"Hmm, grilled lamb chops, beet truffle thick soup, roasted bread."
Alexei casually ordered a few dishes from the waiter beside him, then turned to Joseph and said, "I'm quite curious, what do you mean by 'business unrelated to politics'?"
"Bring me a cup of black tea, no milk, spices, or sugar."
Having dismissed the waiter, Joseph smiled and said, "For instance, engaging in some business. If you had your own trade in Paris, then the Empress would not recall you back to Russia for fear of your conduct—oh, please excuse my choice of words."
Business? Alexei blinked, sensing some logic in the proposal. No one would associate a busy merchant with a position in the line of succession to Saint Petersburg. It was indeed a good way to stay away from politics and to some extent shed the image of a wastrel.
In fact, that was exactly what Alexei's descendants did. To stay away from politics, they started doing business and eventually established Russia's largest sugar company.
However, Alexei immediately shook his head, "Thank you for your suggestion, Your Highness. But I know nothing about business, and every year the Empress has to subsidize me with tens of thousands of rubles. I don't want to lose even more of her money."
"No, I believe you will make money," Joseph said with a smile, "and significant amounts at that."
"Your Highness, if I may be so bold, this seems rather unlikely. I know my capabilities."
Joseph, sniffing the aroma from the teacup the waiter brought, glanced at the illegitimate child and said, "Actually, it is not as difficult as you think. All you need is a good partner."
"A partner?"
Joseph gestured with a small spoon towards himself: "For instance, me."
Alexei exclaimed in surprise, "You mean, go into business with you?"
Joseph nodded: "We could jointly invest in and establish a trade company, focused on trade between France and Russia."
His suggestion was not impulsive; he had long harbored such a plan.
In fact, France and Russia had already signed a trade agreement the year before last, but on one hand due to France's tight finances, and on the other because there were not many products of mutual interest between the two countries—other than wine and Enlightenment ideas, France had little else to offer Russia.
Likewise, Russia's main exports such as flax, oil, and timber did not see high demand in France.
This led to lukewarm trade between the two parties.
Yet, both countries were eager to substantially increase their trade volume with each other.
For Russia, there was an ongoing concern about being too reliant on trade with England and a desire to change the trade structure. For example, by increasing France's share in trade to reduce the risk of being manipulated by the British.
As for France, increasing trade volume with a large country like Russia would certainly greatly improve its financial situation.
But desire is just desire. Historically, until Napoleon came to power and Russia joined the Anti-French Alliance, trade between the two countries had not significantly improved.𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
This was the situation that Joseph wanted to change, and he had the means to do so.
Historically, France's demand for Russian goods wasn't high because France's textile industry was crushed by England. But now, under Joseph's guidance, France's textile industry would challenge England's dominance, and thus would need a large amount of textile raw materials, flax among them. As for cotton, wool, and the like, those would need to be sourced from North America and Australia later on.
At the same time, since England's flax supply was highly dependent on Russia—about eighty percent of its consumption—should France consume a large quantity of Russian flax, it would inevitably cause a flax shortage in England, subsequently leading to higher prices for British flax textiles.
It was a classic win-win situation.
On the other hand, France's industry would enter a period of explosive growth and would urgently need markets to sell its products. Russia, with a population of over thirty million, was an enormous market that definitely needed the participation of French products.
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Originally, Joseph had planned to wait for Talleyrand to make contact with the Russians and then push forward with the trade issue.
But upon meeting Alexei today, he felt this might be an even more suitable opportunity.
"You need not worry about management; we can hire professionals to run the company," Joseph said, "I'll provide some merchant ships as my share. These ships will fly the Russian flag, enjoy your 'armed neutrality' policy, and avoid British interference."
"And you could have someone in Russia buy up flax, grease, perhaps even iron, as your share."
"After these goods arrive in Marseille, they'll be loaded with French wine, textiles, and in the future possibly paper and machinery as well, and sent back to Crimea."
The so-called "armed neutrality declaration" referred to the Russian trade policy announced by Catherine II in 1780, the main content of which was "As a neutral country, Russian ships can freely navigate between ports and along the coasts of warring nations, unless they carry wartime contraband, in which case the belligerent nations must not impose restrictions."
This policy had been recognized by England. Thus, Alexei's "Russian ships" transporting the cargo could ensure normal trade regardless of any tensions between England and France.
