The Crown Prince's First Regency

A Court Official hurriedly knocked on the door and entered, bowing to Joseph and Mirabeau, saying, "Your Highness, Count Excellency, Her Majesty the Queen requests your immediate presence in the East Hall Conference Room."

"What happened?" Mirabeau had a bad feeling.

"It seems there have been riots in several places..."

When Joseph and Mirabeau arrived at the Meeting Hall, they found the Queen and several ministers already seated at the meeting table. Even Louis XVI, who was rarely seen, was there, and everyone looked solemn.

Before the two could even bow, the Queen gestured for them to sit down, then said to Brienne, "Archbishop, please begin."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Brienne turned his head and said with a stern face, "As everyone should know, the riots in the South provinces caused by food shortages are now very serious."

"From Paris to south of Moulins, riots have broken out almost everywhere. In Montpellier, Foix, Brittany, and other places, the riots have even reached tens of thousands of people."

If Soleil had not Bastille at night, alerting the Duke of Orléans to launch his attack prematurely, the northwestern provinces would not have escaped the calamity.

Brienne paused for a moment, then continued, "General Naimué submitted a report on behalf of the army, stating that the riots had occurred too suddenly and that it would take at least two months for troops to be assembled in various locations to begin quelling the unrest."

If the riots are allowed to continue for two months, the area will be completely corrupt.

"They're deliberately stalling!" Baron de Breteuil roared immediately. "When I was in service, we could be ready for battle in a week at most!"

"It now seems quite possible, as you said." Brienne nodded, producing a document. "Just now, Duke of Mouchy made a suggestion to Her Majesty the Queen. It mainly included the following requirements:"

"Abolish the Royal Supreme Court and restore the practice of electing the Grand Justice by the Assembly of Notables."

"The decree abolished the Nobility to pay Land Tax and other taxes."

"Repeal the Mill Owner's Rights Act, demolish the mills built by the parishes..."

The Queen's hands, clasped so tightly that her knuckles had turned bloodless, finally snapped as she angrily shouted, "They're using this riot as an excuse to extort money! To extort His Majesty and all of France!"

Joseph took the document from Brienne and saw that it also stated. "The News and Publication Bureau shall be abolished, and the High Court shall be responsible for reviewing the press."

Berthier Legion Marit under General Maret's command, and Moulins Legion was merged with the Montcalm Legion.

From now on, any troop deployment by the Royal House must be approved by the Minister of War; otherwise, the army has the right to refuse to carry out the order.

Six or seven more followed, all of which were outrageous demands, blatantly seeking to divide the Royal House power. If all were accepted, Joseph's reform efforts over the past year would be completely wasted, and the Nobility would once again ride roughshod over the Royal House.

After the Queen had finished venting her anger, Brienne continued, "More than 20 generals have signed their support for Duke of Mouchy's proposal."

"Duke of Mouchy said that if His Majesty could meet these requirements, it would greatly improve the efficiency of the military."

After a long while, Queen Mary wearily looked at the crowd and asked, "Does anyone have any suggestions?"

The Minister of Census Nicoé, cautiously reported, "Your Majesty, riots have been ongoing for nearly ten days in many places, and even in places like Liyong and Trévoux, riots have begun to break out."

These two locations are already in north-central France, very close to key cities such as Moulins and Lyon.

Nicoé continued, "This will cause very serious damage to the country, and the riots could very well eventually escalate into... Rebellion."

"Duke of Mouchy's proposals largely consist of restoring old practices. Your Majesty might be able to grant some of them, as ending the chaos in the South as soon as possible is of utmost importance."

Joseph frowned slightly, not even considering Duke of Mouchy's request, silently calculating the troops he could currently mobilize.

If all the Police Academy students were incorporated, there would be around 6,500 people in two terms. Adding the Berthier Legion and the Moulins Legion, that would bring the total to 14,000.

The 3,000 men of the Paris Legion can also be included. In the most extreme case, even the Paris Police could be mobilized, which would also number 3,000—given the training level and morale of the Paris Police, they would be at least above average in the old Army of France.

The security situation in Paris could be temporarily handled by the King's Swiss Mercenaries group. After the Police Reform, gangs in Paris had been almost completely eradicated thanks to repeated Police crackdowns, so the security pressure was not significant.

In other words, he was able to muster an army of 20,000 men, a force with considerable equipment and combat strength.

