I am the Crown Prince of France

Chapter 236: Opportunities Amid Crisis

When Joseph left the "White Maple Grove" estate, he felt fully confident.

The archbishops of the Paris District, along with those from Valois and three other districts, had agreed to a "grain-for-shares" deal. With the addition of Talleyrand from Autun and Brienne from Toulouse, nearly half of the most influential clergy in the French Church were now involved in this plan.

The remaining task was for them to negotiate with the southern dioceses and get their archbishops on board.

Based on the information Archbishop Beaumont had shared earlier, the Church's "private grain" reserves were substantial, potentially enough to fill France's food shortage gap to some extent.

Of course, this meant that the Church's cellars wouldn't be available as a safety net during the historical frost disaster of 1792. But Joseph was confident that with the continued development of Tunisia, the increased grain production in two years would be enough to cover the short springtime shortages.

After all, Tunisia had one-third of the arable land that France currently possessed, but only needed to feed a population of 1.8 million.

To ensure that Beaumont and the others worked with maximum efficiency, Joseph dangled a very tempting carrot in front of them: the "Papal Throne."

Although the Papacy was currently dominated by Italians, back in the 14th century, it had been based in Avignon, France! It wasn't until nearly a century later that Pope Gregory XI moved it back to Rome.

Even today, the southeastern part of France still included the Avignon territory that belonged to the Papal States.

Although the French Catholic Church was largely autonomous at this point, it was impossible to believe that the higher clergy had no aspirations for the Papal seat.

So, in the "White Maple Grove," Joseph hinted to the archbishops about his grand "blueprint" to move the Papacy back to Avignon.

If the Papacy were to return to France, the next Pope would almost certainly come from their ranks or from Brienne.

The archbishops were thrilled by this idea. If the Prince himself said it, it likely reflected the will of the French Crown—perhaps the French royal family had ambitions to dominate the Catholic Church.

Of course, Joseph didn't actually have any such strategic plans at the moment; he was just making empty promises. However, if the day ever came when the French army was at the gates of Rome, he wouldn't mind leveraging the Church's political resources. Having the Pope on his side would allow him to rally followers for any military campaign, effectively turning any French war into a holy crusade.

He would never handle things like Napoleon did in history—falling out with the Church over the petty finances of the Papal States and losing massive political advantages.

The archbishops, meanwhile, decided that they would need to perform well in distributing the grain to boost their chances in the future competition for the Papacy.

Joseph had already laid out the general plan before heading to Montmartre, so after returning to Paris, he went straight to the headquarters of the Intelligence Bureau.

When Fouché heard Joseph's plan, his face lit up with a crazed excitement: "Your Highness, I can't express how much I admire you! You even found an opportunity in this crisis!"

Just thinking about the grand scale of the Prince's plan made Fouché's blood race.

Joseph cut off his flattery with another incentive: "The Intelligence Bureau performed exceptionally well in North Africa. If you can successfully execute this mission too, I believe we can elevate your department to the Ministry of Intelligence. 'National Intelligence Ministry' sounds like a more fitting name."

Dangling this reward in front of them would ensure his subordinates were even more motivated.

As expected, Fouché's eyes lit up at the idea—if the Intelligence Bureau were elevated to a ministry, its head could potentially join the cabinet as the Minister of Intelligence, and all the other managers would likely get promotions as well.

The entire Intelligence Bureau was suddenly brimming with energy, eager to rush down to the southern provinces.

After wrapping up these matters, Joseph headed to the Paris Police Academy.

All the other plans hinged on the success of the military.

The Berthier Army and the Moulin Army had already received orders and were assembling at the police academy's new campus.

The new campus was the estate that King Louis XVI and the Queen had gifted to Joseph. Spanning over ten hectares, it had ample space to accommodate tens of thousands of soldiers if it weren't used for farming.

The pre-battle mobilization wasn't anything out of the ordinary—Joseph gave a speech, telling the soldiers that they were about to undertake a historic mission that would earn them unparalleled glory, followed by the usual parade drill.

