I am the Crown Prince of France

Chapter 155: The Two Princes' Trading Company

"Let's see... Grilled lamb chops, beetroot and truffle soup, and some toast," Alexei casually ordered a few dishes from the waiter, then turned to Joseph and asked, "I'm curious, what exactly do you mean by 'things unrelated to politics'?"

"Bring me a cup of black tea, no milk, spices, or sugar," Joseph instructed the waiter before dismissing him. With a smile, he then said to Alexei, "For example, starting a business. If you establish your own venture here in Paris, Her Majesty the Empress would be less inclined to summon you back to Russia out of concern for your behavior—oh, please forgive my choice of words."

"Starting a business?" Alexei blinked, thinking it over. It did seem logical. No one would associate a businessman preoccupied with making money with the throne in St. Petersburg. It was indeed a clever way to distance himself from politics and potentially shed his playboy image.

In fact, Alexei's descendants would eventually do just that. To stay out of political affairs, they turned to business, ultimately founding one of Russia's largest sugar companies.

However, Alexei quickly shook his head. "Thank you for the suggestion, Your Highness. But I have no idea how to run a business. Every year, Her Majesty the Empress has to supplement my income with tens of thousands of rubles. I don't want to lose any more of her money."

"No, I believe you can make a lot of money," Joseph said with a confident smile. "And not just a little, but a substantial amount."

"Your Highness, with all due respect, that seems unlikely. I'm quite aware of my own limitations."

As Joseph inhaled the fragrance of the tea that had just been served, he glanced at the Russian prince. "It's not as difficult as you think. What you need is a good partner."

"A partner?"

Joseph picked up a small spoon, using it as a pointer. "For example, me."

Alexei was taken aback. "You're suggesting that I go into business with you?"

Joseph nodded. "We could invest together and establish a trading company, focusing on commerce between France and Russia."

This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment idea for Joseph; he had been considering this for some time.

In fact, France and Russia had signed a trade agreement two years earlier. However, due to France's tight finances and the limited range of goods that each country could offer the other, trade between the two nations had remained sluggish. France, aside from wine and Enlightenment ideas, didn't have much else that interested Russia. Similarly, Russia's main exports, such as flax, oils, and timber, weren't in high demand in France.

As a result, the trade volume between the two countries had remained stagnant.

Nevertheless, both nations were keen to increase their trade volume. Russia, in particular, was concerned about its over-reliance on trade with Britain and sought to diversify its trade relationships to reduce the risk of being overly dependent on the British.

For France, increasing trade with a major power like Russia could significantly improve its financial situation.

But despite these good intentions, trade between the two countries hadn't seen significant growth until Napoleon came to power, when Russia joined the anti-French coalition.

Joseph wanted to change that. He had the means to do so.

Historically, France's demand for Russian goods was limited because Britain dominated the textile industry. However, with Joseph guiding France's textile industry to challenge Britain, there would be a growing need for raw materials like flax. As for cotton and wool, those would have to be sourced from North America and Australia later on.

Furthermore, Britain heavily relied on Russian flax—about 80% of its supply came from Russia. If France bought up large quantities of Russian flax, it would create a shortage in Britain, driving up the prices of British linen products.

It would be a win-win for France.

On the other hand, France's industrial sector was on the brink of a significant boom, and it would need markets to sell its products. With over 30 million people, Russia was a market too big for French goods to ignore.

Joseph had initially planned to wait until Talleyrand had made contact with the Russians before pushing forward with trade negotiations. But now that he had met Alexei, he realized this might be an even better opportunity.

"You don't need to worry about running the business," Joseph continued. "We can hire professionals to manage the company. I can contribute some merchant ships as my share of the investment. These ships would fly the Russian flag, benefiting from your 'armed neutrality' policy to avoid British interference.

"And you could arrange to purchase flax, oils, and perhaps even iron in Russia as your share of the investment.

"These goods would be shipped to Marseille, where they'd be loaded with French wines, textiles, and potentially paper and machinery in the future, before being shipped back to Crimea."

The "Armed Neutrality Declaration" was a trade policy Catherine the Great of Russia had announced in 1780. It allowed Russian ships to sail freely between ports and along the coasts of belligerent nations, as long as they weren't carrying contraband, without interference from warring nations.

