Chapter 526: A River of Blood
The leading tax official took a few steps forward, his face utterly devoid of expression as he said:
"You are Jacques-Hector de Poka of Touraine, aren't you?"
Touraine was Poka's hometown. He nodded at once. "I am Poka."
The tax official then produced a bronze badge and showed it to him:
"I am Pierre Gaspard Chaumette, inspector from the Reims Tax Bureau. You are currently suspected of illegal taxation, intentional assault, fraud..."
"Ah, the charges are numerous; we'll elaborate on those later. Oh, your ID Number is 1037083123, correct?"
Thanks to the tireless efforts of the Minister of Household Registration, Identity Cards had been widely implemented across France, with only the most remote areas remaining untouched.
Poka's expression darkened. He nodded. "Yes."
"Then there's no mistake." Chaumette signaled to the tax officials behind him. "Arrest him immediately!"
"What do you think you're doing?!" Poka stepped back, threatening, "Baron Lecornet, the Municipal Commissioner, is a friend of mine! You'd better watch yourselves!"
"Municipal Commissioner?" Chaumette sneered, then turned to his subordinates and barked, "Hurry it up!"
"Hey! Do you know who I work for?" Seeing the Municipal Commissioner threat was useless, Poka could only name his boss. "It's Viscount Bolloré!"
"Oh?" Chaumette grew interested upon hearing this. He pulled out a notebook and began to write. "Tell me in detail how you've been working for Bolloré."
Poka paused, seeing that his words hadn't swayed them. He quickly put on a smile, winking wildly at Chaumette, and whispered:
"Don't be so serious, sir. If you could perhaps rest outside of town for an hour, I could offer you two thousand—no, three thousand francs."
To his surprise, the tax inspector before him did not show the usual greedy expression he saw on other bureaucrats. Instead, he looked extremely angry.
"You dare to bribe an official?" Chaumette roared. "That's another charge added to your list!"
He was a 'pure-blooded' Jacobin, a follower of Robespierre—his mind consumed with the ideal of dedicating everything to justice and liberty to create a better nation. Poka's actions were, without a doubt, an insult to his ideals.
Just then, Poka's butler arrived with seven or eight fierce men, all armed.
Seeing Poka's troubled expression, the men immediately shielded him, separating him from the tax officials.
More people continued to arrive from behind, all tax collectors under Poka. Most of these men had been ruffians and scoundrels before, and after becoming tax collectors, they continued to run amok, arbitrarily beating those who owed taxes, thus developing an incredibly arrogant demeanor.
One of them looked at Poka. "Sir, what should we do?"
"Drive these men away," Poka gritted out.
He could see that the Tax Bureau was serious this time. So, he decided to first drive away the tax officials, then immediately seek refuge with Viscount Bolloré.
The tax officials Chaumette brought stepped forward to push aside the tax collectors, but were shoved back, stumbling.
As more tax collectors arrived, their numbers quickly reached nearly twenty, surrounding Chaumette and his men.
With a thunderous bang, Poka's men all flinched, pulling their heads back.
Chaumette lowered his raised right hand, blew the smoke from the muzzle of his pistol, and declared to the tax officials, "Anyone who dares to gather and assault tax officials can be shot on sight!"
The tax officials behind him immediately formed a circle, back to back, aiming their flintlock muskets at the thugs before them.
Poka turned and ran towards the courtyard, shouting, "Don't be afraid! I'll bail out anyone who gets caught!"
Chaumette drew another pistol, aiming at the chest of the most arrogant tax collector. "Stand aside!"
Seeing the man remained unmoving, Chaumette pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Another deafening blast. The thug was slammed backward by the lead bullet, his chest a bloody mess.
The other tax collectors suddenly recalled stories they'd heard about tax officials killing attackers in the streets, immediately connecting the notorious reputation of the Tax Bureau with the men standing before them.
A few men tremulously reached for their waists. They also had pistols, and with their numerical advantage, if a real fight broke out, these tax officials certainly wouldn't be able to stand against them.
Seeing this, Chaumette roared, "Fire!"
Despite their immense tension, the six tax officials obeyed the command. Their flintlock muskets simultaneously spat flames, and with only five or six paces separating them, six tax collectors were instantly sent flying backward.
"Prepare bayonets!" Chaumette continued to order, drawing his own saber.
The dozen or so tax collectors surrounding them looked at the bodies on the ground, their legs turning to jelly. They had no courage left to draw their pistols and fight; instead, they turned in terror, ready to flee.
"All of you, halt!" Chaumette shouted. "Otherwise, you'll be shot on sight!"
The usually arrogant tax collectors even forgot that the tax officials' guns hadn't been reloaded. They froze on the spot, some even raising their hands.
Chaumette personally led a subordinate to storm Poka's villa. Shortly after, he emerged, holding Poka and his butler at gunpoint.
The tax farmers had just heard the gunshots, and now, seeing the bodies on the ground, their legs turned to jelly. They collapsed to their knees, a foul-smelling wet stain spreading across their crotches...
Meanwhile, in Stian.
Though Tax Farmer Leconnu had his hands bound, he still shouted arrogantly:
"Hmph, you dare to arrest me?"
"I tell you, you are finished! In less than three days, someone will come and get me. When that happens, I'll make you regret this!"
A nearby tax official, recalling the man's past misdeeds documented in their files, raised his flintlock musket and smashed its butt against Leconnu's mouth. His shouting immediately ceased.
Meanwhile, fierce fighting had broken out in Riom.
After an exchange of gunfire with the tax officials, Tax Farmer Auban's subordinates engaged in a fierce melee. Ultimately, after suffering four casualties, the tax officials, aided by the populace, managed to kill or arrest all the rioters.
In short, everywhere, the Tax Bureau's stance was unwavering: uncompromising, formidable, and relentless—they wouldn't let a single one get away!
Over the next three days, Tax Bureau offices across France mobilized fully, arresting nearly a thousand tax farmers or their henchmen.
These were only the tax farmers whose transgressions had already been uncovered. Long lines of citizens continued to form before local Tax Bureau offices, suggesting that many more tax farmers would be apprehended in the time to come.
...
On the second floor of the Tuileries Palace.
Joseph's expression finally eased as he reviewed the list submitted by Robespierre.
He picked up a pen, signed at the bottom of the list, and handed it back to Robespierre:
"You've done excellent work. Now, let the trials begin. Oh, those who violently attacked tax officials can be tried together to save time."
Ultimately, he did not entirely replicate the methods of the historical Jacobins.
For now, France maintained good order; there was no need to destroy it out of anger. Normal judicial procedures still needed to be followed.
The courts, however, would likely have to work overtime. Fortunately, most of the cases had clear evidence—the tax farmers' accounts, tax documents, and so on, were all in the Tax Bureau's possession, making it easy to verify any discrepancies.
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