Chapter 171: Hunting the 'Big Fish'
For some reason, when Joseph heard the figure "ten million livres," not a hint of anger stirred within him. Instead, a strange sense of comfort welled up.
He leaned closer to Calonne, asking with eager anticipation:
"Is this amount Necker personally embezzled, or the total problematic funds?"
"It's Necker's profit from these dealings, Your Highness. More than half of the financial loans he oversaw at the time might have been irregular."
Joseph suddenly felt the world brighten, and he could almost hear the joyous singing of little angels.
It was a well-known fact that during Necker's tenure as Minister of Finance, the amount France borrowed from banks increased by nearly a billion livres.
If Calonne's words were true, then, by the lowest estimate, a staggering 500 million livres in loans could have involved illicit dealings.
Joseph's heart pounded—if he could seize this evidence of wrongdoing, then those 500 million livres in loans could be re-audited!
Typically, interest payments are suspended during a loan re-audit!!
And even further, loans with severe irregularities could be directly...
Joseph pinched his thigh firmly, stopping himself from dwelling on it. The prospect was simply too alluring, too easy to get lost in.
He fixed his gaze on Calonne, his eyes seeming to burn:
"How confident are you that those loans are problematic?"
Calonne was unnerved by his stare and instinctively replied:
"Based on my many years of... *ahem*... financial experience, the probability of problems existing is over ninety percent. It's just that I couldn't find the evidence..."
"Excellent!" Joseph stood up excitedly, clapping him firmly on the shoulder. "You have made an outstanding contribution this time."
Immediately afterward, Joseph instructed him: "From now on, you will be protected around the clock by my personal guard. You are forbidden to contact anyone outside."
"Ah?" Calonne was startled. "Your Highness, are you placing me under house arrest?"
"Oh, no, it's just temporary. Once the matter with Necker is resolved, I will personally welcome you back to Paris."
As Joseph spoke, he picked up paper and pen from a nearby table, quickly wrote a short note, sealed it with wax, stamped it with his personal seal, and then turned to leave.
He handed the letter to Clauzel, the captain of his guard, and instructed:
"Please send someone back to Paris with the greatest possible speed, and have the Police Bureau immediately arrest Necker. That is, Jacques Necker, the former Minister of Finance. Until I return, no one is to approach Necker or his family.
"Please deliver this letter to Archbishop Brienne; he will coordinate everything."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
After making all these arrangements, Joseph felt a profound sense of calm. Seeing that it was still early, he stretched lazily and smiled at Eman, gesturing:
"Since we're rarely in Lorraine, let's go see Nancy."
...
Northwest of Toul, at the Dielul open-pit coal mine, about eight kilometers from the star-shaped bastions built by Marshal Vauban.
Clémentine stood with a slight pout at the edge of the enormous mine pit, staring blankly at the coal miners swinging their picks below.
Just this morning, His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, had ordered his personal guard to escort her here for a visit. Before her departure, he had thoughtfully explained the details of Toul's largest coal mine and wished her an enjoyable time.
The open-pit mine, devoid of trees, was constantly swept by small breezes, sending fine coal dust swirling into the air.
Annoyed, the petite girl pushed away the handkerchief her maid, Rosalia, offered to wipe her face, muttering dejectedly:
"Stop wiping. It's no use; there's coal dust everywhere, it's impossible to get clean..."
The maid said cautiously: "Miss, perhaps we should return?"
"No," the petite girl puffed out her cheeks. "What if my cousin asks what I saw, and I can't tell him?"
"Then, shall I accompany you for a walk?"
"Mmm." The petite girl nodded. Surrounded by guards, she walked along the edge of the pit, down a spiral ramp made of compacted coal slag, towards the bottom of the mine.
Several miners came towards them, carrying baskets full of coal. When they saw Clémentine's luxurious gown and the imposing guards flanking her, they hastily stepped aside, bowing their heads and shrinking back to clear the path.
Supported by her maid, the petite girl passed by the miners. Suddenly, she felt the ground give way beneath her feet.
A miner caught sight of something unusual on the ground and cried out instantly: "Watch out!" He quickly dropped his coal basket, leapt forward, and shoved her and the maid aside.
Immediately afterward, the coal slag ground where Clémentine had stood cracked open, and with a clattering sound, fell downwards.
