บท 8: Chapter 8 Problems
Three days later.
The Commissioner's office.
"Sir, are you aware of the Crown Prince's reorganization of the police force?" Frouwa stared at the Commissioner, voicing his concerns anxiously, "The Duke of Orleans wants the Crown Prince to be embarrassed, but now the reformation is quite impressive, and the officers have high morale. I'm worried..."
Levebelle carefully selected a bottle from the wine cabinet and took out a bottle of wine, "Relax, Gael, someone will take care of this."
"Someone will take care of it? Who?"
Levebelle admired the purple liquid in the bottle against the light, and said slowly, "I spread the word about the Crown Prince's actions yesterday, and I guess some people should already be unsettled by now."
As he spoke, Director of Police Services Gizo knocked and entered, hastily saluted him, and urgently said, "Sir, you must go and advise His Highness the Crown Prince."
"Oh?" The portly mayor took out a corkscrew, deliberately asking, "Advise him on what?"
Gizo paced back and forth on the floor with his leather boots, annoyed, "Haven't you heard? His Highness has completely transformed the police force, and it's going to severely affect the order in the Saint Antoine District!"
He recounted how Joseph had reformed the police force and added with a worried face, "Honestly, if it were anyone else causing such upheaval, I would have fired them already, but this is His Highness the Crown Prince, you see..."
Levebelle forcefully pulled out the cork, sniffed the aroma wafting from the bottle, shaking his head, "Viscount Gizo, the actions of the Crown Prince are internal matters of the Police Department, it would be difficult for me to intervene.
"Besides, I have to deal with the matter of funding lately. You know, the funding from the merchants is just so little, and the Crown Prince has added many officers, so nearly half of the Police Department's funds have to be allocated to the Saint Antoine District."
"How can this be?" Gizo exclaimed loudly, "He can't use up that much of the funds! You must help me think of a solution!"
Levebelle feigned difficulty and pondered for a while, poured a glass of wine and handed it to Gizo, the corners of his eyes revealing a subtle smile, "Well, it's not like there's no way out, for example, you could make the Crown Prince back down. I will try my best to support you here."
Gizo looked deeply at him, gulped down the wine in one go, nodded forcefully, and left with a dark expression.
After the office door closed, Frouwa looked at the portly mayor in surprise: "Sir, how did you know Viscount Gizo would come?"
Levebelle passed another glass of wine to him and smiled, "Although the Crown Prince has some skills, he's still a child in the end, only looking at the present and neglecting the consequences brought by his actions."
"Consequences?"
Levebelle sipped his wine and explained, "Besides the merchants' funding, the biggest revenue for the police force is the profits from the sale of police positions. When I spread the word that the Crown Prince had promoted commoners to police officers, those who planned to buy the positions must have speculated that there would be no need to buy positions in Paris' police force in the future, who would want to spend money at this time?"
"That's the biggest source of income for those in the police force." The proud mayor swirled his glass, "I'll just withhold some of the funding from City Hall for Gizo, they are bound to be driven mad. What do you think they'll do?"
Frouwa's eyes lit up, "They will do everything they can to stop the Crown Prince!"
"Exactly."
The sun set in the west.
Police Director Gizo's carriage finally arrived at the Saint Antoine District police station.
In Joseph's office, Gizo respectfully saluted and put on a forced smile, flattering, "Your Highness, you are truly formidable, with such a reorganization, the police force has been completely rejuvenated!"
After blowing a bit of smoke, his expression turned to concern, "However, those people from the civilian patrol you've enlisted into the police force, they hardly know how to use swords, let alone have experience with crossbows and firearms. They'll need at least three to four months of training, or they won't even be able to deal with street thugs.
"During these months of their training, the patrols they were originally responsible for have gone unattended. You previously had me call in over 120 police officers from other districts, but the pressure on public security there is also great, and they will soon have to return..."
