Joseph motioned for Randale to come inside, then frowned and asked, "What exactly did he do?"
"The Tax Bureau seized all the Tithe ledgers from those monasteries, along with some other income and expenditure records. They also clashed with the monastery guards..."
Joseph could not help rubbing his forehead and shaking his head.
According to his original plan, with the immense pressure the Holy See's assessments and religious reform had placed upon the Church, they would have no choice but to accept the abandonment of the Tithe.
After that, the government would take over the payment of ordinary Clerics' salaries, as well as the repair and maintenance of Churches, sacred vessels, and the like, eventually shouldering every expenditure of the Church.
Without expenses, it would become unreasonable for the Church to continue possessing enormous assets.
On that basis, reformists such as priest Grenier would step forward and gradually push for the nationalization of church assets. Within three to five years at most, the church's reform could be more or less completed.
But Robespierre's sudden move had shattered his rhythm of boiling the frog in warm water.
Joseph was almost certain that Robespierre would have difficulty finding anything useful in the seized ledgers—if those old foxes in the church had not managed to balance the books by now, that would be truly strange.
He looked at Randale. "Is there anything wrong with those ledgers?"
The latter shook his head. "No abnormalities have been found so far, Your Highness. However, Mr. Robespierre is personally leading people in checking them. As you know, there are a great many accounts."
In truth, the fact that Randale had come to report already made it clear—if anything had truly been found, Robespierre would be the one standing here.
Joseph's frown deepened. Robespierre had no search warrant