A citywide manhunt

Murdoch stared intently at the dark Machines rumbling before him.

Then Sander's voice came from the side, drowning out the Machines's roar, "Pressure normal! Throttle valve normal!"

Murdoch was immediately overjoyed, shouting "Release the steam!" before embracing each of his assistants in celebration.

A factory supervisor jogged into the test shed and called out to Murdoch, "Mr. Murdoch, His Crown Prince has arrived!"

"Huh? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"As you said, during the test drive, unless God descends upon us, we must not disturb you..."

"Except for the Crown Prince and God from now on!"

"Oh well..."

After Murdoch and the others bowed, Joseph smiled and asked, "I think I heard you cheering just now."

"Yes, Your Highness!" Murdoch exclaimed excitedly, pointing to the massive black iron behemoth in the test shed. "We succeeded! It was entirely built by our own engineers, and its power output, coal consumption, and overall performance are exactly the same as Watt Company's products."

"You are absolutely the best Steam Engine technician in all of Europe!" Joseph exclaimed immediately. "You built the world's most advanced Steam Engine in just over two months. Congratulations to you and your technicians!"

In reality, this Steam Engine was just a replica of a United Kingdom product, and it used many parts that were readily available on the market.

However, this was far superior in performance to the best Steam Engine France had ever been able to build, and it was accomplished while Murdoch and others were busy building the factory.

Murdoch and the others then enthusiastically started up the new Steam Engine and demonstrated it to Joseph.

Sander boomed, "Your Highness, with the successful experience gained from this Steam Engine, we can now begin manufacturing a new type of High-Pressure Steam Engine."

Murdoch chimed in loudly, "Yes! We must crush Watt Company's products in one fell swoop!"

Joseph thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Right now, a 15-horsepower Steam Engine is sufficient for most purposes. Our goal should be to sell more Machines. Once we've expanded our product range, then we can consider technological upgrades."

Murdoch paused slightly, then quickly nodded with a smile, "Your Highness is absolutely right; recovering costs is of course the most important thing."

Joseph shook his head again. "It's not just about making money. The main thing is to cultivate the market, to get people familiar with the Steam Engine as soon as possible, and to make them more willing to accept it. High-performance but expensive products will only be chosen by a small number of users. Cheap and easy-to-use products are the main sellers."

Murdoch and Sander both nodded silently upon hearing this.

Joseph continued, "Your main goal going forward is to improve the reliability of the Steam Engine, and then make Steam Engine shape as compact and neat as possible for easy transport and installation."

"In addition, we offer various kits, such as those that can be directly integrated and modified with existing Waterwheel and Automatic Textile Machine."

He then looked at the black Machines not far away and asked, "Mr. Murdoch, how much did this Steam Engine cost?"

"It cost approximately 13,800 Livre, Your Highness."

Joseph's eyes twitched upon hearing this—no wonder it's cutting-edge technology of this era, and it's certainly not cheap.

"How much can costs be reduced after mass production?"

"I'd estimate around 11,000 Livre."

Joseph nodded. "Then let's set the price at 13,000 Livre per unit."

"That's probably too low, Your Highness!" Murdoch immediately objected. "Look, Watt Company's Steam Engine of the same type sell for 17,000 Livre."

Joseph smiled. "How many units does he sell each year?"

"Usually 20 to 30 units."

"If we can sell 80 units a year, or even more, what do you think of this price?"

Murdoch's eyes widened. "Your Highness, with all due respect, I'm afraid this sales figure is unlikely to be achieved..."

Joseph patted him on the shoulder and laughed, "If all the wealthy parishes in France were willing to pool their money to buy Steam Engine for irrigation, Mining Area bought some for pumping water, plus the Textile Workshop in Lyon to power their Automatic Loom, do you think we could sell 80 units?"

Murdoch hesitated, "Your Highness, those parishes have never bought Steam Engine. As for the Textile, you know, France hasn't even built Automatic Loom yet..."

"Don't worry about that. The government will soon issue documents to the provinces to provide low-interest loans to parishes to purchase irrigation equipment. As for the Automatic Loom, I will have someone procure United Kingdom ones and begin copying them immediately."

"If this still doesn't achieve the sales target, we can use a leasing method, lending the Steam Engine to people for use first, and then gradually recouping the costs."

Watt's Steam Engine was not widely adopted until the early 19th century, largely due to the promotion efforts of his company.

Joseph, however, immediately used administrative means to help the France Steam Engine Company open up the market!

When technological capabilities are similar, higher sales volume will inevitably lead to more technological feedback, promoting technological iteration.

With government action versus corporate action, Joseph believed that it wouldn't be long before France Steam Engine were being exported back to the United Kingdom.

Joseph's caravan encountered a messenger from Paris less than a day after leaving Nancy.

Moreover, there were two separate groups, one sent by Fouche and the other by Brienne.

The two letters contained essentially the same information: Necker had fled. Although no official arrest warrant had yet been issued for him—the evidence provided by Calonne was still on its way— the Secret Police, Paris Police, and the Police Intelligence Division had all been mobilized in a massive manhunt for Necker.

Joseph frowned immediately, surprised that even with such a meticulously planned operation, he had still managed to escape.

After a moment's thought, he wrote a letter to Brienne, instructing him to order the Governor of the border provinces to closely monitor outbound routes, especially those to the United Kingdom and Prussia.

A few days later, Joseph returned to Paris and found Fouche already waiting by the roadside.

When Fouche saw the Crown Prince, he almost bowed his head to the ground, desperately blaming himself.

Joseph waved him off, gesturing for him to get in the car. "That tunnel must have been dug before you sent people to infiltrate his house. It seems he was prepared to escape at any moment, so you can't entirely blame him."

Fouche secretly breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you for your forgiveness, Your Highness."

Joseph then asked, "Have you found any clues about Necker?"

"Not yet..." Fouche shook his head in frustration, then quickly added, "However, I've set up checkpoints on all roads in and out of Paris, and I've also placed spies in the wastelands and bushes. Every Farmhouse within a mile is under surveillance. I believe Necker should still be in Paris."

Joseph frowned, deep in thought, "Or, should we get the Secret Police involved and search house to house?"

Necker's net worth is in the hundreds of millions, absolutely justifying such a large undertaking.

Fouche then remembered something else and hurriedly said, "By the way, Your Highness, besides the Police Intelligence Division and the Secret Police, there's clearly another group looking for Necker. There are even rumors in the underworld that they've offered a 50,000 Livre for information on Necker's whereabouts."

(End of this chapter)