The Crown Prince of France - Chapter 112

Chapter 112: The Future of Industry

Joseph ran his fingers over the pattern on the teacup and looked at Mirabeau. "This will require purchasing a large batch of potatoes as 'seeds'," he said. "Currently, the government's finances can only provide 1 million francs, but we need a total of 5 million. I don't have that much money on hand at the moment, so I was hoping to borrow some from you."

Joseph knew that after Mirabeau's investment in the paper mill, he probably didn't have much money left, but Mirabeau had an extensive network and was friendly with many capital nobles, so he could help with making the necessary contacts.

"Oh, of course, you can count on me. I can offer shares in the paper mill or Paris Angel Company as collateral," Mirabeau replied.

"Your Highness, the only places where potatoes are available domestically are a few provinces like Alsace and Lorraine. Are you saying you plan to purchase them from such distant regions?" Mirabeau asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's the plan."

Mirabeau nodded at first. "Your Highness, I can help you figure out the money."

Since the tax bill incident, he and the Crown Prince had developed a kind of interest-based partnership, so naturally, he would do his part to help.

But then he furrowed his brow and continued, "However, what I’m about to say might upset you, but I feel it's my duty to warn you."

"Please, go ahead."

"With just about a month left before the wheat sowing season, and given the inefficiency of the government officials... You must understand that to purchase several million francs worth of potatoes, they’ll need at least three weeks. The remaining time simply isn’t enough for transport and sowing."

Joseph paused in surprise upon hearing this. He realized that he had overlooked the poor efficiency of the bureaucratic system.

After thinking for a moment, he nodded. "Thank you for the reminder, Count Mirabeau. Perhaps I’ll need to personally travel to Lorraine."

"With me keeping an eye on things, their actions will surely speed up."

"Also, I plan to visit Nancy while I'm there to investigate the possibility of setting up an industrial development zone."

"You have truly done so much for France," Mirabeau praised him, before his curiosity was piqued by a new term he'd heard earlier. "Your Highness, what exactly is this 'industrial development zone' you mentioned?"

Joseph set his teacup down and explained, "It's a designated area where the government provides support to attract people to set up workshops, thus promoting industrial development."

"For example, workshops in the industrial development zone can enjoy tax reductions, prohibitions on administrative interference with production, rewards for new technologies, and the elimination of guild systems, among other things."

"At the same time, the government will also build a wide range of supporting facilities in the zone. For instance, banks, schools, hospitals, and even apartments."

Mirabeau's eyes widened in astonishment. This was exactly the kind of business environment he had always dreamed of! Just the tax reduction alone would attract countless people to set up factories.

And the cursed guild system.

Currently in France, no matter what type of worker was hired, the relevant guild had to give its approval. What would have been simple jobs, tasks anyone could do, required the corresponding guild to charge membership fees for workers, while threatening the workshops on the other side.

As for the exploitation and harassment by government officials, it was also a headache for the workshop owners.

If these adverse effects could be eliminated, the profits and efficiency of the workshops would see significant improvements.

He immediately responded with excitement, "Your Highness, this idea of yours is truly brilliant! An industrial development zone is exactly what the French industry needs at this moment!"

He was suddenly a bit emotional. The French government had always prioritized agriculture, while industrial enterprises had been exploited and ignored. Only the young Crown Prince seemed to genuinely want to promote industrial development!

Mirabeau suddenly thought of something and looked at Joseph, surprised. "Your Highness, did you say you want to establish an industrial development zone in Nancy? Forgive my frankness, but the area is remote and lacks any real industry. Perhaps setting it up in Lyon would be a better choice."

Joseph nodded. From Mirabeau's perspective, his suggestion was entirely reasonable. While the Lorraine region had vast reserves of coal and iron ore, it hadn't been developed much yet. It wouldn't be until the 19th century and the French Industrial Revolution that Nancy, the capital of Lorraine, would become one of France's heavy industry centers.

"Count Mirabeau, what do you think is the foundation of industry?" Joseph asked.

Mirabeau replied without hesitation, "It should be the textile industry. Mining and shipbuilding are important too, but they don't have the same development potential as textiles."

Seeing that the Crown Prince had remained silent, he chuckled, "Your Highness, you’re not thinking of the brewing industry, are you?"

Joseph smiled and raised his teacup. "If industry is a plant, then textiles and shipbuilding are the stems and leaves above the ground, but only coal and iron form the roots beneath the earth."

He silently added to himself, of course, in the future, that would also include iron and petroleum, but that's still far off.

"Coal? Iron?" Mirabeau blinked. "But the trade volume of these two isn’t that large."

Joseph smiled. "Coal and iron together form the steam engine. This is the true foundation of industry!"

Mirabeau laughed. "Your Highness, you truly have a sense of humor. The steam engine? That thing is useless, expensive, and prone to breaking down."

"No, technology is always progressing," Joseph responded. "The old Newcomen steam engine could only pump water. Its efficiency was even lower than two hard-working children."

"But now, the steam engine can pump water from a mine 90 meters deep, something a human couldn’t do. I dare say, the performance of the steam engine will continue to improve by leaps and bounds. In the future, whoever controls the steam engine will control the initiative in industry."

Mirabeau seemed unconvinced.

Joseph continued, "Have you heard of the new automatic loom invented by the British?"

Mirabeau nodded. "Yes, Your Highness, but that's powered by waterwheels."

"That’s only temporary. In fact, the British are already researching using steam engines to replace waterwheels. Once they succeed, the efficiency of the textile industry will increase tenfold, even a hundredfold."

Mirabeau straightened up in his seat, suddenly looking more tense.

Joseph, however, began to outline even broader applications for the steam engine. "Besides textiles, the improvements that the steam engine can bring to forging and stamping are even more worthy of attention."

"The steam-powered stamping machines will be several times more powerful than the current waterwheel-powered stamping machines. In the future, they will be even larger, and the speed will be dozens of times faster. Most importantly, the precision will be greatly improved."

"If we have reliable steam-powered stamping machines, not to mention armor, bearings, and carriages, just using them to produce chandeliers, farm tools, and even knives and forks would dramatically reduce costs and greatly improve product quality. Though these items are small, together they can generate amazing trade revenue."

He then added with a serious tone, "And if another country masters steam engine technology first, we will face a very difficult situation."

In history, it was Britain that broke through the steam engine and sparked the Industrial Revolution, making the British Empire the empire on which the sun never set.

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