Chapter 618 Add a Fire
On the pier of Port-au-Prince, the Duke of Leeds, dressed as a sugar merchant, quickly boarded the merchant ship "Warm Wind".
"These stupid and greedy 'Mulattos'," he glanced back at the island, shaking his head in a sarcastic tone, "Do they think they are the emperors of the Caribbean? How dare they ask I want 300,000 pounds of aid!”
The “Mulattos” he refers to are the common names for people of mixed race.
"Be careful with the heartbeat." The assistant of the Duke of Leeds gave him a hand and echoed, "They have the blood of niggas, how can they have noble character? Greed is their distinguishing characteristic .
"But these guys are quite good at fighting, and they defeated Mably's army in less than half a month."
The Duke of Leeds pointed his cane at the deck and walked towards the bow cabin, saying disdainfully: "It's just that The French are so useless. They always talk about freedom and equality, but now they are really equal to the niggas."
"This is a good thing for us." the assistant said.
“Yes, Saint-Domingue will have to pay salaries to its free black citizens in the future, which will increase the cost of their plantations by more than 20%. We no longer have to worry about French sugar competition. "The Duke of Leeds nodded to the assistant who opened the door for him, "And I can leave this ghost place early."
After he learned that the abolitionist organization defeated the governor's army, he immediately decided to return to England. .
And that Oge naively thought that he had won some great battle, and actually asked the United Kingdom to provide diplomatic support and 300,000 pounds of material assistance.
It’s a joke. He and his abolitionist organization are just tools used to destroy Saint-Domingue. They really regard themselves as allies of Britain.
The Duke of Leeds followed the "Warm Wind" to the Bahamas, where he transferred to a British warship and returned to Europe. After all, third-level battleships are much faster and more stable than merchant ships.
However, when he sailed to Bermuda and entered the port for supplies, a warship from Britain also stopped here.
The officials on the ship learned that the Duke of Leeds was on the island, and hurriedly handed over the urgent instructions from the Foreign Secretary to the latter.
The Duke of Leeds took out the code book, frowned and translated the secret message. His expression soon became solemn, and he ordered his assistant: "Contact me a merchant ship. I want to return to Port-au-Prince."
The secret letter read: The French government has officially announced that it will send an expeditionary force of 10,000 troops to suppress the rebellion in Saint-Domingue. The Foreign Secretary authorized the Duke of Leeds to do all he could to help the abolitionist organizations in Saint-Domingue to ensure that the chaos there would not end.
“Damn it!” The Duke of Leeds tore the translation into pieces and threw it into the sea. Then he returned to the cabin and wrote a reply to Lord Grenville, requesting 300,000 pounds of funding.
……
Paris.
Surrounded by a dozen officers, Joseph walked out of the Paris Military Technical School.
"Your effective work has enabled the school to run well." He tilted his head and praised the military school officials beside him. "As for the war horses, I will ask the General Staff to allocate some to you as much as possible. But there is no need to Just add too many riding courses to ensure that most soldiers will not fall off their horses. After all, training cavalry is the responsibility of the Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy."
The academic director bowed with regret and said: "Yes, Your Highness. I will keep your advice in mind."
He originally wanted to take the opportunity to add dragoon courses. This unit basically only requires horseback riding and will dismount in battle, so it is easier to train, but it was rejected by the Crown Prince. His Highness refused.
It’s not that Joseph doesn’t want to increase the number of cavalry, but the Paris Military Technical School, which was split from the Paris Police Academy, has enrolled more than 6,000 new students this year. At the same time, the instructors have allocated a lot of points to the military schools in Lyon and Toulouse. , it is already very difficult to ensure the quality of training for infantry and chasseurs. A war on the European continent may break out at any time. We must first ensure the goal of adding 50,000 soldiers within two years, and it is better not to distract the underlying military technical schools.
Principal Joseph encouraged the Dean of Academic Affairs and other officials again. Just as he was about to get on the carriage, he saw Fouche coming quickly, bowed to him, and then spoke quickly: "Your Highness, this is the Caribbean Sea." "
The Crown Prince asked him to report the situation in Saint-Domingue to him as soon as possible, so after receiving the information from there, he immediately rushed to the Tuileries Palace. , and then chased here again.
Joseph motioned him to get in the car and asked: "Did things go well?"
"Overall, it went well, Your Highness." Fouche handed over the translated information, "It's just that , some unexpected situations occurred, and Mr. Brissot and Delman temporarily adjusted their plans..."
Joseph waited for him to briefly introduce the situation in Saint-Domingue, nodded slightly and said: "I didn't expect the British to attack Saint-Domingue so early."
"Brissot and the others dealt with it well. This time Get Britain into a lot of trouble. But if Booker goes to the United States, our textile industry will have to make some preparations in advance.
“Next, what we have to do is to protest against the UK and try to expand the international impact of this matter.”
He looked at Fouche again and said: “But the Duke of Leeds has not yet He holds a position in the British government, so Peter is likely to say that it is just his personal behavior."
Fouche nodded: "I'm afraid that's the case, your highness."
"We have to find a way to prevent the British government from getting out."
Joseph thought for a moment and asked Fouche: "Do you think the British know the situation in the United States now?"
" You shouldn’t know, Your Highness. Mr. Brissot sent back the information after sending Booker to the United States, and it will take at least more than half a month for those niggas to make trouble.”
"That is to say, we have half a month to operate this matter." Joseph nodded, and immediately thought of a person in his mind, "You know Wilberforce, right?"
" Your Highness, do you mean William Wilberforce, the Second Chancellor of the Exchequer? ”
"Yes, he is the leader of British abolitionism."
Fouche immediately added: "Yes, Your Highness, 'Saint Clapham'."
"Saint Clapham" "The Disciple" was an important force in the "British anti-slave trade movement". Since slavery had been abolished in Britain, British abolitionism was called "anti-slave trade."
Joseph nodded: "Then drag a few more people from this organization into the water. Send people to England immediately and do this..."
"Yes, Your Highness."
A few days later, a British abolitionist journalist was introduced by the Chamber of Commerce to get in touch with the London alderman Earl Middleton, and through the latter he got the opportunity to interview the second finance minister Wilberforce.
(End of this chapter)