Chapter 576 The real sugar-coated bullet
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, it is undeniable that beet sugar production is indeed a very novel technology.”
Judge of the Supreme Louis Prize Biomedical Award, a famous French Biologist Mathiland Jacques Brisson considered: "However, it is also a useless technology."
Guillaume Bosque, another judge next to him, added in a low voice: "Even Harmful."
"Yes, even harmful." Brisson nodded and continued, "Actually, I heard about Mr. Archard's technology when I went to Bavaria to study birds. br>
“Using this technology to extract sugar from beets, 1 franc can produce approximately 1.2 pounds, while Caribbean sugar cane can produce 1.9 pounds. Oh, and this is still what Mr. Archard said after ‘scale’ production, and the upfront cost will be higher.
“In other words, you can only lose money by using beets to make sugar.
“In addition, our sugar cane plantation in Saint-Domingue can make tens of millions of francs every year. If it is because of beets Sugar production affected sales there and was, so to speak, damaging to the state's finances. "
Joseph nodded slightly. He knew that what these biologists said was right.
However, he looked at a few people and said: "Gentlemen, if Britain and France go to war, the British fleet will be intercepted. As a trade channel in the Caribbean, no matter how much sugar Saint-Domingue can produce, it cannot be shipped to Europe for sale. In this case, how much do we have to spend on sugar? ”
Brisson and others were stunned.
Although the French are far less dependent on sugar than the British, sugar is still a very important daily consumer product for people. Nearly one-fifth of dietary calories come from white sugar.
So once the sugar from Saint-Domingue cannot be shipped, France can only buy high-priced sugar from Britain.
What Joseph did not tell them was that in history, Napoleon had to forcefully promote beet sugar production at a loss because of the British blockade of shipping. In the end, although he barely solved the sugar shortage in Europe, he also spent a lot of money on it.
Of course, Joseph will never repeat the old path of winning the emperor. After all, he has the knowledge of the 21st century in his mind.
Bosque murmured: "But, Your Highness, we are not at war with Britain..."
"Perhaps there has never been peace between us and Britain." Joseph said calmly, "Less than 30 years have passed since the Seven Years' War.
"Now, I need Mr. Franz Archard. Do you know how to find him? ”
“Oh, yes, Your Highness. "Leroy, the second president of the Talent Committee, said hurriedly, "He lives in the 'Old Eden Hotel' with several Bavarian scholars. I'll invite him over right now. "
Joseph nodded and said to Eman: "Let President Leroy use my carriage. ”
The reason why he paid so much attention to Archad was that dealing with the British naval blockade was only one consideration. At the same time, beet sugar production was a big killer that could severely damage the British economy. If you run it properly, you can still make a lot of money.
You know, the UK is currently the largest sugar producer and consumer in the world.
Everyone knows that British people like to drink tea. In fact, it is better to say that British people like to drink sugar water. If a lot of sugar is not added to the tea, they will basically refuse to drink it.
British industrial workers are extremely labor-intensive, so sugar-sweetened beverages—including tea, coffee, cocoa, etc.—have become the only pleasure in their lives. At the same time, these drinks also have a refreshing effect, which helps them cope with high-intensity work.
As for the British aristocracy, drinking tea has developed into a kind of etiquette.
In addition, the British are notoriously bad at cooking, so their chefs will also add a lot of sugar to their food in order to make their food tasty. Therefore, the entire British society is very dependent on sugar, with as much as 100 million francs spent on sugar every year! [Note 1]
It can be said that whoever controls the sugar industry is equivalent to having his hand on the economic lifeline of Britain.
Unfortunately, the sugar industry of this era was in British hands.
So the British produce and sell their own sugar. The more sugar they eat in their own country, the more they make. At the same time, it can sell huge amounts of sugar to Europe, America and Central Asia, making it an important economic pillar industry.
At present, most of the world's sugarcane cultivation is concentrated on islands in the Caribbean. Except for the island of Saint-Domingue, which is in the hands of France, it is basically occupied by the United Kingdom. There is no way, the British navy is too powerful and has an incomparable advantage in controlling the islands.
In addition, the Brazilian colony controlled by Portugal is also rich in sugar cane, but Portugal basically wears the same pants as Britain, so it is also part of the British sugar industry system.
There are currently hundreds of sugar refineries in London, producing more than 80% of Europe's sugar products.
The emergence of Archard gave Joseph the opportunity to tear a hole in Britain's "sugar hegemony".
Archad, who was walking on the Champs Elysées, was still confused until he entered the Tuileries Palace.
Then he entered the door with a blank mind, saluted, and sat on the sofa at the prince's warm invitation.
"So, you already have a complete production process for refining white sugar from beets?" Joseph looked at him with a smile.
"Yes, yes, Your Highness." Archard nodded quickly and said in broken French, "This was actually invented by my teacher, Dr. Margrave, and I further improved it.< br>
“Well, actually, my main job is to breed beet varieties with higher sugar content. "
Joseph immediately asked: "So what is the sugar content of your beets? ”
Speaking of this, Archad's nervousness suddenly disappeared, and he said very proudly: "It has exceeded 8%, Your Highness."
Joseph praised him openly, but secretly frowned in his heart. .
No wonder Nahuanggao lost money by making sugar from beets. The sugar content is really low.
He remembered that the sugar content of beets in later generations was about 20%. Therefore, if we want to compete with Caribbean sucrose, this beet must continue to improve.
He looked at Archard and asked: "How long do you think it will take to cultivate beets with a sugar content of 12%?"
The latter was silent for a few seconds. Putting on a desperate expression: "Your Highness, if you need it, I will try my best to cultivate such beet within 20 years!"
[Note 1] Although the cost of producing sugar in the Caribbean is low to 48 to 50 pounds per pound (that is, 1.9 pounds per franc). But after transporting it long distance back to Europe, and performing secondary finishing (such as removing the color, making it into sugar cubes, etc.), packaging and selling, and making a little profit, the final selling price is basically more than 1 franc per pound. A little bit.
The British mainland consumed about 100 million pounds of sugar at the end of the 18th century, which cost almost 100 million francs.
(End of this chapter)