Hunting the "big fish"

For some reason, when Joseph heard the number "ten million Livre," he didn't feel any anger at all. Instead, a strange sense of "comfort" welled up inside him. 👻♕ 👺♥

He leaned closer to Calonne and asked expectantly:

"Are you referring to the amount Necker pocketed himself, or the total amount of problematic funds?"

"It was Necker who profited from these transactions, Your Highness. More than half of the Finance loans he handled at the time may have been irregularities."

Joseph suddenly felt the whole world light up, and he could even hear the cheerful singing of little angels.

It's worth noting that during Necker's tenure as Treasurer of the Treasury, France's bank loans increased by nearly 1 billion Livre.

If what Calonne said is true, even by the lowest estimate, a loan of 500 million Livre could involve illegal operations.

Joseph's heart pounded—if he could get this evidence of wrongdoing, he could have the 500 million Livre loan re-examined!

Generally speaking, interest payments are suspended during the loan re-evaluation period!

There's even a possibility that the loan agreement could be renegotiated!

Even more so, loans with extremely serious problems can be directly...

Joseph pinched his thigh hard to stop himself from thinking any further; the prospect was just too beautiful, and it was easy to get lost in it.

He stared intently at Calonne, his gaze seemingly burning:

How certain are you that there's a problem with that loan?

Calonne felt a little uneasy under his gaze and subconsciously said:

"Based on my many years of experience in corruption... cough, many years of Finance experience, the probability of problems is over 90%, it's just that we can't find the evidence..."

"Excellent!" Joseph stood up excitedly and patted him hard on the shoulder. "You've made an outstanding contribution this time."

Immediately, Joseph instructed him, "From now on, you will be under the protection of my Guard around the clock, and you are not allowed to have contact with any outsiders."

"Huh?" Calonne exclaimed in surprise, "Are you... going to put me under house arrest?"

"Oh, no, this is only temporary. Once the Necker matter is resolved, I will personally greet you in Paris."

As Joseph spoke, he picked up a pen and paper from the table beside him, quickly wrote a short message, sealed it with Sealing Wax wax, stamped it with his personal seal, and then turned and left.

He handed the letter to Guard Captain Kexer and instructed him:

"Please send someone back to Paris as quickly as possible to have the Police Department arrest Necker immediately. That is, the former Minister of Finance Jacques Necker. Before I return, no one is allowed to approach Necker or his family."

"Please give this letter to Archbishop Brienne; he will mediate."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

After arranging everything, Joseph felt incredibly at ease. Seeing that it was still early, he stretched and smiled at Eman, saying:

"Since we've come all this way to Lorraine, let's go check out Nancy."

Northwest of City of Toul Dilluri Coal Mine, just two Lieue from the star-shaped bastion built by Marshal Vauban.

Clementine stood on the edge of the huge mine pit with a tense expression, staring blankly at the coal miners wielding picks below.

This morning, His Crown Prince instructed his personal guards to escort her here for a visit. Before she left, he thoughtfully introduced her to the largest Coal Mine in Toul and wished her a pleasant trip.

A gentle breeze blew constantly near the mine, where there were few trees to provide shelter, swirling fine coal dust into the air.

The little girl sullenly brushed aside the handkerchief Rosalia was using to wipe her cheek, and said dejectedly:

"Stop wiping! It's covered in coal dust; there's no way to clean it properly..."

The maid cautiously suggested, "Miss, perhaps we should go back?"

"No way," the little girl puffed out her cheeks, "What if my cousin asks me what I watched and I can't tell him?"

"Then, shall I show you around?"

"Mmm." The little girl nodded and, surrounded by Guard, walked down the spiral slope made of rammed coal slag along the edge of the mine, toward the bottom of the mine.

Several miners carrying baskets full of coal came towards them. When they saw Clementine's magnificent gown and her imposing Guard, they were so frightened that they hurriedly stepped aside and ducked to make way for her.

The little girl, supported by her maid, walked past the miner when suddenly she felt her footing give way.

A miner caught a glimpse of something unusual on the ground and immediately cried out, "Watch out!" He quickly dropped his coal basket, leaped forward, and shoved her and the maid aside.

Immediately, the cinder ground where Clementine just stood cracked open and began to crumble and fall.