Besides, Joseph had another card up his sleeve.
He had previously reviewed the Anglo-Russian trade agreement, which allowed Russian merchant ships to transport goods from the East to Europe unobstructed by the British fleet. The British had reckoned that Russia had little presence in the East and had readily agreed, a point Joseph planned to exploit through his trade company with the illegitimate child in the future.
Alexei pondered for a moment, then hesitated, "Your Highness, I must admit, your proposal is very sound."
"However, there are already quite a few people engaged in such trade between France and Russia, and I don't think we can be more competitive than them."
Joseph smiled and nodded; Alexei was indeed a smart man, not the frivolous young man he appeared to be. It seemed that partnering with him would not be disappointing.
"First of all, the current volume of Franco-Russian trade is far from sufficient."𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
"If I remember correctly, there are over three hundred merchant ships sailing from England to Riga every year. Yet only a tenth of that number sail from Lyon to the Black Sea."
"I tell you, France is going to start industrial reforms, and the demand for Russian goods will increase substantially, especially for flax. In that case, the existing merchant ships will be far from adequate."
Alexei nodded slightly, realizing the Crown Prince of France had insider information. With this in mind, the business indeed seemed viable.
Joseph leaned forward, lowering his voice, "Furthermore, I can offer you tariff advantages. I guarantee they will not be insignificant."
"Are you serious?"
"Of course."
Joseph had ample confidence to secure those tariff advantages in the Cabinet. He didn't even need to lower the tariffs; merely turning a blind eye to his trading firm would suffice.
Doing so would not only draw in the Russians but also reduce the cost of raw materials for the French textile industry, increasing its competitiveness.
At the same time, it would reduce trade ties between England and Russia, raising the cost of linen products for the British.
He continued, "Additionally, you can use your connections in Russia to secure cheaper commodities like flax and oils. By reducing costs at both ends, how could there not be a profit?"
Alexei was elated; if he could export to France with low tariffs, it would greatly reduce Russia's trade dependency on England. This had been a great task that the Empress had wanted to achieve for more than a decade without success! If he could credit his brother with this achievement, it would surely change the way his mother viewed his brother!
He clasped his hands together excitedly, "Your Highness, I find your proposal very feasible. I will do my best to lower the cost of goods."
Joseph smiled and bowed, "I am delighted to cooperate with you, Earl Bobrinsky."
The dishes Alexei ordered at the dinner table had long gone cold, yet he hadn't thought about eating them.
Joseph had a fresh hot dish brought up, signaling to the illegitimate son, "I think you should enjoy your dinner now."
After Alexei had finished eating, the two discussed some details of the trading company, effectively finalizing their partnership.
The reason Joseph bypassed the Russian government to establish a trading company was primarily to avoid lengthy trade negotiations. Negotiating efficiency in this era was very low, especially given the distance between France and Russia. If the negotiating representatives had differing opinions, consulting their respective governments could easily take more than two months.
So, he adopted this private approach to kick-start trade between the two countries. Once the trade volume grew and both sides developed market dependency, negotiating a trade agreement would be much easier.
Besides, this also indirectly allowed him to control some raw material imports, making the Capitalists somewhat more obedient.
Late at night, after ten o'clock, Alexei took his leave from Joseph but stood there gazing at his departing figure, a sense of unreality welling up in his heart.
What kind of a young man was this, who suddenly appeared before him, solved his dilemma with a trading company, and also presented Russia with a great gift?
He had not quite believed those rumors about the Crown Prince of France, such as overseeing police reforms that greatly improved security in Paris or planning the grand fashion week. He assumed officials handled everything and merely attributed their achievements to the Crown Prince.
But after meeting him tonight, Alexei was convinced that the rumors about the Crown Prince were true and that his eloquence and wisdom were even more remarkable than the tales suggested.
Alexei suddenly felt regret. If his brother Paul had this wisdom, he wouldn't have had to spend so many years away from home, numbing himself with alcohol and women, presenting himself as a useless dandy. Discover stories at freewebnovel.com
...
While Joseph and Alexei discussed the trading company, an auction was taking place in the grand hall of the fashion week.
The attendees were dignitaries from various countries, and many members of the Royal Family. Queen Mary, who had given a brief speech for fashion week, was also dragged by her niece to sit in the balcony on the second floor.
The auction items were mainly expensive dresses and luxury goods.
