I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1057 The Unlucky Inventor
Fox continued, "The Persians suffered a disastrous defeat not long ago. Their king was assassinated by rebel soldiers. The current situation is probably not optimistic."

Most of the British ministers present here have read the report "The Great Game" - in fact, this report has been very popular recently and has become a hot topic in various salons.

After Fox finished speaking, everyone's expressions became solemn.

Sir Gracie has given a detailed account of the situation in Persia and Afghanistan in his report.

Persia had just been unified by Agha Mohammad, and Tehran's cohesion was not strong. With his death, those large tribes were likely to break away from the government and establish their own independence.

In other words, the Russian army will not encounter too much resistance and will be able to enter Tehran.

Afghanistan was in even greater chaos. More than 20 princes occupied different regions, killing each other in bloodbaths. The Russian army did not even have to fight much, as the weak Afghan princes would invite them to their own territories to protect themselves from being slaughtered by their brothers.

After the Russian army occupied the Afghan capital of Kabul, they would be able to march into India through the Khyber Pass.

The eastern side of the Hindu Kush Mountains is an endless plain. The Indian princely states have no defenses at all. With their weak military capabilities, they can only surrender to the Russians.

The Russians would have no difficulty in occupying at least half of India - until they reached Bengal or Maratha, where they would meet little resistance.

At this moment, the Indian colonies are the most important "blood pump" of the British Empire and cannot afford any mistakes.

The content of the meeting at 10 Downing Street immediately turned from the sugar issue to the Middle East strategy.

The meeting ended at dusk and continued early the next morning.

"I agree with Sir Gracie's suggestion," said Minister of Naval War Jarvis, "Our best strategy is to support the Persians or Afghans and delay the Russian army in the Middle East.

"We can send a corps of marines to Persia and give the Persians some weapons..."

Fox immediately shook his head: "No, I said, we cannot have a direct conflict with Russia. That would make our diplomatic situation very unfavorable."

Petit nodded: "Yes, France and Russia have already formed a marriage. We can't push the Russians further towards Versailles."

Jarvis sighed: "Then the only solution left is to arm the Persians.

"But this will require some buffer time. It will take at least three or four months to train the Persian soldiers, and it may take even longer to reinforce the fortress."

After another full day of discussion, the British central government finally made a decision. In fact, it basically followed the advice in The Great Game, because that was the history of the British government confirming the most advantageous strategy after repeated weighing.

Grenville signed the document submitted to Parliament and once again instructed Fox: "You will leave for St. Petersburg tomorrow and try to delay the Russians for a while through diplomatic means."

He looked at Jervis again and said, "Please send officers to Persia and bring some flintlocks and cannons."

Finance Minister Petty muttered quietly: "But this will require a large amount of funds..."

Grenville couldn't help shaking his head.

He is well aware of the current financial situation in the UK -

Portugal's expeditionary force was constantly devouring military expenditures.

The Cape of Good Hope had not yet earned a penny in revenue, but it had already been repeatedly attacked by the Boer resistance organization. Just over ten days ago, 1 soldiers were attacked and killed while collecting grain. The Governor of the Cape requested at least 120 more soldiers, otherwise there was no way to guarantee stability there.

These expenditures will leave the UK with a deficit of at least millions of pounds this year.

Now, the Middle East is investing again.

Moreover, it is not something that can be accomplished with just a little money if you want to hold back a giant like Russia. Grenville estimated that he would have to invest at least 500,000 or 600,000 pounds.

He struggled for a while, and finally told Petty: "Put 10 dan of sugarcane on the market, and reduce the sugar subsidy by 20% at the same time."

……

Paris.

In the building on the north side of the French Academy of Sciences.

An American man in his thirties, wearing an old dark grey coat, with high cheekbones and a hooked nose, looked out the window at the bustling streets and the high-tech gas street lamps, and couldn't help but sigh:

This country, ruled by a monarch, is an ally of the United States, the largest republic in the world.

This country with the most debt in Europe is also the place that offers the best treatment to scholars.

This country, where the king can issue laws at will, actually has the most comprehensive patent law in the world, and it is strictly enforced.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Eli Whitney?" A young staff member looked at him politely.

Whitney's French was a little rusty, and she nodded hurriedly, stammering, "Yes, I am. Is it my turn to review it?"

"Yes, sir. Please follow me."

A few minutes later, Whitney sat down in a spacious hall, opposite him were seven judges from the talent committee.

After some simple pleasantries, an old man looked at the documents in his hand and asked, "Your application mentioned that you invented the automatic cotton gin."

"Yes, sir. It is based on a gear and claw structure, which can increase the efficiency of removing cotton seeds by 50 times. It has been used in dozens of plantations..."

Another judge said, "But, as far as I know, you are involved in a patent lawsuit over the cotton gin and you have been losing the case."

"Those shameless thieves stole it!" Whitney exclaimed. "I invented it from the very first screw!"

"Please calm down." The judges said, "I also saw your idea of ​​improving the milling machine, but unfortunately, it is just an idea. So, do you have other achievements that can convince us?"

Whitney was so anxious that his accent came out: "Interchangeable parts production! Please look at page 5 of the application. This is a method I invented to improve factory production efficiency. All workers will be trained uniformly and use exactly the same tools and production steps, so that..."

The old man raised his hand to interrupt him. “Yes, you are very familiar with the ‘standardized production model’, which is good. But as everyone knows, it was invented by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince six years ago, and now almost all factories in France are using it.”

Whitney froze on the spot.

This ingenious method was still in my mind, but it turned out that the French had already started using it.

Yes, Joseph's concept of "standardized production" was first proposed by Whitney. Of course, Joseph's theory is much more perfect than his, after all, many people have repeatedly improved it.

After a while, Whitney walked out of the review room in a state of despair, knowing that his application was probably hopeless.

This damn world! I have a lot of debts because of my inventions, but no one recognizes my ability to invent.

Just then, a young judge chased out and said, "Mr. Whitney, please wait a moment."

(End of this chapter)