I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1365 God's Favoritism

Upon entering the monastery, the abbot of St. Sylbice Monastery immediately said, "Your Excellency, the reputations of many colleagues have already been affected by the assessment, and we must find a way to make amends..."

The term "co-worker" is a general term for church clergy.

Archbishop Chartres said with concern, "I'm more worried about the church reforms that Grenier is pushing through; they're having a huge impact on the clergy below..."

“I mentioned this to Her Majesty the Queen, but she said it was inconvenient for her to interfere in the internal affairs of the church.”

"Let's think about how to pass the Vatican's assessment first!"

Archbishop Beaumont coughed lightly, signaling everyone to calm down. He then looked at Archbishop Aselli and instructed, "Prepare some money and go to contact those people sent by the Vatican. Try to persuade them to increase the pass rate or obtain the exam questions."

The latter nodded: "How about 50 francs?"

"One million francs, that's the kind of price they can't refuse."

In the past, he certainly wouldn't have been willing to spend so much money, but now that the church is embroiled in various troubles, he has to show the "courage" to spend lavishly.

The church leaders then discussed other bribery methods in detail, and the topic quickly turned to dealing with church reforms.

“First, we must shift people’s attention away from church property,” said Archbishop Montmorency.

Everyone knows that the church is very wealthy, but it's an unspoken fact. If it's brought up in public and discussed repeatedly, it will inevitably lead to public rejection of the church.

Archbishop Beaumont nodded: "We must publicize that the church's assets come from donations from the faithful, and that the church will not use this money arbitrarily."

Archbishop Chartres added: "Each diocese has changed to distributing bread to the poor three times a week, with each person receiving half a kilogram."

Everyone stared at him with wide eyes, but no one objected.

The churches in Paris alone, which distribute bread three times a week, would cost over 20 francs a month.

If we include major cities like Reims, Dijon, and Lyon, the monthly cost would be around 600,000 to 700,000.

That's definitely a huge financial loss.

But this money must be spent to offset the impact of church reforms.

Finally, Archbishop Beaumont solemnly surveyed the crowd and instructed, "For at least the next six months, everyone should do their best to ensure that ordinary priests receive their full salaries."

The withholding of the salaries of lower-ranking clergy was an important source of income for them, with each person earning tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of francs a year.

The church leaders inside had no choice but to nod reluctantly.

……

Baden.

On the Royal Palace Square in Karlsruhe, Joseph looked at the bustling French exhibition area and said to Archbishop Briand beside him, "Isn't this a grand exhibition that will go down in history?"

The Prime Minister, despite his "ill health," traveled a long way to Baden. How could Joseph not let him see the World Expo?

Archbishop Briand nodded and exclaimed, "France will also begin to be remembered by the world from here. And all of this stems from your great reign."

His words came from the bottom of his heart, without a trace of flattery. He had personally witnessed how the Crown Prince led France step by step to prosperity.

Joseph smiled and said, "This is simply God's favoritism towards France."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Brian noticed the train exhibit not far away, hesitated for a moment, then turned his head and lowered his voice, saying, "Your Highness, I heard that at the banquet not long ago, you agreed that countries could re-license the railway patents they purchased to others?"

"It's true."

Brian immediately advised, "Actually, you could simply declare the signature invalid because you were drunk..." Joseph nodded, "Thank you for your suggestion. However, I wasn't drunk at the time."

Archbishop Brian instantly understood, and sighed inwardly that he had been overthinking things; how could His Highness the Crown Prince make such a basic mistake?

But then he added with some concern, "Your Highness, this matter might affect your prestige."

Joseph laughed and said, "France has already established its leadership position in the German and Italian regions. If I always act too assertive, it will only make other countries nervous. So, it's not a bad thing for me to be 'drunk' occasionally."

"Moreover, Madame Le Brun's paintings should arrive soon."

"Paintings?"

After Joseph explained the subsequent arrangements, Archbishop Briand nodded in admiration once again: "You are always so thoughtful."

Joseph didn't continue on that topic, instead asking, "How's the situation at the church?"

Archbishop Brian said, turning to the side, "It's like a wolf has gotten into a sheepfold, Your Highness, it's a complete mess."

“Every day, the names of bishops who fail the assessment are published, especially the Archbishop of Boulogne, who is almost going crazy with anxiety.”

"The mid- to high-ranking priests are all hiding in their studies to review. If you don't go back soon, even the Masses will probably have to be presided over by inexperienced young priests."

“It seems to be working well,” Joseph nodded. “No wonder they’ve started bribing the Vatican’s review committee.”

Yes, the so-called Vatican review committee is basically full of his people. The few clergy who come directly from Rome are accompanied by intelligence agents disguised as attendants.

So, as soon as Archbishop Aseri offered the bribe, Joseph received the news.

He then instructed the audit committee to accept all the bribes and demanded even more.

This was practically a handle handed to him by the church, so naturally he wanted to keep it.

Brian knew that the Crown Prince wanted to put pressure on the Church, so he asked, "Your Highness, should I 'disappear' for a while longer?"

“You’ve dragged this out long enough, and plenty of people here have seen you,” Joseph said, extending his hand. “What about the diplomatic note condemning the Vatican?”

Archbishop Brian quickly took out the documents, then hesitated and said, "Your Highness, what if the Church still refuses to reform?"

Joseph signed it, handed it back to him, and smiled, "Please rest assured, they will agree. After all, the majority of ordinary clergy are the main body of the church."

……

Paris.

In the Saint-Germain-des-Prés Abbey, a slender young servant in a grey cloth coat, carrying a stack of books, came to the side door of the apse.

The priest at the door reached out and stopped him: "Where are you going?"

The young servant bowed and said, "Father Gelin asked me to bring these books to him."

The priest frowned: "Father Gelin went to prepare for Mass this morning."

The young servant was startled and quickly winked at the short servant standing under the tree not far away.

The latter immediately understood, quietly crept up behind the priest blocking the way, and suddenly a wooden stick fell from his sleeve, which he then used to hit the priest on the head.

The young servant was taken aback again, then looked up and sighed: "Courage, I only asked you to distract him!"

(End of this chapter)