The Crown Prince of France - Chapter 135

Chapter 135: Go Ahead, Picard... Uh, Mr. Marat!

Joseph immediately thought of those bankers who had invested large sums of French money in Britain, and he couldn’t help but feel a sharp sense of hatred. If only he could uncover their shady dealings, it would not only be deeply satisfying but also effectively clean up the banking industry.

However, Joseph soon felt a bit deflated. There were still too many targets in the banking sector, and these people were not government officials. If the Public Investigation Bureau were to investigate them, Marat, this "friend of the people," would probably have something to say about it.

What would be ideal, he thought, is if there were a representative from the banking sector who was also an official...

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his mind. There was indeed such a person!

Although he was no longer an official, this person had served as the Finance Minister for a long time, and had close ties with the banking industry. Oh, to be precise, he was himself a banker.

It was during Necker's time as the head of France's finances that the country had embarked on the ill-fated path of relying on high-interest loans to maintain its finances. After him, the finance ministers tried to break free from this vicious cycle of borrowing to pay off old debts but were forced to continue borrowing due to the high-interest pressure.

A cold glint flashed in Joseph's eyes. From Necker's various operations, it was clear that he must have done something shady.

Having the Public Investigation Bureau look into this person would, first, shift Marat's attention, and second, if anything was uncovered, it could potentially expose a string of unscrupulous banking moguls.

The next morning, Joseph sent Éymond to the office of the Minister of Finance to pull out all the financial files from Necker's time as the head of the Treasury. Necker was Swiss and couldn't officially be listed as the Finance Minister, but his powers were no less than those of one. They filled up four carts of documents.

Joseph instructed Kessold to send his personal guards to escort the files to the Public Investigation Bureau's office.

Sure enough, without Joseph needing to say anything, Marat himself came running the next noon.

Joseph followed his usual method with him.

First, he described how Necker had conspired with banking magnates to maliciously increase government expenditures, taking out large loans from banks, and funneling the high interest back to the banks. Then he painted a grim picture of how the fiscal crisis had severely harmed the French people.

Finally, he pointed out the direction for "Piranha" to develop—go ahead, tear Necker apart for the people of France!

However, this time Marat seemed to hesitate considerably. "Your Highness, please forgive me for speaking bluntly, but Mr. Necker has a very good reputation. When he was in charge of national finances, the balance between income and expenditure was nearly achieved. Could it be that you're trying to discredit him because he publicly exposed the royal family's wasteful spending?"

Joseph smiled faintly. Necker was indeed good at packaging himself—during the Estates-General, all three estates had a favorable opinion of him, and even Louis XVI saw him as a savior.

But as someone familiar with history, Joseph knew all too well the dirty deeds Necker had done.

"Mr. Marat, villains don't write the words 'bad person' on their faces. The Public Investigation Bureau's job is to see through the surface disguise and uncover the true dark secrets beneath."

Joseph leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice. "You know, after Necker became the head of the Treasury, do you know where the first loan for the government came from?"

Marat had obviously skimmed through those financial documents, flipping open his notebook to take a quick look. "It was from a Swiss bank..."

"Exactly." Joseph nodded. "Do you know that this bank was one Necker and his friends jointly established?"

Marat froze, then shook his head.

Joseph coldly remarked, "So, the first thing Mr. Necker did when he took office was to bring in a big business deal for his own bank, and the interest rates were quite high.

"And there’s more that you don’t know.

"For example, when Mr. Necker was younger, he worked with his British banking friends, using a large sum of money to trade grain between England and France, which caused food prices to skyrocket at that time.

"Or how about this—Mr. Necker, in order to become the head of the Treasury, bribed several high-ranking officials with hundreds of thousands of livres and shares in his own bank..."

Marat could no longer contain himself. He stood up and said, "Your Highness, I will look into all of this, but it may only prove that you are biased against Mr. Necker."

Joseph smiled and nodded. "I look forward to you bringing more justice to the people of France."

Marat bowed and was about to leave when Joseph called out to him again. "Oh, by the way, Mr. Marat, you just said that the finances were balanced under Necker’s time?"

"Yes, Your Highness, that is a fact."

"The fact is, that so-called balance was built on excessive loans. The interest on those loans wasn't obvious in the short term, which made the financial situation seem okay, but the interest compounded, and the damage became evident only after many years. In other words, the current budget deficit is largely due to the loans taken out during his time."

"Thank you for the reminder, Your Highness." Marat again bowed and turned to leave, visibly agitated.

With Marat’s attention diverted from the French Guard, Joseph summoned Baron de Bréteuil and hinted that he could be a bit lenient when it came to inspecting the officers of the French Guard.

Baron de Bréteuil had been installed as the Minister of Justice by the Crown Prince and Archbishop Brienne, and since the inspection of military officers was something that had no benefit to him and was likely to make people resent him, he immediately agreed.

...

At the French Guard barracks, the number of letters reporting officers suddenly dropped, and the speed of the gendarmerie’s inspections noticeably increased.

When Marquis de Saint-Priest heard the news, he was quite surprised at how much influence Berthier truly had. He immediately streamlined the procedures and quickly signed the appointment letter, promoting Berthier to the rank of colonel and assigning him as the commanding officer of the Third Infantry Regiment of the French Guard.

However, just past noon, Berthier came to see him, saying he had encountered a small problem.

"So, what does your dear friend want this time?" Marquis de Saint-Priest asked, frowning.

"Ah, it’s like this," Berthier said. "He has a younger brother who just graduated from the military academy and is currently just a regular second lieutenant." He recounted the Crown Prince’s request. "He hopes his brother can be appointed as a battalion commander in the French Guard."

Marquis de Saint-Priest sighed deeply. After giving away the cow, could he really hold onto the reins? He immediately nodded. "Do as he says. Have him go as soon as possible..."

"He studied cavalry command, so he would prefer a cavalry battalion."

"Alright, alright! Whether it's cavalry or something else, just do it," Saint-Priest said, rubbing his forehead. By now, he was numb, just hoping that this nightmare would end soon.

Berthier moved quickly. After his promotion to colonel, he immediately went with Dubois and Kessold’s cousin Odelik to the French Guard barracks to start selecting his troops.

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