I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 936 Beet War (asking for monthly ticket)

After the Holy Roman Empire officially recognized France's jurisdiction over the Rhineland, all people of social status here tried their best to please the new boss.

The reason why there were less than 500 people attending the game today was not only because the ticket prices were too expensive, but mainly because this hastily built, cheap stadium could only accommodate 500 people.

The Crown Prince's personal guards would occupy dozens of seats.

Yes, in order to increase the popularity of the "World Football Hercules Cup", Joseph personally went to the Rhineland to watch the preliminaries and inspect the mineral resources here.

Today's match is between Württemberg and Palatinate.

At the call of France, all member states of the Mediterranean Security Organization, member states of the Rhine Trade Union, as well as Switzerland and Venice, sent teams to participate in the competition.

The Rhineland region is divided into two teams: the Palatinate and the Lower Rhine.

Joseph leaned listlessly in his chair, glancing at his pocket watch from time to time.

The game has been going on for 25 minutes and there is still more than an hour left to go, if there is no overtime.

He sighed silently in his heart: Why had he been tortured by the men's football team of Eastern countries in his previous life, and now he still couldn't escape the torture of watching rubbish games?
After all, these players on the field have only been in contact with football for a year at most, and many of them only started learning to play football after learning that the champion prize of this "World Cup" is as high as 3 francs.

There's no way this kick can be good looking.

However, although Joseph, an old fan, was suffering, the audience was watching with great interest.

Suddenly, the referee on the field blew the whistle loudly and pulled the two players who were in conflict apart.

However, he was immediately elbowed by a Württemberg player.

While the referee was groaning in pain, the players on both sides were cursing each other and starting a fight.

The audience immediately went into a frenzy. They stood up, waved their arms and cheered. Some even threw gold coins onto the field. "Yes, that's it! Beat him!"

"Harder, break No. 8's nose!"

"Go ahead, if you win, I'll give you 20 florins each!"

Joseph held his forehead with a frown, but did not intervene. If this can quickly increase the appeal of football, then let him do it.

Before the substitute referee came on the field, the Württemberg team had already gained a complete advantage and was chasing the Palatinate team all over the field.

The two nobles sitting behind Joseph were talking loudly, "Those Württembergs are just like beasts!"

"Of course. It is said that most of them are serfs. If they lose the game, His Majesty Karl Eugen will throw them into the quarry to dig stones for the rest of their lives."

Joseph was shocked when he heard this.

I didn't expect that the joke from my previous life would actually happen here! But considering the human rights situation in the 18th century, this was normal.

Finally, after the referee showed 7 red cards and 10 yellow cards, the fighters resumed the football game.

In fact, according to the rules of the game in the 21st century, he should have issued 28 red cards - and the substitutes on both sides also got involved in the fight...

Joseph finally made it to the end of the first half, and just as he was about to take a breath, he suddenly heard several gunshots faintly coming from the southwest.

Ksode immediately ordered all of the Crown Prince's guards to enter the stadium for alert, and sent people to check the situation.

Soon, the Worms municipal commissioner, accompanied by a large group of officials, came to Joseph sweating profusely. He first bowed and then signaled the director of the police department to come out and explain the situation.

The police chief was transferred from France. Although he was also very nervous, he was able to make his point clearly:

“Your Highness, please rest assured that there is no riot here.

"Just now, the anti-smuggling team discovered that someone was carrying 'specially contraband' across the border, so they exchanged fire with the smugglers..." Joseph frowned slightly.

France divides smuggled goods into several levels, and even guns and ammunition are only first-class prohibited items.

He remembered that the special contraband items were things like "key technical parts for high-pressure steam engines" and "alkali-making equipment." According to French law, people who smuggled these items were allowed to be shot on the spot.

He asked curiously, "What are those people smuggling?"

The Chief of Police said hurriedly, "It's beet seeds, Your Highness. We found more than 1 kilograms."

Beet is now a strategic crop in France. Not only does it bring in tens of millions of francs in profit each year, but it can also be used to hit the British economy and maintain the stability of the franc.

So it’s no surprise that beet seeds are a special banned item - this is a high-sugar beet that is unique to France.

And Joseph knew that a little over 1 kilogram of seeds was enough to grow one acre of beets. 1 kilograms was not a small amount.

His face suddenly darkened: "Do you know where it is being smuggled to?"

"According to the smugglers, it was destined for Magdeburg."

Magdeburg is a city in southern Prussia.

Joseph remembered that the Intelligence Agency had reported to him that Prussia had begun to grow sugar beets on a large scale.

But he had always thought that the beets grown in Prussia were ordinary beets, whose sugar content was more than 50% lower than the variety bred by Franz Achard and had almost no competitiveness.

But if the seeds are smuggled into France, the situation is completely different.

Historically, Prussia is the birthplace of beet sugar production. The soil and climate are very suitable for growing beets, and the yield is quite large.

If things continue to develop in this way, within a few years, Prussian sugar beets will seriously impact the market share of French sugar.

The first thing Joseph thought of was to put pressure on Prussia through diplomatic means.

But he immediately shook his head secretly.

Prussia will definitely continue to engage in the highly profitable industry of beet sugar even if it fights you to the death.

And they would claim that they were just growing ordinary beets.

Could it be possible that France could send people to dig up each plant for testing?
He glanced at the football players still waiting on the field, praised the Worms anti-smuggling team, and then let the officials leave on their own.

The game resumed.

Joseph had no intention of watching the game, so he simply went to the locker room to think about how to deal with Prussian Beet.

A week later, Joseph was inspecting the potash mine at the Donnas Mountain in the northwest of the Palatinate when Emmanuel suddenly came up to him and whispered, "Your Highness, Mr. Archard is here."

Joseph immediately interrupted his inspection and drove back to the temporary palace.

The "Father of Beet Sugar Production" had been waiting at the door. When he saw him get off the car, he hurried forward and saluted respectfully.

"Your Highness, I heard from the gentlemen in the Intelligence Bureau that the Prussians are smuggling beet seeds." He followed Joseph to the reception room, "This is almost unavoidable. You know, there are more than 100,000 farmers growing beets.

Joseph nodded: "Can you estimate the scale of seed smuggling?"

"This is difficult, Your Highness." Archard shook his head, but immediately continued, "But I have good news for you this time. I have cultivated beets with a higher sugar content. They will be ready for large-scale planting in half a year at most."

(End of this chapter)