Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Joseph did not feel that Brian’s speed was slow at all.

He knew that this was about standardizing the duties across the entire Cabinet; how could that be easy to accomplish?

Historically, it was not until 1833 that the British first tried similar administrative reforms, and it was not until 1854 that they began to see results.

Of course, the British were pioneers, having to rely on themselves to explore everything.

But Joseph was directly using the standard answers, so it definitely wouldn’t take as long. However, all the necessary steps couldn’t be skipped.

After standardizing the Cabinet, efficiency should also correspondingly improve, and when it comes to administrative reforms in provinces and cities, the pace will become faster and faster.

Speaking of “standardization,” Joseph suddenly recalled the previous standardization of industrial production.

At that time, he personally watched over it for two months, then let Sone and Mirabeau continue pushing it for half a year before it was more or less mastered.

Actually, the process of administrative reform is very similar to that of production standardization.

This is also why administrative reforms historically occurred after the Industrial Revolution — factory management had a huge prompting effect on government management.

Joseph immediately said to Brian, “You can summon Monsieur Laisonne to Paris.

“He has quite a few staff over there, which can alleviate your manpower shortage. Besides, he is very familiar with drafting standard documents.”

“Yes, Your Highness. I will contact him shortly.”

After Brian finished discussing the matters of Cabinet administrative reform, he continued: “Your Highness, regarding the unified entrance exam for the Royal School of Administrative Management you instructed…

“I am truly sorry, but after my assessment, I’m afraid it’s difficult to conduct a simultaneous nationwide exam.

“You know, cities like Paris, Reims, and Lyon might manage, but in places like Foix and Gaye, their City Hall officials might not even be literate, organizing exams for hundreds or even thousands would surely result in chaos.”

Mirabeau chimed in: “Perhaps even before the exams begin, their officials will sell the exam papers.”

Yes, this was Joseph’s design of the “Primitive Version of the French Civil Service Exam.”

The Administration College has different admission scores for different majors, and the graduation period also varies. Naturally, the positions after graduation differ greatly as well.

A provincial finance officer needs to study for three years.

Whereas certain tedious positions only require two months of study.

But at least one must pass the entrance exam to qualify for a government position.

Yet, simply organizing the exams has currently stymied the French government…

Joseph couldn’t help but hold his forehead upon hearing this.

In the end, France is still an agricultural society with very low administrative organizational capability.

This is also one of the reasons he is eager for administrative reform.

He thought for a moment and said, “Then let the Cabinet handle it, sending people to each city to preside over the exams. Who usually handles such matters?

Brian immediately said, “Those involving education and exams are all managed by the Church, Your Highness.”

Joseph immediately rejected this plan.

He knew exactly what those people in the Church were like. If you dare entrust them with exams concerning official selections, they would dare openly sell the exam papers.

He sighed inwardly.

It seems that the reform of the education system must also be put on the agenda.

The deeper the Industrial Revolution goes, the more numerous the industrial workers with basic education needed will be.

Even in jobs like spinning and screwing, educated individuals are far more efficient than illiterates.

To be fair, the Church has established many free Church schools. But it’s all based on voluntary attendance. Most French people would rather let their children earn a few deniers in the factories than waste time learning to read.

And even if they attended Church school, they’d only learn to read at most.

Moreover, the Church would use much of the limited teaching time — usually 2 to 3 hours a day — to teach theology.

Therefore, proper compulsory basic education is needed.

Keeping Church interference out and only teaching cultural subjects to children is more efficient and should be cheaper for finances than Church schools.

Joseph suddenly thought that the current Church schools don’t seem to cost the government money; the Church covers the expenses.

Wait, where does the Church’s money come from?

Church land revenues and the tithe.

This is the theoretical basis for Church taxation — we’re responsible for national education, so naturally, we need funds. Another area the Church is responsible for is charity, such as aiding the homeless.

At this point, Joseph couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.

If education wasn’t under the Church’s purview, couldn’t the tithe be abolished and even the Church’s properties reclaimed?

Well, let mom handle charity work; she would be more effective than the priests. At least Her Majesty the Queen wouldn’t embezzle relief funds.

Joseph wrote “establish Ministry of Education” in his notebook and withdrew his thoughts for the moment.

After all, the Church’s influence in France is still very large, and to infringe upon their interests, one must prepare thoroughly in advance.

Joseph looked back at Brian and said, “Let’s do this: have people from remote areas travel to the nearest major city for exams. Subsidize each with 1 to 3 francs for travel expenses.”

This subsidy is naturally not enough for far travel for exams, but offering more might attract people to falsely register to earn money, wander around the exam site, and leave.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

After Brian sat down, Mirabeau continued to report on the Rhineland’s construction status — a current focus of the French Government’s attention.

“Your Highness, the quarries in Cologne and Koblenz have been built, and currently they can produce nearly two boatloads of stones daily.”

Mirabeau glanced at the document, “According to the plan, by the end of this year, production will increase to 4 boatloads. Each has recruited 900 and 750 workers, respectively.

“The salt mine expansion in Palatinate is also basically complete. 360 workers have been added.

“The potash mine on Donnas Mountain officially began extraction last month, but due to a lack of processing plants, production is only 800 kilograms a day. 400 workers have been recruited. However, once the fertilizer processing plant is built, it will increase to over 1,000 workers…”

Joseph nodded slightly.

The industries he initially promoted in the Rhineland required low investment, offered low profits, but required a lot of workers.

Employing a few hundred workers in each factory doesn’t sound like much, but the entire Rhineland region only has a population of 1.7 million.

Each worker has three to four family members, plus livelihoods offering services to workers, like merchants or carters. These factories can support tens of thousands.

Their income, dispersed through daily expenses, will greatly contribute to the stability of the Rhineland region.

After Mirabeau finished talking about the factories, he continued: “Currently, there are five clubs operating in the Rhineland region, with a total of 102 players. The league holds a match every two weeks.”

Yes, the league he referred to was the “French Super League.”

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