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Chapter 199: The Development of Industry and Finance
🕑 Added 2025-01-22 20:57:28 +0000 UTCChapter 199: The Development of Industry and Finance
Aymon then presented the report sent by officials from Marseille. Joseph unfolded the report and, after reading just a few lines, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
The report stated that the King of Spain had sent a staggering 1.8 million livres worth of grain, and the quality was quite good. Considering that the drought had only slightly impacted Spain, this gesture showed tremendous sincerity on Carlos III's part. The fact that he managed to procure such a large amount of grain as a gift, despite the hardships, was truly impressive.
Two days later, Carlos III's envoy arrived in Paris. After paying respects to Louis XVI and the Queen, he rushed to meet Joseph. After the usual formalities, the envoy requested that everyone else leave the room before presenting a personal letter from Carlos III to Joseph with great reverence.
"Your Highness, the King wishes to express his deepest gratitude," the envoy began, his expression somewhat embarrassed. "You have helped maintain the purity of the royal bloodline and... ah, kept Prince Antonio's secret. The King also heard of the hailstorm disaster that recently struck France, so he sent this grain as a token of his concern."
Joseph nodded inwardly, appreciating the tactfulness of Carlos III. The King of Spain was indeed a rare wise ruler, handling matters with such finesse. Unfortunately, the old king was in his twilight years and wouldn't be around for much longer. Otherwise, Spain could have provided even more support to France.
The envoy continued, "As for the Princess, the King has arranged for someone to keep a close watch on her, so you can rest assured."
As Joseph had anticipated, Carlos III was furious when he learned that Louisa had an affair with a lover right in front of his son and the French Prince. The King immediately forbade the Princess from leaving the palace and assigned lady-in-waiting to monitor her around the clock. If not for Spain being a staunchly Catholic country, where divorce was nearly impossible, the King would likely have ordered his son to divorce her.
Although the Spanish nobility didn't know the full extent of Louisa's misdeeds, they clearly saw that the King no longer favored her, prompting many to distance themselves from her—especially the high-ranking officials.
Previously, due to Carlos III's poor health, many state affairs had been handed over to Antonio, who, being obsessed with machinery and hunting, delegated these tasks to Louisa. But now, Spanish officials would rather take documents to Antonio's workshop and force him to handle them than let Louisa get involved.
Of course, given Antonio's submissive nature, the restrictions on Louisa would likely weaken after Carlos III passed away. However, this incident had severely diminished her political power, making it unlikely that she would ever wield absolute authority in Spain again.
…
A sleek "Gem" model carriage sped past Mirabeau, kicking up dust that covered his face. He frowned and took the handkerchief offered by his servant, wiping his face and clothes as he silently shook his head. Despite the proliferation of rail buses in Paris, with five intersecting lines connecting various parts of the city, many nobles still preferred riding in carriages, finding it beneath them to share a vehicle with commoners.
In reality, even when carrying over twenty passengers, the rail buses were faster than ordinary carriages. However, capitalists like Mirabeau scoffed at such attitudes.
He thought to himself: Nobility should derive their status from their wealth, abilities, and efforts, not from who they share a carriage with. All citizens should be equal. An incompetent or morally corrupt nobleman is no better than a smart and hardworking commoner. What gives them the right to consider themselves superior by birth?
Although many of Rousseau's ideas were nonsensical, his views on equality were spot on. Those people really ought to read his books…
But Mirabeau quickly shook his head, dismissing the idea. Rousseau's ideas were too dangerous, and most nobles lacked the discernment to understand them properly. Who knew what kind of harmful influence they might absorb from his writings?
The sound of a clear bell snapped Mirabeau out of his thoughts. He straightened his collar and stepped onto a rail bus shaped like a fat cigar.
Seeing his fine clothes, the commoners on the bus quickly stood up to offer him a seat and kept a respectful distance. Mirabeau didn't hesitate, seating himself in the most comfortable spot and accepting today's copy of The Paris Gazette from his servant.
