The Crown Prince of France - Chapter 120

Chapter 120: Turning Passivity into Initiative

Bordeaux, as the most important export hub for French wine, has wine trading as the soul of the city.

The Royal Square, which lies next to Bordeaux's core transport waterway—the Garonne River—was once the royal residence of Louis XV. However, since the king no longer resides here, the vast square and the adjacent palace have been transformed into a trading venue for wine merchants and cellar owners.

Hence, people prefer to call this place the Exchange Square.

Here, every day, large quantities of wine are traded, then sent to various parts of Europe and even across the Atlantic to the Americas.

At this moment, in the grand main conference hall of the palace in front of the Exchange Square, fifty to sixty high-ranking nobles and their agents have gathered.

These nobles share another identity: they are vineyard owners.

They own most of the vineyards in the Bordeaux region, and they also run wine workshops, controlling nearly 60% of the wine production industry in France.

Three days ago, they received an invitation from Governor Count Monslore, who mentioned in the invitation that the true convener of this meeting was the Crown Prince.

For the sake of these two influential figures, all the invitees set off early and gathered at Exchange Square.

At three in the afternoon.

A melodious tune floated out from the main conference hall of the Exchange Palace. The vineyard owners turned to look at the entrance, where they saw Governor Monslore respectfully following a young man dressed in a dark blue coat into the hall.

Everyone knew at once that it must be the Crown Prince, so they all stood up and bowed respectfully towards the young man.

After the Governor formally introduced the Crown Prince and made a brief opening speech, Joseph, who was sitting at the front of the hall, raised his hand to signal the vineyard owners and said loudly, "Thank you all for attending this meeting."

He began with the customary remarks about Bordeaux being "historically rich and abundant in resources" and similar pleasantries before getting to the point: "The reason I have called you here today is mainly to discuss the matter of potato cultivation."

Immediately, murmurs broke out among the crowd:

"I knew it, it's definitely about those damn potatoes."

"They've been pushing us to plant these things for over half a month. Who knows if it'll make a profit?"

"Yes, growing grains has no risk..."

"Just let him talk. I won’t plant a single potato unless he cuts the land tax."

"The Austrian woman even sent the Crown Prince here, so she must really care about this matter."

"So this is a good opportunity. We must unite and make him lower the land tax..."

"No! He should cancel the land tax completely..."

Most of the nobles kept their voices low, though a few intentionally raised their voices enough for the Crown Prince to hear.

Joseph smiled slightly and ignored them, continuing, "In recent years, droughts have frequently occurred, and everyone's harvests have been poor. However, the yield of potatoes is very high, and they can quickly alleviate the food shortages caused by the disasters."

He scanned the room: "So, I hope everyone will respond to His Majesty the King's call and plant more potatoes during the spring sowing season. Oh, the 'seeds' for planting potatoes should arrive in Bordeaux in about ten days."

As land-owning nobles, these vineyard owners not only had vineyards but also controlled a large amount of arable land in the Bordeaux region. As long as they cooperated, potatoes could be widely planted on a large scale.

At this point, a noble with an oddly upturned nose hesitantly called out, "Your Highness, could you perhaps reduce the land tax a bit?"

Immediately, someone responded, "Count Lednière is right. Growing potatoes might cause a loss, so it would be best to reduce the land tax to make up for it."

"Please promise to reduce the land tax first."

"This is a separate issue," Joseph replied indifferently. "If you have concerns about the land tax, you can propose them to the Minister of Finance, and they will be reviewed by the High Court. But today, I am only talking about potatoes."

The nobles in the hall showed their displeasure at his words, and the room fell into a dead silence.

Joseph, however, remained calm and continued to introduce the various benefits of potato cultivation, speaking for over half an hour before concluding, "Alright, I know that switching to an unfamiliar crop is a difficult decision.

"You can all go back and think it over. I will be here again tomorrow morning at 9 AM, and I hope to receive a positive response from all of you."

After finishing his speech, Joseph stood up to leave. Governor Monslore quickly came to the center of the hall and cheerfully invited the nobles to a banquet to ease the slightly awkward atmosphere.

Joseph knew very well that he could have immediately presented the "Pasteurization technique" as a trump card, and many of the vineyard owners would have chosen to cooperate.

But if he had done so, the land-owning nobles would have felt that they had used their refusal to plant potatoes as leverage to extort these benefits from the royal family.

