The Crown Prince of France - Chapter 201

Chapter 201: The Hunt for North Africa

On the eastern side of the hall, British merchant Alvin saw Lavoisier come to the front and quickly nudged the lethargic young man beside him, whispering,
"Clark, a big shot is here, take careful notes for me, don't miss a single word!"

Yes, this was Alvin, the one who came to Paris during Fashion Week for an interview. After returning to his home country, he sold all his property, took a gamble, and bought the rights to the Paris Business Daily. He then translated Breaking the Sky and Ladies, Please Hold Your Hand into English for sale. Within just a few months, he made a fortune, and later, he bought a small newspaper agency, becoming the boss.

This time, he came to discuss the purchase of other novel rights from Paris Business Daily, but coincidentally, he arrived during the grand announcement of France's measurement standards. He brought along a team of reporters for the interview.

"Oh, yes, boss!"

Clark jolted upright, adopting an earnest note-taking posture, only to see the Frenchman named Lavoisier raise his hands, enthusiastically proclaiming,
"First, let us thank the esteemed Prince of Wales! It is he who has vigorously pushed forward the standardization of measurements in France..."

Clark quickly jotted these words down in his notebook, though he couldn't help but feel disdainful. These people sure knew how to flatter the royal family.

He glanced around the lavishly decorated hall and muttered under his breath in English,
"Those French, so extravagant. It's just the announcement of a few units, yet they make such a big fuss over it."

Alvin shot him a glare and growled,
"Quick, hide that pitiful ignorance of yours. It's not just a few units; it's a monumental achievement for scientific civilization!"

On stage, Lavoisier had his assistant push out a glass case with a copper rod inside and excitedly declared,
"Please, everyone, look at this. This is the original of the standard unit of length, the 'meter.' Its definition is 'one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole along the Paris meridian'..."

Clark quickly recorded this but muttered to himself in disbelief,
"Oh, yes, with this, the French can collect taxes more conveniently. No need to convert between different units repeatedly."

Alvin waited patiently for Lavoisier to finish. When the applause from the crowd died down, he turned to explain to his employee,
"Do you know why they had to make the definition of these units so complicated?"

"Well..." Clark scratched his head, "To make themselves seem impressive?"

Alvin interrupted him,
"This definition will yield the same result anywhere in the world. This means that whether it's the British, the French, or those in North America, even if they're thousands of miles apart, they can all use the same units for measurement and calculation.

"Do you understand what this means? It means the scientific theories of the entire world can be described with the same 'technical language.' From here on, human science and technology will move toward perfection and unity!"

As an idealist, Alvin’s gaze was fixed on things like 'global science', though in reality, standard measurements had even more significant implications for national industrial and commercial development.

For instance, baskets made in northern France wouldn't sell in the south because the southerners wanted to pack three 'mon' of grain, while the northern baskets could only carry whole 'ounces.'

At that time, France had over 800 commonly used units of measurement, with even more than ten thousand lesser-known ones. This caused major restrictions on the flow of goods between regions.

Worse still, in industrial production, not only between cities but even in workshops just across the street, screws made here couldn't be used there. How could they build an industrial chain under these conditions?

Unified measurement units were the foundation for smoothing the pathways of industry and commerce.

Clark, having listened to Alvin, widened his eyes in realization. Now he understood why the French were making such a big deal out of standardizing measurements.

Next, Lavoisier had a pure platinum weight brought out, kept under a glass case. He loudly proclaimed that this was the original of the standard unit of mass, the 'kilogram'...

One week later, nearly every European newspaper was reporting on the measurement standards set by the French Standardization Committee. The academic world was deeply shocked. As for whether to support France's standard units or create their own, the governments of various countries were embroiled in heated debates.

At this time, the European nations hadn't yet noticed that since the Paris Fashion Week at the beginning of the year, followed by Louis XVI's birthday celebration, and now this announcement of measurement standards, France had consistently occupied the core of international news topics.

