Life of Being a Crown Prince in France-Chapter 641 - 550 Graduation Season at Administration College
Chapter 641: Chapter 550 Graduation Season at Administration College
Seeing the ministers nodding in agreement, the Prime Minister of England continued,
“Combining the plans from all aspects previously submitted by everyone, as well as the military deployment that Marquess of Wellesley just outlined, I have enough confidence to revert France to its rightful place before it becomes a threat to other European nations.”
Yes, a nation’s overall strategic direction can never be decided by the Prime Minister on a whim.
In recent months, the British Cabinet had mobilized all senior ministers and a large number of professionals to make extremely detailed plans in political, economic, trade, military, and public opinion aspects, and after repeated discussion and revision, they had generally finalized the overall plan.
Then, it required the approval of the King and the Noble House, later commonly known as the House of Lords, for implementation.
This involved investing the nation’s resources to vie for their destiny for decades or even a century, with no turning back once started.
...
Success would dominate Europe, and even the whole world. Failure would mean never recovering and even facing the danger of national extinction.
Therefore, utmost caution was absolutely necessary.
William Pitt Junior neatly tapped the thick stack of strategic plans in his hand, looked around at the ministers again, and said, “Then, the complete plan will be submitted to His Majesty the King for his signature tomorrow, and then…”
At that moment, the Minister of the Interior, Duke of Portland, a member of the Whig Party and not part of the ruling Tory Party, hesitantly coughed and interjected, “Mr. Pitt, regarding our plans in the trade sector, I believe there is room for improvement.”
Duke of Portland was a Whig, and not belonging to the ruling Tory party. But this time, to unify all political forces as much as possible, William Pitt Junior included him in the Cabinet.
William Pitt Junior eagerly responded, “I look forward to your suggestion.”
“Actually, I recently met a Dutchman,” the Duke of Portland said. “You might have heard of him, Henry Hope, who has high prestige in the credit and shipping sectors.
“He pointed out some vulnerabilities of France in finance and trade to me, and I think there are some noteworthy aspects.”
As he spoke, he looked towards the Second Finance Minister, “Mr. Willberforce also highly agrees with his views.”
The British Second Finance Minister was actually the top finance official. As for the “First” Finance Minister, that was naturally William Pitt Junior.
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At that time, England did not yet have the official position of “Prime Minister” and the term was merely a customary designation, even connoting a derogatory sense before William Pitt Junior, which had only recently turned into a term of honor. Currently, the Finance Minister was effectively the highest leader of the government, until the “Prime Minister” became an official position in the early 19th century.
Willberforce nodded and said, “Yes, Hope has lived in France for many years and is very familiar with the situation there. His advice is very helpful.
“Not long ago, he was persecuted by the French Government for some matters, and at the request of the Dutch Parliament, we helped him escape to London. He is now quite eager to give the French a taste of hardship.”
William Pitt Junior thought briefly, gathered his documents, and nodded, “Very well. Please prepare a report on this matter for me as soon as possible.”
“Yes, Prime Minister.”
…
February 7, 1791.
Paris.
On the east bank of the Seine River, in the grand and majestic French Royal School of Administration, the first cohort of students was undergoing their final interviews.
Hmm, the written exam had ended three days ago, and the qualified officials had moved on to the interview stage. If they could pass, they would smoothly complete their studies and continue their bureaucratic careers.
Those who failed the written exam would continue with their second semester, lasting three months.
Why “completion” instead of “graduation”? Having studied for just half a year, touching only the surface of the vast administrative management knowledge, did they really think they could graduate from the Royal College that easily?
All the courses required three years of study, and only after earning enough credits could one formally graduate. However, after graduating from the School of Administrative Management, their positions would be promoted by one level.
Those who had never held an official position could directly assume roles like head secretaries in municipal government departments, promising a bright future.
Thus, many officials chose to pursue in-depth studies, as climbing the bureaucratic ladder normally in three years was quite challenging.
In the interview room, Baron Kersipei nervously looked at the examiner, pondering, “Charging merchants on the main roads entering the city could supplement the municipal hall’s funds, which would later be used for widening roads or reinforcing riverbeds, so it does have a certain utility.”
He had originally served as an assistant to the municipal hall’s finance officials and was very familiar with these matters. However, he had forgotten the lesson on taxation and fees he had just learned last month, which discussed the drawbacks of setting up toll booths from various perspectives.
The examiner subtly shook his head, then moved on to the next question.
Honestly, these questions were much simpler than the civil service exam questions of later generations, but for French officials who had never experienced such tests, they could still probe some issues.
An hour later, Baron Kersipei left the exam room somewhat dizzy and thought about bribing the examiner as usual but immediately dismissed the idea when he saw the royal guard stationed at the door—directly dispatched by Joseph.
The next afternoon, Baron Kersipei received the official completion documents. The school official who delivered the documents also informed him that he would attend the completion ceremony the day after tomorrow.
He saw off the assistant from the academic affairs office and took out the completion documents from the paper bag, quickly glancing through them before noticing there was something else in the bag.
He pulled out the document and saw that it was actually an appointment decree. After a lot of bland formal words, it said at the end—by the name of His Majesty the King, appointing Baron Kersipei as the assistant to the Rouen City Administrative Finance Management Office…
He was a bit bewildered and looked at his college mate, the Rouen City municipal secretary Baner, “Did you receive an appointment decree?”
“Yes, I did. But it seems there’s no change, still the previous position.”
“I’m the same, though ‘auxiliary administration’ has been added in front.”
“Oh? Not on mine…”
They had no idea that their fates had become completely different because of the “auxiliary administration” prefix.
Baron Kersipei would thus be distanced from power, entering a state of indolence. Baner, on the other hand, entered the new bureaucratic system, embarking on his second career.
As for the standard for this prefix, it was entirely based on their past service performance, their studies at the School of Administration, and the final interview results.
These may not accurately discern whether an official was capable or corrupt, but they could reveal some of their attitudes and abilities.
Like Baron Kersipei during the interview, who stubbornly clung to his old political habits, showing no difference in his half-year at the college—that kind of official was naturally to be sidelined.
