Chapter 146 Buses and New Shock Absorbing Systems

Talleyrand immediately showed a look of surprise: "I will obey your orders in everything, Your Highness.

Joseph nodded: "I hope you can serve as a diplomatic advisor and go to the United States."

"Okay, okay, I am willing to go! Thank you, Your Highness!" Talleyrand did not expect that in addition to gaining the queen's understanding today, he would also have this unexpected gain.

At this time in France, after the "Jesuits" were banned, the church had completely transformed into the "Ministry of Education" and the "Bureau of Civil Affairs", plus some relief work. Although it had a lot of wealth, it no longer had any real power.

Therefore, the priests all sharpened their heads and wanted to serve in the government. That would be the real way to stand out. The leader among them is Archbishop Brian.

And Joseph could give Talleyrand a position with real power, which would be a huge boost.

Of course, Joseph also valued his diplomatic skills, and it happened that after overthrowing Wilhelm, a diplomatic person could take over.

He motioned Talleyrand to continue moving forward: "I need you to go to the United States as soon as possible to unite with them to fight against the Barbary pirates.

"Of course, it comes at a cost to them."

Talleyrand suddenly understood why the Dauphin had just said, "Fighting pirates will only make money."

Joseph continued: "The tribute they now pay to the pirates every year should be more than one million livres."

"Yes, Your Highness," Talleyrand said hurriedly, "About 220,000 US dollars."

At this time, the U.S. dollar was anchored to gold coins, and 1 U.S. dollar could be exchanged for approximately 5 livres.

Joseph nodded: "Plus the ransom of their kidnapped merchant ship crew."

Talleyrand said: "It is said that last year they paid more than 130,000 US dollars to redeem captured sailors."

"The total is more than 1.7 million livres." Joseph smacked his lips, "Let them pay one-third, 600,000 livres per year, as the cost of the French Navy assisting them in combating piracy."

Talleyrand's eyes twitched. Wasn't the Crown Prince trying to eliminate the pirates? Why did he turn to assisting the Americans in a blink of an eye?

But he immediately showed his qualities as a diplomat and nodded solemnly: "This amount is very reasonable, Your Highness."

"besides……"

Joseph really wanted to get back the tens of millions of livres loaned by Louis XVI when he supported the American War of Independence, but the money was subject to an agreement and the repayment deadline was far from coming. The Americans took French loans and supplies, plus the support of the French army, to defeat the British. But after they became independent, they turned around and flirted with the British, which greatly undermined France's strategy of weakening the British.

Thinking of his father's poverty and generosity, Joseph felt a little resentful that iron could not become steel.

He thought for a moment and said, "Let the Americans return the tens of thousands of flintlock guns that they provided to them back then. There is no agreement signed on this batch of supplies, and we have the right to take them back. By the way, the matching gunpowder and lead bullets are all Gotta bring it.”

What supported the Americans at that time was the latest model Charleville 1763. These guns may also be worth some money.

Talleyrand's eyes twitched again. The Crown Prince should go into the loan industry, and he would definitely make a lot of money.

Joseph continued to order: "Let the Americans transport these guns directly to Russia. They will pay for the freight."

"Huh? Russia?"

Joseph nodded: "You will also follow the gun to Russia. I will send another senior diplomat to submit a note to their queen, indicating that we can join forces to deal with the Ottoman position. You will then assist in diplomatic work to win Russia's support for us in the Mediterranean. Action support.

"Oh, that batch of guns is used to show our sincerity in supporting Russia's war against the Ottomans. Of course, the Queen can express her gratitude with millions of pounds of potatoes. Russia will pay for the shipping."

Russo-Turkish war? Mediterranean? Potato? Talleyrand was extremely smart, and it took him a few seconds to figure out the connection clearly. His eyes when he looked at the Crown Prince were full of shock.

This set of operations connects unrelated world situations together and becomes his own help. It didn't cost a penny to please the Russians.

What was even more unbelievable to him was that, judging by the Crown Prince's tone, these important national affairs would be carried out in accordance with his wishes.

The crown prince actually has such great influence in the cabinet? !

He hurriedly bowed and said: "Yes, Your Highness, I understand what to do."

Joseph smiled again and said: "If you can prove your ability during this mission, I can consider promoting you to a more suitable position."

Talleyrand was immediately moved and searched for all the words he could think of, expressing that he would be loyal to His Highness and do his best to complete His Highness's orders.

…

In a carriage manufacturing workshop in Paris, Joseph pointed to a semi-finished carriage with the bottom upward and said to several craftsmen beside him: "Just leave one spring here and remove the others."

A middle-aged craftsman immediately whispered nervously: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this kind of luxury carriage must have good shock absorption. If only two springs are used..."

Joseph smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, just use leaf springs instead."

The middle-aged craftsman said with a grimace: "Your Highness, leaf springs are only used on ordinary carriages. They have poor shock absorption."

"What kind of leaf spring are you talking about?" Joseph pointed to a black carriage being installed next to him. The bottom of the car's body was equipped with two steel bars as wide as the palm of your hand and nearly two meters long to support the body and achieve shock absorption.

The craftsmen nodded.

Joseph picked up a pen and paper and explained as he drew: "That kind of leaf spring is too primitive.

“Like this, stack four steel bars of different lengths together, fix them, and then put the wheel axle in the middle of the steel bars.

"A set of these steel bars should be added to each wheel. By the way, medium carbon steel should be used...ah, it has moderate hardness and toughness. You can try a few more and decide which one to use."

The youngest craftsman showed an expression of sudden realization: "That's right! If one steel bar is not enough, use four. If two sets of steel bars are not enough, use four sets. This will achieve better shock absorption effect!"

The middle-aged craftsman previously added: "We used to use leaf springs to carry the car body, but we never thought that they should be used directly on the wheels. In this way, when the road surface on both sides is uneven, the wheels on both sides can be lifted to different heights to reduce the risk of damage. The car's body tilted."

Seeing that the craftsmen roughly understood the principle, Joseph then ordered: "Please make the entire leaf spring system as soon as possible. Before next week's Paris Fashion Week, this leaf spring must be used for shock absorption on buses."

The carriage has basically been built. If the springs are replaced with leaf springs, more than a week should be enough.

Joseph added: "As long as the bus is not delayed, you will be able to receive two more months' wages."

The craftsmen suddenly became excited and clapped their chests to express that they would complete the carriage on time.

After Joseph thought of the business opportunity of carriages a few days ago, he immediately spent more than 100,000 livres to acquire a well-known car dealership in Paris.

The cost came from the money to build a firearms manufacturing factory - Talleyrand, in order to thank His Majesty the King for his support for his promotion to Archbishop, spent 200,000 livres to sponsor the King's construction of the factory. As a result, the funds originally given by Louis XVI were "misappropriated" by Joseph.