Capítulo 76: Chapter 76: Who's Fooling Who?
Chapter 76: Who's Fooling Who?
Joseph, of course, did not squeeze in with the ordinary spectators. Instead, he was escorted by the guard directly through the VIP entrance into the theater. His seat was in a luxurious box on the third floor, directly facing the stage. The box was spacious enough to accommodate twelve people, but at the moment, he was the only one there.
As the audience gradually filled in, music began to play, and the stage curtain slowly lifted.
The stage was set to resemble a light gray castle. Inside the castle, a blond boy dressed in a blue double-breasted coat was engraving runes on a conical glass bottle, which began to swirl with colorful mist.
An elderly man in a robe glanced at the boy and said in a detached tone, "Thank the elements for their gift. My dear Hunter Shaw, I'm sorry to say, you've only achieved the third level of alchemy."
Immediately, voices of ridicule surrounded them:
"Oh, did my ears deceive me? Our genius is only at the third level?"
"He must have been forsaken by the elements; he's made no progress for years..."
"Who would have thought a genius would fall so quickly..."
Joseph was surprised at how good the actors were, aside from their slightly exaggerated expressions. He was focused on enjoying the performance when he heard a knock on the box door.
Emman glanced outside and then leaned in to whisper to Joseph, "Your Highness, it's the British ambassador."
"Let him in."
The box door opened, and a middle-aged man dressed in a dark gray robe with thin lips entered, removing his hat as he bowed to Joseph. "Your Highness, the Prince, what a fortunate surprise to meet you here.
"You may not know me; I am David Hartley, the current British ambassador to France. Of course, I'm here today in a private capacity."
Joseph nodded in acknowledgment, "Pleased to meet you, Ambassador. Please, have a seat."
Hartley took a seat in the back corner of the box, a position that could not be seen from other boxes. As an ambassador, privately meeting the French Prince was quite inappropriate; if word got out, it could even lead to a diplomatic incident.
"Your Highness, the Prince, I often hear people singing your praises," Hartley began with a smile. "The 'Child Blessed by God' has amazed the world with his talents, his boundless kindness, and wisdom..."
After a lengthy session of flattery, the British ambassador finally got to the point: "Your Highness, you know, I've always been a firm believer in strengthening the traditional friendship between Britain and France..."
Joseph raised an eyebrow, thinking, "Traditional friendship? Are you referring to the kind where we're always looking for ways to undermine each other?"
Hartley, being a seasoned politician, delivered his falsehoods with complete sincerity: "However, in the past, some ambitious individuals have caused a lot of friction between our nations. It's truly regrettable.
"Even now, many people don't want to see our friendship flourish."
He glanced at Joseph, testing the waters: "So, I believe we should work even harder to promote this valuable friendship. Don't you agree?"
Joseph wasn't sure what Hartley was getting at, so he played along: "Yes, long live the friendship between Britain and France."
Hartley's eyes lit up. He had completely underestimated the young Prince, thinking, "The intelligence was right; this Prince is definitely pro-British."
He went on about the vast prospects of Anglo-French cooperation before suddenly changing the subject: "Your Highness, I actually have a proposal that I believe would benefit both our countries."
Joseph pretended to be very interested. "Oh? Please, do tell."
Hartley straightened up. "I've heard that Your Highness was strongly opposed to wasting funds on building large warships. I fully agree with this."
Joseph's eyes narrowed slightly. This was something discussed in the cabinet meeting—how had the British gotten hold of this information? Clearly, there was a leak that needed to be addressed.
Hartley continued, "In fact, there are some in Britain who constantly push for building more warships, wasting taxpayers' money. I believe that this expenditure is unnecessary. If everyone stops building warships, the mutual threats will disappear.
"So, I propose we push for a treaty that limits the scale of naval construction.
"For example, Britain could limit the tonnage of ships launched each year to no more than 5,000 tons, and France to no more than 2,000 tons. Oh, you know, Britain has a large maritime trade, so we need more ships.
"Of course, Spain, the Netherlands, and other countries should also sign this treaty..."
Joseph frowned inwardly. Did Hartley really think he was a child who could be easily fooled?
History had shown time and time again, whether with Napoleon or Kaiser Wilhelm II, that European continental nations without a strong navy would inevitably be blockaded and suffocated.
Joseph had only called for a pause in the construction of sailing warships to avoid wasting resources. He hadn't expected the British to misunderstand this as a decision to give up challenging their navy.
Seeing that Hartley was still talking enthusiastically, Joseph interrupted him, steering the conversation in his desired direction:
"Ambassador, a naval treaty seems a bit far off. Why don't we first discuss some existing treaties?"
"Existing ones?"
"Like the Eden Treaty."
Hartley immediately grew cautious. "Your Highness, I believe that treaty is already very comprehensive and fair; there's really nothing more to discuss."
"Yes, it's very fair, but there's always room for improvement," Joseph replied with a smile. "You see, France's industrial capacity is quite weak, and we cannot produce many essential goods. The high-quality and affordable products from Britain are exactly what we need.
"But as you know, the tariffs stipulated in the Eden Treaty are still too high, which makes these products more expensive than they should be. The French people end up paying more than necessary."
Hartley was taken aback. This didn't sound right. Normally, the French were always trying to raise tariffs to protect their industries. But here was the Prince saying they were too high...
He really must be pro-British, no doubt about it!
Hartley cautiously asked, "So, what do you suggest?"
Joseph responded with righteous conviction, "I believe we should resume negotiations on the Eden Treaty to further lower tariffs! This would be in the best interest of both our nations."
Hartley smiled. "Could you be more specific?"
"First, tariffs on industrial goods such as textiles, steel, and paper should be reduced by at least half," Joseph suggested, watching Hartley's reaction. "To demonstrate our commitment to equality, Britain should simultaneously lower tariffs on French industrial goods."
Hartley nodded. "Equality, yes, you're right. We must ensure fairness."
Given that Britain's industrial scale and technology far surpassed France's, they had no fear of French competition. In his view, even if British tariffs on French goods were reduced to zero, it wouldn't make a difference.
Seeing how Hartley was barely containing his excitement, Joseph knew it was time to close the deal. "However, you know, to push for treaty negotiations, I need to first silence those in France who keep talking about 'damaging the nation's interests.'
"So, I propose a different approach. For instance, we could temporarily raise tariffs on French industrial goods to 25%, and then gradually lower them over seven years to 5%. This way, those who gain short-term benefits won't resist the changes as much."
Currently, the Eden Treaty set French industrial tariffs at 12% to 15%. With this new plan, they could reach the current level in just three years.
(End of Chapter)
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