I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1400 Win-Win
In a spacious hall of more than 300 square meters on the west side of the Palace of Versailles, Joseph watched as the craftsmen fixed various wooden frames of different heights, nodding slightly in approval.

He went to a half-length "bed" with a soft cushion, lay down, took the barbell from above his head, tried a few bench presses, praised the craftsman with satisfaction, and then walked to the chair next to him with a string of "iron plates" hanging on it.

This is the "Hall of Asclepius" that is currently under preparation; it is actually a royal gymnasium.

It has everything from rowing machines and gantry machines to chest press machines. Although most of them are made of wood and look a bit bulky, they are perfectly functional.

Joseph casually picked up a pair of dumbbells, about to sit down and try them out, when he saw Baron Bretteau and Finance Minister Godan appear at the door.

He sighed and gestured for them to come in.

The two bowed, and Godan spoke first: "Your Highness, the location of the European Settlement Bank may need some adjustments."

Is there a problem?

The Finance Minister respectfully handed over a report: "This is the result of multiple tests conducted by the Preparatory Committee. As you know, the shops in the Royal Palace are becoming increasingly dense. If the settlement bank is located in the East Hall, it will likely be blocked by carriages from various countries coming to conduct business before long."

"Widening the road would require demolishing a large section of garden in the middle, which would involve more than 40 shops."

Joseph rubbed his forehead. He had only thought that the Royal Palace was magnificent and that it would be prestigious to put the settlement bank there. He hadn't expected the commercial area there to develop so quickly, even filling up the central garden.

"So, what's your suggestion?"

Before Godan could answer, Baron Brett said, “Your Highness, the preparatory committee for the settlement bank hopes to use the Luxembourg Palace as the location for the bank’s headquarters. However, the East Hall there has already been designated as the meeting place of the House of Representatives. Adding a settlement bank would likely make it even more crowded than the Royal Palace.”

The Luxembourg Palace was built by Louis XIII's mother and had been in a semi-abandoned state for decades, so Joseph allocated it to the House of Representatives.

Godan secretly curled his lip and said, "Your Highness, the House of Representatives doesn't really need such a solemn and dignified place. They can just choose any building in the East District."

Joseph almost laughed. The Minister of Finance, a typical financial aristocrat, looked down on the House of Representatives, which the bourgeoisie had fought so hard for throughout history.

It's probably because he's already sitting in the Senate, or because there's a sans-culottes member in the House of Representatives that he doesn't like.

Joseph shook his head: "The House of Representatives is almost finished with renovations, so let's not move it. Is there anywhere else in Paris suitable as a European settlement bank?"

Baron Breteau said, "The north side of the Louvre..."

Godan immediately said, "You know, it's much more crowded there than the Royal Palace."

"Or the Ismail Manor in the north of the city."

“That place is simply not worthy of the status of a settlement bank.”

"Then..."

Baron Brettj suggested several locations, but Godan rejected them all.

Joseph frowned slightly; Godan's words were indeed reasonable and well-founded.

Paris's population has increased very rapidly in recent years, and many former parks are now filled with residential buildings, making it difficult to find a place that is both impressive and not crowded.

As he was pondering this, he saw Emmanuel stop someone at the door and whisper something. Through the gaps between the guards, he could vaguely make out that the man seemed to be Dr. Lemonnier, who was also the director of the Royal Botanical Garden and was in charge of the quantitative analysis of sugar and ketone levels in urine.

Joseph immediately gestured to Emmanuel: "Please let Mr. Lemonnier in."

"Yes, Your Highness."

As soon as the doctor entered the Royal Gymnasium, Joseph eagerly asked, "Is there any progress in the testing experiments?"

Dr. Lemonier paused for a moment, then shook his head somewhat awkwardly: "No, Your Highness."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I was too hasty. So, is there anything I can help you with?"

“Yes, Your Highness,” Lemonnier said carefully, “the nobles of Versailles have a great interest in medicine, but this would take up a lot of my experimental time…”

“I hope you can allow me to move the laboratory to Montreuil. Ah, just next to the ‘blood sugar laboratory’ will do.”

Joseph asked around for a long time before finally understanding that the nobles had been discussing the Queen's condition, which made them aware of polyuria. So they all went to Lemonier to have their urine sugar levels measured.

These nobles were all from prominent backgrounds, and Lemonier couldn't refuse any of them. The laboratory had been open for several days, but he wasted all his time dealing with them.

Lemonnier glanced cautiously at the Crown Prince and continued, "Actually, Dr. Vauquelin and his team encountered a similar problem. If all the laboratories could be centralized in Montreuil, I think the overall research efficiency would be significantly improved."

Montreuil is a village east of Paris. Previously, it was chosen as the ideal experimental subject because research on diabetes required a large number of pigs—rabbits' pancreas differs from humans', and mouse pancreas is too small for current surgical techniques.

Raising hundreds of pigs would make the environment at Versailles Palace very bad, so the laboratory had to be moved to Montreuil.

Joseph originally set up these medical laboratories near Versailles Palace so that it would be convenient for him to have his family members undergo medical checkups.

However, in retrospect, these studies are not the kind of research that can yield results in a short period of time, so it seems that moving them all to Montreuil wouldn't have much of an impact.

He was about to nod when he heard Baron Breuer say, "Dr. Lemonnier, if I may be so bold, even if your laboratory were to move to the countryside, those enthusiastic nobles would still come to you to 'discuss medicine'."

Lemonnier paused, then said helplessly, "It's always better to be farther away..."

Joseph frowned, considering whether to send guards to watch over the laboratories, when Emmanuel approached and whispered, "Your Highness, relocating so many laboratories will probably cost an extra tens of thousands of francs."

The large-scale establishment of medical laboratories came as a surprise, so Joseph didn't go through the Treasury Department's procedures for funding; instead, he used his own private funds to pay for it.

He currently has seven or eight million francs in his personal account.

This made Emmanuel, the very responsible steward, feel a pang of regret, and he worked tirelessly to help the Crown Prince with his budget.

Upon hearing this, Joseph's heart stirred.

Wait a minute, while the nobles' concern for their health might affect the laboratory's efficiency, it also presents a business opportunity!

As long as they are willing to pay, the laboratory will arrange dozens or even hundreds of people to serve them. It's a win-win situation for everyone, isn't that wonderful?

(End of this chapter)