Industrial and financial development
Then Eman presented the report sent by the Marseille officials.
Joseph opened the report, read only a few lines, and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. ღ(¯`◕‿◕´¯) ♫ ♪ ♫ ♫ ♪ ♫ (¯`◕‿◕´¯)ღ
The report stated that the King of Spain had sent a total of 1.8 Livre of grain, and that the quality was quite good.
It's important to understand that although the drought had a relatively small impact on Spain, it still had some effect. Carlos III even managed to send a large amount of grain as a gift, demonstrating his exceptional sincerity!
Two days later, Carlos III's envoy arrived in Paris, first meeting with Louis XVI and the Queen, and then rushing to find Joseph.
After the usual formalities, the messenger asked Joseph to dismiss the others before taking out a letter in his own handwriting from Carlos III and respectfully presenting it to him.
"Your Highness, Crown Prince, His Majesty the King has entrusted me to convey his heartfelt gratitude to you." The messenger looked somewhat embarrassed. "You have helped the Royal House maintain the purity of its bloodline, and... ah, you have kept His Highness Antonio's secret."
"His Majesty the King, having learned of the recent hailstorm disaster in France, sent some grain as a token of his goodwill."
Joseph nodded inwardly. Carlos III truly was one of Spain's rare Enlightened Lord; he handled interpersonal relationships with remarkable skill. It was a pity the old man was already on his deathbed and wouldn't last much longer; otherwise, Spain could have provided France with even more support.
The messenger then added, "As for the Crown Princess, His Majesty the King has already sent people to keep an eye on her, so please rest assured."
As Joseph had predicted, Carlos III was furious when he learned that Luisa had been having an affair in front of his son and the Crown Prince of France. He immediately ordered that the Crown Princess be forbidden from leaving the palace and assigned a lady-in-waiting to follow her 24 hours a day.
If it weren't for the fact that Spain people are Catholicism and divorce is extremely difficult, the old man would definitely have made his son divorce her.
Although the Spain Nobility were unaware of what had happened to Luisa, it was obvious that the King disliked her, so they all distanced themselves from her, especially some important high-ranking officials.
Because of Carlos III's poor health, many government affairs had been delegated to Antonio. However, the latter, engrossed in mechanics and hunting, then left these matters to Luisa.
Nowadays, Spain officials would rather take the documents to Antonio's Workshop and force him to handle them than let Luisa deal with them anymore.
Of course, given Antonio's henpecked nature, the constraints placed on Luisa will gradually weaken after Carlos III passes God. However, this incident has severely diminished her political standing, and it is highly unlikely that she will ever again hold absolute power in Spain.
A uniquely designed "Gem"-shaped Carriage sped past Mirabeau, kicking up dust that covered his face.
Mirabeau frowned as he took the handkerchief offered by the Servant and wiped his face and body repeatedly, shaking his head inwardly. Nowadays, Paris has a great many Tracked Bus, with five intersecting lines that connect to all parts of the Paris, but many Nobility still choose to travel by horse-drawn Carriage because they feel it is beneath their dignity to ride in the same vehicle as commoners.
In fact, even when these Tracked Bus were carrying more than twenty people, they were still faster than ordinary Carriage.
But Capitalist Aristocrat like him—a name coined by the Crown Prince and now widely accepted—scoff at such attitudes.
He grumbled inwardly: the nobility of the Nobility stemmed from their wealth, ability, and hard work, not from who they rode in the same Carriage. All citizens should be equal; an incompetent or low-character Nobility was no match for a clever and diligent commoner. What gave them the right to consider themselves born superior?
While many of Rousseau's ideas are absurd, he was quite right on the point of equality. Those guys really should read his books...
Mirabeau shook his head again after thinking about this, deciding against it. Rousseau's ideas were too dangerous, and most Nobility didn't have his discernment. Who knew what negative influence they would have after reading them?
A crisp bell rang out, and Mirabeau pulled himself together, straightened his collar, and stepped onto the Tracked Bus that looked like a thick cigar.
When the civilians on the train saw his attire, they all stood up to give him their seats and kept a safe distance.
Mirabeau made no attempt to be polite, taking his seat in the most desirable spot and accepting today's copy of the Paris Business Daily from his Servant.
Carriage had barely traveled a short distance when Mirabeau smelled a foul stench through the window.
