Chapter 159: A Cross-Era Production Model
In fact, Joseph had already begun laying the groundwork for promoting ready-to-wear clothing even before this Fashion Week.
For example, he made a special request to the designers participating in Fashion Week: he urged them to avoid the common style that sharply defined the bust, waist, and hips, and instead move towards designs with a smooth transition at the waistline.
Clothing, especially dresses, that emphasized the bust, waist, and hips was extremely demanding in terms of size. Two people of similar height and weight could have clothes that were completely non-interchangeable simply because of a slight difference in the distance between their bust and waist.
By switching to a smoothly transitional style, identical garments could be made for them according to standard sizes.
Coincidentally, French designers at the time were searching for inspiration for the current season's fashion. They greatly admired this somewhat "retro" design style—which bore a slight resemblance to ancient Roman tunics—and thus shifted their focus to creating fashions with smoothly transitioning waistlines.
Of course, this also had much to do with the fact that the initiator of the design style was the Crown Prince. After all, European fashion looked to France, French fashion looked to Paris, and Parisian fashion looked to the royal family.
Later, Joseph discussed the matter with members of the Lyon Textile Guild and tentatively established ready-to-wear sizing standards. For now, they were divided into five sizes—extra-small, small, medium, large, and extra-large—for both men's and women's styles, and the specific requirements for each size were publicly announced.
After this Fashion Week concluded, Joseph would further instruct the Textile Guild to refine these sizing standards and promote them throughout France.
Next, the goal was to expand the scale of ready-to-wear production and continuously reduce costs.
Joseph knew this would be a challenging process, requiring his industrial policies, new types of textile machines, and steam engines to drive them. Only then would it be possible to achieve.
It would even involve addressing the issue of landowning nobles, abolishing feudal lord privileges, and liberating a large number of tenant farmers to provide industrial labor.
"It's difficult..." Joseph sighed with a wry smile.
...
"Congratulations, my dear Mr. Walsh!"
In front of a one-third-completed villa on the east side of the Tuileries Palace garden, under the gaze of more than a dozen tall, handsome sales associates, the sales manager solemnly handed a set of keys and a deed to Walsh:
"From this moment on, you are officially the esteemed owner of a property in the 'Royal Garden'! From now on, your biggest worry will likely be the sheer number of envious glances cast your way."
Immediately, cheerful music erupted, and beautiful young women approached Walsh to offer flowers, followed by a priest's blessing for the new home...
In short, the ceremony was full of pomp and circumstance, drawing countless passersby to stop and watch.
Yes, Mr. Walsh finally succumbed to the temptation and spent 2,050 pounds sterling to buy a house in the Royal Garden.
The main reason for this was information he had gathered through his own channels: France was going to vigorously develop its ready-to-wear industry, which would significantly increase the demand for wool textiles.
And he happened to be a wool merchant. Buying a house in Paris to expand his business in France nearby was simply perfect.
Of course, another reason was that the prices of houses in the Royal Garden were visibly rising daily!
The house he bought was 50,000 livres—2,000 pounds sterling—just three days ago, and it had jumped to 2,050 pounds sterling in the blink of an eye.
This made him deeply regret his hesitation in the preceding days.
When he heard the sales associate say that prices would continue to rise in a few days, he couldn't resist any longer and immediately decided to buy a house!
And Mrs. Walsh was even more delighted. From the moment she arrived in Paris, she had completely fallen in love with it—the entire city was clean, comfortable, and orderly, filled with a sense of fashion, and it even had convenient public carriages.
Oh, and the incredibly reassuring public safety environment!
The police patrolling the streets of Paris were all distinguished and upright. They never extorted foreigners or vendors, and if they encountered theft or robbery, they would immediately rush forward and bring the culprits to justice. This was a stark contrast to London, where British police would have long since vanished unless the victim was a nobleman of status.
Of course, she had no idea that just a few months prior, the Paris police were just as corrupt as their British counterparts—these were all new developments that came about after the Crown Prince's Police Reform.
