The French Royal Academy of Public Administration

The sky was getting dark.

The Crown Prince's Carriage finally left the France First Prison.

Joseph sat in the car, looked at the list of more than 30 officials in his hand, smiled, and tossed it to Eman.

"Please put it in the storage cabinet in my Study."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Joseph didn't want this list to purge officials at all.

Although the people on the list are involved in corruption and dereliction of duty, they have not stood up to oppose tax reform. So it is not advisable to touch them, at least not for now.

That's how politics works; the scope of the attack must be concentrated, making officials aware of their own safety. This way, those who aren't involved will distance themselves from the target and support the Royal House.

If political purges spread unchecked, officials will be gripped by fear and will inevitably resort to various means to protect themselves, which could ultimately lead to political instability.

However, it is entirely possible to use this list to give the bureaucrats a warning.

If you don't teach these arrogant big shots a lesson, they'll easily forget who they are and who's in charge.

The following day, Joseph, accompanied by Fouche, visited the First Prison again.

He personally "visited" a Governor's Assistant who had been arrested by Marat. Fouche, on his orders, went to the cell of the Municipal Commissioner Gaston.

Joseph had limited energy and could only take care of provincial-level officials. He left the rest of the smaller officials to the Intelligence Bureau, especially since many of the officials involved in the case had not yet been sent to Paris. He couldn't afford to travel all over the country for such a small matter.

Joseph estimated that after "threatening" all 40-plus officials, he could obtain whistleblower materials from thousands of officials.

Excluding North Africa and Luxembourg, France currently has only about 10,000 officials.

The number of people to whom I have incriminating evidence is enough to initiate reforms to the Officialdom.

Joseph watched as the Assistant Governor of Picardy Province buried himself in writing his denunciation, silently planning his next move:

First, we need to make the officials really nervous.

Then, the Royal House stepped in as saviors, rescuing them at the last minute.

These gentlemen, who have received such favor, would certainly not refuse to go to university to further their professional knowledge and improve their business skills in order to repay His Majesty the King.

Joseph knew that the France bureaucratic system had been operating for too many years and its inherent inertia was very strong. If he were to copy the North Africa system of "civil service examinations," it would most likely provoke strong opposition from the entire bureaucratic class and even the Nobility.

Therefore, he had no choice but to switch to a different operating mode.

That was to establish a "French Royal Academy of Public Administration," with the King serving as its president, and to allow a large number of high-ranking officials to enroll and receive further training.

In this way, officials from "academic" backgrounds will gradually begin to exclude their colleagues from "self-taught" backgrounds, forcing the latter to seek further education in schools as well.

At this point, the entrance exam can begin.

Those who fail the entrance exam, well, sorry, the academic peers will marginalize you without the Royal House family even needing to intervene.

Later, it gradually evolved into a situation where people without a degree from Administrative Management University had no chance of entering officialdom.

Ultimately, even low-level positions such as clerks, secretaries, and data clerks were included in the scope of university continuing education.

At that time, the entrance examination for the Administrative Management University had already become the France civil service examination. Unbeknownst to many, the most important step in the reform of the Officialdom had been completed!

The biggest challenge in implementing this plan is getting as many officials as possible to attend the school for further training.

This "widespread corruption case" provided Joseph with an opportunity.

Joseph was pondering the matter of Officialdom reform when the Carriage slowly came to a stop. Eman reminded him:

"Your Highness, we have arrived at Notre Dame."

Joseph nodded and looked out the car window, where he saw Archbishop Beaumont of the Paris District already leading a large group of priests, waiting respectfully in the square in front of the church.

He immediately got out of the car with a smile, exchanged pleasantries with the approaching Beaumont, and then got straight to the point:

"Your Excellency Archbishop, I need your help to build a university."

Yes, when it comes to education matters, it's best to contact the France "Ministry of Education"—the Catholic Church.

The Church not only has rich experience in running schools and can readily allocate teaching staff, but it is also very concerned about the maintenance of Royal Power.

Moreover, the Administrative Management University is not like Police Academy, where you can just set up Warehouse and Playground on a piece of wasteland and start classes. The Administrative Management University represents the face of the France bureaucratic system, so the essentials cannot be omitted.

Archbishop Beaumont beamed with joy upon hearing this— the Crown Prince's plan to build a university meant a large sum of money would be going to the Church, a lucrative position indeed.

He nodded repeatedly, "Your Highness, it is my greatest honor to serve you. May I ask what kind of university you wish to build, and how large?"

"The Royal Academy of Public Administration," Joseph said familiarly as he walked toward the Reception Room behind Notre Dame, turning to Beaumont, "Primarily teaching courses in economics, management, sociology, law, and engineering. Oh, of course, not as in-depth as the University of Paris; all courses can be completed within a year, or even in six months."

He then gave a brief overview of the university's main functions, and then said:

"As for the scale, it will initially be built to accommodate 1,500 students, but space will be reserved for future expansion."

Archbishop Beaumont gestured to his assistant to take careful notes, then offered many suggestions regarding the school's construction. Finally, he rubbed his hands together and smiled.

"Your Highness, the timeframe you've given is too short, only three months. This may significantly increase construction costs..."

Joseph nodded nonchalantly. "Then I'll have to trouble the Church to cover it."

"Ah, thank you, Your Highness..." Beaumont responded instinctively, but then suddenly froze, exclaiming, "No, Your Highness, you said the Church would cover it?"

"This university might cost 500,000 Franc to build; where would the Church get that much money...?"

Joseph patted him on the back and leaned closer, saying, "The Church's Manor Seine River can be renovated and used; it shouldn't cost that much, and it can speed things up."

Upon hearing this, Beaumont was about to become agitated. "Your Highness, this is not..."

Joseph smiled mysteriously and lowered his voice, "Archbishop, there may be a lot of officials being investigated soon. I think it would be good to have some people from the Church fill some of those positions."

This reform of the Officialdom was nothing short of a major surgical operation for France. Joseph could not predict what unexpected situations might arise, and to be on the safe side, he decided to involve the Church in his campaign.

Although the Church was not as powerful as it was during the reign of Louis XIII, it still wielded some political influence. At least by aligning with the Church, it was possible to prevent them from colluding with the bureaucratic system.