Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Clemont gestured towards a two-story building not far away, "Your Highness, Baron Frient has converted an original warehouse into a classroom building, and the nearby ground, which had been leveled previously, can be used directly as a playground."

He led Joseph toward the students who were in training; "As for the teaching staff, the Director General of Academic Affairs has invited some professors of economics and mathematics from the University of Paris and has assigned teachers from the Police Academy. Currently, the entire institute has 34 teachers."

He rubbed his hands as he spoke, "This is indeed too few for 620 students, but by staggering the class times, we can barely manage."

"620 students?" Joseph was somewhat surprised. The School of Economics had only been preparing for just over a month, and Frient had managed to gather so many students?

"Yes, Your Highness. The Director General has transferred over 300 police academy students who had studied mathematics here. Oh, and that Mr. Robespierre, the lawyer, also brought over 30 people."

Joseph nodded, Robespierre had some reputation in the legal profession, probably bringing some Jacobin 'devotees.' That was quite good; the Jacobins were energetic, and such people were needed now to implement tax reforms.

On the playground, students in black uniforms were engaging in combat training, swinging short sticks with a swishing sound.

Soon, a few instructors lined up to summarize the training situation and then announced a 15-minute break, followed by shooting practice.

Yes, according to Joseph's requirements, these "tax collectors" spent more than half their time learning detection, formation, combat, shooting, and the like.

After graduation, they were to become the core force in tax offices across regions. Calculating tax rates and preparing reports could be done by clerks, but tax collectors, who often led teams to inspect and recover tax evasion, needed to possess strong combat capabilities.

The tax system was initially limited in personnel—the School of Economics should be able to enroll in two terms, training around 1,500 graduates—so one person had to do the work of several. When manpower was sufficient, Joseph planned to separate out a tax police department, and these trained tax collectors could directly serve as commanders of the tax police.

As usual, Joseph had lunch with the students of the School of Economics during lunchtime.

Seated at the table to his left, Robespierre watched His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, himself, and the students eat the same food, chatting casually without any pretense, and he couldn't help but entertain a thought he had never had before.

Perhaps, the King could also lead the people to a better life?

He shook his head vigorously, immediately dismissing the idea; his admiration for Rousseau made him conclude that authoritarianism could never produce a "Rational Kingdom"!

However, he immediately thought if it weren't for the Crown Prince, the clean and fair tax system he was striving to create would not have emerged so quickly.

Even if a government authorized by the people was established, it would probably not be able to build such a rational tax system...

After all, what is better?

Unaware, a crack had formed in his steadfast beliefs.

But Joseph had no idea about the internal struggle in Robespierre's mind; after a brief motivational speech to the students of the School of Economics as their principal, he hurried to the National First Prison two kilometers away.

"Hmm, Bastille has now been turned into a financial center—so there are no large prisons left within Paris, and the majority of criminals are now held here."

"Moreover, the proximity of the General Prison to the Paris Police Academy greatly enhances security. There is no need for as many soldiers to be stationed as before, which also saves on costs."

"It wasn't long before Joseph, under the guidance of the Marquis of Launay, the Commander of the prison, entered the General Prison."

"There are only about a dozen buildings here, the main body being a prison encircled by walls over ten meters high, probably accommodating three to four hundred inmates, though its foundation is reinforced with granite, making the difficulty of escape not much less than that of Bastille."

"In reality, Bastille was often empty, previously occupying such valuable land near the city center—it was a huge waste and particularly despised by the citizens; it should have been relocated outside the city long ago."

"In a stone interrogation room on the third floor of the prison, Joseph met the main subject of his visit, the Count of Norfolk—Governor of Poitou—the highest-ranking official among the over 40 officers sent to prison by the Bureau of Fair Investigation."

"Disheveled and haggard, the Count of Norfolk, upon seeing His Royal Highness the Crown Prince arrive, immediately burst into an energetic salute, first showering him with blessings and greetings, and then began lamenting his mistakes and apologizing for betraying His Majesty the King's trust, but... he pleaded for the king's clemency." Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire

"Indeed, according to current French law, the King can pardon anyone with just a signature. The Count mistakenly thought that the Queen had sent the Crown Prince to scold him, after which he would be pardoned."

"Joseph ignored him and instead turned to the Marquis of Launay, saying, 'I just passed by the nobles' cell, and I noticed that the furnishings there were still too luxurious. As the nation's finances are tight, we should do away with everything except for the tables and beds. Oh, and it would be best if the cells were made into single rooms, to help the prisoners concentrate more on reflecting.'"

"Yes, Your Highness, I will follow your orders," responded the Marquis.

"The Count of Norfolk's face turned green. In the current three-room cell, the few days he had already spent there were driving him nearly mad. If it was changed to a single room and all the furniture and leisure items were taken away, what difference would there be from hell?"

"He watched as the Crown Prince gestured for the Marquis of Launay and all the jailers to leave, then sat down opposite him, trembling and asking, 'Your Highness, you intend to...?'"

"'Your trial has not yet commenced, but I can affirm it will at least be exile to Lorraine,' Joseph glanced at him, speaking indifferently, 'and more likely to Tripoli.'"

"No, no... I don't want to go there, please plead with His Majesty for me... please..."

"Joseph raised his hand to interrupt him, 'If you show a repentant demeanor, I might consider pleading on your behalf.'"

"Repentance? Yes, repentance, I will repent to Jesus every day, from morning till night, I swear!"

"No, you are mistaken, you need to show repentance through concrete actions," Joseph picked up the cup in front of him, as though smelling the tea, "for instance, exposing some of your co-offenders or any criminal facts you know of. That might keep you away from North Africa."

"Norfolk was startled and cautiously asked, 'Your Highness, what do you want to know?'"

"Everything," Joseph signaled Eman to bring paper and pen, "the higher the position, the better."

"With so many officials involved in corruption cases and the situation having caused such a stir, after expending so much effort in handling it, he certainly wasn't going to waste the circumstances at hand."

"Taking advantage of the continuing interest, he would start implementing the administrative reforms he had long contemplated—that was the proper approach."