I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1000 Little Pete's Reform
Little Pete frowned immediately.

9 pounds a month may not seem like much, but he knew that Parliament had previously allocated 38 pounds to build a fortress in Portugal, of which 16 pounds were spent on purchasing cannons alone. Another 27 pounds a year was used to train the Portuguese army and fund local guerrillas.

In other words, the Portuguese battlefield consumes 173 million pounds of British funds every year!
He looked at Lord Grenville and said, "It seems that we have to do something to ensure that the income and expenditure are balanced."

"This is exactly what I wanted to discuss today." The latter nodded, then took out a report and shook it. "Last month, Sir Shaw submitted a plan to me."

He was talking about John Shore, the current Governor-General of the British East India Company.

Grenville flipped open the document in his hand: "Sir Shore mentioned that the Dutch transferred a large number of troops back to their homeland after their defeat. Currently, there are less than 700 soldiers stationed in the Cape, and their morale is very low.

"He believes that they can quickly capture the place by sending only a small number of Marines."

Cape is the capital of South Africa, Cape Town, and is also the most central port in the Cape of Good Hope.

Everyone in the room fell silent instantly.

The Cape of Good Hope was a Dutch colony. It was a transit point for maritime trade between Europe and Asia, and it could earn a huge amount of gold coins just by selling supplies to merchant ships.

At the same time, South Africa itself is also extremely rich in resources - the fertile land produces grapes, wheat and wool, while African hunters can obtain animal skins and ivory in an endless stream.

In addition, there are some small gold mines there. Although the output is not high, they can still produce gold worth three or four hundred thousand pounds every year.

As long as this place is occupied, the imperial treasury will increase its income by at least two to three million pounds each year.

However, the disadvantages are also very great.

That would completely offend the Dutch.

Previously, although the Netherlands had to announce the abolition of the Anglo-Dutch Alliance due to its defeat in the war, they still pursued a policy of maintaining a balance between Britain and France. At least Britain's naval ports in the Netherlands could still operate normally.

If troops were sent to occupy the Cape of Good Hope, the Netherlands would most likely completely side with France.

Britain had been trying hard to prevent the western Dutch ports from becoming a springboard for the French fleet to attack Britain - from there, warships could reach anywhere in eastern Britain in just a few days.

At the same time, the Netherlands also has a not-so-small fleet, which is probably second only to the navies of Britain, France and Spain in the whole of Europe. Well, the Russian navy has a hard time influencing European waters, so it is usually not compared with it.

Little Peter saw the eyes around him glance at him again, and couldn't help but sigh and nodded:
"It's a good opportunity. I think we should get control of the Cape."

His words basically determined the future fate of South Africa.

Yes, although Grenville was also a very capable person, he was good at taking advantage of the situation, negotiation, and exchanging interests. He knew very well that when it came to major decision-making, Pitt the Younger was the best in the whole of Britain.

Fox was used to making trouble for Little Pitt in Parliament, and asked almost reflexively: "What if the Dutch retaliate?"

Pitt the Younger immediately said, "Use the fact that they voluntarily withdrew from the Anglo-Dutch Alliance as an excuse to seize their merchant ships and block the shipping route from Indonesia to Europe. Force them to abandon the Cape of Good Hope and sign an agreement not to succumb to France."

Indonesia and Molucca (later the southern Philippines) were the most important overseas colonies of the Netherlands, and it can be said that they maintained the economic lifeline of the Netherlands.

If Britain cut off the connection between there and the Netherlands mainland, the Dutch government would immediately panic.

In the current state of the Netherlands, it was unable to resist the British navy, so it could only accept the British conditions.

Pitt the Younger continued: "In fact, after we control the Cape of Good Hope, the Dutch will most likely make a realistic choice." The Cape of Good Hope blocks the trade route between Europe and Asia. The Dutch want to maintain contact with Asia, so they dare not be too tough on Britain.

Lord Grenville looked around at everyone and nodded, "It's decided then. Now let's start discussing the details."

Two hours later, the meeting ended.

The British cabinet decided that the East India Company would send troops to occupy the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, while Foreign Secretary Fox would go to Amsterdam to negotiate with the Dutch government.

On the other hand, Wellesley increased the Portuguese expeditionary force to 3 men as he wished, and all of the 5 new troops he trained would land on the Iberian Peninsula.

After the other ministers left one after another, Little Pitt returned to the house.

Grenville smiled and pulled a chair for him: "It seems that you have something important to do."

"Yes." Little Pete nodded, pondered for a few seconds, and then said in a deep voice, "I'm sorry that you got a mess from me."

"Everyone knows that it's not your fault. Besides, the situation is not that bad..."

"No, you know very well it is very bad."

Grenville looked down and made no reply.

Little Pete said solemnly: "We have to admit that the French did a good job.

“A few years ago, they were in great chaos, but their royal family quickly controlled the ambitions of the nobles, and then began financial and tax reforms, removing domestic market barriers, and the financial situation improved significantly.

“Then they abolished the land privileges of the nobility and invested heavily in developing industry.

"A few years ago, their entire textile industry was less than that of Manchester alone. Now, Lyon's textiles are in fierce competition with us everywhere.

“Their steam engines were sold to various European countries, and even our factories were using smuggled French steam engines.

"Their steamships captured nearly half of Europe's inland waterway traffic.

"Their cosmetics are on the face of every London lady. Parliament even exempts them from customs duty!

"Five French cities now have gas streetlights, while London has lost millions of pounds on them...

"Oh, and that damned sugar. We now spend millions of pounds every year on the Paris Futures Exchange..."

Lord Grenville took advantage of the moment when he took a breath and raised his hand and said, "I know you are not here to complain. So, what do you want to say?"

Little Peter stared at him seriously and said, "We must make changes, otherwise, we will eventually lose in the competition with France!"

"Change?" Grenville nodded subconsciously. "Yes, we have to make some changes."

Little Pete's voice suddenly became louder: "No, you don't understand. What Britain needs now is not a painless adjustment. I'm talking about a change that will surpass the French!"

(End of this chapter)