Under crushing pressure

Dibore sighed, but did not refute the fact that Luau and he were of one mind on opposing the High Court.

However, circumstances are beyond our control.

He glanced towards the door; the representative of the High Court was in the room opposite. He shook his head and said, "But no one wants to be like Count Weijinie..."

Before he finished speaking, the pupils of several key officials and councilors all contracted.

Just now, someone from the High Court brought a message saying that, in response to strong demands from the people of Paris, His Majesty the King is considering re-examining all the major cases handled by the High Court in recent years.

The High Court is rife with systemic corruption, meaning that any judge there is bound to be involved in corruption.

Their backsides are just as dirty as Weijinie's!

Moreover, they cannot prevent a retrial—currently, the people of Paris are in a state of high spirits, and if someone from the High Court were to shout outside, they could immediately summon thousands of people to surround the court, just like what happened to Weijinie.

After a long while, it was still Dibore who took the lead, weakly raising his hand and saying with a solemn expression, "Registration it."

His stance differed slightly from the other judges. He had been told by the High Court that they would fully support his candidacy for Chief Justice of the High Court once the bill was passed.

Of course, this was also Joseph's suggestion. The more you deal with an opponent who seems to be at their wit's end, the more you should insist on fighting one faction while winning over another, and be wary of them resorting to desperate measures.

Therefore, for Dibore, although the power of the High Court will be greatly restricted in the future, his personal power can be compensated by his position as president, which is barely acceptable.

Judge Count Vadier sighed and raised his right hand, "I agree. Let's finish this quickly..."

Gret and Viscount Aulard had no choice but to raise their hands.

And so, the judges, holding their noses, passed the bill that granted the Royal Supreme Court the power to oversee the High Court.

As for the clause at the end of the bill that abolishes the High Court's jurisdiction over News Censorship organizations, they barely even noticed it—the cow's dead, who cares about a few hairs on the ground?

Most surprisingly, this weighty bill failed to cause much of a stir in Nobility circles.

From the perspective of the Nobility, the High Court was still the High Court, and the Assembly of Notables was still the Assembly of Notables; it seemed that nothing had changed.

Oh, there's a new Royal Supreme Court? Isn't that just the old Royal Plenipotentiary Court, which has existed for over a hundred years...?

In stark contrast to the indifferent reaction of the Nobility, ordinary people in Paris were extremely excited, venting their pent-up resentment towards the High Court over the years on Weijinie.

For several days in a row, shouts of "Long live the King! Long live the Plenary Court!" could be heard frequently in the streets.

"Execute this shameless judge immediately!"

The victims of Weijinie's misfortunes, in particular, spread the word that the King and wise, and that he had sent down Plenary Court to punish the wicked.

Soon, led by the Paris Business Daily, newspapers in Paris began to publish articles such as "The Glorious Victory of His Majesty the King" and "His Majesty the King's just verdict."

For the first time, public opinion regarding the Royal House has begun to shift.

Versailles Palace.

Joseph was not surprised when he learned that the bill concerning the High Court had been passed.

Given the current situation, the High Court has no choice but to accept the bill.

However, the absence of the High Court's constraints made him feel much more at ease, finally allowing him to fully utilize his abilities and do more important things.

When the topic of important matters came up, he immediately thought of the Great Famine, and a headache struck him again.

France has a population of over 20 million, and even if the food shortage were calculated at 30%, that would still be an extremely alarming figure. Moreover, he remembered that the poor harvest would continue until the beginning of 1790.

Joseph looked at the snowflakes falling outside the tall, arched French windows. It was now the end of the snow month, which was mid-January in the Gregorian calendar.

With six and a half months to go before the massive Famine outbreak in July, where are we going to get so much food...?

He had some ideas before, but the closer the problem got to its outbreak, the more he felt it was far from enough.

For example, if we were to purchase it from abroad, that would require a large sum of money, and given France's current Finance situation, it simply doesn't have the spare cash to buy so much grain.

Moreover, to store so much grain, we need grain storage facilities, and we also need to prevent grain hoarding during the most difficult times.

Based on his recent understanding of the grain market, purchasing from abroad alone is simply insufficient to fill the gap in France's supply.

This is assuming the grain market remains stable. If unscrupulous merchants take advantage of the situation to profit, the shortfall could be even greater.

As for preventing hail in advance... historical records show that this year's hailstones were as big as an adult's fist. Unless the crops were all dressed in steel armor, there was no way to prevent them.

Joseph's thoughts turned to the Finance situation of France when he considered the funds needed to buy grain.

Before he took over Finance affairs, he didn't feel it so obviously, but now that more than two billion yuan is like a mountain pressing down on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe just thinking about it.

All the Paris Angel I've worked so hard to build up are now being sold off in a package deal, and they're worth at most ten million Livre. That means I'd need to create 200 more Paris Angel to cover this huge hole!

He couldn't help but take a deep breath to make his chest feel a little better.

Therefore, the fundamental solution to the debt problem lies in the Industrial Revolution.

On the one hand, the massive industrial products generated by the Industrial Revolution could generate huge economic benefits, directly filling the Finance gap.

On the other hand, the Industrial Revolution also greatly enhanced national strength, leading to greater profits in wars and overseas Colony, which in turn fueled industry, creating Positive Cycle.

In fact, United Kingdom also experienced a severe debt crisis in the early 19th century, and the situation was no better than that of France today. However, relying on the benefits of the Industrial Revolution, they managed to break out of the predicament despite carrying huge debts.

Joseph picked up the warm teacup, took a sip, and said, "If you want to develop industry, you have to first gain control of the country's industrial policy."

He couldn't help but shake his head. France didn't even have a Ministry of Industry right now; the Minister of the Interior was in charge of industry as well. With Mono's abilities, it would be a miracle if he could successfully carry out the Industrial Revolution.

Fortunately, I've recently drawn a few cards that I can use to negotiate with Mono and get him to cede the industrial sector.

Night falls.

The balls are an indispensable part of the Versailles Palace.

Joseph braced himself and weaved through a large group of Beauties, finally squeezing to Mono's side and quickly pulling him aside.

The young girls had assumed the Crown Prince was going to invite one of the ladies to dance, but instead, they saw him gripping the Minister of the Interior's arm tightly, and strange expressions appeared on their faces...

My new book is out! I'm begging for full subscriptions, monthly votes, and comments—I'm begging for everything! The author is eternally grateful!

(End of this chapter)