Chapter 574: Geniuses and Sugar Beets
When the revolution broke out in Santo Domingo, it was the Jacobins who were in power in France.
The revolution caused France to lose immense sugar cane revenue, leading to the collapse of the already precarious Jacobin government's finances and ultimately, its downfall.
A flicker of delight crossed the Duke of Leeds' eyes. He probed, "To empower the black slaves in Santo Domingo to contend with the French, this would likely require a substantial sum."
"You needn't worry about that," Lord Grenville immediately replied. "I've already requested two hundred thousand pounds sterling from Parliament to alter the situation there.
"Furthermore, you may also draw upon some of the funds saved from the North American Indians."
"Excellent... ahem, with that, I'll be even more confident."
Grenville then added, "Oh, and once you arrive in Santo Domingo, you can make contact with a man named Vincent Ogé there. Our intelligence department has already established a connection with him.
"He is currently the primary leader of the Abolition Movement in Santo Domingo, and he holds high prestige, especially among the black slaves, who almost revere him as a savior.
"If you can earn his trust, the plan is sure to proceed very smoothly."
"Indeed, an excellent idea!" Grenville immediately praised. "Your extensive political experience is always something I can learn from."
The two continued to discuss North American strategy for a while, and the carriage began to slow.
Grenville leaned his head out the window, spotting Viennese officials ahead, who had come to greet him.
He sighed, settling back into his seat. "More time-wasting pleasantries," he told the Duke of Leeds.
"Oh, we've been talking for so long, and we still haven't touched on the most crucial matter. How has your progress been in facilitating the Prussian-Austrian armistice?"
"There have been some results," the latter replied proudly. "Baron Walter's faction is fully committed to making this happen. The biggest obstacle currently comes from Minister of State Kaunitz and the pro-French faction he leads."
"So we've devised several plans to try and oust him from Vienna's political center."
The carriage stopped, and Lord Grenville said helplessly, "It seems we'll have to discuss the details tonight."
...
Paris.
Bright sunlight filtered through the leaves, dappling the Champs-Élysées. Two men in their thirties strolled along the street, their feet treading on the shifting shadows of the trees.
"This is truly exhilarating!" the taller man with the prominent nose exclaimed, waving his hand excitedly in German. "That's every scholar's ultimate dream! That awards stage is the closest place to heaven!
"If I could stand there one day, I wouldn't care if I died right then and there!"
He spun in a circle. "Ah, Paris, truly a land of dreams! Praise the great King, praise his Supreme Louis Prize!"
As he spoke, images of the Supreme Louis Prize award ceremony he had just attended flashed through his mind.
Inside the opulent Tuileries Palace, the award recipients were surrounded by distinguished nobles and throngs of journalists, like stars encircled by admirers.
The host repeatedly enumerated their academic contributions, drawing bursts of thunderous applause from the audience.
What stood out most vividly in his memory was the glittering pure gold trophy and the crisp fifty thousand francs in new banknotes!
It was rumored that the French King would later bestow titles upon them—should they choose to accept.
It was foreseeable that their names would appear in newspapers across Europe tomorrow, and everyone would be discussing their achievements.
All of this was the glory bestowed upon them by the Supreme Louis Prize!
The slightly plump man with disheveled hair beside him, however, seemed less enthusiastic. "Auguste, while I don't mean to discourage you, the reality is that neither your mushrooms nor my sugar beets—our fields of research—are likely to ever make it onto the Supreme Louis Prize judges' shortlist."
"Franz, you have to have faith!" Auguste clapped him hard on the shoulder. "In this wonderful city of Paris, anything is possible!
"And aren't we right here?"
Franz, hearing this, grew even more dejected. "Oh, Paris, you've already received its blessings. Yes, you've been invited by the Talent Committee; next week you'll be moving into that lavish mansion, complete with a butler and maids."
The "Talent Committee" he referred to was the official name for Joseph's talent recruitment program.
Although Auguste had only been classified as an E-rank talent, the lowest tier, he would still receive a villa in the Grand Scholars' Palace, an annual stipend of several thousand francs, and two beautiful Italian maids.
If he could produce academic breakthroughs—for instance, extracting something useful from his mushrooms—he might be promoted to D-rank. His stipend would then increase to seven thousand francs annually, and he'd get French maids!
But none of that mattered for him now.
Auguste, missing the underlying tone, continued to pat his shoulder. "You'll get an invitation too! You're the most talented person I know!"
"Actually," Franz stopped, his shoulders slumping, "the committee sent me a 'pending review' notice yesterday."
'Pending review' was essentially a polite way of saying the application had not been approved.
The talent recruitment program offered exceptional benefits to foreign talents, so it couldn't simply accept everyone. The screening threshold was quite high.
"Ah," Auguste stammered, "Next year, there'll be another chance to apply. You're sure to..."
"No, I've already decided to return to Bavaria. I'm leaving the day after tomorrow."
"Don't give up!" Auguste urged anxiously. "Besides, you have Mademoiselle Marianna. You can't leave her alone."
"It's impossible for us," Franz said, his head hanging even lower. "Her brother came to see me yesterday, bringing two crude and menacing servants. He told me Marianna is to marry a paper merchant, and that I'm not to go near her again."
"Yes, I'm just a poor professor from Bavaria; I'm simply not worthy of her."
The Marianna he spoke of was a girl he had met after coming to Paris; they had fallen in love at first sight. However, her family was wealthy and looked down on him, a struggling scholar from Germany.
"Ah... perhaps you'd like a drink?" Auguste offered.
...
On the second floor of the Tuileries Palace, Joseph savored a rare moment of post-lunch leisure, holding a teacup in one hand and the talent acquisition list for the first half of the year in the other.
The list was short; after all, top-tier talents were always scarce.
He then flipped to the list of unselected candidates, arranged by assessment score from highest to lowest.
Ranked second was a biologist named Franz Achard. His evaluation was quite interesting: all assessment categories showed high scores, but the sole reason for his rejection was that his research field was too obscure and had little practical use.
Joseph looked further, seeing his main achievements listed as: improvement and cultivation of sugar beets, and the technology for extracting sugar crystals from sugar beets.
Joseph immediately rose to his feet. 'This' was none other than Achard, the man who single-handedly pioneered the sugar beet industry, transforming Germany—a country that previously produced no sugar—into Europe's third-largest sugar exporter!
Such a talent had been screened out?!
The Talent Committee's evaluators would definitely have their salaries docked this month!
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