Chapter 617 Adding fuel to the fire

Chapter 618 Add another fire

On the pier of Port-au-Prince, the Duke of Leeds, dressed as a sugar merchant, quickly boarded the merchant ship "Warm Wind".

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"These stupid and greedy 'Mulatos,'" he glanced back at the island, shaking his head in a sarcastic tone, "do they think they are the emperors of the Caribbean? How dare they ask me for 300,000 pounds? assistance!"

The "mulatos" he refers to are the common names for people of mixed race.

"Be careful with the heartbeat." The Duke of Leeds' assistant supported him and echoed, "They have the blood of niggas, how can they have noble character? Greed is their outstanding characteristic.

"But these guys are quite good at fighting. They defeated Mably's army in less than half a month."

The Duke of Leeds lit the deck with his cane and walked towards the bow cabin, saying disdainfully: "It's just that the French are too useless. They always like to talk about freedom and equality. Ha, now they are really equal to the niggers." "

"This is a good thing for us." The assistant said.

"Yes, Saint-Domingue will have to pay salaries to its free black citizens in the future, which will increase the cost of their plantations by more than 20%. We no longer have to worry about French sugar competition." The Duke of Leeds asked him to help him The assistant who opened the door nodded, "And I can leave this hellish place early."

After learning that the abolitionist group had defeated the Governor's army, he immediately decided to return to England.

And that Auger naively thought he had won some great battle, and actually asked the United Kingdom to provide diplomatic support and 300,000 pounds of material assistance.

It's a joke. He and his abolitionist organization are just tools used to destroy Saint-Domingue. They really regard themselves as allies of Britain.

The Duke of Leeds came to the Bahamas with the "Warm Wind", where he transferred to a British warship and returned to Europe. After all, third-class battleships are much faster and more stable than merchant ships.

However, when he sailed to Bermuda and entered the port for supplies, a warship from Britain also stopped here.

The officials on the ship learned that the Duke of Leeds was on the island and hurried to hand over the Foreign Secretary's urgent instructions.

The Duke of Leeds took out the code book, frowned and translated the secret message. His expression soon became solemn and he ordered his assistant: "Contact a merchant ship for me. I want to return to Port-au-Prince."

The secret letter read: The French government has officially announced that it will send 10,000 expeditionary troops to suppress the rebellion in Saint-Domingue. The Foreign Secretary authorized the Duke of Leeds to do all he could to help the abolitionist organizations in Saint-Domingue to ensure that the chaos there would not end.

"Damn it!" The Duke of Leeds tore the translation into pieces and threw it into the sea. Then he returned to the cabin and wrote a reply to Lord Grenville, requesting 300,000 pounds of funding.

…

Paris.

Surrounded by a dozen officers, Joseph walked out of the Paris Military Technical School.

"Your effective work has enabled the school to run well." He tilted his head and praised the military school officials beside him. "As for the war horses, I will ask the General Staff to allocate some to you as much as possible. But there is no need to add too much riding skills. Courses are enough to ensure that most soldiers will not fall off their horses. After all, training cavalry is the responsibility of the Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy."

The Dean of Academic Affairs bowed with some regret and said: "Yes, Your Highness, I will bear in mind your instructions."

He originally wanted to take the opportunity to add dragoon courses. This unit basically only requires horseback riding and will dismount and line up during battle, so it is easier to train, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince rejected it.

It's not that Joseph doesn't want to increase the number of cavalry, but the Paris Military Technical School, which was split from the Paris Police Academy, has enrolled more than 6,000 new students this year. At the same time, the instructors have allocated a lot of points to the military schools in Lyon and Toulouse to ensure that the infantry The quality of training with the Jaegers is already very difficult.

A war in Europe may break out at any time. We must first ensure the goal of adding 50,000 soldiers within two years, and it is better not to distract the military technical schools at the bottom.

President Joseph encouraged the dean of provosts and other officials. Just as he was about to get into the carriage, he saw Fouche coming quickly, bowed to him, and then said quickly: "Your Highness, this is news from the Caribbean."

The Dauphin ordered him to report the situation in Saint-Domingue to him as soon as possible, so after receiving the information from there, he immediately rushed to the Tuileries Palace, and then pursued him here.

Joseph motioned for him to get in the car and asked, "Is everything going well?"

"Overall, it went smoothly, Your Highness." Fouche handed over the translated information, "However, some unexpected situations occurred, and Mr. Brissot and Delman temporarily adjusted the plan..."

Joseph waited for him to briefly introduce the situation in Saint-Domingue, then nodded slightly and said: "I didn't expect the British to attack Saint-Domingue so early.

"Brissot and the others dealt with it well. This will cause the UK to get into a lot of trouble. But if Booker goes to the United States, our textile industry will have to make some preparations in advance.

"The next thing we have to do is protest against the UK and try to expand the international impact of this matter."

He looked at Fouche again and said: "However, the Duke of Leeds does not currently hold a position in the British government, so Peter is likely to say that it is just his personal behavior."

Fouche nodded: "I'm afraid that's the case, Your Highness. But this is already very embarrassing for the British."

"We have to find a way to keep the British government at bay."

Joseph thought for a moment and asked Fouché, "Do you think the British know the situation in the United States now?"

"They probably don't know, Your Highness. Mr. Brissot sent back the information after sending Booker to the United States. It will take at least half a month for those niggers to arrive in the United States and then make trouble."

"That means we have half a month to do this." Joseph nodded, and someone immediately came to his mind, "Do you know Wilberforce?"

"Your Highness, are you talking about William Wilberforce, the second chancellor of the British exchequer?"

"Yes, he is the leader of British abolitionism."

Fouché immediately added, "Yes, Your Highness, the 'Clapham Saints'."

"Clapham Saints" is an important force in the "British Anti-Slave Trade Movement". Since slavery has been abolished in the United Kingdom, British abolitionism is called "anti-slave trade."

Joseph nodded: "Then let's drag more people from this organization into the water. You send people to Britain immediately and do this..."

"Yes, Your Highness."

A few days later, a British abolitionist journalist got in touch with London City Councillor Earl Middleton through the Chamber of Commerce, and through the latter got the opportunity to interview the Second Chancellor of the Exchequer Wilberforce.