Palace of Versailles, East Wing, Conference Hall.
Queen Mary, who sat at the head of the conference table, was evidently in a good mood. Part of her relaxation stemmed from the song and dance competitions of the past few days, but the most important reason was the report from the Foreign Minister yesterday, suggesting that the British Government had agreed to arrest Jeanne and send her back to France.
Finally, she would not have to hear about that swindler writing more disgusting news about the French Royal Family.
The Cabinet meeting had not yet officially begun, and she turned to the Crown Prince first, “Joseph, have you heard about what’s happening in Spain?”
Joseph hurriedly adopted a sorrowful expression, “May His Majesty, the old King, rest in peace in heaven.”
Yes, King Carlos III of Spain had passed away not long ago.
Queen Mary made the sign of the cross over her chest and sighed, “May God have mercy on him.
“By the way, you should take a trip to Madrid soon to congratulate His Majesty Charles IV on my and your father’s behalf for his coronation.”
Charles IV was the Crown Prince who had been cuckolded by his wife. Joseph had once helped him deal with the adulterer, so they shared a history. Furthermore, the Spanish Royal Family and the French Royal Family both belonged to the Bourbon lineage, so it was reasonable and proper to formally congratulate the new king on his ascension to the throne.
Joseph nodded, “Yes, Mother. I’ll set off tomorrow.”
Actually, he had been planning on when to visit Spain. Not just Spain, but he intended to visit all of the major powers in Europe.
As French industry rapidly developed, he needed to lay the groundwork in advance, signing trade agreements with various countries to smooth the path for French industrial goods.
Thereafter, Queen Mary gestured to Archbishop Brienne, “Please begin.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the latter bowed respectfully and then looked towards the Cabinet Ministers at the conference table, “As Her Majesty the Queen just mentioned, with the coronation of His Majesty Charles IV, we need to prepare a diplomatic mission to accompany the Crown Prince on his visit to Spain.
“At the same time, some policies regarding Spain also need to be adjusted in advance…”
France and Spain were closely related Royal Families, and the interests of both countries were relatively aligned, almost in a semi-alliance state. Generally, the policies would continue from those of Carlos III, so discussions on this subject were quickly concluded.
Then, Archbishop Brienne spoke again, “Next, we need to discuss the situation with the Ottoman Empire.
“I believe everyone is aware that Hamid I passed away at the beginning of this month. He had previously designated his nephew, Salem III, as the new Ottoman Sultan.
“During Salem III’s accession, the Ottoman Empire should experience a period of instability.”
Duke of Broglie, the Minister of War, spoke up immediately, “We could take this opportunity to find the offspring of Ali I of Tripoli, and send troops to support him in reclaiming Tripoli.”
Ali I was the Pasha of the Karamanli dynasty, recently overthrown by the Ottoman officer Ben Guerir in a coup.
Hearing this, several Cabinet Ministers nodded in agreement.
Tunisia was, in a manner of speaking, snatched from Ottoman hands, and the current Tripoli, under Ottoman control, always posed a serious threat to Tunisia.
For this reason, France had to maintain a large military presence in Tunisia. Instead of being worn down like this, it would be better to resolve this trouble directly while the Ottoman internal situation was unstable.
Joseph immediately expressed opposition, “I’m afraid that might not be the best strategy.”
Queen Mary was about to ask her son for his reasoning, but she noticed that the ministers, who had been eagerly supporting military action, had become quiet, as if they hadn’t mentioned the matter at all.
She looked at Joseph in surprise, “Ah, can you explain why?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Joseph said, “behind Tripoli lurks the shadow of the British, and they certainly hope to see us entangled in the chaos there. And if the Ottomans can reinforce their troops with the help of the British Navy, it would be difficult for us to stop them. This could easily lead to a protracted war.
“Most importantly, even if we drive out the Ottomans, we cannot occupy Tripoli. You know, the countries of Europe would become wary of our presence in the Mediterranean.”
Queen Mary furrowed her brow, “But if we miss this opportunity, the Ottomans might well establish a firm foothold in Tripoli.”
“Please rest assured, I have already made arrangements for that. The Ottomans are even farther from Tripoli than we are, and without British support, they will soon retreat from there.”
Joseph looked at Duke of Broglie, “Maintaining a legion in Tunisia for a short duration costs much less than waging a war.”
“Yes, that’s true, Your Highness.”
Queen Mary was still somewhat hesitant, “What are the arrangements you’re talking about?”
Joseph offered a faint smile, “I will submit a report to you later.”
The matter of the Ottomans was thus put aside for the moment. Archbishop Brienne then brought out proposals from Minister of Industry Mirabeau about abolishing tariffs between regions in France, as well as reforming the tax farmer system.
Of course, both of these matters were orchestrated by Joseph himself.
Now, with tens of millions of livres secured from the Duke of Orleans at the Bank of France Reserve, there was confidence in undertaking these reforms.
And the Capitalist Nobility, represented by Mirabeau, naturally welcomed this very much.
The abolition of inter-regional tariffs would make the flow of goods smoother, effectively expanding the market.
In the development of industry, market is the most important of the three key elements—capital, technology, and market. It can even be said that with a market, the other two can be spawned.
As for the tax farmer system, it was a chronic problem in French finances, swallowing up a large portion of tax revenues every year.
However, when Archbishop Brienne presented these two reform proposals, apart from Mirabeau and Bailly, the other ministers were more opposed than in favor.
To this, Joseph was not surprised, after all, these were reforms with great reach.
Local taxes not only involved the finances of the provincial governments but also related to the development of local handicrafts—previously, if your region’s handicrafts were weaker, you could protect them with tariffs. But once tariffs are abolished, you would have to compete with the whole of France. Most of the workshops with lower production levels would have to go bankrupt, leading to a wave of unemployment.
And the problem with the tax farmers was even bigger. The government’s tax departments were incompetent and corruption was rampant. If tax collection were handed directly over to them, the French Government would go bankrupt next year—the taxes collected could even be halved.
So when Joseph instructed Mirabeau to put these matters forward, it was only to warm up public awareness, letting all sectors of society know about these issues in advance to make preparations.
As expected, after over an hour of debate, Queen Mary reluctantly announced that these two proposals would be set aside for the time being.
Archbishop Brienne also heaved a sigh of relief, before moving on to the last matter, “Recently, there has been a serious revolt in the Southern Netherlands; rioters have surrounded the Governor’s Palace and expelled Austrian officials from Brabant.
“Vienna has not yet responded, but we should make some preparations for this in advance.”
The reason he left this matter for last was entirely because he considered it of little importance—uprisings were common occurrences in Europe at that time, and France itself had just experienced one recently.