I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 819 Change of tune
Little Pete leaned back in his chair, flipped open the shipbuilding plan, and asked, "How much money will it cost?"

"60 pounds." Admiral Jervis had obviously made a budget long ago, and immediately said, "This is for the development of new warships and the construction costs of the first 20 ships."

60 pounds is 1500 million francs, which is considered quite economical when no one specifies the R&D route in advance.

After all, with the ready-made steam engines, Joseph spent tens of millions of francs to build the first batch of more than 20 "Light of the Mediterranean" class frigates.

Jervy glanced at the Prime Minister's face, which was darker than coal, and added:
"A large part of this is used to improve steam engines. As you know, our steam engines pursue stability, so standard pressure technology is used. This also requires high-pressure improvements to increase the power required by warships."

Little Peter took a deep breath, paused for a few seconds, and finally nodded and said, "Okay, I will submit the funding bill to the parliament."

As Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, he was well aware of the situation of the British Treasury.

The war with France almost emptied the British treasury after losing the huge profits from sugar cane and having to subsidize the price of sugar in the domestic market.

60 pounds may not be a lot, oh, no, the later construction will cost a lot of money, and the total cost should be more than 100 million pounds, but it is still a considerable burden for the British treasury at that time.

But Pitt the Younger knew very well that he had to regain control of the Mediterranean, otherwise Britain's lost trade revenue would far exceed 100 million pounds.

More importantly, France must not be allowed to monopolize Mediterranean trade.

This is no longer just a trade issue; it will also increase France's political influence on countries along the Mediterranean coast, a situation that Britain, which pursues a policy of continental balance, absolutely cannot accept.

So, let alone 100 million pounds, even if it's 200 million or 300 million, he will have to tighten his belt to get it together!
After the Minister of Naval Warfare left, the Duke of Portland said to the Prime Minister worriedly: "Mr. Pitt, with all due respect, such a large-scale shipbuilding plan will put a huge pressure on our country's finances."

Little Pitt nodded and said calmly: "I will recommend to the parliament to impose personal income tax."

Personal income tax can indeed bring huge revenue to the government, but it offends every British person. So although the concept of personal income tax has been proposed for a long time, it has not been passed for a long time.

For now, Pitt has no choice but to use this trump card, even though it will seriously affect his political future.

……

Birmingham.

In the offices of the Boulton-Watt Steam Engine Company, three of the company's largest shareholders were toasting in celebration.

"A huge order of 15 pounds!" Bolton shook his head and shouted, "Thank God, thank our navy!"

Falconer laughed heartily: "With this money, the company can get out of trouble immediately. Not only that, as long as the navy continues to build new warships, we will become the richest people in Britain!"

He invested 6 pounds in the company more than half a year ago and held a 22% stake, but the company has been making losses since then - French steam engines almost monopolized the European market, and even British miners purchased a lot through smuggling channels.

Fortunately, Watt developed a new model of steam engine with 27 horsepower, which saved part of the low-end market, but it was still not enough to make ends meet.

And just yesterday, representatives of Chatham Royal Dockyard approached them and asked them to produce a steam engine with a power of more than 50 horsepower.

R&D and ordering contract, totaling up to 15 pounds!
You have to know that the total assets of their company are only 15 pounds.

The two of them looked at the company's chief technician Watt and said, "Then it's up to our great inventor to take over!"

"Five months is certainly not a problem for Mr. Watt." According to the production requirements, their company must produce a stable and usable high-pressure steam engine before March next year.

Watt stood there in a daze, without answering for a long time.

Bolt patted him with his left hand that was not holding the wine glass, and said with a smile: "Tell us now, you have made up your mind."

"This..." Watt blocked his face with the wine glass and stammered, "I will try my best."

He had always admired standard-pressure steam engines and had almost no technical reserves for high-pressure engines, so he was really unsure at this time.

After the simple celebration, Falconer pulled Bolton downstairs and said in a low voice: "My old friend, if Mr. Watt fails to complete the research and development on time..."

Bolton immediately shook his head: "No, I believe him, he has never let me down."

"This is a navy order," Falconer's voice turned a little colder, "If he messes up, we won't just go bankrupt, we might even go to jail!
"To be honest, I have never seen him work with high-pressure steam engines since I came to the company."

Bolton was also stunned.

He knew that Watt had little knowledge of high-voltage technology, and if Falconer was right, it would be no joke.

Falconer continued: "The Mr. Sandel you mentioned before is the senior technician of the French United Steam Engine Company..."

Bolton shook his head: "I tried to win him over, but he ignored me."

Little did he know that although Sandel only owned 3.5% of the shares of United Steam Engine Company, the company's product sales were so high that his annual stock dividends, plus patent licensing fees, made his net worth much higher than Bolton's.

However, Bolton wanted to use money to bribe a man who was richer than himself and make him abandon his thriving industry and return to Britain to "suffer". This was simply a complete joke.

Falconer spread his five fingers and said in a deep voice, "Then offer more benefits until he is impressed. At least you have to buy some high-pressure steam engine technology from him. You must go to France again to try."

Bolton nodded helplessly: "Okay, I'll go book a ticket right away."

……

Brussels.

In a small and exquisite villa in the south of the city, Talleyrand was telling the Crown Prince about the diplomatic achievements of his trip to Italy:

"In addition to Genoa's reaffirmation of its neutrality, Parma, Modena, Lucca, and even the Two Sicilies have all expressed their willingness to abandon their neutrality and strengthen their trade and diplomatic ties with our country..."

Joseph was quite surprised to hear this.

It is normal for small countries such as Parma and Modena to be willing to side with France. After all, Napoleon's tens of thousands of troops swept through Melas, and they basically had no choice.

But the Two Sicilies is the largest country on the Italian peninsula. Although its king is of Spanish royal descent, he has always pursued a policy of getting close to Austria and maintaining a balance with other major powers.

He actually changed his tune this time?

(End of this chapter)