Chapter 190: Declare War on Natural Disasters (Subscribe)

Charles was received by the assistant of the French Navy Minister at the Palace of Versailles, and a small commendation meeting was held for him, and he was awarded a bonus of 500 livres.

Charles deserved such a reward. Without the information about pirates he bought from smugglers, the joint fleet might still be trying their luck in the vast Mediterranean.

However, after the commendation meeting, a French official told him that the original arrangement for him to testify at the public trial of pirates had changed, and now he needed to return to Algiers immediately to help the French "diplomats" contact the Younis Pasha.

…

Bourges in north-central France is a very poor area, and the parish of La Boerne is one of the poorest villages here.

Nian Gongnon Alberic sat on a wooden barrel, breathing in the hot air, and the cracked land in front of him made his face full of despair.

He really didn't have the strength to continue carrying water.

As the weather got hotter, the small river that originally flowed through the village had dried up. Now he had to walk 2 miles to carry water from the neighboring village to irrigate his own land.

Yes, there were too few horses for public use in the village, and his family could only use them once every ten days.

And the little water that he carried by manpower was of no use to the 30 acres of land he planted.

After the hail disaster, he applied for potato seeds from the government, but he didn't expect that it would never rain.

So far, he has only planted two acres of potatoes, which is the limit of what he and his son can irrigate with water. If he plants more, the potatoes will die due to lack of water.

Alberic is already thinking about whether he should eat the potatoes used as seeds-although that is a serious violation of regulations, but the priest said that these things can only be stored for half a month, and they can't all rot.

At this moment, a young tenant farmer from the village passed by not far away, ringing a bell and shouting loudly:

"All men, gather at the church!"

Alberic waved to the man and asked loudly:

"Didi, are you going to work for the Baron?"

"No, I'm going to help." Didi said, "Help the Yanar Parish move stones."

"Ah? Move stones?"

Didi nodded impatiently: "Yes, the government specially transported it, saying it's some fertilizer. It can make crops grow better. But it looks like stone."

Alberic hurriedly called his son and rushed to the church together.

Forty or fifty people had gathered near the church, and they were whispering to each other:

"Why do we have to work in Yanar Village?"

"I heard from Mr. Audrean that the government has enacted a 'pumping machine lease bill' and they got a pumping machine!"

"But what does this have to do with us?"

The Yanar Parish is a relatively better-off parish that can barely afford to rent a pumping machine, while the Labourn Parish is extremely poor and can't even afford the monthly rent of 200 livres, let alone the parish bank.

A villager immediately said: "Mr. Audrean said that according to the lease law, Yanar Village must lend us the pump for 11 days every month, and we need to help them do the work."

"Pump?!" Alberic said excitedly, "I heard that thing can irrigate dozens of acres a day, this is saved!"

Soon, the diocesan governor Audrean came to the church, counted the number of people, and then ordered:

"Today and tomorrow, move fertilizer for Yanar Parish. Move our own the day after tomorrow.

"After that, we will help them repair the canal."

He said, showing a happy expression: "But, they will deliver the pump tomorrow night! "

The tenants immediately cheered. With water, they had hope of survival. They ignored the scorching sun and followed Audrean to the neighboring village.

Two days later, Alberic's family also received the light gray "stones" with some black spots. According to the priest, this is a very precious fertilizer. It only needs to be broken into pieces and soaked in water, and then poured on the land to greatly increase the yield of crops.

All fertilizers were bought on credit after the parish signed an agreement with a company called "Twin Trading Company". It was calculated that one acre of land required an investment of 5 to 7 sous, and the payment was made after the autumn harvest. However, the company guaranteed that if the increase in output did not exceed the fertilizer fee, it would not charge a penny.

Yes, these stones were what Joseph had people transported back from Nauru. The scientific name is phosphate ore, which is actually mineralized bird droppings.

This thing is definitely the best fertilizer you can get in this era!

You know, Nauru in later generations became the richest country in a short period of time by selling "guano stone". Every citizen has a supercar, buys real estate in Australia at will, and flies abroad to treat colds.

Of course, when the ore was sold out, they became poor overnight, which is another story.

