Carolina saw Necker's terrified expression and, as if relishing a hot cocoa with lots of sugar on a chilly day, squinted his eyes contentedly and flipped through a pile of case files, "Hmm, shall we discuss your agreement with Klassen Bank six years ago, or the one with Vincent Trade Bank seven years ago..."
Necker suddenly slammed his hand on the armrest of his chair and bellowed with bloodshot eyes, "Carolina, on what grounds do you interrogate me? You think I don't know about the things you've done? I'm going to expose you! Expose you! Even if it means going to prison, I'll take you down with me!"
Carolina looked at Necker with ease, waiting for him to vent. He then pulled a document out of his pocket, waving it with a smile, "No need for you to expose me, my affairs have already been fully disclosed to the Royal Family. Look, here is the King's pardon, my exile is over.
"Moreover, after I return all the illegitimate profits, I will no longer be held accountable."
Necker was stunned, "How... how is this possible..."
Carolina's smile grew even wider, "Do you know what the biggest mistake of your life is?
"It's seriously underestimating the Royal Family's capacity. Oh, and you've also unauthorizedly disclosed the Royal Family's expenses, blaming the financial problems on them. Explore stories on freewebnovel
"I, on the other hand, have chosen to remain steadfastly loyal to the Royal Family. So now, it is I who am examining you.
"Alright, let's continue..."
Over at the Royal Palace, the Duke of Orleans finally received the news he had been waiting for.
"Lieutenant Colonel Lavier says that the person sent to administer the poison has forever closed his mouth, and there will be no investigation leading to him. Much less implicating you,"
the butler Donadian whispered, glancing at the slightly relaxed brow of the Duke of Orleans, then passed over a small roll of paper sealed with wax, "This has just come from the Secret Police."
Since Necker's arrest, the Duke of Orleans's inside man at the Bastille sent updates daily.
The Duke of Orleans unfolded the slip of paper. This time there were many more words than usual. He quickly read through it, and his face immediately turned pitch black.
In the hall, there were already more than a dozen banking magnates, all linked to Necker, gathered to discuss a plan of action. Seeing the Duke of Orleans's expression, they hurriedly crowded around.
"Your Grace, what has happened?"
"How is Necker doing, any news?"
The Duke of Orleans simply tossed the slip of paper to them without a word, staring blankly outside the window.
Count of Isaac picked up the paper, and exclaimed in shock, "Carolina is in charge of the investigation? He's returned from exile?"
He paused, then stuffed the paper into the hands of Viscount Belanger beside him.
The latter glanced at it and, as if his hand were burnt, threw the paper onto the table—the loans operations that his bank had conducted with Necker could no longer be concealed. By now, the police and the Secret Police should be on their way to his home and bank.
"My, my offenses have been uncovered, what am I to do..."
Although others were curious about the contents on the slip of paper, no one dared to reach for it, as if it were a scorpion ready to sting at any moment.
Belanger was finished, and no one knew who would be next.
Seeing everyone's frightened silence, Count of Isaac quickly spoke up to boost morale, "Don't be afraid; with so many of us, we are sure to find a solution!"
He turned to look at the Duke of Orleans, the pillar and the last resort for all of them, "Isn't that right, Your Grace?"
Over ten pairs of eyes suddenly turned to the Duke of Orleans.
The latter's heart tightened as well, knowing he needed to take no step back or it would mean a complete defeat in the struggle against the Royal Family.
No, there must be a way...
Veins bulged on his forehead, and palms wet with perspiration, yet his tactics were exhausted, and he had no solution at hand.
Suddenly, he remembered the words of Count of Isaac, murmuring to himself, "So many of us... many people."
A spark returned to his eyes, indeed, how could he forget their greatest advantage—numerical strength!
Even if the Royal Family had leverage over the major banks through Necker, what could it do? If he had enough people to cause a significant disturbance, the Royal Family would have to yield!
Right away, the Duke of Orleans turned around and pointed at Belanger, "You must immediately admit to all charges and then declare your bank's bankruptcy."
"No," Belanger's face turned pale, "What are you trying to do?"
"Set the forest ablaze, plunge people into terror," the Duke of Orleans said, with a cold glint in his eye, "Don't bother with debts and credit issues, don't handle the transfer of claims, just leave the mess of bankruptcy for others to worry about! Oh, not only declare bankruptcy but also publish the bank's accounts."