The more practical move was rearming the Moulin Army with Augustin-type percussion cap rifles. The Moulin Army's performance in Tunisia had been decent, but most importantly, they had demonstrated absolute loyalty to the Prince, which earned them the latest weapons.

Joseph generously instructed André to have all the soldiers practice shooting 20 rounds a day with the new rifles until the army was ready to march.

In reality, using percussion cap rifles wasn't much different from using flintlock rifles, aside from a few steps saved in loading the powder. A little practice was all it took to master them. And with over a hundred rounds fired, their proficiency would be hard to match.

It was worth noting that many veterans in the old French army had never fired 100 rounds in their entire service.

Additionally, the Guards were upgraded to 12-pound cannons. After the Tunisian campaign, Joseph realized that the previous 8-pound cannons didn't provide enough firepower, so he decided to standardize the entire army with 12-pound and 6-pound cannons, following the model used by Napoleon in later years.

The former would be used for heavy firepower, while the latter was reserved for situations requiring mobility.

Since they hadn't yet established a horse artillery unit, the weight of the 12-pound cannons wasn't an issue—they could simply add more horses to pull them.

After addressing the hardware, Joseph gathered Berthier, Friant, and other officers to issue a series of orders aimed at improving the soldiers' morale.

When Joseph finished, Berthier looked distressed. "Your Highness, the 'Military Affairs Department' you mentioned involves so many aspects that it will be difficult to get it up and running quickly."

André nodded in agreement. "Your Highness, we don't even have enough personnel to handle this. We'd need at least 200 people just to cover Paris, and even more for soldiers' families in other provinces…"

Joseph smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry about personnel. You can requisition staff directly from the Hôtel des Invalides. We only need to assign a few administrative officers for supervision. Oh, and try to get them to cover the costs as well."

The Hôtel des Invalides, originally established by Louis XIV to care for wounded soldiers, had long since become a retirement home for officers. Ordinary soldiers couldn't benefit from it at all. Since the military brass were away from Paris, Joseph figured it was the perfect time to hollow out the institution.

Berthier and the others exchanged glances and shared a knowing smile.

Joseph then made his way to the Guards, spending time with as many soldiers as possible, offering them personal encouragement until he finally returned to Versailles the next day, exhausted.

With everything prepared, it was time to start reaping the rewards!

In Paris's Saint-Antoine district, on Rue Oré, the sound of a military bugle accompanied by a brisk drumbeat echoed from the southern end of the street, drawing the curious attention of residents on both sides.

Soon, they saw a procession of about 20 soldiers, all dressed in impressive ceremonial uniforms, marching in two straight columns, their steps perfectly in sync as they approached.

An old fishmonger frowned and whispered to the middle-aged man beside him, "What's going on? Why send so many soldiers to make an arrest?"

The middle-aged man shook his head. "If they were going to arrest someone, they wouldn't make such a big show of it. They'd scare the target away."

A young reporter behind them, craning his neck to get a better view, explained, "That's the new Military Affairs Department. I've heard it's meant to serve the Berthier Army and the 'Combat Police' units."

The old fishmonger was puzzled. "But there aren't any high-ranking officers living around here, are there?"

In his mind, departments like this were only there to serve officers.

The Military Affairs Department's procession stopped in front of an unassuming house, then turned to face the door. Several soldiers stepped out, double-checked the address, and began decorating the door with red and blue ribbons, placing several baskets of flowers in front of it.

At the command of their officer, two soldiers unfurled a half-meter-wide banner that read: "The Light of France's Glory! Congratulations to Corporal Adrien on Receiving the Medal of Valor!"

There was also a line in smaller print below: "Honor is everlasting. When one person is decorated, the whole family is glorified."

The Guards' decoration system placed the Medal of Valor below the Copper Fleur-de-Lis Medal as a "fourth-class merit." Twenty-three soldiers received the Medal of Valor in the Tunisian campaign.

The residents immediately surrounded the Adrien household, chattering excitedly.

"Didn't Adrien go to the police academy? How did he get a medal?"

"I heard he went to North Africa. Looks like he did something heroic there."

