"
"You see, even just the patents related to laying iron rails would cost tens of millions of francs. We simply cannot afford such a sum."
"Then... then what can be done..."
Ludovico took a deep breath. "Could you perhaps ask Monsieur Trésaguet to lower the licensing fees a little?"
"Of course..." Joseph, hearing this, nodded groggily and then loudly declared, "Ah, no, that won't do. That's... several tens of millions of francs..."
Ludovico was immediately disheartened, but not discouraged. He continued to play the "emotional card," even bringing up stories from Thérèse's childhood.
After a long while, Joseph, as if worn down by his persistence, waved his hand and slurred, "You... you just need money, right?"
He gestured to the people attending the banquet. "Everyone, pool your money... that should be enough..."
Ludovico was torn between laughter and exasperation. "Your Royal Highness, patents can only be used by countries that have been authorized. They would have to purchase the patents themselves."
Joseph tapped his forehead. "Right, that's a problem..."
Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he pulled his brother-in-law closer. "You each buy... a portion of the patents, and then, grant licenses to each other... wouldn't that work?"
Ludovico realized that getting him too drunk also presented problems. He said helplessly, "Your Royal Highness, where would we get the authority to grant licenses?"
"You don't?" Joseph tapped his forehead again. "Then I will grant you... the right to secondary authorization."
Ludovico was startled and confirmed, "You mean, after I purchase the patents, I can then license them to Milan, Verona, and other countries?"
Joseph nodded vigorously. "Yes, exactly. But, it can only be licensed... within the Common Market... And... you cannot lower the licensing fees..."
Ludovico and the others were ecstatic. He immediately instructed a scribe to draft a "Railway Patent Secondary Authorization" document at top speed and present it to Joseph for his signature.
Eman, standing nearby, repeatedly reminded Joseph, "Your Royal Highness, you've had too much to drink. Shouldn't we wait until tomorrow to discuss this?"
The latter waved his hand dismissively. "No need, I... I know perfectly well... what I'm... doing."
He pressed the seal on his ring onto the "Secondary Authorization" document, then scrawled his name crookedly before tossing it to his brother-in-law. "Tell my sister... she can come to Paris now."
Indeed, he wasn't truly drunk; the "secondary authorization" was a plan he had prepared long ago.
The reason for making it so complicated was entirely to make all the nations feel that this was a rare opportunity, thereby encouraging them to invest funds and begin railway construction as quickly as possible—
Everyone would worry, 'What if the French Crown Prince goes back on his word one day?' So, everything had to be solidified before that could happen.
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