Due to limited transportation capacity, only two ships of phosphate ore have been shipped back, totaling more than 600 tons, which are temporarily used to supply the more difficult areas in France. However, the second fleet has arrived in the Pacific Ocean at this time, with 17 ships. When they come back, they will greatly increase France's agricultural output.

It's just that Britain is still the world's maritime hegemon, so France can't make this public for now, and can only quietly transport the "stones" back. If the news leaks out one day, it is likely to be robbed by the British.

So Joseph also prepared another plan, which is to promote composting.

The so-called "composting" is to use microorganisms to treat organic matter, such as leaves, stalks, food scraps, and even feces, and decompose them into humus, which is fertilizer that plants can absorb.

Before the popularization of chemical fertilizers, this can be regarded as the best way for humans to produce fertilizers, which can keep the soil fertile for many years without fallowing.

Although Europe had simple composting in the 17th century, it was based on experience to randomly mix organic matter and put it for a while, and the fertility of the pile was very general. It was not until the mid-19th century that the fertility was gradually improved after the scientific composting theory was developed.

Joseph learned about the general principle of composting in a documentary in later generations. It is nothing more than a layer of organic matter plus a layer of soil, controlling the moisture and isolating the air. Then turn the pile once a month and it will be decomposed in three months.

However, theory is theory, and the specific operation, as well as the ratio of organic matter and moisture, must be figured out by professionals.

Joseph handed this task to the church.

Yes, compared with inefficient bureaucrats, the church is still very concerned about people's livelihood. Let the priests of dozens of churches compost in different proportions, observe the effects, and then try out the most suitable composting method, and then promote it nationwide.

It was late at night.

Alberic and two villagers followed the carriage back to the village, and then lit torches and unloaded the coal on the carriage next to the pump.

The coal was transported from a small coal mine more than ten miles away. Such small coal mines are now everywhere. The government promulgated the "Coal Mining Promotion Act" a while ago to encourage coal mining. The government will provide subsidies for coal mines with sales reaching a certain level.

Since then, investors with more than a dozen people have sprung up like mushrooms after rain, and the price of coal has continued to fall. Now as long as the villagers go to the coal mine to carry it themselves, the village can fully afford the coal consumed by the pump.

Watching the water reflected by the torches pouring into the fields through the canal, Alberic and others were so tired that they were sore all over, but their faces were full of smiles.

Obviously, irrigation 11 days a month cannot cover all the cultivated land in the village, but at least more than 60% of the crops can be preserved. With the said magical stone fertilizer, this autumn should be able to harvest enough food for the whole family to survive.

The parish of Labourn is lucky. Limited by the output of French steam engines, there are still a large number of areas in urgent need of irrigation. Although they have submitted applications in accordance with the Pumping Machine Lease Act, they can only wait anxiously for life-saving pumps.

…

Eastern Tunisia, Sfax City.

A man in his thirties with deep eye sockets and a thin and high nose got off the carriage and walked quickly into a candy shop on the street that was obviously French in style.

There are many French merchants all over Tunisia, especially high-end shops selling silk, sugar, tea, etc., many of which are opened by French people.

The owner looked up at him, then opened the door on the counter as if nothing had happened, and let him go straight into the inner room.

Prospert of the Paris Police Intelligence Department was sitting in the house wearing a gray-white robe commonly worn by Tunisians and a golden bucket-shaped hat, fiddling with the dates on the plate out of boredom.

The man with a North African look entered the house, and Prospert raised his hat to him and said in French:

"Fabian... Ah, sorry, it should be Mr. Ishak, how is the situation?"

Ishak first took a few sips of water on the table, and then said excitedly:

"I met the officer named Imanzade. He did know Younis, or rather, he admired him very much.

"The most fortunate thing is that this Imanzade is about to retire and only holds an idle position in the Tunisian army. "

"What kind of luck is this?" Prosper paused halfway through his sentence, and then his eyes lit up, "You mean, he has enough time to go to Algiers."

"That's right!" Ishak nodded, "but he doesn't seem to trust me very much, so he is unwilling to promise anything. Next, it's up to our consul to take action. "

Prosper didn't expect the progress to be so smooth. They had only been in Tunisia for ten days when they contacted Yunis's old subordinates.

