Chapter 74: Chapter 74: The King is the Best Craftsman
Her own sister’s vitality was incredibly tenacious! Joseph marveled in his heart, suffering from anemia and still needing to be bled twice a month, yet she had managed to survive until now…
Therese, however, asked in confusion, “Why is that, Mr. Baptiste? What did he do wrong?”
“He never did anything right…”
Joseph suddenly thought of the news Dr. Lamark had sent a couple of days ago, saying that tocopherol had been successfully extracted, and his heart stirred.
He originally planned to use Vitamin E, which is tocopherol, to make cosmetics. However, it also seemed to have the effect of treating pathological anemia and could boost immunity.
It would be perfect for Therese to take.
Combined with some iron supplementation, it should be able to greatly improve her anemia.
As for the iron supplements, he could have Dr. Lamark help synthesize some ferrous sulfate.
This was simply done by heating iron with dilute sulfuric acid, then filtering out the precipitate, making production very simple.
He earnestly cautioned Therese,
“Never let yourself be bled again, it seriously harms your health. Besides, I have made a potion that should help alleviate your condition. I’ll have someone deliver it to you tomorrow.”
“Really? You have such a potion?” Therese showed a look of surprise.
In fact, she had long been reluctant to be bled. No girl would want to have permanent scars on her arm.
Joseph nodded.
“Oh, dear Joseph, you really are a genius!”
While Therese was speaking, she suddenly felt dizzy, excused herself from the crowd, and, supported by her maid, left the ballroom to rest.
As Joseph pondered over the dosage of Vitamin E and ferrous sulfate for his sister, it occurred to him, why not sell these as health supplements at the Paris Angel’s shop?
Vitamin E also had anti-aging properties and regulated the female menstrual cycle. Combined with ferrous sulfate for blood supplementation, it would be the perfect “Woman’s Friend”!
This product would certainly drive the ladies of high society crazy.
He thought of a certain famous oral liquid from the future and his eyes sparked with the light of livres as he murmured to himself,
“Let’s call it ‘Ladies’ Joy Oral Liquid’!”
The young noblewomen around him, who could hardly contain their excitement, saw that the princess had finally left and immediately crowded around the Crown Prince, trying various methods to attract his attention, either by striking poses or with bashful glances.
Joseph, feeling overwhelmed, was about to seek help from Perna when he saw a woman in her thirties carrying wine and pastries walking towards him.
He casually picked up a glass of wine. The lady curtsied to him, smiling and said,
“Your Highness, may I have a few minutes of your time?”
Next to him, Eman quickly whispered a reminder,
“Your Highness, this is Lady Eric.”
It was only then that Joseph realized she was not a maid, and he bowed slightly to her,
“Do you need something?”
The fluttering and chattering young ladies around him saw the “old auntie” act with such rapid response and seize the opportunity, and they all looked at her with eyes filled with envy and anger.
Lady Eric, oblivious to their stares, spoke to Joseph,
“Your Highness, as you know, my late husband had a business partner. He admires you greatly.”
Lady Eric handed an envelope to Joseph,
“This may be somewhat presumptuous, but he would like to discuss some matters with you. Oh, of course, whether to meet him is for you to decide. However, he also said that you definitely would not regret meeting him.”
Joseph opened the envelope and saw inside a theatre ticket.
Lady Eric leaned in closer and whispered,
“Your Highness, this is from Mr. Hartley, the British Ambassador, for you.”
The British Ambassador? Joseph narrowed his eyes slightly. What does he want with me?
He suddenly remembered the Eden Treaty between England and France that Dupont had mentioned before and thought to himself, Regardless of what the British want, it would be good to make contact and see what they’re after.
So he raised the envelope to Lady Eric with a smile and said,
“Please tell him I will go.”
Having endured until the end of the ball, Joseph returned to his sleeping quarters, exhausted, only to find the King’s attendant waiting at his door.
“Crown Prince, Your Highness,” the King’s attendant bowed, “His Majesty the King invites you to his workshop. He has a surprise for you.”
Joseph immediately followed him to the Royal Workshop. He hadn’t even had the chance to bow to Louis XVI before the latter excitedly dragged him in front of a dark iron machine.
Joseph could tell it was a printing press.
Louis XVI gestured to a plate-maker at his side. The craftsman nodded immediately, securing the etched stone plate in the middle of the press, then fetched a few sheets of paper to place on the iron rack above. After he brushed on the ink, he pulled down the long lever firmly to make the impression.
When he lifted the handle, the paper had transformed into a landscape painting of the Palace of Versailles.
The craftsman did not stop there; he removed the printed painting and pulled the handle again, producing another one.
He continued to print like this, producing five paintings in succession before he paused to apply more ink and add paper. The whole process took just over a minute!
Louis XVI watched Joseph with pride, seemingly waiting for a whirlwind of praise.
“Dear father, you’ve already completed the improvements to the lithographic press?” Joseph exclaimed in delight, “And in just three days…”
The craftsman beside them, noticing that the Crown Prince was unaware of the full achievement, carefully ventured,
“Your Highness, His Majesty has invented the automatic feeder.”
He pointed to something that looked like a rake on the paper-loading iron rack:
“Previously, we had to reset the paper after each print, aligning it each time. Now, it can print five copies in sequence, speeding up the process multiple times over!”
Joseph’s eyes widened as he looked at Louis XVI, thinking to himself that the holder of the new guillotine patent was indeed well-deserved of his repute!
Not only had he adapted the printing press for a stone base, but he had also greatly improved its efficiency!
This meant that the time and cost of printing could be significantly reduced.
“Other than to express my admiration and praises for you, I can think of no other words,” Joseph said with exaggerated reverence, touching his chest in a bow to Louis XVI, “You truly are the most impressive king I have ever seen!”
In his heart, he added a caveat: regarding mechanical innovations.
Louis XVI rubbed his hands together proudly and said with a smile:
“If the spring is further improved, we could print 10 to 20 copies at a time.”
He began to explain his invention with the familiarity of an expert:
“Look here, when you pull down the lever, it moves the paper, and then pushes it forward…”
As Joseph watched those intricate mechanical devices, an idea sparked within him. Perhaps there was no need to wait for the craftsmen at Charleville Arsenal; he could start developing the next generation of rifles right now.
The King was the finest craftsman of all; it would be a waste not to make full use of his skills!
He enquired about the situation of the plate-makers and learned they had already mastered the making of stone printing plates. He then summoned Eman to call the guards prepared for them and ordered them to escort the craftsmen back to the Paris Commercial News Agency immediately.
Louis XVI sent his own assistant, the renowned lockmaster Mr. Ferrolant, along with them to the agency to help with the overhaul of the printing machines.
Once all the craftsmen had left, Joseph quickly approached Louis XVI and said in an enticing tone:
“Dear father, I have a very ingenious rifle design proposal, which can only be crafted by someone with exceptional skill.
“Would you be interested in giving it a try?”
Louis XVI’s eyes instantly lit up…