The Crown Prince of France - Chapter 173

Chapter 173: A Citywide Manhunt

William Murdoch stared intently at the roaring black machine before him.

The voice of John Sandler rose above the machine’s rumbling: “Pressure is stable! Throttle is stable!”

Murdoch’s face lit up with joy. “Release the steam!” he shouted, then embraced his assistants one by one in celebration.

A factory supervisor hurried into the test shed and called out to Murdoch, “Mr. Murdoch, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!”

“What? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“You said, during a test run, no one is to disturb you unless God himself descends…”

“From now on, both the Crown Prince and God are exceptions!”

“Oh, understood…”

After Murdoch and his team finished their bows, Joseph smiled and asked, “I believe I heard cheering just now?”

“Yes, Your Highness!” Murdoch pointed at the massive black iron machine in the shed and exclaimed excitedly, “We did it! This is entirely crafted by our technicians. Its power output and coal consumption are on par with Watt Company’s products.”

“You are undoubtedly Europe’s finest steam engine technician!” Joseph immediately praised him. “In just over two months, you’ve built the most cutting-edge steam engine in the world. Congratulations to you and your team!”

In truth, this steam engine was merely a replica of an English design, with many components sourced from readily available market parts. Even so, it outperformed any steam engine previously produced in France. And this achievement was realized while Murdoch and his team were simultaneously building the factory.

Murdoch and his team eagerly restarted the steam engine to demonstrate its capabilities to Joseph.

Sandler, speaking loudly, declared, “Your Highness, with the experience gained from building this steam engine, we can now begin constructing a new high-pressure model.”

Murdoch enthusiastically agreed, “Yes! We’ll surpass Watt Company in one fell swoop!”

Joseph thought for a moment but shook his head. “A 15-horsepower steam engine is already sufficient for most uses. Our priority should be selling more units. Once the product’s market coverage increases, we can consider technical upgrades.”

Murdoch hesitated briefly before nodding with a smile. “You are absolutely right, Your Highness. Recouping costs is indeed the most critical goal.”

Joseph shook his head again. “It’s not just about making money. The more important objective is cultivating the market, so people become familiar with steam engines and more willing to adopt them. High-performance but expensive products will always have limited buyers. Affordable and practical ones will dominate the market.”

Murdoch and Sandler both nodded thoughtfully.

Joseph continued, “Your main tasks going forward are to improve the steam engine’s reliability and make its design more compact and orderly for easier transport and installation.

“Additionally, provide various kits to enable easy adaptation for existing water wheels, automatic looms, and other machinery.”

He turned toward the black machine in the distance. “Mr. Murdoch, what is the cost of building this steam engine?”

“Approximately 13,800 livres, Your Highness.”

Joseph’s eyebrows twitched slightly—cutting-edge technology of this era was indeed expensive.

“What would the cost be with mass production?”

“Probably around 11,000 livres.”

Joseph nodded. “Then set the selling price at 13,000 livres per unit.”

“That’s a bit too low, Your Highness!” Murdoch protested immediately. “You see, Watt Company’s equivalent steam engine sells for 17,000 livres.”

Joseph smiled. “And how many units do they sell each year?”

“Usually 20 to 30.”

“If we manage to sell 80 units annually, or even more, what do you think of that price?”

Murdoch’s eyes widened. “Your Highness, with all due respect, I fear such sales numbers are unrealistic…”

Joseph patted his shoulder and smiled. “If wealthy dioceses across France pool funds to purchase steam engines for irrigation, mining regions buy a few for pumping water, and Lyon’s textile workshops use them to power automatic looms, do you think we can sell 80 units?”

Murdoch hesitated. “Your Highness, those dioceses have never bought steam engines before. As for the textile industry, you know France hasn’t yet built automatic looms…”

“That won’t be a problem. The government will soon issue directives to provincial governors, providing low-interest loans to dioceses for purchasing irrigation equipment. As for automatic looms, I’ll have British models acquired and immediately begin replicating them.

“If that still doesn’t achieve the sales target, we can adopt a leasing model—letting people use the steam engines first and gradually recover the costs.”

The Watt steam engine didn’t achieve mass adoption until the early 19th century, largely because Watt’s company was solely responsible for its promotion. In contrast, Joseph leveraged government intervention to open up the market for French steam engines.

With comparable technical capabilities, higher sales volumes would yield more user feedback, accelerating technological advancement. Joseph was confident that in a few years, French steam engines could start exporting to Britain.

…

Joseph’s convoy had barely left Nancy when, a day later, it encountered messengers from Paris en route. Two separate groups had arrived—one sent by Fouché and the other by Bishop Brienne.

The contents of their letters were nearly identical: Necker had escaped. While no official warrant for his arrest had yet been issued—Calonne’s evidence was still en route—the secret police, Parisian gendarmes, and intelligence services had all mobilized in a massive manhunt for Necker.

Joseph frowned deeply, surprised that such a tightly planned operation had allowed him to slip away.

After some thought, he wrote to Bishop Brienne, instructing him to order provincial governors in border regions to strictly monitor all border crossings, particularly those leading to Britain and Prussia.

Several days later, when Joseph returned to Paris, he found Fouché waiting for him by the roadside.

Fouché bowed so low his head nearly touched the ground, profusely blaming himself.

Joseph waved him off and gestured for him to get into the carriage. “That tunnel must have been dug long before your men infiltrated his house. It’s clear he was prepared to flee at any moment. You’re not entirely to blame.”

Fouché let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you for your forgiveness, Your Highness.”

“Have you found any clues about Necker’s whereabouts?”

“Not yet…” Fouché shook his head in frustration but quickly added, “However, we’ve set up checkpoints on all roads leading out of Paris, stationed lookouts in the fields and woods, and placed every farmhouse within a mile under surveillance. I believe Necker is still hiding within the city.”

Joseph considered this for a moment, then asked, “Should the secret police assist by conducting door-to-door searches?”

With Necker’s immense fortune at stake, a large-scale effort seemed justified.

Fouché suddenly remembered something and quickly added, “Your Highness, besides the intelligence service and secret police, there appears to be another group hunting Necker. Word in the underworld is that they’ve offered a bounty of 50,000 livres for information on his whereabouts.”

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