Scapegoat Hero

Yes, farmers' lives will get better. 🐻💥 🐜✌

That was Joseph's goal.

Whether it's a small riot or Great Revolution, they all stem from people's dissatisfaction with life.

If you improve the quality of life for ordinary people, they won't care if you're the King or the National Assembly; they'll be too busy supporting you. And if anyone dares to disrupt the country, they'll be the first to object.

Sure enough, after repeatedly confirming with the priest that it was indeed a decree issued by the King, the farmers immediately began shouting "Long live the King!" and scattered back home to report this wonderful news to their families.

In the afternoon, the parish Stadtholder gathered the villagers in front of the Small Church and announced the upcoming "Star of France" event.

More than ten people immediately signed up.

Three days later.

The chaos in the South provinces has been initially brought under control.

All eyes were drawn to the competition after the newspapers reported that a laundry worker from the Moulins region had won the "Star of France" contest, receiving a prize of Livre, and that the Villar Duchess had hired her as her private musician.

Well, in order to boost the popularity of the Star of France, Moulins held preliminary rounds in advance, and the competition was completed in less than a week. The Villar Duchess was also asked by the Crown Prince to cooperate.

For a time, France was filled with people practicing dancing or singing on the streets, and everyone hoped they could be as lucky as that laundry worker.

Subsequently, preliminary rounds were launched in various locations. To accommodate working workers, the competitions continued until 9 p. m. each day so that they could participate after get off work.

The City Hall and squares in various places were brightly lit, as organizing this competition alone cost a city nearly ten thousand Livre. The winner's prize money was another expense.

But it was all worth it.

Even if people don't participate themselves, they still follow the progress of their relatives and friends. Every day, people gather in front of the City Hall to enjoy the song and dance performances, cheer for the winners, or listen to the touching stories of the participants, and only return home reluctantly after dark.

Riots seem like something from a long, long time ago.

With the funding for Police Reform in place—initially through bank loans, which was remarkably efficient for banks at the time—the new officers received their first month's salary and were clearly more motivated.

The riots that occurred more than ten days ago are also being reinvestigated. The investigation is not targeting those who went to the homes of the Nobility to "protest," but rather those who took advantage of the chaos to steal from ordinary people.

Versailles Palace.

In the South Hall's corridor, seven or eight worried Nobility were whispering amongst themselves, "... and then the Duke was brutally murdered by those lowly commoners. His body was found in a mud pit outside the Manor..."

The others shook their heads sadly. "I heard they even took his clothes; they didn't even leave him with a shred of dignity."

"These shameless, cursed bastards!"

"God, is France heading into chaos?"

"I've been waking up from nightmares every night lately, in which rioters tie me to a fire and roast me... God, I want to sell all the assets in my hometown, otherwise the rioters will take them away one day..."

"I'm thinking the same thing; it might be safer to take some money abroad."

"Shh..."

A Nobility caught sight of the approaching Crown Prince and quickly gestured to the people beside him.

They immediately retreated to the side of the corridor and bowed to the Crown Prince.

Joseph vaguely heard their discussion. He had already nodded and walked over, but after thinking for a moment, he turned back and smiled at them, saying, "Gentlemen, the riots are over. Believe me, it was just chaos caused by a drought and cold that happens only once in a century."

"The new Police force has begun training in the provinces. They are just as good as the Paris Police and will do an excellent job of maintaining local order. This kind of riot will not happen again."

"Oh, and those criminals who instigated the riots and murdered Nobility have also been arrested. They will be tried publicly soon."

The Nobility exchanged glances, all showing excitement. "Your Highness, is this true?"

"It's true, of course. I believe everyone will soon see the news in the newspapers. If you're interested, you can go to Paris to witness the trial of the rioters."

Joseph knew that to truly end the riots, it was not enough to simply disperse the unruly crowd; order had to be restored to people's hearts.

Apart from those powerful Nobility who wreak havoc on the country, the vast majority of Nobility are actually worth winning over. Even the Old Nobles, as long as they accept reforms and integrate into the country's development, can become the backbone of France.

After all, they still control most of France's wealth, and many of them are knowledgeable and capable individuals; France cannot do without them.

As a force to check the Capitalist Aristocrat, the Royal House cannot do without them.

The most important aspect of a monarch's art of ruling is finding a balance among the various forces at play.

Therefore, after dealing with the members of the Assembly of Notables, it was necessary to appease the other law-abiding Nobility to prevent the country from falling into turmoil.

How could the Nobility feel at ease if the rioters were not severely punished?

Therefore, not only should they be severely punished, but the number of rioters used as a deterrent should also be significant!

Of course, Joseph would never arrest ordinary civilians involved in the riots. Scapegoat Hero was already prepared.

Those were the gangsters whom the Duke of Orléans used to incite riots.

They were later "taken over" by the Police Intelligence Division and reused, and are now being transported to Paris.

These guys were all waiting to collect their wages, so the Police Intelligence Division easily arrested them all. It was quite a nationwide crackdown on crime.

One week later.

A column of two thousand men, consisting of the Police Academy cadets from the Paris Police Academy and soldiers of the Berthier Legion, marched in orderly fashion into the city of Paris.

Behind them followed more than 100 gang members escorted from the South provinces. In reality, nearly 400 gang members were arrested, but to avoid chaos, the rest were taken directly to the Paris Police Department.

At the head of the procession were dozens of soldiers wearing yellow ribbons and medals of different ranks pinned to their chests.

Behind them were drummers and Flag Bearer. Two tall Flag Bearer, carrying a banner that read "Successfully Suppressed the South Riots," led the soldiers proudly through the center of the street.

Almost all the Paris Citizens crowded to both sides of the road, shouting slogans such as "Long live the King" and "Praise the warriors".

The Triumph procession passed through half the city and finally headed to the Versailles Palace.

(End of this chapter)