Chapter 1334: The Gale
Outside the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, second only to Notre Dame in Paris, Marat's face was grim as he bluntly addressed Father Grenier, who blocked his path. "If you insist on obstructing me from carrying out my duties, I will have no choice but to call in the enforcement unit."
The enforcement unit was the Notary Investigation Bureau's law enforcement arm, vested with the authority to search, seize, and even temporarily detain individuals.
A priest standing beside Father Grenier suddenly shouted to the onlookers, "Trespassing into an abbey is blasphemy against God! We must not stand by and allow them to do this!"
Hundreds of citizens, who had been silent until now, instantly stirred.
The French people's religious beliefs were deeply ingrained, and the words of high-ranking clerics were often treated like divine pronouncements. Immediately, dozens of elderly individuals stepped forward, surrounding Marat and his team, frantically making the sign of the cross and demanding they leave.
Marat frowned, glancing at his enforcement unit, which numbered only eleven, then leaned his head to whisper to his assistant, "Malou, go back and call everyone from the Bureau..."
Just then, a whistle pierced the air in the distance, and sixty to seventy police officers came jogging over in formation, separating all the passersby.
The gendarme leading them stood with his hands behind his back and declared loudly, "The City Hall recently lost important financial documents in this vicinity. Anyone who has found them, please hand them over to me immediately."
Everyone present was stunned.
"Yes, sir!"
The elderly individuals who had been surrounding Marat were the first to be led aside, and several police officers politely asked them to open their personal belongings.
Observing this from a distance, the remaining onlookers quietly turned and left, motivated by a desire to avoid trouble.
Meanwhile, across the street, a street theater troupe suddenly appeared, setting up a wooden stage and scenery, enthusiastically inviting passersby to watch their performance.
Within about ten minutes, only a few scattered onlookers remained in front of the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
Marat was overjoyed. He pushed past Father Grenier and strode into the abbey.
The latter, flustered and exasperated, cried out, "This is an act of grave sacrilege! You will be judged by the ecclesiastical court!"
Marat paused, turning half-way back. He scoffed, "Only the people can judge me."
He continued walking deeper into the abbey. The captain of his enforcement unit hurried over, a hint of nervousness in his voice. "Sir, those church officials will surely cause trouble for us at Versailles..."
The Church held considerable influence in French politics.
Marat smiled. "Don't worry. Do you think the police just happened to be passing by?"
"Huh? Weren't they?"
"How could His Royal Highness the Crown Prince not have noticed the serious corruption within the Church? He's probably waiting for our report right now."
Indeed, Joseph had instructed the Police Bureau a fortnight ago to cooperate with the Bureau of Impartial Investigation at all times. Even agents from the Intelligence Bureau were waiting nearby; if the police couldn't handle it, they would step in to help Marat and his team enter the abbey.
In fact, even the theater troupe across the street had been arranged by Joseph through Denico.
Marat first sent men to secure the various storerooms of the abbey. As he walked towards the treasury office, a young priest suddenly darted out from beneath a pillar, slipping a crumpled piece of paper into his hand.
Marat quickly unfolded the note and scanned it, a smile instantly appearing on his face.
The paper contained only four lines, detailing four expenditures of the abbey.
Most people assumed the Church was incredibly wealthy, and thus all clerics would conspire together to protect its interests. In reality, however, the Church's wealth was largely concentrated in the hands of a select few at the top, while middle and lower-ranking clerics received only fixed salaries.
Furthermore, high-ranking church officials at the bishop level often deliberately left "holy offices" vacant, so that the salaries for these subordinate positions would fall into their hands, while the duties themselves were performed voluntarily by other priests.
According to a French edict from 1786, the annual salary for parish priests in bottom-tier districts was 700 livres, which was quite high, but in practice, they only received about two-thirds of that. Sometimes they even had to pay for church expenses out of their own pockets, barely scraping by.
Therefore, middle and lower-ranking clerics held significant grievances against the Church's upper echelons. The young priest earlier was one of the more radical among them.
Armed with this "tip-off," Marat only needed a little over an hour to uncover a shortfall of nearly 50,000 francs in the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés's renovation expenses for several subordinate church schools last year.
As evening approached, he found further evidence of the abbey manipulating tithe registrations the previous year, involving an amount as high as 180,000 francs.
He simply decided to stay overnight in the abbey with his team.
The next day at noon, a subordinate rushed in with a newly purchased copy of "City News." "Sir, big news!"
Marat quickly scanned the front page, then excitedly called to his subordinate, "Léona, take five men immediately and thoroughly investigate all accounts related to the orphanages!"
...
In a second-floor room of Notre-Dame de Paris, about a dozen high-ranking clerics sat in a circle, their expressions solemn.
The abbot of the Priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs sighed deeply. "If we let Marat continue this uproar, we will all suffer eventually..."
In the past week, the Bureau of Impartial Investigation had swept like a gale through eleven abbeys and numerous residences of high-ranking clerics in Paris and its surroundings.
They were virtually "hitting every target," uncovering hundreds of instances of corruption, both major and minor.
Yesterday, the Bureau of Impartial Investigation even borrowed personnel from the Intelligence Bureau, preparing to expand the scope of their investigation.
Meanwhile, large crowds gathered outside various orphanages, shouting slogans like "Natural Rights," "Transparent Orphanage Accounts," and "The Poor Are Not Slaves."
In some places, people even stormed the orphanages, releasing the residents who were being held there.
Archbishop Boulogne gritted his teeth. "We cannot sit idly by.
"We must immediately order all dioceses to declare Marat and his people as blasphemers, and that God will bring judgment upon the world because of their actions!"
Lancelot, the abbot of Saint-Sulpice Abbey, continued, "More importantly, we must use all our influence at Versailles to somehow bring down Roland and Dubuisson."
Ostensibly, the Minister of Civil Affairs and the Commissioner for Compulsory Education were at the forefront of the movement condemning church corruption.
A high-ranking cleric in the corner made a throat-slitting gesture, his voice chilling. "Why not just eliminate them directly..."
As the group discussed animatedly, Archbishop Beaumont slowly stood up, raising a hand to signal for quiet. Then, his voice low, he said, "You are gravely underestimating His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Indeed, he had been dealing with the Crown Prince since the "Potato Incident" and knew how formidable his methods were.
"This matter has already escalated so much. If you make any more unnecessary moves... just think about the fate of those bankers and tax farmers from years past."
Comments