"Such a big display—Adrien is really making a name for himself!"

"He's just a corporal, so why is the military making such a big deal about congratulating his family?"

The Military Affairs officer was about to knock on the door when Adrien's parents and sister, shocked, opened it from the inside.

Old Mr. Adrien looked around nervously before bowing to the officer. "Sir, what's going on?"

The officer quickly helped him up, saluted, and loudly said, "Good morning! You must be Mr. Adrien. Your son showed great bravery in the battle to stop the Algerians from invading Tunisia, and he's been awarded the Medal of Valor. I'm here to bring you the good news on behalf of the Paris Police Academy."

The Adrien family stood there, stunned, unable to comprehend what was happening.

The officer handed Mr. Adrien a certificate of merit and 200 livres in silver coins, speaking warmly. "This is Corporal Adrien's certificate and bonus. The Prince sends his gratitude to your family for supporting him; you've contributed to France's great victory. Oh, and I just need your signature here to complete the paperwork."

It felt like a dream to the Adrien family. It seemed that their son had done something extraordinary.

Not only had an officer come to congratulate them, but there was also a generous bonus of 200 livres!

Old Mr. Adrien finally snapped out of it, hurrying to ask his wife to prepare food and drink for the soldiers, then inviting the Military Affairs officers inside.

But first, the officer turned to the gathered crowd and loudly recounted Adrien's heroic deeds. The story had clearly been carefully crafted, and the crowd listened intently as if they were watching Adrien single-handedly block an Algerian cavalry charge, saving the French line.

The officer went on to explain the various privileges that decorated soldiers' families would enjoy, including priority in police matters, job opportunities related to the military, and a direct line to the Military Affairs Department for any issues.

In short, the Adrien family had instantly become one of the most respected households on the street.

The onlookers were full of admiration and discussed it among themselves:

"I didn't realize that going to the police academy could lead to such great things!"

"Good heavens! That's a 200-livre bonus!"

"Did you hear that? Their family can go straight to that officer if they have any trouble."

"Man, I'm kicking myself now—my youngest wanted to go to the police academy, but I didn't let him. I'm really regretting that now!"

Some young men who had previously turned down Adrien's sister even began approaching her again, suddenly interested...

All over Paris, the Military Affairs Department was busy spreading the word. The decorated soldiers of the Guards quickly became the talk of the town—newspapers like the Paris Business Journal dedicated plenty of space to their heroic deeds, even overshadowing the news of the riots in the southern provinces.

Before long, the decorated soldiers' families and friends were writing letters encouraging them to fight bravely and strive for more medals.

Raising the profile of the Guards, and enhancing their sense of honor and belonging, was something Joseph had been planning for a long time.

Previously, he had held back on this, not wanting to provoke the military aristocracy too much.

But now that the military nobles had openly turned against the Crown, there was no reason to hold back anymore.

In the old French army, soldiers were little more than lowly servants. But in the Guards, they were esteemed warriors, the pride of France.

If it ever came to a fight between the two, even without considering the difference in combat effectiveness, the morale of the Guards alone would be enough to crush their opponents!

However, Joseph's initiative led to an unexpected rush of people flocking to the Paris Police Academy and the Berthier Army to enlist, keeping them busy throughout the day...

Joseph had barely returned to Versailles for five minutes before Brienne arrived, looking worried.

The Archbishop quickly bowed and waved the documents in his hand. "Your Highness, you're finally back! The riots are spreading rapidly, and the Queen has been asking repeatedly for your plan..."

Joseph smiled and invited him to sit down, speaking calmly. "I was just about to come to see you. Archbishop, I need you to issue a royal decree to the southern provinces' military, summoning all mid- and high-ranking officers to Versailles immediately. Anyone who fails to arrive within a week will be treated as a traitor."

Brienne was so shocked that he jumped to his feet. "Your Highness, how can that be? If all the officers are summoned to Paris, who will lead the troops to quell the riots?"

Joseph smiled. "Don't worry. The Church will help me solve the problem."

(End of Chapter)

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