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Chapter 67: The Press Guild

Joseph picked up the Citizen's Daily again and unfolded it. The main point of the front-page article was that the new Tax Bill had not undergone rigorous debate and was impulsively conceived by the former Minister of Finance, Calonne. If implemented, it would have unforeseen consequences for France.

The subsequent newspapers all expressed similar sentiments, essentially evading the topic by changing the subject and attacking the Tax Bill with various absurd excuses.

Joseph couldn't help but think of those unscrupulous online media outlets in later generations—if you tried to reason with them, they'd talk about history. If you brought up history, they'd start spouting emotional appeals.

In short, they would twist and turn with all sorts of illogical arguments, just to avoid addressing the matter directly.

After reading for a while, he noticed that only one newspaper, the Paris New News, continued to publish analytical explanations of the Tax Bill.

He flipped to the author's section and saw the signature: "Jean-Paul Marat."

Joseph found it amusing. If this Marat was indeed one of the core leaders of the Jacobins during the French Revolution, it was a truly exquisite irony.

The only one speaking up for the royal family's Tax Bill was none other than the future leader of the Jacobins, the faction that would be most cruel and merciless towards the monarchy.

By the time Joseph had roughly finished reading the newspapers on the table, his expression had turned grim.

Someone was clearly manipulating things behind the scenes.

They were openly opposing the royal family.

Audacious, utterly audacious!

Joseph glared at the newspapers, clenching his fists. They were just some publishing houses. If they dared to be so defiant, he would let them feel the might of royal authority!

His attention was entirely focused on the Tax Bill, so he completely missed an article in the corner of the Citizen's Daily—it ostensibly described the lives of nobles at Versailles but subtly hinted that a "Duke of Schwarz from Prussia" might be Queen Mary's lover.

The major newspapers Joseph held were still relatively restrained. However, many tabloids had already published articles insinuating scandals between Queen Mary or Princess Thérèse and their "Prussian lovers."

Even more explicit pamphlets were flooding the streets and alleys of Paris.

These "pamphlets" were a unique form of publication, mostly circulated privately to evade censorship.

Pamphlets were cheaply printed, inexpensive, and primarily featured vulgar or sensational content, making them immensely popular with a broad audience and selling far more copies than newspapers.

Joseph had initially intended to go straight to Comte de Robert to discuss punishing the unscrupulous newspapers, but by the time he returned to Versailles, it was already past nine in the evening. He had no choice but to suppress his anger and wait until the next day.

...

At the Paris New News office, a disheveled middle-aged man with deep nasolabial folds rushed into the editor-in-chief's office, holding a freshly printed sample copy. "Mr. Darmanin, why wasn't the article I wrote about the Tax Bill's relationship with the public published?"

The editor-in-chief, wearing silver-rimmed glasses, looked up with an apologetic smile. "Mr. Marat, this was a request from the Press Guild. They said that publishing too many details about the bill might cause too much external interference for the court."

Marat exclaimed, "But that's the tax the French people will pay! The people have a right to know the details!"

The editor-in-chief spread his hands. "I'm sorry, I truly can't do anything. I must abide by the rules of the Press Guild."

Marat argued for a long time, but seeing the editor-in-chief's firm stance, he angrily departed. "Farewell, Mr. Darmanin. There will certainly be a newspaper willing to publish my article!"

The editor-in-chief watched his retreating back helplessly, shaking his head. "That's impossible..."

The next day.

After a simple breakfast, Joseph headed to the Secret Police chief's office.

As he reached the door, he heard an angry young girl's voice coming from inside. "These vile, disgusting, and vulgar people! How could they fabricate such shameless lies?!"

The guard at the door, seeing the Crown Prince approach, quickly bowed his head and pushed the door open for him.

Joseph stepped into the office and saw a girl slightly older than himself, standing with her hands on her hips, her face flushed with anger as she glared at Comte de Robert.

The girl was not tall, dressed in a white wide-skirted dress. Her face had a slight baby-fat roundness, her skin was as fair and delicate as porcelain, and her sapphire-like eyes were pure and bright.

Her name immediately surfaced in Joseph's mind—Marie Thérèse. Louis XVI's eldest daughter, a Princess of France, and his own elder sister.

Joseph remembered that she had been recovering from poor health at the Château de Meudon, where the environment was more suitable. Why had she suddenly returned to Versailles?

Thérèse heard footsteps and turned. Seeing Joseph, she quickly curtsied, then immediately broke into a warm smile. "Joseph, my dear brother, it's wonderful to see you. Has it been three months since we last met?"

Joseph returned the bow with a hand over his chest. "It has been a long time, dear sister. Why have you returned, and is your health better?"

"How could I not return?" Thérèse said, her expression hardening again. "It's those awful rumors that have been tormenting me every waking moment!"

"Rumors?" Joseph looked at Comte de Robert with surprise.

"It's those tabloids like the Paris Mail and The Spectator. And pamphlets too," Comte de Robert explained.

Seeing Joseph shake his head, Comte de Robert took two newspapers from a nearby table, flipped to a certain page, glanced cautiously at Thérèse, and then handed them to Joseph.

Joseph took the newspapers and quickly scanned them, his brows immediately furrowing.

Several articles hinted or insinuated that Prussian nobles had recently arrived in Paris and were involved in questionable relationships with the Queen and Princess. One even mentioned him having an affair with a brown-skinned slave girl.

Thérèse indignantly stated, "These shameless things started appearing in the papers the day before yesterday afternoon! I had no choice but to rush back immediately."

She looked at the Secret Police chief again. "Comte de Robert, you heard what Queen Mary said just now. You must severely punish those who spread rumors!"

So, she had already gone to Queen Mary to complain.

Comte de Robert immediately nodded. "Yes, Your Highness. In fact, I sent people to deal with it yesterday."

"Oh? Did you shut down those newspapers?"

Comte de Robert quickly replied, "No, Your Highness, that's impossible, of course.

"However, we confiscated the printing plates of the Paris Mail and several other newspapers and levied a large fine. Oh, and we arrested the editor of The Happy Man and he's currently being interrogated."

Thérèse was very displeased. "They insulted the royal family, and they only received such a light punishment?"

The Secret Police chief said with considerable helplessness, "Your Highness, in reality, their articles contained no explicit words insulting the royal family.

"I know the content is full of innuendo and easily misunderstood, but the court certainly won't rule the newspapers at fault for that."