Chapter 26: Terrible Debts
Chapter 26: Terrible Debts
The next day.
On his first day as Assistant to the Minister of Finance, Joseph arrived early at the South Wing of Versailles Palace, where the Minister of Finance's office was located on the ground floor.
As he hurried along, he couldn't help but be reminded of rushing to clock in for projects every morning in his previous life.
He used this as an excuse to avoid the elaborate breakfast rituals, opting instead for a simple meal of bread, grilled fish, and vegetable soup, saving a considerable amount of time.
As Eman pushed open the door to the Minister of Finance's office for him, Joseph immediately saw Archbishop Brienne angrily pounding on the table, his voice low with indignation as he fumed:
"These selfish wretches, they speak of equality and justice, but all they see is gold! Don't they realize this will strangle the entire nation's finances?"
Joseph stepped forward, picked up the brass pen holder that had toppled over, and asked:
"Archbishop Brienne, who has incurred your wrath?"
"Your Highness, the High Court formally refused to register the Tax Bill yesterday afternoon."
Brienne sighed, muttering bitterly, "Those greedy nobles, all for a paltry land tax, are willing to ruin France. Don't they know that when that day truly comes, they'll descend into hell right alongside us!"
As a relatively upright clergyman, this was the most venomous curse he could utter.
He turned to Joseph and apologized:
"Your Highness, I apologize for you having to hear such impolite words."
Joseph waved a hand dismissively:
"It's nothing, Archbishop, I understand how you feel."
He then picked up the thick stack of bill texts returned by the High Court, seeing the "Registration Denied" stamp upon them:
"Archbishop Brienne, what do you plan to do next?"
Brienne closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose lightly, and said despondently:
"I can only make further compromises, then seek the Church's support to persuade those selfish and greedy individuals as much as possible."
Joseph secretly shook his head. 'Those high-ranking clergymen are also nobles; expecting them to follow religious doctrine and save humanity is simply a pipe dream.'
Seeing his silence, Brienne sighed deeply once more:
"I know it's probably futile. May the Lord bless France."
Joseph frowned slightly. 'He absolutely had to intervene in the Tax Bill matter.'
This incident, while seemingly just about nobles being unwilling to pay more taxes, was actually a test of royal authority by the aristocratic class.
Historically, Louis XVI had tried to "use both carrot and stick" regarding the bill, but the nobles, relying on the courts and public opinion, had pushed him back repeatedly. From then on, the nobles confirmed Louis XVI's weakness and susceptibility to bullying, becoming even more audacious in their power struggles against the monarchy, plunging the nation into further chaos.
Therefore, Joseph had to nip this trend in the bud.
He needed to ensure the bill was implemented in the shortest possible time, suppress the arrogant airs of the aristocratic class, and make them understand that royal authority would always reign supreme over the nobility!
This task seemed difficult, but it wasn't impossible.
The nobles relied on nothing more than the High Court's registration authority and their ability to manipulate public opinion, inciting the populace against the monarchy.
Regarding the former, French courts were notoriously corrupt; not a single person in the judicial system had clean hands. If he could uncover their dirty deeds, there would be many avenues for manipulation.
As for the latter, combating the nobles' so-called public opinion tactics with 21st-century internet propaganda and various new media tricks would be like an adult fighting elementary school children.
Joseph mused for a moment, then looked at Brienne as if comforting a helpless old man:
"Archbishop, things might not be as dire as you think. Perhaps in another two or three months, the bill could pass."
"I hope so, Your Highness." Brienne nodded, dragging his heavy steps toward his private office on the west side. "I'll review the tax clauses again to see if there are any more concessions to be made..."
Joseph returned to his office on the east side, had his assistant bring him internal financial documents, and began scrutinizing them.
The more he understood France's financial situation, the more alarmed he became. It was a wonder how past Ministers of Finance had managed to keep the national treasury from collapsing.
France's total debt amounted to 2 billion livres, most of which was National Debt. Sixty percent was held by French citizens, and forty percent by foreign entities.
The interest on these National Debts ranged between 8% and 12%, meaning that 200 million livres had to be paid in interest alone each year!
The nation's annual financial income was only 500 million livres; 40% of that went just to interest payments. Repaying the principal was out of the question.
Historically, it wasn't until after the Great Revolution, when the National Convention confiscated all church property and Emperor Napoleon's campaigns brought in war spoils, that this enormous financial hole was barely patched up.
Besides the National Debt, there was another, even more terrifying category of debt: short-term bank loans.
These were short-term loans taken out in the nation's name from banks when the treasury faced liquidity problems, typically repaid after National Debts were sold, but with interest rates as high as 15-25%!
Although these short-term debts amounted to less than 200 million livres, the monthly interest paid to banks exceeded 1.8 million livres.
And while they were called short-term debts, given France's current financial situation, they were essentially long-term obligations, with new debts being incurred almost immediately after old ones were repaid.
As Joseph was agonizing over the debt problem, his assistant knocked and entered, bowing to him. "Your Highness, representatives from Laborde Bank stated that due to temporary business changes, the loan negotiations need to be postponed, and a specific date has not yet been determined."
Joseph nodded dismissively. "Thank you, I understand."
Only then did he recall that one of his primary duties as Assistant to the Minister of Finance was to negotiate short-term loans with banks—essentially, the operation of borrowing new debt to pay off old debt.
He picked up the list of important tasks his assistant had already prepared, and indeed, he saw the loan negotiation with Laborde Bank scheduled for 2 PM.
This particular sum was primarily for repaying a 6 million livre one-year National Debt that was due in a month.
According to the original plan, this money would be borrowed from two separate banks and repaid two months later using National Debt revenue. The usual interest rates were 18% and 19%.
'Running a bank in this era really is incredibly profitable,' he couldn't help but marvel. 'Such interest rates would be blatant usury in the 21st century.'
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