I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1104 A Minor Trouble for the Empire (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

In the Chatham Shipyard's East London office, Director Sir John Hope slammed his fist on the table and roared at the purchasing officer before him:
"Send those damned Frenchmen gold coins and women, as many as you want! That's what you're best at, just buy me their damn steam engines!"

The purchasing officer lowered his head and whispered:
"We've tried all these methods, Director, but they still refuse to sell..."

Hope angrily kicked over the coat rack and yelled at the purchasing officer:

"Don't just stand here, let's think of another way!"

He originally thought that he could buy a batch of French steam engines to use on steam paddle steamers to fulfill orders that were about to be defaulted on, which would solve the current crisis. Although the French steam engines would require a lot of adaptation work, most customers who bought the ships would be willing to wait rather than cancel their orders.

He hadn't expected that the French would reject a large order for 70 steam engines, at a price 35% higher than the market price.

Hope looked out the window at the mouth of the Thames, where a large number of steam paddle steamers with their hulls already built were floating, and felt a sudden pang in her heart.

Shipbuilding is extremely costly. These 60-plus ships have consumed nearly 70% of the shipyard's capital. Now, not only can they not recover the payment for the ships, but they also have to pay a large sum in breach of contract penalties.

"Those damned Frenchmen!" Hope cursed loudly, unable to understand why the French United Steam Engine Company wouldn't make money when they could.

Of course, he wouldn't be surprised if he knew that the major shareholder behind the United Steam Engine Company and the Brest Shipyard was the same person.

The steam paddle steamer orders lost by Chatham Shipyard will all be transferred to Brest, where the profits are several times higher than selling steam engines alone.

Moreover, Chatham was one of the main shipyards of the British Navy. Joseph was more than happy to see it close down.

There was a knock on the door, and Hope's assistant slipped inside, closing the door behind him before speaking nervously:

"Director, it is said that the board of directors has decided to hold a meeting tomorrow morning to vote on your confidence."

For some reason, Hope felt a sense of relief upon hearing this. It didn't seem so bad to be able to retire and leave this mess at the shipyard.

He sighed and said to his assistant:

"Get ready, we're going to see Sir Middleton."

Sir Middleton was the Comptroller of the Naval Council, managing all of the British Navy's shipbuilding funds.

……

10 Downing Street.

Lord Grenville was about to say something when he was interrupted by shouts coming from the street outside.

"Lower sugar prices!"

"Severely punish corrupt officials who manipulate sugar prices!"

"Thoroughly investigate the case of shorting sugar prices..."

"Send those corrupt officials to prison..."

The Home Secretary, Earl Spencer, paled drastically. He gestured to his assistant standing at the door, gritted his teeth, and whispered:

"How did these guys get into Downing Street? Disperse them immediately!"

"Yes, my lord."

Glenville frowned and said:
"Find out who is spreading these damn rumors immediately and arrest them."

It is unclear when exactly, but people across the UK have come to believe that the rise in sugar prices is due to "government officials shorting sugar prices for profit, resulting in a margin call and a retaliatory market rebound."

Earl Spencer thought to himself, "In a way, this isn't exactly a rumor," but he still immediately bowed and said:

"Yes, Your Excellency." It must be admitted that the United Irish Association is truly adept at spreading rumors and misinformation.

Not only are there many of them, but their favorite pastime is also criticizing the British government. Right now, someone has written a script for them to follow along with, and they even receive a monthly allowance of 5 shillings. This makes them practically energized, and they never stop talking except when they're eating or sleeping.

This is much more effective than distributing brochures or similar materials.

Before long, the sound of police whistles and the screams and curses of the protesters could be heard outside the window, but then silence quickly returned.

Earl Spencer cleared his throat and spoke first:

“Your Excellency, perhaps we should consider increasing sugar subsidies. Sugar prices are a bit high right now, and if that's not addressed, the riots will be hard to quell.”

Glenville glanced at the subsidy proposal submitted by the trade advisor three days earlier:
"To bring sugar prices down to 2 shillings and 3 pence per pound, at least £200 million more in subsidies would be needed."

He glanced gratefully at little Pete beside him. Had the latter not managed to save 12 dan of sugar, the subsidy would have reached as much as 250 million.

There was a moment of silence in the room, then Chancellor of the Exchequer Petty excitedly shouted:

"No, Your Excellency, our finances cannot provide such a large sum of money! We cannot compromise with those thugs outside; high sugar prices are an obligation that everyone should bear!"

Grenville did not rebuke his rudeness, but calmly asked in return:

"What do you think is a suitable amount of subsidy?"

“One million pounds…” Petty hesitated for a moment, then added, “At most one million. Even that amount of money will only be available after the Bank of England completes the next two rounds of currency issuance.”

Yes, in the past six months, the British treasury has become dependent on printing more money.

From initially hesitant about issuing additional shares, to discussing the amount of additional shares without any psychological pressure, to now steadily implementing the six-month share issuance plan.

Glenville compared the subsidy proposal and shook his head slightly.
"The subsidy of 120 million corresponds to a sugar price of close to 3 shillings per pound. That's still too high."

Petty immediately said, "Anyone who dares to complain about this price, let the militia and mounted police talk to them."

Grenville shook his head again, but before he could say anything, Sir Reed, the Prime Minister's Industrial Advisor, stepped forward and said:

"Gentlemen, we actually have a small problem that needs to be dealt with as soon as possible."

Everyone turned to look at him at the same time.

Reed placed a report in front of Grenville and continued:
"I believe everyone has heard about the Bolton-Watt Steam Engine Company."

"But in reality, after the investment funds were investigated, it was found that their accounts involved a large number of cross-asset transactions, resulting in a serious overestimation of their capital..."

"Let me get straight to the point: this company will have to pay £11 in penalties within a month, while their actual cash balance is - a negative £3."

"Their share price was £7.30 per share this morning, which means they are effectively bankrupt."

“Damn it!” Petty roared. “We shouldn’t have invested so much money in them. Fine, let them go bankrupt. Someone will take over their factories and workers and continue producing steam engines.”

Reed shook his head: "This company probably can't go bankrupt yet. Their steam engines are related to a large number of orders for Chatham Shipyard and the next generation of warships for the Royal Navy."

"And I must remind you that there are dozens of factories that supply parts to Bolton-Watt, or that undertake business such as building factories and transporting products for them."

"If they go bankrupt, it's very likely that the situation will repeat itself with the gas street light project back then."

　I'm begging for monthly votes at the end of the month, please help me out!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)