"Run!" The guard behind Clémentine, quick-witted and agile, grabbed her under his arm and dashed forward with long strides.
A few seconds later, a large section of the spiral ramp had collapsed. Clémentine and the miners stood on one side of the gap, while the other guards stood on the other, all staring blankly at each other, their hearts still pounding.
"Wah—" Only then did the fear truly set in for the petite girl, and she burst into tears.
Soon after, at the top of the pit, the mine owner frantically rushed over with his men, his voice tinged with a sob as he apologized to Clémentine:
"Esteemed Miss, I am so terribly sorry! God is my witness, this place hasn't collapsed in over ten years, I don't know why... Oh, heavens! Are you hurt? What... what ever shall I do?"
"It's not your fault," the petite girl said, her voice choked, as she looked at her calf. There was a small cut on her leg, but the bleeding had mostly stopped.
She turned her gaze to the miners nearby. They all had various scrapes and bruises, and their tattered clothes and bodies smudged with coal dust made them look utterly wretched.
Clémentine limped over to them, feeling guilty that her misfortune had implicated them. She pulled out a handful of candies and offered them to the injured miners:
"Are you alright? Please, have some candy; it'll make the pain go away."
The miners were overwhelmed with surprise and gratitude. They hastily stood up, took the candies but kept their heads bowed, unsure how to express their thanks.
After a long moment, a bolder worker stammered:
"M-may God bless you, kind Miss."
Sugar was a very expensive commodity at the time. These men had hardly ever tasted sugar in their lives, let alone such high-quality confections. Some were already planning in their minds to save these candies for their children as Christmas gifts, sure to create a sweet and unforgettable memory for them.
Rosalia, the maid, followed her young mistress and gave each of the injured miners a few silver coins.
The mine owner watched Clémentine's retreating figure and finally sighed in relief. He had expected to pay a hefty sum in compensation, but to his surprise, she hadn't blamed him at all.
He then looked at the silver coins in the miners' hands and suddenly barked with a dark expression:
"This is all your fault, you good-for-nothings! You nearly made me offend that noble young lady. Now hand over that money!"
...
Paris.
In the Louvre District, stood a three-story villa, surrounded by spacious gardens, its exterior adorned with intricate stone carvings, and whose artistic design was highlighted by numerous French windows.
A man in a blue-grey coat, with a drooping nose and a prominent chin, suppressed his anger and pointed a finger at Erich:
"You idiot! I told you to just keep an eye on Calonne, why did you kill those two police officers? And one of them even escaped!"
"I'm very sorry, Monsieur Necker!" Erich glanced nervously at him and said, lowering his head, "According to Fred, that police officer named Marat presented evidence that your loan operations were problematic and demanded more evidence from Calonne.
"You instructed me that no information about you should leave Toul. So I... I had no choice but to eliminate those two officers."
To outsiders, the Office of Fair Investigation was part of the Police Bureau, so Marat and his men would certainly be perceived as police officers.
Necker was stunned by this revelation and asked urgently: "Did Calonne tell those two anything?"
"That, I'm not entirely sure. Fred was dismissed by Calonne afterward."
Necker frowned, muttered a few words under his breath, then suddenly glared at his subordinate and barked:
"Idiot! What you should be doing now is eliminating that police officer, not running to Paris to babble at me!"
"Please, hear me out," Erich said, scrambling. "That police officer was being heavily guarded by many people; it was difficult to act against him at the moment. Furthermore, a few days later, many more people arrived at Calonne's location."
Necker grew tense: "Who were they?"
"Fred said those people were extremely vigilant and forbade anyone from approaching. Oh, there were over a hundred guards, and their uniforms seemed to bear the royal fleur-de-lis emblem."
"The royal family?"
Erich nodded and continued: "Fred also seemed to have seen a young man, about fourteen or fifteen years old, whose status must have been extraordinary."
Necker's pupils suddenly constricted to pinpricks. A fourteen- or fifteen-year-old youth accompanied by a hundred royal guards—there was only one such person in all of France: His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince!
He paced restlessly around the room, mentally piecing together the entire situation.
First, the police approached Calonne and brought up his problematic loans. Then, Erich killed one officer, and the other was immediately placed under heavy protection. And now, the royal family had intervened...
