Chapter 156 Two Princes Trading Company

“Yeah, fried lamb chops, beet and truffle bisque, toast.

Alexey casually ordered a few dishes to the waiter next to him, then looked at Joseph and said: "I'm curious, what do you mean by 'non-political' things?"

"Bring me a cup of black tea without milk, spices or sugar."

Joseph sent the waiter away and said with a smile: "For example, do some business or something. If you have your own business in Paris, then Her Majesty the Queen will not worry about your character - oh, please forgive my wording - Call you back to Russia."

Doing business? Alexey blinked, and it seemed to make sense. No one would associate a businessman who is busy making money with a reserve in St. Petersburg. This is indeed a good way to stay away from politics, and it can also get rid of the image of a playboy to a certain extent.

In fact, Alexei's descendants did exactly this. They went into business to stay away from politics, eventually establishing Russia's largest sugar company.

However, Alexey immediately shook his head: "Thank you for your advice, Your Highness. But I don't know how to do business at all. Now Her Majesty the Queen has to give me tens of thousands of rubles in subsidies every year. I don't want to lose her any more money." .”

"No, I believe you will make money." Joseph smiled, "and make a lot of money."

"Your Highness, with all due respect, this may be difficult to achieve. I know my abilities."

Joseph sniffed the fragrance in the teacup brought by the waiter and glanced up at the illegitimate son: "It's actually not as difficult as you think. All you need is a good partner."

"Partner?"

Joseph gestured to himself with a small spoon: "For example, me."

Alexey was surprised: "You mean, you want me to do business with you?"

Joseph nodded: "We can invest together and set up a trading company to specialize in trade between France and Russia."

He did not say this on a whim, but had already planned this.

In fact, France and Russia had signed a trade agreement as early as the year before last, but on the one hand, it was due to France's financial constraints, and on the other hand, because the two countries could not provide many goods that the other party was interested in - France except wine and Enlightenment ideas and not much else could be exported to Russia. At the same time, France's demand for Russia's main export goods, such as flax, oil, and wood, is not high.

This has resulted in a tepid trade volume between the two sides.

However, both countries also very much want to significantly increase the volume of trade between them.

For Russia, it has always been worried that it is too dependent on trade with Britain, and intends to change the trade structure, such as increasing France's proportion of trade, to reduce the risk of being manipulated by Britain.

As for France, if it could increase its trade with a big country like Russia, it would certainly greatly improve its financial situation.

But will is always just a will. Historically, until the emperor came to power and Russia joined the anti-French alliance, the trade between the two countries did not improve much.

This is also the situation that Joseph wants to reverse, and he has the corresponding means.

Historically, France had little demand for Russian goods because the French textile industry was crushed by the British. But now under the guidance of Joseph, the French textile industry will challenge Britain, which will require a large amount of textile raw materials, and flax is one of them. As for cotton, wool, etc., we will have to find solutions in North America and Australia later.

At the same time, Britain was extremely dependent on Russia for its flax—Russian goods accounted for about 80% of its flax consumption. If France eats a lot of Russian flax, it will inevitably lead to a shortage of linen in Britain, which will lead to an increase in the price of its linen textiles.

It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone.

On the other hand, France's industry will usher in a period of explosive growth, and industrial products are in urgent need of market sales. Russia has a population of more than 30 million. In such a large market, French products must participate.

Originally, Joseph planned to wait for Talleyrand to make contact with the Russians first, and then promote trade.

But today I happened to meet Alexei, and he felt that this might be a more suitable opportunity.

"You don't have to worry about business matters. We can find professional people to manage the company." Joseph said, "I will offer some merchant ships as my equity. These ships will fly the Russian flag and enjoy your 'armed neutrality' policy. to avoid British interference.

"And you have people in Russia buy flax, grease, and perhaps iron as your stock capital.

"After these items are transported to Marseille, they are loaded with French wine, textiles, and possibly paper, machinery and other goods in the future, and returned to Crimea."

The so-called "Declaration of Armed Neutrality" is the Russian trade policy announced by Catherine II in 1780. The main content is that "Russia, as a neutral country, ships can sail freely between ports and along the coastlines of belligerent countries, unless there is wartime contraband, otherwise the belligerent powers may not impose restrictions.”

This policy has been endorsed by the UK. Therefore, cargo transportation by Alexei's "Russian ship" can ensure normal trade even if there is a dispute between Britain and France.

