Chapter 484 Take advantage of every opportunity
Clemont hurriedly gestured to the two-story building not far away: "Your Highness, Baron Friant has converted the original warehouse into a teaching building, and the nearby ground has been leveled before, so it can be used as a playground. use."
He led the way for Joseph and walked towards the students who were training: "As for the teachers, the Dean of Academic Affairs invited some professors of economics and mathematics from the University of Paris, and transferred teachers from the police academy. Currently, there are 34 teachers.”
He rubbed his hands as he spoke: "This is indeed too few compared to the 620 students, but if we divide the teaching time, we can barely maintain it."
"620 people?" Joseph was a little surprised when he heard this. The School of Economics had only been preparing for more than a month. How could Friant recruit so many students?
"Yes, Your Highness. The Dean of Academic Affairs transferred more than 300 police academy cadets who have studied mathematics. Oh, and Mr. Robespierre, the lawyer, also brought more than 30 people."
Joseph nodded. Robespierre still had some reputation in the legal community, and he probably brought some Jacobin "believers". This is quite good. The Jacobins are motivated, and we need such people now to implement tax reform.
On the playground, students in black uniforms were practicing fighting, wielding short sticks and making a hunting sound.
Not long after, several instructors summarized the training situation as a team, and then announced a 15-minute rest before conducting shooting training.
Yes, according to Joseph's requirements, these "tax collectors" spent more than half of their time learning things like detective work, queues, fighting, and shooting.
After they graduate, they will become the core force of local tax bureaus. You can recruit documents to do tasks such as calculating tax rates and formulating reports. Tax collectors are more responsible for leading people to inspect tax evasion and recover taxes. They must have strong enough combat effectiveness.
In the early days of the tax system, the manpower was limited—the School of Economics should be able to recruit two batches of students and train about 1,500 graduates—so one person could only do the work of several people. When the manpower is sufficient, Joseph plans to separate the tax police department from it, and these tax collectors who have received police training can directly serve as commanders of the tax police.
As usual, Joseph had lunch with the students from the School of Economics during lunch time.
Robespierre, who was sitting at the table to his left, watched His Royal Highness the Crown Prince eating the same food as himself and the students, chatting about the significance of the tax reform without any pretense, and he couldn't help but feel something he had never felt before in his heart. thoughts.
Perhaps, the king can also lead the people to a better life?
He shook his head vigorously. Advocating Rousseau's thought, he immediately rejected the idea. No, it is impossible for dictatorship to produce a "kingdom of reason"!
However, he immediately thought that without the crown prince, the clean and fair tax system he was currently working hard to create would not be possible so quickly.
Even a government authorized by the people would find it difficult to construct such a reasonable tax system...
After all, what is better?
Unconsciously, a crack appeared in the persistence in his heart.
Joseph had no idea about the conflict between heaven and man in Robespierre's heart. After giving a brief speech of encouragement to the students of the School of Economics as the principal, Joseph rushed to the country's first prison two kilometers away without stopping.
Well, now the Bastille has been converted into a financial center - so there are no large prisons in Paris anymore, and most of the criminals are now locked up here.
Moreover, the First Prison is within easy reach of the Paris Police Academy, which can greatly improve security. It does not require as many soldiers to be stationed as before, and can save a lot of money.
Not long after, Joseph walked into the first prison under the leadership of the prison commander, the Marquis de Launet. There are only a dozen buildings here. The main body is a prison surrounded by walls more than ten meters high. It can only accommodate three to four hundred prisoners. However, the bottom is reinforced with granite. The difficulty of escape is not much lower than that of the Bastille. .
In fact, the Bastille is empty most of the time. It was a huge waste to acquire such a large piece of land in a valuable area close to the city center. It was also particularly disgusting to the citizens. It should have been moved outside the city long ago.
In a stone interrogation room on the third floor of the prison, Joseph met the official owner of the trip, the Earl of Norfolk, the Governor of Poitou - among the more than 40 officials sent to prison by the Bureau of Impartial Investigation this time, the highest official That one.
The Earl of Norfolk, with disheveled hair and haggard face, saw that the Crown Prince was coming. He saluted excitedly and said a lot of blessings and greetings. Then he began to cry that he had made a mistake and that he was sorry for His Majesty's trust, but... ...I beg your Majesty to grant me amnesty.
Yes, according to current French law, the king can pardon anyone with just his signature. This man thought that the queen sent the crown prince to scold him and then pardoned him.
Joseph ignored him, and first turned to the Marquis de Launet and said: "I just passed by the noble cell and saw that the furnishings inside were too luxurious. Now that the country's finances are tight, just save everything except the table and bed. Oh. , it is best to change the cells into single rooms, which will be more conducive for prisoners to concentrate on reflection. "
"Yes, Your Highness, I will obey your instructions."
Norfolk's face turned green. As for the current three-bedroom cell, he has almost gone crazy after living in it for a few days. If it is changed to a single cell and all the furniture and leisure items are removed, what difference will it make to hell?
He watched the Crown Prince motioning for the Marquis de Launet and all the jailers to go out, then sat down opposite him, and said tremblingly: "Your Majesty, your Majesty, are you going to..."
"Although your case has not yet gone to trial, I can confirm that it will at least be exiled to Lorraine." Joseph glanced at him and said calmly, "But it is more likely to go to Tripoli."
"No, no... I don't want to go there, please help me plead with His Majesty, please..."
Joseph raised his hand and interrupted him: "If you show repentance, I can consider interceding for you."
"Repent? Yes, repent. I will repent to God every day, from morning to night, I swear!"
"No, you made a mistake. You need to take actual actions to repent." Joseph picked up the tea cup in front of him, as if smelling the aroma of the tea. "For example, expose some of your co-defendants, or the criminal facts you know. This It’s possible to keep you away from North Africa.”
Norfolk was startled and said carefully: "Your Highness, what do you want to know?"
"Everything." Joseph gestured to Emang to give him a pen and paper, "The higher the official position, the better."
This time there were so many officials involved in corruption cases, the commotion was so loud, and he spent so much energy on handling it, he naturally would not waste the current situation.
While the matter is still hot, starting from these arrested officials, he can start to implement the administrative reform that he has been thinking about for a long time, so as not to waste this opportunity.
(End of chapter)