The Crown Prince of France - Chapter 25

Chapter 25: The First Bucket of Gold

Unlike his meeting with the Minister of the Navy, Joseph received the Marquis of St. Priest in his own study, dismissing all attendants and ordering the guards outside to stand ten meters away.

After Joseph had explained his plan in detail, the Minister of War was shocked. "How do you know she’s in Nijmegen?!"

Joseph thought to himself, Of course, I saw it in a documentary, but he merely responded with a mysterious smile. "Ah, that’s a secret, but the information is absolutely reliable."

The Marquis furrowed his brow tightly and, after a long pause, finally nodded with difficulty. "This… while feasible, is highly risky. You understand that even the best spies can fail. If anything goes wrong, it could lead to war."

Joseph smiled. "Rest assured, even if the plan is exposed, as long as Princess Wilhelmina remains unharmed, Prussia will publicly announce our version of the events. Their economic situation is dire, and they won’t want to risk a conflict with France."

The Minister of War pondered again for a moment before standing up. "This matter is too significant. I must report it to Her Majesty the Queen before making a final decision."

"Of course," Joseph replied, escorting him to the door. Suddenly, he said, "Marquis of St. Priest, don’t you think you owe me a bit of gratitude for this endeavor?"

The Minister was taken aback. The Crown Prince had secured the budget from the Netherlands and even drafted the action plan. In the rush to implement it, he had indeed forgotten to express his thanks.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, he nodded repeatedly. "You’re absolutely right, Your Highness. I truly owe you my thanks."

Joseph grinned. "Then why not gift me something in return?"

"Please, Your Highness, name it."

"Hmm, allocate twenty of your best spies to me."

The Marquis nearly burst into tears. Your Highness, you’re so young, yet your demands are harsher than a bandit’s! Twenty spies, and they have to be the best? Do you think I just picked these agents up from the roadside?

With a pained expression, he replied, "Your Highness, the entire army doesn’t even have twenty top-tier spies."

"Eighteen."

"Two, at most."

"Fifteen."

"Three, that’s really all I have!"

"Twelve, and not a single less!"

The two engaged in a spirited negotiation, with Joseph ultimately extracting three elite spies and eight regular agents from the Minister of War. Though the number was small, it marked the cornerstone of his plan to establish the "French Intelligence Agency."

...

It was destined to be a busy day. No sooner had the Marquis of St. Priest left than two individuals recommended by Queen Marie arrived for an audience.

After an in-depth conversation, Joseph gained a good understanding of their personalities and abilities. Based on their own preferences, he decided that Besançon would be appointed Chief of Police for Paris, as the position required strong managerial skills.

Froyent, another talented individual, was not to be wasted either. Joseph assigned him as the Dean of the yet-to-be-established Paris Police Academy—of which Joseph himself would be the principal.

Froyent’s extensive experience training new recruits would be invaluable for training the police force.

"So, your most important task after assuming office is to extend police reform across all of Paris," Joseph instructed Besançon. "I’ve already had the rules, regulations, and reorganization plans compiled into a manual. All you need to do is follow it."

"Oh, and since the Saint-Antoine District is currently under less policing pressure, you can transfer personnel from there for assessments in other districts. If manpower is still insufficient, I can allocate members of the Guards to assist."

Kessold, standing nearby, couldn’t help but twitch his eyelids. Ever since the Crown Prince began his police reforms, the Guards seem more like handymen…

Besançon diligently took notes, then remarked thoughtfully, "Your Highness, I have some understanding of police reforms. If we’re reorganizing the entire Paris police force, the payroll alone will cost about 50,000 livres per month. Adding the expenses for uniforms and equipment, the City Hall won’t be able to cover it."

Currently, the Paris City Hall only allocated 8,000 livres per month for police operations.

"Don’t worry about the money," Joseph assured. "I’ll allocate 50,000 livres to you now and ensure a monthly disbursement going forward."

"Understood, Your Highness!"

Joseph turned to Froyent. "Your workload will be heavier. Your top priority is selecting a site for the police academy. Remote locations are fine; prioritize cheap land."

"Understood."

"Secondly, we need instructors. For now, the experienced officers from the Saint-Antoine District will have to suffice, but that’s far from enough."

Froyent immediately suggested, "Your Highness, I know several retired soldiers and even officers who could handle training in areas like drills and combat."

"Excellent," Joseph said with satisfaction. Military training standards far exceeded those for police. "Contact them as soon as possible. Their salaries will follow the municipal officer pay scale with an additional 30%."

"Understood, Your Highness."

"Additionally, we’ll need instructors in finance, commerce, journalism, and law. The police academy will offer courses in these subjects."

Froyent was puzzled. "Why would a police training academy need to teach these subjects?"

Besançon, quicker on the uptake, immediately replied, "I believe His Highness means that to catch criminals, you must understand their methods. I remember when I first began pursuing smugglers, I had no idea how to calculate tariffs or identify contraband goods, so I achieved nothing for months. It was only after thoroughly studying smuggling techniques that I finally apprehended my first batch of smugglers."

"Precisely," Joseph nodded approvingly. "Police must be more professional than criminals to effectively deter and combat crime."

Froyent, hearing these advanced concepts for the first time, was deeply inspired. He nodded repeatedly while jotting down notes furiously.

After giving them additional instructions and allocating 20,000 livres as start-up funds, Joseph sent the two on their way.

...

Upon returning to his quarters, Joseph’s personal accountant immediately presented him with two expense reports for his signature.

Seeing the total expenditure of 70,000 livres, Joseph sighed. His private wealth amounted to just over 200,000 livres. After allocating 20,000 for police salaries and 10,000 for Dr. Lamarck’s purchase of essential pharmaceutical supplies, he now had just over 100,000 livres remaining.

Money flows out like water. I must increase my income quickly, or I’ll be bankrupt in no time.

He immediately thought of his plan to create cosmetics from salicin. Who would have thought that the antipyretic he had casually developed would become his fastest means of earning money?

After dismissing the accountant, he turned to Eymond. "I need you to order some supplies for me."

The attendant promptly produced pen and paper to take notes. "At your service, Your Highness."

"Fifty kilograms of glycerin, one kilogram of rose essential oil, five hundred 7-ounce glass bottles, and an equal number of small wooden boxes sized precisely to hold those bottles. The boxes should have a stamped design on them."

As someone who struggled with naming things, Joseph hesitated for a moment before recalling the name of a skincare product his roommate had once bought as a gift—“SK-II Miracle Water.” He found the name catchy.

"Stamp the words ‘Angel’s Water’ on the boxes," he said.

"Ensure all these items are of the highest quality. Price is not an issue."

"Understood, Your Highness. I’ll handle it right away."

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