“I hear you’ve run into some trouble lately,” the Duke of Orleans said, “Won’t you invite me in to sit down?”
“There’s no need; this has nothing to do with you…” Mono hadn’t forgotten that the man before him was his political rival.
“In that case, I’m afraid your son will soon be arrested by the royal guard,” the Duke of Orleans smiled, “And you, you’ll likely be implicated and dismissed from your position.”
Mono’s face turned ashen as he said, “I will seek Her Majesty the Queen’s pardon…”
The Duke of Orleans immediately interrupted him, “I heard from my friends at the High Court that the Crown Prince visited the High Court the day before yesterday, and had Judge Croix taken into custody for examination.”
“And yesterday, the case involving your son became the talk of the town. Don’t you think there is a coincidence here?”
Of course, all the coincidences were orchestrated by him. After learning that the Crown Prince had visited the High Court, he immediately dispatched people to the Police Headquarters and the newspapers to leak the details of the arson case.
Mono suddenly froze, then remembered that the Royal Family and Brian had both been unwilling to see him these past two days. Could this really be the Crown Prince’s arrangement?
He also recalled the last incident involving the bankruptcy of a bank when the Crown Prince seemed to be very dissatisfied with him. Afterwards, there were several attempts to weaken the authority of the domestic political system, right up to the recent matter of immigration to Tunisia, which bypassed him completely and was handed over to Mirabeau.
Now, his son’s trouble had erupted.
He stood there, soullessly staring, muttering to himself, “It really is him…”
The Duke of Orleans leaned in close to his ear at just the right moment and whispered, “There is only one person who can help you now, and that is me.”
Mono, startled, quickly dismissed all his servants, led the Duke to his study, closed the door, and immediately asked anxiously, “Do you have a way to save Antony?”
The Duke of Orleans smiled and said, “It’s simple, I’ll help you kill the two arsonists. With no witnesses left, I’ll then find a way in the High Court, and your son won’t be implicated in this case anymore.”
Mono’s eyes widened: “But they are locked up in the Bastille…”
Ever since the last incident when Necker was poisoned by a jailer in the Bastille, Joseph had taken that as leverage, ordering the Commander of the Bastille, Marquis of Launay, to strictly reform the prison management. Now, it was not just difficult to kill prisoners there, but even to get any inside information was extremely challenging.
The Duke of Orleans said indifferently, “Please trust, I have the capacity.”
Hope flickered in Mono’s eyes as he stared intently at the Duke of Orleans, hesitated, and said, “But why would you want to help me?”
The Duke of Orleans held up a finger, “One million livres.”
Mono was taken aback; he had embezzled money for many years and indeed had that much, but it would definitely be a major blow.
However, his son’s life and his own future were more important. He nodded immediately, “Fine, within a month, I will have this money delivered to the Royal Palace, the rest is up to you…”
But the Duke of Orleans just laughed and shook his head, “Oh, dear Francois, you misunderstood.”
“I meant that I will take care of this case for you, and then give you an additional one million livres.”
Mono stepped back in some fright upon hearing this; as an old political fox, he immediately realized the Duke’s intentions.
Still, he bit the bullet and asked, “Then, what do you need me to do?”
The Duke of Orleans’s eyes flashed with ruthlessness, “It’s simple, join me in seizing the Royal Family’s scepter!”
He was not afraid that Mono would spread this conversation; considering that the latter was already in a precarious position and would not cut off his own means of survival, even if Mono did speak out, it wouldn’t matter, he would simply deny it.
In fact, many ambitious nobles in the Palace of Versailles knew what the Orleans line was planning and even considered him a political force to balance the power of the Royal Family.
Mono, subconsciously wiping the cold sweat from his brow, just bowed his head in silence.
The Duke of Orleans didn’t rush him, just watching quietly.
After several long minutes, after weighing, comparing, and calculating over and over again, Mono finally raised his head, “How sure are you?”
The Duke of Orleans appeared very candid, “You should know how severe the food shortage is in the country right now.”
