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Chapter 507: The Art of Shifting Funds

After collecting clues, the police assured Lemais they would find the culprits as quickly as possible and left two officers to guard the Tax Bureau.

Lemais' original plan was for his subordinates to familiarize themselves with operations at markets or factories, but after several attacks, he had no choice but to instruct everyone not to leave the Police Bureau while working and to travel in groups of three when returning home.

Even so, Tax Bureau personnel continued to be attacked for some time after. Over a dozen rioters even stormed the Police Bureau, pelting offices with stones and incendiary devices, almost setting the Tax Bureau building ablaze. Only when the police stationed at the Tax Bureau opened fire were the rioters dispersed.

Subsequent police investigations could only confirm that the attackers targeting the Tax Bureau were not gang members and acted discreetly, seemingly with professional skill. However, they were unable to locate the assailants in the short term.

Panic spread throughout the Tax Bureau. Some tax officials had even submitted their resignations to Lemais.

In utter desperation, Lemais had no choice but to submit a report to Paris, requesting guards for the Tax Bureau.

......

Paris.

Inside the General Tax Bureau office in France, the newly appointed Director of Taxation, Robespierre, frowned as he looked at the mountain of reports piled on his desk, his face grim.

These reports were almost entirely from local Tax Bureaus, detailing the attacks they had suffered. In just the past ten-odd days, two tax officials had been murdered and over forty injured. Although the police system was doing its utmost to track down the culprits, only three or four people had been apprehended so far, making the situation dire.

Most of the Tax Bureau heads were requesting additional guards, while some had simply submitted their resignations.

Robespierre knew very well that the Tax Bureau's funds were already stretched thin just to pay compensation to the injured, and there was no way they could afford guards.

He suddenly felt an immense, mountain-like pressure on his shoulders. Count Fulco, the Director of the Tax Bureau, primarily handled matters related to tax revenue, while all other situations fell under Robespierre's purview. If this matter wasn't handled properly, it would affect the entire nation's tax collection.

After pondering for a long time, he first drafted an impassioned and stirring speech to boost morale and, at the very least, reduce the number of tax officials resigning.

As for security, he couldn't think of any good solutions, so he stood up and instructed his valet, "Please prepare the carriage. I need to go to Tuileries Palace."

Yes, at present, he could only apply to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for some funds to reinforce the Tax Bureau's security.

Second floor of Tuileries Palace.

Joseph carefully reviewed the document in his hand, confirmed the amount was correct, then picked up his pen and signed it before stamping his seal.

Matthew de Lefebvre, the Governor of the Bank of France, standing opposite him, respectfully accepted the document and then asked, "Your Royal Highness, the current flow of funds seems a little too fast. I worry it might raise suspicions.

"Consider the two transactions through Poitou and Burgundy. Should they be split further and 'recalled' next week?"

Joseph considered it, then nodded and said, "Your suggestion is very reasonable. Proceed as you've outlined. Also, ensure strict confidentiality. All personnel handling these matters must be vetted by the Intelligence Bureau before being authorized."

"Yes, Your Royal Highness."

If anyone had seen the document in Baron Lefebvre's hand, they would most likely have been stunned by the amounts listed on it. It was an application for several fund transfers, with a total sum reaching 13 million francs!

In reality, the French treasury currently did not possess hundreds of millions of francs, nor could it possibly have weekly inflows of tens of millions.

Joseph had previously raised a total of only 50 million francs through channels such as insurance, wealth management, and real estate.

Furthermore, apart from the real estate income, the other funds belonged to insurance companies. While he could temporarily utilize them, he absolutely could not spend them as part of the national budget.

Therefore, if the Tax Farmer system were abolished, Archbishop Brienne would only have 26 million francs in available fiscal expenditure for next year. In little more than a month, French official salaries, government operations, and infrastructure projects would all grind to a halt.

To stabilize the situation, Joseph had to secure a loan from the Tax Farmers.

At least 150 million francs.

But he knew that the Tax Farmers' leverage came from the government's lack of funds, and that only their tax farming payments kept things running. Under such circumstances, they would stubbornly insist on continuing the tax farming system.

Therefore, he first had to create the illusion of abundant government finances to disrupt the Tax Farmers' plans.

So Joseph used the 50 million francs he had as a "prop" to create a masterful deception.

He knew very well that the Tax Farmers had informants in various banks and would surely ascertain the funds on the government's books.

He first had these funds deposited into foreign banks, then openly borrowed them into the Bank of France under the guise of loans.

Afterward, the Bank of France, by way of allocating funds to various provinces, would disburse them in batches to local banks — most of which were Bank of France branches.

Since these funds were for next year's budget, the provincial Governors could only look at them but not touch them.

Next came the covert operations.

Local banks would secretly lend out the money from the provincial government accounts through short-term loans, then immediately transfer it back to the Bank of France headquarters in Paris. Once local governments saw the funds credited to their accounts, they would generally not audit them—'Who would have thought that the Minister of Finance and the "central bank" would secretly misappropriate local funds?'

All these loans were handled by individuals personally appointed by Joseph. After the loan agreements were signed, they were personally taken back to Paris by high-ranking Bank of France officials, locked in the Bank of France Governor's safe, and guarded 24/7 by Intelligence Bureau personnel.

Subsequently, the money loaned from local treasuries would be redeposited into foreign banks and flow back into the Bank of France's accounts.

This was the truth behind what the Tax Farmers' Guild had discovered: "over 100 million francs had successively flowed into the French government's accounts, with large sums continuing to be remitted weekly."

In reality, all of this was the result of repeatedly cycling 50 million francs.

To ensure the secrecy of this fund-shifting operation, Joseph had specifically appointed over a dozen branch managers and assistant managers for the Bank of France, stipulating that all funds related to these "reverse loans" had to be handled by them.

It was all a psychological game.

If the Tax Farmers' Guild, seeing that the government had raised sufficient funds, still managed to remain composed, then Joseph would have no recourse.

But he was very confident that as his subsequent tactics were deployed, those avaricious individuals would surely yield.

After Baron Lefebvre departed, Eman ushered in Robespierre, whose face was etched with anxiety.

The latter's face was flushed with shame, and after bowing, he stammered, "Your Royal Highness, I must report some developments... Tax Bureaus across the regions have been subjected to numerous attacks. Currently, two tax officials have been murdered, and dozens are injured."