So, on his way to Bordeaux, Joseph had already made plans to turn the situation around and make the vineyard owners realize that cooperating with the Crown Prince was beneficial, and resistance would only lead to loss.

After a dull banquet, Monslore invited Joseph and the nobles to attend a ball at his residence.

Fortunately, the noble ladies of Bordeaux were somewhat in awe of the unfamiliar Crown Prince, and Joseph was not "ambushed" at the ball. Instead, he had a good time tasting authentic Bordeaux wine.

Just as he was enduring through the event and had just walked out of the ballroom, a middle-aged man hurriedly followed him from behind.

Eymond immediately became alert and blocked the man.

The man quickly greeted Joseph from a distance, placing his hand on his chest. "May God be with you, noble Crown Prince. I am Pierre Victinian Vénio, serving at the Bordeaux High Court. May I have the honor to speak with you for a moment?"

Joseph felt the name was somewhat familiar. Vénio? He suddenly remembered—wasn't he a prominent speaker of the Girondins?

Right, the name "Girondin" comes from several key leaders who are from the Gironde region, and Vénio was one of them. Of course, Gironde as a region was only established after the Great Revolution; for now, it's still Bordeaux or the larger Aquitaine region.

Joseph recalled that Vénio was one of the Girondins who advocated for cooperation with the royal family, but he wasn't sure why he was seeking him out.

So, he signaled Eymond: "Please let Mr. Vénio come forward."

Eymond nodded and stepped aside.

Vénio quickly stepped forward, bowing again. "Thank you, Your Highness."

Joseph smiled and asked, "What can I do for you?"

Vénio looked around to ensure there were no other nobles, then, with a serious expression, said, "Your Highness, please forgive my bluntness. Actually, you shouldn't have come to Bordeaux this time."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Your Highness, those great nobles recently rejected potato cultivation, and now you've come immediately. You might have wanted to resolve this issue before spring sowing, but this will make the nobles think that you need something from them, and they will become more determined to bargain with you."

Joseph blinked in surprise. Why did it feel like Vénio cared more about the potato issue than he did?

Vénio continued, "Your Highness, I've heard news from Paris that a severe drought is likely to occur this year.

"And those great nobles won't care about this. They are very wealthy, and even if the harvest is poor, it won't affect them. Some are worried that the profits from potatoes won't match those of grains, but more are looking to use this as an opportunity to reduce land taxes!"

“But you know, in recent years, disasters have been frequent, and the farmers in Bordeaux are destitute. They simply cannot bear another drought.”

“I’ve been to Prussia, and the people there rely on potatoes to fight famine. Right now, we need potatoes too, the farmers in Bordeaux need potatoes!”

Joseph was somewhat moved. He hadn’t expected this lawyer to be so concerned about the suffering of the common people and willing to work towards improving their lives.

He nodded and said, “Yes, I am here to persuade everyone to plant potatoes.”

Vezinier appeared very anxious. “Your Highness, the plantation owners have formed an alliance. Oh, I also run a small vineyard myself. They’ve approached me as well. They said that unless the land tax is reduced, they will never plant potatoes.”

“You’ve come to persuade me to lower taxes?”

“No, Your Highness, the land tax cannot be reduced,” Vezinier said. “The nobility must fulfill their duties to the state!”

Joseph looked at him with interest. “Oh? Then what do you think should be done?”

Vezinier’s expression darkened. “Right now, the government must offer a subsidy to plant potatoes. Driven by profit, someone will surely be willing to plant them.”

Joseph thought to himself, as expected, Vezinier certainly embodies the compromise temperament of the Girondins.

He smiled and shook his head. “Mr. Vezinier, you should be aware of France’s financial situation. There is no such money available. Furthermore, it’s unnecessary. In just ten days at most, everyone will be fighting to plant potatoes.”

Vezinier forced an awkward smile. “Your Highness, you’re truly a jokester. Unless you lower the land tax, they will never...”

Joseph immediately said, “How about we make a bet?”

“A bet?”

“If within ten days, more than half of the plantation owners don’t voluntarily plant potatoes, I’ll do as you say and offer a subsidy for potatoes.”

Vezinier asked, “What if the opposite happens?”

“Then you’ll have to do something for me.”

Joseph knew that Vezinier was an excellent orator and had good administrative abilities. If he could “recruit” him as a “strongman,” it would save him a lot of trouble.

Vezinier hesitated for only half a second before extending his hand. “Alright, Your Highness, we’ll do it your way.”

