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Chapter 566: The Grand Lineup

Fouché bowed again and continued, "Begging your pardon, Your Highness, investigating this matter requires extremely high professional expertise in trade, economics, and contracts. If the Intelligence Bureau handles it, it might take three months, or even longer."

Mirabeau immediately interjected, "That's too long! It will cause a huge number of orders to default!"

Fouché looked at Joseph, "Your Highness, if you permit one person to assist the Intelligence Bureau, I believe this time could be cut in half."

"Oh? Who is it?"

"Viscount Calonne," Fouché replied. "He is a top expert in economics and trade, and extremely familiar with all sorts of underhanded dealings... Oh, please believe me, I genuinely mean that as a compliment.

"To my knowledge, he went to Lorraine earlier this year to 'treat a back ailment' and hasn't returned to Paris yet. He could conveniently head to Germany from there."

Joseph nodded slightly. As the former Minister of Finance, Calonne's professional competence was beyond doubt. Moreover, his extensive history of corruption and bribery had equipped him with a wealth of experience in illicit practices.

He was also quite loyal to the royal family, so this task could indeed be entrusted to him.

As for his trip to Lorraine, it was likely that he had acquired some properties there during his exile, which required regular management.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Fouché paused, then said with some hesitation, "Your Highness, if I could call upon one more person, the investigation might be completed within a month."

Joseph sighed. "You really ought to say it all at once. Who is he?"

"Franz Anton Mesmer."

"Ah? What does he do?"

Mirabeau, who was standing nearby, cleared his throat and said awkwardly, "Ahem, Your Highness, that man is a damned swindler."

"Yes, a swindler," Fouché nodded. "But also a doctor of medicine, a genius."

As Fouché briefly recounted Mesmer's experiences, Joseph gradually recalled this figure — the self-proclaimed founder of hypnotism, a veritable god of deception who swindled kings and beggars alike.

Seven years ago, Mesmer arrived in Paris from Vienna, claiming to have invented a "magnetic therapy theory" that could cure all diseases.

According to his theory, the human body had a circulating magnetic field, and if this circulation was obstructed, people would fall ill. He claimed he could adjust the magnetic field with magnetized iron rods to cure ailments.

Later, finding it too troublesome, he simply declared himself "a magnetized person" and began treating patients with his hands alone.

Thanks to his superb "acting" and eloquent speech, he managed to trick many people into believing in his "magnetic therapy."

Soon, his clinic became a gathering place for ailing nobles.

Yet Mesmer remained unsatisfied. To treat more patients, he had nobles sit around large wooden tubs, claiming he had infused the water with magnetism, and that patients would recover after a short soak.

After that, he turned his attention to commoners.

Since he could only attend to a limited number of patients himself, he began taking on apprentices, asserting that they too could acquire his "magnetic force."

Consequently, Paris quickly saw the emergence of over 400 "magnetic therapy doctors," accumulating millions of livres for Mesmer.

This continued until he treated Louis XVI.

His Majesty the King, with the meticulous logical and analytical abilities of a "science and engineering enthusiast," deemed the matter unscientific. Consequently, he assembled a team of experts, including renowned scholars like Lavoisier, Le Roy, and Franklin, to verify the authenticity of magnetic therapy.

Under such a grand lineup, Mesmer's deception was finally exposed, and he was subsequently thrown into prison.

However, many people insisted they had been cured by Mesmer. After researching, the scholars discovered that these individuals had experienced a reduction in pain due to psychological suggestion. This ultimately led to the development of hypnotism, but that was a later story.

Fouché's choice of this man was certainly a "perfect fit."

Mesmer was Austrian, deeply familiar with the local area, and highly skilled in deception. Combined with Calonne's expertise, it was a truly "flawless partnership."

"Very well, you may go to the First Prison and retrieve him now," Joseph said.

...

Austria.

In an unassuming cottage in the northern suburbs of Vienna, Calonne repeatedly scrutinized the documents before him, frowning as he addressed the Intelligence Bureau officer beside him: "Whether examining the legality, scale, and operational status of these companies, or the negotiation and signing processes of the orders, there appears to be no issue.

"The prices of the goods on the orders and the delivery dates also seem very reasonable. There shouldn't be any bribery involved..."

This was hardly surprising. As the head of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, Kresstiel was highly experienced in trade, so he naturally set up the scheme flawlessly.

"All deposits have also been paid in full," Calonne remarked, picking up a newspaper nearby and looking at the GG mentioned there. "They've even started advertising the goods they ordered from France. From my professional perspective, these truly appear to be normal trade operations.

"Perhaps, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was genuinely mistaken this time?"

Mesmer, with his deep-set eyes and scholarly demeanor, suddenly whispered, "My Lord Viscount, I believe if we cannot find any flaws in the evidence, perhaps we should set them aside..."

Calonne shot the swindler a withering glance; he himself had been defrauded of tens of thousands of livres by "magnetic therapy" back in the day.

"What a joke," he scoffed. "If not by evidence, then by deception? Fine, go ahead and try to trick those people into trusting you, and then have them tell you, 'Yes, I actually have a conspiracy.'"

Mesmer lowered his head and said cautiously, "You misunderstand. What I mean is, instead of gathering evidence, we should go 'for real' with those companies directly."

"What are you talking about?"

"My theory back then—ah, magnetic therapy. Not even the Academy of Sciences' academicians could find a problem with it," Mesmer explained. "But when Monsieur Lavoisier later asked me to treat patients with blindfolds, and forbade me from speaking, I was immediately exposed."

"So?"

"Why don't we pose as buyers, very generous, wealthy buyers, and conduct transactions with the companies that placed the orders? And then, like this..."

Hearing this, Calonne and the Intelligence Bureau officer exchanged glances, both nodding in surprise.

Three days later.

"Viscount Plummer" from Ödenburg arrived in a luxurious carriage with a dozen attendants at the Manhartz Trading Company, the shell company owned by Baron Graz.

Viscount Plummer, impersonated by Mesmer, was full of pomp. From the moment he entered, he continuously handed out gratuities to every worker and servant he encountered.

Upon meeting Graz, he immediately declared that people from his hometown were highly enthusiastic about French goods and wanted to purchase all the French merchandise Graz had, and that contracts could be signed immediately—he had found them after seeing GG in the newspaper.

Graz, however, refused without hesitation.

It wasn't that he didn't want to make more money, but such a large transaction would involve many of the other party's employees, leading to extensive contact with his warehouses, shops, management, and even his coachmen.

Under such circumstances, no matter how flawlessly he had designed his scheme, he couldn't guarantee that no flaws would emerge.