Chapter 227: Day-to-Day Affairs
Clémentine also received a gift from her cousin. It was a large jar of Tunisian-style sweets, made by binding cashews, argan nuts, shredded dates, and other ingredients together with honey and sugar, then pressing them into short bars. They were incredibly sweet and delicious.
She found the allure of the sweets irresistible. The moment she caught a whiff of their fragrant sweetness, her eyes lit up, and all pretense of restraint vanished as she reached into the jar, plucked a piece of candy, and popped it into her mouth.
"Mmm—"
The crunch of the nuts combined with the sweetness of the honey instantly made the little girl close her eyes in blissful contentment.
"Thank you so much for the gift, my dearest cousin!" She tried to curtsy to Joseph again, but realized her fingers were sticky with candy and she couldn't lift her skirt. After a moment's thought, she simply grabbed another piece of candy and popped it into her cousin's mouth.
Joseph was startled. He wanted to say, 'You haven't washed your hands, have you?' but it was too late. He could only silently reassure himself, 'A little dirt never hurt anyone,' and resignedly began to chew.
"Dearest cousin!" On the side, the Cape Parrot perched on Charles's arm mimicked Clémentine, emitting a comical sound.
"Wow! It, it can talk!" Charles, nearly four years old, immediately widened his eyes and exclaimed.
Louis XVI and Queen Marie were also drawn to the parrot and set aside their respective items to gather around.
The parrot uttered a phrase in Arabic and then bowed its head towards Louis XVI.
Everyone exchanged glances and burst into cheerful laughter.
"It knows quite a few languages."
"It's truly fascinating!"
"Joseph, do you know what it's saying?" Queen Marie asked her son.
Joseph spread his hands.
"I don't understand it either. However, whatever you want it to say, just teach it a few times, and it will learn. Cape Parrots are very intelligent."
"Cape Parrot! I love Mr. Cape Parrot!" Charles, hugging the colorful parrot that was as large as a pigeon, happily spun around the room.
Clémentine shook her head from the side, correcting him.
"Cape Parrot is its species. You should give it a name."
"Oh, I see. What should I name it then..."
Charles lowered his head, deep in thought, when suddenly he caught a glimpse of a cold glint beneath the table, staring in their direction. With a jolt, he snatched his father's cashmere tricorne hat, which had been casually placed on the corner of the table, and vigorously thrust it forward.
The next moment, a black-and-white blur flashed past, colliding squarely with the hat, and let out a disgruntled "meow."
"Monsieur Moustache?" Clémentine was instantly startled and frantically looked for her maid. "Rosalia, how did the cat..."
She had forgotten that Princess Thérèse was recently visiting Spain, and Monsieur Moustache's "girlfriend" had gone with her. So, taking advantage of the maid's inattention, he had slipped out for a stroll.
And he had found a plump "pigeon snack" here.
The cat's long-prepared pounce was blocked by Charles. It then eyed the parrot greedily, arched its back again, and with a "meow," sprang forward.
Charles had been educated by Queen Marie on the principles of "chivalry" since childhood. Though somewhat frightened at the moment, he still mustered his courage, raised his little leg, and kicked at Monsieur Moustache.
"Ow." Whether the cat was actually kicked or not, it let out a yelp of fright and cowered into Clémentine's arms for comfort.
The little girl soothed the cat and protested to Charles.
"Your Highness, you almost hurt Monsieur Moustache."
Charles held the parrot tightly and retorted.
"This naughty cat, it wants to eat Mr. Parrot!"
"I apologize for him, but you already 'blocked' him with your hat; there was no need for a second kick!"
"I think there was!"
"There wasn't!"
"He started it first!"
The little girl, hands on her hips, huffed indignantly and cried out.
"Undoubtedly, your behavior just now was very rude!"
The little boy, unable to win the argument, suddenly noticed the argan nuts on her candy. Recalling a picture book he had once seen, an idea immediately sparked in his mind. He pointed at the nuts and asked.
"Do you know how those are collected?"
"Huh? Collected?"
Charles smirked and said, "The locals herd goats up the argan trees, let them eat the green fruit, and these nuts are what they poop out!"
'Oh, my god!' Joseph's face instantly went green, and his stomach churned.
Clémentine looked at the delicious candy, then at Charles, and suddenly burst into tears with a "wah!"
