Don't bully an old man for being poor!

Mono, seeing the Beauties glaring at him, bowed somewhat awkwardly to Joseph and said:

"Your Highness, aren't you going to dance?"

Joseph said, "I don't have time to dance. I have something important to tell you."

Mono glanced again at the joyful dancing crowd around him:

"You mean, here? To get down to business?"

Joseph thought to himself, "I'd love to sit on the sofa, have some tea, and chat, but I've been looking for you all afternoon, and even your Servant don't know where you've been gallivanting off to."

I went to see you this afternoon.

"Oh..." Mono touched the tip of his nose somewhat awkwardly; he didn't want anyone to know about his affair with Countess Messayer.

He hurriedly dragged the Crown Prince to a slightly quieter corner:

Please speak.

Joseph thought for a moment and said:

"Simply put, I want to do something to promote industrial development. And this currently falls under the jurisdiction of your Ministry of Interior."

Mono blinked his little eyes and nodded.

"To be frank, I want you to relinquish your jurisdiction over industry."

Mono continued to nod, waiting for the Crown Prince's exchange of benefits.

Joseph said, "Now, News Censorship is no longer under the jurisdiction of the High Court. I think we can establish a News and Publication Bureau to handle these matters and entrust them to you."

"Furthermore, I have already discussed with Archbishop Brienne the possibility of enacting a Patent Law."

He gave a general explanation of the meaning of the Patent Law, and then said, "Correspondingly, Patent Bureau needs to be established, which can also be entrusted to you."

Mono calculated in his mind— France industry was no match for the United Kingdom industry at all, and was currently in a state of near collapse, so there was no point in keeping it in his hands.

The Patent Bureau that the Crown Prince mentioned seems pretty good; it's definitely lucrative to be associated with fashion design. However, News Censorship doesn't seem to be very effective.

He then flashed a simple, honest smile, "Your Highness, what do you see..."

Before he could finish his rambling, Joseph immediately said, "Add a Printing Workshop as well."

"Workshop?"

"I have a technology that can reduce the cost of printing pictures to less than one-fifth of what it is now. We can invest 200,000 Livre. Oh, of course, you will provide most of this money, and we can monopolize almost the entire printing business in Paris."

"You and I will each own 20% of the shares, News and Publication Bureau will own 60%. Moreover, all profits from the first seven years will belong to you."

Joseph's plan to set up a Printing Workshop was actually a means of controlling Pamphlets.

Anyone who wants to publish Pamphlets has to come to me for printing; otherwise, the price will be much higher than other Pamphlets, resulting in no one buying them.

As for you coming to my printing shop, well, this Printing Workshop is affiliated with the News and Publication Bureau. You'll have to get it approved there first.

After Mono repeatedly confirmed that this inexpensive printing technology was already in use, he immediately broke into a bright smile and nodded, saying:

"Oh, you are always so generous, Your Highness the Crown Prince! May God bless you!"

In the Royal Workshop, His Majesty the King of France, who had been busy for most of the day, placed the Musket he was holding on the workbench, wiped his sweat, and prepared to enjoy his dinner.

As the Servant removed his apron, he casually picked up a newspaper from the side—a newspaper with significant influence was delivered to him daily—and immediately saw the striking headline, "The Glorious Victory of His Majesty the King."

He scratched his head—he'd been spending all his time in the Workshop figuring out how to make guns, so how had he suddenly achieved such a glorious victory?

He switched to a different newspaper. The front page read, "His Majesty the King brings justice to his loyal Paris."

Louis XVI quickly put his glasses on his nose and carefully read the newspaper, only then realizing that it was the reason for the bill concerning the "Royal Supreme Court" that he had signed a few days earlier.

He put down his newspaper, puffed out his chest smugly, and thought to himself, "Looks like handling state affairs isn't so complicated after all. Hmm, I'm doing a pretty good job, aren't I?"

In Golden Gate of the East Hall Conference Hall the Versailles Palace.

Joseph, dressed in a burgundy tuxedo, strode into the Meeting Hall, his chest puffed out, as he passed between two rows of bowing Guard.

This was the first time he had ever been so eager to get inside.

Before long, all the Cabinet Minister had arrived, and Queen Mary had also arrived earlier than usual.

After everyone bowed, the Golden Gate creaked shut, and the Cabinet Meeting officially began...

Archbishop Brienne looked around at everyone with a pleased expression, and then began to speak of the Tax Law as if it were a matter of course:

"The passage of this bill will greatly alleviate the country's Finance difficulties."

He opened the prepared documents. "Land Tax alone is projected to increase Finance revenue by 18 Livre annually. Stamp Duty is projected to increase..."

After reciting his long and detailed speech, he glanced at the gloomy-faced Sumiyar and concluded:

"Taking all the above taxes into account, annual Finance revenue will increase by 22 million to 24 Livre!"

Queen Mary led the applause and nods:

"This will be a memorable day in the history of France Finance!"

Whether they liked it or not, all the ministers applauded and congratulated Brienne.

Having finished discussing the Tax Law, Brienne changed to another document, bowed slightly to the Queen, and then announced loudly:

"Now, let's begin with the first item on the agenda."

"The Count Monod argued that the Count Sumiyar should be held responsible for the scandals in the Judiciary system and was no longer suitable to serve as Minister of Justice."

Sumiyar lowered his head, glanced quickly at Mono, then stared intently at the Brass pen holder in front of him, saying nothing.

He knew that the Weijinie affair had a huge impact, and as the Minister of Justice, he would certainly not escape accountability for lax oversight.

Moreover, he had impeached Brienne back then, and Brienne certainly wouldn't miss this opportunity for revenge.

The Duke of Orléans had anticipated that Sumiyar would be impeached and was prepared to do everything in his power to protect his political ally.

He stood up, coughed lightly, and said:

"Your Her Majesty the Queen, to my knowledge, Weijinie is extremely discreet in accepting bribes, making it difficult for outsiders to detect. Although Sumiyar was negligent in his oversight, to dismiss Cabinet Minister solely for the sake of this one judge... is that...?"

Joseph sneered from the side:

"The Duke of Orléans is quite the eloquent man. First of all, Weijinie did more than just accept bribes; you can look at his judgment."

"Secondly, there are probably more than just Weijinie among the judges of the High Court with questionable conduct. Perhaps we should continue our investigation?"

He wasn't afraid of bringing down the High Court; after all, it was the territory of the Noble Group, and if he really destroyed it, it would be convenient for him to start anew.

Sure enough, the Duke of Orléans ' face turned bright red, but he didn't dare to say a word.

To avoid investigation, those in the High Court even gritted their teeth and admitted it to the Royal Supreme Court. If they were to cause any further trouble, they would likely become public enemies of the judges.

Upon seeing this, Brienne immediately pushed the prepared dismissal document in front of Queen Mary and respectfully said:

"Please make a decision, Your Majesty."

Seeing that the ministers were in complete agreement, the Queen immediately comforted Sumiyar with a few words, and then picked up her pen to sign the document.

Brienne put the documents away with satisfaction, looked at Sumiyar, and gestured towards the Golden Gate:

"Count Sumiyar, please excuse me."

Many thanks to the generous donations from two great authors: "Wok King Wuqiong" and "Please Don't Get Close to Sugar Oils"! Tian Hai Shan is deeply grateful! I love you both!

(End of this chapter)