I am the Crown Prince of France

Chapter 43: The Power of Money

In reality, Joseph had long considered establishing a bank. To reform a nation's finances, a bank is an indispensable tool. Especially after the decline of the Royal Bank, France was left without even a symbolic "central bank," which meant the government had virtually no control over finance.

Moreover, the Industrial Revolution was on the verge of exploding, and this period would require vast amounts of financial support to ensure industrial development was unhindered. So, founding a bank was an essential step for Joseph, although he initially planned to wait for a more opportune moment.

Everyone knows that a bank heavily relies on its capital scale. A bank with 1 million in capital, no matter how well it is managed, would struggle to compete against a bank with 10 million in capital.

Joseph originally planned to wait until he could convert more of his resources into capital before making a large-scale investment in the banking industry. However, the recent provocations by the banking sector against the government's finances, combined with the looming threat of a government debt default, pushed him to accelerate this process.

Fortunately, the profits from Paris Angel were far exceeding his expectations, which gave him the financial confidence he needed. The remaining task was to figure out how to proceed.

As the carriage slowly moved along, Joseph watched the trees and pedestrians pass by outside the window, silently organizing his detailed plans for setting up a bank.

Although the banking industry in the 18th century was already flourishing, from a historical perspective, it was still in its early stages. The sophisticated financial maneuvers developed by future financial giants had yet to be invented. To Joseph, France's financial sector was like the New World to Columbus—untouched and full of opportunities.

Over an hour later, Joseph had formulated a complete plan in his mind. After repeatedly confirming its thoroughness and feasibility, he finally smiled and instructed Émond, "Send word to Mr. Brent, and have him come see me as quickly as possible."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Three hours later, when Joseph returned to Versailles, he found that Brent was already waiting for him—eager and dedicated, the manager had ridden a horse directly to the palace to save time.

Joseph first praised Brent for his efficiency, then gathered his personal architect, painter, carpenter, accountant, and others in his study to give them their tasks.

"From now on, you have only one task: to get as many Paris Angel franchise stores up and running in the shortest possible time."

He turned to Brent. "You are fully in charge of this. All my resources are at your disposal. Strive to have at least three stores open in the Paris area within a week. Additionally, open another directly operated store in Reims."

Brent's expression grew serious. Although they had already prepared the glass walls, display stands, lights, and even uniforms for the store staff as per the Prince's previous instructions, the wall and floor renovations would take a lot of time, especially with multiple stores being set up simultaneously. Completing everything within a week seemed like an impossible task...

Seeing Brent's expression, Joseph smiled slightly and said, "The first franchise store that opens will earn you a 1,000-livre bonus. The second store, 1,500 livres. And so on—the bonus increases by 500 livres for each additional store."

He then turned to the architect and others. "For the first store that opens, each of you will receive a 500-livre bonus. For each additional store, the bonus increases by 200 livres."

With the power of money added, everyone becomes a superman!

Brent's heart raced. He quickly calculated that if he could get the three Paris stores open, he would earn 4,500 livres in just one week! Four stores would bring 7,000 livres, and five stores, 10,000...

If he could open all seven franchise stores and the one directly operated store, his bonus would be a whopping 22,000 livres!

Enough for a second mansion!!

His eyes practically glowing red, Brent blurted out, "Rest assured, Your Highness! I swear to the Lord, I will not disappoint you!"

Eagerly, he turned to the architect, painter, and others. "What are you standing around for? Let's go!!"

After hastily bowing to the Prince, the group sprinted out of the royal residence as if their lives depended on it.

Outside Versailles, Brent shoved 10 livres into the coachman's hand and shouted, "Hurry! Back to Paris, quickly!"

The painter, still calculating the potential bonus, muttered, "...Three stores, 2,100 livres... If I complete all of them, that's 9,600 livres! Oh, God! 9,600!!"

His heart skipped a beat, and he began to breathe heavily. He turned to the coachman and yelled, "Mr. Brebo, show us what you've got! Hurry!"

Once the group had left, Joseph quickly wrote a few lines on a piece of paper and handed it to Émond, instructing him, "Follow this strategy to promote it through all newspapers, salons, balls, and other channels. You have 15,000 livres. Spend it all within a week."

Émond had never heard such an unusual request before. Confused, he looked at the paper and saw that it read:

"On November 30, Paris Angel Company will officially offer shares for sale throughout France. We welcome your subscription.

Slogan: 'When the wind is strong, even pigs can fly. And the next big opportunity is with Paris Angel!'"

Below this was information about Paris Angel's business model and revenue figures.

November 30th was exactly one week away.

Émond immediately bowed deeply and said earnestly, "Yes, Your Highness, I will do everything in my power!"

Joseph then instructed his servant to invite Briand, Monnot, and Count Robert to join him for dinner. These three men were not invited without purpose—Briand and Monnot were senior cabinet members and close allies of his, while Count Robert, though officially an advisor, was actually the head of the king's secret police and had significant influence with the royal family.

At the lavish dining table, Monnot glanced around and, seeing no "spectators" observing the Prince's meal, realized this was no ordinary dinner. Smiling broadly, he raised his glass.

"Let us toast to His Highness, the Prince."

The others quickly joined in, "To His Highness, the Prince."

After the wine had been drunk, Monnot first praised Joseph's brilliant handling of the situation in Holland, then casually remarked, "Your Highness, with your busy schedule, inviting us old men must mean there's something good in store, haha."

Joseph smiled and said, "You are all dear friends of mine, and I'd like to ask for your help."

Briand, still smiling, replied, "Your Highness, whatever it is, just say the word."

Joseph wiped his mouth with a napkin and adopted a more serious tone. "Actually, I'm planning to establish a bank, and I'd like to invite you to become shareholders."

The larger the endeavor, the more one must avoid keeping all the benefits to oneself. By sharing the pie with others, anyone who dares to covet it will find themselves up against vested interests who will defend it on your behalf.

As long as Joseph maintained control of the bank's decision-making, sharing some profits was a small price to pay.

These three prominent figures were Joseph's first batch of shareholders. In the future, he would bring in even more influential partners. With these individuals backing the bank, it was bound to succeed.

(End of Chapter)

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