None of these could catch the Queen's eye; her mind was filled with the conversation she had with Louis XVI at noon.
It was after lunch when she casually mentioned her son's fiancée to her husband.
She had fully expected that her niece had won over the Crown Prince, but the King told her that after speaking with his son, neither Clementine nor Maria would satisfy him as a fiancée.
She looked at her lively and charming niece with some distress. Oh, God, how could Joseph not like her?
For a moment, she truly wanted to be like other kings and queens and simply inform her son that Clementine was to be his future bride. But she could not bear to see her son look disheartened or unhappy.
"Perhaps I should wait a little longer..." the Queen sighed to herself, "The Crown Prince and Clementine are still young; maybe if they spend more time together, he'll fall in love with his pretty and adorable cousin."
Just then, the auctioneer below announced in a melodious voice, "The next item up for auction is the exquisite 'Star's Wish' necklace. It was designed by a master designer..."
As the Queen was lost in thought, she saw Clementine suddenly stand up beside her, her blue eyes wide open and unblinking as she stared at the auction item, murmuring excitedly to herself, "It's the one he wore, no mistake, that's the one!"
The Queen smiled and shook her head. Little girls often couldn't resist the allure of beautiful jewelry; she herself had been just as excited when she saw jewelry she liked in her younger days.
However, she failed to notice that the necklace being auctioned was nearly identical to the one the Crown Prince wore in the portrait "Child of Divine Favor"!
As God is my witness, that necklace was definitely not Joseph's, and he had never even seen that necklace before.
It was all because Lady Lebrun, who had painted the portrait, accepted sponsorship from a jeweler who insisted on including his necklace in the painting. But honestly, this dazzling necklace, with its design of a galaxy fashioned out of numerous diamonds, indeed complemented Joseph's image perfectly.𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
After the auctioneer announced the reserve price of eighty thousand livres, Clementine indicated to her maid without hesitation, and the maid immediately raised her right hand.
Before the auctioneer had time to acknowledge the bid, a woman's voice came from a private box on the east side, "Ninety thousand."
Clementine immediately puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. Someone dared to compete with her for her cousin's necklace, and had even raised the bid by ten thousand livres in one go!
She signaled to the maid once more, and the maid raised her hand.
The auctioneer immediately gestured towards her, "The guest over here has bid ninety-one thousand livres."
It was the same voice again, "One hundred thousand."
The little girl on this side countered with an even higher bid.
And the woman in the east side private box calmly raised the bid to a round number, "One hundred and ten thousand."
Clementine became anxious, put her hands on her hips, and shouted indignantly, "One hundred and twenty thousand!"
Humph, thought she wouldn't raise by ten thousand?
The woman on the east side then confidently bid, "One hundred and forty thousand."
"You! You raised it again?" The little girl continued to shout, "One hundred and sixty thousand!"
"One hundred and eighty thousand."
"Two hundred thousand!" Clementine huffed, after stating her bid, she then turned to the maid and said, "Who is that person? Why are they crossing me like this?"
The maid leaned over the balcony railing of the second-floor box, her body half extended out, and finally through the gap in the curtain of the east side box, she saw a woman in a red dress, with long brown hair, and a pair of gentle brown eyes.
She immediately drew back, her hand covering her mouth in shock, and whispered in Clementine's ear, "Miss, it seems to be the Princess of the Two Sicilies."
"Ah—" Clementine bit her lip; if it was her, then she couldn't lose!
"Two hundred and fifty thousand!"
[Note 1]: Riga is a port in Sweden, and also a transit station for British-Russian trade. Riga's officials collected commissions on the trades between Britain and Russia.
[Note 2]: Since Russia gained control of Crimea, French-Russian trade had been able to pass through the Mediterranean, via the Ottoman-controlled Dardanelles Strait, to the Black Sea, and dock in Crimea to offload goods.
[Note 3]: Because Empress Catherine II really disliked her husband Peter III, who was extremely fond of Prussia (she had overthrown her husband in a coup to ascend to the throne), and she also did not favor her son Paul who resembled her husband.
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Throughout her reign, she had expressed her wish to depose Paul from his position as Crown Prince multiple times, preferring to pass the throne directly to her grandson. There were also ministers who supported the idea of replacing Paul with the illegitimate child Alexei as the Crown Prince.
In any case, right up until the second before Catherine II's death, Paul remained anxious about his position as heir.