Chapter 938: New Trends in Europe (Part 1)
Joseph was well aware that this centralized breeding model was expensive. Furthermore, once the scale of cultivation reached a certain threshold, the supply of seeds would struggle to keep pace with demand.
Moreover, as industrial spies from various nations worked tirelessly, the parent plants used to produce triploid sugar beet seeds would eventually be leaked. After all, while a thief can strike at any time, a guard cannot be vigilant forever—no one could guarantee a perfect seal—and then other nations would begin breeding their own seeds.
It was even possible that a transcendent genius might emerge in another country and independently breed high-sugar beets.
However, Joseph was not worried in the least.
Long before those scenarios played out, he would have ample time to firmly bind beet sugar to the Franc.
Commercial trade was all about established channels.
Once a channel became fixed, changing it was extremely difficult. This was especially true for massive volumes of international trade, which involved complex diplomatic issues, making it even less likely to be altered on a whim.
By using the triploid sugar beet seeds to funnel all sugar trading channels through the Paris Futures Exchange, any sugar produced by any nation in the future would, by market habit, have to be traded there.
It was similar to how, in a later era, Brazil would produce a quarter of the world's green beans but still have to trade them on the American CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade).
And the settlement currency for these goods would, of course, have to be the Franc. At the very least, other nations would have to use the Franc for their price quotations.
Three days later, according to his schedule, Joseph set off for Cologne to attend the opening ceremony of the World Cup finals.
To his surprise, as his motorcade reached the village of Konigswinter, northwest of Koblenz, he was greeted by the sight of vast fields of sugar beets. The endless stretch of tender green leaves quivered slightly in the breeze.
One had to keep in mind that sugar beet cultivation had not yet been officially promoted in the Rhineland. This was already the banks of the Rhine; across the river lay Nassau and Hesse.
Judging by the growth of these beets, they must have been sown quite some time ago.
Joseph gestured to Eman. "Go find someone and ask about these sugar beets."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Eman made a quick round of the nearest farmhouses and returned shortly, bowing to Joseph.
"Your Highness, these appear to be grown from sugar beet seeds smuggled in from Lorraine. They began planting them last year."
Joseph exhaled slowly. "With a scale this large, local officials must be involved in the smuggling. Have the Police Bureau look into it."
He paused. "But do not involve the farmers growing the beets. Oh, and tell Vergniaud to start promoting sugar beets directly in the Rhineland."
After a moment of thought, he asked, "Where are the beets grown here being shipped?"
"Through Nassau to Brunswick. The Prussians have built a sugar refinery there."
Joseph couldn't help but admire the speed of the Prussians—in just over a year, they had already established an industrial chain.
The profit from beet sugar was truly too tempting.
However, he also believed that without a genius like Achard and lacking steam engines, the processes and efficiency of Prussian refineries would be far inferior to those of France.
'Well, it seems I won't even need to wait for the triploid beets to be ready to get a preliminary grip on the Prussian sugar industry.'
Joseph ordered the procession to continue and instructed Eman to take notes. "Construct a new sugar refinery in both Koblenz and Amberg. Use the latest technology and ensure each can produce over two thousand tons a month."
"These two factories will accept sugar beets from any source, and the purchase price must be higher than that of the domestic refineries in Prussia."
Koblenz was near the center of the region and could cover most of the Rhineland's sugar beet production. Amberg, located in northern Bavaria, was not far from both Prussia and Saxony.
With the technological and cost advantages of French refineries, they could easily crush the Prussian factories. After that, Prussia would have no choice but to cooperate with France.
France would help Prussia refine their beets into sugar, and all the sugar produced by Prussia would then be traded using contracts from the Paris Futures Exchange.
Joseph suddenly realized that France had already formed a technological monopoly over the entire sugar beet industrial chain, and this advantage would only continue to grow.
'Once the chemical fertilizers are developed, countries like Prussia will have to come begging to France once again.'
...
Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark.
In Christiansborg Palace.
The Danish Chief Minister, Bernstorff, closed the report in front of him and bowed to Crown Prince Frederick.
"Your Royal Highness, the fact that Austria surrendered so quickly was indeed beyond all our expectations. This has caused a... severe deviation in our diplomatic investments regarding Britain."
Frederick, the current Prince Regent of Denmark, nodded with a solemn expression.
"France is gradually becoming the core of the European continent. We must make adjustments as quickly as possible."
Indeed, while Denmark had previously claimed neutrality, it had been diplomatically very inclined toward Britain. This was an unavoidable reality; as a nation primarily composed of a peninsula and islands, the powerful British fleet was a force they had to respect.
However, the international situation had undergone a radical shift.
The Netherlands, Prussia, and Austria had surrendered one after another—Prussia's so-called "withdrawal from the war" was, in the eyes of the Danes, a surrender.
As for smaller states like Sardinia and Bavaria, they had directly defected to France's embrace.
In this situation, Denmark found that it could no longer focus solely on naval power. The French army did not seem that far away from them anymore.
"Fortunately, our country did not assist Britain during the war against France. This leaves us some room to improve relations with them." Count Schulenburg, the Minister of Finance, paused before adding, "Furthermore, I believe the outcome of this war has presented us with a golden opportunity."
Frederick looked over. "What opportunity are you referring to?"
"The League of Armed Neutrality," Schulenburg said. "The British Navy has used the vast majority of its strength to blockade France, and they have even suffered some setbacks in the Mediterranean."
"Now, they are no longer able to ignore the reputation of the League of Armed Neutrality and control all maritime trade as they did over a decade ago."
The League of Armed Neutrality was an organization led by Russia, with Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, and even Prussia participating. Its goal was to protect the ships of neutral nations, allowing them to trade freely in the ports of belligerent countries. It demanded that during wartime, apart from contraband materials such as weapons and ammunition, belligerent nations could not seize or capture goods on neutral ships.
In truth, it was aimed directly at Britain, the maritime hegemon—other nations rarely had the audacity to conduct naval blockades and seize merchant ships so brazenly.
During the first few years of the alliance's formation, Britain, intimidated by the large number of participating nations, had indeed restrained itself significantly.
But soon enough, the British realized that this so-called alliance was nothing more than a disorganized mess, and they began their counterattack.
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