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Chapter 479: Heavy-Handed Strike

Early the next morning.

Marat straightened his attire, then, at Eman's subtle gesture, pushed open the door and entered. He saluted the Crown Prince, who was seated at the table, placing a hand over his chest. "Your Highness, I'm here," he stated succinctly.

Joseph rose with a smile. "It's good to see you, Mr. Marat."

"Did you summon me for a specific purpose?"

Joseph was accustomed to Marat's particular attitude toward the royal family. He gestured for him to sit on the sofa and nodded. "Indeed, there are some matters I need you to handle."

He sat opposite Marat and handed him a list. "These officials may be involved in corruption. I'd like you to investigate them."

The list contained the names of over 40 officials who had previously opposed the abolition of the Tax Farmer system.

The bureaucracy was supposed to be a tool for the royal family to govern the nation, yet some dared to openly defy the Crown. Joseph had decided to strike hard this time, putting these individuals back in their place.

And against corrupt officials, the Bureau of Impartial Investigation was undoubtedly the sharpest blade.

"Not yet."

"Then has someone reported them?"

"No."

Marat set the list down, his brow furrowed with a stern expression. "Your Highness, then I must refuse your request. The Office of Fair Investigation is meant to oversee the integrity of officials and protect the rights of the populace, not to be a tool for your political objectives!"

Joseph's face darkened. Marat and his people were indeed dedicated and fearless in the face of power, highly capable, but also incredibly stubborn, refusing to compromise even for him. However, this was a necessary quality for an anti-corruption department.

While he was certain that it would be strange if these officials on the list, who had collectively opposed the abolition of the Tax Farmer system, hadn't taken bribes, he could only say with resignation, "Mr. Marat, I'm merely asking you to initiate an investigation. If they are innocent, then nothing will happen to them, naturally."

He thought to himself, 'Given the current state of French bureaucracy, if I were to convict all these officials of corruption without investigation or trial, there likely wouldn't be many wrongful convictions.'

Marat frowned again, looking as if he were going against his own principles. He lowered his head and said, "Very well, Your Highness, I will send men to investigate. Is there anything else?"

"That's all for now."

Marat picked up the list, gave Joseph a chest salute, took a few steps back, and turned to leave, muttering softly, 'What a waste of the Bureau's resources...'

Shortly after Marat departed, Brienne arrived in a hurry, handing Joseph a stack of letters. "Your Highness," he said anxiously, "These Remonstrances just arrived yesterday. They are all from officials across various regions, expressing opposition to the Tax System Reform."

Joseph glanced at the letters in his hands; there were at least twenty of them. His brow immediately furrowed.

Brienne was well aware of the Crown Prince's determination to abolish the Tax Farmers this time. His expression turned grave. "Your Highness, there are likely even more Remonstrances on their way to Versailles.

"With such strong opposition currently, it might not be wise to push the Tax System Reform too quickly..."

Joseph knew he was right. Officials from nearly every corner of the nation were opposing the Tax System Reform. If he were to push it through forcefully against so much opposition, it would undoubtedly trigger a backlash from the entire bureaucracy.

He took a deep breath. He hadn't realized the Tax Farmer conglomerate wielded such immense power, capable of mobilizing so many officials to act on their behalf.

But the more formidable they were, the more imperative it became to eradicate this force completely!

The immediate priority was to halt the momentum of the officials opposing the Tax System Reform. Otherwise, the more officials joined the opposition, the more difficult the situation would become.

Originally, he had planned for Marat to "deal with" the first batch of outspoken opposing officials, after which others, seeing the shift in circumstances, would likely no longer dare to accept money from the Tax Farmer conglomerate to speak on their behalf.

However, there would be a time lag. Once the officials' Remonstrances reached Versailles, it would mean they could no longer turn back and would have to oppose the reform to the very end.

Of course, if absolutely necessary, he could directly dismiss a large number of officials and forcibly abolish the Tax Farmer system, but that would lead to enormous political instability. It could easily devolve into a situation of the royal family against the entire bureaucratic class, which was absolutely not what he wanted.

Joseph's gaze swept over the letters in his hand, and suddenly, an idea sparked within him.

The very symbol of these officials' participation in opposing the Tax System Reform was these Remonstrances.

This meant that without these Remonstrances, they would remain neutral. The moment they realized the tide was turning against them, they could immediately shift their allegiance back to the royal family.

He immediately turned to Eman. "Please summon Viscount Arouet, the Director-General of Postal Services, and Mr. Fouché to see me. Oh, and also the head of the Intelligence Bureau's 'Black Chamber' department..."

The "Black Chamber" was the intelligence department responsible for monitoring mail.

Eman quickly bowed. "That would be Mr. Jean Randale, Your Highness."

"Yes, that's right. Please have him come as well."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Two hours later, the Director-General of Postal Services and two high-ranking Intelligence Bureau officials hastily arrived at Versailles.

Once the three had offered their respects, Joseph immediately instructed Viscount Arouet, the Director-General of Postal Services, "I need you to orchestrate some 'incidents' within the postal system immediately—incidents that would cause a partial collapse of the system.

"You needn't worry about being punished for this. Afterwards, I will transfer you to another department, one with even higher responsibilities than your current position."

Arouet had been personally promoted by Joseph from the lower ranks; his loyalty was absolutely assured.

Arouet's eyes widened in surprise, but he still responded, "Yes, Your Highness. However..."

Before he could inquire further, he saw the Crown Prince turn to Fouché. "Have the 'Black Chamber' intercept and examine all recent official correspondence sent to Versailles. Any letters pertaining to the Tax System Reform are to be 'detained' by the postal service or returned to their origin."

Fouché and Jean Randale exchanged a glance, then quickly bowed. "Yes, Your Highness."

...

That very night, a minor fire broke out in the Paris Postal Service's main office building.

The blaze was quickly brought under control, destroying only two offices and a warehouse on the third floor. There were no casualties, but a portion of the mail was reduced to ashes in the fire.

As the news hit the papers, the two main officials of the postal service began to publicly blame each other, each unwilling to shoulder responsibility. The dispute escalated all the way to Chief Minister Brienne.

Consequently, Director-General Arouet took sick leave, and the officials within the entire postal system split into two factions, each supporting one of the two opposing superiors.

For a time, the postal system was in utter disarray, with no one attending to daily mail operations. Large quantities of letters were backlogged or returned to their senders.

However, any insider within the postal system who observed carefully would notice that ordinary mail largely continued to be delivered normally, while official correspondence was the most affected.