I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1453 The Cold Winter!

"Yes, Your Highness."

Godan responded first, carefully wrote it down in his notebook, and then hesitated before saying, "But this seems to slow down the expansion of our financial system."

Joseph nodded: "It will indeed slow things down a bit, but the benefits will be greater at the same time."

"First, it's about creating a 'hunger marketing' situation. Oh, you don't have to worry about that phrase, but basically it's about artificially creating scarcity to become a settlement bank, thereby attracting more countries to apply."

"The order and speed of the review process also reflect our country's attitude towards applicant countries."

He took a sip of coffee and calmly replied, "Secondly, you should know that this is an opportunity that the Security Bureau has been looking forward to for a long time."

Although he only mentioned it briefly, Godan immediately understood.

This is a legitimate opportunity to penetrate the financial systems of various countries. By simply planting a few security experts among the auditors, we can at least obtain information about the composition of financial power in each country and their approximate financial resources.

This is of great value to France's future expansion of its financial territory.

As the two were talking, they heard cheerful music and the noise of a crowd coming from outside the window.

Joseph stood up and looked out the window. He saw hundreds of people gathered on the opposite street, excitedly shouting something around a "shop" covered with colorful ribbons.

Emmanuel hurried over and looked at the crowd in the distance, saying, "Your Highness, that looks like the opening ceremony of the San Carlos National Bank branch."

Joseph nodded.

The National Bank of San Carlos is the largest bank in Spain. A few years ago, it underwent reforms at the request of the Spanish royal family, modeled after the French Central Bank, and became the "central bank" of Spain.

This is currently the largest foreign bank operating in Marseille, which explains the lively atmosphere – such large banks typically distribute sweets, bread, and other treats to pedestrians at their opening ceremonies, and sometimes even throw money directly at them.

In fact, nearly 20 foreign banks have already set up branches around the French Reserve Bank.

The French futures market, stock exchange, and other institutions are also located nearby, causing those streets to be so congested that it's almost impossible to move an inch.

Outside the window, behind the branch of the National Bank of San Carlos, a trail of white smoke was slowly moving.

Joseph knew it was a moving steam railcar.

After Marseille was designated as France's financial center, a flood of investment and people poured into the city, driving its rapid development.

The "ring rail" project, which had been planned for a long time but had been delayed, was quickly completed in its northern and western sections. The bidding process for the city's gas streetlights was also completed, and various construction equipment filled all the main streets.

As for shopping malls, amusement parks, hospitals, and the like, they sprang up like mushrooms after rain in every bustling part of the market.

The Marseille-Lyon railway line has raised over 1800 million francs in private investment with remarkable efficiency, and with the addition of funding from the Ministry of Transport, construction is expected to begin early next year.

By the time this line is completed, the Paris-Lyon railway line will most likely also be finished.

At that time, it will be possible to take a train directly from Paris to the southernmost part of France, with the entire journey taking less than 30 hours.

Meanwhile, Mediterranean merchant ships could unload various goods in Marseille and transport them to Paris by rail. The enormous volume of trade would further boost the city's prosperity.

It is foreseeable that in ten years at most, or seven or eight years at least, Marseille will develop into one of Europe's leading metropolises.

The following day at noon, after inspecting the new headquarters of the French Reserve Bank, Joseph finally completed his trip to the financial center and prepared to return to Paris.

As the carriage passed the castle-like headquarters of the European Clearing House, an officer on horseback caught up from behind. The convoy stopped. The officer took out a report, saluted Joseph, and said, “Your Highness, this is an urgent document from the General Staff, saying it must be delivered to you as soon as possible.”

Joseph opened the mailbox and asked in confusion, "What happened?"

"It seems to be news from Eastern Europe, Your Highness."

Joseph's eyes swept quickly across the report, and he was immediately taken aback.

The inscription reads: "In early December, the Polish Minsk Front broke through the Russian Dnieper River defense line, captured key locations such as Mskislav and Vitebsk, and unexpectedly captured the Smolensk fortress more than ten days later."

Currently, the Polish army has a total of 5 divisions, with more than 54,000 soldiers assembled east of Smolensk.

Following orders from the Polish General Staff, they were to launch a general offensive against the undefended Moscow immediately after replenishing their logistical supplies.

A brief operational plan of the Polish army was also attached.

Roughly speaking, two infantry divisions and four cavalry battalions of the Lithuanian Army Corps marched north, crossed the West Dvina River, and tied down Russian reinforcements heading from St. Petersburg to Moscow.

Koschushko led the main Polish army to sweep away the remaining enemy forces west of Moscow and capture Moscow the following spring.

Afterwards, Poland will decide whether to cease hostilities based on the conditions offered by the Russians.

Joseph immediately picked up the mailbox and carefully checked the sealing wax seal and the General Staff's seal.

There is no problem.

This battle report was truly beyond his expectations.

Although Russia suffered heavy losses on the battlefield against the anti-French coalition, as a first-class European power, it had not yet been crippled.

Driven by a desire for revenge, Poland's national morale is high, but this cannot change its fundamentally weak nature. In reality, Poland is currently relying entirely on French aid to prevent its soldiers from going hungry.

Despite this disparity in strength, the Polish army has made remarkable progress and is now threatening Moscow!

This is a glorious moment in history, a moment only Napoleon could have achieved!
When Napoleon was mentioned, Joseph frowned.

No, something's definitely wrong here.

Kosciuszko was brave and resourceful, with rich battlefield experience, but his command ability was at best above average among French generals. Compared to Napoleon, he was at least three Berthiers behind.

On the Russian side, there was Kutuzov, Napoleon's old adversary.

Theoretically speaking, given similar troop strength, Kutuzov should have been able to defeat Koschushko decisively.

Even considering the low morale of the Russian army and the disruptive influence of the "Happiness Association" at home, the Russian army should not have collapsed so quickly while on full defensive.

It should be noted that Kutuzov's strength lies in strategic defense.

Joseph looked out the window, mentally going over all the possibilities.

Soon, when he thought of the reason why Napoleon's hundreds of thousands of troops were routed in Russia, his gaze sharpened.

Napoleon and the Poles at that time had one important thing in common.

That's the dead of winter!
(End of this chapter)