France's strategic opportunity

Joseph glanced at the two Senate who looked astonished and said calmly, "Actually, I had been worried that Prussia and Austria would be unwilling to join the United Kingdom trade system because of internal competition and fear of offending the North Rhine countries."

"Oh, that article in the Paris Business Daily, signed Jacques Gagnon, that talks about the serious negative impact the formation of the Free Trade Alliance would have on our country, that was actually posted by me."

Bayei's eyes flickered, inwardly relieved that he had spoken too slowly. He had just been about to quote Monsieur Gagnon to persuade the Regent.

Talleyrand raised the question he most wanted to ask, "Your Highness, on the surface, the United Kingdom Commercial Alliance seems to offset the appeal of the Holy Trade Alliance and expand the markets that United Kingdom can monopolize."

Bayei breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that it was good that Archbishop Talleyrand had asked the question. But he shook his head slightly at the latter, giving him the look of a trade expert looking at a layman.

Joseph smiled and said, "It was formed by the United Kingdom, and it is essentially a simple Tariff union. Its member states are heavily dependent on the markets in North Rhine -Westphalia, Franconia, and Northern Italy."

"In other words, they find it difficult to strictly enforce high Tariff on foreign goods. This is especially true for Prussia, where the entire East Bank of the Rhine River is a very important trading partner."

"Even on our side, they try to engage in smuggling trade."

"Members of the Holy Trade Alliance, on the other hand, can legally sell goods to countries like Prussia and Austria through Free Trade Zone with the Netherlands, minimizing market gaps."

More importantly, free trade lacks unified financial, investment, and technological standards, and even the rules governing interbank exchange are not well-defined.

"The market of the Holy Trade Alliance is a whole tightly woven together by the Council, investment banks, and industry and tax standards."

"In all areas where commercial competition exists, countries like Putin, Austria, and Nagorno-Karabakh are no match for this huge overall market."

Bayei, having served as a minister who had overseen the France trade system for over a decade, immediately grasped the key point.

For example, a Ironworks in Nassau, with outdated technology, could try to get loans from Frankfurt, Nuremberg, or even Milan —protected by the Holy Trade Alliance Investment Agreement, which would reassure even small Investor.

At the same time, they can purchase France Patent technology or directly buy equipment through the alliance's unified technical standards.

Finally, their products will be sold throughout the Mediterranean Sea market, and the sales volume will quickly offset the costs. Even if their product quality is average, they will surely find suitable buyers in such a large area.

In a maximum of ten years, this Ironworks will be able to develop the strength to compete with similar factories in Austria.

This is the powerful force of a truly unified market that comes from integrating finance, investment, law, and standards.

Talleyrand nodded thoughtfully, but quickly frowned again and said, "Your Highness, even with the United Kingdom system's competition..."

However, we shouldn't let the Holy Trade Alliance develop unchecked. At the very least, delaying their appearance as much as possible would ultimately be to our advantage.

Joseph smiled and said, "Quite the opposite. United Kingdom is tying its interests more closely to those of Putin and Austria, which is exactly the opportunity I have been waiting for."

"Prussia's economy will soon be in serious trouble, and the more the United Kingdom invest, the greater the impact will be."

He then briefly told the two about how Prussia, through Baron Trudaine, had obtained coal from French Company in Westphalia.

The entire incident was handled by the Security Bureau; no one else was aware of it.

Bayei and Talleyrand exchanged a look of shock. They hadn't expected the Regent to have already planted such a huge "Gunpowder keg" in Prussia.

However, Bayei quickly frowned and said, "Your Highness, even if Prussia's Finance completely collapse, the United Kingdom can simply kick them out of the Commercial Alliance without suffering much loss themselves."

Joseph nodded approvingly. "You've noticed the most crucial point. So we must try to get United Kingdom more deeply involved in Prussia industry, for example, by getting Prussia Ironworks to take out large loans from Bank of England."

Bayei immediately said, "Your Highness, in that case, the Trade Alliance would be best off issuing a ban on foreign loans first."

"Because when the Prussia expand their industries, they certainly won't only borrow money from the United Kingdom; banks in Cologne, Hesse, Wurzburg, and other countries are also likely to be affected."

Yes, these countries have had centuries of commercial ties with Prussia and were happy to provide loans.

Talleyrand cleared his throat and said, "Ensuring the smooth implementation of the plan to strike United Kingdom is the most important thing; some small 'costs' must be paid."

Joseph raised his hand to interrupt him, "No, Mr. Bayei's concerns are necessary."

"Members of the Trade Coalition should be protected, but there's no need to prohibit foreign lending. It's also difficult to prohibit that anyway."

It wasn't that Joseph wanted to be a nice guy; the main problem was the sheer scale of the financial attack on Prussia. Afterwards, other countries could easily deduce from subtle clues that France was behind it. If banks in Hesse, Cologne, and other countries suffered heavy losses, it would inevitably affect the cohesion of the Trade Alliance.

Moreover, by sharing some of the loan, these countries will reduce the damage to the United Kingdom financial system.

Joseph thought for a moment, then instructed Bayei, "You need to convene some major Chamber of Commerce, or influential companies, and have them do this—"

After he finished speaking, Bayei nodded repeatedly. "Yes, Your Highness, I will serve you with all my might."

As he was speaking, Eman appeared at the door with a Security Bureau officer. "Your Highness, Major Rey says he has something important to report."

"Please let him in," Joseph gestured to the two men.

Talleyrand and Bayei had almost finished discussing the Commercial Alliance, and then bowed and withdrew together.

As soon as the gate closed, Major Rey bowed to Joseph and said, "Your Highness, the latest intelligence from London indicates that the United Kingdom are planning to have Prussia and Austria wage small-scale wars in North Rhine and Franconia."

General Lavalette fears that the attacked nation will likely request assistance from our country, which would plunge our nation into a severe war of attrition.

Joseph quickly glanced at the report he had brought, a smile appearing on his face, "The opportunities I've been waiting for have all come together at once."

He turned to Eman, who was standing by the door, and said, "Please inform the high-ranking officials of the General Staff Headquarters and the Security Bureau to come to a meeting tomorrow morning. Oh, and the Navy Department as well."