"It's not like that, you're making things up..."
Servants and maids quickly rushed over, some picking up Charles, others comforting the little girl, and the scene devolved into chaos.
Louis XVI looked questioningly at the royal biologist who was standing by the door.
The latter hurried forward, bowed to everyone, and explained.
"There certainly are collection methods like the one His Highness described, but the edible part is the kernel inside the shell, which, protected by its outer casing, would never come into contact with goat feces. Moreover, for high-quality sweets like these, they are typically collected by hand."
Only then did Joseph breathe a sigh of relief, and the little girl's sobs gradually subsided.
Queen Marie, having soothed her younger son, then stroked the little girl's head to redirect her attention.
"Oh, Clémentine, haven't you always wanted to hear about your cousin's adventures in North Africa?"
She looked at Joseph. "My dear, why don't you tell them?"
Hearing this, the two children immediately quieted down and turned their attention to him.
Joseph instinctively wanted to decline, but then it suddenly occurred to him that he couldn't keep letting the Queen treat him like a child.
With France's development, he would undoubtedly undertake more extensive and deeper reforms in the future, while also handling more diplomatic affairs. He needed to acquire greater authority to carry out these tasks without being constrained.
This was an opportunity to demonstrate his capabilities to the Queen.
So, he nodded, motioned for everyone to sit on the sofa, gathered his thoughts, and began his narrative.
"A few months ago, there were attacks against French people in Tunisia. I suspected foreign powers were behind it, so I decided to go there myself and investigate..."
He then recounted how he promoted "Roman identity," how he presented the Tunisian Janissaries as a "grand gift package" to the local natives to win their support, and how he ensured the local insurgents became dependent on him for weapons and equipment.
However, to avoid offending Louis XVI and Queen Marie, both devout Catholics, he omitted the mystical machinations he had employed, such as the "one-eyed stone man" trick. He merely stated that he had "cooperated" with Elder Alai, ultimately leading the natives to overthrow the Tunisian Janissary Class who had attacked the French.
Queen Marie listened, wide-eyed, praising him repeatedly.
"You defeated those hostile to France with almost no military losses. My dear, how did you come up with such a brilliant idea?"
This time, Brienne had not accompanied Joseph to Tunisia, so she would no longer mistakenly think her son was merely an aide.
Her heart swelled with emotion. She made the sign of the cross over her chest, silently murmuring, 'My son has truly grown up, and he is exceptionally capable, a master strategist. Thank you, God, and thank you, Holy Mother Mary!'
Joseph then continued, describing how Algiers had intervened in Tunisia, and how he decided to preemptively mobilize quickly to Annaba to launch a surprise attack on the Algerian forces.
Although Queen Marie had previously seen the relevant reports, they were nowhere near as detailed as Joseph's account.
When she heard that her son had accompanied 6,000 French soldiers into battle against over 20,000 Algerians, her palms instantly grew sweaty with tension, and she kept whispering.
"That's too dangerous, you shouldn't have gone with the army..."
It wasn't until Joseph recounted how they had ambushed Kehler south of Annaba, ultimately securing a complete victory, that the surrounding "listeners" finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Clémentine led the applause.
"Cousin, you're truly incredible!"
The King and Queen exchanged glances and also joined in the applause, their faces filled with pride.
Little Charles, his face full of adoration, loudly declared.
"Brother, take me with you to fight the infidels next time!"
Joseph dotingly ruffled his hair and chuckled.
"Then you must study hard and practice riding. When you're older, we'll lead armies together."
Queen Marie quickly waved her hand.
"Riding horses is too early, that won't do..."
After Joseph finished recounting his North African experiences, one of Louis XVI's attendants came to remind them that it was dinnertime, bringing the royal family's bonding activity to a close.
Queen Marie watched her eldest son and husband walk side-by-side, unable to suppress a relieved smile—'All her painstaking efforts had not been in vain; she had finally raised such an excellent heir.'
But then she suddenly remembered Joseph's time on the shell-ridden battlefields of North Africa, and her heart tightened. 'If not for Marquis de Saint-Véran's army dragging its feet, how would her son have faced such peril?!'
'Fortunately, her son had performed exceptionally, otherwise he might very well have been wounded by the Algerian army...'
