Chapter 623: Valentine's Day Arrives
Using Poland to align the interests of Prussia and Austria was a core component of Britain's strategic plans. After the recent arrests of numerous conservative nobles, Jason, the British ambassador to Poland, immediately recognized their immense utility.
He promptly contacted Prussian officers within the Polish military. Due to the Polish-Prussian alliance, Poland had been modeling its military on Prussian standards, resulting in a significant number of Prussian-born officers in its ranks.
Under Jason's guidance, these officers arranged for the replacement of soldiers escorting the detained Potockis and coordinated with British spies to execute the "prison break."
Potocki gritted his teeth in fury. "It must be those patriots and Poniatowski! They're imprisoning any noble who dares defy them to gain control of the parliament. This is criminal—this is treason!"
Jason nodded, his tone grave. "But these traitors control both the parliament and the military."
"No, there are still forces loyal to tradition and faith," Potocki countered. "Moreover, I'm certain Russia will never allow Poland's order to collapse!"
Jason's interest was piqued. "You speak of loyal forces?"
"We've already contacted certain officers. If someone were to step up and call them to action, they'd respond."
"How many troops could they muster?"
"At least two to three thousand soldiers."
"Then there is still hope," Jason said, a flicker of satisfaction crossing his face. "As for Russia, I can arrange for you to have a private audience with the Tsar."
Paris.
A sleek and luxurious Gem 7L carriage, flanked by guards, rolled along a wooden track toward Notre Dame Cathedral.
The Gem 7L, the latest model from the Gem Carriage Company, featured adjustable wheels for smooth travel on both regular roads and wooden tracks. Despite its steep price of over 3,000 francs, demand far exceeded supply. Buyers unwilling to wait for months often paid up to 4,000 francs to obtain one promptly.
Inside the opulent silver-gray carriage, Joseph casually flipped through a report on sugar beet cultivation submitted by the Minister of Agriculture, lost in thought.
Currently, France had over 1,800 hectares of sugar beet fields in the Valois region and beyond. While the scale was considerable, expansion had stagnated over the past two months.
Minister Venieux was doing his best to promote the crop, but farmers remained inherently skeptical of new ventures. They preferred wheat, which fed their families, and potatoes, which were becoming increasingly accepted.
Even with tax exemptions and loans from the Agricultural Services Advisory Company, reaching 1,800 hectares had been a challenge.
Joseph knew that while other nations waited for France to quell its Caribbean unrest, the French expeditionary force was effectively delivering weapons to the region.
The Caribbean would soon be engulfed by abolitionist uprisings, causing sugarcane production to plummet dramatically. Historically, during the Haitian Revolution, sugarcane production in Saint-Domingue dropped from 80 million pounds to less than 4 million pounds.
With the Caribbean supplying 85% of Europe's sugar, a sugar shortage was imminent, driving prices sky-high.
However, France's current sugar beet output—limited to 1,800 hectares—was insufficient even for domestic consumption, let alone profitable exports.
Compelling French farmers to plant sugar beets by force wasn't an option. Joseph turned his attention to France's largest landowner—the Catholic Church.
The Church owned 10% of all arable land in France. If he could persuade them to allocate a portion of their land for sugar beet cultivation, they could potentially achieve the desired scale of 40,000 to 50,000 hectares.
Historically, Napoleon planted roughly 28,000 hectares of sugar beets in the early 19th century, which barely met Western Europe's sugar needs.
But Napoleon had to compete with low-cost Caribbean sugar and could only sustain beet sugar through hefty subsidies, which were ultimately unsustainable.
Joseph, on the other hand, was confident that beet sugar could be profitable and thus aimed for maximum production.
With this plan in mind, he set off to Notre Dame Cathedral to discuss the matter with Archbishop Beaumont.
Forty minutes later, the luxurious silver-gray carriage arrived at the edge of Notre Dame's square, only to be met with an overwhelming crowd. The carriage couldn't even make it into the square.
Joseph glanced out the window. "Is there a major mass today?"
Aide Émon thought for a moment. "Your Highness, I believe today is Valentine's Day. These people must be here for the 'Heaven's First Love Token' event."
Joseph slapped his forehead, realizing he'd forgotten it was February 14. Incidentally, the "First Love Token" event was his idea, inspired by the modern tradition of competing to light the "first incense stick" in temples.
Given the era's deep Catholic faith, his "marketing campaign" had yielded spectacular results.
Last year, Notre Dame Cathedral's inaugural event earned a whopping 190,000 francs! A single noblewoman, Miss Debray, paid 45,000 francs for the first love token in what was essentially an auction.
This year's turnout seemed even larger.
Unable to disrupt the Church's most lucrative "business day," Joseph instructed his driver to take him to Notre Dame's back entrance, entering through a special passage.
Upon hearing that the Crown Prince wished to see Archbishop Beaumont, the priest welcoming him hesitated.
Joseph immediately understood. The archbishop was likely presiding over the love token ceremony. "Never mind," Joseph said. "Let's not disturb him. I'll wait."
He wandered through Notre Dame's serene interior, which was nearly empty as the crowd gathered outside.
Eventually, he settled on a pew in a prayer room, picking up a Bible to read as if it were a novel.
Outside Notre Dame Cathedral.
Archbishop Beaumont stood on a high platform, arms outstretched, and recited a prayer. He then proclaimed loudly:
"Let us thank God for His blessings. The Lord has sown true love into the world, embodied in the sacred Love Token.
"Now, God watches over us, and the most devout shall receive the First Love Token, blessed by the Lord Himself."
As he finished, a noblewoman in a light blue silk gown clasped her hands in prayer and declared, "I am willing to donate 5,000 francs to demonstrate my devotion."
Her voice was quickly overshadowed by another young lady. "I shall offer 7,000 francs..."
Suddenly, a dazzling figure emerged from the crowd, speaking softly yet firmly:
"Archbishop Beaumont, I, a devout lamb of God, am willing to donate 40,000 francs."
Golden hair and violet eyes glinted in the sunlight. It was none other than Camellia.
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