I Am the Crown Prince in France

Chapter 292 Spain’s bright future

Carlos IV stared at Joseph closely and said excitedly: "Are you just talking casually, or..."

Joseph said seriously: "Her Majesty the Queen asked me to come to Madrid.

Carlos suddenly became more excited, his chest heaved violently, and he patted Joseph's shoulders hard: "France will always be Spain's closest brother!"

Joseph also looked forward to the bright future of France and Spain joining hands to control the entire Iberian Peninsula. Hearing this, Carlos IV's blood surged and he was gearing up. He wished he could raise his army now to drive away the British army in Gibraltar, and then march on Ping Lisbon!

Joseph glanced at his expression and said casually: "After you get back Gibraltar, Ceuta will be of little use to you. Perhaps France can use it as a supply port."

Ceuta is the port on the other side of Gibraltar and belongs to the southern gate of the Strait of Gibraltar. The port of Ceuta is located in Morocco and was occupied by Portugal in the 15th century. More than a hundred years ago, Spain captured this place from Portugal.

Carlos IV nodded in agreement almost without thinking: "Of course there is no problem! Please allow me to present Ceuta to my French brothers on the day I land on Gibraltar."

Although Ceuta's location is also very important, because it is not on the European continent, supply is very difficult, and its role for the Spanish Navy is quite limited.

However, for France, this is not a problem. Because North Africa is France's core development direction, and Morocco will inevitably be France's sphere of influence in the future.

In other words, France is equivalent to supplying Ceuta from its own territory.

Help Spain drive away the British and regain the northern gate of the Strait of Gibraltar. France can also earn a southern gate of the Strait for free. This is definitely a very cost-effective deal.

Seeing Carlos IV's eagerness to try, Joseph poured cold water on him: "Of course, the British still have unshakable maritime power, which makes Portugal difficult to conquer.

"We must first focus on developing national strength and build a large number of warships after our finances are full. When the navies of our two countries can overwhelm the British, it will be the time to regain Gibraltar!

"As for the army, we don't need to worry at all. As long as there is no trouble from the British fleet, the French and Spanish coalition forces can capture Portugal within two months."

At that time, the army that captured the emperor just waved in front of Portugal's house, and the latter surrendered at the speed of light. However, the British navy was still there at that time, and it was difficult to ensure stable rule by occupying Portugal, so the emperor wanted Portugal's overseas colonies and ordered the withdrawal.

Carlos IV nodded silently and calmed down.

With Spain's current national strength, it simply does not dare to provoke the British. France has just barely escaped from a devastating financial crisis and may not be able to spare much power to help Spain.

Therefore, it is the last word to focus on development now and accumulate battleships.

Joseph then talked to him about some suggestions on reform and development. In fact, Carlos III left Spain with a very good team.

Gompers, Count of Aranda, are both very capable ministers.

Although Count Florida Blanca was wary of France, he was also a wise minister.

Even Bernardo Tanucci, the chief minister of Carlos III when he was King of Naples, could be transferred to Spain to assist in government affairs.

As long as Spain can keep up with France and stabilize its colonies without causing chaos, let alone a significant increase in national power, there will be no problem in at least retaining its seat among the European powers.

Moreover, the Spanish navy has always been built quite well. After all, it is a country that has produced an invincible fleet, and its heritage is still there.

For a period of time after that, Joseph and Carlos IV talked about the management of the colony, the control of the nobility, and the trade cooperation between France and Spain. Although he did not know how much the latter could understand, he did his best. Well, the rest depends on Spain’s national destiny.

Of course, there are also daily Spanish meals and various dance parties.

Three days later, Joseph left Madrid under the reluctant farewell of Carlos IV, headed east, boarded a Spanish Navy warship in the Port of Valencia, then sailed north, disembarked in the Port of Toulon, changed carriages to Austria Go.

Strasbourg.

Joseph looked at the gift that Talleyrand had brought, which contained several carriages, and couldn't help shaking his head and sighing inwardly. His mother was really an honest person, and the gift she gave to his brother was not stingy at all.

Forget it, it’s her private money anyway, she can spend it however she likes...

He motioned the Foreign Minister to get in the car, first praised him for his successful trip to England in exchange for Jeanne, and then explained in detail the diplomatic mission to Vienna.

This will be related to France’s policy direction for a long time to come.

…

Poland.

Warsaw.

Lieutenant Colonel Paul Jones, the U.S. Ambassador to Poland, looked at the two people in front of him. If the French intelligence agency had not repeatedly assured him that they were correct, it would be difficult for him to believe that they were the so-called people who "can change the direction of Poland"——

The taller man was wearing a coarse cloth jacket and gray-black trousers. The skin on his hands and face was very rough, like a fisherman who went fishing all year round.

The other one was fatter and had a bald priest's head. His gray priest's robe was in tatters and he looked like he came from a remote country church.

The two of them saluted Jones by stroking their chests and saying hello in French. Regardless of their etiquette or conversation, they all seemed extremely well-educated, completely inconsistent with their appearance.

Jones returned the gift politely and carefully came to the window to confirm that no one was watching. Then he turned around and took out two pamphlets from his pocket, handed them to the two of them, and warned: "Please keep them properly. Due to the need for confidentiality, we did not leave any pamphlets." Baseboard.”

The "fisherman" took the pamphlets very carefully and saw that the title of the top one was "The Glorious Polish Nation."

His heart moved, and he looked at the next book, which was "Although I speak Russian, I will always be a Pole".

He quickly flipped through the booklet, and his expression suddenly became excited. He looked at Jones and said, "Okay, this is great! Which great thinker wrote this? We just need it!"

Jones shrugged and said vaguely: "It is said to be a German."

In fact, this was what Joseph asked Johann Gottlieb Fichte, the German national enlightenment master, to do more than three years ago.

Although Fichte did not study Poland very deeply, unifying national consciousness mainly relied on incitement. And he's the best at this.

In addition, the client was very willing to spend money, so he devoted great enthusiasm to work and completed these two works that elaborated on the concept of Polish nation in the shortest possible time.

"Please print it as soon as possible and distribute it throughout Poland." Jones warned. "Don't worry about funding. The sponsor will contact you soon."

Joseph was forced by the grinding efficiency of the Polish Parliament to have no choice but to resort to the big killer weapon of national consciousness.