Chapter 77 Attack

Hartley made some calculations in his mind: According to this method, France's tariffs will fall below 10% in less than five years. French industry will never be able to turn around!

When the tariff is reduced to 5%, France will become a dumping ground for goods almost like the British colonies.

He suppressed his excitement, hid his trembling hands behind his back, and said, "I will report this to the parliament. But I personally think your suggestions are very useful!"

Joseph was also relieved: if the current tariff level is adopted, French industry will soon be overwhelmed by British goods.

The 25% tariff can give various workshops a breath of relief. When he has a political foundation, he will start to promote France's industrial revolution.

I have the technology and ideas of later generations. If it takes 7 years for French industry to surpass that of Britain, I might as well buy a piece of cheese and kill it.

When France completes the enhanced version of the Industrial Revolution, it will be France that dumps goods to Britain, which has extremely low tariffs!

After deceiving the industry, it was time for Joseph to collect interest: "Mr. Ambassador, France has made huge concessions on industrial tariffs. So, should the UK also make a concession on agricultural products?"

Hartley nodded immediately and said, "That's no problem. The tariff on wine can still be negotiated."

In the last trade negotiation, the French were most concerned about wine exports, and they actually exchanged most of their industrial products market for the British wine market.

Joseph smiled and said: "Actually, in addition to wine, we also have some breweries in Normandy, and there seems to be some spirits. It is best if the tariff on these wines can be reduced to less than 10%.

"By the way, luxury goods, and luxury goods. Maybe you have heard that I have some luxury goods industries. If you can make it easier, I will be deeply grateful..."

Hartley thought for a moment and then nodded: "I will definitely convey your intention to the parliament."

The quality of French beer is very average, and the sales volume of spirits is even less. The British market can be opened to them. The market for luxury goods is not too big either. Compared with the huge profits from industrial products, these are not even a fraction.

"I'm glad that we can reach a consensus with you." Joseph said, "Both of us must promote the resumption of trade negotiations as soon as possible."

Hartley thought of another question: "Your Highness, what you just said is your personal idea, or does it represent..."

"My opinion only. However, I believe that this will also be the terms proposed by the French negotiating delegation."

Hartley nodded, raised the wine glass on the table, and signaled to Joseph: "For the prosperous Anglo-French trade!"

But he secretly thought: It may be difficult for the Crown Prince's political power alone to completely influence the content of the negotiations. I would suggest that Parliament mobilize British resources in France to help him achieve this.

Even if negotiations cannot be concluded in a short period of time, as long as the French crown prince has this idea, a new treaty will be signed sooner or later.

Joseph raised his glass and clinked it with him, and happened to hear Hunter Xiao on the stage shout loudly: "Thirty years east of the Seine, thirty years west of the Seine! Don't bully a young man because of his poverty!"

The impassioned words made all the audience stand up and applaud vigorously, and some were even moved to tears.

"Then I won't interrupt your enjoyment of the wonderful drama." Hartley stood up, bowed, and left.

He was already thinking in his mind that if the negotiation conditions mentioned by the French Crown Prince were met, as a hero, he might be able to compete for the next prime minister.

As for the preset goal of this trip, to promote the shipbuilding treaty, he had long forgotten about it.

…

The next day.

The conference hall of the East Palace of the Palace of Versailles will hold the first cabinet meeting after the tax bill was rejected by the High Court.

Joseph walked into the main entrance of the golden hall and put away the several pages of reports in his hands.

That was the investigation report just sent by Fouche. It was mentioned that they found the mistress of the former police chief Guizot, a woman named Anna.

With Guizot's arrest, Anna became impoverished. Finally, under the seduction of a spy from the Police Intelligence Service, she revealed that Guizot and Similion had discussed at her residence how to disrupt the Saint-Antoine district and cause trouble for the Dauphin.

The point is that in the conversation between Guizot and the two, it was mentioned that if something happened, a "big man" would help clean it up.

Anna visited Guizot after his arrest. Guizot told her to go to Le Verbert, the Paris municipal commissioner, saying that he would try to help him.

Although there is no conclusive evidence, it is basically certain that the person behind Guizot is Lewebel.

Lewebel's political faction belongs to the line of the Duke of Orleans. He himself had no conflict of interest with Joseph. It can be inferred from this that the mastermind behind the scenes should be the Duke of Orleans!

In addition, Fouche also found that before Joseph took over as assistant to the Minister of Finance, the Duke of Orleans had attended a cocktail party hosted by a banking guild and publicly asked banks to delay the 6 million livre loan to the government as much as possible.

Since there were many people attending the reception, the news was easy to get.

Therefore, the Duke of Orleans is responsible for everything.

Joseph's eyes were cold. He must find a way to eradicate this scourge, otherwise he might not cause any trouble to himself in the future!

Soon, Queen Mary came to the meeting hall. Everyone saluted respectfully. The cabinet meeting officially begins.

As the chief minister, Brian was about to summarize the important matters during this period as usual, when he saw the Minister of Justice Soumial and the Duke of Orleans look at each other, then suddenly stood up and said loudly:

"Archbishop Briand, the most important thing for France right now is to advance the tax bill. I think everyone is waiting for you to introduce the progress of this matter."

Brian's face suddenly darkened. It is well known that the High Court rejected the bill, and the Minister of Justice asked this question here, which is obviously a provocation and insult to himself.

He suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice: "The High Court has refused to register. However, I have adjusted the terms of the bill and will submit it to the High Court again."

Sumyar smiled: "The bill you submitted last time seriously targeted all nobles, which is why it was rejected. How are you going to adjust it this time? Target the military, or directly target the royal family?"

"you!"

Sumyar continued: "As far as I know, the High Court has reached a consensus and will refuse to cooperate with you. In other words, any subsequent bills submitted by you will definitely be rejected."

As he spoke, he looked at Queen Mary and raised his tone: "Your Majesty the Queen, I believe that for the sake of France's financial stability, the candidate for Finance Minister should be changed to ensure that the tax bill can be passed as soon as possible."

Before the queen could say anything, Foreign Minister Virzhin stood up and stroked his chest: "I agree with Count Sumyar's suggestion. The national finances are on the verge of collapse, and Archbishop Burian should be responsible for this."

Thanks to the big guys: "White Night Returns to Dust" and "Bee Mountain" for their generous rewards for this book. Your support is the motivation for me to code. The young author would like to express my gratitude.