I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1371 Greed
"Your Highness, but..."

Archbishop Beaumont and the others tried to stop them, but suddenly they heard a guard's voice from the doorway, "No, His Highness is busy, you can't wait here..."

“It was Count Emmanuel who told us to come for an audience at ten o’clock.”

"Please inform Your Highness that we have important matters to discuss."

Joseph frowned and looked at Emmanuel.

The latter looked flustered and bowed his head, saying, "It seems to be Father Grenier, Your Highness. Please forgive me, I must have given you the wrong time..."

Well, of course it wasn't his oversight; Joseph deliberately wanted the church reformers to cause trouble.

He immediately frowned and looked towards the door: "Let them in."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Before the archbishops Beaumont and the others could react, Grenier, Sièclez, and others had already appeared in the prince's reception room.

The two groups of people met, and an almost tangible chill permeated the air.

Father Grenier stepped forward first to pay his respects, then gestured to his servants to bring over several large rolls of parchment: "Your Highness, these are the signatures of the priests collected by the 'Order of Pious France,' exceeding 6500..."

The "Pious French Order of Clergy" is a collective term for the Reformed Church.

Joseph gestured to Emmanuel, interrupting him, "My attendant has made a mistake; you'll have to wait a while."

"But I'm curious, what kind of signature are you referring to?"

“Signatures supporting church reform, Your Highness,” Father Grenier said, bowing slightly. “In fact, a large number of signatures from the southern and eastern provinces have not yet been sent back; the total number should be over 20,000.”

Joseph looked at Archbishop Beaumont with a shocked expression.

Currently, there are fewer than 7 lay clergy in France, meaning that roughly one-third of them have signed a petition demanding reform. It's important to understand that many are unwilling to offend the church leadership, making this a remarkably high percentage. [Note 1]

Archbishop Beaumont was surprised that the reformists would "go so far as to attack him so directly," and immediately suppressed his anger and retorted: "Your Highness, the priests have only been misled by these insolent people!"

"The traditions of the Church are what deserve the utmost respect. For thousands of years, countless faithful have received God's grace in these ways. Any careless alteration is a desecration of the sacred order!"

Father Grenier retorted, "Sacrifice? Yes, the worst blasphemy is when the monastery is filled with the clinking of gold coins!"

Archbishop Tours loudly rebuked, "The Church is God's representative on earth. These properties belong to God and are not to be discussed by you..."

"Everyone knows who is squandering 'God's wealth' on pleasure..."

"You madman who promotes fallacies!"

"We are saving the church..."

Seeing that the fire was burning brightly enough, Joseph stepped forward and separated the two groups of people: "Ahem, please be mindful of your manners."

"Well, I think you all have some valid points, but this is clearly not the place to argue."

“I’m sorry, Your Highness,” Father Grenier bowed, “but I believe that given enough time, I will be able to persuade the archbishops.”

"Therefore, please allow me to have a public debate with the archbishops!"

Joseph, looking eager to get rid of the trouble, nodded and said, "Your suggestion is excellent. This allows everyone to hear your insights!"

Archbishop Beaumont and the others were immediately stunned.

What public debate? The reformists' proposals would certainly have the upper hand—whether it's having the church abandon tithes and focus on theological studies, or making the selection process for ordination public, who would dare say it's wrong if it's brought into the open?
Moreover, during the debate, the reformists will inevitably bring up the church's enormous wealth frequently, which is exactly what they least want the public to focus on.

Archbishop Chartres whispered in Beaumont's ear, "Many of us have failed the Vatican's examinations..."

The latter felt a chill run down his spine. Indeed, if the reformists used this point to attack their theological level, they would be unable to refute it.

He then recalled that if the Crown Prince had made public the ledgers that the tax office had confiscated before the debate began, the reformers would have received the fervent support of all the sans-culottes without even having to open their mouths.

In short, the church is bound to lose in a public debate.

After that, church reformation will be inevitable...

Archbishop Beaumont broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly bowed to the Crown Prince, saying, "Your Highness, a public debate is actually not..."

Just then, the Crown Princess's voice came from the doorway: "My dear, we need to practice the wedding ceremony again. You got several parts wrong yesterday..."

Immediately, Alexandra strode in, and when she saw the archbishops in the room, she quickly adopted the standard etiquette: "Oh, I'm so sorry, I hope I haven't disturbed you."

Joseph inwardly praised her, "She timed it perfectly," and stepped forward to hug her, saying, "Okay, I'm coming."

Then he turned to Beaumont and the others and said, "It's settled then. You will have a public debate in Notre Dame Square. Let's hold it the day after my wedding."

Before he finished speaking, he and the Crown Princess had already disappeared outside the door.

In the corridors of Versailles Palace, several archbishops discussed something in hushed tones with solemn expressions, before Archbishop Chartres quickly caught up with Father Grenier and the others ahead.

“Cancel the public debate,” he said bluntly to Grenier. “State your conditions.”

The latter smiled and said, "Initiate church reform."

Archbishop Chartres frowned: "Six archbishop positions will be vacant next year, and you will be the ones to nominate them all."

The French Church has a total of 28 archbishops, so giving these lower-ranking reformist clergy six positions is an absolute blessing.

Seeing that the other party remained silent, Archbishop Chartres gritted his teeth and said, "Eight archbishops, that's our bottom line!"

A moment later, he arrived at Archbishop Beaumont's carriage with a gloomy expression.

Several archbishops looked at him in unison: "How are the negotiations going?"

"Those greedy vultures, they actually want 20 archbishop positions!"

Well, the reformers certainly didn't really want the archbishop's position; it was just a pretext Joseph used to cut off the church's escape route.

Curses immediately filled the entire carriage.

three days later.

As the archbishops were nervously discussing how to handle the public debate at the Saint-Germain-des-Prés Abbey, a priest knocked on the door, entered, and bowed to Beaumont, saying:

"Your Excellency Archbishop, Archbishop Briand wishes to see you."

[Note 1] Catholic clergy are divided into two main categories: "lay clergy" and "monks". The former includes bishops, priests, and other religious leaders in various dioceses, who are responsible for direct contact with the faithful. The latter are concentrated in monasteries or on ascetic journeys and do not participate in secular affairs.

In the early 19th century, the number of monks in France was slightly less than that of lay clergy, and their influence on the daily operations of the church was limited.

(End of this chapter)