I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 484 Taking advantage of every opportunity

Clemont pointed to the two-story building not far away and said, "Your Highness, Baron Frient converted the original warehouse into a teaching building. The ground nearby has been leveled before, so it can be used directly as a playground."

He led Joseph to the students who were in training. "As for the teaching staff, the Dean of Academic Affairs invited some professors of economics and mathematics from the University of Paris, and transferred teachers from the police academy. Currently, there are 34 teachers in the academy."

He rubbed his hands and said, "This is indeed too few compared to the 620 students, but if we spread out the teaching time, we can barely maintain it."

"620 people?" Joseph was a little surprised. The School of Economics had only been preparing for more than a month, so how could Frient gather so many students?
"Yes, Your Highness. The Dean of the Academy has transferred over 300 police academy students who have studied mathematics. Oh, and Mr. Robespierre, the lawyer, has also brought over 30 people."

Joseph nodded. Robespierre had some reputation in the legal community, and he probably brought some Jacobin "believers". This was quite good. Jacobins were energetic, and they were needed to implement tax reform.

On the playground, students in black uniforms were practicing combat, swinging short sticks with loud clanging sounds.

Soon, several instructors summarized the training situation and announced a 15-minute break before conducting shooting training.

Yes, according to Joseph's requirements, these "tax collectors" spent more than half of their time learning about detective work, marching, fighting, shooting and the like.

After graduation, they will become the core force of local tax bureaus. Calculating tax rates and preparing reports can be done by clerks, while tax collectors are more likely to lead people to investigate tax evasion and collect tax debts, so they must have strong enough combat capabilities.

The tax system had limited manpower in the early days - the School of Economics should be able to recruit two classes and train about 1500 graduates - so one person could only do the work of several people. When the manpower was sufficient, Joseph planned to separate the tax police department from it, and these tax collectors who had received police training could directly serve as commanders of the tax police.

As usual, Joseph had lunch with students from the School of Economics at lunch time.

Sitting at the table on his left, Robespierre watched the Dauphin eating the same food as himself and the students, and chatting about the significance of tax reform without any airs. An idea he had never had before came to his mind.

Perhaps, the king can also lead his people to a better life?
He shook his head vigorously. As an admirer of Rousseau's ideas, he immediately rejected this idea. No, it is impossible for autocracy to produce a "kingdom of reason"!

However, he immediately thought that without the Crown Prince, the clean and fair tax system he was currently working hard to create would not have appeared so quickly.

Even a government authorized by the people would find it difficult to build such a reasonable tax system...

After all, what is better?
Without realizing it, cracks had appeared in the persistence in his heart.

However, Joseph had no idea of ​​the inner struggle in Robespierre's heart. After giving a brief speech to encourage the students of the School of Economics as the principal, he immediately rushed to the National Prison No. 1, two kilometers away.

Well, now the Bastille has been converted into a financial center - so there are no large prisons in Paris anymore, and most criminals are now imprisoned here.

Moreover, the First Prison is close to the Paris Police Academy, which can greatly improve security. There is no need for as many soldiers to garrison as before, which can save a lot of money.

Soon, Joseph, led by the Marquis de Launay, the prison commander, entered the First Prison. There were only a dozen buildings here, and the main part was a prison surrounded by a wall more than ten meters high, which could hold about three or four hundred prisoners. However, the bottom was reinforced with granite, and the difficulty of escaping was not much lower than that of the Bastille.

In fact, the Bastille was empty most of the time. It was a huge waste to use such a large piece of valuable land near the city center, and it was also particularly disgusting to the citizens. It should have been moved out of the city long ago.

In a stone interrogation room on the third floor of the prison, Joseph met the real person he was visiting, the Earl of Norfolk, the Governor of Poitou, the highest-ranking official among the more than 40 officials sent to prison by the Bureau of Impartial Investigation this time.

The Earl of Norfolk, with disheveled hair and haggard face, was so excited when he saw that it was the Crown Prince that he saluted desperately. He first said a lot of blessings and greetings, and then began to cry and say that he had made a mistake and was sorry for the trust of His Majesty the King, but... begged His Majesty to grant him amnesty.

That's right, according to current French law, the king can pardon anyone with just his signature. This man thought that the queen sent the prince to reprimand him and then pardoned him.

Joseph ignored him and turned to Marquis Launay and said, "I just passed by the nobles' cell and saw that the furnishings inside were too luxurious. The country's finances are tight now, so we should save on everything except tables and beds. Oh, it would be better to change the cells into single rooms, which would be more conducive to the prisoners' concentration and reflection."

"Yes, Your Highness, I will follow your orders."

Norfolk's face turned green. He was already going crazy in the three-bedroom cell he was in. If it was changed to a single room and all the furniture and leisure items were removed, what difference would it make from hell?
He watched as the Crown Prince signaled the Marquis de Launay and all the jailers to leave, then sat down opposite him and said tremblingly, "Your Highness, are you going to..."

"Although your case has not yet been heard, I can confirm that you will at least be exiled to Lorraine." Joseph glanced at him and said indifferently, "But it is more likely that you will be sent to Tripoli."

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

Joseph raised his hand to interrupt him: "If you show remorse, I can consider asking for mercy on your behalf."

"Repent? Yes, I will repent to God every day, from morning till night, I swear!"

"No, you are wrong. You need to repent with practical actions." Joseph picked up the teacup in front of him, as if he was smelling the tea. "For example, expose some of your accomplices or the criminal facts you know. Only then can you stay away from North Africa."

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

"Everyone." Joseph gestured to Emmanuel to hand him a pen and paper. "The higher the position, the better."

This time, so many officials were involved in the corruption case, the commotion was so big, and he had spent so much energy dealing with it, so naturally he would not waste the current situation.

While the heat of the matter is still there, he should start with these arrested officials and implement the administrative reforms he has longed for, so as not to waste this opportunity.

(End of this chapter)