Joseph emerged from the “White Maple Forest” estate with ample confidence.
In the Île-de-France, including Valois and three other districts, the Archbishops had reached an agreement with him on “shares for grain” dealings. Coupled with Talleyrand of the Autun district and Brian of the Toulouse district, nearly half of the most influential high-level clergy of the French Church would be involved in this affair.
The rest was up to them to negotiate the benefits with the Archbishops of the southern dioceses.
From the information Archbishop Beaumont had just imparted, the Church’s “private grain” stockpile was quite substantial, enough to fill in the gaps in France’s grain shortage to a certain extent.
However, this meant that during the historic freeze disaster of 1792, one couldn’t count on the Church’s cellars. But Joseph believed that with the continuous development of Tunisia, the increased grain production in two years should be sufficient to cope with the brief spring famine.
After all, Tunisia alone has a third of the current arable land area of France but only needs to support a population of 1.8 million.
Moreover, to ensure Beaumont and the others would deliver their highest efficiency, Joseph dangled before them the “Papal Throne” carrot.
Although the Papacy was currently dominated by Italians, in the 14th century, the Papal See was located in Avignon, France!
It wasn’t until nearly a century later that Pope Gregory XI relocated it back to Rome.
In southeastern France, Avignon, a territory belonging to the Papal States, is still preserved to this day.
Although the French Catholic Church is currently independent, it’s impossible that the high-ranking clergy have no aspirations for the Papacy. Explore more adventures at empire
Thus, at the “White Maple Forest,” Joseph hinted to several Archbishops his “grandiose blueprint” for relocating the Holy See back to Avignon.
If the Papacy were to return to France, the Pope would undoubtedly emerge from among these Archbishops and Brian.
Beaumont and the others were thrilled. This was coming directly from the Crown Prince’s mouth, which could very possibly represent the will of the Royal Family—The French Royal Family had harbored ambitions to command Catholicism.
Of course, Joseph didn’t have this strategic plan for the time being; it was purely a pie in the sky.
However, should the day come when the troops approached Rome, he wouldn’t mind using the political resources of the Holy See—holding the Pope to influence the faithful. If France were to fight anyone, it would be as if a Crusade, which would be thrilling beyond measure.
He would never operate like Napoleon historically did, turning against the entire Holy See over a small sum from the Papal States, thus losing tremendous political benefits.
The several Archbishops privately resolved that they must perform well in the matter of grain release to gain favor in the future race for the Papacy.
Before Joseph left for Montmartre Town, he had already made a rough plan for what would follow, and upon returning to Paris, he immediately headed to the headquarters of the Police Affairs Department.
After hearing Joseph’s schemes, Fouché’s face lit up with a crazy and excited expression:
“Your Highness, I simply cannot express how much I admire you, finding opportunities even in situations like these!”
The mere thought of the grand scenes planned by the Crown Prince made his blood surge.
Joseph interrupted his sycophancy and also painted him a picture:
“The Police Affairs Department did very well in North Africa last time. If you can successfully complete this mission as well, I think it might be time to upgrade to a Department of Police Affairs. Oh, ‘National Intelligence Department’ seems to be an even more appropriate name.”
Well, dangling a carrot in front, the subordinates will work with even more zeal.
Fouché and the others, hearing this, shone bright with eagerness—direct promotion to the Intelligence Department meant that the head of the department might enter the Cabinet as the Minister of Intelligence, with all levels of management rising with the tide.
The Police Affairs Department personnel were all eager to get started, wishing they could immediately fly to the southern provinces.
Having dealt with all these matters, Joseph hurriedly headed straight for the Paris Police Academy.
All other schemes relied on the army as the foundation for success.
Bertier’s Corps and Murat’s Corps had already received orders and were assembling at the new academy grounds of the Police Academy.
The new grounds were the estate that Louis XVI and the Queen had gifted to Joseph, spanning over ten hectares. Without agriculture, it could easily accommodate thirty to fifty thousand soldiers.
The pre-war mobilization wasn’t novel, merely Joseph making a speech, telling the soldiers they would be taking on a historic turning point for France and would achieve supreme glory, followed by the routine parade of formations and squares.
The more practical actions involved equipping Murat’s Corps with Auguste-style Caplock Guns. Murat’s Corps’ performance in Tunisia was deemed satisfactory, but most importantly, they demonstrated their absolute loyalty to the Crown Prince, earning them the latest weaponry and equipment.
Joseph extravagantly ordered Andre to have every soldier practice shooting 20 rounds each day until the troops were dispatched.
In reality, the Caplock Gun wasn’t much different from the Flintlock Gun, just eliminating a few steps in loading and firing, easy to master with a bit of practice. Not to mention the proficiency fed by hundreds of bullets.
You see, many of the old soldiers in France’s traditional army didn’t even have the experience of firing 100 shots.
Moreover, the Guard Corps were now equipped with 12-pounder cannons. After the Tunisian campaign, Joseph realized that the previously heaviest 8-pounder guns lacked oppressive power, so he decided to upgrade the entire army to 12-pounders and 6-pounders according to Napoleon’s later arrangements—the former for fire suppression, the latter for mobility in the battlefield.