She dared not dwell on it further. A venomous glint flashed in her eyes, and like a protective lioness, a low growl rumbled in her throat.
"Montcalm, you will pay for your actions!"
Immediately, she also remembered the War Minister who had recommended Marquis de Saint-Véran to her, and instantly extended her hatred to him as well.
...
The next morning, Joseph, having freed himself from minor duties, headed directly to the Industrial Planning Bureau at the Tuileries Palace.
Upon entering his office, he immediately spotted the thick stack of documents piled on his desk. He couldn't help but let out a long sigh; it seemed a great many things had accumulated during his months in North Africa.
Sitting down in his chair, Joseph asked Eman to brew him a plain coffee, then reached for the documents and began to flip through them.
As always, the report on food issues was at the top.
Just as he had anticipated, caught between drought and a harsh winter, despite employing steam-powered irrigation and fertilizing with phosphate transported from Nauru, this year's harvest was still a full 27% lower than in previous years.
What was more alarming was that, with the onset of winter, the consumption rate of strategic food reserves had drastically accelerated, leaving only about 18% of the year's initial stock.
Furthermore, as other nations also experienced poor harvests, international grain prices had skyrocketed, making it increasingly difficult to fill the deficit with imported food.
The documents Joseph held indicated that during his trip to Tunisia, more than a dozen locations in France had run out of food. Fortunately, most situations had been managed by emergency allocations from reserves. However, at the current rate of consumption, the reserves would only last until March of next year.
Tunisia's early wheat would ripen by the end of April at the earliest, leaving a gap of over a month that needed to be filled. This would require both accelerating immigration to Tunisia and finding new sources of grain.
The situation appeared extremely challenging, but compared to the same period in history, things were already considerably better.
Historically, by the end of 1788, France had already plunged into widespread famine. Simultaneously, due to the effects of the Eden Treaty, accompanied by mass worker unemployment, the national treasury had completely collapsed. Louis XVI, at his wit's end, agreed to convene the Estates-General the following year.
Subsequently, in 1789, the famine worsened further, with frequent reports of people starving to death across the country. The Estates-General failed to resolve any issues, only ushering in the great revolution that swept across all of France like a flood.
Joseph rubbed his temples. Thanks to his efforts over the past year or so, the food crisis was at least temporarily under control, and the Estates-General had not been convened.
Most importantly, Paris had consistently avoided food shortages, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, the great revolution should be averted.
He took a sip of coffee and continued to the next document, which primarily reported on the food situation in various European countries during the second half of the year.
After he had generally finished reading, he couldn't help but frown inwardly. Overall, the situation across Europe was quite grim.
Affected by drought, traditional grain-exporting nations like Britain, Russia, and Prussia were struggling to sustain themselves, and other countries were widely experiencing famine.
The most direct indicator was the number of civilian riots—most of which were triggered by famine.
Austria experienced over a hundred riots in a single year. Russia, needless to say, had always been Europe's champion of unrest. Prussia and Britain also saw sixty to seventy riots. Indeed, even prosperous Great Britain was not exempt, though its situation was somewhat unique due to its extensive enclosure movement.
The Italian states were slightly better off, given their developed trade and smaller populations. Even so, kingdoms like Sardinia and the Two Sicilies experienced over thirty riots.
In contrast, France had seen only a little over ten riots during the year, almost making it a model for Europe. In this feudal era, it was impossible to have no riots at all, as even a single thoughtless great noble causing trouble within their fiefdom could spark a peasant uprising.
Joseph understood clearly that food shortages in various European countries were likely to trigger wars. Warfare, which could redirect internal conflicts abroad and allow for the plunder of money and food, had always been the customary means for nations of this era to resolve domestic issues.
This meant he had to quickly deal with the unruly military nobility at home and centralize military authority to effectively defend against foreign enemies.
The Guards Corps' excellent performance in Tunisia also gave him the confidence to confront the military nobility, though he still needed to proceed with extreme caution. The great affairs of a nation lie in sacrifice and warfare. These individuals commanded armies, and one wrong move could easily lead to a military coup.
Joseph put away the reports on unrest in various countries and continued to the next document.
This was Talleyrand's submission regarding the outcome of France's strong protest to the British government concerning "Britain's incitement of the Tunisian Janissaries to attack French citizens."
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