I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1415 Breaking Through the Blockade

Joseph continued along this line of thought: "What ports do our country and Spain have on the western coast?"
"Zebrugge, Ostend, Le Havre, Dunkirk, Rouen..."

“Bilbao, Santander, Gijón... there are at least 12 in total.”

Marquis Lessar immediately added, "Your Highness, there's also Dieppe, Ficon, Cherbourg, Havia..."

These were all smaller ports he was referring to, most of which Joseph had never heard of, but as Secretary of the Navy, he knew them very well.

Joseph nodded: "In that case, there will be nearly 30 seaports. Well, the Netherlands also has several ports."

"I never realized before that we have so many ports available to us."

Previously, most of the seaports in Western Europe were under threat from the British fleet, so he had only paid attention to major ports such as Le Havre and Brest. Now he realized that France actually had such excellent maritime resources.

If these ports could be utilized, the British Navy would have to "chop the fleet into pieces" and scatter them across the Atlantic if it wanted to effectively blockade French and Spanish maritime trade.

Currently, the British Navy has around 100 battleships of the third tier or higher. Excluding the fleet used to control the Americas, on average, only two and a half battleships can be allocated to each port in France and Spain.

In reality, if we also subtract the ships used for defending the British Isles and for maintenance and repair, then there would probably only be one battleship patrolling outside each harbor.

This density of the blockade is like a sheep pen with wooden fences spaced 10 meters apart, yet the "sheep" can still come and go freely.

Upon hearing this, the Minister of the Navy pondered and said, "Your Highness, using a large number of seaports can indeed distract the British Navy, but we are afraid we will face two problems."

"I really need your valuable experience."

Marquis Lessar bowed: "Your Highness, firstly, the merchants cannot be certain of their chances of encountering British warships. As you know, if it happens even once, they will go bankrupt immediately."

"It is possible that the number of merchant ships daring to go to the Americas will not increase significantly within one or two years."

"Secondly, although we have a large number of seaports available, only seven or eight of them have a relatively large volume of trade. As for the smaller ports, many can only accommodate single-masted sailing ships. Even if large ships can dock, the goods transported there simply cannot be sold because the surrounding towns are not wealthy enough."

Joseph nodded: "Your concerns are valid, but these can be completely resolved through 'technical means'."

"Regarding the first question, I will introduce a series of measures to encourage overseas expansion."

"For example, increasing insurance payouts while reducing premiums."

"The Royal Shipyard will be opened to help merchant ships with repairs and maintenance at cost price."

"They even provided direct subsidies to merchant ships heading to the Americas, ranging from 5 to 20 francs per ton depending on the type of cargo."

"Of course, promotion is also very important. Often, confidence comes from stories."

"As for the second question, port expansion is essential."

"At the same time, a 'stop-and-transfer' mechanism can be established."

The Navy Secretary instinctively asked, "Stop and transfer?"

“That’s right,” Joseph said. “Merchant ships prioritize avoiding British warships and anchor at the nearest port.”

"The Navy will dispatch light warships at any time to scout the movements of British warships near the port."

"The Post Office will set up a large number of Sharp signal towers along the coastline to inform all ports of the situation of the British fleet. "The merchant ships that are temporarily anchored can then travel along the coast to the actual target port when there are no British ships around."

"The Ministry of Trade will provide compensation for losses incurred during the stay, up to 15 days, including berthing costs and food consumption."

"In addition, if merchant ships do not want to waste time, they can unload their goods directly at small ports and hand them over to 'transshipment ships' to be transported to the target port. The Ministry of Trade will also pay half of the freight."

"The transshipment will be carried out by flat-bottomed steam paddle steamers, and the freight cost will not be too high."

To improve their resistance to wind and waves, ocean-going vessels typically use a deep "U" shaped hull, which significantly reduces the internal cargo space.

Vessels designed to sail close to the coastline, including inland waterway cargo ships, can be designed with flat bottoms, which can significantly increase cargo capacity and are inexpensive to build.

With the addition of steam paddle wheels, the transshipment between ports was not only low-cost but also fast.

Marquis Lessar frowned deeply: "Your Highness, both subsidies and port expansion will require a large amount of funding..."

Joseph smiled and said, “The port expansion can be handed over to private capital—investing funds to obtain decades of port operation rights. Or the port can raise funds by selling shares. The Treasury doesn’t need to invest too much money.”

"As for the subsidies for merchant ships, believe me, they are absolutely worthwhile."

“If trade with the Americas can increase by 30%, the increased tax revenue and port revenue will be enough to offset the cost of subsidies.”

It is important to know that due to the current trade blockade imposed by the UK, sugar produced in Caribbean countries such as Santo Domingo can only be sold to the United States at low prices first, and then transported to Europe by American merchant ships.

If trade were conducted directly by French merchant ships, the additional revenue each year could easily exceed 1 million francs.

As for goods such as tobacco, cotton, and leather, they are also extremely popular in the French market.

Bringing back dozens of ships would greatly boost the French economy.

On the other hand, French merchant ships would certainly prioritize purchasing goods from the Louisiana colony and "junior" states like the Republic of Santo Domingo, and bring them much-needed production tools, steel products, and other supplies, which would greatly accelerate their development.

Marquis de La Salle discussed a few more details with Joseph and finally determined that this model of using merchant ships to influence the Atlantic landscape should be feasible.

He was already used to the Crown Prince's various amazing actions, so he simply praised him and then prepared to go to the Minister of Trade and others to draft a specific implementation plan.

Joseph stopped him again: "Marquis Lessar, the effect would be even better if the navy also cooperated."

The Minister of the Navy stopped and bowed, saying, "Please give your orders, Your Highness."

Joseph thought for a moment and said, "You need to go to Madrid yourself."

"Let the main Spanish fleet and our Atlantic fleet join together to form a joint fleet."

Marquis Lessar asked in surprise, "Your Highness, are you asking us to prepare for a decisive battle with the British?"

“Of course not,” Joseph smiled and waved his hand. “You just need to conduct large-scale exercises in the inner waters of the Bay of Biscay or near the Gulf of Cadiz.”

"We must make as much noise as possible and find a way to get information from British spies."

"Of course, we should also take this opportunity to unify the command systems of the two navies and increase their coordination skills."

(End of this chapter)