I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1105 Fiscal and Strategic Retrenchment

Silence is the theme of Cambridge tonight, and it seems to be the theme of the meeting at 10 Downing Street today as well.

Everyone was recalling the chaos and devastation that followed the collapse of Lightning Coal, and couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

Bolton-Watt is larger than Lightning Coal, and its destructive power will inevitably be greater.

Grenville looked at Reed's report and suddenly his eyes widened.

It stated that Chatham Shipyard's share price had fallen by a third, and the decline was accelerating as more customers returned ships. Currently, the shipyard had less than £3 in working capital.

Chatham is even larger than Bolton-Watt, and if something were to happen to it, not only would the navy's new warships be affected, but the entire city of London would likely experience an "earthquake."

He immediately looked at Reed: "How can we save this company?"

The latter indicated in the report: "As long as their 52-horsepower steam engines are supplied normally, they can maintain basic operations. However, it will take several months to resolve the technical issues."

"Ah, the main problem is... they have to keep paying penalties for breach of contract."

He quickly added, "However, they will be able to return to profitability soon once their new high-powered steam engine goes into production."

Count Spencer frowned and said, "I heard they drastically reduced the power of the new steam engine?"

“That’s true,” Reed nodded. “But even if it only reaches 80 horsepower, it’s still the most powerful steam engine in the world. This will allow their company to quickly monopolize the entire European market.”

Glenville rubbed his temples and asked, "In short, how much more funding is needed?"

“£40, Your Excellency,” Reed said. “If Chatham Shipyards can hold on. Otherwise, another £15 to £20 may be needed to bail them out. Oh, the shipyard’s share price is precarious, which could easily lead to insolvency.”

Grenwell said to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, "So you need to have £50 ready. And some funds for stabilizing the share price."

Petty's face turned green, and he shook his head repeatedly: "Your Excellency Prime Minister, this will have to wait until the third round of issuance, which is 9 months from now."

"Or, reduce sugar subsidies."

Glenville waved his hand impatiently: "You can't cut the subsidies; you have to come up with another way."

Petty was on the verge of tears, and the thought of resigning had already crossed her mind.

Just then, Pete cleared his throat and said, "I think the only solution in the current situation is to raise income tax and seek bank loans."

"Of course, we also need to minimize spending to ensure that our finances do not collapse."

Grenville frowned: "Tax increases...do you think there's still room for further increases?"

“Of course, Your Excellency.” Little Pitt gestured out the window. “The main reason for the protests is the high price of sugar. If we increase the sugar subsidy to £250 million, everyone will be satisfied.”

"Lower sugar prices will reduce people's spending. This money will be used to pay the increased income tax."

"You see, no one suffered a loss, and the problem was completely solved."

Petty immediately agreed: "You're right, the protests will disappear immediately with the price of sugar at 2 shillings per pound."

Pete Jr. continued, "Support for the steam engine industry should also be increased. I have recently spoken with many scholars, and they all believe that the steam engine will shape the future industrial and trade landscape."

Reed nodded repeatedly from the side.

Little Pete glanced at the map on the left: "Our army has been bogged down in Portugal for a year and a half, spending countless sums of money, but gaining almost nothing."

"I suggest that only a portion of the forces be retained to hold the Torresvedras fortress complex, which would give the Royal Navy a supply port in the Gulf of Cádiz and the ability to provide rapid support to Gibraltar. "The Marquis of Wellesley is continuously investing in reinforcing the Torresvedras defenses, which now extend north of Lisbon, where there are over a hundred bastions of varying sizes."

"We can ensure that the defense line has sufficient logistical supplies by transporting supplies from the west coast by sea."

"In this way, only about 2 troops are needed to protect the important ports on the west coast of Portugal."

Petty calculated quickly and immediately replied, "This could probably reduce our military spending by £40 a year."

Peter Jr. continued, "Furthermore, we no longer need to restrict France's sugar supply."

No one objected. Britain had already lost badly in this sugar war, and from now on, it would only want to protect its own sugarcane plantations in India.

"Moreover, the Caribbean region is already in chaos, and we should completely withdraw from there."

Petty's mind raced, and he had already rattled off the figures: "Canceling 'aid' to Caribbean countries would save £28 a year."

Foreign Minister Fox added, "As far as I know, the new Tsar of St. Petersburg has no interest in invading Persia."

"Therefore, Russia is very likely to withdraw its troops north of the Caucasus."

"Our investment in the Middle East will decrease accordingly."

The Chancellor of the Exchequer's expression became increasingly relaxed: "If we end operations in Afghanistan at the same time, we can reduce spending by £23 per year."

Glenville was clearly reluctant to undertake a large-scale strategic contraction, but the thought of reducing the fiscal burden by more than £90 annually made him hesitate.

In particular, withdrawing troops from the Iberian Peninsula could very well put Portugal in a difficult position.

As if reading his thoughts, Pitt Jr. said, "Your Excellency, we must admit that France's development momentum has been extremely rapid in the past two years."

"We should not neglect the empire's core strategy for the sake of some minor interests. It's time to prepare."

Glenville was immediately shaken.

Indeed, for Britain, the core national strategy is to ensure that no single dominant power emerges on the European continent that overwhelms all other nations.

France is gradually showing signs of becoming a hegemon.

The balance of power in continental Europe must be adjusted.

Therefore, Britain first had to restore its finances and expand its military, and then set about building an alliance system to deal with France.

Glenville nodded solemnly: "Thank you for reminding us. We need to speed things up."

……

West London suburbs.

In a small bar called The Avenue, slogans such as "Let our members be countless" and "Human Rights and Freedom" were posted on the walls. A dark-skinned man in his forties stood on a wooden table and passionately addressed the more than 20 people in the bar:

"The great Magna Carta granted us the right to be born free, but those corrupt officials and unscrupulous factory owners never wanted us to truly possess it!"

"The freedom and human rights of those workers who died from exhaustion in the mines, and those girls who were scalded to death by steam engines, have been ruthlessly crushed into the dirt!"

(End of this chapter)