Queen Mary mused deeply, "The Crown Prince's abilities are exceptional, and he has also been blessed by the Lord. I believe we should give him a broader stage to shine."
Brian glanced cautiously at the Queen's expression, sensing she was serious, and carefully suggested, "I understand Your Majesty's intent to thoroughly prepare His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
"Perhaps you can let the Prince preside over a few Cabinet meetings first, with your guidance at his side. This should ensure that nothing goes awry."
Upon hearing this, Queen Mary finally made up her mind, "Since you think so too, then let the Crown Prince preside over the next Cabinet meeting."
After uttering those words, she suddenly felt a wave of relief wash over her, similar to the moment of relaxation and comfort when she returned to her bedroom after an all-night ball and cast off her tight corset and rigid shoes.
Brian also breathed a sigh of relief and quickly bowed deeply, "As you wish, Your Majesty."
After he left, the gold doors of the meeting hall shut with a "bang," and Queen Mary stretched her arms in a languid yawn, her mind fluttering with images of cakes, jewelry, and beautiful dresses.
"Please ask Cecilian to make me a mint cocoa cake," she said with a smile as she rose to her feet, instructing her maid Debreninac, and then murmured to herself, "Joseph will surely take care of everything."
The Sanctuary Hall of Notre Dame de Paris was packed, with thousands of citizens gathered outside the church as well, devoutly gazing at the dimly visible colossal statue of Jesus inside.
At the very front of the hall, an acolyte in a white robe turned his back to the crowd, bowing his head and lifting the unfolded Bible above him. In front of him, Archbishop Beaumont recited the scriptures with a holy and solemn expression.
Indeed, a grand Mass for the Feast of Corpus Christi was being held here.
Joseph sat at the forefront of all those attending the Mass, but his attention was not on the Archbishop muttering in Latin — he was probably the French Crown Prince with the poorest Latin in nearly a century, still unable to comprehend Latin texts, let alone follow a live translation.
He turned his head slightly and whispered to Fouche, seated behind him, "Is it verified?"
"Yes, Your Highness," the Chief of Intelligence leaned forward, lowering his voice similarly, "The news leaked from the jailer guarding Viscount Charles Bernie. He himself and the six others who spread the word have all confessed."
Joseph narrowed his eyes slightly.
Bernie, clearly unwilling to accept his exile, had deliberately leaked the news of his exposure of officials, aiming to stir up their anger in the hope of forcing the High Court and the Royal Family to compromise.
Fortunately, Joseph had arranged for police inspections around the country, and with the Church's support in rallying, the officials remained skeptical of his "rumors." Had this happened a year earlier, the bureaucratic class might have already thrown the country into complete disarray.
Filled with indignant anger, Joseph ordered Fouche, "Conduct a thorough investigation of all officials involved in this corruption case.
"As for Bernie, let's change his place of exile to New Zealand. Oh, and his jailer friend, let's send him along to keep him company."
He had already reached an agreement with Bernie and the others: they would reveal corrupt officials in court in exchange for being exiled to Lille, a relatively bustling place, and retain a portion of their wealth. But since the man wanted to cause trouble, let him go shepherd sheep on a small Pacific island instead.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Fouche bowed and replied, then added cautiously, "Your Highness, I believe Bernie's message has already spread among the officials. Although they dare not say anything on the surface, they will definitely feel discontented in their hearts."
A flash of excitement crossed his eyes, "Perhaps, we should arrest everyone who has spread this rumor, to put an end to..."
Joseph glanced sideways at him and thought to himself, you just want to find an opportunity to show off, don't you? He shook his head and said,
"That would only exacerbate the situation. I have already made arrangements for the aftermath, so there is no need for you to worry."
After this incident, he had preliminarily established a plan for administrative reform. Since the bureaucratic class had accepted reality, they should instead be stabilized. "A slap followed by a sweet" is always the best management model.
According to Joseph's plan, it was then announced that a portion of commoners would be admitted to the Administration College, significantly reducing office taxes while increasing officials' salaries.
Yes, he meant to increase the income of officials. Because, as it stood, the legitimate income of French civil servants was indeed very low.
This had all stemmed from the practice of France's past kings treating the bureaucratic system as a business.
Since it was a business, there had to be profits.
Thus, the prices for buying an office had been sky-high, with any position of slight power costing tens of thousands of francs, and a municipal-level office starting from 30,000 francs.
As for the officials' salaries, they were kept very low. Ordinary civil servants started from 50 francs, and salaries for a Deputy Mayor were just over 90 francs. Moreover, they also had to pay an "office tax" annually!
This peculiar tax was mandated by the Paulette Edict promulgated during the reign of Henry IV — all purchased offices had to pay a tax of one-seventieth of the purchase price each year to continue exercising their authority; otherwise, they would be immediately suspended from duty.
For example, the aforementioned ordinary civil servant, after deducting the office tax from his salary, actually earned less than 40 francs. The actual income for a Deputy Mayor was about 60 francs.
By relying on this model, since the ascent of Louis XVI, selling offices and collecting office taxes had brought in over forty million livres of revenue for the treasury each year.
This led to the vast majority of French civil servants being unable to get by on their salary alone, and so they had to find their own ways to make ends meet — minor offenses included minor corruption and extortion, while serious cases involved embezzlement and accepting bribes. This had become the norm in the French officialdom.
If you wanted officials to remain incorruptible, you at least had to pay them a salary that assured a decent standard of living.
The first half of Joseph's administrative reform was to break the nobility's monopoly on the bureaucratic class and promote capable individuals. The latter half aimed to improve the treatment of officials and to promptly put an end to the corrupt practice of selling offices.
Of course, given France's current financial situation, the sale of offices could not be banned completely just yet. However, according to his plan, at least half of the positions for sale were to be reduced by the following year.
In front of Sanctuary Hall, Archbishop Beaumont finally ended the lengthy liturgical reading and began to have the priests instruct the clergy to distribute Holy Communion to the believers present.
Archbishop Beaumont glanced at the Crown Prince who had been "chatting" with the head of the intelligence service, showing no sign of offense, and immediately gave a light cough, seizing the interval to switch to French and said loudly, "The Lord said, 'For the love of money is the root of all evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.'"
"Look, those greedy officials, though punished by the world, will ultimately be judged by the Lord..."