Chapter 641: Chapter 550 Graduation Season at Administration College
Seeing the ministers nodding in agreent, the Pri Minister of England continued,
“Combining the plans from all aspects previously submitted by everyone, as well as the military deploynt that Marquess of Wellesley just outlined, I have enough confidence to revert France to its rightful place before it becos a threat to other European nations.”
Yes, a nation’s overall strategic direction can never be decided by the Pri Minister on a whim.
In recent months, the British Cabinet had mobilized all senior ministers and a large number of professionals to make extrely 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 implentation.
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 an 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 mont, the Minister of the Interior, Duke of Portland, a mber 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 improvent.”
Duke of Portland was a Whig, and not belonging to the ruling Tory party. But this ti, 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 t 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 so vulnerabilities of France in finance and trade to , and I think there are so 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.
At that ti, England did not yet have the official position of “Pri Minister” and the term was rely 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 governnt, until the “Pri Minister” beca 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 Governnt for so matters, and at the request of the Dutch Parliant, 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 docunts, and nodded, “Very well. Please prepare a report on this matter for as soon as possible.”
“Yes, Pri 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 sester, lasting three months.
Why “completion” instead of “graduation”? Having studied for just half a year, touching only the surface of the vast administrative managent 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 Managent, their positions would be promoted by one level.
Those who had never held an official position could directly assu roles like head secretaries in municipal governnt departnts, 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 rchants on the main roads entering the city could supplent 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 so issues.
An hour later, Baron Kersipei left the exam room sowhat dizzy and thought about bribing the examiner as usual but imdiately 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 docunts. The school official who delivered the docunts also inford 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 docunts from the paper bag, quickly glancing through them before noticing there was sothing else in the bag.
He pulled out the docunt and saw that it was actually an appointnt decree. After a lot of bland formal words, it said at the end—by the na of His Majesty the King, appointing Baron Kersipei as the assistant to the Rouen City Administrative Finance Managent Office…
He was a bit bewildered and looked at his college mate, the Rouen City municipal secretary Baner, “Did you receive an appointnt decree?”
“Yes, I did. But it seems there’s no change, still the previous position.”
“I’m the sa, though ‘auxiliary administration’ has been added in front.”
“Oh? Not on mine…”
They had no idea that their fates had beco 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 so 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.
Reviews
All reviews (0)