Life of Being a Crown Prince in France - Chapter 1224 - 1129: Revitalization Plan

Chapter 1224: Chapter 1129: Revitalization Plan

Joseph took the warm teacup from Camellia’s hand, motioned for the Director of Security to sit down, and slightly frowned: “Why is the situation getting chaotic so quickly?”

“It’s the ’Youth Italy Organization’, Your Highness,” Lavallette said. “They must have received substantial funding, suddenly inciting unrest everywhere.”

Joseph had previously heard reports from the Security Bureau about this and knew it was an Italian nationalist organization. However, under the suppression of the governments of the Northern Italian states, they had always just been engaged in minor activities in secret; this time they suddenly grew bold.

Lavallette continued, “There are indications that most of their funding comes from within Naples, but I also suspect that some Northern Italian states are involved.”

Joseph, smelling the aroma of the tea, thought for a moment and instructed, “You might focus the investigation on Sardinia.”

The Director of Security was somewhat surprised, feeling that the Crown Prince seemed to be making a wild guess, but he immediately responded, “Yes, Your Highness. I will have the Turin branch collect clues with full effort.”

Joseph was not guessing.

Historically, the Sardinian Royal Family was the biggest driver of Italian unification. The later Kingdom of Italy was essentially an upgraded version of Sardinia.

And looking at the current scale of the Northern Italian states, only Sardinia and Venice have the will to promote unification—small countries unifying is tantamount to dismantling themselves and offering it to a greater country.

Venice has always been in a “fragmented” state, and it is already difficult enough to keep itself from splitting, having no ability to unify.

So, most likely it is Sardinia.

Joseph had always thought that the wave of Italian nationalism would erupt at least a decade later, not expecting it to happen so much earlier than in history.

On further reflection, it should be because the unification of the Northern Italian market brought about tighter economic and cultural connections, providing the soil for nationalism to spread more rapidly.

However, this situation did not cause Joseph much distress; in some respects, he even breathed a sigh of relief.

If Italian nationalism had continued to spread quietly in secret, that would be the most troublesome; now that the leading force has emerged, there is a clear target to tackle.

Indeed, for France, a “backyard” composed of small states is far more advantageous than a unified great nation.

Moreover, a unified Italy would soon begin to compete with France for control of the Mediterranean Sea and North Africa. In the following century and a half, Bismarck and the little man repeatedly used Italy strategically to check France.

Therefore, Joseph needs Italy to maintain its current state as much as possible.

Lavallette continued: “Your Highness, Milan and Genoa already have signs of losing control over public order; do you think we need to send troops to assist them in maintaining stability?”

Joseph, deeply aware of the harm of “security warfare,” immediately raised his hand to interrupt him, then signaled to Eman: “Please have Count Mirabeau and Archbishop Talleyrand come to see me immediately.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Before long, the two ministers successively knocked and entered.

Joseph first had Lavallette explain the situation in Northern Italy to them, then instructed: “The situation is not quite as we expected, so I decided to implement the plan ahead of time.

“Moreover, actions against the ’Youth Italy Organization’ need to be increased. This will be handled by Colonel Lavallette.”

Mirabeau said with some difficulty: “Your Highness, but our preparation work will need three to four months to complete. Currently, there are virtually no operable factories.”

Talleyrand also added: “Milan, Lucca, and Florence have not yet passed the guild and trade reform laws…”

More than two months ago, after Mirabeau brought up the issue of Northern Italy’s low market purchasing power, Joseph convened a summit of common market member countries and formulated a series of plans to promote the economic development of the various countries.

This was originally to be formally implemented six months later, but now Joseph intends to use it to respond to the chaos in Northern Italy—

As long as the people at the bottom see hope, the vast majority will no longer participate in riots, and the overall situation can be immediately improved.

And for those few who insist on causing trouble, Security Bureau operatives working with national military police can resolve it quickly. Provided the propaganda is handled well, arresting these individuals generally will not provoke protests from Italians.

Joseph nodded, “Consider the preparatory work as part of increasing the income of the Italians.

“For example, the factories under construction can completely hire locals to transport timber, dig earth and stone. The number of hires can be double what is needed.

“If the training schools are not built, then conduct classes in the square.

“Even workshops supplying goods can sign contracts in advance, pay part of the deposit, and have them start trial production. However, this part must be overseen by skilled craftsmen to avoid producing substandard products resulting in waste.”

Mirabeau hurriedly said, “Your Highness, but this will significantly increase expenditures.”

Joseph waved his hand: “Anyway, it is borne by the governments of the various countries, just increase their loan quotas. Tell them that this expenditure is far smaller than the losses caused by riots.”

He looked at Talleyrand, “You personally go to Milan, Lucca, and Florence, and require their governments to sign the corresponding reform laws within three days, otherwise, I will suspect they are condoning rioters.

“Oh, you can take people from the tax bureau and ministry of commerce to help them revise the regulations.”

The guild and tax reforms were determined at the last summit, the reason these countries dilly-dally is likely due to internal vested interest groups pulling strings.

With France’s influence in Northern Italy, employing diplomatic pressure, these individuals certainly wouldn’t dare to be fussy anymore.

Joseph finally turned to Lavallette: “Regarding the Youth Italy Organization, for now, don’t move against them, focus on dealing with public opinion. Let Baron Scheller work with you; he is very skilled in this area.

“After the protest activities in various places have subsided, arrest the individuals within this organization who harm people and incite riots, but be sure to have conclusive evidence first.”

Arresting these nationalist leaders is very troublesome, doing so carelessly might boost their prestige.

“Yes, Your Highness.” The Director of Security bowed and repeated, “We will definitely find evidence first.”

The next afternoon.

As a series of instructions from the Palace of Versailles were sent to various parts of Northern Italy via the Sharp Signal Tower, numerous French and Italian officials, as well as French Security Bureau intelligence personnel, immediately became busy.

The first to respond was the Royal Family of Florence, Queen Caterina, upon seeing the “telegram” from Paris, signed the guild and tax reform laws forcibly despite the opposition of several ministers.