Chapter 541: Money
Their comments immediately drew the ire of other nobles nearby.
One man turned to them sharply and scolded, "Gentlemen, you should be ashamed of your nonsense! I've been to the Place du Louvre almost daily recently, and all I've seen there are despicable tax farmers—not a single respectable person."
Another, evidently influenced by Rousseau's philosophy of equality, added, "The people of France should not be called 'lowly.' At least, when summoned by God, nobles and commoners are no different."
"Hmph, I say those tax farmers deserved their humiliation. His Highness did exactly the right thing. Look at Monsieur Vianale—he was nearly ruined by those people in the Saint-Antoine district."
"Are you sympathizing with the tax farmers? Ha! Over the years, they've overcharged me by hundreds of livres…"
The group who had complained about the executions was quickly silenced, though they muttered quietly, "I don't like those men either, but what if one day other nobles lose their dignity too…?"
"Traditions shouldn't be changed so easily."
As the argument grew heated, a middle-aged man stepped in to mediate. "Gentlemen, calm yourselves. Please, let's remain civil.
"Ah, you have a point. Those executed were all convicted criminals—whether commoners or nobles, what difference does it make? All respectable nobles have maintained their dignity.
"Now, I'm not saying traditions shouldn't be respected. But haven't you noticed? His Majesty has actually preserved the dignity of noble convicts in another way."
"Oh? How so?"
"Through the newly introduced guillotine." The middle-aged man winked knowingly. "That machine is quick—one swift chop and it's over—but it completely lacks ceremony.
"Now, if someone wants a proper execution by a swordsman, they must pay separately.
"With a traditional execution, the swordsman recites an oath, displays a ceremonial execution sword passed down through generations, and even exchanges a few words with the condemned. This traditional and dignified approach is reserved for nobles. Those commoners? They can't afford to hire a swordsman."
The nobles listening to him suddenly brightened.
"You're right! That makes sense. No wonder His Majesty invented the guillotine—it's just a tool to placate the commoners!"
"Long live the King! His Majesty goes to such lengths to preserve our dignity."
"Only a proper swordsman is worthy of handling a noble's execution!"
Little did Joseph realize that his father's guillotine had inadvertently sparked a unique "economy of execution." Nobles, eager to display their status, began paying handsomely for traditional executions. They commissioned elaborate uniforms for swordsmen, requested short farewell poems, and hired assistants to scatter petals over their spilled blood.
By the time the executions at the Place du Louvre ended after two weeks, the cost of a ceremonial execution had risen to 500-800 livres per swordsman—becoming a significant source of revenue for the courts.
Tuileries Palace, second floor.
Joseph frowned slightly as he reviewed the latest report from the Treasury Department.
The recent crackdown on tax farmers had uncovered a vast amount of illicit wealth. Including fines, this had added 67 million livres to the national treasury.
Unlike loans or bonds, which required repayments with interest, this was pure revenue!
Yet, as of January 1791, even with the additional funds, the government still faced a shortfall of over 30 million livres to meet its minimum financial needs.
This gap was far larger than Joseph had anticipated.
According to Robespierre's report, many of the major tax farmers, aware of their impending doom, had transferred much of their wealth to avoid confiscation.
At this time, cash was king. By simply burying silver coins or banknotes in a remote location, both the Treasury and intelligence agencies found it nearly impossible to recover the funds.
Only the assets these men kept in banks were fully confiscated, along with real estate and other immovable properties. However, this amounted to only a fraction of their total wealth.
Take Borrel, for example. With shares in over a dozen tax farms, Robespierre estimated his annual revenue from tax farming at 13 million livres. Yet, the confiscated assets from him totaled only 9 million, with the rest unaccounted for.
Joseph slapped the report onto his desk and sighed deeply. It seemed another high-interest loan would be unavoidable.
A loan of 40 million livres at an interest rate of 16% should suffice.
He was about to summon Éman to call in Archbishop Brienne to discuss the loan when Éman's voice came from outside the door:
"Your Highness, Archbishop Brienne is here to see you."
Hmm? Is Brienne a mind-reader now?
"Let him in."
Brienne entered, bowed, and handed Éman a box before turning to Joseph.
"Your Highness, not long ago, Forl, on behalf of the Tax Farmers' Guild, approached me. They offered me one million livres as a favor."
"So generous?" Joseph chuckled, pleased with Brienne's honesty. "What did they want?"
Since leaders like Forl often kept their hands clean of direct wrongdoing, most had not yet been arrested, unlike more conspicuous figures such as Perrier and Borrel. However, Joseph was confident that evidence would eventually surface to implicate them all.
Brienne quickly explained, "They wanted me to mediate and persuade you to negotiate. Oh, and that box contains a gift they prepared for you—valued at around 3 million livres."
Éman opened the box to reveal a pair of dazzling silver bracelets encrusted with diamonds.
Brienne continued, "Forl proposes that they and other members of the Tax Farmers' Guild make a payment in exchange for amnesty."
"So, they know their fate is sealed." Joseph smiled. He had already instructed the Treasury and intelligence services to monitor these individuals and bar them from leaving France.
He was about to reject the proposal outright—after all, his plan was to gather evidence against these guild leaders and ultimately have them executed.
However, the 30-million-livre shortfall came to mind.
Executing them might serve justice, but it would also risk losing massive amounts of hidden wealth.
That wealth represented resources France desperately needed.
If these men were executed, their heirs would simply take on new identities and continue squandering the hidden fortune, while France would still need to shoulder the burden of high-interest loans.
Joseph hesitated. Perhaps the correct course was to extract maximum value from these individuals—for the greater good of France.
(To be continued…)
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