After briefly introducing Lavoisier to the properties of benzene, Joseph imdiately turned to Mirabeau and said:
"You're going to be very busy in the coming days.
"First, you need to work with Monsieur Lavoisier to quickly establish a soda ash production plant. I'll arrange for the National Treasury to allocate special funds for this project.
"anwhile, you'll also need to set up two casein glue factories. One in Paris, on a smaller scale, producing about 50,000 kilograms per month. The other will be in Brittany, and it should aim for a production of 500,000 kilograms per month.
"Then, you must establish beverage factories in Paris, Nancy, Bordeaux, Lyon, and Marseille. They will bottle beverages in glass bottles for sale. I'll send the specific recipes directly to the factories."
Earlier, while discussing the production of soda ash, Lavoisier had ntioned that it would produce baking soda as a byproduct, which sparked an idea in Joseph.
Baking soda mixed with lemon juice or vinegar creates a lot of carbon dioxide—essentially an 18th-century carbonated drink!
Previously, the high cost of baking soda made it unaffordable, but with industrial production, it could be used to create high-end beverages.
A bottle of water, a few grams of baking soda, a bit of sugar, and so fruit juice—this refreshing, thirst-quenching, and novel fizzy drink, if marketed properly, could even be sold at prices higher than fine wine. It would be like printing money!
Joseph continued, "The most important task is to prepare two furniture factories, one in Paris and the other in Brittany. Initially, they should be designed to produce over 10,000 sets of wardrobes, tables, and chairs per month."
Mirabeau, who had been furiously taking notes, suddenly paused, looking at the Crown Prince with surprise.
"Your Highness, are you saying we should establish factories to produce furniture? With all due respect, this could lead to losses..."
It was understandable why he questioned this. At that ti, furniture was considered an "individual artwork" crafted by carpenters. People who needed furniture would commission carpenters to make it, starting from processing the wood, which could take months to complete a set.
In this context, what's the point of building a factory? And to produce 10,000 pieces of furniture each month? Paris had only about 600,000 people, so it was like saying five people would need new furniture every year!
According to the customs of the ti, a set of furniture was expected to last for generations, and typically only newlyweds would order new furniture. It seed impossible to sell 10,000 pieces of furniture each month.
Joseph smiled slightly.
"Trust . Producing 10,000 pieces of furniture a month is just the beginning. The scale will expand tenfold later. It won't just be France—I'll make sure all of Europe, and even the Far East and the Aricas, replace their furniture. As for the specific requirents for the furniture factories, I'll have soone deliver them to you shortly."
Joseph had no intention of creating furniture as "individual artworks" crafted by carpenters. With standardized synthetic boards, all he needed was a small team of designers to co up with the shapes, and the rest of the work—cutting boards and assembling them according to blueprints—could be done by workers with minimal training.
This kind of work could be done by workers with no prior carpentry skills after just two or three months of training, allowing for mass production.
Joseph then gave further instructions to Mirabeau and Lavoisier about the details of setting up the factories. Before long, night fell.
After the eting, Joseph sent a ssage to inform Brent, the general manager of the Paris Angel Company, to co to his office the next morning.
Baking soda is not just for making drinks; it's also an excellent deodorant!
When mixed with talcum powder and applied to areas prone to odor, like underarms or the groin, it effectively reduces sll.
The reason the French perfu industry was so developed was largely because people didn't bathe frequently, leading to strong body odors that had to be masked with perfu.
It wasn't unusual for a French noble to spend hundreds of livres on perfu each year.
If Paris Angel could develop a costic product that reduced body odor at the source, it would beco a formidable competitor to perfus.
Moreover, baking soda could be used as a mouthwash to reduce bad breath.
It's easy to imagine that after the product's release, nobles would consider it impolite not to use Paris Angel mouthwash before attending formal events or going on dates.
According to Joseph's plan, Paris Angel would also beco part of the chemical industry chain, sparking the next sales boom.
...
In Reims, a city in northern-central France.
In a rural churchyard outside Reims, a handso young man with long hair, dressed in a black short coat and white tight trousers, with a simple white necktie, stood on a dilapidated ox cart. He was passionately addressing dozens of farrs gathered before him:
"Yes! The governnt has deceived us!
"They want you to continue enduring high taxes and the exploitation of nobles and officials, so they use lies to keep you docile.
"They say they've abolished the nobles' privileges, but in reality, only minor taxes like mill taxes and hunting taxes have been eliminated. The most important ones, like the tithe and land taxes, are still there!
"That king who sits in Versailles, indulging in luxury and doing nothing, tells you he'll give you the land. But I must tell you the truth—the king and his bureaucrats have decided to make you pay 30 years' worth of land inco, plus 30 years of tithes and taxes. By the ti you're too exhausted to work, your eyes clouded, your teeth fallen out, the land you've worked for decades still won't be yours!"
The farrs exchanged uneasy glances, and a wave of murmurs rose among them.
After a mont, a burly farr spoke up to the young man on the cart:
"Noble sir, what good is it to say these things? Whether it's 20 years or 30, we still have to pay."
"No, you're wrong!" The young man waved his hand vigorously. "We can do more than just accept it. We can resist!
"If we stand united and show those bureaucrats our anger, they'll be so terrified they'll take back that shaless purchase plan!
"We've already connected with people from dozens of parishes. Five days from now, we'll gather in front of the Reims town hall, ard with stones, sticks, even muskets, and we'll teach those shaless officials a lesson!"
His rousing speech ignited a fire in the farrs' hearts, and they began to shout and raise their fists in the air:
"Teach them a lesson!"
"We won't pay 30 years of taxes!"
"Let's follow this nobleman and resist!"
As the agitated farrs dispersed, a middle-aged man erged from behind a nearby haystack, handing a cup of water to the young speaker with exaggerated enthusiasm:
"Saint-Just, you spoke so well! These farrs will surely join your revolution! Shall we go to Zesfeld village next?"
Saint-Just gulped down the water, wiping the sweat from his brow, and replied firmly:
"Of course. There are hundreds more French people there waiting for us to save them!"
(End of Chapter)
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