I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1393 Holiday
Joseph looked at the head of security and asked, "How many protesters are there in northern Switzerland?"

“There are about 400 people in Basel and Zurich, and more than 200 in Schwyz.”

Basel has a population of just over 2, while Zurich was ravaged by war and has not yet fully recovered, so a protest of more than 400 people is not small.

Joseph nodded: "The harder the pro-Austrian forces are suppressed, the greater the backlash will be later."

He then instructed: "Your next task is to send people to Austria to spread the word that their government has provided a great deal of aid to northern Switzerland in order to weaken our country's influence in Switzerland."

"By the way, how much aid did Vienna give to the Swiss?"

Lavalette opened her notebook: "An estimate of 10 to 12 florins, and more than 1 flintlock muskets, Your Highness."

"That's too little. Based on the propaganda of 100 million florins and 5 guns. I'll have the Foreign Ministry spread the word that our country will not consider the union requests from other Swiss cantons."

“Yes, Your Highness.” Lavallet took note carefully, then hesitated, “But wouldn’t this weaken pro-French forces in Basel and other places…”

Joseph smiled and said, "This will embolden Vienna."

Although the security chief didn't understand, he didn't press further, but instead said:

“Your Highness, there is one more thing. The Marquis of Albuquerque in Porto has likely reached an agreement with Madrid. The Braganza and Vimara Pérez families have been gradually withdrawing from the Porto area since last week.”

Joseph frowned, but before he could ask a question, Alexandra noticed his expression and whispered in his ear, "The Albuquerque family is the largest family in northern Portugal. The Perez family is slightly less powerful, but they have very close ties with the royal family."

Joseph nodded slightly.

It seems the nobles of northern Portugal are preparing to give up resistance. And Braganza is the Portuguese royal family's surname, clearly indicating that the royal family's power has failed to stop them.

This is understandable. After spending a few years in South America, the Portuguese royal family is increasingly reluctant to throw their gold coins into the "fire pit" of the Iberian Peninsula. Right now, every penny they invest in Brazil can yield several times the return, while Porto, constantly surrounded by the Spanish army, will only keep consuming huge amounts of military funds.

Those Portuguese nobles who accompanied the royal family to the Americas are now refusing to pay the special war tax.

The nobles who remained in northern Portugal had long since exhausted their wealth, and seeing that aid from the Americas was dwindling, they were bound to have other ideas.

As for the Portuguese commoners, thanks to the relatively lenient autonomy granted to them by King Charles IV on Joseph's advice, almost no one made things difficult for the Spanish army. In fact, they could now sell their goods to member states of the Common Market through Spain and were even more prosperous than before.

Joseph thought for a moment and wrote down the following in the "To-Do" section of his notebook:

[The General Staff was ordered to reinforce Gibraltar and formulate a corresponding operational plan. The Juneau Army was instructed to be the first to breach the fortress.]

Yes, he knew very well that once the Portuguese left Porto, even if the British wanted to continue holding the position, their area of ​​operation would be greatly reduced, making it more difficult for the British fleet in Porto to collect supplies, and even risking attacks from the shore by the Spanish army.

Currently, the combined forces of France and Spain, along with the British forces at Gibraltar Fortress, have reached a balance of power. If Britain's maritime supply capabilities weaken, it is only a matter of time before the fortress is breached.

Since the battle cannot be delayed any longer, it would be best for the French army to secure this victory.

In the future, when people talk about the Battle of Gibraltar, they will say "the Western army assisted the French army in defeating the British," rather than "the French army assisted the Western army." This may seem like just a difference in wording, but it makes a world of difference in diplomacy. On the one hand, it can better define the hierarchical relationship between France and Spain in military affairs; on the other hand, it can give France more say in the Strait of Gibraltar.

The neat rows of roadside trees outside the car window were beginning to turn into somewhat messy, naturally growing trees, which meant that the royal hunting grounds were not far away.

Just as Lavallet was about to take his leave, Joseph stopped him and asked, "Has all the aid for Mysore been delivered?"

The security chief nodded hurriedly and said, "Yes, Your Highness, the transport ship departed from Malta five days ago and must have arrived in Antakya by now."

Although Joseph was somewhat displeased that Mysore had unilaterally declared war on Britain, he was willing to spend the money as long as it caused trouble for the British on the Indian subcontinent.

Given France's current financial situation, allocating 1 flintlock muskets, 40 cannons, and corresponding tents, gunpowder, and other military supplies to Mysore would be quite easy.

Because the open sea was blockaded by the British fleet, the aid supplies still followed the old route—unloading in Antakya, an Ottoman city on the eastern side of the Mediterranean, transporting them via the Euphrates River to the Persian Gulf, and then sending them along the northern side of the Indian Ocean to Mysore.

Joseph gave Lavallet a few more instructions, watched him leave, and the carriage soon stopped at the royal hunting grounds.

As soon as Joseph and Alexandra got out of the car, they heard Queen Mary's voice: "My dears, you've finally arrived. I heard from Armand that you were in a meeting this morning, and I was afraid the sun would have already set by the time you got here."

Armand was the name of her maid.

Joseph stepped forward, bowed, and said with a smile, "It was a Senate meeting, and it ended quickly. Moreover, with the Senate handling the political affairs from now on, I will have plenty of free time to go hunting with you."

"Oh, thank God! That's wonderful!" Queen Mary happily led her son and daughter-in-law to the tent in the rest area, pointing to the wooden table on the grass. "Come and try Mr. Karem's newly created mille-feuille cake. It's a taste straight out of a dream!"

"Oh, and strawberry pudding, and your favorite nut shortbread."

Joseph looked down at the table and immediately saw several rectangular pastries, slightly shorter than his palm, placed in the most conspicuous spot. They had a golden crust and many layers of light yellow cake and cream arranged alternately in the middle.

He almost blurted out, "Napoleon..."

Queen Mary looked at him in surprise: "What did you just say?"

Joseph was a little embarrassed. This was exactly the Napoleon cake that was common in later generations. His mother's new pastry chef was really quite skilled.

He quickly added, "I meant... oh, a polite... lion. Well, that's right, the color of this cake is like a lion's mane, and it's lying quietly on the plate, looking very polite."

The polite lion "Poli Lion" sounds somewhat like Napoleon.

Queen Mary clapped her hands with a smile: "That's a really nice name. I think Mr. Karem will love the name of his new work."

Joseph's mind conjured up images of a future cake shop where a sign reading "Cake of the Polite Lion" stood next to a Napoleon cake, and he couldn't help but secretly wipe a bead of sweat from his brow.

(End of this chapter)