Chapter 312: Chapter 308 French Agricultural Reform
De Mornay led Jean Dulles and Louis Pasteur to one of the many guest rooms in the Tuileries Palace and then bid them farewell before leaving the guest room.
After De Mornay left the guest room, Jean Dulles once again engaged in a warm conversation with Louis Pasteur.
However, this time Louis Pasteur did not show the same enthusiasm as earlier. During his conversation with Jean Dulles, Louis Pasteur kept glancing at the door, as if Jerome Bonaparte was about to appear from the other side at any moment.
Jean Dulles understood that his student still had little experience.
Then again, Louis Pasteur being invited to the Tuileries Palace at the age of 28 had indeed exceeded Jean Dulles’s expectations.
Jean Dulles seemed to see a new political star, and with a heart that cherished talent, he half-jokingly, half-seriously asked, "Interested in taking a position in my department? It’s better than being a professor!"
"Ah!" Louis Pasteur was startled by Jean Dulles’s sudden olive branch. He was merely a "country bumpkin" from the Outer Province who had been fortunate enough to enroll in Paris Normal University, where he began his studies and was later luckily recruited as a graduate student.
But his luck ran out after his graduate studies. Despite achieving some academic success, the outside world regarded him as merely a fledgling youth.
After repeatedly hitting walls in Paris, he had to leave Paris to find his own way.
After many setbacks, Louis Pasteur finally arrived at the University of Strasbourg to take on a professorship. With stable work and income, Louis Pasteur began new research and even met his future wife, the daughter of the university’s dean, and got married.
Due to Strasbourg’s inherent hardware facilities and established conditions, Louis Pasteur had no choice but to endure hardships.
Next came the collapse of the Orleans Kingdom and the establishment of the Second Republic. These continuous political events did not affect the pace of Louis Pasteur’s research; to him, external politics were irrelevant.
However, in 1849, a sudden cholera outbreak threatened Louis Pasteur with the loss of his child.
This drove him to resolutely study medicine content alongside chemistry.
At this time, he was only just beginning to study epidemiology, and the restrictions of objective conditions made it difficult for him to showcase his abilities.
Jean Dulles’s invitation felt like a delightful candy coating for Louis Pasteur. He could entirely fulfill a role in the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce while continuing his research work.
Louis Pasteur was confident that he could multitask, perhaps even handle three tasks at once.
After a moment of thought, Louis Pasteur politely declined Jean Dulles’s invitation: "I’ll consider it!"
Jean Dulles smiled at the student before him, nodding to show his understanding.
"Click!"
As the mentor and student conversed, the door of the guest room made a sound.
Jean Dulles and Louis Pasteur quickly turned their gaze toward the door, and the figure of Jerome Bonaparte appeared in Louis Pasteur and Jean Dulles’s view.
So young!
This was Louis Pasteur’s most immediate impression when meeting Jerome Bonaparte for the first time. The young man before him seemed to be around the same age as him.
So young and already a leader of a nation!
Louis Pasteur couldn’t help but feel admiration and envy for Jerome Bonaparte; compared to Jerome Bonaparte, Louis Pasteur’s one-third of a life felt almost squandered.
Some yearned for Rome, while some were born into it.
Jerome Bonaparte also noticed the two people in the guest room. One had graying sideburns and slightly naturally curly hair, with a fair face slightly flushed, showing traces of years. His deep, sky-blue eyes revealed wisdom polished by time.
The other was younger, probably around 30, with a dignified face showing a hint of nervousness. His broad forehead and hair parted in the middle gave him a rather handsome appearance; the neat black coat, black waistcoat, and white shirt indicated someone meticulous.
If Jerome Bonaparte wasn’t mistaken, the older one would be Jean Dulles, and the younger one must be Louis Pasteur.
"Welcome! Minister Jean Dulles, and Louis Pasteur..." Jerome Bonaparte quickly walked up to them. After glancing at Jean Dulles, he focused his gaze on Louis Pasteur: "May I call you Professor Pasteur?"
"Your Excellency, just call me Pasteur!" Louis Pasteur responded, with a surprised look on his face.