...

Barbary Coast.

Two British armed merchant ships, escorted by two frigates, were approaching Mitija near Algiers under half-sails.

Inside the bow cabin of the frigate Robinson, Duke of Leeds was looking through the porthole with a telescope, staring at the sunlit, gray-yellow coastline in the distance.

There, a fortress stood. He could see figures bustling about on top of it.

He knew these were British engineers overseeing craftsmen reinforcing the gun emplacements.

As they drew nearer, Duke Leeds could clearly see that the gun emplacements were nearly finished. A British-made 24-pound cannon was being hauled up to the fortress by hundreds of Algerian slaves, tethered to thick ropes.

"Heh, I can't wait to see the French's surprised expressions when they're suddenly hit by these heavy cannons."

He chuckled, put away the telescope, and turned to the new British Consul to Algiers, Stewart, and said,
"France is cleverly using the pretext of fighting pirates to stake a claim in North Africa. Russia has even sent us multiple notes, saying that France's actions are part of helping protect Russia's maritime trade."

Stewart smiled and nodded,
"Indeed, Your Grace. But the French have forgotten our close trade relations with the Ottomans. They may do well with fashion and jewelry, but when it comes to strategy, they're still a bit lacking."

The ship slowly came to a halt, and with the captain’s guidance, Duke Leeds made his way toward the deck, but his mind couldn't help but drift back to the meeting at Number 10 Downing Street three months earlier.

It was another sunny day like today...

"Mr. Fox has finally kept silent." The young 29-year-old British Prime Minister William Pitt smiled as he gestured to the sofa in front of him, "Please, sit, Duke Leeds, General Jervis."

The Parliament had just approved his special funds for the North African situation, and naturally, he was in a good mood.

He gestured for the servant to bring tea and pastries, then pointed at the cramped office, complaining to the two men,

“Getting Parliament to allocate funds is no easy feat, wouldn’t you agree? Look at this—there isn’t even a decent meeting room. We’re forced to discuss things in this narrow space.”

General Jervis sat down and immediately asked,

“Mr. Pitt, the report you submitted to Parliament this morning—about the grain price increases—was it really caused by the French? I haven’t heard a word about it.”

Pitt smiled and replied,
“To be precise, it’s highly likely. But those people are cunning and left no clear evidence.

“I happened to come across something in a report from the Dublin Intelligence Department. Earlier this year, some Irishmen helped two grain merchants purchase a massive amount of grain, worth several hundred thousand pounds.”

He referred to the Dublin Intelligence Department, which specialized in dealing with Irish insurgents and was one of the British government’s most capable intelligence agencies.

At this time, the British Empire was nothing like its later incarnation as a global intelligence powerhouse. Agencies like MI6 and Scotland Yard didn’t yet exist. Early adoption of liberal thought had fostered public resistance to government intelligence organizations, leaving Britain’s capabilities rather average among the great powers.

Pitt continued,
“You know, those Irishmen have always been tangled up with the French, so I grew suspicious and commissioned Lloyd’s of London to investigate further.[Note 1]

“They did find something. For instance, British grain merchants reported that the buyers often spoke French privately and paid in livres. Additionally, France suffered a major crop failure and is in desperate need of grain.

“In summary, the investigation concluded that the fluctuations in our grain market were likely caused by the French.”

This year, Britain also faced a severe drought, leading to a significant drop in crop yields. However, Britain, having been a grain exporter for decades, had ample reserves. Coupled with an efficient river transport system, famine was avoided.

Yet when Pitt attempted to allocate grain to the affected areas, he was shocked to find that, starting early in the year, someone had been purchasing large quantities of grain, depleting the reserves in many cities. When the news broke, grain prices in the British market skyrocketed. Although the government imposed strict price controls, the black market continued to operate unchecked—similar to the tactics previously used by Parisian bakers.

