Chapter 1372: Brienne's Proposal
Archbishop Beaumont and the others immediately exchanged surprised glances.
The Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, after all, was where the high-ranking church officials discussed matters in private. How had Brienne ended up here?
Beaumont hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Show him to the abbot's office."
Over ten minutes later, in the spacious abbot's office, Brienne smiled and bowed slightly to Archbishop Beaumont. "You are here, as I expected."
Beaumont quickly returned the bow. "I came to consult some ancient texts..."
Archbishop Brienne waved a hand. "If I'm not mistaken, Archbishop Chartres and Archbishop Sance must be here too, right?"
Archbishop Beaumont frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
Archbishop Brienne sat down in a chair. "The Church is facing such significant trouble, everyone must be here to discuss countermeasures."
"Oh, don't look at me like that. I am also a member of the Church; how could I stand by and watch those grandstanding fellows cause trouble?"
Instead of answering, Brienne counter-questioned, "Have you thought of any solutions?"
Seeing Beaumont's silence, he nodded. "Apparently not yet. Perhaps you'd like to hear my ideas. Oh, have everyone come over."
Soon after, Brienne looked at the seven most influential archbishops in France and cut straight to the point. "Currently, we face two main problems—"
"First, the ledgers seized by Robespierre will undoubtedly cause major problems if made public."
"Second, there's the public debate with Father Grenier's faction. Frankly, we cannot possibly win against them, especially with the Holy See's review hanging over us..."
Archbishop Sance, unable to contain himself, exclaimed, "Then what should we do?"
In just a few sentences, he had implicitly accepted Brienne as being on their side.
This was understandable; Brienne himself was the Archbishop of Toulouse. Although he had been slow to act against the Holy See's audit committee previously, he had indeed provided assistance.
Brienne first sighed. "If those ledgers are made public, it will certainly cause immense chaos, and the tithe will most likely be indefensible."
"Given this, we might as well proactively announce the abandonment of the tithe and pardon Robespierre."
"This way, under the guise of 'organizing past tax documents,' we can retrieve the ledgers, compile them into summary reports, and hand them over to the Tax Bureau."
"I can suggest to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince at the cabinet meeting that the unused tithe from previous years be left to the Church."
Although Archbishop Beaumont and the other archbishops wore expressions of reluctance, none voiced any opposition.
Brienne's method could at least guarantee their survival through the ledger crisis. Furthermore, retaining the remaining tithe—even if only a few hundred thousand francs were left—meant the Tax Bureau would no longer inquire about the whereabouts of past tax funds, allowing their former embezzlement to be buried in the dust of history.
Archbishop Beaumont discussed it briefly with the others and nodded, confirming Brienne's proposal.
Brienne, on his part, sighed again and continued, "As for the public debate, that might not be so easy to resolve... Father Grenier and his people are clearly trying to seize control of the Church."
Archbishop Beaumont nodded gravely. "Therefore, we must do everything in our power to prevent this debate!"
Brienne shook his head. "Even if we can stop it this time, they will find other opportunities."
"Then what are we to do?"
Brienne stated in a deep voice, "We do what the reformists intend to do, preemptively, thereby stripping them of their reason for existence!"
Upon hearing this, the archbishops' faces darkened. 'By your logic,' one seemed to think, 'if we throw all our money into the sea, we won't have to worry about thieves, right?'
Brienne quickly explained, "You see, after surrendering the tithe, the reformists' most central demand will be nothing more than the relinquishment of church assets..."
Archbishop Tours glared. "No, absolutely not!"
Brienne raised a hand, signaling him not to get agitated. "We can employ some 'techniques.'"
"The Church will claim to relinquish its lands, but the tenant farmers will need to pay to redeem them, just like during previous land reforms."
"This way, the church assets that are most scrutinized will be gone, and what more could the reformists say?"
He then cast a knowing look at the archbishops, lowering his voice. "Furthermore, francs are far easier to 'manipulate' than land."
Everyone nodded, understanding perfectly.
By having the farmers redeem the land, the Church wouldn't incur significant losses, and with such vast sums of money involved, there would be ample opportunity for embezzlement.
Archbishop Chartres, however, expressed some concern. "What if Father Grenier and his people turn their attention to the money from the redeemed land?"
Archbishop Brienne truly wanted to praise him; this was precisely the question he had intended to raise next.
"Indeed, that's a possibility." He feigned a moment of thought before saying, "We can invest this money into the Industrial Development Fund or purchase railway shares. As long as the Church's accounts hold no cash, they will have no point of attack."
"Ha, this could even serve as a political achievement for me. You know, my health isn't the best, and 'securing a substantial investment for the Industrial Development Fund' would allow me to retire with honor."
Archbishop Beaumont slowly nodded. "That is indeed an excellent method."
Both the Industrial Development Fund and the railway were highly profitable ventures. Investing money there would undoubtedly yield higher future returns for the Church than collecting rents and tithes.
However, he overlooked one crucial point: the fund and the railway companies were both controlled by the Crown Prince. Once the Church invested its money there, it would be almost impossible to withdraw it later.
Joseph had countless ways to tie up the Church's principal—
For instance, he could investigate the corruption of an archbishop advocating for the sale of the fund. He could even establish a "Fund Management Committee" within the Church, placing royal appointees in key positions.
After all, liquid assets like money were far easier to manage than fixed assets like land.
Archbishop Brienne stood up, his expression proud. "After these actions, the reformists will be reduced to mere clowns. I am absolutely confident that I can persuade His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to outlaw the Pious French Clergy Order."
"As for any debate, no one will remember it anymore!"
At three in the afternoon, the archbishops and others escorted Brienne to the abbey entrance.
Archbishop Beaumont held up three fingers and whispered to him, "Thank you for your help. I will have someone send a bank draft to your steward for these."
Indeed, for a matter that nearly saved the Church, 300,000 francs as 'compensation' was not an excessive amount.
Brienne smiled and nodded, then bade farewell to the group and entered his carriage.
He looked back at the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, muttering to himself, 'Your Highness, I have finally completed another task worthy of pride for you before my retirement.'
Yes, Joseph had never intended to allow a genuine public debate between the Church and the reformists from the outset. Such an event would only severely damage the Church's reputation and plunge it into serious internal strife and division.
In this era, the Church served as a community committee and the role of grassroots civil administrators, acting as the ballast for stability in French foundational society. Joseph would absolutely not wish for chaos to erupt within the Church unless it was absolutely unavoidable.
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