In addition, Joseph also hid a trick here.

He had read the Anglo-Russian trade agreement before. According to the terms of the agreement, Russian merchant ships could traffic goods from the East to Europe, and the British fleet was not allowed to stop them. At the beginning, the British believed that Russia had little presence in the east, so they agreed without much thought. However, this could be used by him in the future through the trading company between him and his illegitimate son.

Alexey thought for a moment and said hesitantly: "Your Highness, I must admit that your proposal is very perfect.

"It's just that there are already many people conducting such trade between France and Russia. I don't think we can be more competitive than them."

Joseph smiled and nodded. Alexey was indeed a smart man, not the playboy he showed. From this point of view, working with him will not disappoint.

“First of all, the current trade volume between France and Russia is far from enough.

“If I remember correctly, more than three hundred merchant ships sail from the UK to Riga every year [Note 1]. And only one-tenth of this number sail from Lyon to the Black Sea [Note 2].

"To tell you the truth, France will begin to carry out industrial reforms, and the demand for Russian goods will increase significantly, especially flax. In this case, the existing merchant ships will not be enough."

Alexey nodded slightly. It turned out that the French Crown Prince had inside information. In this case, this business could really be done.

Joseph leaned forward and lowered his voice: "Also, I can give you a discount on tariffs. I guarantee that the discount will not be low."

"Are you serious?"

"certainly."

Joseph was confident enough to get this tariff concession from the cabinet. He didn't even need to lower tariffs, he just had to turn a blind eye to his trading company.

This will not only win over the Russians, but also reduce the raw material costs of the French textile industry and increase competitiveness due to the reduction in flax import tariffs.

At the same time, this would also reduce the trade links between Britain and Russia and increase the cost of British linens.

He continued: "At the same time, you can use your connections in Russia to get some cheaper flax, oil and other goods. In this way, we can reduce costs on both sides. Are we afraid of losing profits?"

Alexei was overjoyed. If he could export a large amount to France at low tariffs, it would greatly improve Russia's trade dependence on Britain. This is something the Queen has wanted to do for more than ten years but has not been able to do it! If I put these achievements in my brother's name, it will definitely change my mother's attitude towards my brother [Note 3]!

He clasped his hands excitedly and said: "Your Highness, I think your proposal is very feasible. I will try my best to lower the purchase price of the goods."

Joseph smiled and bowed: "It's a pleasure to cooperate with you, Count Bobulinski."

On the dining table, the dishes Alexei ordered had been cooling for a long time, but he didn't even think of eating them.

Joseph had another hot dish brought up and signaled to the bastard: "I think it's time for you to enjoy your dinner."

After Alexei finished eating, the two discussed some details of the trading company, finally finalizing the cooperation.

The main reason why Joseph wanted to bypass the Russian government and set up such a trading company was to avoid lengthy trade negotiations. The efficiency of negotiations in this era is not high at all, especially since Russia and France are far apart. Once the negotiators on both sides encounter disagreements, it will take more than two months to return home to ask for instructions.

So he directly used this private operation model to start trade between the two countries first. When the trade volume increases and the two sides have market dependence, it will be much easier to negotiate a trade agreement.

In addition, he can be regarded as controlling the import of some raw materials in disguise, allowing those capitalists to be more obedient.

At around ten o'clock in the evening, Alexei said goodbye to Joseph, but stood there looking at his leaving figure from a distance, feeling a sense of unreality in his heart.

What kind of young man is this, who suddenly appears in front of him, uses a trading company to solve his predicament, and at the same time gives Russia a big gift.

He didn't quite believe the rumors about the French crown prince, how he presided over police reform, greatly improved the security situation in Paris, and planned this grand fashion week. He just thought that the officials had taken care of everything, and then put the credit on the crown prince.

After tonight's contact, he was convinced that the previous rumors about the crown prince were true, and his conversation and wisdom were even better than the rumors said.

Alexey suddenly felt a little regretful. If his brother Paul had this wisdom, then he would not have to stay away from his hometown for so many years, anesthetizing himself with alcohol and women, and dressing himself up as a useless playboy.

…

While Joseph and Alexey were discussing the trading company, an auction was going on in the lobby on the first floor of Fashion Week.

Those participating in the auction were all dignitaries from various countries, and even many members of the royal family. Queen Mary, who had just given a brief speech for Fashion Week, was also pulled by her niece and sat in the loft on the second floor.