The bus hadn't traveled far before Mirabeau smelled a foul stench through the window. He frowned and looked outside, seeing several black, highly decomposed corpses hanging from the street lamps—the nauseating smell was coming from them.
He didn't need to ask to know that these were the bodies of Barbary pirates and the murderer of Necker, Boisrondard, who had been hanged recently.
Mirabeau gestured for his servant to close the window and muttered under his breath, "He deserved to die, but hanging a former banker alongside pirates seems a bit excessive..."
He then turned his attention to his newspaper. The headline on the front page made his eyes widen—Second President of the Banking Guild, Marquis Ludo, Shot and Severely Injured; Attacker Captured on the Spot.
Mirabeau quickly read the details: a man named Ailonk had broken into the Marquis's estate at night and shot him in the thigh with a pistol.
Ailonk? As a businessman, Mirabeau was well acquainted with the banking world and knew that this man was Necker's butler. It was likely that Ludo Marquis was involved in Necker's death.
Mirabeau sighed, feeling a pang of sympathy. "Ailonk must have been a very loyal servant…"
Soon, the bus arrived at the gates of the University of Paris. Mirabeau disembarked with his servant and guards, only to be greeted by a large group of university officials, who hurried forward to greet him with great respect.
Now a high-ranking minister of industry, with the King's ear, Mirabeau was treated with the utmost deference. The university leaders surrounded him like stars around the moon, escorting him to the main building with "Sorbonne" carved above the entrance. The area was festooned with ribbons, the band played, and in front of the doors, a wooden sign bore the gold-lettered title: French Standards Committee Metric System Launch Conference.
Journalists loitering outside recognized Mirabeau and immediately swarmed him, shouting questions. Mirabeau, shielded by his guards, pushed through the crowd and entered the grand hall on the first floor, where he recognized many familiar faces.
It was a gathering of luminaries; nearly every notable French scholar was present, as well as many foreign academics. Alongside them were government officials related to industrial development, led by Mirabeau himself, and representatives from the Paris City Hall. The grand hall was so packed that there was hardly any room to move.
After exchanging greetings with several people, Mirabeau finally managed to take a seat in the front row, letting out a sigh of relief. He glanced at his watch and, seeing that there was still some time before the conference began, turned to the thin, dark-browed, long-nosed man beside him and said, "Dear Sylvain, how are things in Nancy?"
The man, Jean Sylvain Bailly, gave a weary smile. "You know, asking me to take on such a high position was quite a challenge. I've been working non-stop for two months and have only managed to complete a third of the railway from Nancy to the mines. I'm exhausted. The good news is that we've discovered a large coal mine on the western side of the mountains, with a shallow coal seam. It's producing tens of thousands of pounds of coal daily, and production is still increasing."
"You've done very well," Mirabeau replied. "The area is remote, and funding is tight. Laying the tracks won't be easy."
Jean Sylvain Bailly, a scholar who now served as Assistant Minister of Industry, was recommended by Mirabeau. Though he had expected some resistance to the recommendation, the Prince had immediately approved it, seemingly appreciating Bailly's talents.
Joseph indeed remembered Bailly, a key figure of the Feuillant faction with solid administrative abilities and a background in science, making him well-suited for an industrial role.
Bailly continued, "I'll try to speed things up, but perhaps you could send me more British technicians. I have to admit, they lay tracks much faster. Once this railway is finished, production at the United Steam Engine Company will increase significantly. That British engineer is always complaining about the lack of pig iron, and there's plenty of iron ore in the mines."
Mirabeau nodded. Given the severe drought in France, steam engines—used as pumps—were crucial for ensuring agricultural output, and the Prince had repeatedly emphasized the need to boost production.
"I'll see what I can do to get some pig iron for the steam engine factory. A lot of crude iron has been arriving on Russian merchant ships lately, so I'll try to secure some."
Russian iron ore was of much higher quality than French ore, though transportation costs were steep. To solve the iron shortage, France would need to accelerate its exploration of domestic iron mines and improve smelting techniques.