Britain had recognized this policy, so with Alexei's "Russian ships" transporting goods, trade could continue even if tensions flared between Britain and France.

Moreover, Joseph had an additional strategy up his sleeve.

He had studied the Anglo-Russian trade agreement, which allowed Russian ships to transport goods from the East to Europe without interference from the British fleet. At the time, the British hadn't considered this a significant issue since they believed Russia had little presence in the East. But Joseph saw potential in leveraging this agreement through the trading company he planned to establish with Alexei.

Alexei pondered for a moment, hesitating as he said, "Your Highness, I must admit, your proposal is quite thorough. But many people are already engaged in trade between France and Russia. I'm not sure we can compete with them."

Joseph smiled, pleased that Alexei wasn't as frivolous as he seemed. This confirmed that partnering with him would be a wise decision.

"First of all, the current trade volume between France and Russia is far from sufficient.

"If I'm not mistaken, over three hundred ships sail from Britain to Riga [Note 1] each year. But only a tenth of that number sails from Lyon to the Black Sea [Note 2].

"To be frank, France is about to undergo industrial reforms, which will significantly increase its demand for Russian goods, particularly flax. In that case, the current number of merchant ships will be far from adequate."

Alexei nodded slightly, realizing that the French Prince had inside information. This made the business proposition seem much more viable.

Joseph leaned forward, lowering his voice. "Moreover, I can offer you tax incentives. I guarantee they will be substantial."

"Are you serious?"

"Of course."

Joseph was confident he could secure these tax breaks from the French government. He wouldn't even need to lower the official tax rate; a bit of leniency toward their trading company would suffice.

This approach wouldn't just strengthen ties with the Russians; by lowering import duties on flax, it would reduce the cost of raw materials for the French textile industry, making it more competitive.

At the same time, it would weaken the trade relationship between Britain and Russia, driving up the cost of British linen products.

Joseph continued, "You could also use your connections in Russia to obtain flax, oils, and other goods at lower prices. By reducing costs on both ends, how could we not make a profit?"

Alexei was thrilled. If he could export large quantities of goods to France with reduced tariffs, it would significantly decrease Russia's reliance on British trade. This was something the Empress had been striving for over the past decade but hadn't achieved! If he could attribute these successes to his brother Paul, it would surely improve their mother's opinion of him [Note 3].

Excited, Alexei clasped his hands together and said, "Your Highness, I believe your proposal is very feasible. I will do my best to lower the purchase prices of the goods."

Joseph smiled and nodded, "I'm delighted to be working with you, Count Bobrinsky."

The dishes Alexei had ordered had long gone cold, but he hadn't even thought about eating. Joseph had a fresh meal brought in and gestured toward the food, saying, "I think you should enjoy your dinner now."

After Alexei finished eating, the two of them discussed more details about the trading company, finalizing their cooperation.

Joseph's decision to establish a trading company independently of the Russian government was primarily to avoid the lengthy process of trade negotiations. Negotiations in this era were notoriously slow, especially between distant nations like France and Russia. If the negotiators encountered a disagreement, it could take over two months just to return home for instructions.

By starting the trade privately, Joseph could get things moving. Once trade volumes increased and both sides became dependent on the market, negotiating a formal trade agreement would be much easier.

Additionally, this approach allowed Joseph to exert some control over raw material imports, encouraging the capitalists to cooperate.

It was after ten o'clock at night when Alexei finally took his leave. As he watched the Prince walk away, Alexei couldn't help but feel a sense of unreality.

Who was this remarkable young man who had suddenly appeared in his life, offering a trading company that solved his own problems and provided a significant boon to Russia?

He had previously been skeptical of the rumors about this French Prince—the stories of him leading police reforms that dramatically improved Paris's safety, and organizing the grand Fashion Week. He had assumed that the officials had done all the work and simply credited the Prince.

But after tonight's encounter, he was convinced that the rumors were true. The Prince's eloquence and wisdom even surpassed what the rumors had suggested.

For the first time, Alexei felt a twinge of regret. If only his brother Paul possessed such intelligence, he wouldn't have spent all these years away from home, drowning his sorrows in alcohol and women, pretending to be a useless playboy.

Meanwhile, as Joseph and Alexei were discussing their trading company, an auction was taking place in the first-floor hall of the Fashion Week venue.