"Mr. Pasteur!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded to Louis Pasteur.
At present, Louis Pasteur still seemed a bit inexperienced, but Jerome Bonaparte believed that Louis Pasteur’s patriotism would not be inferior to his future self, and would only become more fervent.
"Please, sit down!" Jerome Bonaparte invited Jean Dulles and Pasteur to take their seats.
Once all three were seated on the sofa in the guest room, Jerome Bonaparte directed his gaze at Jean Dulles and spoke again: "Minister Jean Dulles, I believe you understand why I invited you to take on the important position of Minister of Agriculture and Commerce!"
Jean Dulles nodded and said, "Of course!"
"Then, Mr. Minister, I would like to ask your opinion on French agriculture!" Jerome Bonaparte tossed a question to Jean Dulles.
"Our country is a vast agricultural nation..." Jean Dulles, having prepared in his mind, immediately spoke to Jerome Bonaparte.
"Then what do you think about agricultural cooperatives?" Jerome Bonaparte again asked for Jean Dulles’ opinion.
"Mr. President, agricultural cooperatives can indeed alleviate the difficulties caused by the fragmentation of our country’s land!" Jean Dulles first praised Jerome Bonaparte’s policy on cooperatives and then pointed out its shortcomings: "However, this may also lead to those with more land consolidating all the land. Agricultural cooperatives might cause some small landowners to face bankruptcy!"
Jean Dulles sharply pointed out the difficulties of agricultural cooperatives. In history, this issue also emerged with cooperatives.
Even though administrative means temporarily resolved some issues, excessive administrative directives only led to forced cooperation to quickly complete tasks.
This also violated the original voluntary intention.
"Then what do you think we should do?" Jerome Bonaparte again asked Jean Dulles for a solution.
"Governor, we cannot suppress the human desire to maximize benefits while avoiding harm!" Jean Dulles sighed and said tactfully, "But we can reduce the losses they cause. I think the reason you established agricultural schools is for this purpose, right!"
"Exactly!" Jerome Bonaparte responded to Jean Dulles.
"In that case, we can establish factories in some areas... allowing farmers to work in factories during their spare time..." Jean Dulles presented a solution to Jerome Bonaparte.
The approach involves establishing small-scale light industry in rural areas under government guidance, engaging in foreign trade, teaching farmers to use bird droppings, offering subsidies to farmers who use them, and reducing pest damage to crops, especially grapes...
Jean Dulles’s views coincided with Jerome Bonaparte’s, and some of the views were points that Jerome Bonaparte hadn’t thought of.
"Great!" Jerome Bonaparte said excitedly to Jean Dulles: "You shall be the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce. I believe you will elevate French agriculture to a higher level!"
After praising Jean Dulles, Jerome Bonaparte again proposed some of his opinions on whether French crops could be sold abroad as luxury goods.
"Luxury goods?" Jean Dulles looked at Jerome Bonaparte with a puzzled expression. He had never heard that agriculture could be sold as luxury goods.
Having frequently heard about Thai rice, Vietnamese rice, etc., in a past life, Jerome Bonaparte cleared his throat and said to Jean Dulles: "We should develop the French agricultural industry into a golden brand, like having French rice rich in nutrients..."
Jerome Bonaparte did not realize that this tactic was what France would use in the future within the EU—selling agricultural products at high prices due to international admiration for France, while importing cheap rice from abroad at low prices.
Given that France’s "godlike" status had not yet collapsed in this era, and many people still prided themselves on buying French luxury goods, this strategy of turning domestic luxury goods into exports could be realized.
A nouveau riche in the New Continent was a potential customer.
"Probably possible!" Jean Dulles, having never thought agricultural products could have so many tricks, was temporarily dumbfounded. He could only silently remember Jerome Bonaparte’s remarks and find an opportunity to experiment with them.
The two engaged in conversation for a long time, leaving Louis Pasteur, sitting beside them, feeling unusually uncomfortable. He couldn’t understand why the Governor had brought him to the Tuileries Palace.
After Jerome Bonaparte finished his conversation with Jean Dulles, he then turned his attention back to Louis Pasteur, whom he had left aside for a long time.