Mirabeau added, "Once the tracks in Nancy are finished, you'll need to head to Saint-Étienne."
Bailly looked surprised. "You mean for the new industrial development zone?"
"Yes, the Prince has already asked me to start preparing a plan."
"But that will require a lot of funding, right?"
Mirabeau smiled slightly. "Have you heard about the National Bank issuing banknotes?"
"Of course. Half of last month's salary was paid in banknotes," Bailly replied, his tone tinged with complaint. Currently, there was only one branch of the National Bank in the entire Lorraine region, and it was far from Nancy. He had spent a lot of money on transportation just to exchange those banknotes for silver coins. And that was in a provincial area—Paris officials were paid entirely in banknotes.
Lowering his voice, Mirabeau said, "As far as I know, the Cabinet is about to pass the Banking Regulation Act."
"What's that?"
"In essence, it will place all banks under government regulation. For example, banks will have to undergo financial audits by the government, accept the National Bank's banknotes, and deposit 10% of their deposits as a reserve."
Bailly's eyes lit up when he heard that he could exchange banknotes at any bank. Then he asked, "What's this 'reserve' you mentioned?"
"It's to prevent banks from going bankrupt and being unable to pay back depositors. So, 10% of their deposits will be held by the government. If a bank fails, the government can use this money to reimburse the depositors. And this 10% is just the beginning—it will increase over time."
Deposit reserves were a common monetary control tool in the future, though they only appeared in the mid-19th century. It was also one of the key powers of central banks.
After several months, the National Bank had completed the absorption and restructuring of the banks it had taken over, and implementing the Banking Regulation Act and centralizing the National Bank was now on the agenda.
What Mirabeau didn't know was that the Banking Regulation Act would also make the National Bank's banknotes the only legal tender in France, with their value directly linked to gold and silver. The current practice of paying officials in banknotes was to get everyone accustomed to using them.
With a central bank in place and the Banking Act in force, banks would think twice before attempting to collude with officials or use loans to blackmail the French government.
As for any complaints from the banks? There wouldn't be any. Nearly half of the banking guild's leaders had dirt on them that Joseph held. Most of the influential banks in Paris had already signed agreements with the National Bank to accept its banknotes. Given the government's focus on fiscal issues and the National Bank's current influence, any bank refusing to comply was bound to be dealt with.
Mirabeau lowered his voice even further. "The Prince hinted that the reserve funds collected by the National Bank will flow into the Industrial Development Fund."
Bailly immediately understood and smiled. The Industrial Development Fund was meant to support French industry, and with more money, it would naturally be invested in the development zone.
As they talked, Venio from the row behind leaned over, nodded respectfully to them, and asked Mirabeau, "Count Mirabeau, forgive me for asking, but I've heard that the Cabinet plans to issue a Guild Reform Act. Is this true?"
As the Commissioner for Industrial Technology, Venio worked under the Minister of Industry, so Mirabeau didn't hide the truth from him. "Yes, the Act is real, and it will be implemented soon. According to the Prince's plan, all existing guilds will be abolished. The government will organize personnel to evaluate the technical skills of craftsmen and issue certificates."
Venio was overjoyed. His job was to facilitate the transformation of traditional workshops into factories, but the existing guild system had been a major obstacle. In some places, guilds had even gathered crowds to threaten workshops, preventing them from making management improvements.
Mirabeau continued, "But you should know that the guilds are very influential, so their abolition will have to be gradual. The first step will probably be to incorporate the guild leaders into government service, followed by the abolition of the apprenticeship system. It might take a year or two, or even longer, to completely eliminate the guilds' influence on factory production."
Just then, Lavoisier, Lagrange, Monge, Condorcet, and other prominent scholars gathered at the front of the hall. The president of the University of Paris personally presided over the conference. After the usual pleasantries and formalities, he loudly declared, "Today, we officially announce the French Metric System!"
(End of the Chapter)
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