Mrs. Walsh had written a letter to her darling son in London last night, asking him to bring his fiancée for a holiday in Paris. After they returned, they would certainly have enough to boast about in social circles for a long time.
...
On the 19th of Frost Moon, 1788.
The Paris Fashion Week, which had shaken all of Europe, finally drew to a close. After the grand event, it left behind memories of endless revelry and the intoxicating luxury of the Tuileries Palace.
Immediately afterward, the Paris Fashion Art Exhibition officially opened.
This art exhibition primarily served to showcase French designers—only by raising their profile could the world more readily embrace Parisian fashion.
During the five-day exhibition, fashion designers from all over Europe would be invited to select the "Designer of the Year" and award them the "Golden Feather Prize."
On the same day, another very important event occurred, though not many people knew about it—
The Royal Armory of France had completed all preparations and officially began production.
Southeast of the Versailles Palace square, beyond the plane tree grove, there was a 100-meter-square courtyard enclosed by flagstone walls. Inside the courtyard were a crucible furnace for iron smelting and a dozen wooden workshops of varying sizes.
At this moment, Joseph stood before the main gate of the small courtyard, marked by a stone tablet reading "Royal Armory," bowing his head in deference to Louis XVI's retreating figure.
Just now, he had accompanied His Majesty the King to the armory's opening ceremony. His father was likely overjoyed, as he uncharacteristically delivered a speech of five sentences in public, with hardly a stutter.
Of course, this was, after all, a factory he had invested in, mass-producing weapons he had developed, and even the main craftsmen were trained by him. It was perfectly normal for him to be happy.
After seeing off his father, Joseph turned around to face the two core managers of the armory, ready to get down to business.
"Mr. Garman, what is the current production capacity?"
An elderly man with a flat nose, prominent eye bags, and unusually sharp small eyes immediately bowed slightly and said:
"Your Royal Highness, we can currently produce three percussion cap muskets per day, but that will soon increase to four."
The armory's current product was only one type: the Auguste Model 1788 Percussion Musket.
Joseph frowned at this news. Producing four guns a day meant 120 per month, which wasn't enough to equip a single infantry regiment in a year...
He had indeed kept the scale of this armory relatively small. After his on-site inspection, he realized that neither Versailles nor even the entire city of Paris had the supporting industries necessary for weapon production. For example, iron smelting, rough wood processing, screws, belts, and so on, could not be supplied. Therefore, he decided to build only a "demonstration factory" near Versailles to train craftsmen and conduct small-scale production. A larger armory was already under construction in Charleville and was expected to be completed next month.
However, even for a "demonstration factory," was this production output not a bit too low?
He walked into the courtyard with the two managers, turning his head to ask:
"Mr. Garman, can production be increased in a short time? For example... ten per day?"
Louis XVI's former locksmith teacher, and currently the technical supervisor of the armory, immediately shook his head:
"Your Royal Highness, you see, His Majesty has hardly rested in the past month, and only managed to train four craftsmen in the manufacturing process of the percussion cap musket. Oh, that includes myself."
He had participated directly in the development of the percussion cap musket and didn't require training.
"Now, the four of us also have to teach apprentices, working late into the night just to complete one musket."
He hadn't even mentioned that the barrels used for the percussion cap muskets were rough blanks custom-ordered from Charleville; otherwise, they couldn't even complete one in a day.
Joseph frowned again, somewhat surprised:
"Why don't you let the other craftsmen participate in the manufacturing, while the four of you supervise and guide them from the side?"
After all, Louis XVI had brought 16 senior gunsmiths and over 50 junior and intermediate craftsmen from other places to his armory. If all these people were put to work, the production capacity shouldn't be so dismal.
Garman said with difficulty, "Your Royal Highness, the percussion cap musket's process differs significantly from the flintlock musket, especially the barrel and action parts. Each step of the process must be mastered, and then practiced repeatedly, to produce a qualified gun."
Joseph immediately spotted a logical flaw in his statement: "So, apart from the barrel and action parts, the rest is similar to a flintlock musket?"