Of course, this was also thanks to Ishak, a member of the Police Intelligence Department with North African ancestry - before this, his ancestry often caused him to be discriminated against. But here, his knowledge of Arabic and familiarity with North African customs helped him to show his skills.

Prosper also took a few gulps of water - if you don't drink enough water before going out of this damn place, you will soon feel thirsty - and pulled Ishak out the door:

"Let's go find Consul Joan now. "

Three days later, after several contacts between the French consul and Imanzad, the latter finally boarded a smuggling ship that had been waiting at the port with the agents of the police intelligence department.

They will go directly to Dakhla in Algiers to meet Younis, who has been away from Tunisia for more than 30 years.

...

Versailles Square.

There are crowds of people everywhere, and the entire square is probably gathered with tens of thousands of people. They all came from Paris to participate in the birthday celebration of His Majesty the King.

A month ago, the newspaper said that there will be grand singing and dancing competitions and swordsmanship competitions here three days before and after the King’s birthday. Of course, the most attractive thing is the free food distribution at 5 pm every day.

Of course, many people are here for the lottery with a prize of up to 3,000 livres mentioned in the newspaper - you only need to spend 1 sou to buy a lottery ticket.

On the King’s birthday, His Majesty will personally announce the winning numbers and publicly present the huge prize money.

Paris citizens are very interested in this kind of thing that can make them rich overnight. Most people who have spare money bought a lottery ticket, and some people bought several or even dozens of tickets in order to increase their chances of winning.

Although the celebrations have not yet begun, there are already many vendors in the square selling snacks or small toys, and street theater groups are performing in the open air. There is a cheerful and lively scene everywhere. People have long forgotten the hail that destroyed 65% of France's agricultural harvest.

In the hall on the first floor of the Palace of Versailles, a fat official sitting behind a wooden table looked at his watch, stood up, and was about to put away the wooden sign that read "Sword Competition Registration" on the side.

At this moment, a thin young man with a low-brimmed hat came forward, stopped him politely, and said in a strange voice:

"Please wait, I want to sign up."

"Oh, okay, you came just in time." The official had to sit back on the chair and said with a pen, "You cannot sign up for others. Please tell me your name."

"Jean-Francois Henri de Freze."

The official quickly wrote down the name, stamped it, and handed the note to him:

"Please keep your registration voucher, Viscount Fraise."

"Thank you." The latter took the note, turned around and left.

The official suddenly remembered something, reached out to him and said:

"Wait! You said you are Viscount Fritz?"

The young man didn't answer at all, he lowered his head and walked faster.

"Stop him!" the official in charge of registration shouted.

Upon hearing this, the three guards immediately gathered around and blocked "Viscount Fraise".

The official in charge of registration came over, looked at the applicants suspiciously, and said:

"If you don't mind, could you please take off your hat?"

"Viscount Fraise" had no choice but to take off his three-cornered hat and show him an apologetic smile.

With pretty eyes and a sweet smile, she is obviously a beautiful lady.

"As expected! You are the sister of Viscount de Frétz, Miss Sorel, right? You can't do this," the official in charge of registration said, "This is a game for men, and fighting and killing is not suitable for a beautiful lady like you. . Now, please return your registration voucher to me.”

"But, if I don't participate, who will win the championship?" Sorel smiled slightly, suddenly pulled the guard on the left hard, hooked his ankle with his leather boots, and took advantage of the moment when he lost his center of gravity to shoot from the left Flash past.

The guard blocked the view of the guard on the opposite side. The last guard hurriedly chased after him, but after only two turns on the stairs, Sorel disappeared.

At the same time, on the wooden platform in the middle of the marble courtyard, the competition between the ladies was in full swing.

With Queen Mary as the core, there were five to six hundred nobles surrounding the wooden platform in a fan shape.

A row of soldiers stood behind them, separating the thousands of civilians watching from the outer circle. Common people in Paris had rarely had the opportunity to witness an aristocratic lady show off her singing voice before.

Suddenly, the nobles shouted excitedly: "Mrs. Garland! It's Mrs. Garland!"