Chapter 613 Abolition Movement
At noon, the cabinet meeting ended.
When the Lord Admiralty walked out of the golden door of the conference hall, he smiled brighter than on his wedding day.
Not far behind him, Mirabeau and several other ministers from the emerging aristocratic faction looked a little serious.
After passing the corner of the corridor, Bai glanced at Mirabeau's expression and said, "You also noticed something, right?"
The latter nodded solemnly: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has given the Navy an additional allocation of 20 million francs, which is indeed unusual."
This 20 million is an allocation in addition to the normal military expenditure of the Navy. If you include the money Carona got back from the UK, the Navy has already received an additional 40 million francs.
Prior to this, the Navy had been reducing military expenditures for three consecutive years, and the tonnage of newly built warships was even lower than that of Russia.
Bayi immediately answered: "Yes, in addition, His Highness asked me to purchase large quantities of wood, grease, ropes and even cotton. Obviously, he is worried that trade channels will be blocked."
Venio. Added: "Including grains, there are no signs of a bad harvest at the moment."
These matters were all ordered by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince before the end of the cabinet meeting just now.
"So," Bayi lowered his voice, "Is a war going to break out?"
"It seems that the British side is taking action." Talleyrand struggled to keep up. Three people, he is still very familiar with the latest strategic direction of Britain, "His Highness obviously wants to prepare in advance."
He suddenly paused here, shook his head and said: "But something is unreasonable. His Highness asked me to go to Ottoman to broker a new trade agreement at this time.”
Joseph gave him the task of reaching an agreement with Ottoman to reduce tariffs and increase the types of goods admitted, obviously in order to improve the relationship between the two countries. Trade volume.
Mirabeau was also quite puzzled: "If there is to be a war with Britain, Mediterranean trade should be in danger of being interrupted."
Venio immediately said: "So His Highness allocated 20 million funds to the navy, it should It’s about fighting for control of the sea.”
Several other people looked at him with strange eyes. Mirabeau said: "Then this amount of funds is probably far from enough."
Bay nodded: "And if you are confident of defeating the British at sea, there is no need to hoard supplies."
Several people discussed it for a while, but still had no clue. If the Marquis of Castelli were here, he would definitely tell them excitedly that the navy's new warships powered by steam engines have the ability to drive the British fleet away from the Mediterranean. After the war begins, the Ottomans on the east side of the Mediterranean will be a very important market for France.
Finally, Talleyrand took a breath and said: "I think we should trust His Highness's judgment."
The other three people also nodded. In their memories, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had indeed never made any mistakes in his decisions.
……
A few months ago.
Southern side of North America, Caribbean Sea.
Central Saint-Domingue, Port-au-Prince.
In a dark basement, Vincent Auger, the leader of the abolition movement, turned on the candle in the middle of the room. The candlelight immediately reflected the faces of more than a dozen people sitting around the room.
Most of these people are mixed-race people with light brown skin, and there are four black people and one white person. It was representatives of abolitionist organizations from all over French Saint-Domingue.
“Thank you everyone for arriving here on time.” Oge stepped forward and walked to the front of the crowd, looked at them with extremely capable eyes, and said in a deep voice, “The Booker movement has captured most of Thor. Tujia, almost all the governor's troops are gathered in the north. Our opportunity has come!"
Everyone at the scene immediately clenched their fists in excitement and suppressed their voices in cheers. Auger continued: "We will gather on the east side of Port-au-Prince in a week. Major Jonas and I will lead half of the people to attack the Government Palace."
He then looked at a mixed-race middle-aged man wearing a French white military uniform: "Major Auriol led a battalion to occupy the parliament. The others spread out to ensure the stability of Port-au-Prince."
The two officers immediately stood up and signaled: "I will follow your orders, Mr. Auger."
Auger waved his fist vigorously and said: "We now have the same sophisticated equipment as the Guards of the Governor's Palace. Major Jonas even has cannons there.
“We will quickly take control of Port-au-Prince and then ask Parliament to vote on the abolition of slavery. All will be free and equal, and the dark ages of Saint-Domingue will be over! ”
The organization representatives in the room suddenly cheered softly again.
When everyone calmed down, an old black man wearing a gray and black burlap coat slowly stood up and said: "Mr. Auger, how are we going to deal with the French troops coming from Europe? They may have almost crossed the border at this time. The Atlantic Ocean."
Auge looked resolute and said: "Then we will fight with them until they accept the abolition bill!"
The old black man shook his head and sighed: "Mr. , it is simply impossible for our current army to defeat the French Expeditionary Force, just like it was a few years ago..."
Auge raised his hand and interrupted him: "Mr. Troc, the supplies we received before were more than A batch.
"In fact, a certain country has promised us that it will provide 30,000 pounds of supplies every month in the future. We will eventually win!"
The supplies Auger mentioned are mainly flintlocks, Military equipment such as military uniforms and tents, as well as some food and medicine.
Trock immediately showed a look of surprise: "Thank God for giving us hope."
He participated in two abolitionist uprisings, both of which were imprisoned due to lack of weapons and ammunition. Suppressed, the situation is finally different this time!
An hour later, Oge, who had made detailed arrangements for the uprising, left the basement and returned to his residence by car.
Before he entered the door, his butler came out and whispered a few words in his ear.
"Special envoy of the French government?" Auger frowned, pondered for a moment, and then walked towards the room.
Sitting in the living room was a middle-aged man wearing a long black coat and a somewhat disheveled wig.
Auge took a deep breath, stepped forward and said loudly: "Mr. Special Envoy, if you want to persuade me to support the suppression of the Booker Movement in Parliament, you will be disappointed..."
The middle-aged man stood up when he heard the noise, caressed his chest and saluted Auge.
When the latter saw his big nose, forehead wrinkles, and deep eyes, he couldn't help but exclaimed: "You, you are Mr. Brissot?!"
Brissot smiled and nodded. : "That's my name. You should be Mr. Auger. It's an honor to meet you."
Auger hurriedly bowed in return: "I heard your speech in Philadelphia. Oh, I There is also your "Miscellaneous Notes of Blacks in the American South" in my bookcase, which is very true!"
"I'm glad you like that book."
Auge suddenly thought of something. He suppressed his excitement and said: "The King of Dharma sent you as a special envoy. Could it be that..."
Brissot nodded: "Yes, His Majesty has agreed to sign the abolition of slavery."
(End of this chapter)