The auction attracted many nobles from various countries, including several members of royal families. Having just given a brief speech for the event, Queen Marie was also in attendance, seated on the second-floor balcony with her niece.

The auction items included expensive dresses, luxury goods, and other valuable items.

None of these items were of much interest to the Queen. Her mind was preoccupied with the conversation she had had with Louis XVI at lunch.

After lunch, she had casually mentioned their son's potential bride. She had been confident that her niece had won the Prince's heart, but the King had told her otherwise. He had revealed that he had spoken with their son, and that neither Clementine nor Maria seemed to be the Prince's choice for a wife.

Feeling troubled, the Queen glanced at her lively and charming niece. Dear Lord, how could Joseph not like her?

For a moment, she considered doing what other kings and queens had done—simply informing her son that Clementine would be his future wife. But she couldn't bear the thought of seeing her son unhappy.

Perhaps it's best to wait a little longer, she sighed inwardly. Joseph and Clementine are still young. Maybe with more time together, he'll fall in love with his beautiful, sweet cousin.

Just then, the auctioneer's melodic voice announced, "The next item up for bid is this exquisite 'Wish Upon a Star.' It was designed by the renowned…"

As the Queen was lost in thought, Clementine suddenly stood up, her large blue eyes fixed on the item, whispering excitedly to herself, "That's the one he wore! Yes, it's definitely that one!"

The Queen smiled and shook her head. Little girls were often captivated by beautiful jewelry. When she was younger, she too had been thrilled at the sight of her favorite pieces.

However, she didn't notice that the necklace on display was almost identical to the one worn by the Prince in the painting Son of the Divine!

Heaven knows, it wasn't actually Joseph's necklace—he had never even seen it. The artist, Madame Le Brun, had included it in the painting as a favor to a jeweler who had sponsored the artwork. Still, the stunning necklace, with its design resembling a galaxy of diamonds, perfectly complemented the Prince's image.

When the auctioneer announced the starting bid of 80,000 livres, Clementine didn't hesitate to signal her maid, who immediately raised her hand.

Before the auctioneer could acknowledge the bid, a voice from the east box called out, "Ninety thousand."

Clementine pouted. Someone was daring to outbid her for her cousin's necklace—and they had raised the bid by 10,000 livres all at once!

She signaled to her maid again, who raised her hand.

The auctioneer quickly pointed to Clementine's side. "Ninety-one thousand livres from the lady here."

The same voice from the east box replied, "One hundred thousand."

The little girl refused to back down and raised her bid again.

The woman in the east box continued to raise her bid in even increments: "One hundred and ten thousand."

Frustrated, Clementine put her hands on her hips and angrily shouted, "One hundred and twenty thousand!"

Hmph, does she think I can't raise my bid by ten thousand?

The woman in the east box remained unfazed. "One hundred and forty thousand."

"You! You raised it again!" Clementine shouted, continuing to bid, "One hundred and sixty thousand!"

"One hundred and eighty thousand."

"Two hundred thousand!" Clementine yelled, her cheeks puffed out in anger. Then she turned to her maid, asking, "Who is that person? Why is she trying to outbid me?"

The maid leaned over the railing of the second-floor box, peering through the gap in the curtains of the east box. She caught a glimpse of a woman in a red dress, with long brown hair and soft brown eyes.

The maid quickly pulled back, covering her mouth in surprise. Leaning close to Clementine's ear, she whispered, "Miss, I think it's the Princess of the Two Sicilies."

"Ah—" Clementine bit her lip. If it was her, then losing was even less of an option!

"Two hundred and fifty thousand!"

Note 1: Riga was a Swedish port and a hub for Anglo-Russian trade. The Riga authorities collected a trade commission between Britain and Russia.

Note 2: After Russia gained control of Crimea, French-Russian trade could pass through the Mediterranean, cross the Ottoman-controlled Dardanelles Strait, and reach the Black Sea, where goods were unloaded at Crimea.

Note 3: Catherine the Great despised her husband, Peter III, who was obsessed with Prussia. She overthrew him in a coup and became Empress. She also disliked her eldest son, Paul, who was very much like his father. Several times, she considered removing Paul as her heir and passing the throne directly to her grandson. Some ministers even supported the idea of replacing Paul with her illegitimate son, Alexei. Throughout Catherine's reign, Paul constantly worried about his position as heir.

(End of Chapter)

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