I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1161 Education Industry
Joseph looked at the smooth and finely machined surface of the bracket and knew that the precision must be quite high.

Soon, the expert from the Academy of Sciences in charge of the testing looked at the drawings and reported the result: "Maximum tolerance 0.19 millimeters."

Joseph smiled and applauded Lenoir in congratulations. The others immediately joined in the applause.

This is definitely a memorable moment, not only for France, but for the entire world's industrial and technological fields.

Joseph turned his head and asked the general manager of the Royal Precision Equipment Company, "How is the preparation for mass production of the new milling machine going? I want to buy one for the Royal Workshop; His Majesty the King will certainly love it."

Louis XVI's birthday is approaching, and a rotary milling machine would be the best gift to give him.

The manager hurriedly replied, "Your Highness, the production equipment and workers are all in place, and production can begin at any time."

"Initially, we plan to produce one unit every two to three months, and after a year, we will reach two units per month."

Joseph sighed with some regret: "Then let's supply the first milling machine to the United Steam Engine Company."

After all, the development of a high-powered steam engine was the most important thing, so the one for my father could only be considered a Christmas present.

Whitney chimed in, "Your Highness, the United Steam Engine Company has already placed an order for this prototype."

Joseph immediately perked up: "Great. Then I'll order a new milling machine. Ah, how much will it cost?"

"It is our honor to supply the Royal Workshop..."

"price."

“This, 67,000 francs per unit, Your Highness.”

Joseph also gasped.

It truly lives up to its reputation as the most advanced equipment of this era, and its price is also top-notch, but it is absolutely worth the price.

Take the high-manganese steel end mills on milling machines, for example. If you take them to England, one can sell for 3 francs.

After the new equipment was demonstrated, Joseph attended the ceremony where the Academy of Sciences awarded special prizes to Whitney and others, and gave a brief speech.

Around 2 p.m., he left the French Academy of Sciences and returned to the Palace of Versailles.

His mind was now crammed with a whole host of plans, including building a cannery, developing rolling equipment, and applying new milling machines to weapons production. He urgently needed to discuss the specific implementation details with Mirabeau and others.

As the carriage passed a rather bustling street on the west side of the Louvre district, Joseph's peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of a sign hanging on a three-story building under renovation by the roadside, and he immediately felt that it looked somewhat familiar.

He gestured for Emmanuel to have the driver slow down, and looking up, he immediately noticed the small print below the pale yellow sign: "New Primary School. Rue Saint-Honoré Campus."

"Why did Viscount Debisson open a campus here?"

Keep in mind that this is a prime commercial district – such a large school building, even if rented, would certainly not be cheap.

This is completely unnecessary for new primary schools that aim to provide compulsory education.

Just then, two people came out of the school building, which was not yet in use. One of them was startled when he saw Joseph's carriage from afar and quickly stepped forward to greet him.

It was the new primary school's principal, Dibison.

“Your Highness, what brings you here?” “I was just passing by.” Joseph nodded to him, then pointed to the school building. “It seems you have received new investment, but perhaps it’s not the right place to build a school. You know, we should keep costs down as much as possible to enroll more children.”

Viscount Debisson immediately bowed and explained, "Your Highness, this building was lent to the school by the Marquis of Belmondo, and no rent is charged."

Joseph was somewhat surprised: "He's the donor you found?"

“Well, not really,” Dubison said. “He just wanted his two children and two nephews to be able to go to school. And this place is close to his sister’s house.”

Joseph blinked. "You mean, a nobleman who casually lent you such a large house just so his children could attend the new primary school?"

“Yes, Your Highness. Ah, you probably don’t know, but the school is now accepting many children of Parisian nobles, especially those liberal young nobles…”

He glanced at the Crown Prince discreetly to confirm that the latter had no aversion to "liberals" before continuing, "There are even many people who, because they arrived late and did not get a spot, demand to pay tuition to get into the school."

Joseph was completely bewildered. This was a compulsory education school that he had donated, even the desks and chairs. Why were nobles coming to join in the fun?

Dibison seemed to sense the Crown Prince's confusion and quickly said, "Your Highness, these are all the textbooks you compiled, as well as the effects of the 'Teaching Guide'."

"In particular, standard phonetic symbols and dictionaries allow children to spell words several times faster than traditional methods."

"The spelling skills of our first cohort of students are better than those of students in many private elite schools. As a result, those elites came here wanting to enroll."

"Many nobles are also attracted by the fact that they can save a lot of money by attending the new primary school. They are willing to pay more tuition fees, but they ask not to be in the same class as the children of commoners."

It's worth noting that many children from aristocratic families learn phonics from their parents or tutors before starting school, yet they are easily surpassed by children from commoner families who have only studied at the new primary school for a few months. How could this not shock them?

After the nobles were introduced to the new primary school, they quickly decided to send their children there as well—although it was a bit embarrassing to share a school with commoners, the teaching quality was truly high.

And it's also very economical.

In fact, most of the lesser aristocrats were quite concerned about the monthly tuition fees of private schools, which were a dozen francs. As for private tutors, they were even more expensive.

Joseph thought about it carefully and then understood. The textbooks he had compiled were for children to use for self-study, and their learning effect would surpass that of at least half of the noble teachers of the time.

Take standard phonetics, for example. Spend a month understanding phonetics, and you can barely read novels by yourself with a dictionary. For those private elite schools, that's like a game-changer.

Viscount Dubison continued, “Your Highness, the school’s profits have exceeded 4 francs in the past few months, and students’ parents have also painted the classrooms and donated brand-new teaching materials.”

"Until the Marquis of Belmondo donated a school building."

He glanced at Joseph and said cautiously, "I plan to concentrate all the noble children in this school building and charge a reasonable tuition fee to subsidize other low-cost school buildings."

"At the current rate, the tuition fees we collect each year are enough to open another new campus."

Joseph never expected that compulsory education would be promoted so rapidly in this way.

He glanced at the luxurious school building next to him and asked, "How much tuition do you plan to charge here each year?"

"200 francs, Your Highness."

"Let's increase it to 600 francs a year."

(End of this chapter)