Chapter 863: The Crown Prince's Day Off
The wind blew the drifting snowflakes askew.
It was as if the world had been dusted with a layer of glittering diamonds.
The Marble Courtyard was covered in snow deeper than a pair of boots, reflecting the soft glow of the gas streetlights. The ground looked as if it had been coated in smooth, sweet cream, while the frost on the eaves resembled decorative icing.
Joseph packed a snowball, sprinted toward the frozen fountain, and spun around to hurl it behind him.
A dozen guards and maids, wrapped in heavy cloaks and thick white cashmere scarves, chased after him with laughter, looking like a cluster of bouncing snowmen.
Just as Joseph's snowball struck Colonel Clauzel's back, a flurry of silver powder erupted on his own shoulder.
Seeing this, the maids chirped excitedly and swarmed the captain of the guard, unleashing a barrage of snowballs to "avenge" the Crown Prince.
After the Iberia-Apennine Summit concluded, Joseph finally found a rare moment of leisure. He had just returned from a day of ice fishing at the Blue Lake when the heavy snow began to fall, and on a sudden whim, he had joined the others for a snowball fight.
After running for a long while, Joseph rubbed his frozen hands and blew on them to stay warm. Camelia hurried over, removed her gloves, and took his hands into hers, warming them against her chest. She smiled and said, "Your Highness, I've made some pine nut pumpkin soup. It will be ready in a moment. Drinking it will warm you up quickly."
Estimating the distance, she suddenly let her feet slip and cried out "Oh no!" as she tumbled toward the Crown Prince.
Joseph caught a glimpse of someone falling toward him out of the corner of his eye. Instinctively, he wrapped an arm around Camelia's slender waist and pulled her back to dodge the impact.
Véronique had expected the Crown Prince to catch her, but it was too late to stop her momentum. She was falling almost horizontally toward the frozen ground.
"Ah!"
As she screamed, a white figure suddenly blurred past. Just as she was less than twelve inches from the ground, a pair of hands caught her.
Heart still fluttering with fear, Véronique looked up to see the face of the guard, Raymond.
He was about to ask if she was hurt when he suddenly realized his hands were pressed against two large, soft mounds. His heart skipped a beat instantly.
Seeing Raymond's face turn bright red, Véronique realized what was happening. Flustered and annoyed, she grabbed his shoulders to pull herself up. However, she used too much strength, pulling the guard down toward her. His face ended up right against her lips.
The surrounding maids erupted into fits of giggles.
Véronique finally struggled to her feet. Without even stopping to brush the snow off her clothes, she lowered her head and fled toward the gates of Versailles in a panic.
Raymond touched the spot on his face where she had "kissed" him and watched her retreating figure. His heart pounded even faster as he muttered to himself, 'Is she... is she confessing her love to me?'
Joseph, completely unaware of the drama that had just unfolded, sipped the pine nut pumpkin soup until Eman approached him. "Your Highness, according to the schedule, you are to meet with Archbishop Brienne and the others in fifteen minutes."
"Right, I understand." Joseph let out a long sigh and handed the unfinished soup back to Camelia. 'Sigh, even on my day off, I have to work overtime...'
As he returned to his drawing room, he encountered the royal catering manager, François Bernard. Eman then stepped forward and bowed. "Your Highness, Monsieur Bernard wishes to know if you would prefer roasted peacock or red wine braised venison as your main course for dinner."
Joseph massaged his temples and shook his head. 'Is he trying to wipe out everything in the Versailles zoo?'
"Please tell him not to prepare these expensive and unappetizing things in the future. Ordinary venison will be fine."
He still remembered the peacock meat from the last banquet; it was dry and tough, not even as tasty as roasted pigeon. Yet, for the sake of royal prestige, the palace chefs insisted on making such dishes every other day.
The catering manager departed with his head bowed, passing Brienne, Mirabeau, and Vergniaud as they entered.
The three men stepped forward and bowed. "Your Highness."
Joseph nodded with a smile and gestured toward the sofas. "Please, have a seat."
Brienne and the others were well-acquainted with the Crown Prince's style. They skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point, placing a document on the table before him. "Your Highness, this is the estimated fiscal revenue and expenditure report for this year, as well as the government spending plan for next year that you requested."
Joseph nodded, picked up the document, and flipped it open. He felt a surge of satisfaction; under Brienne's constant improvements based on his requirements, the efficiency of the French financial system had grown significantly.
Previously, it would have taken until March or April of the following year to tally the previous year's accounts. Now, most of it could be submitted before February.
This year, due to the outbreak of the massive war, he had specifically requested the financial statistics be compiled early. As a result, Brienne had completed the work by early December.
Of course, the data for November and December were not included. Joseph primarily wanted to see how much the war had impacted the national economy.
Brienne leaned in to look at the page Joseph was reading and began to explain from the side.
"Your Highness, excluding the last two months, the total fiscal revenue for the year stands at 640 million francs. If no unforeseen circumstances arise, the total annual revenue will reach 770 million francs."
Joseph was quite satisfied with this figure.
Last year's total fiscal revenue was 760 million. While this year's figure seemed to show almost no growth, one had to remember that this result was achieved while a national war was raging.
According to the estimated data submitted by the Intelligence Bureau, Austria's fiscal revenue this year was expected to drop by about 11%, while Prussia and the other warring German states would see a decrease of over 17%!
Even Britain, which was currently at its peak, saw its fiscal revenue drop by 4% compared to last year.
Joseph knew this was only because Britain had begun collecting personal income tax. Otherwise, the subsidies they provided for cane sugar alone would have caused their revenue to drop as much as Austria's.
France's ability to maintain revenue growth was largely due to the high profits from sugar beets, which compensated for the massive military expenditures.
Another crucial factor was that the scale of the French military deployed to the battlefield relative to its national strength was far smaller than that of Prussia and Austria.
France had only sent its standing army, whereas Austria had initiated a general mobilization. This meant a vast amount of the social labor force was consumed by the war, inevitably affecting domestic production.
Furthermore, the impact was not yet fully evident this year because many factories still had reserves and could grit their teeth and persevere.
By next year, Austria would face an even greater recession.
As for Prussia, it was perpetually in a state of national mobilization, maintaining a standing army of nearly 200,000 with a population of only about 8 million. Their military spending accounted for more than half of their fiscal revenue.
Consequently, once Prussia went to war, it had to gain something from the conflict to survive; otherwise, the national economy would face an immediate collapse.
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