A Myriad of Affairs Each Day

Clementine also received a gift from her cousin. It was a large jar of Tunisia -style candy, made by binding together Cashew, Morocco nuts, date pieces, and other ingredients with honey and sugar, then pressing them into short sticks. It tasted very sweet and delicious.

She was completely unable to resist the temptation of the candy. The moment she smelled its sweet aroma, her eyes lit up, and she forgot all her restraint, reaching out to grab a piece of candy from the jar and popping it into her mouth.

"Um--"

The crunchy nuts combined with the sweetness of honey made the little girl squint her eyes in happiness.

"Thank you so much for the gift, my dearest cousin!" She wanted to bow to Joseph again, but found that her fingers were sticky with candy and she couldn't lift her skirt. After thinking for a moment, she simply grabbed a piece of candy and stuffed it into her cousin's mouth.

Joseph was shocked and wanted to say, "You don't seem to have washed your hands," but it was too late. He could only mutter to himself, "What's dirty won't make you sick," and reluctantly began to chew.

"Dear cousin!" The parrot perched on Charles's arm mimicked Clementine's comical voice.

"Wow! It, it can talk!" Nearly four-year-old Charles exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise.

Louis XVI and Queen Mary were also attracted by the parrots, and put down what they were holding to gather around them.

"What else can you say?" Charles pouted, looking at the parrot. "Little darling!"

"!" the parrot said in Arabic, and bowed towards Louis XVI.

The group exchanged glances and burst into cheerful laughter.

It can speak quite a few languages.

"It's really interesting!"

"Joseph, do you know what it's saying?" Queen Mary looked at her son.

Joseph shrugged:

"I don't understand either. But if you want it to say something, just teach it a few times and it will learn. Cape Parrot are very intelligent."

"Cape Parrot! I love Mr. Cape Parrot!" Charles hugged the colorful parrot, which was as big as a pigeon, and happily spun around the room.

Clementine her head and corrected her:

"Cape Parrot is its species. You should give it a name."

"Oh, I see. Then what should we call it...?"

Charles was deep in thought when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a cold glint in his eyes from under the table. Startled, he grabbed the cashmere Tricorn Hat his father had casually placed on the corner of the table and thrust it forward to block the light.

The next moment, the afterimage of the black and white flower flashed by, hitting the hat squarely and letting out a reluctant "meow".

"Mr. Mustache?" Clementine was startled and hurriedly looked for her maid. "Rosalia, what's wrong with the cat...?"

She forgot that Princess Therese had recently visited Spain, and Mr. Mustache's "girlfriend" had gone with her. So, when the maid wasn't looking, it ran out for a walk.

As a result, they discovered a plump "pigeon snack" here.

The cat's long-awaited attack was blocked by Charles. Ciel glanced greedily at the parrot, then bent down again and leaped up with a "meow".

Charles had been taught about "chivalry" by Queen Mary since childhood. Although he was a little scared at the moment, he still Courage and kicked Mr. Mustache with his little leg.

"Ooh." The cat, whether kicked or not, let out a pitiful yelp and huddled into Clementine's arms for comfort.

The little girl comforted the cat and protested to Charles:

"Your Highness, you almost injured Mr. Mustache."

Charles hugged the parrot tightly and retorted:

"That naughty cat, it wants to eat Mr. Parrot!"

"I apologize on its behalf, but you've already covered it up with your hat, there was absolutely no need to kick it again!"

I think it's necessary!

"No need!"

"It started it!"

The little girl stood with her hands on her hips, puffing out her cheeks, and shouted:

"Without a doubt, your behavior just now was extremely rude!"

The little boy couldn't win the argument with her, but suddenly he noticed the Morocco nuts on her candy. Remembering a picture book he had studied before, he immediately had an idea. Pointing to the nuts, he asked:

Do you know how to collect that?

"Huh? Data collection?"

Charles grinned mischievously and said, "The locals drive their sheep up into the fruit trees to eat the green berries, and the pits in their droppings are these!"

"Holy crap!" Joseph's face turned green instantly, and his stomach churned violently.

Clementine looked at the delicious candy, then at Charles, and suddenly burst into tears.

