Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Fankevich mentioned that these people were his “black gloves,” and they were in charge of liaising with their subordinates for the threatening of the tax officer.

As long as they were well arranged, the police would never be able to trace it back to Fankevich.

The butler immediately bowed and said, “Please rest assured, sir. They had already left France the day before yesterday.”

…

On the other hand, Joseph looked at the report from the Tax Bureau about the recent arrests and killings of criminals involved in the attacks, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

Finally, it started to resemble the look of France’s “IRS.”

He thought for a moment and had Eman summon Denico, the editor-in-chief of the Paris Commercial News. With such a big stir caused by the Tax Bureau, it was crucial to make good use of it.

On one hand, it was to publicize how the tax officers bravely crushed the mobs for a better tax environment in France, fearless of intimidation and threats, which would help build a heroic image of the Tax Bureau and garner public support while also deterring those thinking of evading taxes.

On the other hand, it was an opportunity to promote the benefits to the general public from abolishing the tax farming system, so that if there were any hitches in changing the taxation model later on, it could foster more tolerance in French society.

After receiving his orders, Eman left, and Joseph penned an Order of Commendation for individuals or groups like Schommet, who first killed an attacker, and the Orleans Tax Bureau, which swiftly cleared out the mob, who had shown outstanding performance.

He was showing the tax officers that strength and boldness were appreciated and rewarded.

More than an hour later, Denico, as the “official mouthpiece” of the French Government, arrived on the second floor of the Tuileries Palace.

Joseph first instructed Denico on the promotion of the Tax Officers and the cancellation of the tax farming system and then handed him the details of the banker Charles, along with a copy of the 12 million franc loan agreement Charles had just signed with Brian.

The editor somewhat puzzled, asked, “Your Highness, what are these for?”

“Please arrange for a journalist to conduct an interview with Mr. Charles as soon as possible,” Joseph instructed with a smile. “Primarily to introduce his strong support for the government’s tax reform and providing hefty low-interest loans to alleviate the government’s financial pressure.

“Oh, and also mention that Charles-Bolton Bank has been listed as one of the trustees of the Royal Fund.”

He was maximizing Charles’s role in dividing the Tax Farmers Association. On one side exposing Charles’s “defection” to the government, and subtly indicating that defecting could reap benefits.

One must know that the Royal Fund was a core fund related to the entire agricultural development of France, currently having more than 34 million francs in capital—mostly contributed by the Old Nobility to maintain their family livelihoods—and it also had government authorization in agricultural production management, along with assets like land, farm tools, livestock, and agricultural production patents. Its future was promising and would develop rapidly.

Being a trustee bank for the Royal Fund, even if only holding a ten percent share, would represent a substantial sum.

For banks, the amount of money on the books directly signifies the capacity for profit.

This was bound to cause further division within the Tax Farmers Association. Find more chapters on My Virtual Library Empire

Once Denico had left, Joseph looked at the loan agreement on the table and fell into deep thought.

Including this money, the financial budget for next year was just under 40 million francs, and he had less than two months left.

If the fragmentation of the Tax Farmers Association proceeded smoothly, more people would come to “defect,” but certainly, a large amount of capital would choose to flow elsewhere.

Therefore, it was crucial to limit the exits for the original tax funds, needing at least 200 million francs to flow into the French treasury.

Joseph tapped his fingers lightly on the desk, his brows slightly furrowed.

To control capital, the government actually had many means, even, in extreme cases, directly enacting decrees, forbidding certain banks’ capital from leaving France. As capital holders, they had no power to resist.

However, if the means were too crude and the actions too unsightly, it would only scare off other capital and even destroy the normal investment environment within the country—after all, a government that dared to seize private property at any time would certainly be a persona non grata for all investors.

The kind of scenario where His Majesty the King stamped a decree and the military was dispatched to seize the wealth of financial tycoons could only appear in novel plots.

Like his previous “threat” to Charles, it was also a coincidence that the latter was a financier from the Southern Netherlands, hard to separate from the Brabant uprising, thus justifiable to proceed through the High Court system and take advantage of the situation.

In this case, other investors would feel it was a special case, absolutely unrelated to them, so it would not trigger panic.

Even so, Joseph could only threaten Charles to temporarily freeze his assets. If there was any larger movement, it would still cause fear among other capitals.

Currently, other magnates in the Tax Farmers Association didn’t give him any leverage, so it was essential to find a rational and legal method that wouldn’t shake the capital market.

Joseph rubbed his brow wearily, it seemed for now he could only stall under the pretext of “banking industry reorganization,” though even this slight delay would make many capitals choose the French Government.

Because even just a month’s delay could cause significant losses given the large sums involved, and many investments had to be finalized by the end of the year, giving him a slight advantage.

If by the turn of the year he failed to gather enough funding for the government to function, he’d have to drastically raise interest rates to attract these tycoons or seek financing from the Royal Insurance Company.

Even if the interest rates were raised to about 18%, it would still be much less than what the Tax Farmers had previously taken.

…

In Baron Morel’s mansion, over a dozen of the heads of the Farmers-General of France sat around the conference table, all with serious expressions.

Ford clasped his hands together, his voice low, “As you’ve all heard, Charles has betrayed us by bowing to the government.”

Baron Morel said, “I heard from Mr. Charles himself that he did it because he got involved with the Southern Netherlands Rebels’ case, out of necessity.”

Charles himself did not attend this meeting, so this was the only defense made on his behalf.

The others showed contempt as they refuted Morel.

One elder sneered, “He got a share of the Royal Fund, was it because he got involved with the rebels?”

“He has always been timid; it’s not surprising that he would lean towards the government.”

“I heard that the 12 million he got from Brian came with a 14% interest. If he couldn’t tax farm anymore, that would be rather decent.”

If Charles heard this, he would probably cry; he got only 4.5% interest, almost the same as giving it to the government for free.