The Crown Prince of France - Chapter 98

Chapter 98: Do Not Insult the Old and Poor!

Morneau looked at the angry glances of the young ladies around him and awkwardly bowed to Prince Joseph, saying:
“Your Highness, are you not going to dance?”

Joseph replied: “I don’t have time to dance. I have serious matters to discuss with you.”

Morneau glanced again at the lively crowd dancing around him.
“You mean, here? To discuss serious matters?”

Joseph thought to himself, I would prefer to sit on the sofa with a cup of tea and chat leisurely, but I’ve spent the entire afternoon looking for you, and even your servants don’t know where you’ve been running around.

“I came to look for you this afternoon.”

“Oh…” Morneau awkwardly touched his nose. He certainly didn’t want anyone to know about the incident with Countess Mesaye.

He quickly led the Crown Prince to a quieter corner:
“Please, go ahead.”

Joseph thought for a moment, then said:

“To put it simply, I want to push some initiatives to develop industry. Currently, that falls under the jurisdiction of your Ministry of the Interior.”

Morneau blinked and nodded.

“Speak plainly, then. I hope you can give up control over industrial affairs.”

Morneau continued nodding, waiting for the Crown Prince’s proposal in exchange for his interests.

Joseph said: “Now, news censorship is no longer under the control of the High Court. I think we can set up a Bureau of News and Publications to handle these matters, and you can manage it.”

“Moreover, I have already discussed it with Archbishop Briand, and we plan to issue a ‘Patent Law.’”

He roughly explained the meaning of the Patent Law, then added: “Corresponding to this, we need to establish a Patent Office, which can also be under your management.”

Morneau considered it for a moment—France’s industry was no match for Britain’s and was barely hanging on, so holding onto it didn’t seem meaningful.

The Patent Office Joseph mentioned seemed interesting, as it could certainly be profitable with ties to fashion design. As for news censorship, though, that didn’t seem useful.

He immediately showed a simple smile: “Your Highness, you see…”

Joseph didn’t wait for him to ramble, immediately saying: “Add a printing workshop.”

“A workshop?”

“I have a technology that can reduce the cost of printing images to less than a fifth of the current price. We can invest 200,000 livres. Oh, of course, this money will mostly come from you, and we’ll be able to monopolize almost all of Paris’s printing business.”

“We’ll each own 20% of the shares, and the Bureau of News and Publications will hold 60%. And all the profits for the first seven years will go to you.”

What Joseph planned for the printing workshop was actually a way to control pamphlets.

Anyone wanting to print pamphlets would have to come to him, otherwise, the prices would be exorbitantly high compared to other pamphlets, resulting in no one wanting to buy them.

And if they come to him, well, the workshop will be linked with the Bureau of News and Publications, so they’ll first have to pass the censorship there.

Morneau, after confirming that this cheap printing technology was already in use, immediately beamed with a bright smile and nodded:
“Oh, Your Highness, you’re always so generous! May God bless you!”

...

In the Royal Workshop, King Louis XVI, who had been working tirelessly for most of the day, placed his musket on the workbench, wiped his sweat, and prepared to enjoy his dinner.

As the servants helped him remove his apron, he casually picked up a nearby newspaper—every day, servants brought him the most influential newspapers—and immediately noticed the striking headline: “The Glorious Victory of the Great King.”

He scratched his head—he had been spending so much time in the workshop designing guns lately, how had he suddenly achieved a glorious victory?

He picked up another paper. The front page read: “His Majesty the King Brings Justice to His Loyal Paris.”

Louis XVI quickly put on his glasses and read the article. He then realized it referred to the bill he had signed a few days ago regarding the “Royal Supreme Court.”

He put down the newspaper, puffed his chest in pride, and thought to himself: Seems like managing the state affairs isn’t that complicated after all. Hmm, I’m doing quite well, aren’t I?

...

At the golden doors of the East Hall in the Palace of Versailles.

Joseph, wearing a wine-red formal suit, stood upright, passed between two rows of guards who bowed their heads, and walked briskly into the meeting hall.

This was the first time he couldn’t wait to enter.

Soon, all the cabinet ministers arrived, and Queen Marie arrived earlier than usual.

After everyone exchanged greetings, the golden doors creaked shut, and the cabinet meeting officially began…

Archbishop Briand, with a joyful expression, looked around at everyone before naturally beginning to speak about the tax bill:
“Once this bill is passed, it will greatly alleviate the country’s financial difficulties.”

He opened the prepared documents: “The land tax alone is expected to increase the annual fiscal income by 18 million livres. The stamp tax is expected to add…”

He read on, glancing briefly at the gloomy-faced Sumiar, before concluding:
“Combined, these various taxes will increase the annual fiscal income by 22 to 24 million livres!”

Queen Marie led the applause, nodding:
“This will be a historic day for the finances of France!”

Regardless of whether the ministers were pleased or not, they all clapped and congratulated Briand.

After discussing the tax bill, Briand switched to another document, bowed toward the Queen, and then spoke loudly:
“Now, we begin with the first agenda item.

“Count Morneau has proposed that Count Sumiar should be held responsible for the scandal in the judicial system and is no longer fit to serve as Minister of Justice.”

Sumiar lowered his head, quickly glanced at Morneau, then stared at the brass pen holder in front of him, saying nothing.

He knew that the matter with Vezinier had caused a great stir, and as Minister of Justice, he could hardly escape the blame for poor supervision.

Moreover, he had impeached Briand in the past, and now Briand would surely seize this opportunity for revenge.

The Duke of Orléans also anticipated that Sumiar would be impeached, and he was preparing to do everything he could to protect this political ally.

He stood up, cleared his throat, and said:
“Your Majesty, as I understand it, Vezinier was extremely careful with his bribery, making it very hard for outsiders to detect. Although Sumiar was negligent in his oversight, dismissing a cabinet minister for the actions of just one judge, might it be…”

Joseph, sneering from the side, interrupted:
“The Duke of Orléans is indeed eloquent. First of all, Vezinier wasn’t the only one taking bribes. You can go check his rulings.”

“Secondly, the High Court likely has more than one problematic judge. Shall we continue investigating?”

He wasn’t afraid to dismantle the High Court. After all, it was a territory controlled by the nobility, and if it collapsed, it would make it easier for him to start fresh.

Sure enough, the Duke of Orléans’s face turned red, but he didn’t dare to speak.

The people of the High Court, in order to avoid an investigation, had already reluctantly accepted the Royal Supreme Court. If they caused more trouble, they would become the enemy of the judges.

Seeing this, Briand immediately pushed a prepared dismissal letter in front of Queen Marie and respectfully said:
“Please, Your Majesty, make a decision.”

Seeing that the ministers were all in agreement, the Queen comforted Sumiar briefly, then took up the pen and signed the document.

Briand, satisfied, collected the document, then looked at Sumiar and gestured toward the golden doors:
“Count Sumiar, please leave.”

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