"That's not how it is, you're talking nonsense..."

The Servant and maids rushed over, Charles holding Charles, others comforting the little girl, and the scene became chaotic.

Louis XVI looked pleadingly at the Royal House biologist standing at the door.

The latter hurried over, bowed to the group, and explained:

"The harvesting method Your Highness mentioned does exist, but the edible part is the kernel inside the pit. Because of the outer shell, it would never get covered in sheep droppings. Furthermore, high-grade candies like this are likely harvested by hand."

Joseph breathed a sigh of relief, and the little girl's crying gradually subsided.

Queen Mary, having appeased her youngest son, then patted the little girl's head to distract her:

"By the way, Clementine, didn't you always say you wanted to hear your cousin's adventure stories from North Africa?"

She looked at Joseph: "Darling, why don't you tell them?"

Upon hearing this, the two children immediately stopped making a fuss and turned their attention to the situation.

Joseph instinctively wanted to decline, but then he suddenly realized that he couldn't let the Queen treat him like a child forever.

As France develops, I will inevitably undertake broader and deeper reforms, and deal with more diplomatic affairs. I need to gain greater authority to do these things without being constrained.

This presents an opportunity for me to demonstrate my abilities to the Queen.

So he nodded, gestured for everyone to sit down on the sofa, gathered his thoughts, and began to speak:

"A few months ago, there was an attack on France people in Tunisia, and I suspected that foreign forces were behind it. So I decided to go there and see..."

He then recounted how he promoted "Rome Identity," how he offered the Tunisia Guard Corps as a "gift" to the local natives to win their support, and how he made the local insurgents dependent on his weapons and equipment.

However, to avoid upsetting Louis XVI and Queen Mary, two devout Catholicism, he concealed his superstitious activities, such as the "Stone Man One Eye," and only claimed that he had "cooperated" with the Elder Alayi, ultimately allowing the natives to wipe out the Tunisia Guard Corps class that attacked the France.

Queen Mary listened with wide eyes, praising him repeatedly:

"We crushed those who were hostile to France with almost no losses. My dear, how did you come up with such a brilliant idea?"

This time, Brienne didn't go to Tunisia with Joseph, so she wouldn't mistakenly think her son was just a follower.

Overwhelmed with emotion, she made the sign of the cross and silently prayed. "My son has truly grown up, and he is exceptionally capable and resourceful. Thank God, thank the Virgin Mary!"

Joseph then recounted how Algiers intervened in Tunisia, and how he decided to launch a preemptive strike, quickly moving to Annaba to raid the Algiers ' army.

Queen Mary had seen the reports before, but they were nowhere near as detailed as Joseph's account.

When she heard that her son was fighting against more than 20,000 Algerians with 6,000 French Army, her palms sweated with anxiety, and she kept muttering to herself:

"It's too risky; you shouldn't have gone on this campaign..."

The "listeners" around him finally breathed a sigh of relief when Joseph recounted how they had ambushed Kehler south of Annaba and ultimately achieved a great victory.

Clementine led the applause:

"Cousin, you're amazing!"

The King and Queen exchanged a glance and then clapped, their faces beaming with pride.

Little Charles, with an expression of adoration, shouted loudly:

"Brother, take me with you next time you fight the heretics!"

Joseph affectionately ruffled his hair and chuckled:

"Then you must study hard and practice riding horses, so that when you grow up, we can command a large army together on expeditions."

Queen Mary quickly waved her hand:

"Riding a horse is too early, that won't do..."

After Joseph finished recounting his experiences in North Africa, Louis XVI's Attendant came over to remind him that it was dinnertime, and the Royal House family's family activity came to an end.

Queen Mary watched her eldest son and husband walk side by side, a smile of satisfaction spreading across her face—all her hard work had paid off, and she had finally raised such an outstanding heir.

But then she remembered that Joseph had been on the battlefields of North Africa amidst the chaos of war, and her heart tightened. If the Marquis of Saint-Viran's army hadn't been so slow and hesitant, how could her son have faced such a perilous situation?!

Fortunately, my son performed admirably; otherwise, he might very well have been wounded by the Algiers' army...

