I Am the Crown Prince in France

Chapter 486 Let’s break the news first

As for allowing priests to participate in politics, this has a long history in France. In the past, there were outstanding politicians like Archbishop Richelieu, and now there are "active" ministers like Briand and Talleyrand.

Therefore, giving the church some replacement officials will not have a big impact on French politics.

In fact, judging from the past situation, priests will basically become pure bureaucrats after entering politics, and their connection with the church will gradually fade. After all, the butt determines the head.

Moreover, this group of priests who are engaged in politics will inevitably take the lead to enter the administrative university for further study-a university built by their own church, they have to support it, right?

When Archbishop Beaumont heard that he could "allocate" official quotas to the church, he suddenly became full of smiles: "It is also the responsibility of the church to help His Majesty the King control his people."

He asked carefully: "Your Highness, how many people are needed to serve? The church can make some preparations in advance."

In the past, priests who held official positions were basically those selected by the king for their outstanding personal abilities, and the number was not very large. Especially for local positions, it is even rarer for priests to hold them.

Beaumont knew very well that more than 40 officials were arrested this time, and they were all high-ranking local officials. This was definitely a rare opportunity for the church!

Joseph glanced at him and said in a long tone:

"Well, at least 10 positions. Among them, there will be at least assistant to the municipal commissioner and the like.

"Depending on the progress of the Administration University, there may be more."

Beaumont was immediately overjoyed. If the church's manor was renovated, the cost of building the university would not exceed 200,000 francs. Well, the previous 500,000 francs included "oil and water", so the deal was very cost-effective.

He hurriedly said: "Please rest assured, I will personally supervise the construction of the Political Management University and I will definitely satisfy you!"

Joseph continued: "By the way, the positions that the church is filling this time are all left by officials who were previously dealt with for corruption. And I also want to take the opportunity to rectify the bureaucracy and hope that the church can cooperate."

Beaumont hurriedly put on a solemn expression like a clergyman: "Those corrupt guys will not go to heaven. The church has always taught the world with God's holy teachings, and one of the Ten Commandments is not to be greedy for money. This time the church will definitely condemn it severely. for their crimes, and praise His Majesty for their just punishment.”

"Thank you for your warning words." Joseph smiled and nodded, then pulled the archbishop and said, "After that, there will be administrative university branches in Lyon and Bordeaux, which may also need the church's help..."

A week later.

Nearly a thousand people gathered outside the Paris High Court, peering into the iron fence.

Today is the day of trial for the Count of Norfolk, Governor of Poitou.

Although it was not a public trial, there had been overwhelming publicity in newspapers, and even the church had twice publicly condemned the large amount of corruption that had occurred recently. Therefore, the public was extremely concerned about the trial and gathered here early in the morning to wait for the results.

In the courtroom on the first floor of the High Court, DuBoer, as the presiding judge, listened to the shouts of "Severe punishment for corrupt criminals" outside the window, and looked at Norfolk, who was staggering onto the dock, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Obviously, the royal family's intention is to scare the monkeys, but if they sentence a governor severely, they will inevitably suffer the dissatisfaction of the bureaucratic class in the future. After all, the rabbit dies and the fox is sad. You know, in the past, if a noble and high-ranking official embezzled only a few hundred thousand livres, he only needed to make up the money, and at most he would be dismissed, and he would not even be prosecuted.

He took a deep breath, read the opening statement according to the procedure, and then the trial began.

While he was still thinking about how to satisfy the royal family and sentence Norfolk as lightly as possible, the prosecutor over there had finished his prosecution statement and the defendant's lawyer had begun to speak.

The lawyer glanced at the Governor of Poitou and said to DuBoer: "Your Honor, my client has something to say."

Norfolk gritted his teeth and immediately said loudly: "I want to expose it, hoping to reduce my guilt."

He recalled the list he had given to the Crown Prince before and said: "The first is Baron Berante, Ungoumois' financial assistant. He once bribed me 8,000 livres and asked me to help him..."

This sentence made more than a dozen nobles in the auditorium widen their eyes and were so shocked that they could not speak.

This kind of biting in court is definitely a taboo in officialdom! Norfolk not only offended Baron Berlant, but also became the enemy of the entire bureaucracy. Not to mention that he no longer has to think about becoming an official. Whether he is engaged in business or farming, as long as he is still in France, there will be people who will secretly plot against him and will not stop until he is killed.

Unexpectedly, Norfolk was completely "letting go". After talking about Berlante, he started to expose the municipal assistant of Ungoumova...

In this way, the nobles who were watching listened with shock on their faces as the Earl of Norfolk kept saying a personal name, and they had forgotten to count the number of people it was.

In short, the officialdom of the entire Poitou province is definitely going to fall.

DuBoer's hands were trembling slightly. Why did this happen in his court?

Will these officials who were dragged down by Norfolk take the blame on themselves in the future? God, who am I? Why am I here? What am I going to do?

He listened to the revelations for several hours, and finally announced with a blank mind that the court was adjourned temporarily and would continue tomorrow. Then he escaped from the court as if he had seen a ghost and drove directly to the Tuileries Palace.

The clerk on the side looked at the confession he had copied for dozens of pages, and he was stunned, not knowing what to do.

At the same time, similar scenes were also being played out at several nearby court trials - officials involved in corruption were frantically exposing their colleagues. In just this morning, hundreds of senior officials were dragged into the water.

As the news from the court spread, the outside of the High Court suddenly exploded.

The reporters pounced on the nobles who had just listened to the trial like hungry wolves, asking about the situation of the officials who had been exposed, and almost tore those people into eight pieces.

The people were even more furious, shouting "hang", "let all corrupt officials go to hell", and the names of the officials who had just been tried, and began to march along the streets outside the High Court.

As more citizens heard the news and joined the march, the number of people quickly doubled.

Then someone shouted "petition to His Majesty the King", and the marchers immediately rushed towards the direction of the Palace of Versailles.

That afternoon, a highly efficient newspaper published the names of officials who were exposed in court. The Press and Publication Bureau had received Joseph's instructions long ago, and all such news was given the green light.

...

The second floor of the Tuileries Palace.

The president of the Supreme Court, Duport, entered the office of the Crown Prince with a pale face, even forgetting to salute, and said in a lost voice: "Your Highness, it's bad, it's bad! Norfolk has implicated more than 30 people in court, no, maybe 50 people! All of them are corrupt, dereliction of duty, etc...."

Joseph just smiled at him: "Your Excellency, if I remember correctly, you have another trial in the afternoon, right? Oh, please sit down and have a cup of tea, and then you have to go back as soon as possible."