He frowned and looked out the window, where he saw several dark, highly decomposed corpses hanging on the streetlights—the suffocating stench was coming from there.
He knew without asking that those were the Barbary Pirates who had been hanged recently, and Boislandar who had murdered Necker.
Mirabeau gestured for his Servant to close the carriage window, shook his head, and muttered under his breath, "He deserves to die, but associating a former banker with a pirate is still somewhat inappropriate..."
He immediately buried his head in his newspaper, and the headline on the front page made his eyelids twitch – "Marquis Ludo, Second President of the Banking Guild, assassinated and seriously wounded; the murderer was captured on the spot."
He quickly read the news and learned that a man Aironk had broken into the Marquis Ludo's Villa in the middle of the night and shot the Marquis in the thigh with Pistol.
As a capitalist, Aironk Mirabeau naturally had dealings with banks and knew that this man was Necker's butler, and that Necker's death was most likely related to the Marquis Ludo.
Mirabeau sighed softly, thinking to himself: This butler is quite a loyal and devoted servant...
Before long, the Carriage stopped outside the University of Paris.
Mirabeau and his Servant and Guard got out of the carriage, whereupon a large group of school officials came up to greet him with obsequious bows and greetings.
He is now a high-ranking official, the Minister of Industry, a powerful minister who can speak to the King, so the school naturally dares not neglect him.
The crowd surrounded Mirabeau like stars around the moon, leading him to the main building of the university, which was engraved with the word "Sorbonne." There, he saw that the surroundings were covered with colorful ribbons, a band was playing, and a wooden sign in front of the gate had a line of gold lettering. "France Standard Committee Standardization of Metrological Standards Release Conference."
Reporters who had been lingering outside recognized Mirabeau. Dozens of them swarmed around him, bombarding him with questions.
Mirabeau, escorted by Guard, walked through the crowd of reporters and followed school officials to the Hall on the first floor, where he saw many more familiar faces.
This place was a veritable gathering of stars; almost all the famous scholars from all over France who could attend were present. There were also a large number of foreign scholars attending the conference.
Led by Mirabeau, all government officials related to industry and commerce also came, along with people from the Paris City Hall. The huge Hall was so crowded that there wasn't even room to insert a pin.
Mirabeau spent more than ten minutes exchanging greetings with everyone before finally being able to sit down in the front row, at which point he breathed a sigh of relief.
He glanced at his watch; there was still a little while before the meeting started. He then began chatting with the middle-aged man beside him—a thin-faced man with thick, dark eyebrows and a long nose. "Dear Sylvain, how's the situation in Nancy?"
The middle-aged man gave a tired smile, "You see, it's really too much for me to be put in such a high position all at once. I've been busy for two months and only managed to finish one-third of the track connecting Nancy to the Mining Area. I'm already exhausted."
"The good news is that a large Coal Mine has been discovered west of the mine, with shallow coal seams. It's already producing tens of thousands of pounds of coal per day and is continuously expanding."
"You've done a very good job," Mirabeau said. "That area is quite remote, and funding is limited; laying tracks there isn't an easy task."
This scholar, Jean Sylvain Bayei, is now the Assistant Minister of Industry of France. When Mirabeau recommended him, he was worried about resistance, but the Crown Prince seemed to appreciate him and immediately agreed.
Joseph certainly remembered Bayei, the leader of the Feillant school, who possessed excellent administrative skills and, being a scientist, was very suitable to serve as an official in the industrial field.
Bayei continued, "I'll try to speed things up; perhaps you can allocate me some more United Kingdom technicians. I must admit, they are indeed fast at laying tracks."
"Once this track is laid, the output at the United Steam Engine Company will increase significantly. That United Kingdom technician is always complaining to me about the lack of refined iron. But there's Iron Mine everywhere in the mines."
Mirabeau nodded. France was currently experiencing a severe drought, and Water Pump, or Steam Engine, were an important means of ensuring agricultural output. The Crown Prince had repeatedly urged that production must be increased as soon as possible.
He pondered, "Recently, Russia merchant ships have brought in a considerable amount of crude iron. I'll try to get some for the Steam Engine factory."
Russia Iron Mine is of significantly higher quality than France, but transportation costs are also higher. To solve the iron shortage, it is necessary to accelerate the exploration of France Iron Mine and improve smelting technology.
