The Crown Prince of France - Chapter 64

Chapter 64: The Eden Treaty

For the first task, Hartley had already begun preparations long ago. The current instructions from London were merely to dispatch more personnel to investigate the political tendencies of the Crown Prince of France.

Hartley deduced from the Crown Prince’s opposition to naval expansion that he was at least not openly hostile toward Britain. Thus, establishing relations with him could be arranged without delay.

It was said that the Crown Prince of France was also a highly capable mathematician. Hartley quickly decided to send a scholar to approach him.

The second task, however, was more troublesome.

Since Prussia’s withdrawal from the Netherlands, their interactions with France had been minimal.

After much deliberation, Hartley found no substantial leverage to exploit beyond fabricating rumors or discrediting the French. For now, he could only wait patiently for a better opportunity.

Securing the confidential letter, Hartley immediately convened a meeting with his subordinates, issuing detailed instructions based on its contents.

...

Early in the morning, Joseph received an esteemed guest.

His teacher for a day—“The Prince of Mathematics,” Lagrange.

In truth, Lagrange came to the Palace of Versailles every two days to give lessons. However, Joseph had been preoccupied with various matters recently, and the two had not crossed paths for quite some time.

After exchanging pleasantries, the elderly mathematician pushed an elegantly crafted invitation toward Joseph and earnestly urged him to attend an academic conference two days later.

Joseph had already declined two invitations from the French Academy of Sciences due to a lack of time.

Half a month ago, Lagrange had compiled and published an extended version of Rolle's theorem proposed by Joseph. This had garnered Joseph some recognition within France's mathematical circles.

At the same time, the Academy of Sciences hoped to leverage the Crown Prince’s presence to enhance its influence, prompting them to dispatch a heavyweight figure like Lagrange to extend the invitation personally.

Since his teacher had made the effort, Joseph felt it inappropriate to refuse again and promised to attend.

The next day, in the lavish villa of Madame Josna in the Saint-Germain District of Paris, dozens of mathematicians and physicists rose to greet His Highness, the Crown Prince.

In this era, the boundaries between physics and mathematics were not sharply defined, and physicists often mingled with mathematicians.

An official from the Academy of Sciences gave an enthusiastic speech, followed by a grand introduction of the Crown Prince, before formally opening the conference.

One by one, attendees took the stage to deliver presentations, mostly on the cutting-edge mathematical topics of the time. The atmosphere was serious and academic.

After more than an hour, the meeting transitioned into a free discussion session. Servants began bringing in an array of delicacies, filling the room with the aroma of refreshments.

The once solemn gathering morphed into something resembling a mathematical salon, with lively conversations and laughter echoing through the hall.

Joseph initially planned to leave at this point but was intercepted by the hostess, Madame Josna, who graciously served him premium tea and insisted he take a central seat. Her pride at hosting the Crown Prince was evident.

Resigned, Joseph sat beside Lagrange, inhaling the soothing scent of the tea while listening to an elderly white-haired scholar on his left describe a proposed derivation method for a discrete probability distribution.

When the elderly scholar finished, a round of discussions broke out. Joseph discerned a vague resemblance to Poisson’s distribution in the presentation, though it was still far from a complete model. He mused... Poisson might not even have been born yet.

Next, Lagrange stood with a manuscript in hand, presenting his hypotheses and ideas regarding the connections between functions and their derivatives. Following his in-depth discussions with Joseph on Rolle's theorem, Lagrange had made considerable progress in this area.

The audience lauded him with high praise, engaging in a fervent discussion afterward.

Subsequently, a few other scholars spoke. While their presentations lacked the depth of the previous two, their ideas were clever and their perspectives novel, contributing substantial academic value.

At that moment, a young scholar in a dark gray jacket cleared his throat to capture the room’s attention and launched into a discourse on the negative impact of Protestantism on science.

Joseph was slightly taken aback. He quietly inquired with Lagrange and confirmed that the man was not a clergyman but an assistant professor of physics at the University of Paris.

When the young professor finished, to Joseph’s surprise, his speech was met with rounds of applause. Most attendees—aside from a few figures like Lagrange—expressed enthusiastic agreement or support.

From that point, the discussion took a decidedly contentious turn.

A short and stout middle-aged man passionately denounced the rampant theft of French scientific and technological achievements by British industrial spies, claiming these actions cost France millions of livres annually.

