Chapter 1370: The Just Crown Prince
Joseph then instructed the Minister of Trade, "Monsieur Bailly, I will be meeting with the three Bernese state councilors the day after tomorrow. I hope you will also be present. After all, you are the only high-ranking official they have dealt with in our country."
Bailly paused, surprised, and asked, "Your Royal Highness, are you prepared to agree to their demands?"
"Why not?"
"Your Royal Highness, accepting Bern would not only strain our nation's finances but also provoke strong opposition from Vienna."
Switzerland had always been a buffer between Austria and France. Now, if that buffer were to become an extension of French power, Austria certainly wouldn't stand idly by.
Joseph, however, smiled. "Oh, I forgot about that particular benefit.
"Very well, it's decided. Please prepare your remarks in advance."
Indeed, he was vexed, lacking an excuse to continue vexing Austria. If the situation in Switzerland could prick Franz II's sensitive nerves, it would undoubtedly be a good thing for France.
An hour later, Joseph was trying on wedding attire in the Petit Trianon when Eman approached and whispered, "Your Royal Highness, the Viscount of Besançon has arrived."
The Police Commissioner hurried forward and bowed. "Your Royal Highness, you sent for me?"
Joseph motioned for him to sit. "Have you heard about the three Swiss councilors being defrauded of 400,000 francs?"
"Yes, Your Royal Highness." The Viscount of Besançon seemed a little nervous. "I received the report... but at present, we can only confirm that Lady Nobert was completely unaware..."
The Police Bureau had largely dismissed the 'foolish Swiss duped' as a joke, wasting no effort on investigating it.
Joseph nodded and instructed, "Please apprehend the fraudsters as soon as possible.
"Oh, and I hope to see a detailed case report before tomorrow morning."
"Yes, Your Royal Highness."
...
At nine o'clock the next morning, Beaumont arrived at Joseph's reception room with six archbishops.
"Your Royal Highness..."
As they bowed and were about to speak, Joseph angrily cut them off. "The Roman Curia's reach is far too long!
"I have already dispatched Count Segur to Rome to lodge the strongest possible protest with the Pope!"
Archbishop Beaumont quickly asked, "Your Royal Highness, what about the Holy See's audit committee..."
Joseph waved his hand emphatically. "I have already instructed the Viscount of Besançon to send all of them back to Avignon by tomorrow!"
The archbishops exchanged glances. The Crown Prince had displayed decisive action, but they felt something wasn't quite right.
Indeed, the Holy See's assessment was a yoke Joseph had placed around the necks of high-ranking church officials. How could it be removed so quickly?
The members of the Holy See's audit committee could be expelled, but the stigma of "theologically unqualified" for those archbishops and priests who failed the assessment remained.
At this moment, what they most needed was to pass a re-examination with good results, or for the Holy See to declare the assessment invalid.
In fact, the audit committee had previously accepted bribes from the church and agreed to leak the exam questions, but now the Crown Prince was driving the committee away...
The archbishops wanted to say, 'Wait until after the re-examination to send them away,' but seeing the Crown Prince's uncompromising stance against the Holy See, they didn't know how to bring it up.
Joseph continued to denounce the Roman Curia, so Archbishop Beaumont had no choice but to move on to the next topic. "Your Royal Highness, regarding the Tax Bureau's unauthorized intrusion into dozens of monasteries across the nation three days ago and the confiscation of numerous documents, I implore you to uphold justice for the Church."
In truth, under the growing pressure from the reformist faction, the Church had already planned to partially relinquish control over the tithes.
However, a few days ago, the Tax Bureau's sudden 'public humiliation' of the Church gave them an opportunity to turn the tables.
They were certain that those tax ledgers would not reveal any problems in the short term. Now, by aggressively attacking the Tax Bureau over this matter, Robespierre and his subordinates would all be dismissed, or even exiled.
This would immediately throw the Tax Bureau into chaos, leaving them no time to concern themselves with tithes.
Of course, Archbishop Beaumont and the others knew there was another possible outcome: the Crown Prince might intervene to protect the Tax Bureau.
They had also made ample contingency plans for this—to use both carrot and stick, bargaining with the Crown Prince. Ultimately, as long as His Royal Highness agreed to leave the tithes with the Church, they would 'reluctantly' let the Tax Bureau off the hook.
Joseph immediately flared with anger, slamming his hand on the table and shouting, "Robespierre is absolutely outrageous! Storming into sacred monasteries like a bandit, this is unequivocally a crime!"
A flicker of joy passed through the eyes of the archbishops. It seemed the Tax Bureau was doomed this time.
Joseph then took a report from his drawer and handed it to Archbishop Beaumont. "Take a look. This was submitted by Robespierre the day before yesterday. He still insists the seized accounts are problematic, yet he offers no evidence!"
Archbishop Beaumont immediately feigned immense grievance. "Your Royal Highness, this is an unwarranted slander against the Church, and an disrespect to God..."
Joseph nodded forcefully and declared loudly, "Exactly. This time, the Tax Bureau officials involved must be severely punished. And we must prove the Church's innocence to everyone, leaving Robespierre and his men speechless!"
Beaumont and the others were instantly overjoyed, showering Joseph with profuse gratitude and flattery.
Joseph waited until their voices quieted somewhat, then continued, "I have decided to dismiss all Tax Bureau officials involved in this matter. Robespierre will be tried by the High Court.
"As for the account books he seized, they will be publicly displayed at the High Court for one month, so everyone can clearly see that the Church has never misappropriated tax funds!"
Archbishop Beaumont's heart tightened instantly. While the tithe accounts had been balanced, they were still fabricated.
Public display?
Would it reveal that a small renovation of a certain church cost 8,000 francs? Or that a non-existent Mass cost 3,000 francs? Or that an iron holy relic was purchased for 10,000 francs?
Wait... he suddenly realized something.
These thousands and tens of thousands of francs added up to hundreds of millions in total. And over 80% of that was the Church's own spending.
If the sans-culottes saw that a monastery with only a dozen priests had annual expenditures as high as 200,000 francs, who knew what chaos they would cause!
Thinking this, Archbishop Beaumont hastily waved his hand. "Your Royal Highness, those, um, those account books contain a lot of... confidential data, such as 'contributions' to the royal family. It doesn't seem appropriate for public disclosure..."
Joseph immediately shook his head, stating righteously, "No, for the Church's reputation, even if it means revealing the royal family's income and expenses, it's worth it! I must let everyone know that the Tax Bureau has committed an unforgivable error!"
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