I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1099 The Sugar War: Counterattack
As for the situation in the Caribbean, British newspapers reported last year that riots were frequent there, and at this point, no one would doubt that war would lead to a complete crop failure.

Well, rumors that are 80% true and 20% false are always the hardest to clarify.

The Earl of Spencer published a denial in several of London’s largest newspapers that same day, but sometimes the more you deny something, the more the public feels there’s something wrong.

Moreover, there are always some newspapers that like to be unconventional, deliberately going against the government's lead and significantly offsetting the news reports that refute the rumors. Of course, some of these are newspapers controlled by the United Irish Association.

Another week passed, and the panic buying of sugar in Britain only intensified, with some sugar shops even secretly raising prices due to the booming sales.

This further confirms the content of the rumor.

Finally, under Petty's protests, Spencer was forced to issue a limit of no more than two pounds of sugar per person per month.

To his surprise, the restriction made people even more convinced that there would be a severe shortage of sugar—why would the government limit purchases if there wasn't a shortage?
The restrictions only limit ordinary people, but there are still people who have ways to get their hands on the sugar.

For example, purchasing directly from the London Futures Exchange.

Even the British upper class believed that sugar prices would skyrocket in a short period of time.

Due to the entry of British capital, Petty had to increase the amount of sugarcane released into the market to about 9 dan per day.

However, with his firm short-selling strategy, sugar prices continued to fall to 1 shilling and 5 pence per pound.

This calmed down buyers who were planning to buy at the bottom or engage in panic buying. Daily trading volume on the London Futures Exchange returned to the 7-tonne range.

Just as Patty breathed a sigh of relief after finally resolving the trouble, little did he know that the real Grim Reaper's scythe was about to fall upon him.

……

Northern Caribbean Sea.

Santo Domingo, Port-au-Prince.

Carona pointed to the densely packed cargo ships in the harbor and enthusiastically introduced to the people next to him: "Every day, ten ships are fully loaded with sugar and head to France."

“Oh, the Santo Domingo Council has an agreement with France that their sugar must be sold to French sugar merchants. In fact, a quarter of the merchant ships here belong to the Twin Trading Company. You know whose business that is.”

As he was speaking, a middle-aged male servant tiptoed over and whispered in Salomon Rothschild's ear, "Sir, it's all been confirmed. All the ships are full of sugar. The warehouses in the nearest towns are also full. We haven't had time to investigate further out, but according to the merchants, all the plantations have had a bumper harvest this year."

Rothschild turned and whispered a few words to Wallenberg, who nodded.

They really brought professionals here and spent a lot of money collecting information, and it is now basically confirmed that Santo Domingo harvested at least 55 dan of sugar this year.

The Santo Domingo council has enshrined a law prohibiting the purchase of sugar in currencies other than the franc. This sugar will undoubtedly end up in French warehouses.

At the lunch table, Rothschild raised his hand to attract everyone's attention and nodded, saying, "I believe everyone has already done the statistics."

"There are more than 55 dan of sugar here."

“We saw more than 20 dan in the warehouse in Lorraine, which shows that there is no problem with the French sugar beet harvest. Even based on last year’s production, it is 75 dan.”

He gestured to a Greek-looking man next to him: "Mr. Labed confirmed that the Ottoman sugar was sold to France by a company called the Eastern Mediterranean Trading Company."

There are about 20 dan there.

"Therefore, the Paris Futures Exchange will hold more than 150 million dan of sugar in stock."

"As for London, they have also made some reserves, but it should not exceed 110 million dan."

“I think ‘that thing’ has the potential to be profitable. It’s just that we need to wait for the market to consume some of the British ‘ammunition’.” Before he could finish speaking, Carona smiled and added, “I must correct you on one point, Mr. Rothschild, the British do not have 110 million dan.”

Rothschild turned to look at him: “I have some friends in Downing Street, dear Viscount Carona, I assure you the number is correct.”

Carona pursed his lips: "Well, unfortunately, even the British themselves didn't know that all of Prussia's sugar would be sold to France."

"That means at most 70 dan will appear on the London Futures Exchange, while 190 million dan will appear in Paris."

The group of financial giants exchanged glances. Finally, Wallenberg spoke up: "You're probably mistaken. The Prussians must use these 40 dan of sugar to repay the British government's loan."

“No, their first priority is to ensure that the nearly 100,000 serfs who grow sugar beets don’t go bankrupt,” Carona said. “They must rely on high-yield sugar beet seeds from France, otherwise they will be unable to plant spring crops next month.”

Wallenberg immediately replied, "They have thousands of hectares of breeding fields."

"But it won't produce a single beet seed, I can assure you. It's a special kind of beet cultivated in France, and only the breeding laboratory in Lorraine can produce its seeds."

Carona didn't need to hide it, because the news would soon spread throughout Prussia.

He added, "You can instruct your people to confirm the situation in Prussia before making the transaction."

Rothschild and Wallenberg looked at each other again and nodded almost simultaneously.

With 190 million dan (a unit of weight) of sugarcane in hand, the French could absolutely dominate international sugar prices.

The British 70 piculs of sugar could indeed cause some trouble for France, but at least 10 to 15 piculs of it would be used to disrupt the market.

At the same time, the French government will inevitably retaliate with all its might, and will most likely be able to absorb more than 20 dan (a unit of weight).

Therefore, London will only have a maximum of 40 piculs of sugar left.

The nine people sitting here are here for "this matter"!
Yes, they are the top capital giants in Europe, with enough money to buy 40 dan of sugar.

At that time, the British government's short positions will be liquidated.

Next, they would transport the purchased sugar to the Paris futures exchange and sell it at the French price, with profits definitely exceeding 100%.

Rothschild smiled and nodded to Carona: "You are truly the most brilliant business genius I have ever met. I have never done business so easily that makes money before."

He then looked at the others: "I've decided to place my bet. What do you all think?"

"I'll place a bet too."

"This is a sure-fire way to make money, why would anyone refuse?"

“I can’t have come all this way to the Caribbean for nothing, of course I have to do it.”

Soon, everyone reached an agreement and began signing and printing the pre-prepared letter.

More than 40 days later, the fast ship carrying their instructions arrived at the Port of London, and hundreds of people immediately sprang into action.

Large sums of money poured into the London futures exchange from more than a dozen British banks, devouring all the sugar contracts like hungry ghosts.

Petty was used to this situation and calmly ordered the stock to be replenished.

However, he had no idea how terrifying the appetite of this hungry ghost was.

(End of this chapter)