Do business with the British, leave them no business to do

Clearly, the United Kingdom saw the sensational effect of installing Gas Streetlight in Paris and quickly finalized an investment of over £7 million in just four or five months, preparing to replicate it in London.

This also shows how wealthy the United Kingdom are. With such a start, they're probably already working on restoring the glory of the Byzantine Empire.

He suddenly thought of a question and looked at DuPont, saying, "Has United Kingdom already mastered the technology of Coal Gas distillation?"

"This..." DuPont looked down to recall, "I don't recall ever hearing them mention this technology."

Joseph frowned. "So they're going to invest in Gas Streetlight?"

Murdoch shrugged, saying helplessly, "Your Highness, the Englishman are known to all for their shamelessness in thieving techniques."

He gestured behind him. "There should be industrial Spy of theirs Distillery right now. As long as they have enough funding, they could raid a Coal Gas Distillery as early as next summer."

He speaks fluent French and calls everyone "Englishman," clearly a native France. Indeed, his assets and business are all in France, and he was recently knighted at the Versailles Palace, effectively severing ties with the United Kingdom.

Joseph frowned again.

He knew that Britain and France had exchanged numerous industrial Spy, and that whichever side had something new, the other would quickly copy it. Historically, even a national treasure like the Spinning Jenny was "cloned" by France in just three to five years. It was only due to domestic business conditions and raw material issues that France had never been able to compete with the United Kingdom.

Moreover, United Kingdom has always had strong scientific research capabilities; after all, it was a leader in this era, and Murdoch was actually trained by them. So, as long as they are determined to do it, even without stealing technology, they can most likely develop it in a little over a year.

Joseph was quite displeased. He had put in so much effort and invested so much money in Gas Streetlight, but Paris hadn't attracted much talent or investment yet, and London was already trying to steal his thunder!

They also invested 7.5 million at once.

So what if you United Kingdom have money?

No way! He clenched his fist inwardly; he couldn't let the United Kingdom get away with this Gas Streetlight issue so easily.

But how can we stop the United Kingdom?

Catching an industrial Spy won't be that easy. Are we supposed to assassinate the United Kingdom technicians in charge of the counterfeit Coal Gas distillation...?

He immediately dismissed the idea, arguing that "dirty tricks" were always the worst option, and that the United Kingdom would easily guess that it was the France who did it, which could easily lead to a diplomatic dispute.

But soon, a wicked smile crept onto his lips. Couldn't those shady tactics employed by United States Arms companies in later generations be applied here?

The standard procedure is roughly as follows: first, bid low to win the military contract, crush the competitors in one fell swoop, and then start to increase the price while building, taking advantage of the monopoly position.

Of course, his goal wasn't to raise prices, but to crush his United Kingdom competitors and then run away with the buckets.

Thinking of this, Joseph pulled DuPont aside and asked, "Since you were able to find out about the United Kingdom's plans to invest in Gas Streetlight, you must have some connections there, right?"

DuPont immediately tensed up and waved his hand, saying, "Your Highness, I heard about this from a business partner; it has absolutely nothing to do with the British Government!"

Joseph smiled and patted him on the back, "I trust you completely. But if I want to take on the Gas Lamp job in London, can you find someone to help me get in touch?"

DuPont stared in astonishment, his eyes widening. After a long pause, he finally managed to say, "Your Highness, are you going to sell the Gas Streetlight technology to the United Kingdom?"

"Partly," Joseph nodded. "However, given the special diplomatic relationship between Britain and France, as you know, they might be somewhat resistant to French Company."

"Therefore, I need you to help me set up a company in the United Kingdom, or directly acquire one, then inject capital, and subsequently contract out the Gas Lamp project in London."

"I can help with that, Your Highness. However, I'm not sure if we can reach a construction agreement with the London City Hall."

Joseph chuckled, "Do you think 300,000 Franc will be enough to sway the Mayor of London and the project manager?"

DuPont was startled again. The Crown Prince was clearly very familiar with the ways of the business world, and his actions were also very decisive.

He thought for a moment, then hesitated, "Your Highness, this matter might also involve the British Parliament, after all, the investment is enormous..."

"Then add another 300,000 Franc to cultivate good relations with the relevant members of parliament," Joseph said without hesitation. "And here's another 100,000 Franc as a token of my appreciation."

DuPont finally stopped refusing; the huge sum of 600,000 Franc was likely sufficient for a bribe.

He immediately nodded and said, "Your Highness, I will try my best. As for the fee, it is already an honor for me to serve you, so there's really no need for it."

Joseph said forcefully, "You don't need to refuse. I will have someone deliver the 700,000 in funds to you as soon as possible."

"Please go and fetch Director Fouche," he instructed Eman, then turned to DuPont, "We need to discuss the details of this deal further."

Indian Peninsula.

The outskirts of Seringapatam, the administrative center of Mysore.

Marquess Wellesley, his expression somber, gazed at the distant Mysore positions and turned to his staff officer, asking, "Where are my heavy artillery pieces now?"

"General, due to days of torrential rain, the ground in South Kanara is extremely muddy, and the 12-pound Cannon can only advance a few thousand feet per day. It will probably take another month to arrive."

Since arriving in India, Wellesley has swept through almost everything in his path, using a "mass assault" tactic to take down the Mysore fortress complex in South Kanara and has pushed the front line all the way to Seringapatam.

He was thus promoted to Brigadier General. However, his army encountered trouble in front of the city. Tipu Sultan avoided a direct confrontation with him, using tactics of frequent harassment to keep him occupied until the rainy season arrived.

"A month..." Wellesley scratched his shoulder vigorously; he'd been bitten by several mosquitoes the size of mung beans yesterday, and it was terribly itchy. "I wonder if the supplies in Cornwallis can last for another two months."

Yes, only when the heavy artillery arrives can we suppress the cannons used for defense in Seringapatam, and it will take at least another month to conquer Seringapatam.

Before that, his army had been repeatedly harassed by mosquitoes, Malaria, Dysentery, and raids by the Mysore. He seriously doubted that the army's morale would collapse before its logistical supplies ran out.

Since the start of the rainy season, his and Cornwallis's logistical support had been almost completely cut off. A large number of Warship carrying supplies were anchored at the port of North Kanara, unable to bring them in. Meanwhile, the Mysore seemed to have been prepared, with ample supplies of Ammunition and food in the city, a stark contrast to their previous practices.