The wound

With her father's support, little Michel ate even more heartily.

Alexandra looked at her son's satisfied expression, her eyes filled with a happy smile, and whispered to Joseph, "Actually, Mishu's practice today was enough to burn off that candy."

Joseph knew his son had been very disciplined since childhood, so he nodded and asked, "Did you do the plowshare a hundred times again?"

This is Michel's "achievement" during the last sword practice.

Alexandra said with pride, "The three main footwork techniques for 20 minutes, plus 90 plow thrusts."

This amount of training is absolutely at Smallpox limit for a 4-year-old child.

The Crown Princess Consort suddenly remembered something and said nostalgically, "Charles was a little older than him back then, but he couldn't even finish practicing footwork for 10 minutes before bursting into tears."

Yes, Charles practiced swordsmanship with her when he was a child, so she has a lot of experience teaching children.

She looked at Joseph: "I wonder how Charles is doing now. If he's at the Versailles Palace, he'd probably enjoy playing around with Mishu."

Joseph took his wife's hand and smiled, "He's a real Capet now."

Last year, he was elected by the Vivarais Parliament as the Chief Sheriff there, and in fact, he is also in charge of the City Hall's finances.

"Before that, he had stopped the Desert Church's attack on the Saint Julian's Church on the outskirts of the city with only 12 Police. There were more than 30 Huguenots that time."

"He used his wits to outmaneuver those guys for an entire afternoon, and even managed to capture two of them before Police arrived."

"Oh, by the way, Vivarais's sericulture industry also flourished under his leadership. Now, the coarse silk produced there is more than ten times greater than before he went. Even the Huguenots are more cooperative with the City Hall because they want to plant mulberry trees."

Alexandra exclaimed in surprise, "He's amazing! He's nothing like he was when he was a child!"

Joseph sighed and said, "More than three years have passed since the events in Rome, and the Laon Kingdom has gained international recognition. Perhaps, after a while, he can return to Paris."

"I have to tell my mother-in-law this good news; she'll be so happy," Alexandra said, a gossipy look on her face. She leaned closer and whispered, "I remember you mentioned that Charles has a beloved girl. I wonder if she's married yet?"

"She doesn't seem to be married yet," Joseph said. "Her cousin is now one of the most influential members of the Laon Parliament. But she's the one really in charge behind the scenes."

Yes, thanks to Moulon's instructions to the Rome Revolutionary Party, Josiah's political status rose steadily.

However, women in this era could not participate in politics openly, so her cousin acted as her representative in public.

As the two were talking, Michel, having finished her Chocolate, came over with her Pine sword and bowed respectfully to Alexandra: "Mother, let's continue."

Joseph feigned surprise. "Do we still need to practice?"

Michel nodded. "Yes, there are still 10 plowshares to be completed."

Joseph smiled, picked him up, and said, "That's enough for today. I'll take you to Eden Amusement Park."

"Really?!" Michel's eyes lit up with surprise, but she quickly lowered her head again. "I really want to go, Dad. But I can't, because I have Mathematics and German classes this afternoon—"

"Let's go. Taking an afternoon off is fine. The Duke of La Vauguyon said your studies are already quite advanced."

The Duke of La Vauguyon was the Little Prince's tutor. Normally, Nobility children don't have a tutor until they are seven years old, but Michel insisted on having one at the beginning of the year, and Joseph couldn't refuse him, so he agreed.

Michel's expression began to show struggle.

He had only been to the amusement park twice, but its allure was extraordinary.

Just then, Eman strode over and bowed to Joseph, saying, "Your Highness, Archbishop Talleyrand and Mr. Bayei wish to see you."

Joseph looked at his son helplessly. "Looks like I have to go to work. But we agreed to go to the amusement park tomorrow afternoon."

Play!

A moment later, watching her father leave the sword practice room, Michel felt a mix of disappointment and relief.

This afternoon's classes were finally saved.

He secretly encouraged himself: I must not slack off! When my father was my age, he was already teaching himself two-variable equations, while I couldn't even count to 100.

Yes, the legends of His Majesty the Regent are everywhere in the Versailles Palace; how could the little one not have heard them?

According to the maids, the Regent began to study Mathematics, Physics, chemistry, and Medicine on his own when he was three years old, and even studied Military Science.

It's not fair to blame them for talking nonsense. After all, if someone finishes University Courses at the age of 13 and then makes a series of amazing inventions in fields such as Medicine, mechanics, and chemistry, and leads a series of reforms such as Policing, Infantry Line Formation, Horse Artillery, and Skirmishers Tactics, and personally creates the French Army that sweeps across the European Continent.

The only explanation anyone can give is that he has been studying these things diligently since he was 3 years old; otherwise, there simply wouldn't have been enough time.

So Michel worked hard to keep up with her father from a young age, never daring to slack off.

Yes, he can count to 80 now.

The main problem is that counting beyond 80 involves multiplication, which is quite difficult for someone his age.

This is why Joseph always tries to take his son out to play – he doesn't want the little guy to get too tired.

However, no matter how much he told Michel, "When Dad was your age, I didn't know as much as you," the little guy believed that his father was just comforting him, and thus he worked even harder.

In the Study of the Grand Trianon Palace, the France Trade Department reported solemnly, "Your Highness, according to reliable intelligence, the United Kingdom have decided to sign Commercial Alliance with Prussia, Austria, and other countries on the 10th of next month."

"They were clearly trying to establish the first transcontinental trade system across Europe before the Holy Trade Alliance, in order to suppress the Holy Trade Alliance's influence."

He looked at Talleyrand, who immediately said, "Your Highness, perhaps we can take some measures to delay the United Kingdom plans."

"For example, exerting diplomatic pressure on Berlin, and even intercepting diplomatic ships from Naples bound for Austria on the grounds of 'carrying contraband.'"

Joseph paused for a moment upon hearing this, then laughed and said, "Why delay? The United Kingdom are putting so much effort into building Commercial Alliance, which is a good thing for us."

"Not only should we not delay, but we also need to create public opinion to encourage them."

Talleyrand and Bayei exchanged bewildered glances. "Your Highness, but this will be the Holy Trade Alliance's biggest competitor—"

Joseph shook his head. "No, the Free Trade Alliance is merely a wound that United Kingdom is inflicting."