I am the Crown Prince of France

Chapter 117: The Persistent Ambitions of the Old Nobility

As ships loaded with potatoes from Metz, Lorraine, and other regions began heading south, Joseph was busy reviewing a thick stack of reports in his office at the Paris Industrial Planning Bureau. Standing nearby was a middle-aged official with pockmarked skin and glasses.

This official was the Agricultural Financial Affairs Commissioner, under the jurisdiction of the Finance Minister's office, and he had just delivered these documents. The content of these reports concerned the number of landowners and farmers in various provinces willing to plant potatoes, along with the acreage they intended to use for cultivation.

Since the Finance Minister, Brienne, was currently in Caen negotiating trade deals with the British, these documents were sent to Joseph as the second-in-command of the Finance Department. Typically, the Interior Minister would handle such matters, but both Brienne and Joseph had agreed that the promotion of potatoes was too crucial to leave in the hands of someone like the slippery Monnot.

As Joseph read through the reports, his brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

Despite the intensive publicity campaign he had launched nationwide to promote potatoes—spending some 40,000 to 50,000 livres on pamphlets alone—the results were less than encouraging. The Church had also been cooperative, with local parishes sending out emissaries armed with the revised Last Supper to convince their congregations that potatoes were not "the devil's fruit" but rather "a gift from the Lord."

However, judging by the willingness to plant potatoes, the campaign had not been very effective. Apart from northern France in the Lille and Valenciennes areas and provinces near the Rhine, where acceptance of potatoes was relatively high, the willingness to switch to potato cultivation was less than 2% of the total arable land elsewhere.

As Joseph continued to sift through the reports, he noticed that the further south the region, the stronger the resistance to potatoes. In areas near Spain, like Foix and Béarn, almost no one wanted to plant them.

This fell far short of his expectations. With only 2% of the land converted, the plan would have little to no impact on preventing droughts or hail damage.

Suddenly, Joseph noticed a recurring issue in the reports. After carefully reviewing the list of those willing to switch to potatoes, he asked the Agricultural Financial Affairs Commissioner, "Viscount Nacion, why are so few large estates willing to plant potatoes?"

Most of those who agreed to plant potatoes were smallholder farmers, with some sharecroppers included. However, only about twenty large estates had agreed to convert part of their land, including those owned by the Duchess of Villars and Count Monnot.

Nacion hesitated before answering, "Your Highness, I've heard that many of the estate owners are discussing reducing land taxes as a condition for considering potato cultivation."

Joseph narrowed his eyes. These estate owners were essentially the old landowning nobility.

He had thought that the issue of tax reform was settled, but it seemed these old nobles were still trying to leverage their resistance to government policies to negotiate lower land taxes.

Lowering land taxes was out of the question. If they opened that door, the nobles would only become more demanding, using any issue to pressure the government for further tax reductions. This would also severely undermine royal authority.

Nacion added, "Your Highness, there's another issue. Potatoes can be eaten directly without needing to be milled into flour, so if people start planting potatoes, it could impact the income from the mills, and…"

Joseph nodded silently.

According to current French law, tenant farmers were required to mill their grain at a designated mill and pay a "mill tax." These mills were also owned by the old nobility, and the mill tax was a significant source of income for them.

Given all these factors, it was no wonder the old nobles were staunchly opposed to potatoes.

Joseph's frown deepened. His potato plan had hit numerous obstacles before it even got off the ground.

These old nobles, with their vast estates and tenant farmers, only knew how to exploit their tenants through feudal privileges, making them a significant barrier to industrialization. At the same time, they constantly obstructed government policies and hindered national progress, making them a considerable threat!

To truly solve France's problems and advance industrialization, the old nobility—the bloodsuckers—would have to be dealt with.

Joseph sighed. It was too early to think about that now. He needed to tackle one problem at a time, starting with the most pressing issue: preventing famine and keeping the country stable.

Simply buying grain would not be enough to solve the problem; potato cultivation needed to be widespread across the country. But how could he break through the old nobility's resistance?

Viscount Nacion cautiously suggested, "Your Highness, the first batch of potatoes is already en route to Bordeaux. Given the current willingness to plant, should we reduce the amount in the following shipments?"

Joseph's mind raced when he heard the word "Bordeaux."

If there was one thing that people in the Bordeaux region valued most, it was winemaking. Not only was it Bordeaux's pillar industry, but it was also a crucial French export that generated enormous revenue each year.

At present, with pasteurization not yet invented, up to a quarter or more of wine production was lost annually due to lactic acid bacteria contamination. Even the wine that wasn't ruined often had a slightly sour taste, which significantly lowered its quality.

If Joseph could offer a solution to prevent wine from turning sour, the vineyards of Bordeaux would undoubtedly be ecstatic. And if he then requested that they plant some potatoes in return, they probably wouldn't refuse.

With spring planting just around the corner, there was no time to lose. Joseph immediately stood up and said to Emond, "Please make the preparations. We'll head to Bordeaux as quickly as possible."

"Bordeaux?" Emond hesitated for a moment before bowing. "Yes, Your Highness."

Joseph then turned to Nacion. "Send word to the northeastern provinces to continue shipping potatoes to the south—no need to reduce the amount."

While Emond prepared for departure, Joseph made a quick trip to Versailles to find the newly appointed Minister of Justice, Baron Breteuil, asking him to recommend Berthier to the Minister of War.

Joseph chose to go through Breteuil to avoid any obvious connection between Berthier and the royal family, which could lead to Berthier being ostracized by the military aristocracy.

…

The next morning, a convoy of seven or eight carriages, escorted by more than sixty guards led by Viscount Crozod, set off from Paris, heading south towards Bordeaux.

Inside the Prince's carriage, Dr. Perna was taking notes with a serious expression, occasionally asking questions.

Sitting across from her, Joseph was explaining the workings of red blood cells—though his knowledge was mostly from educational videos, it was still cutting-edge information in the late 18th century.

Yes, Dr. Perna had insisted on accompanying the Prince to Bordeaux, citing the cold weather and its harmful effects on lung conditions. She had volunteered to travel south with him to keep an eye on his health.

Joseph felt a bit guilty about disrupting her lessons on blood circulation, so he chatted with her about the topic.

But this would undoubtedly cause trouble for Dr. Lamarck—when he returned, his daughter would likely confront him, saying, "You've been teaching me all the wrong things about blood circulation!"

(End of Chapter)

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