The Crown Prince of France - Chapter 88

Chapter 88: Changing Allegiances

When Joseph saw Mirabeau fall into deep thought, he knew the groundwork had been laid, so he got to the point: “Let’s talk about the tax bill.”

Mirabeau immediately became alert upon hearing this: “Your Highness, you know, the nobility is united in their stance on the bill.”

Joseph replied seriously: “Actually, on this matter, you have been used by the old nobility!”

Mirabeau smiled and waved his hand: “Your Highness, how could that be?”

Joseph casually picked up a small stick nearby used for removing impurities from the paper pulp and said: “May I ask, how much land do you own?”

“Ah?” Mirabeau was a little surprised, but still answered, “I have more than ten hectares in Paris, and forty hectares in Reims.”

Joseph nodded: “Then, do you know how much land the Duke of Orléans owns?”

“Ah, I’m not sure of the specifics, but at least four to five thousand hectares, I suppose.”

“And what about estates?”

“Probably more than ten estates?”

“That’s it. The core of the tax bill is the land tax.”

Joseph raised the small stick in his hand: “For example, this is the scale of land you own, and the land tax barely affects you.”

He then pointed toward a paper-drying rack pillar in front of them, which was over two people tall and as thick as a child’s waist: “And that is the land scale of old nobility like the Duke of Orléans. The land tax is mostly paid by them. This is why they strongly oppose the tax bill.”

“But capital nobility like you are also caught up in their struggle, fighting against the bill and expending great effort, only to protect their own interests.”

Mirabeau paused for a moment. He knew the Crown Prince’s words were true, but he immediately retorted: “Stamp duty, the bill also adds a stamp duty, which will greatly affect industry and commerce.”

Stamp duty, as mentioned, is the tax levied on contracts or documents.

Joseph smiled: “You are one of the leaders of the high nobility meetings, so you must have seen the text of the bill. The stamp duty rate is very low. In fact, the primary role of the stamp duty is to have the government act as a notary for the contracts.”

When the bill was last revised, he had reduced the stamp duty rate precisely to win over the capital nobility.

Dupont, seeing that Mirabeau was still hesitant, couldn’t help but say: “Count Mirabeau, it’s clear that the tax bill would be beneficial to the country’s finances, and there is no reason for us to oppose it.”

“Moreover, His Highness has promised that once the bill is passed, he will restart negotiations for the Eden Treaty and raise tariffs significantly.”

Dupont was staunchly opposed to the Eden Treaty. So, when Joseph had told him that the treaty could be revised, he immediately reached an agreement with the Crown Prince.

Though he lacked political power, he could influence capital nobility like Mirabeau, and thus facilitated this meeting.

Mirabeau immediately turned to Joseph: “Are you sure the British will accept it?”

Joseph nodded: “I’ve already spoken with the British Ambassador. France’s industrial goods tariffs will rise to 25%, while British alcohol tariffs will drop to below 10%.”

Mirabeau’s pupils contracted: “That’s impossible! How did you convince the British?”

“That’s something we can talk about later, but I can assure you the new treaty will definitely be signed. Of course, if you are not at ease, you can check with the British yourself.”

As a heavyweight in the political world, Mirabeau certainly had his own channels to get information from Britain.

Mirabeau began to waver.

He was well aware that with the current level of tariffs, France’s industry would collapse within two years.

By then, his own enterprises would surely be affected as well.

If he could really use a tax bill that didn’t affect him much in exchange for a renegotiated Eden Treaty, oh, and the implementation of the Company Law, Patent Law, and other such measures that the Crown Prince mentioned earlier, it would definitely be a great deal!

He bowed slightly to Joseph: “Your Highness, this matter will involve many people. I need to return and discuss it with Viscount Dico, Viscount Pellier, and the others.”

These people he mentioned were the representatives of the capital nobility in the high nobility meetings. Based on the conditions the Crown Prince had just mentioned, he felt confident he could persuade them to change their stance.

“Of course. I look forward to your reply.”

Joseph smiled and nodded, then raised his hand to gesture toward the nearby paper pulp pool: “Now that the main topic is done, we can finally talk about paper-making.”

Mirabeau was momentarily confused: “You mean, paper-making?”

“Yes,” Joseph said, “I mentioned it to you when you first came here.”

“But…”

Joseph led him to the huge “boilers” and spoke to the workers standing by: “Please tell Count Mirabeau what is being boiled in this pot.”

The worker immediately lowered his head respectfully: “It’s wood, sir.”

“Wood?” Mirabeau looked at Joseph in surprise, “Didn’t you say we were making paper?”

Joseph nodded: “This is the first step of paper-making. Once the wood is boiled down, we can make paper. Of course, I’m using a new technique I’ve created.”

Mirabeau couldn’t believe it: “You can make paper from wood?!”

He had some knowledge of paper-making, and typically, the raw materials used for paper were rags, flax, and sometimes bark fibers.

“Yes, willow and pine.” Joseph gestured outside the workshop, “It was just cut this morning.”

He then turned to the worker beside him: “How long has this pot been boiling?”

The worker checked his watch: “Six and a half hours, sir.”

“It should be about ready…” Joseph wasn’t entirely sure, as he had only seen the process of wood paper-making in documentaries. He then instructed the workers, “Please pour out the pulp and filter and bleach it. Oh, just use the old method.”

“Yes, sir.”

Seven or eight workers gathered around, lifting the large boiling pot onto a wooden rack, opening the lid, and pouring the boiling yellow liquid into a rectangular stone trough.

Mirabeau stared in astonishment at the liquid, unable to believe that wood could be boiled into this state.

The workers began to remove the remaining impurities from the wood pulp using various tools, and someone carefully brought a small bottle of chlorine bleach, slowly dripping it into the stone trough while stirring continuously.

Next, the workers added a large amount of water to the pulp pool, stirring, filtering, and going through a series of complex procedures that took more than half an hour.

Before the pulp had completely cooled down, another batch of workers surrounded it with square “screens,” carefully soaking the screen’s base in the pulp and gently shaking it as they lifted it.

When Mirabeau saw the thin layer of “membrane” on the bottom of the screen, his heart skipped a beat—if this method could indeed make paper, it would be a revolutionary technology!

Compared to the traditional paper-making materials like rags and flax, wood was practically free, and the cost of paper would drop dramatically.

This also meant that this new paper-making technology would dominate the European paper market!

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