The Duke of Orléans had previously conducted a very detailed intelligence investigation into the Royal House and concluded that the maximum number of troops the Royal House could mobilize was only 13,000.

But he didn't expect that Joseph's strongest fighting force was "hidden" in the Police Academy.

This was also a misleading result of his preconceived notions and habitual thinking. He always felt that the Police were just thugs and hooligans working for the government, and that even if they received some training at the Police Academy, they wouldn't have any fighting ability.

However, the Paris Police Academy surpasses most regular military academies in terms of recruitment, training, and equipment. Not to mention that Joseph has integrated advanced systems into this force. The combat effectiveness of the Police Academy students is at least two-on-one against ordinary French Army.

Joseph tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest of his chair, but shook his head slightly inwardly—currently, riots were raging everywhere in the western and Southern Provinces of France, and 20,000 people were simply not enough to handle the situation.

Furthermore, it's best not to conscript the Paris Police unless absolutely necessary, as it could negatively impact the stability of Paris. Therefore, under normal circumstances, there are only 17,000 officers.

At the same time, he also had to be wary of those military Nobility stabbing him in the back.

It's unlikely these guys would openly Rebellion, but they could easily disguise themselves as insurgents and launch a surprise attack on their own army.

This would prevent him from dispersing his troops to various locations to quell the rebellion—small units are too easily ambushed and wiped out.

Meeting Hall, the Cabinet Minister had clearly reached a certain consensus on accepting the blackmail from the military and Assembly of Notables —they simply couldn't think of any other solutions.

Queen Mary and Louis XVI listened to the ministers' discussion with grim faces, seemingly acquiescing to the outcome.

"The abolition of the Land Tax and the closure of the News and Publication Bureau are absolutely unacceptable!" Mirabeau shouted.

"I think everything else is negotiable, but the High Court must be retained." Brienne still harbored resentment over the last Taxation reform and knew the importance of controlling the High Court.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Vergennes, a member of the Duke of Orléans' faction, was strongly advocating for complete acceptance so that "the army could quell the rebellion as soon as possible."

By 3 p. m., everyone was starving, but they still couldn't reach an agreement. They had no choice but to take a break and have lunch.

While waiting for the chef to serve the food, Brienne leaned close to Joseph and whispered, "Your Highness, I have allocated funds to purchase grain from Spain and Sardinia. If we can hold out for a month, this grain will alleviate the situation in seven or eight provinces..."

That's far from enough,"Joseph shook his head slightly, but suddenly grasped something from his words.

I had just fallen into a fixed mindset, only thinking about how to mobilize troops to quell the riot, but I forgot that the root cause was food!

The provinces where riots occurred did not lack food; rather, their grain reserves had been diverted.

If we could produce a batch of grain now—not too much, but enough to feed each province for half a month, or even ten days—to stabilize the starving people, and once order is restored and the reserve grain is transported back to its original location, the chaos would dissipate on its own.

He fell into deep thought. There needed to be enough food to feed the entire western and the South provinces of France for half a month, and it also needed to be distributed quickly to the disaster victims...

We can only pray to God for help!

Joseph was taken aback by this thought. God's help?

Yes!

How could I forget? It really is possible to ask God for help!

France has a group of "God ' representatives" who own their own Farmland and property and are most enthusiastic about hoarding food.

That's the Catholic Church!

It is important to know that after the Great Revolution, the National Convention confiscated Church assets, and the grain in the cellars astonished the members of parliament and temporarily alleviated the frost disaster in the spring of 1792.

Because of the Church's aloof nature in this era, no one would dare to target Church. Of course, apart from the Archbishop, few people knew how much food the Church had stored up.

Joseph, who came later, not only knew how much food the hamster-like Church had hoarded, but also had no psychological burden about Wool the Church.

Once his mind started working, Joseph felt as if the day had dawned.

Church assets were located throughout France, meaning that food storage cellars were everywhere. Disaster victims could receive relief food without having to travel very far.

The Church's food reserves are more than enough to feed the South provinces for half a month, no, even one or two months. The so-called food shortage is simply that there isn't enough food for everyone, which causes food prices to skyrocket. As long as there is enough food to fill the gap, that's sufficient.

This led him to think of many other things. Perhaps the chaos created by the Duke of Orléans and the military was also a good opportunity.