"Uh, indeed."
"Then the four of you should be responsible for making the barrels and actions. The others can make the remaining parts. Then assemble them. Wouldn't that greatly increase the speed?"
"Your Royal Highness, I'm afraid that's not quite possible." Before Garman could say anything, the shorter middle-aged man with curly brown hair next to him interjected, "Every craftsman's technical habits and characteristics are vastly different. Only components made by oneself can be guaranteed to assemble perfectly."
Garman immediately nodded and added:
"Mr. Martiniel is correct. Even the apprentices of the craftsmen can hardly guarantee making something exactly like their master's."
Joseph couldn't help but rub his forehead. He had forgotten that this was still the era of handicrafts, and the concept of standardized parts production simply didn't exist. The idea of standardized parts only began to emerge in the early 19th century, and it would take another 20 years to be practically applied in production...
As for assembly line production, which required standardized parts as a prerequisite, that was simply unthinkable.
He sighed, looking at the manager and technical supervisor before him:
"Then, let's try to change this situation. There's a production method called 'parts standardization'."
The two managers exchanged glances, both looking puzzled: "Parts standardization?"
"Precisely," Joseph nodded. "In simple terms, it means that for the same firearm, when produced by different craftsmen, they must strictly adhere to predetermined component standards.
"From shape, materials, dimensions, and all other aspects, they must not exceed the tolerance range. Oh, I will explain what tolerance means to you later.
"This will ensure that no matter who manufactures the part, they can be freely interchanged."
"How, how is that possible?!" Garman and Martiniel exclaimed in unison.
Joseph led the two into the office, motioned for them to sit down, and said gravely:Ʀ/ΑΝΟ}ë novel.
"It is absolutely achievable. Of course, it requires certain methods. First, we need to create a batch of more precise measuring tools."
Garman immediately said, "You mean, similar to a micrometer?"
Joseph nodded: "Exactly. Then, you will lead the best craftsmen to formulate the 'Production Process Standards,' 'Product Implementation Standards,' 'Quality Inspection Standards,' and other standards for the percussion cap musket. Even the placement of tools should ideally have a uniform standard."
"Oh, I will have someone write detailed documents explaining the meaning of these standards and deliver them to you," Joseph continued. "Once the standards are established, the craftsmen will undergo uniform training.
"Everyone, when producing components, must use the same tools, the same measuring methods, and strictly follow all standard documents. Any deviation from these steps according to personal preference is strictly forbidden.
"Completed parts will be handed over to personnel specifically responsible for quality inspection. If they exceed the tolerance, the part will be scrapped.
"Parts produced in this way, from material to size, will be almost identical. Finally, even if the parts are given to workers without technical knowledge, they can be assembled into a qualified musket."
The two managers' eyes widened. The Crown Prince's method sounded incredible, but upon closer thought, it seemed highly possible to achieve.
If production followed this method, only a small number of craftsmen familiar with all the processes would be needed to establish the standards, while other craftsmen would simply have to execute the steps according to those standards.
It was clear that this would greatly increase production speed, and training craftsmen would become much simpler!
'How did the Crown Prince come up with such a brilliant idea? The Son of Divine Favor truly lived up to his name!'
Joseph then briefly explained concepts like "tolerance" and "quality inspection" to them, finally stating:
"The craftsmen may not easily accept the new production model. In the initial stages of implementation, production might even decrease, but if we persevere, production efficiency will certainly increase significantly.
"During this time, I will work with you to establish all production standards and assist you with craftsman training."
Joseph suddenly thought that perhaps this standardization system should also be implemented in factories such as machine tool factories and steam engine factories, and even national product standards should be introduced.
However, this would also involve the issue of standardizing measurements.
At present, various regions in France used a myriad of units for measuring length, weight, and so on. Even with the same unit, "meter," the results measured by craftsmen in southern and northern France were different.
Of course, this was even more true for other European countries.
And to promote industrialization at a national level, unifying measurement standards was the absolute minimum requirement.
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