Joseph frowned slightly. In this era, with no patent laws, technological espionage between Britain and France was common. However, contrary to the stout man’s claims, France was more frequently the beneficiary of stolen British technology. Still, such topics seemed inappropriate for an academic conference.

Yet the others did not share Joseph’s reservations, and the room erupted in a flurry of criticisms and insults directed at the British.

A brown-haired young man seated slightly behind Joseph excitedly recounted France’s illustrious history in academia, condemning British plagiarism point by point before fiercely proclaiming his disdain for British scholars.

Someone shouted passionately:

“Thus, the British will never surpass France in the world of science!”

“Indeed! Look at their foolish papers—claiming light to be a wave, hah!”

“They constantly produce laughable theories and take pride in them.”

“Only France can lead the advancement of science! It is the will of the Lord!”

At the time, French academia was steeped in pride. Combined with the longstanding animosity between Britain and France, ridiculing the British had become a form of political correctness.

“Has Britain ever produced a great scholar? Never!” the brown-haired young man exclaimed, gesturing emphatically.

Then, turning toward Joseph as if seeking validation, he asked, “Your Highness, wouldn’t you agree?”

Joseph sighed, shook his head slightly, and replied softly, “They have Newton.”

The room fell silent. Dozens of eyes turned to Joseph in disbelief that the Crown Prince would defend the British.

Joseph, sensing the moment, decided to voice his thoughts. The earlier atmosphere and rhetoric had left him deeply unsettled. He stood and addressed the assembly:

“In truth, Britain has many commendable contributions to science.

“Beyond Newton, I believe everyone here is familiar with Taylor, whose series we often use to calculate trajectories.

“There’s also Maclaurin’s Constructive Geometry.

“Furthermore, Watt’s steam engine may prove to have even more profound effects. In the textile industry, all of France is already feeling its impact.

“Speaking of textiles, a British inventor recently developed an automated loom...”

A sharp-eyed, big-nosed man muttered, “Cartwright.”

“Yes, Cartwright,” Joseph nodded. “If this loom is combined with the steam engine, it will revolutionize the global textile industry.

“France undoubtedly boasts numerous outstanding scholars and remarkable academic achievements, but we must also recognize that, in many areas, the British have already forged ahead...”

Joseph’s intention was to alert the French scholars present to the imminent Industrial Revolution and the impending technological explosion.

Steam engines and textile technologies were pivotal directions that would underpin the Industrial Revolution.

Dwelling solely on past academic glories or envying British advancements would only lead to defeat in the race for industrial supremacy.

When he finished, the room fell into an uneasy silence. No one spoke, their pride clashing with the harsh reality Joseph had laid bare.

The big-nosed middle-aged man approached Joseph and whispered, “Your Highness, that was brilliantly stated! I hadn’t expected you to be so well-informed about Britain.”

Joseph acknowledged him with a polite nod and smile.

The man continued, “Years ago, I conducted in-depth studies of British industries and technologies while negotiating Anglo-French trade agreements. As you said, Britain has achieved a significant technological lead in many areas. Sadly, there are too few in France with your insight—most remain lost in their arrogance...”

“Trade agreements?” Joseph turned to him. “May I ask your name?”

“Ah, forgive my lack of manners in my excitement. My name is Pierre DuPont.”

The name sounded exceedingly familiar. Joseph immediately asked, “Did you participate in the negotiations for American independence and run a company in the chemical industry?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” DuPont replied, startled. “You’ve heard of me?”

Joseph nodded to himself. So it was him—the historically renowned industrialist DuPont. Unexpectedly, they had crossed paths here.

“I’ve heard of you,” Joseph said with a faint smile.

The two delved into a discussion on British industrial technology, eventually steering the conversation toward Anglo-French trade negotiations.

“Your Highness, ever since Count Vergennes passed away, our negotiations with the British have stagnated... The single-tax plan has also failed to materialize,” DuPont said worriedly. “As you know, the negotiations remain unfinished, and the recently signed Eden Treaty is highly disadvantageous to France.”

The Eden Treaty he referred to was the trade agreement signed last year between Britain and France, which imposed a series of tariff reductions. France lowered its tariffs on British industrial goods, while Britain reduced tariffs on French wines and some agricultural products.

The result was catastrophic for France—its industries, deprived of tariff protections, were overwhelmed by British goods, which held a technological edge. Meanwhile, the increased exports of French wine and agricultural products fell far short of compensating for the massive losses in industry.

Joseph nodded gravely. “That treaty was indeed poorly conceived. It has inflicted disastrous damage on France’s industries.”

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