I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1452 Financial Center
Queen Mary nodded immediately: "Indeed, as you say. So... how should we deal with this?"

Baron Brett stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, if you are concerned about the stability of the political situation, perhaps you can refer to the example of His Majesty Charles VI, in which His Majesty appointed His Highness the Crown Prince as regent to oversee the administration of the country."

Duke Levis's own status was not high enough to participate in such a major matter as establishing a regent, so it had to be proposed by the Imperial Chancellor.

When his wife told him last month that Her Majesty the Queen was preparing to appoint the Crown Prince as regent, he was still unsure of the accuracy of the matter, but he had already begun making the necessary preparations.

It wasn't until this morning, when he heard that His Majesty the King was seriously ill and needed to go to Brittany for treatment, that he suddenly realized this must have been arranged by His Majesty the Queen, but there was a huge oversight in it.

So he immediately went to Baron Bretteau and, through him, brought in a doctor from the health department to help the Queen.

A glint flashed in Queen Mary's eyes. She hadn't expected things to turn around so quickly; it was as if God was protecting her!
She quickly regained her worried expression: "Your suggestion is very appropriate. Oh, I am very confused right now, so please convene a meeting of the Senate and draft a 'Regent's Charter' as soon as possible."

When Baron Bretteau saw how quickly she agreed, he couldn't help but exchange a glance with Duke Levis, as if to say, "Your judgment was indeed correct."

Duke Levis then tentatively asked, "Your Majesty, once His Majesty the King has recovered, what do you think should be done about the Regent's situation?"

Queen Mary was stunned.

Yes, the king is going to the Fontainebleau Sanatorium, so there will be two possible scenarios:
If the illness becomes too serious to be cured, the ministers will certainly advocate for the king to return to Versailles so that the succession ceremony can be carried out at any time.

If he can be cured, he can no longer remain in the sanatorium. Once he recovers, the king will still have to return to Versailles. And when the king is able to rule the country, there will be no need for a regent.

In short, her plan to enjoy life with her husband was simply impossible to implement.

Seeing the Queen's expression, Baron Brett knew that, just as Duke Levis had guessed, she probably hadn't figured out her next steps yet...

He sighed inwardly and revealed the strategy he had discussed with Duke Levis that morning: "Your Majesty, I've heard that typhus can easily lead to serious long-term consequences."

Duke Levis nodded immediately: "Yes, for example, a significant loss of hearing, or even intermittent deafness. There are also blurred vision, anxiety, forgetfulness, and extreme fatigue."

Having been conveyed to this extent, Queen Mary naturally realized what was going on: "For now, we can only take it one step at a time. Joseph will serve as regent for the time being, and the rest will depend on His Majesty's future health."

Deafness, forgetfulness, or extreme fatigue—any one of these could serve as a perfect excuse for the king to be unable to rule personally, allowing him and his wife to escape to the Brittany coast for "continued treatment"!

A moment later, Duke Levis and Baron Breteau took their leave with the Queen's decree.

The Prime Minister subconsciously glanced back at Her Majesty the Queen's carriage, and a thought popped into his mind: If it weren't for the emergence of the Crown Prince, a genius in governing the country, and France had remained under the Queen's leadership, who knows what it would be like now...

……

Marseille, France's emerging financial center.

Joseph casually flipped through the thick stack of BEDR membership applications in front of him and looked at the finance minister sitting opposite him: "I'm also a little surprised. According to my original plan, it would take at least one or two years for countries to recognize the settlement bank."

“BEDR” is an abbreviation for the European Bank for Settlements. “Perhaps the increase in trade between Milan and Parma made them realize the importance of settlement banks,” Godan said. “Milan, in particular, has seen its foreign trade volume increase by as much as 32% in less than six months.”

Yes, thanks to the immense convenience of settlement banks, the traditional monthly transaction frequency of cross-border trade has been transformed into a daily frequency.

Someone even set a record by completing a deal between France and Milan in just one day.

This is a devastating blow to merchants using other trading systems.

While you're still waiting for payment, your competitors in Milan have already sold five or six batches of goods. How are you going to compete with them?

As a result, shrewd businessmen flocked to Milan to set up offices, or simply moved their entire companies there.

For a time, Milan became almost the central hub for money and goods in Italy.

Parma, due to its relatively weaker financial and transportation infrastructure, has not attracted as many foreign businesses as Milan, but its trade volume has still increased by nearly 18%.

Due to Bodoni's significant contribution to Milan's inclusion in the settlement banking system, he was nominated by the ruling party as the next speaker of the Milan Parliament at the end of the year.

While Milan and Parma were enjoying their success, other neighboring countries sensed something was amiss.

Many domestic merchants went abroad, and the trade that originally passed through their area was transferred to Milan. The impact was quickly reflected in tax revenue.

With domestic factories strongly demanding the use of a new settlement system—which would significantly reduce their payment collection time and thus increase the speed of reinvestment in production—finance departments in Italy and other countries have begun to study the possibility of joining the European Bank for Settlements.

Even the countries in southern Germany heard the news and developed a strong interest in the settlement bank.

They then discovered that the European Clearing Bank was practically a system designed to complement the common market, and joining it had virtually no barriers.

The only requirement to join a settlement bank is to use the franc as the settlement currency, and then convert it to the local currency at the exchange rate after the transaction is completed.

Members of the Iberian-Apennine Common Market have long been using the franc extensively, not only in foreign trade but also domestically.

What is there to hesitate about?
As for the member countries of the Stuttgart Trade Agreement, although a few are still observing, the enthusiasm is quite high, led by countries that accept the franc, such as Bavaria, Württemberg, and Hesse.

Most importantly, the European Bank for Settlements allows member states to acquire shares!

This means they have control over the settlement system and can also get a substantial share of the profits.

Representatives from various countries quickly gathered in Marseille and submitted applications to join the settlement bank.

Joseph reviewed the shareholding amounts from various countries and instructed Godan, "Besides Genoa, Florence, Bavaria, and Hesse, the financial systems of the other applicant countries must be rigorously reviewed."

(End of this chapter)