The Inexperienced Crown Prince

Versailles Palace.

In front of the Petit Trianon, thousands of Nobility gazed at the balcony of Queen Mary's Tea Room on the second floor, occasionally crying out in anguish, "Your Majesty, are you abandoning us?"

"Look at your loyal servants; they are pleading for a little mercy from you."

"Your Majesty, all we need is that humblest, traditional income that has remained unchanged for centuries..."

"Your Majesty, I beg you to have mercy..."

Since the land redemption plan was officially announced yesterday, these Nobility have coordinated their efforts in less than a day and launched a massive petition.

Behind the more than one thousand petitioning Nobility, even more eyes were watching, ready to rush to their aid should Her Majesty the Queen show any sign of wavering.

They were able to unite so closely because the buyout plan genuinely affected their interests.

According to the plan, the cost for farmers to redeem the Annual Tribute will be paid to the original lord of the land.

Although this was much better than the previously rumored two-year buyout plan, making it barely acceptable for Nobility with other sources of income, many "poor" Nobility began to worry about their livelihoods.

In Queen Mary's Reception Room, several Nobility of high status were pitifully complaining to her, including the King's brother Count of Artois.

Queen Mary tried to comfort the group, but eventually, unable to bear their persistence any longer, she gestured to her maid, De Berninac, and whispered, "Please go and fetch the Crown Prince. Oh, and whatever you do, don't let him come here. Wait for me in the Study."

She guessed that her son was probably too eager to quell the riot, which was why he had favored the peasants too much in the redemption plan, thus incurring the criticism of the Nobility.

She needs to discuss the plan with her son first, and then figure out a way to compensate the Nobility.

It's normal for young people to make mistakes; otherwise, what's the point of having parents? Now it's time for me to step in and clean up the mess for my son!

Countess de Berninac had only been gone from the Reception Room for about ten minutes when she returned and whispered in the Queen's ear, "Your Majesty, His Crown Prince has returned."

The Carriage slowly came to a stop in the Marble Courtyard. As soon as Joseph opened the door, he heard a cacophony of sounds, like the crashing of waves, coming from the direction of the Petit Trianon.

He simply smiled calmly; this situation was expected, and it would be abnormal if the Nobility didn't cause some trouble.

Mirabeau, who had been eagerly awaiting their arrival, immediately came forward. Behind him stood a Cultivator dressed in black robes, around fifty years old, who was none other than Archbishop Beaumont of the Paris District.

The two bowed to Joseph one after the other, and then followed him toward the Petit Trianon.

"Is everything ready on your end?" Joseph turned to look at Mirabeau.

"Yes, Your Highness, to ensure absolute safety."

"You did a very good job." Joseph nodded, then asked, "How many people came to the homes of those three hundred-odd 'spendthrifts'?"

"At least one person from each family was present. Among them was an influential figure like Count of Aulnay."

"Okay, that puts my mind at ease."

Joseph then turned to Archbishop Beaumont: "Thank you for coming all this way."

The latter waved his hand with a smile, "I will naturally take your instructions seriously. Besides, what you mentioned is also what the Church should do..."

It's impossible to get the Old Nobles to accept the land redemption plan by pressure from the Royal House alone, let alone by using the State Finances to support them.

Joseph knew very well that to play politics, you had to have as many of your own people as possible.

His most solid political base was undoubtedly still the Capitalist Aristocrat. So, as soon as he returned from Luxembourg, he instructed Mirabeau to secretly contact important figures in the Capitalist Aristocrat and prepare for the land redemption plan.

Moreover, according to his plan, the buyout scheme was inherently very beneficial to large capital, and Mirabeau's side made a simple gathering, which immediately attracted a large number of people to respond.

As for the Church, Joseph had refrained from touching Church Cake in order to reduce resistance to land policies, so when faced with pressure from the Old Nobles this time, the Church naturally had to contribute its share.

Similarly, he wouldn't let the Church work for nothing.

If you want others to do things wholeheartedly, using incentives is undoubtedly the most effective way.

The three of them talked in hushed tones and soon arrived at the open space in front of the Petit Trianon.

Of course, the place was far from empty at this time; in fact, some Nobility who came to petition were so crowded that they trampled on Her Majesty the Queen's vegetables.

The Nobility immediately noticed Joseph and his entourage, and someone shouted in their direction, "Your Crown Prince, please persuade Her Majesty the Queen to revise the Land Redemption Policy!"

Joseph pushed through the crowd and strode to the stone steps in front of the main gate of the Petit Trianon. He smiled at the people and said, "Actually, I was the one who oversaw the formulation of this land redemption plan. I don't think there's anything that needs to be changed."

Queen Mary had just stepped onto the balcony when she heard her son's words from below, and immediately sensed something was wrong. Joseph was still too inexperienced; in matters that displeased the Nobility, the blame should have been shifted to Brienne and the others first, so that she could mediate from the sidelines. It seemed she would have to step in and help him smooth things over...

As expected, a commotion immediately broke out among the petitioning Nobility.

Immediately, some people turned their anger towards Joseph: "Your Highness, the Nobility is the foundation of France; you cannot abandon us like this!"

"You're being so unfair to us!"

Joseph looked around at everyone, still smiling, and said, "No, I have always followed His Majesty the King's teachings and have never forgotten you."

A Nobility cried out, "Your Highness, your buyout plan will leave us destitute!"

"Of course not," Joseph said, gesturing towards the man. "In fact, you will be richer than before!"

The Nobility ' clamor grew even louder; the Crown Prince was insulting their intelligence. The Annual Tribute would cease in eight years—how could they possibly be wealthier?

Joseph, however, said unhurriedly, "Gentlemen, don't just focus on the land itself; there's not much benefit in that."

"You need to broaden your horizons. Once farmers have Farmland to cultivate, they will inevitably work harder than before, and their output will be greater."

"Farmers want to increase yields, but they simply don't have enough livestock and fertilizer, let alone the resources to repair irrigation systems. Oh, as you all know, even the most basic Steam Water Pump costs 6,000 Livre."

"Furthermore, advanced farming techniques are very difficult to master, and they need someone to teach them."

"The grain they grow also needs to be transported to big cities to sell. Even if the farmers know that grain prices in Lyon are 40% higher than in Tours, they still can't afford to transport their grain there."

He paused, allowing the Nobility a moment to process what he had just said, before continuing, "Therefore, someone needs to help them with these things."

"Of course, this is not something that one or two people can do; it requires a company, a large-scale company!"