Mirabeau continued, "Once the railway construction in Nancy is finished, you'll be going to Saint-Etienne."
Bayei asked with some surprise, "You mean the new Industrial Development Zone over there?"
"Yes, His Crown Prince has already asked me to prepare a planning proposal."
"But that would require a significant investment, wouldn't it?"
Mirabeau smiled slightly, "Are you aware of the French Reserve Bank's issuance of Bank Notes?"
"Of course I know. Half of my salary last month was in Bank Notes." Bayei's tone was clearly complaining. There was only one branch of the French Reserve Bank in the entire province of Lorraine, which was quite far from Nancy. He had wasted a lot of money on transportation to exchange the Bank Notes for Silver Coin.
He was still in the Outer Provinces. If he were an official in Paris, his salary would be entirely in Bank Notes.
Mirabeau lowered his voice and said, "As far as I know, the Cabinet will soon pass the Banking Management Act."
What is that?
"Broadly speaking, the goal is to bring all banks under government regulation. For example, banks will be subject to government audits of their funds, accept Bank Notes from the French Reserve Bank, and deposit 10% of their assets as a security deposit."
Upon hearing that Bank Notes could be exchanged at any bank, Bayei's expression brightened, and he then asked, "What is this 'deposit guarantee' you mentioned?"
"It's said that this is to prevent banks from unexpectedly failing and being unable to pay depositors' savings. Therefore, 10% of the deposits will be entrusted to the government for safekeeping. If a bank encounters an accident, the government can return this money to the depositors. It's said that this 10% is just the beginning, and the percentage will be increased later."
The Deposit Reserve has become a common financial control tool in later generations, but it first appeared in the mid-19th century. It is also one of the important powers of central banks around the world.
After these few months, the French Reserve Bank had completed the absorption and reorganization of the merged banks, and the implementation of the Banking Management Act to centralize the French Reserve Bank was immediately put on the agenda.
What Mirabeau didn't know was that the Banking Management Act would also stipulate that Bank Notes issued by the French Reserve Bank would become the only legal Paper Money in France, with their value directly pegged to gold and silver. The current practice of paying officials' salaries in Paper Money money was to allow them to get used to it in advance.
With the central bank in place and the banking law in effect, any bank that tries to collude with officials for personal gain or use loans to blackmail the French Government will have to think twice.
As for which Guild objections?
It doesn't exist at all.
Joseph holds leverage over nearly half of the Banking Guild's top figures. Most of the influential banks in Paris have signed agreements with the French Reserve Bank) to accept Paper Money. Coupled with the government's emphasis on Finance issues and the current influence of the French Reserve Bank, banks that refuse to comply are destined to be disciplined.
Mirabeau's voice lowered even further. "His Crown Prince hinted to me that the Deposit Reserve collected by the French Reserve Bank will flow into the Industrial Development Fund."
Bayei immediately smiled knowingly. The Industrial Development Fund was designed to support France industry, and once the fund had money, it would naturally invest in development zones.
As the two were talking, Venio, who was in the back row, leaned over and bowed to them before asking Mirabeau, "Earl Mirabeau, if I may be so bold, I've heard that the Cabinet is going to pass the ' Guild Rectification Act.' Is that true?"
He now serves as the Commissioner for Industrial Technology Management, under the Minister of Industry, so Mirabeau didn't hide anything from him. "There is indeed such a bill, and it will be implemented soon."
"As per the Crown Prince's wishes, all existing Guild will be abolished. The government will organize a unified workforce to assess the technical skills of the Craftsman and issue certificates."
Venio was overjoyed. His job was to transform the old Workshop into factories, but the existing Guild System was a major obstacle for him. In some places, Guild even gathered to threaten the Workshop, preventing them from making any management improvements.
Mirabeau continued, "However, as you know, Guild a very large influence, and abolishing Guild be done gradually. The first step might be to make the existing Guild leaders government employees, and then abolish the apprenticeship system. As for making Guild completely unable to affect factory production, that will take at least one or two years, or even longer."
At that moment, academic luminaries such as Lavoisier, Lagrange, Monge, Condorcet all arrived at the front of the Hall.
The President of the University of Paris personally presided over the conference. After some routine pleasantries and small talk, he announced loudly, "The French Measurement Standards will be officially announced today!"