If handled properly, it could even solve the deep-seated problem of the military Nobility in one fell swoop!

Joseph pondered carefully, and soon a complete plan came to mind.

After lunch, the Cabinet Minister began a heated debate about how to reach a compromise.

Just then, Joseph suddenly stood up, signaling for everyone to be quiet, and then bowed to the Queen and Louis XVI: "Your Majesty, I believe that we should not make the slightest concession to those who dare to threaten you and France!"

Queen Mary's previously dejected eyes suddenly lit up. She knew that without a sufficient army, the current crisis could not be resolved, but she was gratified that her son had this Courage.

Joseph continued, "Please grant me full authority to handle this matter; I am confident I can end the riots in the provinces."

Queen Mary smiled and shook her head, "Joseph, my dear, I know you want to do your part for France, but this time..."

Joseph, however, looked toward Archbishop Brienne.

The latter saw his gaze and immediately stood up, saying, "Your Majesty, I believe that His Crown Prince is the only one capable of resolving the current predicament."

He carefully chose his words: "In fact, he possesses extraordinary abilities that you can hardly imagine."

As Joseph's gaze swept over the other Cabinet Minister, Mirabeau and Baron de Breteuil also stood up one after the other. "Your Majesty, I also believe that you can absolutely trust His Crown Prince."

I share the same view.

The Minister of the Navy looked around and then stood up to show his support.

In the Meeting Hall, everyone except the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the three who were absent chose to side with Joseph.

Queen Mary was still reeling from the unexpected influence her son had shown when Louis XVI suddenly spoke up, "Perhaps, we could let Joseph give it a try."

He muttered in a very low voice, "He can even design Percussion Cap Gun."

Queen Mary hesitated, then suddenly remembered the astonishing methods her son had displayed in North Africa. Perhaps he really did have a way to deal with this crisis... She finally nodded slowly and looked at Joseph, saying, "Then, the Crown Prince will be in charge of handling the riots in the provinces."

"During this period, he can issue Edict on my behalf and on behalf of His King."

Please cooperate with him as much as possible.

Thank you for your trust.

Joseph bowed to Louis XVI and the Queen, then pointed without hesitation to Vergennes and said, "Effective immediately, you are dismissed from office."

Vergennes nearly fell off his chair. How did the conversation about the riots suddenly turn to his own situation?

"Your Highness, you have no right to do this!"

"No, I am," Joseph said calmly. "You will seriously hinder the process of quelling the riots. Therefore, you must leave the Cabinet."

"You're framing me!"

Joseph turned to Queen Mary: "Your Majesty, I am certain this is absolutely necessary. I will give you a satisfactory explanation after this matter is resolved."

The entanglement between Vergennes and the Duke of Orléans is so deep, and the Duke of Orléans is one of the masterminds behind this incident, so this traitor must not be allowed to live.

Queen Mary hesitated for a moment, but seeing that no one objected, she turned to Vergennes and said, "Count Vergennes, please take a leave of absence for a while. If it is proven that you are not in any trouble afterward, I will reinstate you to your post."

Vergennes paused for a few seconds, gave the Queen a casual nod, and then turned and left angrily.

Finally, we got rid of this guy who was always making trouble for himself!

Joseph felt a surge of exhilaration throughout his body; the taste of power was truly addictive!

He then instructed Brienne to continue issuing orders in the name of the King to the armies in various regions, instructing them to immediately disperse the rioters and maintain order.

The order explicitly stipulated that small garrisons were permitted to act independently without reporting to their superiors when suppressing rebellions. An Edict was attached, stating that civilian officers who distinguished themselves in suppressing rebellions could be promoted to Lieutenant or higher.

Whether or not someone follows orders is the army's business, but he has to try.

Joseph gave only a few brief instructions on matters such as purchasing food and conducting propaganda to stabilize public sentiment before announcing the end of the Cabinet Meeting.

The most important task is to proceed from here.

Half an hour later.

A "Gem- shaped" Carriage headed towards Paris. Inside, Joseph looked at Talleyrand sitting opposite him and smiled, "Archbishop, the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs is now vacant. Would you be interested?"

A look of surprise flashed across the lame man's face, and he quickly patted his chest, saying, "Thank you for your trust, Your Highness. I will certainly not let you down."

Joseph nodded. "Before that, I need your help with a small matter."

(End of this chapter)