"Why, why would we do that?"
Count of Isaac's eyes shifted, quickly grasping the underlying strategy, "Belanger Bank's books certainly don't have enough funds to pay depositors and those nobles who have invested. Declaring bankruptcy, they will surely be in a rush to get their money back!"
Marquis of Ludo also had a moment of insight, "But most of the bank's money has been lent out, and a large portion of it is government loans that cannot be recalled in the short term. Those unable to get their money back will definitely plunge into madness."
The Duke of Orleans nodded proudly, "More than half of Versailles Palace's nobility have invested their money in your banks. Tell them that the Royal Family will investigate even more banks, and they will all go bankrupt like Belanger Bank, then their money will never be recovered."
"What do you think the nobles will do?"
Isaac sneered coldly, "They will surely keep the King and Queen awake at night!"
"Exactly!"
Belanger looked at everyone's excitement, his voice trembling, "Then, what should I do..."
The Duke of Orleans stepped forward, patted his shoulder to reassure him, "Don't worry, once this is over, I will find a way to get you out of prison, and give you some money, perhaps then you can go back to your old business."
...
The next morning, while Fouche's men and the Secret Police were still auditing Belanger Bank, Viscount Belanger brought the bank's executives before countless reporters, admitting to all the bank's illegal dealings with Necker, and voluntarily handed over a portion of the illicit profits—thus leaving not a single cent on the bank's books.
Afterward, Belanger Bank declared bankruptcy, and the baffled police, after sealing the bank, arrested Belanger and the bank's executives.
The sudden news, spread by those with ulterior motives, quickly disseminated throughout the Palace of Versailles. For a time, all the nobles were frantic with worry, nervously asking each other upon meeting, "Have you invested money in that bank?"
Suddenly, the inside story of Belanger Bank's bankruptcy erupted—Necker had been involved in many illegal transactions with the bank, and now that Necker had been arrested, these matters had also been uncovered.
Then came even more terrifying news from those "in the know"—there were far more banks than just Belanger's that had transactions with Necker. As Necker faced trial in the Bastille, it was unknown how many more banks would be affected.
That evening, dozens of anxious-looking nobles gathered in the great hall of the Royal Palace, eagerly looking to the Duke of Orleans for advice.
"These banks are all implicated in bribery, illegal transactions, and the like, and will face hefty fines," said the Duke of Orleans with a worried look, "so no one will want to buy these banks, because nobody wants to take on the additional fines."
A nobleman with a pained face said, "Then how can I get back the money I invested in the bank... I heard that Klassen Bank is also in trouble."
"Yes, please help us think of a way! It is said that more than ten banks have been scammed by that Necker."
"Oh God, that's half of my estate!"
"If the bank goes bankrupt, all the money I've saved for over a decade will be gone..."
Having stirred the crowd sufficiently, the Duke of Orleans then put on a show of difficulty, saying, "In fact, I too have invested a lot of money in the banks.
"Right now, if Necker's trial continues, those dozen banks will surely go under one after another.
"So, unless the interrogation is stopped, no one can save our money."
"Exactly!" someone immediately echoed loudly, "We must stop interrogating Necker."
"We should suggest to the Royal Family that he be banished immediately!"
"But, it is said that the evidence this time is conclusive, and the Royal Family might not agree..."
The Duke of Orleans immediately pointed at the speaker, "Viscount Protodem is right. We must unite and put some pressure on the Royal Family to halt Necker's trial."
"But how can we pressure the Royal Family? Now even the High Court listens to the Royal Family."
The Duke of Orleans revealed a smile, "Just follow my lead, we should do this..."
...
Paris.
In the office of the Industrial Planning Bureau, Joseph looked at the report in his hand, unable to hide his glee. Continue reading at freewebnovel.com
Belanger had actually confessed, and his bank had declared bankruptcy.
Joseph had originally thought that he would struggle a bit, such as using a confession or renegotiating a loan agreement as bargaining chips to negotiate for a lighter sentence or even a pardon.
Joseph had also prepared to "fleece" the bank on this deal, but unexpectedly, the other party surrendered outright.
