Chapter 873: Financial Shadow War
Pope Pius VI first led the archbishops in a brief prayer, then clasped his fingers tightly and lowered his head. "Everyone should be aware of the situation by now. What should we do?"
Cardinal Gardini of Venice immediately shouted in anger:
"We should hand Muzarelli over to the French first! It was his foolish... oh, may God forgive my rudeness, it was his sycophantic attempts to please Vienna that incensed the French..."
A middle-aged Cardinal beside him interrupted in a low voice, "Don't you know? Father Muzarelli fled Rome last month."
Cardinal Edel of Naples, sitting beside Pius VI, suddenly began to chant scripture in a loud voice:
"O God, the nations have come into your inheritance..."
Heated discussions immediately erupted all around. "The Pope must call for a Crusade! Believers from all over Europe will flock to fight for the Lord!"
"Make the Habsburgs send more troops. The Holy See has given them immense support; now is the time for them to repay us."
"Archbishop Destro, the armies of Vienna couldn't even hold Lombardy. If you ask me, we must seek aid from Madrid..."
"It is the 'Mediterranean Security Organization,' Archbishop Pacini..."
"No nation's army can help us." The elderly Cardinal of Genoa raised his hands to quiet the room. "We should summon martyrs now to assassinate that blasphemer in the Palace of Versailles..."
"Enough." Pius VI lifted his wrinkled face, his expression pale as he shook his head. "Panic has eroded your common sense. These thoughts are more blasphemous than French bayonets."
He looked toward Archbishop Edel. "Can the Papal Guard hold them back? Oh, and include the Roman militia and the anti-smuggling units."
The latter hesitated. "That... I am afraid it would be very difficult, Holy Father."
The core fighting force of the Holy See, the Swiss Guard, numbered only about 400 men. Even with other guards and paramilitary units, their total strength did not reach 2,000.
Pius VI scanned the room, and seeing that no one else spoke, he let out a long sigh. "Archbishop Gardini, please depart for Paris immediately to represent the Holy See and negotiate with the King of France.
"Tell him that all of this was Muzarelli's doing. The Holy See is willing to cede the Marche region as compensation to France, and pay them..."
He paused for a moment, struggling to utter the figure. "One million gold Ducats. Tell them to withdraw their troops as soon as possible."
One million Ducats was roughly equivalent to nine million Francs, which was considered a very sincere offer.
The Cardinals immediately erupted in a furor of opposition. "Holy Father, how can we bow our heads to a blasphemer?"
"One million Ducats is too much!"
"This will only fuel the arrogance of those secular monarchs..."
Just then, a high-ranking priest walked in along the wall and whispered a few words into Archbishop Edel's ear.
The latter was struck with shock. He turned to Pius VI and said in a trembling voice, "Holy Father, the guards just interrogated a relative of one of Muzarelli's attendants. According to that man, Muzarelli has gone to France. His destination is very likely Paris."
"What?!" Pius VI stood up abruptly. He remained stunned for a long while before turning to Edel. "Please make preparations. I will personally travel to France."
...
Paris Financial Center.
Headquarters of the Bank of France.
In a luxuriously decorated VIP room, Lafont, a senior executive of the Bank of France, gestured for a servant to place hot tea before the middle-aged client, then smiled.
"Why do you suddenly wish to exchange so much for gold? Oh, please don't mind the question; this is all for the security of our VIP accounts."
Just half an hour ago, this merchant, who claimed to be from Reims, stated that he wanted to convert all 500,000 Francs in his account into gold.
According to the laws regarding the French gold standard, the bank was required to fulfill the client's request.
"I intend to invest in business in South America," the middle-aged man replied in a cold voice. "People there do not accept Francs."
"Alternatively, you could try our bank's exchange services," Lafont maintained his smile. "We have 'bill-free' remittance partnerships with several Spanish banks..."
The middle-aged man waved his hand impatiently. "I am purchasing mining assets in San Vicente. Please facilitate the exchange for gold coins as quickly as possible."
San Vicente was a Portuguese colony.
Lafont's smile stiffened for a moment before he nodded. "Very well, distinguished Mr. Colin.
"However, as you know, identity verification and high-value authorization require five days, excluding Sundays."
"Fine. I will return in six days." Colin signed the application form, left his accountant behind, and stood up to leave.
Lafont escorted him to the door, only for a clerk to run up and whisper in his ear, "Manager, there is a lady who wants to exchange 650,000 Francs for gold..."
Lafont frowned instantly.
He encountered high-value exchanges often, but to have three major gold withdrawal requests per day for two consecutive days was extremely rare.
Moreover, these transactions were beyond mere "high-value"; they were "colossal"—totaling over two million Francs.
After dealing with the noblewoman, he immediately returned to his office and wrote a report on the anomalies of the past two days.
The next day.
Just as the Bank of France headquarters opened its doors, a nobleman dressed in magnificent clothing arrived, demanding to exchange 600,000 Francs for gold.
Lafont realized immediately that something was wrong. While receiving the young noble, he informed him that this transaction required the activation of the "Remote Transfer Clause," and delivery could only be completed in twenty-two days.
The so-called "Remote Transfer Clause" stated that if gold withdrawal demand exceeded bank reserves in the short term, funds had to be transferred from remote branches, a process taking anywhere from fifteen to twenty-two days.
After seeing the client off, Lafont hastily instructed his subordinates to announce a "bank accounting audit," suspending all high-value transactions temporarily.
He then slipped out the back door of the Bank of France, boarded a carriage, and rushed toward the office of the Bank of France's General Manager at the Tuileries Palace.
As news of the suspension of exchange services spread, a dozen or so pre-prepared "financial experts" began to strike out everywhere. At the stock exchange, the futures market, and even in large salons, they spread "terrorizing" rhetoric. "Just as I said before, France's paper currency has already been over-issued by more than tenfold!"
"The Bank of France exhausted its gold reserves before the new year. Today's suspension of exchange is just the beginning..."
"We fought a great war, but unfortunately, the consumption of war is also immense. To meet military expenditures, the government could only print paper money to make up the numbers..."
"Please believe me, I have worked in banking and finance for thirty years. If you don't want the Francs in your hands to turn into waste paper, go and exchange them for gold immediately."
"Have you forgotten John Law's scam? Look at how similar the current situation is to back then..."
That evening, news that the "Bank of France is suspected to be facing a crisis" began to appear in some small-circulation newspapers.
...
Palace of Versailles.
Joseph was reading the Security Organization's report on the encirclement of Ferrara when Archbishop Brienne and the General Manager of the Bank of France, Jacques Laffitte, were led into the room by Eman after a knock on the door.
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