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Chapter 386: The Inexperienced Crown Prince

Versailles.

In front of the Petit Trianon, over a thousand nobles gazed at Queen Mary's tea room balcony on the second floor, crying out mournfully, "Your Majesty, are you abandoning us?"

"Please cast a glance upon your loyal servants, who are begging for a little mercy from you."

"Your Majesty, all we need is that most humble, traditional income that has remained unchanged for centuries..."

"Your Majesty, please show us mercy..."

Since the official announcement of the land redemption policy yesterday, these nobles had coordinated their efforts in less than a day, launching a massive petition.

Behind these thousand-plus petitioners, many more eyes were watching, ready to rush in as reinforcements should there be any sign of the Queen's attitude softening.

Their ability to unite so swiftly stemmed from the redemption policy directly threatening their interests.

According to the policy, the peasants' payments for eight years of annual tribute would go to the original landlords of the land.

Although this was far better than the rumored two-year redemption plan and was reluctantly accepted by nobles with other sources of income, many "poor" nobles began to worry about their livelihoods.

In Queen Mary's reception room, several high-ranking nobles were lamenting their plight to her, even including the King's brother, the Count of Artois.

Queen Mary continuously comforted them, but eventually, worn down by their persistence, she gestured to the Countess of Debeninac, her maid, and murmured instructions: "Please find the Crown Prince. Oh, but don't let him come here; have him wait for me in the study."

She suspected her son, eager to quell the unrest, had leaned too heavily in favor of the peasants with the redemption policy, thus drawing criticism from the nobility.

She needed to discuss the plan with her son first, then figure out a way to compensate the nobles.

It was normal for young people to make blunders; what were parents for, otherwise? Now it was her turn to step in and help her son smooth things over!

Just over ten minutes after the Countess of Debeninac left the reception room, she returned, leaning close to the Queen's ear and reporting, "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has returned."

The carriage slowly came to a halt in the marble courtyard. The moment Joseph opened the carriage door, he heard a clamor like ocean waves emanating from the direction of the Petit Trianon.

He merely smiled calmly; this situation had been expected. It would be abnormal if the nobles didn't make a fuss.

Mirabeau, who had been eagerly awaiting, immediately stepped forward to greet him. Behind him stood a cleric clad in black robes, around fifty years old, none other than Archbishop Beaumont of Paris.

Both men bowed respectfully to Joseph, then followed his steps towards the Petit Trianon.

"Is everything ready on your end?" Joseph turned to Mirabeau.

"Yes, Your Highness, everything is foolproof."

"You've done an excellent job." Joseph nodded, then asked, "How many people came from the households of those three hundred 'prodigal sons'?"

"At least one person from each household was present. Among them were influential figures like Count Onnes."

"Good, that reassures me."

Joseph then turned to Archbishop Beaumont, "Thank you for coming all this way in person."

The latter waved his hand with a beaming smile. "Your commands, I naturally take seriously. Moreover, the matters you speak of are also what the church ought to do..."

To make the Old Nobility accept the land redemption policy, relying solely on royal pressure would certainly not suffice, nor could the state treasury afford to support them financially.

Joseph understood clearly that to play politics, one must gather as many allies as possible.

His most solid political base undoubtedly remained the Capitalist Nobility. Thus, as soon as he returned from Luxembourg, he had instructed Mirabeau to secretly contact key figures among the Capitalist Nobility to prepare for supporting the land redemption policy.

Moreover, according to his arrangements, the redemption policy was inherently very beneficial to large capital. Mirabeau's simple summons immediately found widespread support.

As for the church, Joseph had avoided touching its interests to reduce resistance to his land policy, so facing pressure from the Old Nobility this time, the church naturally had to contribute.

Likewise, he wouldn't let the church work for free.

To make others work with all their might, incentives were undoubtedly the most effective method.

The three conversed in low tones, and soon arrived at the open ground in front of the Petit Trianon's vegetable garden.

Of course, it was far from empty at that moment; in fact, some petitioning nobles were so jostled they stepped on Her Majesty's vegetables.

The nobles immediately noticed Joseph and his entourage. Someone shouted towards him, "Your Royal Highness, please help us persuade Queen Mary to amend the land redemption policy."

Joseph pushed through the crowd, quickly reaching the stone steps in front of the Petit Trianon's main entrance. He smiled at them and said, "Actually, this land redemption policy was formulated under my guidance. I don't believe there's anything that needs modification."

As Queen Mary reached the balcony, she heard her son's words from below and immediately thought, 'This is bad.' Joseph still lacked experience. Such matters, which caused discontent among the nobility, should have had the blame placed on Archbishop Brienne and others first, so she could mediate. It seemed she would have to step in and help him smooth things over...

As expected, a commotion immediately broke out among the petitioning nobles.

Someone quickly turned their anger towards Joseph: "Your Highness, the nobility is the foundation of France! You cannot abandon us like this!"

"You are being utterly unfair to us!"

Joseph surveyed the crowd, still smiling. "No, I have always followed His Majesty the King's teachings and have never forgotten you."

A noble called out loudly, "Your Highness, your redemption policy will leave us without a livelihood!"

"Of course not," Joseph addressed the man directly. "In fact, you will be even wealthier than before!"

The clamor among the nobles intensified. The Crown Prince was practically insulting everyone's intelligence. How could they be wealthier if their annual tribute would cease after eight years?

Joseph explained unhurriedly, "Gentlemen, don't just focus on the land itself; it doesn't yield much profit.

"You must broaden your horizons. Once peasants acquire farmland, they will naturally cultivate it with greater care, and output will increase.

"However, peasants who wish to boost their yields lack sufficient livestock and fertilizer, and are unable to repair irrigation systems. Oh, as you all know, even a basic Steam Water Pump costs 6,000 livres.

"Furthermore, advanced farming techniques are also very difficult to master; they need someone to teach them.

"The harvested grain also needs to be transported to large cities for sale. Even if peasants know the grain price in Lyon is forty percent higher than in Tours, they are unable to transport the grain there."

He paused, allowing the nobles to digest what he had just said, then continued, "Therefore, someone needs to help them do these things.

"Of course, this is certainly not something one or two people can accomplish; it requires companies, large-scale companies!"