"Run!" The Guard behind Clementine reacted quickly, grabbing her and rushing forward.

A few seconds later, a large section of the spiral ramp was missing. Clementine and the miners stood on one side of the gap, while the other Guard stood on the other side, all staring at each other with lingering fear.

"Wah--" The little girl then remembered her fear and burst into tears.

Before long, at the top of the mine, the mine owner rushed over with his men, his voice trembling with tears as he apologized to Clementine:

"My esteemed lady, I'm so sorry! God is my witness, this place hasn't collapsed in over ten years, I don't know why... Oh God! Are you injured? What... what should we do..."

"It's not your fault." The little girl choked back tears as she looked at her calf. There was a small wound on her leg, and the bleeding had mostly stopped.

She turned her gaze to the miners not far away. They all had some scratches on their bodies, and their tattered clothes and black coal stains made them look very pitiful.

Clementine limped over, feeling guilty that her bad luck had caused them to suffer, and took out a handful of candy, distributing it to the injured miners.

"Are you all alright? I'll treat you to some candy; it'll ease the pain."

The miners were flattered and hurriedly stood up, accepting the candy but bowing their heads, unsure how to express their gratitude.

After a long while, one of the bolder workers finally stammered:

"May God bless you, kind lady."

These days, candy is a very expensive commodity. These children have hardly ever eaten candy in their lives, let alone such high-end sweets. Some of them have already decided to save these candies for their children as Christmas gifts, ensuring they will have unforgettable sweet memories.

Rosalia, the maid, followed behind her mistress and gave each of the injured miners a few Silver Coin.

The mine owner watched Clementine's departing figure and finally breathed a long sigh of relief—he had thought he would have to pay a large sum of money, but to his surprise, she didn't blame him at all.

He turned to look at the Silver Coin in the miners' hands, and suddenly his face darkened as he shouted:

"It's all your fault, you useless lot! You almost made me offend that distinguished lady. Give me the money right now!"

Paris.

In the Louvre Palace District, there is a three-story Villa surrounded by spacious gardens, with its exterior walls adorned with exquisite stone carvings and numerous floor-to-ceiling windows forming an artistic design.

A man wearing a blue-gray coat, with a droopy nose and a large chin, suppressed his anger and pointed at Erich with his index finger, saying:

→

"You idiot! I only told you to keep an eye on Calonne, why did you kill those two Police? And one of them even got away!"

"I'm very sorry, Mr. Necker!" Erich glanced at him nervously and said, bowing his head, "According to Fred, that Police named Marat produced evidence that your loan operation was problematic and asked Calonne for more evidence."

"You ordered that no news about you be allowed to leave Toul. So I... I had no choice but to get rid of those two Police."

From the outside perspective, the Fair Investigation Department is subordinate to the Police Department, so Marat and others must be Police.

Necker was taken aback and asked urgently, "What did Calonne say to those two guys?"

"I'm not entirely sure. Fred was later sent away by Calonne."

Necker frowned, muttered a few words under his breath, then suddenly glared at his subordinate and shouted:

"Idiot! What you should be doing right now is killing that Police, not coming to Paris to spout nonsense to me!"

"Listen to me," Erich said hastily, "That Police is heavily guarded, making it difficult to act immediately. And, a few days later, many more people arrived in Calonne..."

Necker tensed up. "Who is it?"

Fred said those men were very heavily guarded and forbade anyone to approach. Oh, there were at least a hundred Guard, and their uniforms seemed to have the Royal House Fleur-de-lis emblem on them.

"The Royal House?"

Erich nodded and continued, "Fred also seemed to have seen a boy, about fourteen or fifteen years old, whose identity must be quite extraordinary..."

Necker's pupils suddenly shrank to pinpoints. There was only one fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy in all of France who could lead hundreds of Royal Guards —His Crown Prince!

He paced anxiously back and forth in the room, trying to sort out the whole situation.

First, the Police approached Calonne, mentioning problems with his loan. Then, Erich killed one Police, and another was immediately placed under tight security. Next, the Royal House intervened...

Putting it all together, it's very likely that the Royal House found out about his dealings with the bank.

This situation is probably serious!