The items auctioned during Fashion Week are mainly expensive dresses, luxury goods and the like.

None of these things caught the Queen's eye at all. She was currently thinking about the conversation she had with Louis XVI at noon.

It was after lunch, and she casually chatted with her husband about her son's fiancée.

At that time, she thought that her niece had won the heart of the crown prince, but the king told her that he had talked with his son and that neither Clementine nor Maria might be a satisfactory fiancée for him.

She looked at the lively and lovely niece beside her with some distress. God, how could Joseph not like her?

For a moment, she really wanted to tell her son directly like other kings and queens, Clementine is your future wife. But she really couldn't bear to see her son feeling lost or unhappy.

How about waiting a little longer... The queen sighed in her heart. The crown prince and Clementine were both still young. Maybe if they kept in contact with each other for a while, he would fall in love with his beautiful and lovely cousin.

At this moment, the auctioneer below said in a melodious voice: "The next auction item is this precious string of 'Star Wish'. It comes from a famous designer..."

The queen was just thinking about something when she saw Clementine standing up suddenly, looking at the lot with a pair of big blue eyes, and murmuring excitedly: "Yes." He’s wearing, yes, that’s the one!”

The queen smiled and shook her head. It is difficult for a little girl to resist the attraction of beautiful jewelry. When she was young, she would be as excited as she was when she saw the jewelry she liked.

It's just that she didn't notice that the string of items was almost exactly the same as what the crown prince wore in the painting "The Son of God"!

God testifies, this is definitely not Joseph's jewelry, he has never even seen this necklace.

That was entirely because Madame Le Brun, who painted the painting, accepted the sponsorship of a jeweler and included the necklace provided by the latter into the painting. But to be honest, this dazzling necklace with a large number of diamonds forming a galaxy pattern does match Joseph's image very well.

After the auctioneer reported the reserve price of 80,000 livres, Clementine did not hesitate to signal to the maid beside her, who immediately raised her right hand.

Before the auctioneer had time to respond to the price, a woman's voice came from a box on the east side: "Ninety thousand."

Clementine suddenly puffed up her cheeks. Someone dared to steal her cousin's necklace from her, and even added ten thousand livres at a time!

She motioned to the maid again, who raised her hand.

The auctioneer immediately signaled to her: "The customer here bids ninety-one thousand livres."

It was the same voice as before: "One hundred thousand."

Not to be outdone, Little Loli raised the price again.

The woman in the box on the east side continued to add up to the whole number: "One hundred and ten thousand."

Clementine became anxious, put her hands on her hips, and shouted angrily: "Twenty thousand!"

Humph, do you think I won’t add 10,000?

The woman on the east side said without hesitation: "One hundred and forty thousand."

"You! It went up again!" Little Loli continued to shout, "160,000!"

"One hundred and eighty thousand."

"Two hundred thousand!" Clementine quoted the price angrily, then turned to the maid and said, "Who is that person? Why can't you get along with me!"

The maid leaned against the railing of the box on the second floor and leaned half of her body out. Finally, through the gap in the curtain in front of the box on the east side, she saw a red dress, long brown hair, and a pair of gentle brown eyes sitting there. .

She immediately retracted, covering her mouth in surprise, and leaned into Clementine's ear and said, "Miss, she seems to be the princess of the Two Sicilies."

"Ah -" Little Loli bit her lip. If it were her, she couldn't lose!

"Two hundred and fifty thousand!"

[Note 1]: Riga is a port in Sweden and a transit point for British-Russian trade. Riga officials will collect trade commissions between Britain and Russia.

[Note 2]: Since Russia controlled Crimea, French-Russian trade has been able to pass through the Mediterranean, pass through the Dardanelles controlled by the Ottomans, come to the Black Sea, and dock in Crimea for unloading.

[Note 3]: Because Catherine II hated her husband Peter III, who admired Prussia to the extreme (she launched a coup to overthrow her husband's rule and became the queen), she now also dislikes her husband who is very close to her husband. Like the eldest son Paul. During this period, she showed several times that she wanted to depose Paul's throne and pass it directly to her eldest grandson. There are also ministers who support the illegitimate son Alexei to replace Paul as crown prince. In short, Paul was worried about his throne until the second before Catherine II's death.

Thanks to: Prince Dongming 233, Heart Like Floating Leaves, and Book Friends 20210621185415959 for their generous rewards for this book! The little author will always love you! mwah!