Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

After collecting clues, the Police officer assured Lemaire that they would identify the culprit as soon as possible, and left two officers to protect the Tax Office.

Lemaire had originally planned for his subordinates to familiarize themselves with the business by visiting markets or factories, but after several attacks, he had no choice but to order everyone not to leave Police Headquarters during work and to travel home in groups of three.

Despite these precautions, over the following period, members of the Tax Office still suffered attacks, with over a dozen hoodlums hurling stones and incendiaries at Police Headquarters, only dispersing after the stationed police fired their guns.

The subsequent investigation concluded that the attackers of the Tax Office were unlikely to be gang members and that they operated covertly, seemingly with professional prowess.

Although a significant number of police were deployed, they still couldn't trace the assailants in the short term. Panic ensued within the Tax Office, and some Tax Officers even tendered their resignations to Lemaire.

Left with no alternative, Lemaire was forced to submit a report to Paris, requesting guards for the Tax Office.

...

Paris.

In the office of the French Tax Administration, the newly appointed Inspector Robespierre frowned at the mountainous pile of reports on the table, his complexion ashen.

These reports were mostly from Tax Offices across the country that had been attacked. In just over ten days, 2 Tax Officers had been killed and more than 40 injured. Although the police were making every effort to locate the assailants, only three or four people had been apprehended, and the situation was dire.

Most heads of the Tax Offices requested additional guards, while some directly requested to resign.

Robespierre knew very well that with the finances of the Tax Office barely sufficient to provide compensation to the injured, there was no possibility of allocating guards.

He felt an immense pressure weighing him down—as the Count Fulco, the superintendent of finances, mainly handled financial matters, it was his responsibility to deal with other issues.

He first penned a passionate speech to boost morale, to at minimum halt any further resignations.

Regarding security, after much contemplation, a disheartened Robespierre shook his head, stood up, and said to his manservant, "Prepare the carriage; I must visit the Tuileries Palace."

Yes, the only solution he could think of was to request some funds from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to enhance the Tax Office's guard strength.

Tuileries Palace, second floor.

Joseph carefully reviewed the document in his hand, confirming that the amount was correct, then signed his name and pressed his signet ring firmly into the wax.

Standing opposite him, the Bank of France Reserve Governor Mathew de Laffiébleur accepted the document with reverence before inquiring, "Your Highness, the current flow of funds seems a bit rapid, and I'm concerned it might raise suspicions.

"Do you think we should further split the transactions from Poitou and Burgundy and defer the recovery to next week?"

Joseph pondered for a moment and nodded, "Your suggestion is very sensible, let's proceed as you've advised. And remember, maintain secrecy at all costs, all those handling the funds must be vetted by the intelligence service before they can be utilized."

If anyone had seen the document in Baron Laffiébleur's hands, they would have been astounded beyond measure—the transfer of funds listed there totaled 13 million francs!

In reality, the finance of France didn't possess hundreds of millions of francs, nor was it possible to have tens of millions credited each week.

Joseph had previously amassed only 50 million francs through insurance, financial management, and real estate. Except for real estate, the rest of the funds belonged to insurance companies, and though he could temporarily utilize them, it was impossible to spend them as actual budget.

Therefore, if the Tax Farmers were abolished, next year, Brian would have only about 26 million francs at his disposal for financial expenditures. In less than a month, the salaries of French officials, government operations, and infrastructure projects would completely collapse.

To stabilize the situation, Joseph had to secure a loan from the Tax Farmers.

At least 150 million francs.

But he knew that the Tax Farmers relied on the government being out of money, always turning to them desperately. Under these circumstances, they would undoubtedly cling to the tax farming system.

Thus, he had to create the illusion of a government flush with funds to strategize and negotiate with the magnates among the Tax Farmers.

Joseph then used the 50 million francs as "props," depositing the funds into the government's accounts in several installments.

He was well aware that the Tax Farmers had informants in every bank who would certainly learn of the government's account balances.

The money was first deposited into foreign banks, then ostentatiously entered into the Bank of France Reserve as a loan.

The Bank of France Reserve would then disburse the funds to local banks in various provinces in installments, often to its own branches.

Since this money was part of the next year's budget, the provincial governors could only look but not touch. Your next chapter awaits on My Virtual Library Empire

Now came the covert operation.

Local banks privately loaned out the provincial government funds in the form of short-term loans, immediately transferred back to the Bank of France Reserve headquarters in Paris.

These loans were personally orchestrated by Joseph, marked as "confidential projects," prohibiting any inquiries.

In fact, once these loan agreements were signed, they were directly taken to Paris by reliable Bank of France Reserve senior officials and locked in the Governor's safe, guarded 24 hours by intelligence personnel.

The money loaned out from the provincial finances would be redeposited into foreign banks, then flowing back into the Bank of France Reserve accounts once again.

This was the reality behind the Tax Farmers Association's discovery that "the French Government accounts had received hundreds of millions of francs, with substantial sums continually pouring in each week."

In truth, it was only 50 million cycling through the motions, and the funds disbursed to provincial banks were budgetary, leaving no suspicions of any issues.

For the secrecy of this handover, Joseph specifically appointed a dozen Bank of France Reserve branch managers and assistant managers, all financial activities related to the "reverse loans" had to be conducted by them.

The game at play was psychological warfare. If the Tax Farmers Association could remain calm, sacrificing profits to face off against the French Government indefinitely, then there was nothing Joseph could do.

But he was quite confident that those profit-driven individuals would ultimately capitulate to the bottom line.

Government officials were selected from company employees, who in the early days often performed two jobs. After Hastings became Governor, he divided company staff into commercial and administrative, with one person not allowed to hold both types of jobs simultaneously. Administrative staff became officials, overseeing taxation, justice, administration, and the like, rising through the ranks based on seniority.