Necker immediately took a bag of Gold Coin from the Safe and handed it to Erich, saying sternly:

"Go back to Toul with your men and find a place to hide!"

Erich weighed the money bag in his hand and exclaimed in surprise:

"Yes, Mr. Necker. But all my men died that day, so I'll just hide."

Then, he bowed and turned to leave excitedly.

"Are you the only one left?" A cold glint flashed in Necker's eyes. He rang the bell to summon his butler, and with a grim face, he made a cutting gesture towards Erich's retreating figure.

The butler nodded and left, returning a few minutes later.

"Mr. Necker, it's all taken care of."

"Very good." Necker then instructed, "Have the lady and children prepare. We may be in trouble; we need to go to the 'Country Manor '."

"Understood, Mr. Necker."

After the butler left, Necker summoned one of his trusted confidants and whispered some instructions to him.

Before dusk, the confidant returned and said to Necker:

"Mr. Necker, just as you predicted, a number of Secret Police were dispatched to Toul a few days ago. Furthermore, I learned from the Versailles Palace that the King previously signed a pardon for Calonne."

Necker had served as Minister of Finance for many years and was very wealthy, so he had extensive information channels among the France Nobility.

"Secret Police? Pardon Calonne?"

Necker was now absolutely certain that the Royal House was targeting him. Although Calonne might not cooperate with the Royal House, he couldn't take the risk.

After all, this matter of mine is really too big...

He made a quick decision, took out the Trunk he had prepared beforehand, and then summoned the butler:

"Let's set off immediately for the 'Country Manor '."

"Yes, Mr. Necker."

Soon, several inconspicuous Carriage drove out of Necker's house. Fouche's men, who had been stationed there, immediately gave chase—how could Joseph not have someone watching Necker?

Meanwhile, in an ordinary house a few hundred meters away from the Necker family home, the floorboards were lifted from the inside. The Necker family, along with their butler, emerged from it, revealing that a tunnel had been dug leading directly to their Villa.

Necker and the others boarded the Carriage parked outside and drove into the night.

Just an hour later, nearly a hundred Police, personally led by Besançon, surrounded Necker's Villa. A large number of Secret Police and Police Intelligence Division personnel were also present to assist in the arrest.

However, they only found more than thirty Servant; the Necker family was nowhere to be found. Even the undercover Police Intelligence Division who had been lying in wait there was only now realizing that Necker had disappeared.

A ball is being held at the home of Count Isaac, president of the France Banking Guild.

A sharp-looking middle-aged man strode into the Hall, found Count Isaac, and whispered a few words in his ear.

The latter's expression immediately changed, and he turned to ask:

Is the information reliable?

The middle-aged man nodded. "The newspapers are already running headlines like ' Necker's house surrounded by a large number of Police.' However, my information from the Secret Police is that they haven't found Necker."

Isaac immediately found a few people in the crowd at the ball and went up to the second floor with them.

"You mean, Necker might be being watched by the Police?"

Isaac shook his head:

"If it were just the Police, they wouldn't have let Necker escape. It's more likely that the Royal House family intervened."

Another gaunt old man with reddish skin frowned and said:

"How come the Royal House acted so quickly this time? Not a single word leaked out."

"That's still unclear," Isaac said in a deep voice, "But I believe everyone knows how 'dangerous' Necker is."

He glanced around at the people in the room. "After all, almost every one of us has done business with him."

A fat man with thick makeup on his face and dark circles under his eyes gritted his teeth and said:

"I kept telling that guy to go back to the United Kingdom, but you still wanted to get him into the Versailles Palace as Minister of Finance! Now look what's happened, everyone's suffering because of him!"

"Calm down, Count Capeville." The gaunt old man raised his hand in a downward gesture. "What's the use of saying all this now? The most important thing right now is to ensure that the Royal House doesn't find Necker first."

"The Marquis Ludo is right," Isaac nodded. "We know Necker better than the Royal House; we'll find him much faster, then manage to send him to the United Kingdom, or..."

He narrowed his eyes slightly and gestured with his finger across his neck.

Many thanks to the three esteemed authors, Bo Guan Zai Ji, Lai Shi Bu Ke Zhui, and Murong Qiu Yu, for their generous donations to this book! The author is deeply grateful, thank you!