A man of integrity

The second floor of the Tuileries Palace.

Joseph watched Brienne's figure disappear, then looked at the annual Finance report on the table and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

Although France's industry and agriculture are currently booming, France debt growth rate, after a brief slowdown at the beginning of last year, has rebounded sharply.

Last year's total Finance revenue was 580 million Franc, an increase of 70 million Franc over the previous year.

However, at the same time, expenditures also surged to 540 million francs, and with the annual fixed interest payments on Government Bonds amounting to nearly 100 million Franc, the deficit reached more than 60 million francs!

As of the beginning of this year, France's total debt had reached a record high of 2.25 billion Franc.

Of course, the situation is much better than France's nearly 3 billion Franc debt in 1790. Moreover, last year's debt increase was mainly due to large-scale investments in North Africa, Luxembourg, and the Wallonia of the Southern Netherlands, especially in infrastructure construction, which not only cost a lot of money but also showed no returns in the short term.

Furthermore, the wars in North Africa, the Southern Netherlands, and Silesia are also major drains of funds. According to Finance data submitted by Brienne, military spending last year exceeded 43 million Franc!

This is even with Austria bearing a large portion of the expenses for the latter two wars; otherwise, the figure would be even more alarming.

Furthermore, last year's food shortage led to the depletion of the national strategic grain reserves, necessitating substantial investment to replenish them. After all, until 1795, the climate in Europe was not very stable. Although there was no Famine as severe as the one following last year's hailstorm, small-scale crop failures still occurred frequently, so it was essential to be prepared.

This cost nearly ten million Franc to purchase grain.

In summary, without war and the stockpiling of food, we should have been able to achieve a long-awaited balance between income and expenditure.

However, Joseph was far from relaxed.

Because he was well aware that many of his previous reforms were based on eroding the interests of the Nobility. In particular, the Old Nobles had been almost completely stripped of their control over the national economy, their various privileges, and their feudal taxes.

The reason why France society has not experienced major turmoil is that it has used the returns from the "Industrial Development Fund" and the "King's Fund" to stabilize the Nobility.

If these funds fail to generate sufficient returns, it could lead to discontent among the old Noble Class, causing their accumulated resentment towards the Royal House to erupt. As for the outcome, while it might not result in the reforms being abandoned halfway through, as was the case in Austria (given the considerable size of the Noble Group), it is entirely possible that the country's development could stagnate or even regress by several years.

Among these factors, the profitability of the Industrial Development Fund is particularly important.

According to Joseph's original plan, the return on investment in industry should be over 30% thanks to the benefits of the Industrial Revolution, and this figure could even reach 200% after Industrialization began to show results!

Historically, United Kingdom took advantage of this period of rapid development to become the British Empire on which the British Empire.

Given these returns, it is entirely feasible to incorporate the Old Nobles into the overall national Industrialization strategy and achieve the transition from a landed Nobility to Capitalist Aristocrat.

However, France's current industrial profitability is less than 10%, and this was only achieved Joseph developed a lot of "cutting-edge technology".

Ultimately, France's social system remains largely feudal, with its tax system and administrative management severely hindering industrial development.

Joseph shook his head and smiled wryly, "Actually, a complete Great Revolution is the simplest and most effective solution."

The United Kingdom, through the Glorious Revolution, developed a complete set of political and economic models suitable for industrial development.

Take the tax reform that's giving him the biggest headache right now, for example. Historically, France simply eliminated all Tax Farmers and nationalized their Tax Farming Income revenue—a straightforward and brutal solution. Yes, that's right, it was the Jacobin ' doing.

But Joseph had to do the same thing while maintaining national stability, which was many times more difficult.

The two most critical difficulties in abolishing the Tax Farmer System are money and people.

In terms of money, it would be best if the Tax Farmers could lend their original Tax Farming Income to the government as a loan, charging some interest. In this way, the government could gradually repay this money with the tax revenue it receives later.

Of course, Joseph knew that the Tax Farmers would most likely not agree to lend him money; after all, you've taken away their Cake, why would you expect them to cooperate with you?

Therefore, we first need to secure a large sum of money to support Finance spending. It's estimated that at least 200 million Franc will be needed.

Secondly, there's the issue of people. Taxation are the easiest positions to embezzle. During the reign of Louis XIV, the tax embezzlement was so rampant that the Tax Farmer System had to be implemented.

Joseph took out the previously prepared tax reform plan document from the drawer and began to revise it carefully.

Just then, Eman knocked lightly on the door. "Your Highness, Monsieur Robespierre has arrived."

Joseph immediately smiled and said, "Please let him in."

The door opened, and a slightly plump, blond young man followed Eman in. He glanced nervously at Joseph, then immediately bowed, saying, "It is an honor to be summoned by you, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Joseph stood up and gestured to the sofa, "It's a pleasure to meet you too, please have a seat."

After resolving Chartres ' estate case, Robespierre ultimately did not take a position at the Public Notary Investigation Bureau. Instead, leveraging the case's influence, he became an intern prosecutor at the Paris High Court.

Robespierre sat down awkwardly and hurriedly asked, "Your Highness, is there anything I can do for you?"

Joseph immediately coughed lightly and said in a very serious tone, "Mr. Robespierre, are you willing to fight for France, for His Majesty the King, for all the people, even in the face of great danger?"

He prepared several opening remarks, but in the end, he felt that this most childish one might be more suitable for Robespierre.

Sure enough, the latter immediately stood up excitedly and nodded vigorously, saying, "Yes, Your Highness, I am willing to give my life for France!"

"Very good," Joseph continued, "You are the noblest and most incorruptible person I know, so only you can accomplish this great task."

Robespierre was stunned by the Crown Prince's high praise and immediately replied without hesitation, "Please give your orders, and I will not let you down!"

Joseph maintained a solemn expression. "I hope you will be appointed as the Inspector Commissioner of the newly established National Tax Bureau."

Joseph knew that if there was only one official in France who was not corrupt, it would be Robespierre.