The Fox of France - Chapter 270: Cannons and Wool

The possibility of the British secretly buying cannons was something the French had already anticipated. Even that Englishman who posed as a Mexican had been under the watchful eyes of the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Truth. However, no action had been taken against his little antics. The reasoning behind this was discussed among the leaders, and Joseph Fouché was the one to articulate it.

“International arms trade, well, though we can sign a ‘end-user agreement’ with the buyers, preventing them from reselling, we can’t be counting the number of cannons in their armies every day. (I heard that some powerful countries regularly count planes in the countries they extort from.) And even if we did count, they could easily load these items onto their ships and then tell us that the cannons have ‘sunk.’ Can we really go down to the depths of the sea to ask Poseidon to help us count the cannons? So, as long as we want to make money from these things, they will inevitably end up in the hands of the British. Given that, why should we let those middlemen make a profit?”

When Joseph posed this question during their meeting, everyone nodded in agreement.

“But, won’t the large-scale arming of the British with these weapons pose a threat to us?” Carnot raised an objection at this point.

“Lazare, if for every cannon the British buy from us, we can equip ourselves with two and a half to three more cannons, what does one British cannon matter?” Joseph dismissed the concern. “Moreover, this is just the profit from cannons. Considering the profit from steel, for each cannon we sell to the British, we can earn three and a half to four more cannons.”

“But the money we earn won’t be used to equip our own army with cannons,” Carnot persisted, and Napoleon surprisingly stayed silent.

“That little scoundrel, Napoleon, is making progress. According to Lucien, he has been privately discussing this with Carnot for a while during military exercises, and now Carnot wants to ask me for money? This boy doesn’t realize that the focus should now be on economic development, and the military needs to be patient,” Joseph remarked.

“Lazare, you also know that the performance of these cannons is significantly different from those we use in our armed forces. Moreover, when we sell these cannons, we also pay taxes to the government, don’t we? From the moment the ore is mined until the sale, when you add up all the taxes, it’s almost enough for the government to purchase a fraction of our cannons at a discounted price. But, these are the self-propelled cannons with breechblocks, not the monkey-version cannons sold to foreigners. If the government is willing to allocate this money to purchase these self-propelled cannons, with every five cannons we sell, the government can buy one advanced self-propelled cannon. And our tests have shown that, especially in terms of firing speed, one of our cannons can match four or even five monkey-version cannons. Add to that our self-made ammunition, and the advantage becomes even more significant. Lazare, you also know that we sell these cannons to many countries. Many of these nations are our allies, and some are far from posing a threat to us. Not all of them are buying from the British. Even if the British, along with the Austrians, buy cannons from us, it won’t be a substantial proportion compared to the cannons we sell. It won’t exceed the amount of taxes the government collects from our business. So, Lazare, if you think we have too few cannons in the army, you shouldn’t come to me, you should talk to Napoleon because he’s the one deciding on government expenditures! You should ask him where this money is being used!”

At this point, Napoleon finally broke his silence. “How can you blame me? Our government has too many places to spend money. Rural development costs money. I’m sure you agree with that, Lazare. The better the homeland looks, the more loyal our soldiers become, and their morale is higher. Basic education costs money. Joseph, you suggested three years of compulsory education, how much does that cost? Lazare, you know about this, and you were very supportive at the time. Then… Lazare, you should also understand that we’re running out of money. So, Lazare, we must export more cannons, no matter to whom. New rural development costs money. I think Lazare, you’d also agree with that. And you can see the better our homeland is, the more loyal our soldiers become, and the higher their morale. And also, basic education. This was your idea, Joseph, three years of compulsory education. How much will that cost? Lazare, you know about this, and you were very supportive at the time. And… then, Lazare, you should think about where we can find the money.”

“So, Lazare, we have to export more cannons if there’s no way to cut these expenses. Only by selling more can we generate extra tax revenue for the military to buy cannons.”

