Chapter 623: Valentine's Day Arrives
Using Poland to align Prussian and Austrian interests was a standing British strategic plan. Thus, after a large number of Conservative nobles were recently arrested, Jason immediately realized their immense potential for exploitation.
He then contacted Prussians within the Polish army. Due to the alliance between Poland and Prussia, Poland had been emulating the Prussian military system, and a significant number of Prussian-born officers served in its ranks.
Under Jason's instruction, these Prussian officers swapped out the soldiers guarding Potocki and, in coordination with British spies, successfully carried out the "prison break."
Potocki gnashed his teeth. "It must be those scoundrels from the Patriotic Party, and Poniatowski! To control the parliament, they've thrown every noble who wouldn't bow to them into prison. This is a crime, it's treason!"
Jason nodded, his voice heavy. "But these traitors control the parliament and command the army."
"No, there are still armies loyal to tradition and faith," Potocki countered. "Furthermore, we are certain that Russia will not allow order in Poland to be shattered!"
A thought stirred in Jason's mind. He quickly asked, "Which armies are you referring to?"
"We've already made contact with several officers. If someone can step forward and rally them, they will surely respond."
"How many men?"
'It seems there's still hope,' Jason thought, a smile flickering in his eyes. "As for Russia, I will arrange for you to have a secret audience with His Majesty the Tsar."
...
Paris.
A sleek, opulent "Gem 7L" carriage, flanked by guards, glided along the wooden tracks toward Notre-Dame de Paris.
This was the Gem Carriage Company's latest model, capable of switching wheel modes to travel smoothly on both regular roads and wooden tracks. Despite its price exceeding 3,000 francs, demand still outstripped supply. To get a carriage within a month, one would have to pay a premium of at least 4,000 francs.
Inside the carriage, Joseph absently flipped through the report on sugar beet cultivation submitted by the Minister of Agriculture, his mind already deep in thought.
Currently, France cultivated over 1,800 qing (approximately 12,000 hectares) of sugar beet in the regions north of Valois, a considerable scale. Yet, in the past two months, the cultivated area had barely increased.
Vergniaud was still doing his best to promote it, but farmers remained instinctively wary of new things. They preferred growing wheat, which filled their stomachs, and even potatoes were now more readily accepted.
This was even with the government providing tax exemptions and loans from the Agricultural Services Consulting Company; otherwise, even cultivating over 1,800 qing would have been difficult to achieve.
Joseph knew perfectly well that other nations were waiting for the French government to quell the rebellions, but in reality, the French Expeditionary Force was there to deliver equipment.
The Caribbean Sea region would soon be engulfed by the Abolition Movement, and sugarcane production would fall exponentially.
Historically, during the slave revolts in Santo Domingo, sugarcane production plummeted directly from 80 million pounds to less than 4 million pounds.
The Caribbean Sea supplied 85% of Europe's sugar, meaning that it wouldn't be long before a sugar shortage hit Europe, and sugar prices would skyrocket.
With only the current cultivation of over 1,800 qing of sugar beets, it was nowhere near enough to supply France, let alone generate export profits.
Yet, he couldn't force French farmers at gunpoint to switch to sugar beet cultivation. So, Joseph thought of France's largest landowner: the Catholic Church.
Ten percent of all cultivated land in France belonged to the Church. If he could persuade the Church to allocate some of its land for sugar beet cultivation, he might achieve his desired scale of 40,000 to 50,000 qing (approximately 266,000 to 333,000 hectares).
Historically, Emperor Napoleon cultivated around 28,000 qing (approximately 187,000 hectares) of sugar beets by the early 19th century, which was barely enough to meet Western Europe's sugar demand.
However, Napoleon at that time had to compete with cheap Caribbean sugarcane, requiring hefty subsidies. As a result, he only maintained the scale for little over a decade before drastically reducing cultivation.
Currently, though, Joseph was confident he could profit from sugar beet. Naturally, the more planted, the better.
It so happened he also wanted to try out his newly acquired carriage, so he drove to Notre-Dame de Paris to discuss the matter with Archbishop Beaumont.
Forty minutes later, the luxurious silver-gray carriage smoothly came to a halt at the edge of Notre-Dame de Paris's square.
Joseph looked out the carriage window to see a bustling crowd in front of the cathedral doors; the carriage couldn't even enter the square.
He turned to Eman. "Is there some major Mass today?"
Eman pondered for a moment. "Your Royal Highness, it seems today is Valentine's Day. These people are likely here to vie for the 'First Love Ticket Bestowed by God.'"
Joseph pressed a hand to his forehead. 'I genuinely forgot it was February 14th.' The "vie for the first Love Ticket" event, he recalled, was his idea, inspired by the famous "vying for the first incense stick" ritual from later eras.
Thanks to Catholicism's deep roots in this era, his "plan" had an unexpectedly brilliant effect.
Under the promotion that "the recipient of the first Love Ticket will have their love blessed by God," Notre-Dame de Paris earned a staggering 190,000 francs when it first held this event last year!
Of that sum, the daughter of Viscount Debré alone donated—effectively bidding—a hefty 45,000 francs to the Church just to obtain the "First Love Ticket."
And this year's event looked to be even more bustling than the last.
With no other choice, Joseph instructed the coachman to drive around to the back entrance of Notre-Dame de Paris, entering the cathedral through a special passage.
The priest who came out to greet them hesitated slightly upon learning that the Crown Prince wished to see Archbishop Beaumont.
Joseph immediately understood: 'Archbishop Beaumont must be presiding over the "First Love Ticket" ceremony right now.' He then told the priest, "Never mind, don't disturb the Archbishop. I'll wait for a bit."
'He wouldn't be so gauche as to disrupt someone's most profitable "commercial activity" of the year.'
The priest quickly bowed in thanks, and Joseph began to wander leisurely through Notre Dame. The crowd was all gathered at the main entrance, leaving the interior of the cathedral quite spacious.
After walking for a while, Joseph grew somewhat bored. He sat on a bench in a prayer room, picked up a Bible, and began to read it as if it were a novel.
In Notre-Dame de Paris's square, Archbishop Beaumont stood on a raised platform, spread his arms, recited a prayer, and then declared loudly, "Now, let us give thanks for God's blessing! The Lord has sown true love upon the earth, condensing it into a sacred Love Ticket."
"At this moment, God watches over us. And the most devout among you shall receive the First Love Ticket, upon whom the Lord's blessing shall also descend."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a young noblewoman in a light blue silk gown clasped her hands in prayer and declared, "I offer 5,000 francs to demonstrate my devotion."
Her voice was immediately outdone by a girl behind her: "I shall offer 7,000 francs..."
Just then, a striking figure emerged from the crowd and said softly, "Archbishop Beaumont, your devoted lamb wishes to offer 40,000 francs."
With her golden hair and violet eyes, it was Camelia.
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