Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Grenville hesitated for a moment, frowned, then immediately nodded again, “I am very eager to hear your advice.”

William Pitt Junior had evidently been pondering the matter for a long time and immediately said, “The most important thing right now is to improve our country’s fiscal situation.

“First, we must reduce expenditures.

“We have expenses all over the world, and now with the added burden of Portugal, we must cut all unnecessary costs.

“For example, we can suspend the blockade of the French coastline.

“Those battleships consume hundreds of thousands of pounds every month, yet we all know that the smuggling ships from Russia, Denmark, the United States, and even the Ottoman Empire unload large quantities of goods at Le Havre or transship them to France from Genoa Port every day.

“The blockade is not very effective and has made all the countries trading with France oppose us, especially after the establishment of that maritime pact organization.

“Let’s lift the blockade and invest the millions of pounds saved into improving the utilization of steam engines in textile factories or into expanding sugarcane planting in India.”

Grenville nodded thoughtfully, “I will present this to Congress.”

William Pitt Junior continued, “Secondly, we need to increase income.

“Moderately increasing taxes is necessary.

“Yes, I know it will provoke public protests.

“We could use the French people’s method, promulgate a ‘Labor Protection Act’, give the workers some small benefits to quench their anger.

“I once sent someone to France to investigate, properly controlling workers’ working hours and giving them some clothing, gloves, etc., could also improve the efficiency of the factories.”

Grenville had already taken out a notebook and began to seriously jot down notes.

William Pitt Junior lowered his voice a bit, “If the fiscal situation continues to deteriorate, I have another radical proposal.”

“What is it?”

“Increase the issuance of banknotes. I’ve discussed with economists, and increasing it above 40% would cause serious impacts.”

Indeed, in this late agricultural society, in an era when banknotes have only widely circulated for thirty or forty years, the economists simply had no practical experience, and most theories were conjured up by mere conjecture.

Historically, major powers like England and France suffered many times before they gradually figured out the right direction for financial policies.

However, Grenville immediately shook his head, “Have you forgotten the gold run in Paris before? Issuing a large amount of banknotes could very well put us in the same situation.”

“This is quite simple,” William Pitt Junior said, “Suspend the redemption of banknotes with gold, and legally mandate that everyone must use banknotes.”

This, of course, was also the advice given to him by the economists.

——

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In 1804, serving as intelligence officer under René Savary. Napoleon wanted to teach the Royalists a lesson. He chose the descendant of the young Prince of Condé from the Bourbon Dynasty to be Duke Dangian. At the time, the duke lived in Baden and had to be secretly captured abroad and brought back to France for execution. This task was assigned to Schulmeister, the spy. His first order of business was to study the prince’s habits and weaknesses. He discovered that Duke Dangian had fallen in love with a young woman residing in Strasbourg, whom he frequently visited. Schulmeister immediately dispatched his assistant to Strasbourg to abduct this woman and take her to a small border town. The excuse for capturing her was violating some passport regulation. Then, a letter was written to the prince in the name of his sweetheart, requesting the duke to save her. Losing his rationality for love, Duke Dangian hurried to the small border town, intending to bribe the captors with money to rescue his lover. However, upon arriving, he was immediately captured, sent back to France, and executed six days later according to a military tribunal’s fabricated verdict. In 1805, Rene Savary introduced him to Napoleon, presenting him by saying, “Your Majesty, he is a man with a developed brain but without a heart.” Later that same year, he went to Vienna disguised as a Hungarian noble accused of espionage and banished by France, visiting the Austrian Army Chief of Staff Mark von Leberecht, who found this young refugee interesting and appointed him head of the intelligence section in his General Staff. He used his position to provide Mark with false intelligence, including specially printed fake reports and letters about unrest within France. He also bribed two Austrian officers to testify to the information. In October 1805, Mark, convinced that the French army was withdrawing from the front to suppress internal rebellions, ordered a general advance, only to be swiftly surrounded by superior French forces and forced to surrender. After the Battle of Ulm, he was suspected but managed to avoid reprisal as the French quickly occupied Vienna. From 1805 to 1809, he was sent on missions to Ireland and England, before being appointed Chief of Supplies in 1809, gaining significant wealth. The same year, when Napoleon occupied Vienna for the second time, he became the Chief of Police for the restructured city and was later appointed Director of the French Intelligence Bureau. He retired and returned to his hometown in 1810. In 1814, an Austrian artillery regiment fighting against Napoleon plundered his estate. After the Hundred Days, he became impoverished and spent several decades engaged in selling cigarettes from a stall in Strasbourg.

Many believe that the rise of the Prussian Army to world dominance in the late 19th century was due to the relentless reforms of Prime Minister Bismarck and the diligent work of German General Staff Chief Moltke. However, they were only making timely adjustments on Scharnhorst’s foundation. It was Scharnhorst, along with his successor Gneisenau’s constant efforts, that established the world’s first General Staff for the Prussian Army, transitioning the traditional Prussian army of the royal era into a highly professional national armed force.

Before 1806, the Prussian Army was a typical ‘King’s Army’. Its most prominent feature was that high-ranking officer positions were held by the children of noble birth. Although these nobles cherished visions of war and were unafraid to make sacrifices in the face of danger, they were still immersed in the glory of Frederick the Great and the Seven Years’ War. Therefore, the complacent aristocrats neglected the study of new weapons and tactical changes. Talented junior officers had no prospects of promotion, while untalented nobles held high positions.

In routine training, Prussian soldiers’ live-fire exercises were the fewest among the armies of the European powers. This was because they overly pursued rigid formation drills, while officers frequently subjected soldiers to severe corporal punishment, leading to accumulated discontent. In peaceful times without the threat of war or a strong leader to enforce order, the entire Prussian army began to experience deteriorating discipline and declining morale. While envisioning the outbreak of future wars, the Prussians held fast to Frederick’s linear tactics, preparing to defeat their opponents with an unyielding will to win.

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