I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1325 Economic Binding
Warsaw.

Royal Castle.

In the newly renovated Knights' Hall, French Trade Minister Baie, with a hearty expression, nodded to Stanisław II and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince has ordered that all the captured supplies be left to you."

The King of Poland and his ministers were immediately delighted. "We don't know how to express our gratitude to His Highness. His generosity is God's mercy on all Poles."

"Praise be to His Highness the Crown Prince, and may God bless him."

"Poland will always be France's most loyal friend!"

It's no wonder they were so excited. What Bai was referring to was the supplies captured by the Franco-Polish forces during their sweep through Austria. Due to transportation difficulties, most of them remained in Erzgebirge and Krakow.

This included more than 30,000 intact muskets, hundreds of cannons, and a large number of military supplies such as wagons, tents, and drums, with a total value that could be as high as three to four million francs.

Yes, Joseph only brought most of the captured mules and horses back to France. The other items were not of the standard French equipment and could not be used directly. They were also not easy to sell, so he simply left them to Poland.

He knew very well that the Poles would definitely do everything in their power to reclaim the eastern territories occupied by Russia, and these weapons and equipment could be used to improve their combat effectiveness.

Russia has not yet abandoned its alliance with Britain, nor has it surrendered to France, so Joseph also needs to use the Polish army to weaken Russia's national strength.

However, Poland alone was certainly no match for Russia, so he also arranged other "gifts" for Alexander I.

Of course, Joseph would not make the same mistake Napoleon made in history by directly sending troops to confront Russia, ultimately allowing Britain, Prussia, and Austria to reap the benefits.

In reality, France had absolutely no need to conquer Russia—even if it could force Russia to submit, its sheer size would allow it to recover slowly over several decades. Furthermore, given the vast distance, it was impossible for France to maintain a long-term military presence in Russia.

Therefore, the best-case scenario is that Russia maintains good relations with France, which can help France maintain order in Europe, while not becoming too powerful and developing ambitions to dominate the continent.

Therefore, using other countries to teach Russia a lesson is the best option.

As for Alexander I, the ambitious Tsar who was very unfriendly to France, he had to be replaced.

“Fapo is a friend forever,” Bai echoed, then continued, “Besides these supplies, His Highness has prepared something very important for you.”

He gestured to the west: "There are 4300 Russian prisoners of war on their way to Warsaw, including five generals and hundreds of officers."

“You can use these men to exchange for the Polish soldiers who have fallen into Russian hands.”

Since the Russians were unwilling to pay for the ransom of the prisoners, Joseph had no choice but to send them back to Russia via Poland, a roundabout way.

The usually taciturn Koschusko struggled to his feet from his wheelchair and bowed deeply to Bai, saying, "Please convey my sincerest gratitude, on behalf of all Polish soldiers, to His Highness the Crown Prince!"

He knew that once Poland began to reclaim its lost territory, most of the Polish soldiers captured by Russia would meet a tragic end. When formulating his battle plans, he would silently pray and ask the captured soldiers for forgiveness.

Now that he has the help of the French crown prince to get them back, he can finally unleash his full power to take revenge on the Russians!
A court official approached and bowed to Stanisław II. The latter warmly pulled Bai to his feet and led him towards the banquet hall: "Fortunately, Warsaw is receiving supplies from Gdansk again. Two months ago, we couldn't even find enough food to entertain you here." In the narrow corridor, Count Potocki, the Polish Finance Minister, couldn't resist approaching and said with a fawning smile to Bai: "Your Excellency, as you know, our country's financial situation is not optimistic, but our war with the invaders is far from over."

"Could you provide our country with some more loans...?"

He gritted his teeth and gave a figure that even he found hard to accept: "Ideally, 1200 million francs."

Koontai hadn't expected him to bring up loans here, and quickly added, "Please rest assured, we can use the income from the Tarnovsk silver mine, as well as the salt tax revenue, as collateral."

Bai looked at the two men, shook his head, and then said to Stanisław II, "Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince means that we will not provide loans to your country."

The Polish king and his ministers felt a chill in their hearts. Some secretly blamed Count Potocki for asking for too much, while others began to ponder how to persuade the French envoy.

However, they all understood France's decision, after all, France had just gone through a major war and certainly needed money everywhere.

Count Pototsky, forcing himself to speak, said, "Well, how about 750 million francs? A higher interest rate is fine too."

After repeated calculations, the Polish Ministry of Finance determined that 1200 million francs was the minimum needed to fully recover the territory west of the Dnieper River while ensuring that Poland's finances would not collapse. 750 million francs could only cover military expenditures.

Bai stopped and smiled, "His Highness knows about your country's current predicament, so he doesn't want to see you dragged down by loan interest."

"His Highness proposed that a 'long-term supply and price agreement' model could be used instead of a loan."

“A long-term…price agreement?” Count Pototsky and the others exchanged glances, clearly having never heard of this term before.

"Please forgive my ignorance, what is this?"

Bai explained: "Simply put, it means that the French Industrial Development Fund and the Ministry of Industry will sign an agreement with your parliament to purchase export goods for the next few years, or even decades."

"For example, copper, zinc, lead, sulfur, wheat, oak, etc."

"As for pricing, a base price will be set with reference to the market price, serving as a fixed price for long-term transactions. Of course, if market fluctuations are significant, a floating price can be negotiated."

"In this way, your country's goods can be transported and sold in a centralized manner, while our country can pay part of the payment in advance and obtain a stable supply of goods."

"The Ministry of Industry has roughly calculated that the total annual procurement of these major materials can reach 600 million francs. If our country provides assistance in expanding production, it can increase to nearly 800 million francs within a year."

Such long-term agreements became a common model in later generations, enabling the avoidance of the impact of commodity price fluctuations on industrial production.

However, Joseph's main objective this time was to monopolize Poland's exports. Of course, for Poland, this also meant a stable source of funding.

It's worth noting that Poland ranks among the top producers of copper, zinc, grain, and timber in Europe.

(End of this chapter)