With some of Britain’s hardest-hit regions on the verge of unrest due to food shortages, Pitt had no choice but to subsidize grain prices to stabilize the situation. While this ultimately averted riots, it cost the government five to six hundred thousand pounds—a staggering sum equivalent to 14 million livres in today’s exchange rate!

Fox and his opposition party seized on this issue, relentlessly attacking Pitt and causing him considerable embarrassment.

Hearing this, Duke of Leeds chuckled and said,
“You make it sound as though the French anticipated their poor harvest this year. But in any case, the facts don’t matter. We can use this to rally Parliamentary support for your special funding proposal.”

Pitt cast him an approving glance.
“Indeed. Once Parliament learned that the French were behind the grain price fluctuations, opposition to the funding disappeared entirely.”

The Duke of Leeds nodded.
“Parliament has no idea about the serious implications of the French’s grandiose ‘anti-piracy’ campaign!

“If they manage to control North Africa, they’ll make up for the colonial losses they suffered in America.

“You know how much we sacrificed in soldiers and money during the Seven Years’ War to secure those colonies. And yet, Fox and his ilk would oppose a bit of funding and let the French move freely in North Africa.”

Pitt said,
“Fortunately, we now have the funding—500,000 pounds, which is no small sum.”

“Too bad we must consider Russia’s stance,” General Jervis frowned and shook his head. “We can’t deploy troops to North Africa directly.”

“Troops?” The Duke of Leeds rolled his eyes discreetly. “No, that region isn’t within our sphere of influence, and it’s too close to Spain and France. Supporting local forces is the best option.”

Pitt nodded and turned to Jervis.
“In your professional opinion, where do you think the French will target?”

Although British intelligence from France and the Duke of Orléans provided some insights into France’s North African strategy, the specifics remained speculative.

Jervis, chair of the Naval Committee, pondered for a moment before saying,
“I believe it’s likely to be Algiers.”

“Could you elaborate on your reasoning?”

Jervis nodded.
“First, Morocco is too far from France and falls within Spain’s sphere of influence, making it an unlikely target.

“Tunisia’s Bey has ruled for over twenty years, consolidating power. Tunisia is also quite wealthy, so France would find it difficult to achieve a quick victory there.

“Tripoli is similar. The Pasha holds significant power. While not as prosperous as Tunisia, its military strength, especially its navy, is formidable.

“Thus, whether it’s Tunisia or Tripoli, if they can resist the French for a few months, the Ottomans would likely intervene.

“And the French know we won’t stand idly by during their expansion. If that happens, they’d be forced to retreat to the northern Mediterranean coast.”

Pitt nodded thoughtfully.
“It seems Algiers is indeed the most suitable target.”

Jervis rubbed his temples.
“The Janissaries and navy in Algiers are at odds, and the local factions are not to be underestimated. The three sides are in constant conflict, making the internal situation highly unstable.

“If the French win a battle or two there, the local forces might very well side with them.

“Additionally, I’ve heard that French and American fleets recently sank two Algerian naval ships.”

Pitt then looked at the two senior officials before him.
“So, what strategies do you propose we adopt in response?”

The Duke of Leeds took a sip of tea and said,
“Direct intervention in North Africa would be extremely difficult since it’s not within our traditional sphere of influence.

“First, we need to establish ties with the local powers there.”

Pitt nodded.
“As Foreign Secretary, I’ll leave that to you.”

“The Ottomans will be key,” said Leeds. “We have decent trade relations with them, which we can leverage to influence their stance. While the Ottomans have little actual control over North Africa now, they won’t want France to dominate the region.

“We could support Algiers indirectly through the Ottomans, perhaps even assigning one of our agents as an advisor under Ottoman authority.”

Jervis added,
“To prevent local forces in Algiers from aligning with the French, it would be best to keep the French fleet confined to the Mediterranean.”

“What do you suggest?”

“Send personnel to help Algiers reinforce its coastal fortifications.”

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