Joseph had him sit down and smiled, "It shouldn't take that long; I have a simplified training method that can be completed in about ten days. Borrowing police from other districts for a little over ten days shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"This, of course, can be done." Gizo put on a serious expression, "But training is of utmost importance and must not be taken lightly."
"Thank you for the reminder," Joseph said. "Rest assured, I will handle it with care."
"Alright..." Gizo nodded stiffly, still unwilling to give up, "Your Highness, there's another thing. Your sudden requisition of over two hundred police officers, the Police Headquarters simply doesn't have enough equipment to supply them..."
"You don't need to worry about the equipment; I will take care of it."
Gizo hadn't expected that the "difficult problem" he had meticulously prepared would be dismissed so lightly by the Crown Prince.
He then stubbornly broached several "issues" with police reform, to no avail, and in the end, he had to take his leave, sullen and confused. It seemed the Crown Prince was intent on throwing the Police Headquarters into turmoil.
It's likely that there wouldn't be much of the municipal hall's budget allocation left for him in the future...
In fact, he was overthinking it; Joseph hadn't set his sights on the meager funding of the Police Department at all, and the police's financial support relying on the private sector's chambers of commerce was, to begin with, quite abnormal. With technology and advanced concepts from the future, there were plenty of ways for him to make money. He planned to plug the 20 billion debt hole of France, and sustaining a police system was merely a trifling matter to him.
In the carriage, Gizo's eyes gradually turned ice cold; it was crucial to kick the Crown Prince out of the police system as soon as possible and restore everything to the way it was!
Not long after Gizo had left, two exquisite carriages arrived at the Saint Antoine District police station.
Louis XVI's attendant alighted from the carriage, put on gold-rimmed glasses, frowned as he checked the dilapidated police station, confirmed it was the right place, then briskly entered with his servants.
Upon seeing Joseph, he first completed the entire court etiquette procedure, and then respectfully handed over a letter, "Your Highness, this is a letter from His Majesty the King."
Afterward, he motioned for the servants behind him to open the delicate wooden box, "Her Majesty the Queen heard you didn't bring even an Imperial Chef, and worried you wouldn't eat well, so she had these made for you."
Joseph looked into the box, which was filled with delicately made cakes, strawberry tarts, cream puffs, and various kinds of candies.
He smiled ruefully and touched his forehead, feeling overwhelmed at just a glance, but he knew that this was Queen Mary's sincere affection.
He then broke the seal on the envelope and unfolded the letter, seeing the beautiful, flowing Italian handwriting of Louis:
[My dear Joseph:
I hope this letter brings you all my warmest thoughts and affection! Here, as a father, I express to you my deep concern and longing.
Did you know that I finally finished the "Salamander Fountain"? I swear before the Lord, it is absolutely the finest piece of art... (he rambles about his lock). When it was finished, you were the first person I wanted to share it with, and that's when I discovered you had gone to work at the municipal hall. I am sorry, I really was in the workshop for too long and didn't know. How is life in Paris for you? And your mother as well, how could she let you undertake such a burden at just thirteen? That is something Brian and the others should be taking care of...
Oh, by the way, I heard you've completed your college courses! How did you do that? It's unbelievable! I'm proud of you! Son, you are the pride of the entire Royal Family! I am convinced you will one day return France to the glory of the Sun King's era... (he goes on praising his son for an entire page).
Joseph, I heard you are now reforming the Police Department, and you're doing well, that's great to see! Just go ahead and do what you want to do, if there's any issue I've got your back, I will always support you... If you feel tired, rush back to the Palace of Versailles, your mother is always worried about you not eating well...
Lastly, I want to tell you that no matter where you are, you are forever my dearest son. A thousand kisses!]
Although the letter was filled with French sentimentality, Joseph still felt the profound love of a father within it.
He took a deep breath; in his previous life, his parents, in poor health, passed away one after the other during his university years. He had long been deprived of the warmth of family, and at this moment, he felt his heart was full of warmth. He hoped that in this life, he could live with his family in peace and happiness for a long time.
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