With that, Carnot fell silent. After a while, he finally asked, “Joseph, can the extra tax revenue really be used for the military?”

“We need to ask Napoleon about that,” Joseph replied.

Carnot looked at Napoleon and decided not to press him further. Instead, he asked, “What if the British try to replicate our cannons?”

“Our cannons have only one true advantage, which is the low-cost steelmaking process. If the British want to make cannons with crucible steel, their cannons will be much more expensive than what they buy from us. So, the quantity of their cannons will be limited. Why should we be worried then?”

Because of these considerations, neither the Ministry of Public Security nor the Ministry of Truth paid much attention to the British who were running around at the Paris Expo.

The bustling Paris Expo lasted for a full two weeks. During this time, merchants from various countries signed a multitude of contracts. According to statistics from the Ministry of Truth, just in this single trade fair, the quantity of orders for woolen textiles, especially by the British and other European nations, surpassed the total for the entire previous year. It even exceeded the current supply capacity of the British.

As these merchants returned to England, clutching their contracts, they hurriedly contemplated getting loans from banks to expand production. They aimed to buy as much wool as possible, and those who acted quickly reaped the benefits.

As a consequence, the price of wool in the British market skyrocketed within a week, increasing by a third in such a short time. Wool became a precious commodity.

In light of this, some landowners, who were initially hesitating, didn’t wait for their wheat to ripen and rushed to reclaim land from their tenants. They then let their sheep, including characters like Happy Sheep, Lazy Sheep, Beautiful Sheep, Slow Sheep, and Warm Sheep, graze in the fields.

But what about grains? It was simple: go to the international market and buy them. Did you not know that France was on the brink of a bountiful harvest? The price of grain in France was much cheaper than in England. Directly selling grain in France was the solution.

You see, French land was so much more suitable for growing grains compared to the mossy lands of England. Growing grains there was simply not profitable. What? You’re concerned about food security? There’s an international market, you know! Do you understand? Not only France but also Russia, Prussia, and the United States are part of it. Could they all collectively impose an embargo on England? If such a situation were to occur, it would undoubtedly be due to something outrageous that England had done itself.

In any case, in England, large numbers of farmers were driven into the cities. While the rapid expansion of the textile industry created more “job opportunities,” the increase in “job opportunities” still couldn’t keep up with the rapid rise in unemployment. As a result, the security situation in British cities deteriorated even further.

To make matters worse, at this time, a group of unscrupulous British merchants smuggled in a large quantity of various “self-defense items” from France. Everything from butterfly knives to switchblades, and even daggers, were available. Among them were high-end, sophisticated Damascus knives for the wealthy, but the majority were shoddy but undeniably deadly weapons. Their prices were affordable.

Some sellers of these weapons, consciously or unconsciously, propagated, “Working in a factory is a death sentence. Your best way out is to go to the New World. To go to the New World, you need the money for a boat ticket, living expenses along the way, and—most importantly—courage and a good knife.”

Though this kind of promotion brought about significant dangers, and some merchants selling these knives were even robbed by impoverished individuals wielding their very products, some sellers still continued to offer their knives. People preferred having a weapon to secure their livelihood rather than selling a loaf of bread.

“Having only bread without a weapon, you’re sure to lose your bread. But having only a weapon without bread, you’ll most likely earn yourself some bread.”

Amidst this situation, London practically turned into a city of crime, with thefts and unsuccessful robberies occurring all around.

Faced with this situation, the “England News League” and the “England Freedom News League,” who had always been at odds with each other, unexpectedly united. They quickly reached a consensus and jointly condemned the lawless behavior of these thugs, demanding that the government take immediate action to suppress them.

The “Times Review” of the “England News League” published an editorial titled “Is There Still Justice, Is There Still Law?” strongly condemning the atrocities committed by the hooligans.

Meanwhile, “Voice of Free England” from the “England Freedom News League” featured an exclusive interview with the London Municipal Authority, titled “We Must Return Peace to London’s Citizens.”

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