Chapter 1369: Turning Waste into Treasure
Joseph beckoned Randale into the room, then frowned and asked, "What exactly did he do?"
"The Tax Bureau seized all the tithe ledgers from those monasteries, as well as some other financial records. They also had a confrontation with the monastery guards..."
Joseph pressed a hand to his forehead, shaking his head.
He'd intended to use the immense pressure from the Holy See's assessment and the religious reforms on the Church. This would leave the Church with no choice but to relinquish its tithes. Next, the government would take over the payment of salaries for ordinary clergy and the maintenance of churches, sacred artifacts, and similar properties, eventually covering all of the Church's expenses. Without any outgoing expenses, the Church's continued ownership of vast assets would become indefensible. With that foundation laid, Father Grenier and other reformists would take the lead, gradually pushing for the nationalization of Church assets. The reform of the Church could be largely completed within three to five years.
But Robespierre's sudden stunt had completely derailed his "boiling a frog in warm water" approach. Joseph was almost certain that Robespierre would struggle to find anything useful in the seized ledgers. If the Church's old foxes hadn't managed to balance their books by now, that would be the real miracle.
He turned to Randale.
"Are the ledgers problematic?"
Randale shook his head.
"No irregularities have been found yet, Your Highness. But Mr. Robespierre is personally overseeing the verification. You know how extensive the accounts are."
Joseph's frown deepened. Robespierre had forced his way into dozens of monasteries without a search warrant, or even a solid pretext. This was an extremely serious matter. In an era of widespread superstition, monasteries were considered God's own domain. Beyond that, the mere act of a violent government agency arbitrarily breaking in and seizing financial documents would instill fear in both the nobility and the bourgeoisie, pushing them to side with the Church. The Church reforms, which had been set to unfold naturally, were now thrown into turmoil by his heavy-handed approach.
Joseph exhaled slowly. This was, unfortunately, entirely consistent with Robespierre's usual style. He could suppress the incident, but Robespierre would undoubtedly face punishment—at the very least, dismissal. The Church might even seize the opportunity to play the victim and leverage it for concessions in the reforms. Or, could he use a concession on the tithes to save Robespierre's position?
He shook his head in irritation, then instructed Randale:
"Tell Robespierre to return those ledgers to the monasteries immediately, then submit a formal application to audit their tax situation."
Randale glanced at his expression, then spoke cautiously:
"Your Highness, perhaps if we wait a few more days, the Tax Bureau might uncover something. After all, these are accounts totaling hundreds of millions of francs; it will take a considerable amount of time..."
"They certainly won't give him the chance." Joseph paused mid-sentence. "Wait, did you just say hundreds of millions of francs?"
"Ah? Yes, Your Highness."
Joseph's eyes narrowed imperceptibly.
'Who said balanced accounts made the ledgers useless?'
The sheer sum—hundreds of millions of francs—was a powerful weapon in itself!
Historically, Louis XVI had never embezzled funds, often even using his own money to contribute to the national treasury. Yet, when Necker publicly disclosed the royal family's financial data, it still ignited immense public outrage.
Simply because the royal family's expenditures were exorbitant.
When everyone was struggling just to put food on the table, yet saw their King spending millions of francs annually, with a single banquet costing tens of thousands of francs, no one could remain calm.
Even if a significant portion of those expenses stemmed from political or diplomatic necessities, no one would bother to listen to an explanation.
And now, weren't the Church's ledgers in precisely the same situation?
Joseph quickly gathered his thoughts, then first instructed Randale:
"Have the Tax Bureau submit a report before nightfall today, primarily detailing..."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Once the Director of the Intelligence Bureau had departed, Joseph turned to Eman, who stood nearby:
"Please immediately inform Father Grenier and Father Sieyes to attend an audience tomorrow morning, scheduled right after Archbishop Beaumont and the others. Also, instruct them to make these preparations..."
With the official business concluded, it was already nearing noon.
Joseph recalled his promise to Alexandra to go try on a dress—she had discreetly excused herself upon seeing the Director of the Intelligence Bureau—and hurried toward the Petit Trianon.
As he stepped out, he spotted a tall figure standing in the corridor, looking somewhat conflicted.
"Miss Fraise?" He looked at Sorel, offering a polite smile. "Is there something you need?"
Sorel nervously approached, performing a curtsy:
"Your Royal Highness. Er, would you be able to spare a moment to grant an audience to three unfortunate Swiss men?"
"Unfortunate Swiss men?"
"Oh, they're members of the Bern cantonal parliament, and Bern wishes to secede from the Swiss Confederation to join France. It seems they've encountered a, well, possibly a group of fraudsters..."
After Sorel had roughly explained the situation, Joseph couldn't help but frown:
"Why was I not informed of this?"
He then turned to the young woman:
"You've done very well. Please inform Count Erlach that I will await them here the day after tomorrow morning."
"Thierry, please remind Eman to add this to my schedule later."
"Yes, Your Highness."
A flash of delight sparked in Sorel's large eyes, and she performed another impeccable curtsy:
"Truly, thank you so much, Your Highness!"
As the young woman departed, Joseph turned to a nearby attendant, gesturing: "Have Monsieur Bailly come to see me immediately."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Half an hour later, the Minister of Trade explained to the Crown Prince with a slightly aggrieved air:
"Your Highness, that desolate region offers nothing but mountains and poverty, with hardly any proper roads. Our nation faces no obstacles, whether in traversing Switzerland or in recruiting mercenaries there. Governing that territory would merely squander vast amounts of tax revenue. So, I sent those fools packing... Ahem, I mean, the Bernese."
Joseph gazed at his earnest expression, feeling a pang of helplessness.
People of this era still held a purely utilitarian view of territory. They didn't realize how incredibly difficult it would become to alter borders once Europe's national consciousness broadly awakened in two or three decades.
Western Switzerland had a substantial French-speaking population and was generally pro-French. Now that they were actively seeking to join France, how could he possibly refuse them?
While Switzerland might seem impoverished, it possessed traditional skills in precision manufacturing, like watchmaking. With appropriate investment in capital and technology, the region could quickly develop a thriving precision industry.
Furthermore, Switzerland's geographical position was critically important.
Troops departing from Lyon, Bresse, and other regions could swiftly strike directly at southwestern Austria by passing through Switzerland.
Moreover, by deploying just a small number of soldiers to construct defenses within Switzerland's rugged mountains, eastern France would become an impenetrable fortress. Even in the age of tanks, no army could ever threaten this region.
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