Joseph high-fived him and then took his leave.

Perhaps it was the effect of the wine he drank in the evening, but once Joseph returned to his bedroom, he immediately fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, when he arrived at the trading hall of the Exchange Palace, he found that there were seven or eight fewer people in attendance than the previous day. Of course, these absent nobles had found various excuses and reported to Monslow.

Joseph didn’t mind. He immediately asked straightforwardly, “So, who is willing to sign the potato planting contract now?”

There was a moment of silence in the room. The only reason they showed up today was to give face to the Crown Prince, yet he was still talking about potatoes?

Vezinier immediately stood up. “Your Highness, I’m willing to plant 5 hectares.”

He was just a lawyer with some assets, and the land he owned was only that much.

Soon, a few plantation owners who were on good terms with Vezinier responded. “Your Highness, I can sign for 8 hectares.”

“I can plant 6 hectares.”

Joseph nodded in satisfaction and looked around the room. “Anyone else?”

The plantation owners cast dissatisfied glances at Vezinier and the others, but under the Crown Prince’s questioning, they had to at least make a token response to avoid offending him.

One person hesitantly spoke up, “I can plant 40 acres.”

One hectare is 100 French acres, meaning this was not even half a hectare.

Other nobles quickly followed suit. “Then I’ll plant 50 acres.”

“I’ll plant 40 acres.”

“I’ll plant 30 acres…”

Joseph smiled, watching these people trying to deal with him. Then suddenly, he raised his voice. “Oh, by the way, I’ve been so preoccupied with potatoes that I completely forgot something else.”

He signaled to Eymond, who immediately instructed someone to distribute a set of documents to the nobles present.

Joseph continued, “This is the ‘French Brewing Technology Association’ that I have planned, to facilitate the exchange of brewing technologies. On this paper are some of the new technologies currently held by the association.”

The plantation owners below were immediately filled with confusion. Why had the conversation suddenly shifted to brewing, and what was this technology association? However, as they began to flip through the documents, their eyes grew wider and wider.

Someone couldn’t help but exclaim, “A technology that reduces the brewing failure rate to negligible levels?! How is that possible?”

Another person said, “And this technology, it can make the wine taste less acidic, improving the quality exponentially!”

“My God, there’s even a method that extends the shelf life by more than ten times!”

The plantation owners immediately began to discuss excitedly, their voices growing louder.

Vezinier was equally shocked. He was familiar with winemaking himself, as he owned a wine business.

First of all, there’s no such thing as a perfect batch of wine. A brewing failure rate of below 10% is the hallmark of a top winemaker. A failure rate of 30% is still considered acceptable in most cases.

What was even more unbelievable was that there was actually a technology that could remove the acidic taste from wine.

The acidity level is a critical indicator of wine quality. Most wines, unless they’re high-end, have a slight acidic taste that can affect the flavor. Only higher-quality wines can be made without any noticeable acidity.

In other words, this technology could allow every batch of wine produced to reach high-end quality! And the price difference between regular quality and high-end wine is more than ten times!

Excitedly, someone stood up and raised their hand, asking Joseph, “Your esteemed Highness, are these technologies real?”

Joseph smiled and nodded. “Of course they’re real. They’ve already been patented at the Paris Patent Office, and it shouldn’t take long to get registered.”

An older plantation owner hesitated and said, “Your Highness, please forgive me for being direct. I’ve been in the winemaking business for decades and have never heard of such technologies. Could this be…”

Joseph looked at the nobles eagerly watching him and immediately stood up. “Does anyone here have a wine cellar nearby? I can demonstrate it for you on the spot.”

...

North of Bordeaux, Yarsen Wine Cellar.

Though it was winter, this place still held specially steamed and then dried grapes stored in the cellar, which could be used for winemaking.

Soon, craftsmen brought several barrels of crushed grapes and brewing water, setting them in front of Joseph.

He asked for a stove and large water barrels, signaling the plantation owners to step back.

Once Kessold had escorted everyone out, Joseph immediately asked Eymond to help fill the large pot with water, placing it on the stove to heat.

Once the water boiled, he mixed cold water with the hot water and poured it into a large wooden barrel, measuring the temperature with a thermometer until it reached exactly 65 degrees.

He then placed the small barrel containing the grape pulp into the large wooden barrel, starting the timer while constantly checking the temperature. Whenever the water temperature dropped, he would immediately add hot water to keep the pulp at a temperature above 60 degrees.

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