Chapter 143: Letter from Catherine II
Joseph glanced at Talleyrand again and said to Louis XVI, "Father, if he bothers you again, just send him to me. I have a way to convince him."
Louis XVI, hearing that he could get rid of the persistent clergyman, naturally agreed with delight. "I'd be most grateful, Joseph."
As he spoke, he recalled the glory and praise the percussion cap musket had brought him that day, and he looked at his son, still eager for more. "Joseph, if you have any more ideas for new weapons, you must tell me right away!"
Joseph smiled and nodded, thinking to himself, 'I certainly can't let you stay idle. Every extra day you're idle is a huge loss for France's military modernization.'
"For now, focus on teaching the artisans how to craft percussion cap muskets. I do have an idea for a rifle, but it's not quite mature yet. I'll definitely tell you once I've refined it."
The principles and structure of rifles were, of course, already established. However, Joseph worried that if his father focused solely on this, it would hinder the progress of the armory's construction, so he decided to keep it to himself for now.
"Rifles?" Louis XVI asked, a hint of confusion in his voice. "Haven't those already been invented?"
Joseph smiled, waved a hand, and deliberately lowered his voice. "Current rifles are incredibly difficult to load. Projectiles have to be hammered into the barrel, sometimes even getting stuck midway. But my rifle design will allow for incredibly easy loading, almost like a smoothbore musket."
Louis XVI's eyes immediately lit up. "My God, what kind of mind have You blessed my Joseph with?!"
"Yes, dear Father."
After chatting a bit longer about the glorious moments at the training grounds that day, Joseph bade farewell to the beaming, triumphant King and headed directly to the Chief Minister's office.
Brienne hurried out to greet him, smiling warmly. "Crown Prince, it's wonderful to see your wounds have healed completely! Thank God for His blessing!"
He was indeed very concerned about Joseph's injuries. He had visited him almost every day, fearing the Crown Prince might suffer some misfortune.
Joseph readily made the sign of the cross over his chest. "Thank God. And thank you, Archbishop Brienne."
Once they were seated, Joseph recalled his encounter with the Census Minister yesterday and inquired, "Archbishop Brienne, I hear Count Nicolet's trip to England wasn't very smooth?"
Brienne sighed and nodded. "Indeed. He isn't very adept at such occasions, reacts slowly to diplomatic maneuvers, and often says the wrong thing... Oh, he even publicly misstated the lineage of the English King."
He paused, then looked at Joseph. "What's more, despite the immense humiliation we inflicted upon Vergennes, he reported back to me about his trip to Russia as if nothing had happened. Not a word about resigning."
Joseph frowned slightly upon hearing this. He had previously agreed with Brienne to send Foreign Minister Vergennes to Russia, thereby missing the Anglo-French trade negotiations, fully expecting him to resign in anger. He hadn't expected Vergennes's resolve to be so strong.
In reality, Vergennes had already considered resigning before even reaching Russia. But the Duke of Orleans repeatedly urged him to stay. So, he had no choice but to shamelessly remain in the cabinet.
He was currently Orleans's only political ally in the cabinet. Losing him was something Orleans absolutely could not accept.
Brienne hesitated. "Your Highness, if Vergennes doesn't leave, then Count Nicolet..."
Joseph knew that according to the agreement made during the incident of Brienne's dismissal, Nicolet was supposed to become the Foreign Minister.
He shook his head slightly. "Count Nicolet isn't suited for diplomacy either.
"How about this? I'll find a way to compensate him."
"What do you intend to do?"
"Count Nicolet is still more skilled in census-related work. We can have him begin planning an identity card system."
"Identity cards?"
Joseph smiled. "It's about issuing a card to every citizen of France, each with a unique number to distinguish their identity."
"Why issue this...?" Brienne, having risen to the position of Chief Minister, grasped the crucial point halfway through his sentence. "It could be used to levy a poll tax."
"There are many other benefits," Joseph added. "For instance, it could be used to screen for spies and wanted criminals, prevent fraudulent claims for relief, facilitate identification, and prevent fraud, among other things."
Of course, Joseph's primary reasons for promoting identity cards were for the convenience of taxation and trade. Later, in the colonies, it could also be used to strengthen national identity.
Brienne nodded. "Count Nicolet has always wanted to do something noteworthy. This project will involve every single person in the nation. He should be pleased."
Joseph added, "We could even add the Census Minister's signature to the identity card to confirm its validity."
"That would be perfect."
Joseph thought of Vergennes again and couldn't help but frown. "We must continue to sideline Vergennes; the Foreign Minister needs to be one of our people."
Brienne immediately nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Your Highness."
From his perspective, Vergennes had offended him during the dismissal incident, which was why the Crown Prince was so intolerant of him.
In truth, Joseph was more concerned with consolidating the political landscape and weakening the Duke of Orleans's influence as much as possible, paving the way for future reforms of the Old Nobility.
The mention of Vergennes reminded Brienne of his report from a few days prior, and he promptly said to Joseph, "Your Highness, Vergennes did bring back some news from his mission to Russia."
He rose, took a few papers from a drawer, and handed them to Joseph. "The Empress of Russia is very concerned about our interest in the Russo-Turkish War. She repeatedly assured Vergennes that it was the Ottomans who provoked the war, attempting to occupy Russian territories of Crimea and Georgia and attacking the Russian fleet. She stated they were forced to retaliate."
"Oh, and this is a transcribed copy of Empress Catherine's letter to His Majesty the King."
Joseph wasn't concerned with who was right or wrong between Russia and the Ottomans. The key was how the situation there could be exploited by France.
He looked at Catherine's letter. In it, the Empress very politely expressed sentiments of Russian-French friendship. She then urged France to support her and declare war on the Ottomans. She even suggested this could be regarded as a new Crusade led by France.
Brienne added from the side, "According to Vergennes, the Empress of Russia also hinted at the possibility of a Russian-French marriage alliance."
Joseph merely smiled. A marriage alliance with Russia held no substantial benefits for France at the moment.
However, when he saw the phrase "support Russia against the Ottomans," he couldn't help but narrow his eyes. After all, from west to east, places like Algiers, Tunisia, and Egypt in North Africa, though effectively independent nations, were still nominally Ottoman provinces.
If France allied with Russia against the Ottomans, then wouldn't there be a perfect pretext to intervene in North Africa as part of undermining the Ottomans?
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