I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1311 The Comfortable Archbishops
Boissi had no choice but to nod and say, "Yes, Your Highness, I will have the children prepare carefully."

Upon hearing this, Archbishop Beaumont, who was sitting on the other side, cautiously leaned over and asked, "Your Highness, what if we still can't get into the top three this time?"

Joseph immediately straightened his back and said seriously, "How could a sacred and respected church school be inferior to a school that a fallen nobleman casually set up?"

"This concerns the centuries-old reputation of church schools!"

Archbishop Beaumont regretted stepping forward and was about to quietly back down when the Crown Prince gestured to his attendant to bring a newspaper from the table and unfolded it, saying, "Archbishop Beaumont, have you heard of 'Countess Pierre's Initiative'?"

Bomon nodded and said, "Yes, Your Highness, I know a little about it."

How could he not know that Countess Pierre was sponsoring several poor female painters and advocating for the establishment of childcare facilities to help them take care of their children, which was making headlines every day?
Joseph turned to look at him: "What's your opinion on this?"

Before Beaumont could answer, Joseph interjected, "I think this is a very good suggestion."

"Factor buildings are being built everywhere, and more and more people, including many women, are entering factories. To allow them to work with peace of mind, there should be a public institution to help them take care of their children."

“While very young children may not be able to learn spelling, we can teach them things like dressing, eating, and hygiene first.”

Archbishop Beaumont paused for a moment, then quickly nodded in agreement: "Indeed, Your Highness, this is indeed necessary."

“I knew you would agree.” Joseph smiled again. “And the management and education of children has always been the responsibility of the church.”

He then gestured to several archbishops, including Boissy, saying, "Therefore, I hope the Church can set about opening a number of childcare facilities in Paris. Hmm, let's call them kindergartens."

"It doesn't need to be too complicated, just a place where the children can have two meals a day."

"The manpower issue is much easier to solve; one nun is enough to take care of 30 children."

"You can try it out in Paris first, and then promote it nationwide."

Joseph became increasingly excited as he spoke: "This will not only allow the workers to concentrate more on their work and increase factory output, but as you all know, increased factory profits mean increased national tax revenue."

"Furthermore, having dedicated caregivers can effectively reduce infant mortality rates. Children will also be more well-mannered. The quality of France's population is destined to be significantly higher than that of other countries in the future!"

Archbishop Beaumont and the others exchanged glances, their faces showing helplessness. The Crown Prince had already brought this matter up to the level of government finances and France's population growth; how could they possibly refuse?

The group nodded in unison. "Yes, Your Highness, we will make a plan for this matter as soon as possible."

Joseph didn't give them a chance to bargain and immediately stood up, saying, "Oh, right, I just remembered I have to go to the General Staff Headquarters to preside over a meeting."

The nobles attending the salon rose to their feet and bowed, respectfully seeing the Crown Prince off.

Just as Beaumont was contemplating summoning the archbishops to discuss the Crown Prince's instructions, he suddenly noticed that more than a dozen archbishops from various regions had arrived.

Yes, the Crown Princess has sent invitations to the salon to important high-ranking members of the church.

Bomon gathered the archbishops in the upstairs lounge, closed the door, sighed, and said, "You all probably heard it just now. His Highness the Crown Prince has ordered us to set up a number of 'kindergartens'."

Archbishop Asserli of Boulogne nodded: “As Your Highness requests, Paris needs almost as many kindergartens as primary schools. Although the investment shouldn't be as large as that for primary schools, it will still require a huge sum of money.” Archbishop Chartres frowned immediately: “Your Highness doesn't seem to have mentioned funding.”

Archbishop Beaumont said with a bitter face, "It's obvious that His Highness wants the Church to cover these expenses."

Everyone immediately lowered their heads and fell silent. As was customary, education, especially children's education, was funded by the church; after all, one of the reasons for collecting tithes was to use the funds to maintain church schools. Another reason was for charitable purposes.

Although the church could certainly come up with the money from its savings, no one wants to take money out of their pocket once it's already in their pocket.

Archbishop Rufroy of Agde, however, said unconcernedly, "No one has ever built a kindergarten like the one His Highness the Crown Prince wants before. We can build one or two in the St. Anthony district to explore this possibility."

"There will definitely be a lot of problems in this process, and we will need to make constant adjustments and improvements. It can easily drag on for several years."

"By then, the Crown Prince will most likely have forgotten about it. Even if he urges us again, we can just build a few more to appease him. That way, an investment of 3 francs per year will be enough."

The dozen or so archbishops nodded in agreement. Indeed, things without mutual benefit can simply be delayed indefinitely.

Surely the Crown Prince wouldn't punish the church for this?
Even if someone were to be punished, it would most likely fall on Archbishop Beaumont—he is the Archbishop of Paris, and the kindergarten project was first initiated in Paris.

At that time, everyone will compensate Bomon by giving up some benefits.

The archbishops quickly made a brief plan to ensure they spoke with one voice, and then prepared to go downstairs and return to the salon.

Archbishop Boissi then remembered the math competition and asked, "Does anyone have connections with the judges of the math competition? I can pay some money, just give me third place."

The other archbishops looked at him with pity, indicating that they were powerless to help.

Just kidding, this is a competition personally hosted by the Crown Princess, who would dare to take money to help you cheat?

Archbishop Rufroy comforted him, saying, "You don't need to worry too much. Even if you don't get into the top three, His Highness the Crown Prince will at most give you a scolding."

Boissi could only nod helplessly. For a matter like poor performance in a math competition, the Crown Prince wouldn't impose severe punishments like confinement, but it was inevitable that he would fall out of favor with His Highness in the future.

The next evening.

Archbishop Aselli, who had just finished attending a ball, came out of the Hall of Mirrors. One of his priests quickly followed him and bowed, saying, "Sir, I heard that Archbishop Boissi needs to be among the top three in that mathematics competition."

Aseri turned his head and said, "That's true. Are you on good terms with a certain referee? But I advise you to give up that idea."

The priest quickly replied, “No, you misunderstand. I don’t know the judge. But I have other ways to help Archbishop Boissi.”

"Oh? Please elaborate."

“I know a kid named Angelique who is exceptionally talented in mathematics. If he were to participate in a competition, he would most likely be in the top three.”

Aseri stopped in his tracks: "Where is he?"

Without offending the Crown Princess, why not gain favor with the Oratori Society?
(End of this chapter)