Dibor glanced at his watch, it was already past 9 o’clock in the evening.
He hurriedly interrupted Danton, who was still enthusiastically discussing matters, indicating a temporary adjournment, and that the proceedings would continue the next morning.
The Duke of Chartres had long lost the fullness of ambition he had while waiting for the inheritance of a substantial fortune at the opening of the court, and upon hearing the news, he escaped the excruciating place like a wild dog breaking free from its leash.
The court sessions continued as usual over the following days.
On the third day, Danton had calculated the Duke of Orleans’s fines to be 68 million livres, and this was just the beginning of accounting for the specific losses of the riots.
As for the Duke of Chartres, he had stopped attending court from the second day on, leaving all matters to be handled by several lawyers.
…
On the second floor of the Tuileries Palace, the Industrial Planning Bureau office.
Joseph was drinking newly imported tea from the Far East, looking relaxed while reading about the Duke of Orleans’s inheritance case on the Paris Commercial News.
Since it concerned the privacy of major nobility, the paper did not go into the specifics of the case, merely noting that according to “informed sources,” the Duke of Orleans would face substantial fines due to his involvement in multiple legal infractions, and the inheritance the Duke of Chartres could receive would be greatly reduced.
Upon reading this, Joseph couldn’t help but smile, it wasn’t just a significant reduction, the court proceedings weren’t over yet, and the Duke of Orleans was already bankrupt.
According to rough calculations by the Crown Prince’s exclusive accountant, the total amount of the fines was close to 90 million livres.
Moreover, these were fines the Duke of Chartres could not refute. If Danton pushed harder and established some fines that could have been waived, it was likely to reach an ambitious goal!
Based on “internal materials” provided by Robespierre, selling all the assets of the Duke of Orleans, including the Royal Palace, there would still be a shortfall of 20 million livres.
The Duke of Chartres, who had inherited the Duke of Orleans’s wealth, would have to find a way to handle these penalties himself.
Of course, Joseph also knew that it was impossible to extort any money from the Duke of Chartres, but with such a “debt to the king of hell” over his head, at least it would ensure he wouldn’t dare to be too active.
Eman knocked on the door and announced, “Your Highness, Mr. Fouche is here.”
Joseph put away the newspaper, “Let him in.”
The door opened and a radiant Fouche entered swiftly, bowing respectfully, “Greetings to you, Your Highness.”
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“Please take a seat.”
Fouche sat down on the sofa and reported, “Your Highness, all 198 core participants of the ‘Playing Card Operation’ have been granted leave, and the 12 officers in charge have been transferred to Paris.”
Joseph nodded in satisfaction, “You all have done very well this time. Oh, His Majesty has already signed the decree to upgrade the Police Affairs Department to the Intelligence Department, which will officially take effect at the beginning of next month. You should also start preparing early.”
“Thank you, Your Highness!” Fouche stood up quickly to bow and then remembered that he might have misspoken, adding hastily, “Long live the King! The Police Affairs Department will always remain dutiful and loyal to His Majesty!”
Joseph smiled and gestured for him to sit down, while Eman brought the tea and placed it in front of Fouche.
Fouche set down the stack of documents he brought with him in front of Joseph, “Your Highness, these are some recent matters that warrant attention.”
Following the operational procedures of the Police Affairs Department, Fouche would categorize and filter the collected intelligence every few days and then submit it to the Crown Prince. Of course, if there were urgent matters, he would report them immediately.
“Lady Audreyan is mediating the dispute between Baron Beverly and Earl Cyprian…”
“Rumors about the Duke of Chartres contracting syphilis are spreading through the streets of Paris. According to intelligence we have obtained from his doctor, it is mostly likely true…”
“A major equity transfer occurred at the Paris Trade and Investment Bank two days ago…”
As Fouche continued reporting what he considered the most important matters, Joseph’s gaze fixed on a section of the report: Recently, the number of nobles at the Palace of Versailles joining various clubs has significantly increased, as well as the frequency of their meetings.
According to intelligence analysis, these clubs are mainly focused on political analysis and discussion, with the core members being the Old Nobility.
These clubs express strong objections to some of the government’s recent reform proposals, particularly regarding the “Abolition of Noble Privileges Decree.” The main arguments include “His Majesty the King has abandoned the sword-bearing nobility,” and “Nobles with uncertain futures should fight for their own rights.”
For the not yet promulgated ” specific details for the redemption of all taxes by peasants,” they are more inclined to petition Her Majesty the Queen to increase the redemption amount and enhance compensation for the lords.
Recently, a song titled “Leaving My Land” has become very popular among the Old Nobility. The song is about a noble who, unable to afford the costs of marriage due to the loss of his land rents, leaves his fiancée to seek adventure in the Caribbean Sea, only to die tragically at sea.
Additionally, some pamphlets complaining about the Royal Family have appeared.
Joseph couldn’t help but frown, recalling the financial statement for last month submitted by Brent, the general manager of the Paris Angel Company, yesterday.
Last month, the turnover of Paris Angel Company plummeted by 27%.
Linking these two matters, a sense of alertness suddenly arose in his heart.
The core customers of Paris Angel Company are the nobility of Versailles, with a large portion being the Old Nobility.
The downturn in Paris Angel Company’s turnover indicates that the nobility have a very pessimistic outlook on their income expectations, leading to a downgrade in consumption.
The complaints from the Old Nobility mentioned in Fouche’s report, as well as that pitiable song, further illustrate their extreme dissatisfaction with the abolition of noble privileges.
Although they currently could not cause much of a stir due to the fact that their leading figures had been taken down by Joseph himself, the resentment within their hearts was evident.
Yet, these people are currently the core stratum of France. Whether it’s their spending power or their influence, the Capitalist Nobility are still unable to replace them for the time being.
Joseph knew that if the situation were not handled correctly, it could lead to very serious consequences.
At the same time, Emperor Joseph II of Austria was also implementing reforms to cut back noble privileges, with the scope of his reforms being far less extensive than Joseph’s own, and it had already caused significant problems in Austria. In history, after Leopold II ascended the throne in 1790, he quickly canceled most of his predecessor’s reform measures to restore stability in Austria.
Currently, the Royal Family’s biggest reliance is still on the feudal nobility.
Without their support, capitalists naturally tend to set rules for the King—such as enforcing a constitution to be signed by the King or simply making the King disappear.
However, to move toward the Industrial Revolution, the nation must shift towards capitalism.
Thus, one of Joseph’s future priorities is to figure out how to keep capitalist power in check during the process of industrialization.
Firstly, this requires as much support as possible for the Capitalist Nobility to occupy the capital market, to prevent pure capitalists motivated solely by profit from controlling the market.
More importantly, Joseph himself must control the national capital’s lifeline as much as possible, implementing state-led management of key resources and sectors. Only in this way can the thought of rebellion be quelled among the capitalist forces.
But achieving this will take a considerable amount of time.
Before that happens, the Royal Family must rely on the feudal nobility to govern the country, until the Royal Family can switch its grip from “feudal land” to “capital and resources.”