She dared not think any further, a venomous glint flashing in her eyes, like a lioness protecting her cubs, a low growl escaping her throat:

"Montcalm, you must pay the price for your actions!"

Immediately, she remembered the Minister of War had recommended the Marquis of Saint-Viran for her, and immediately began to hate him as well.

The following morning, Joseph, having escaped from his chores, went directly to the Industrial Planning Bureau at the Tuileries Palace.

Upon entering the office, he immediately saw the thick stack of documents piled on his desk and couldn't help but let out a long sigh. It seemed that his months in North Africa had left him with a lot of work to do.

Joseph sat down in the chair, asked Eman to make him a cup of plain Coffee, and then reached for the documents to look through.

As always, the top item is a report on the food issue.

As he had predicted, despite using Steam Engine irrigation and Phosphate fertilizer brought from Nauru, the harvest this year was still down by a full 27% compared to previous years, due to the combined effects of drought and a harsh winter.

Even more critically, after entering winter, the consumption rate of strategic grain reserves accelerated significantly, with inventory remaining at only about 18% of what it was at the beginning of the year.

Moreover, due to crop failures in other countries, international grain prices have soared, making it increasingly difficult to fill the gap with imported grain.

The documents in Joseph's possession showed that during his trip to Tunisia, more than ten places in France experienced food shortages, but fortunately, these were mostly resolved through emergency allocations of reserve grain. However, at the current rate of consumption, the reserve grain will only last until March of next year at the latest.

The early wheat in Tunisia will be ready for harvest by the end of April at the earliest, leaving a gap of more than a month that needs to be filled. This requires both accelerating immigration to Tunisia and finding new sources of food.

The situation looks very difficult, but it's much better than it was at the same time in history.

It's important to know that by the end of 1788, France was already facing widespread Famine, and the Eden Treaty had also led to massive unemployment and a complete collapse of the State Finances. With no other options, Louis XVI agreed to Estates-General the following year.

Then came the Famine of 1789, which worsened further, with frequent deaths from starvation across the country. The Estates-General failed to solve any problems, only bringing about Great Revolution that swept across France like a flood.

Joseph rubbed his temples. Thanks to his efforts over the past year, the food crisis was at least temporarily under control, and the Estates-General had not yet taken place.

Most importantly, Paris has never experienced a food shortage, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Great Revolution should be averted.

He took a sip of Coffee and turned to the next document, which mainly reported on the food situation in various Europe countries in the second half of this year.

After he finished reading it, he couldn't help but frown. In general, the situation in Europe was quite bad.

Affected by the drought, traditional grain-exporting countries such as Britain, Russia, and Putin are struggling to survive, while other countries are experiencing widespread Famine.

The most direct data is the number of civil uprisings—most of which were caused by Famine.

Austria experienced over a hundred riots in a single year. Russia, needless to say, has always been Europe's champion of riots. Prussia and United Kingdom also saw sixty or seventy riots. Indeed, even the wealthy and powerful Britain was not immune, but United Kingdom's situation was somewhat special because it was engaged in the Enclosure Movement.

Italy and other countries fared somewhat better, given their developed trade and relatively small populations. Even so, Sardinia and the Two Sicilies experienced more than thirty uprisings.

In contrast, France experienced only a dozen or so riots that year, which could be considered a model for Europe —it was impossible for a feudal society like this to be without riots, after all, a foolish Nobility messing around in his Fief could easily incite a peasant uprising.

Joseph was well aware that food problems in Europe countries could very likely trigger wars—wars could divert domestic conflicts abroad and also allow for the seizure of money and food, a common tactic used by nations in this era to resolve domestic issues.

This requires him to quickly resolve the issue of unruly military Nobility within the country and unify military power in order to effectively resist foreign enemies.

The Royal Guard Legion ' outstanding performance in Tunisia has given him the confidence to deal with the military Nobility, but he still needs to be extremely cautious in his actions. The most important matters of state are sacrifice and war. These guys hold armies, and if things aren't handled properly, they could easily cause a mutiny.

Joseph put away the reports on the riots in various countries and turned to the next document.

This is the result of Talleyrand's United Kingdom protest to the British Government regarding "France instigation of the Tunisia Guard Corps to attack France people."