With Belanger Bank bankrupt, and without dealing with debts and credits, and no other bank willing to take over, all debts turned into bad debt, meaning that the French Government could completely avoid paying back the money it had borrowed from them.
After all, the contract was signed with Belanger Bank, and with no bankruptcy law, liquidation law, and the like, if one party to the contract "dies," the contract can be terminated.
That was a loan of 35.2 million livres!
Just like that, it was written off.
```
This kind of delight was far stronger than the hard-earned 35 million Joseph had used to repay the loans.
It was like the joy of finding money while walking.
He counted on his fingers, Carolina had said that there were a total of 13 banks with illegal dealings with Necker, even if all of them had loan amounts like the Belanger Bank, once all of them were dealt with, the government debt could be directly reduced by 450 million livres!!
Faster than robbing a bank!
Moreover, Belanger Bank was just a small-scale bank, a big bank like Klassen Bank could have loan amounts of over a hundred million livres!
Although France's debt crisis could not be said to be resolved just like that, overall, it would be much easier to handle, and the dawn of a complete solution to the debt problem would also appear.
After basking in the delight concerning the debt for a while, Joseph put down the documents, but he faintly felt that something was not quite right.
Was there a problem somewhere?
Seeing the bright sunshine outside the window, he decided to take a walk in the courtyard and contemplate the problem.
However, just as Joseph reached the entrance of the Industrial Planning Bureau, he faintly heard the sound of a woman's sobbing coming from an office corner, along with another voice comforting her.
"Thank goodness you withdrew the money to buy those two skirts last month, otherwise the loss would have been greater."
The woman choked, "But there's still a full 80 livres in the bank ... how could it just collapse like this?"
"I heard it was those damned banks, all for a bit of filthy lucre, making deals with corrupt bureaucrats and getting caught."
"What am I going to do? That was the money for repairing my house..."
"Ah, what can be done? My neighbor lost even more, I think it was about 100 livres."
At these words, Joseph was taken aback, suddenly understanding what was wrong.
Not all of the money in the bank belonged to the bank itself, much of it came from depositors and investors!
With the bank's bankruptcy, the government no longer had to repay the loan, but it was these people who ultimately bore the loss.
Although since John Law's Mississippi Company incident, which led to widespread default by the Royal Bank, the French people's trust in banks hit rock bottom, resulting in a very low savings rate.
For example, it took his Bank of France Reserve more than four months to barely attract less than 200,000 livres in savings, but this small amount of money would cause significant problems in ordinary people's lives.
Then there was the money that the nobility invested in the banks, which was a much larger sum.
Indeed, more than half of some banks' assets came from wealthy nobles, who then lent the money to the government to earn interest.
While they might not struggle to live due to investment losses, the money they put in was clean, legitimate money.
The government debt was indeed nearly half a billion less, but the sudden appearance of such a large financial black hole in France would inevitably lead to social chaos.
With this in mind, Joseph could not help but furrow his brows.
It appeared that this massive debt had to "evaporate" slowly, not die abruptly.
But how to go about it?
As he pondered how to minimize the impact of the bank bankruptcies, he saw two carriages enter the yard of the Industrial Planning Bureau.
As the carriage door opened, Brian's attendant was the first to get off, setting the steps in place.
Before he could open the door, Brian, impatient, pushed the door himself and stepped out, facing Joseph. He hurriedly came forward to greet him, and then said, "Your Highness, I'm afraid there might be trouble!"
Joseph frowned and asked tentatively, "Is it related to the bank bankruptcy?"
Brian nodded, "Have you heard as well? Yes, the collapse of the Belanger Bank was so sudden, causing many nobles to suffer heavy losses. It is said that someone lost millions of livres."
He took a deep breath and added, "What's more, many nobles, fearing other banks may collapse suddenly, have gathered at the Petit Trianon Palace, requesting Her Majesty the Queen to issue a decree, to halt the interrogation of Necker."
Joseph sneered, "I was originally planning to help them reduce the losses, but if they intend to threaten His Majesty with this, then they can't blame me for not being polite!"
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Brian said anxiously, "Your Highness, this matter could be very troublesome.
"I've heard that nobles plan to form an alliance, claiming that if Necker's interrogation isn't stopped, they will no longer lend a sou to the government!"