Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Chapter 15: Political Capital

Joseph felt a sense of retrospective fear. Now, whether it was the bureaucratic power, nobility, Church, capitalists, or foreign forces, in the process of his restructuring of France, the slightest inattention could touch their interests, leading to a frenzied backlash.

In other words, incidents like Gizo’s clandestine actions would proliferate in the future, making it virtually impossible to guard against them all.

How could he avoid being caught off guard?

He looked out of the window, tapping his fingers against the armrest of his chair as he fell into thought.

To avoid being plotted against, it was best to be able to detect potential threats in advance and learn about the conspiracies targeting him.

It would be even better to have professional personnel to help nip these threats in the bud for him.

To achieve this, however, he would need a large network of informants to gather intelligence for him.

And on top of that, an information analysis and summary center that could come up with response plans, then send people to deal with the problems based on his instructions.

At this thought, several names immediately surfaced in Joseph’s mind—CIA, KGB, MI6.

If he had a professional intelligence agency like that in his hands, he wouldn’t be as blind or deaf when facing the covert plots of various forces, and could ensure that the progress of his restructuring of France would not be hindered.

In fact, France did have an existing espionage organization, the Secret Police.

But Joseph knew that they were completely unreliable—they only knew how to do things like steaming open letters, eavesdropping on conversations, and surveilling aimlessly.

In fact, they were so inept at even these tasks that they were often caught, which made the reputation of the Secret Police utterly detestable.

Therefore, it was most reliable to set up his own intelligence team.

He could use the advanced concepts of later generations to guide and train them, ensuring higher loyalty as well.

However, just the existence of the Secret Police alone had already incited the wrath of all of France. If he were to establish another one, he’d likely become an immediate target of public anger.

Joseph frowned, wondering how he could accomplish this discreetly.

And where would he find the personnel?

After all, he was isolated and lacking in political capital. It was difficult…

Prolonged thinking gave him a headache, accompanied by a bout of coughing.

He shook his head with a wry smile, his frail body always suffering from chronic pneumonia. Recently, the poor living conditions in the Saint Antoine District had caused his condition to deteriorate. It seemed that getting in shape also needed to be prioritized.

The carriage suddenly started to slow, and Joseph looked towards Eman, “Have we arrived?”

“We should have not yet, Your Highness.” The attendant leaned out of the window, calling out loudly, “What’s the matter?”

A guard from the carriage in front immediately hurried over, placing his hand on his chest, and reported, “Your Highness, the Minister of the Interior, Count Mono, happens to be passing by and wishes to greet you personally.”

Passing by? Joseph looked at Eman with an inquisitive gaze.

The latter leaned in and said, “Your Highness, it might be related to Gizo.”

After hearing about the relationship between the two, Joseph couldn’t help but be intrigued. He was just worrying about his lack of power within the Cabinet, and this could be the political capital coming to him.

He nodded to the guard, “Please have Count Mono come to my carriage.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

After a moment, a fifty-year-old man with slender brown eyes and a head full of large wavy hair, with powder on his face, came to the carriage, handed his cane to a servant, and then bowed deeply, “I didn’t expect to encounter the Crown Prince here, such a fortunate moment.”

Joseph politely returned the bow and invited him into the carriage, pushing the pastries on the small table toward him, “These are from Her Majesty the Queen, please do try.”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Mono accepted a piece with exaggerated flattery, as if suddenly remembering something, gestured for a servant to bring a wooden case, and said with a smile, “I’ve recently acquired a beautiful knife that suits Your Highness’s valiant aura perfectly. I’d like to gift it to you.”

“Oh? Then I must thank Count Mono.”

Once Joseph had taken the wooden case, Mono, pretending to make small talk, said, “Your Highness, there has indeed been a lot happening in Paris recently.”

“Indeed, there has.”

“It’s truly regrettable, the actions of some officials.” Mono, a high-ranking official in the Cabinet, showed considerable humility and sighed, “Gizo was actually a very upright person before, who would have known he would… ”

Joseph opened the wooden case and interrupted with a smile, “If you have something to say, feel free to speak plainly.”

“Alright, alright.” Mono’s face was full of sincerity, “I recommended Gizo simply because he was capable. As you know, I had no idea about the things he did; otherwise, I would have done everything in my power to stop him.

“Thankfully, Your Highness is wise and saw through his malicious tricks, preventing this disaster.”

Gizo had been his student and the very one he promoted to the position of Director of Police Services. This big incident made it difficult for him to clear his name.

Although Mono was a high-ranking official, as Gizo was now with the Secret Police, Mono was still unaware of the specifics and didn’t dare to ask the Queen directly. So, he waited on the road to the Palace of Versailles, hoping to probe the young Crown Prince.

“Your Highness, may I inquire what Gizo is charged with?”

Joseph seemed quite interested in the gemstone-studded Chasseur Curved Sword, caressing it repeatedly, and casually said, “Hmm, I’ve heard it’s instigating a riot.”

Mono’s body stiffened; rioting was a grave crime that could overthrow the government. If proven true, there was no way he wouldn’t be implicated!

He chuckled nervously, “He, he couldn’t be so audacious… ”

“Is that so?” Joseph put down the curved sword and passed the confession on the table to him, “The Royal Police delivered this in the morning; Gizo directed a large number of thugs to attack the Saint Antoine District police station. Oh, I happened to be at the station at that time.”

After scanning the document briefly, Mono felt cold sweat pouring down. Although he felt Gizo lacked the motive to incite a riot, based on this evidence, labeling it as a riot seemed plausible.

He became so flustered that he didn’t know where to put his hands, cursed Gizo fiercely, and looked to Joseph with a pained expression, “Your Highness, is there any chance of turning this situation around?”

Joseph blinked and said, “Some say Gizo incited a riot, but I’m not sure. After all, I knew the situation at the time best.”

“Right, right!” Mono nodded vigorously, “Please be sure to explain the situation to Her Majesty the Queen.”

“Oh, we can talk about that in a few days,” Joseph picked up the curved sword again and waved it a few times, “I’ve been busy preparing lately, trying to prove to my mother that I can handle the role of assistant to the Finance Minister.”

Mono was startled by the swift change in topic but quickly remembered the Crown Prince’s proposal at the Cabinet meeting to become the assistant to the Finance Minister and hastened to say loudly, “Nobody is more suited for this position than Your Highness! The Cabinet meeting is the day after tomorrow, and I will propose that you take on the role of assistant to the Finance Minister!

“Oh, and I can also persuade Bishop Brienne to support you!”

Bishop Brienne is the current Finance Minister and also the Chief Minister, the most powerful minister beneath the king.