Chapter 76: Chapter 76 Who’s Fooling Whom
Joseph naturally did not jostle with the regular audience, but instead entered the theater directly through the VIP entrance, escorted by the guards.
His seat was in a luxurious box on the third floor facing the stage. It was very spacious, able to accommodate 12 people. However, at this moment, he was the only one sitting there.
As the audience gradually took their seats, the surrounding music began, and the stage curtain slowly opened.
On stage, the set was a light grey castle.
Inside the castle, a blonde youth wearing a blue double-breasted coat was inscribing runes on a conical glass bottle. Colorful mists immediately started churning inside the bottle.
An elderly man in a long robe in front of him glanced at it and said with an indifferent voice,
“Thanks to the gift of the elements. My dear Hurter Xiao, I regret that you have only achieved Alchemist Third Grade.”
Mocking voices immediately arose around him:
“Oh, has my hearing deceived me? Our genius has only reached level three?”
“He must have been spurned by the elements, without any progress for years…”
“I never imagined that a genius would fall so quickly…”
Joseph did not expect that aside from some exaggerated expressions, the actors were actually quite good; he was engrossed in the performance when he heard someone knocking at the door of the box.
Eman glanced outside and whispered to Joseph, “Your Highness, it’s the British Ambassador.”
“Please let him in.”
Subsequently, the door to the box opened, and a middle-aged man in a grey-black robe with very thin lips took off his hat and bowed to Joseph, “Respected Crown Prince, I did not expect to meet you here; I am quite fortunate.
“You may not recognize me; my name is David Hartley, the current British Ambassador to France. Of course, I am here today in a personal capacity to visit you.”
Joseph nodded to him, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ambassador. Please have a seat.”
Hartley sat down in the back corner of the box, a position invisible from the other boxes. As an ambassador, it was quite improper for him to meet privately with the Crown Prince of France; it could even cause a diplomatic dispute if word got out.
“Respected Crown Prince, I often hear people praising you,” Hartley said with a smile, “The ‘Child Blessed by God’s’ talents astonish the world, his boundless kindness, and full of wisdom…”
After a long round of flattery, the British Ambassador then continued, “Your Highness, as you know, I have always advocated firmly developing the traditional friendship between England and France…”
Joseph’s eyelid twitched, thinking, do England and France even have a traditional friendship? Are you referring to the kind that’s always plotting to dig each other’s ancestral graves?
Hartley, a seasoned politician, spoke sincerely, “However, due to the instigations of some ambitious individuals, there have been many frictions between our two countries in the past. It’s quite regrettable.
“Even now, there are many who do not wish to see our friendship.”
He glanced at Joseph, probing, “So, I believe we should work even harder to promote this precious friendship. What do you think?”
Joseph, not knowing what he was getting at, humored him, “Yes, long live the friendship between England and France.”
Hartley brightened up, having not considered the thirteen-year-old boy before him to be cunning, thought to himself: This Crown Prince is indeed pro-British, the intelligence is correct.
He rambled on about the vast prospects of Anglo-French cooperation, then switched topics, “Your Highness, actually, I have always had a proposal that would be beneficial for both our countries.”
Joseph posed with an interested look, “Oh? Please elaborate.”
Hartley sat up straight, “I heard, Your Highness, that you were strongly against the wastage of funds on the construction of large warships. I highly agree with this view.”
Joseph’s gaze sharpened. This was a matter discussed in the Cabinet meetings. How could the British have gotten news of it? It seemed he needed to thoroughly investigate the issue of internal spies.
Hartley continued, “In fact, in England as well, there are some fellows incessantly advocating for the building of warships, squandering tax revenue. I believe these funds need not be wasted. If everyone stops the mad rush to build warships, the mutual threats will consequently disappear.
“So, I propose we could promote the signing of a treaty to restrict the scale of shipbuilding among nations.
“For example, the warships launched by England each year should not exceed 5000 tons, and France should not exceed 2000 tons. Oh, you know, England’s maritime trade is vast, and we need more ships.
“Of course, countries like Spain and the Netherlands should also join in signing this treaty…”
Joseph couldn’t help but frown. Do they really think I’m a child to be fooled?
History had proven, through the bloody lessons of Napoleon and German Emperor William II, that if the mainland countries of Europe didn’t have powerful fleets, they would inevitably be blockaded to death.
He had ordered a halt to the production of sailing warships in the navy merely to avoid wastage. He hadn’t expected the British to misinterpret it as giving up on challenging the British Navy.
Seeing Hartley continuing to prattle on, he interrupted him immediately, steering the conversation in the direction he wanted:
“Ambassador, a shipbuilding treaty seems a bit distant. Why don’t we start by discussing the existing treaties, instead?”
“The existing ones?”
“For instance, the Eden Treaty.”
Hartley immediately became alert, “Your Highness, I believe this treaty is very comprehensive and reasonable, and there’s nothing worth discussing.”
“Yes, very reasonable, but there’s still room for improvement,” Joseph said with a smile. “Actually, France’s industrial manufacturing capacity is quite weak. We can’t produce many essential goods ourselves, and the inexpensive, high-quality British products are exactly what we need.
“But as you know, the tariffs set by the Eden Treaty are still too high, making these products expensive. The French people would have to spend much more money as a result.”
Hartley was taken aback. This wasn’t quite right. Normally, the French would desperately want to raise tariffs to protect their own industry. Yet the Crown Prince of France thought they were too high…
He’s indeed pro-British, no mistaking it!
Hartley asked cautiously, “What would be your suggestion, then?”
Joseph spoke with a sense of righteousness, “I think we should continue the negotiations of the Eden Treaty and further reduce tariffs! That truly aligns with the interests of our two countries.”
Hartley showed a smile, “Could you elaborate?”
“First, the tariffs on industrial products including textiles, steel, and paper manufacturing should be halved at least.” Joseph glanced at the British Ambassador’s expression and added, “To reflect our mutual equality, Britain should also reduce its tariffs on French industrial products simultaneously.”
Hartley nodded, “Equality, yes, you’re right, it has to reflect equality.”
The current industrial scale and technology of Britain were far ahead of France; they had no fear of competition from French industrial products. In his opinion, even if the import tariffs on British industrial products were reduced to zero, it would not have any effect.
Seeing Hartley struggling to contain his excitement, Joseph knew it was time to reel him in: “But as you know, if I want to push for treaty negotiations, I must first plug the mouths of those domestic fellows. They constantly complain about ‘damaging French interests.’
“So, I want to try an alternate approach. For instance, we could initially raise the tariffs on French industrial products to 25%, then gradually decrease them over seven years to reach 5%. This way, having secured short-term benefits, they will be less resistant.”
Currently, the Eden Treaty prescribes that the tariffs on French industrial products are between 12-15%. Following this model, they would be able to reach the current level in just three years.