Life of Being a Crown Prince in France-Chapter 574 - 485: Let’s Break the Sky First

As for allowing clergy to participate in politics, this has a long history in France. There were outstanding politicians like Cardinal Richelieu in the past, and now there are active ministers like Brian and Talleyrand.

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So, assigning some additional official positions to the Church would not have any major impact on France’s political scene.

In fact, historically, clerics who entered politics almost always became pure bureaucrats and gradually distanced themselves from the Church—after all, "where one sits determines one’s standpoint."

Moreover, this batch of clerics entering politics would inevitably lead the way in furthering their education at the Administration College—their own Church-established college; how could they not support their own institution?

Archbishop Beaumont, hearing that official positions could be "allocated" to the Church, immediately became full of smiles again, "Helping His Majesty the King govern his subjects is also a duty of the Church."

He carefully asked, "Your Highness, approximately how many people are needed for the positions, so that the Church could prepare in advance?"

Previously, when clergy were appointed to official positions, it was generally because of individual talent, chosen by the King, and the number was not large. Especially local positions, it was even rarer for clergy to serve.

But Beaumont was well aware that this time over 40 officials had been arrested, and all were local high-ranking officials—a truly rare opportunity for the Church!

Joseph glanced at him and elongated his tone,

"Hmm, at least ten positions, I guess. Among them, there would be seats like municipal commissioner assistants.

"Depending on the pace of the Administration College, perhaps there could be more."

Beaumont was overjoyed; converting the Church’s estate for college construction would not exceed 200,000 francs. Well, the previous 500,000 included a "cut" for themselves, so this deal was quite worthwhile.

He eagerly said, "Rest assured, I will personally oversee the construction of the Political Administration College and make sure you are satisfied!"

Joseph continued, "By the way, all the positions that the Church is supplementing this time are those left vacant by officials who were dealt with for corruption. I am also looking to take this opportunity to reform the bureaucratic system and hope the Church will cooperate."

Beaumont quickly put on a solemn clerical expression, "Those corrupt individuals will not enter heaven. The Church has always taught the world with the holy teachings of Jesus, and one of the Ten Commandments is not to covet wealth. The Church will definitely severely condemn their crimes this time and extol His Majesty’s just punishment of them."

"Very well," nodded Joseph, "there will also be branches of the Administration College in Lyon and Bordeaux later on, and the Church may need to contribute there too..."

A week later.

Nearly a thousand people gathered outside the Paris High Court, craning their necks and peering through the iron fence.

Today was the day the Governor of Poitou, Count of Norfolk, was to be tried.

Although it was not a public trial, the newspapers had made a massive publicity beforehand, and even the Church had publicly condemned the recent widespread corruption twice, so the public was extremely attentive to the trial proceedings, gathering here early in the morning to await the outcome.

In the courtroom on the first floor of the High Court, Chief Examiner Dibor listened to the shouts of "harsh punishment for corruptors" coming from outside the window, and turned to look at Norfolk, who was walking shakily to the defendant’s stand, heaving a deep inward sigh.

It was clear that the Royal Family intended to make an example of him, but imposing a heavy sentence on a governor would inevitably lead to dissatisfaction among the bureaucratic class—after all, one man’s downfall is another’s warning. It’s known that in the past, a noble official guilty of embezzling just a few hundred thousand livres simply had to repay the sum, and at most, they were dismissed from their position, without even a public lawsuit being filed.

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

He was still pondering how to satisfy the Royal Family and issue a more lenient sentence for Norfolk, when the Prosecutor had already finished the public accusation and the defense lawyer began to speak.

The lawyer glanced at the Governor of Poitou, then addressed Dibor, "Your Honor, my client has something to say."

Norfolk clenched his teeth and immediately exclaimed, "I wish to make an accusation in the hope of reducing my own guilt."

He recalled the list he had given to the Crown Prince earlier, "First is Baron Belante, the financial assistant of Angouleme, who bribed me with 8,000 Leva to help him..."

His words caused the more than ten nobles in the spectator seats to widen their eyes, too shocked to speak.

Such in-court finger-pointing was absolutely taboo in the world of officialdom! With this, Norfolk wasn’t just offending Baron Belante, but he was making enemies of the entire bureaucratic class. From this point on, whether he considered a career in bureaucracy, in business, or in farming, as long as he remained in France, there would be those who would relentlessly target him, determined to destroy him.

Surprisingly, Norfolk continued in a "letting it all hang out" manner, having finished with Belante, he started revealing the assistant of the municipal administration of Angouleme...

Thus, the nobles in attendance listened with shocked expressions as Count of Norfolk kept naming one person after another, having long lost count of the number.

In short, the entire official scene of the Poitou province was sure to collapse.

Dibor’s hands trembled slightly, why did such a thing have to happen in his courtroom?

Would these officials implicated by Norfolk take out their grievances on him? God, who am I? Why am I here? What am I supposed to do?

He listened to several hours of accusations until he finally declared the court in recess with his mind a blank. The session would continue tomorrow. He then fled the courtroom like a man who had seen a ghost and drove straight to the Tuileries Palace.

The Clerk by his side stared at the dozens of pages of testimony he had transcribed, at a loss for what to do next.

Meanwhile, in several other courtrooms nearby, a similar scene unfolded—officials involved in corruption were frantically exposing their colleagues. Just that morning alone, at least 200 high-ranking officials were implicated.

As news from inside the courtroom spread, the outside of the High Court instantly exploded.

Journalists, like ravenous wolves, pounced on the nobles who had just observed the trials, screaming questions about the situations of the officials exposed, almost tearing them to pieces on the spot.

And the public was even more incensed, crying out for "hangings," "sending the corrupt officials to hell," and chanting the names of the officials on trial, beginning to parade along the streets outside the High Court.

As news spread and more citizens joined, the numbers protesting swiftly doubled.

Then someone shouted, "Petition His Majesty the King," and the parade immediately surged towards the Palace of Versailles.

That afternoon, a highly efficient newspaper had collected the names of those officials exposed in court and printed them—the Bureau of News Publishing had long received instructions from Joseph, and such news was given a green light throughout.

…

On the second floor of the Tuileries Palace.

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The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Dibor, entered the Crown Prince’s office with an ashen face. He forgot to bow and blurted out, "Your Highness, it’s bad, very bad! Norfolk implicated over 40 people in court, no, possibly 50!"

Joseph, however, simply smiled at him, "Your Excellency the Chief Justice, if I’m not mistaken, you have another trial this afternoon, correct? Oh, please sit down and have a cup of tea. Then you must hurry back."