The Crown Prince of France - Chapter 103

Chapter 103: "The Grain Task Force"

Joseph returned to his office, his mind still buzzing with ideas. He began recalling the presentations his mentor used to make to "persuade" clients, quickly grabbing a pen and writing on paper:

Title—Paris Fashion Week Planning Document.

Table of Contents—

• Outlook and Feasibility.

• Operating Methods.

• Detailed Project Plan. ...

• Profit Model. ...

The next morning, Éymond had someone bring the architectural layout of the Tuileries Palace from City Hall.

Joseph rubbed his sore, tired eyes—he had worked until after 2 a.m. the previous night and slept less than six hours—spreading out several blueprints. Immediately, he felt a rush of excitement and began marking off the event spaces.

"The East Hall faces the palace gates, and there are several very spacious rooms, making it perfect as the main venue.

"The South Hall, on the first floor, will be selected for spacious rooms to serve as dining and entertainment spaces. We can send some royal chefs over...

"The North Hall on the first floor will sell luxury items like jewelry. Hmm, we need to reserve a good spot for the Paris Angels...

"These rooms on the second floor will be arranged as a high-end hotel. Staff and reception personnel need to be recruited and trained in advance..."

Two middle-aged men knocked on the door and entered, bowing to Joseph. Seeing that he was busy, they tentatively asked, "Your Highness, do you need our assistance?"

They were the two newly appointed assistant directors of the Royal Industrial Planning Bureau, Joseph's second and third-in-command.

One had previously been a public speaker, while the other was a scholar with business experience and was very familiar with French industrial conditions, recommended by Bishop Brienne.

Joseph nodded and handed his planning notes to the taller man. "Perfect timing, Viscount Valéan, please help me take some notes.

"Mr. Sylvain, please hold down the blueprints."

The taller man looked at the blueprints, puzzled. "Your Highness, this seems to be the Tuileries Palace?"

"Yes."

"What are you planning to do with it?"

"Rescue Lyon's textile industry." Joseph pointed to the central square of the palace on the blueprint. "We need to build a large runway here, at least 50 meters long, with dense lighting. Every three hours, there will be a fashion show."

Valéan paused after writing down a few words, looking at the Crown Prince with a troubled expression. "Your Highness, the runway and fashion shows... are those..."

"The runway refers to..."

Several hours passed quickly, and after finishing the venue arrangements, Joseph was revising the planning document. Éymond glanced at his watch and leaned over. "Your Highness, the three people you requested will be here soon."

"Oh, have them come directly here," Joseph nodded, feeling like a machine running at full capacity.

Soon, three individuals—varying in height, weight, and appearance—arrived at the office and respectfully bowed to Joseph.

Joseph returned their bow and then handed the fashion week planning document to his two assistants. "Please sort this out and make two copies as soon as possible."

"Yes, Your Highness," the two assistants nodded and left the office.

Joseph turned to the three newcomers with a smile. "May I ask how long each of you has been serving the royal family?"

The three exchanged looks before answering in unison, "Fifteen years, Your Highness."

"Thirteen years."

"Over twenty years."

They had all been responsible for managing the royal family’s business interests.

Joseph knew very well that if he or the government bought the grain directly, it would quickly attract the attention of unscrupulous merchants and lead to skyrocketing prices.

So he needed someone to act as a "middleman," purchasing small amounts over multiple batches to avoid attracting attention. That’s why Éymond had selected three experienced, loyal businessmen.

Joseph smiled and gestured for them to sit. "Gentlemen, please have a seat. I must remind you that what you are about to do must remain strictly confidential. Do you understand?"

The three were about to sit when they immediately stood up again, replying in unison, "Yes, Your Highness. Please trust our loyalty!"

Joseph nodded. He trusted Éymond's judgment of people. He invited them to sit again and then said, "From now on, you are the owners of six grain stores. Each of you will manage two stores. You can choose the locations and staff yourselves.

"Your only task will be to buy as much grain as possible."

"Buy grain?" an elderly man asked. "Your Highness, when you say 'as much as possible,' how much are we talking about?"

Joseph replied, "As long as the funds I give you haven’t been exhausted and it doesn’t cause a market fluctuation, keep buying."

The three men exchanged stunned glances, and the elderly man asked again, "Your Highness, should we sell any?"

"You may sell a small amount, just enough to avoid suspicion."

Although they didn’t fully understand the reasoning, they all bowed deeply. "Yes, Your Highness, we will comply."

"Go ahead and prepare the stores and warehouses. The initial fund will be about 300,000 livres for each of you. Someone will deliver it to you in a few days."

The three men gasped in surprise. Three hundred thousand livres each, totaling 900,000!

What could the Crown Prince want with so much grain?

In reality, they had no idea that the 900,000 livres was just the beginning. According to Joseph’s plan, tens of millions of livres' worth of grain were to be bought within the next six months.

"I’ll reiterate," Joseph said, scanning the three of them with a serious expression. "Please avoid drawing attention, and under no circumstances let it cause market fluctuations. What you are doing is extremely important. You must report to me weekly on the status of the grain purchases."

"Yes, Your Highness."

After giving them detailed instructions on how to procure the grain, the three took their leave. Joseph walked to the window, opened it, and stretched his aching back while inhaling the winter chill. He immediately smelled the unpleasant stench wafting from the streets.

He looked up and saw someone squatting in the corner across the street, relieving themselves. His brows furrowed.

Previously, Paris’s dirtiness and chaos only affected his mood, but once Fashion Week started, this would hurt the economy!

Something had to be done to clean up the city.

This would be a massive undertaking... He sighed, thought for a moment, and decided to start with the issue of public urination.

Joseph summoned Éymond and instructed, "Please send someone to the City Hall to ask the Chamber of Commerce..."

At first, he had considered asking the president of the Chamber of Commerce, the de facto mayor, to handle the matter, but then he realized the man’s execution ability might not be sufficient. So he changed his mind. "Better have Viscount Besançon handle this. I have an important matter I need him to address."

"Yes, Your Highness."

An hour later, the police commissioner was seated across from Joseph.

"Your Highness, are you asking the police to supervise people relieving themselves in public?"

"Yes, only the police can handle this issue."

"But, where should these people... um... relieve themselves?"

To be honest, even Besançon himself often did so in the streets, so he could relate.

"Build public restrooms," Joseph replied.

"Public restrooms? What are those..."

Joseph facepalmed. It was no wonder Paris was so dirty. He explained, "They’re toilets built on the streets, available for anyone to use, so people won’t have to do it on the streets..."

Besançon’s eyes widened in realization. "Ah! Why didn’t I think of that? Your Highness, you are truly the embodiment of wisdom!"

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