Joseph saw at the end of the report, “British Consul in Tunisia, Hollis, committed suicide due to personal reasons,” and couldn’t help but shake his head with a smile.
“This truly is an old tradition of England, utterly ruthless to their own.”
Although France held a large number of Tunisian Guard prisoners that could testify, the British Government resolutely insisted that these were false accusations, and since Hollis, the only person involved, had died, there was no proof to dispute their claim.
Joseph was indifferent to this; after all, France wasn’t likely to declare war on England at the moment, and he himself had made a fortune in Tunisia, so he let this minor interlude slide.
He continued to read through the documents, which covered topics ranging from the promotion of scientific composting methods to the construction progress of the industrial development zone in Saint-Etienne. From the mileage of newly laid wooden rail tracks to the development progress of the high-pressure steam engine.
From the Royal Armory’s trials of percussion cap-fired cannons to the influx of cheap Russian flax and American cotton into France, making the textile industry in Lyon begin to turn a profit…
A myriad of matters kept him busy until the sun set in the west.
Overall, the industry, agriculture, science, technology, and military of France had all entered the right track and were progressing into a period of development. Despite feeling exhausted from a day’s work, Joseph felt quite pleased.
He glanced at the last few documents, intending to finish them all before going to dinner.
Next up was an application submitted by the Paris Police Academy.
Due to the good treatment of the students at the Police Academy and the enticing prospects after graduation, a large number of commoners’ children came to enroll, some even traveling from distant places like Gascony, Lyon, and Brittany to Paris.
Even though Frient had set the admission standards extremely high, the academy still gradually admitted over 800 more students, and now the number of students from two terms combined was already close to 5,000.
This far exceeded the original design capacity of the academy, resulting in many students having to share a bed between two people.
Therefore, Frient submitted an application to select a new site for expansion or to open a branch school.
Joseph smiled slightly, wrote down an address at the bottom of the application, and requested that Frient continue enrolling students. He then set the document aside to be sent back to the academy by the staff the next day.
That was the address of a manor gifted to Joseph by Louis XVI and Queen Mary as a birthday present.
Joseph’s birthday was at the end of October, and at that time, he was in Tunisia, so he hadn’t really celebrated it, but his parents still sent him a gift.
The manor was of little use to him, located just in the suburbs of Paris, and was perfectly suited to be allocated to the Police Academy.
The buildings in the manor were already constructed, and the land had long been leveled. With a little preparation from the students, they could start classes there.
Once the current 5,000 students graduated and combined with the Guard Corps, Joseph would have at his disposal 8,000 elite soldiers. If the Mulan Regiment were also considered, the total would reach 12,000.
At present, the total number of military forces in All of France hovered between 110,000 to 120,000, and the quality of soldiers was far lower than Joseph’s direct force. It could be said that by then, unless All of France’s military forces rebelled at once, Joseph was confident he could ensure the absolute safety of the Royal Family.
Around 7 o’clock in the evening, Joseph yawned and picked up the last document on the desk.
Somewhat unexpectedly, it was submitted by Denico, the manager of the “Paris Commercial News.”
He skimmed through it. The content consisted of complaints about the recent problems with the auditing standards of the Bureau of News and Publishing.
About a half month ago, news about the “Viscount Anboer arson case” from the newspaper had failed to pass the audit more than ten times, resulting in the case not being reported. After consulting with other newspapers, Denico discovered that their news about this matter had also been “killed.”
Denico believed that the case did not implicate the Royal Family, had no adverse effects, and had been tried in the High Court already. Therefore, the Bureau of News and Publishing shouldn’t have prohibited it, so he took advantage of “Paris News” and the Crown Prince’s relationship and directly lodged a complaint to Joseph.
Joseph couldn’t help frowning; Mono was currently in charge of the Bureau of News and Publishing, and it seemed that the man had likely taken bribes again, helping the accused silence the media.
“This habitual embezzler…” Joseph shook his head, wrote a letter of reprimand to Mono, and chastised him to be more restrained or face an investigation by the Justice Investigation Department sooner or later.
Rubbing his sore shoulders, he got up and headed to the dining room, but as soon he left the office, he heard Eman’s voice from the stairwell, “Miss Frey, if you wish to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, please submit a reservation request first. If you are approved, someone will notify you…”
Frey? Joseph conjured up the image of that chuunibyou girl in his mind. Wasn’t that her surname? What was she doing here?
Curious, he peered down the staircase and called out, “Eman, please send her up.”
“Oh, alright, Your Highness.”
Soleil, still in that navy blue floor-length gown, quickly climbed the stairs with long strides and curtsied to Joseph with slight anxiety, “Greetings to you, Your Highness, and thank you for agreeing to see me.”
Joseph bowed slightly in return and ushered her into his office, “It seems you have an urgent matter to discuss?”
“Yes, Your Highness.” Soleil looked somewhat uncomfortable, given she hadn’t yet compensated for the incident that caused the Crown Prince to “lose 5,000 livres” last time, and yet she had come to ask for his help again.
But she quickly bucked up internally: This was for fairness and justice; the Crown Prince would surely understand!