Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Bavaria West.

In the suburbs of Neidlingen, a line of knights holding dolphin and iris banners passed along the muddy road. Behind them was the convoy of the Crown Prince of France, surrounded by a large number of guards.

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Inside the carriage, Joseph rubbed his sore shoulders and turned to look out the window at the ancient town. This place was a famous battlefield during the Thirty Years’ War, the Neidlingen battle, but with the passage of time, it had now returned to serenity and peace.

The blonde girl sitting opposite him saw his movement and hurriedly stood up, whispering:

"Your Highness, allow me to give you a massage."

Joseph was startled, mainly because he had never been afforded such attentive service during previous long journeys, but he quickly nodded and smiled:

"That would be very kind of you."

"It’s my honor to serve you." Camellia bowed and moved from the low carriage to his side. Her slender fingers pressed on Joseph’s shoulders. The force was just right, immediately making him comfortable enough to squint his eyes.

The girl noticed that his coffee cup was empty and immediately picked up the coffee pot to fill it halfway—on the bumpy carriage, it wasn’t suitable to fill it up, as it could easily spill.

Yes, after leaving Vienna, Camellia had practically taken over all the work of Joseph’s servants, with even more diligence and care than the previous three combined. All of this was taught to her by Madame Delvaux—being able to serve as a governess for the Austrian Princess surely required skill, and indeed she had surpassed her teacher.

Camellia had been very hesitant about Mr. Bazel’s suggestion at first, but after the Crown Prince of France had harshly dealt with that scoundrel who had threatened and harassed her for over a year and handed over the compensation of 150,000 florins to her, she had made up her mind completely.

The teacher was right! No, more precisely, it was her own fascination with His Highness’ aura, charm, and the sense of security he brought. Stay updated via

Joseph nodded in thanks to her, took a sip of his coffee, and found it delightfully aromatic. He couldn’t help but nod again—the girl’s coffee-making skills were also top-notch—and then he picked up his pen, continuing to draft the development plan for the Walloon Region.

As per the agreement with Austria, both parties were able to invest in the "Special Walloon Trade Zone." Joseph hoped to finalize the layout in the Walloon Region as early as possible while Austria was preoccupied with the war in Silesia.

For example, implementing favorable immigration policies to encourage more French people to invest and live in the Walloon Region.

Then there was the construction of the police force, the first batch planned to recruit 4,000 policemen for the Walloon Region, half of them to be sent to France for training, and then rotated. The upper levels of the Police Headquarters would all be held by French people—after a large influx of immigrants, it would soon be impossible to distinguish between Walloon natives and immigrants—with both sides seamlessly integrating in language and lifestyle.

After French investors took control of nearly all the coal mines in the Walloon Region, with the above two points achieved, France would effectively be in control there.

At twilight, the convoy stopped in eastern Stuttgart.

Joseph looked at the investment development plan in his hands and let out a sigh. With his maneuvers over the past two years, he had created a favorable situation for France.

Aside from the Southern Netherlands, the situation in Tunisia had also stabilized, and a second wave of immigration boom had begun.

Domestically, industries like coal and iron, textiles, and chemicals had all entered the fast track, simply waiting for cumulative quantity changes to trigger a breakthrough.

However, all of this required money.

Whether it’s investment in the Walloon Region or developing Tunisia, as well as training the army (police), and pushing forward the Industrial Revolution, a vast amount of capital was needed.

According to Joseph’s plans, there would also be tax reform in the future, as well as the expansion of the navy. These were all money-consuming giants.

And currently, France’s finances were still burdened with a massive deficit of over two billion livres, and a great deal of military expenses had been spent over the past half year from fighting numerous battles. To squeeze out money to accomplish the aforementioned tasks was more difficult than wringing water from a stone.

Joseph, following Kesode into the manor he was staying at, pondered that now, leveraging the peak of royal prestige brought about by a series of military victories in the Southern Netherlands and North Africa, it might be time to make a decisive move on currency reform.

Across the whole of France, replacing gold and silver coins with banknotes, and considering the two huge markets of the Walloon Region and Tunisia, just the minting profit alone could alleviate the current tight financial situation.

With the current pace of France’s agricultural and industrial development, it was entirely possible to tolerate a higher inflation rate—this could even be beneficial for economic growth. By printing money that corresponded to goods before the overall national materials increased, one could effectively avoid trade impediments due to currency shortages. At the same time, the moderate devaluation caused by inflation could encourage people to invest more rather than hoarding their money.

The additional money printed would be controlled by the Bank of France Reserve and could be quickly invested in the most needed areas, compressing the time traditionally waited for investments to a minimum.

Moreover, as trade between France and other countries continued, French banknotes would inevitably flow into other nations.

Given the era’s general lack of protectionist sentiment towards monetary sovereignty—a result of long-term habits from using gold and silver coins, which allowed most currencies to circulate within their own countries—at least in the short term, French banknotes could circulate in small amounts in neighboring nations.

Though each country might not hold a lot of French banknotes, as most merchants would tend to convert them to gold and silver coins, even if the banknotes only stayed in their hands for a month or two, the aggregate amount across all countries would be substantial.

It was essentially like France was exchanging paper for their goods.

After a simple dinner, when Joseph, full of weariness, entered the bedroom, his nose caught a faint scent of incense. Then he saw Camellia had already tidied up the bed neatly, even positioning the pillows in the most comfortable spot.

The girl, hearing the noise, seemed startled and turned around in a flurry, curtsying slightly to the Crown Prince. Under the candlelight, a blush suddenly spread across her cheeks.

Joseph noticed the subtle atmosphere and looked at her in surprise, asking, "Do you have something you need to discuss?"

"No, no, nothing..." Camellia suddenly lowered her head and ran towards the bedroom door, "Please, go ahead and rest..."

The two servants at the door were stunned. Why hadn’t the new lady completed her work? They quickly re-entered the room to help the Crown Prince change into his sleeping robe.

Actually, Joseph didn’t like others helping him change his clothes, but at the Palace of Versailles, it was a necessary etiquette for others to help him into his sleeping robe—usually performed by aristocrats with status—so he had to let it happen.

Once Camellia returned to her own room and closed the door, she covered her cheeks with her hands, her heart pounding wildly, mumbling to herself: "This is so difficult... What should I be doing..."

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