Life of Being a Crown Prince in France - Chapter 159

Chapter 159: Chapter 145 The Bus Carriage and the New Shock Absorption System

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Talleyrand immediately showed a look of surprise, “I will follow Your Highness’s orders in all respects.”

Joseph nodded, “I hope you can serve as a diplomatic advisor and go on a mission to the United States.”

“Good, good, I am willing to go! Thank you, Your Highness!” Talleyrand hadn’t expected that today, in addition to gaining the Queen’s forgiveness, he would also receive this unexpected reward.

At this time in France, after the dissolution of the “Society of Jesus,” the Church had been completely transformed into the “Ministry of Education” and “Civil Administration,” in addition to some relief work. Although it possessed significant wealth, it no longer had any real power.

Therefore, the priests were all sharpening their heads to get a job in the government, which was considered truly making one’s mark. Among them, Archbishop Brienne was a standout.

And the fact that Joseph could offer Talleyrand a position with real power was a great promotion indeed.

Of course, Joseph also valued his diplomatic talents and just happened to need someone in diplomacy to replace Vilran after his downfall.

He gestured for Talleyrand to continue walking, “I need you to make a trip to the United States as soon as possible to join them in fighting against the Barbary pirates.

“Of course, this will require them to pay a certain fee.”

Talleyrand instantly understood why the Crown Prince had said earlier that “fighting pirates would only make money.”

Joseph continued, “They are now paying over a million livres annually in tribute to the pirates. ”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Talleyrand hurriedly said, “about 220,000 US dollars.”

At that time, the US dollar was pegged to gold coins, with 1 US dollar being worth about 5 livres.

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Joseph nodded, “Add to that the ransom for the crew of their merchant ships that have been kidnapped.”

Talleyrand said, “It is said that last year they paid over 130,000 US dollars to ransom captured sailors.”

“That’s a total of over 1.7 million livres,” Joseph smacked his lips, “let them pay one-third, 600,000 livres annually, as the fee for the French Navy’s assistance in combating the pirates.”

Talleyrand’s eyes twitched; wasn’t the Crown Prince going to eradicate the pirates? How had it suddenly turned into assisting the Americans?

But he immediately displayed the quality of a diplomat, nodding seriously, “This amount is very reasonable, Your Highness.”

“Furthermore…

Joseph truly wanted to recover the tens of millions of livres loaned to the Americans during Louis XVI’s support of the American War for Independence, but that debt had an agreement, and the payment deadline was far from due. The Americans, with French loans and materials, as well as support from the French military, had driven off the British. However, after their independence, they turned around and flirted with the British, greatly undermining France’s strategy to weaken England.

Remembering his father’s extravagant generosity, Joseph felt a sense of frustration.

He pondered for a moment before saying, “Let the Americans return the tens of thousands of flintlock guns they were given that year. That batch of goods did not have an agreement, and we have the right to demand it back. Right, they must also bring the matching gunpowder and lead bullets.”

The firearms supplied to the Americans at that time were the latest model, the Charleville 1763 type. This batch of guns also had some value.

Talleyrand’s eyes twitched again; the Crown Prince should have gone into the lending business—he certainly could have made a fortune.

Joseph continued to instruct, “Let the Americans directly transport this batch of guns to Russia. They are to bear the shipping costs.”

“Ah? To Russia?”

Joseph nodded, “You will also go to Russia with the guns. I will send another senior diplomat to present a note to their Empress, indicating that we can join forces against the Ottoman Empire. You will then assist with the diplomatic work, striving for Russia’s support for our actions in the Mediterranean area.

“Oh, those guns are to demonstrate our sincerity in supporting Russia’s war against the Ottoman Empire. Of course, the Empress could express her gratitude with a few million pounds of potatoes. Russia will cover the shipping costs.”

The Russo-Turkish War? The Mediterranean? Potatoes? Even with Talleyrand’s exceptional intelligence, it took him a few seconds to clarify the connections between these elements, and he looked at the Crown Prince with eyes filled with shock.

This series of maneuvers tied together unrelated global events to serve as aid without spending a single “Gold Coin”, thereby pleasing the Russians.

What he found even more unbelievable was that, judging by the tone of the Crown Prince, all these matters of state would be carried out according to his wishes.

The Crown Prince had such great influence in the Cabinet?!

He hastened to bow and said, “Yes, Your Highness, I understand what to do.”

Joseph smiled again and said, “If you can prove your abilities during this diplomatic mission, I’ll consider promoting you to a more suitable position.”

Talleyrand was so moved that he scrambled to find all the words he could to assure he would remain loyal to His Highness and do his utmost to fulfill His Highness’s commands.

…

In a carriage-making workshop in Paris, Joseph pointed at a carriage, turned upside-down and still in production, and told the craftsmen beside him, “Just leave one spring here; remove the others.”

A middle-aged craftsman immediately responded nervously in a low voice, “Your, Your Highness, a luxury carriage must have good shock absorption. If we use only two springs…”

Joseph smiled and said, “No problem, we’ll switch to leaf springs.”

The middle-aged craftsman said with a worried frown, “Your Highness, leaf springs are for common carriages. They have poor shock absorption.”

“Are you talking about those leaf springs?” Joseph gestured towards a black carriage nearby being fitted with two palm-wide, almost two-meter-long steel bars under the carriage for shock absorption.

The craftsmen all nodded in agreement.

Joseph took up a pen and paper, sketching and explaining, “Those leaf springs are too primitive.

“Like this, stack four steel bars of different lengths, fix them together, and then place the axle on top of the middle of the steel bars.

“Add a set of such steel bars to each wheel. Oh, use medium-carbon steel… ah, one with moderate hardness and toughness. You’ll have to try a few varieties before deciding which to use.”

The youngest craftsman showed an expression of sudden realization: “Right! If one steel bar isn’t enough, use four. If two sets aren’t enough, use four sets. That way, we can achieve a much better shock absorption effect!”

The aforementioned middle-aged craftsman added, “We always used leaf springs to support the carriage but never thought to apply them directly to the wheels. This way, when the road surface is uneven on both sides, the wheels can lift to different heights, reducing the tilt of the carriage.”

Seeing that the craftsmen seemed to grasp the principle, Joseph then instructed, “Please expedite the production of the entire leaf spring system. By next week, before Paris Fashion Week, we must use these leaf springs for shock absorption on public carriages.”

The carriages were basically built; switching from coil springs to leaf springs should be feasible within a little over a week’s time.

Joseph added, “As long as it doesn’t delay the public carriages, you’ll earn two extra months’ wages.”

The craftsmen became excited at once, each of them patting their chests to guarantee the carriages would be manufactured on time.

After Joseph thought of this business opportunity with the carriages a few days ago, he immediately spent over a hundred thousand livres to acquire a famous carriage company in Paris.

The funds came from those allocated for building a firearms factory—Talleyrand, to thank King Louis XVI for supporting his promotion to Archbishop, had donated 200 thousand livres to the King for the factory. Thus, the funds initially provided by Louis XVI were “diverted” by Joseph.