Putting it all together, it was highly probable that the royal family knew about his dealings with the banks.
This situation was likely dire!
Necker immediately took a bag of gold coins from his safe and handed it to Erich, saying sternly:
"Go back to Toul, gather your men, and find a place to hide!"
Erich weighed the coin purse in his hand and exclaimed delightedly:
"Alright, Monsieur Necker. However, my men all died that day, so I'll just go into hiding myself."
He bowed respectfully and turned to leave, beaming.
'So it's just you left?' A cold glint flickered in Necker's eyes. He pulled a bell cord, summoning his butler, and with a grim expression, made a slicing motion towards Erich's retreating back.
The butler nodded and departed, returning a few minutes later:
"Monsieur Necker, it has been handled."
"Good." Necker then instructed, "Have the madam and children prepare. We might be in trouble; we'll need to go to the 'country estate'."
"Understood, Monsieur Necker."
The butler departed, and Necker called for one of his confidants, to whom he whispered some instructions.
Before dusk, the confidant returned and said to Necker:
"Monsieur Necker, just as you suspected, a number of secret police were dispatched to Toul a few days ago. Furthermore, I also learned from Versailles that the King had previously signed a document pardoning Calonne."
Having served as Minister of Finance for many years and being extremely wealthy, Necker had extensive intelligence networks among the French nobility.
"Secret police? A pardon for Calonne?"
Necker was now absolutely certain that the royal family was targeting him. While Calonne might not necessarily cooperate with the royals, Necker couldn't afford to take that risk.
After all, his own affairs were simply too extensive...
He quickly made a decision, took out a pre-packed leather suitcase, and then called for his butler:
"Depart immediately for the 'country estate'."
"Yes, Monsieur Necker."
Soon, several inconspicuous carriages drove out from Necker's residence. Fouché's planted agents immediately followed in their own carriages—how could Joseph not have someone watching Necker?
Meanwhile, in a modest dwelling several hundred meters from Necker's house, the floorboards were lifted from within. Necker and his family, along with his butler, emerged one after another. It turned out a secret tunnel had been dug, leading directly to his villa.
Necker and the others boarded carriages waiting outside and vanished into the night.
Just an hour later, nearly a hundred police officers, personally led by Besançon, surrounded Necker's villa. Numerous secret police and agents from the Police Intelligence Bureau also assisted in the arrest from the perimeter.
However, they only found over thirty servants. Necker and his family were nowhere to be found. Even the Police Intelligence Bureau's undercover agents, who had been lying in wait, were only now startled to realize Necker had vanished.
...
A ball was being hosted at the home of Isaac, Count and President of the French Banking Guild.
A sharp-looking middle-aged man hastily entered the great hall, found Count Isaac, and whispered a few words in his ear.
The latter's expression instantly changed, and he turned to ask:
"Is this reliable information?"
The middle-aged man nodded: "All the newspapers are already writing articles about 'Necker's Residence Surrounded by Police.' However, the information I received from the Secret Police is that they haven't found Necker."
Isaac immediately sought out a few individuals from the crowd at the ball and went upstairs with them.
"Are you saying Necker might be targeted by the police?"
Isaac shook his head:
"If it were just the police, Necker wouldn't have escaped. It's likely the royal family has made its move."
Another wizened old man with reddened skin frowned:
"Why is the royal family acting so swiftly this time? Not a single whisper got out."
"That's not clear yet," said Isaac gravely, "but I believe everyone here knows how 'dangerous' Necker is."
He scanned the few people in the room: "After all, almost all our families have had dealings with him."
A stout man, whose face was thickly powdered and eyes were ringed with dark circles, gritted his teeth:
"I kept saying before that we should send that fellow packing to England, but you all still wanted to bring him into Versailles as Minister of Finance! Now look, we'll all be implicated by him!"
"Calm down, Comte de Kaunitz." The wizened old man raised a hand, making a calming gesture. "What's the point of saying all this now? The most crucial thing now is to absolutely prevent the royal family from finding Necker first."
"Marquis de Ludo is right." Isaac nodded. "We know Necker better than the royal family does, so we can certainly find him faster, and then arrange to send him to England, or..."
He narrowed his eyes and drew a finger across his throat.
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