“Yes, but it can still be maintained for the time being.”
“That’s because there’s a large amount of ‘strategic food reserves’.” the Duke of Orleans said coldly. “If we manage to make these supplies disappear, then the whole of France will soon fall into chaos.”
Mono’s back was drenched in cold sweat; he swallowed hard and asked, “What’s next?”
“I will invest a large sum of money to take advantage of the chaos and create a brand-new political landscape. You know, there are many people who aren’t content with obscurity; they just lack an opportunity.”
“For instance, those officers. They have been very dissatisfied with the Royal Family’s actions lately.”
Mono fell into deep thought, then suddenly his face lit up with a brilliant smile. “Besides the military, there are also those great nobles.”
“Please share your insight.”
“Do you recall the ‘Mill Duties Act’?”
“Yes.”
“This winter is extremely cold, and more than half of the country’s rivers have frozen,” Mono spoke rapidly. “As a result, many mills can’t operate. I’ve received reports this month that over 60 mill owners have been stripped of their mill tax rights by the act. As we enter the depths of winter, that number will only increase rapidly.”
In this era, mills were mostly powered by waterwheels, and once the river froze, the mills could not operate.
In previous years, the rivers in various parts of France would hardly freeze continuously for two months. However, under this year’s extreme weather, many French rivers will be frozen until March of next year!
The inoperability of the mills was also one of the important reasons for the great famine of 1788—the proud French insisted on grinding wheat into flour and making bread out of it. Especially in the big cities, the lack of bread caused many to starve to death.
The intention behind Joseph’s act was to encourage the great nobles to purchase Steam Engines to modernize their mills, but those stingy and short-sighted nobles still acted according to past experiences. Even when parish banks offered loans, they were unwilling to spend money on installing Steam Engines.
In the end, this led to many losing their mill taxes because their mills had been unusable for over two months.
Mono said with a smile, “I think the nobles who lost their mill tax would certainly hope for a force that could make the Royal Family bow.”
The Duke of Orleans nodded joyfully. “You have a keen insight.”
“But there’s more,” Mono continued. “The Crown Prince has been too hasty in implementing Tunisia’s immigration policy, and he’s offered very favorable immigration terms.”
“A large amount of cheap, fertile Tunisian land, oh, one might even say land for free, as long as you farm it for ten years, you’ll become a landlord.”
“This has led many who originally planned to buy farmland to turn to Tunisia instead, which in turn caused the land prices in France to fall. Although not by a huge margin, but as you know, those nobles who hold hundreds or even more acres of land will suffer significant losses.”
Any small fluctuation in price, when multiplied by a large base, will inevitably yield a staggering sum.
Seeing the look of approval on the face of the Duke of Orleans, Mono quickly added, “There are many more who are dissatisfied with the Royal policies, and I’m very familiar with this aspect.”
He suddenly placed his hand over his chest, bowed respectfully and said, “If you could grant me a modest position of Chief Minister in your new Cabinet, then you shall have my loyalty, respected Regent.”
The Duke of Orleans nodded without hesitation. “Of course, no one is better suited for the position than you.”
Mono’s joy was boundless, and he bowed again, “Your great cause is sure to succeed!”
His only son was on the verge of incarceration and might even face execution, which could also bring an end to his political life. This was something he, accustomed to exercising power, absolutely could not accept.
Now his only choice was to join the camp of the Duke of Orleans to protect both his son’s and his own position.
Furthermore, according to the Duke of Orleans, there was a very high chance of success.
Because, after hearing the Duke of Orleans outline the plan, Mono immediately thought of a brilliant idea that could greatly increase the latter’s chances of success.
He had originally planned to use this strategy in exchange for the position of Chief Minister, yet unexpectedly, after merely showing a bit of his capability, the future Regent had already granted his wish.
[Note 1] At the end of the 18th century, the police forces in various European countries were unreliable, and it was the army that was the main force maintaining public order, especially in cases involving great nobles. The Royal Family typically dispatched the guards to make arrests—for a regular army wouldn’t dare to apprehend them.